"Don't start arguing!"
The zashiki-warashi said angrily, "It's late at night, it's time for people to rest, don't disturb them!"
"well."
Yaksha casually agreed.
-
The next day, Izumi went for a morning walk and discovered that she couldn't find the Great Tengu.
She searched the house and questioned the maids who came and went, and finally found a large number of crow feathers next to the den of the fox spirit in the house.
Rewind two hours—
The Snow Woman leaned against the roof, resting with her eyes closed, while the Great Tengu, transformed into a crow, stood on the roof with his eyes closed as well. As the night deepened, a white fox, unable to sleep, idly climbed onto the roof and happened to discover the crow.
Where did this bird come from?
The fox licked its lips, clutched its empty belly, and quietly approached the sleeping crow. It knew this place all too well.
The fox demon slowly approached the crow, who was still fast asleep. With practiced ease, the fox knocked the crow off the roof; the crow, caught off guard, landed on the ground.
The fox spirit leaped down, seizing the crow's head in its mouth. Its sharp teeth moved towards the bird's head; this crow would soon become its delicious breakfast, and it wouldn't need to steal vegetables from the kitchen tomorrow!
The fox spirit felt extremely pleased, then felt itself fly out and crash into a wall...
Before the crow was bitten to death, it struggled violently, its strength so great that it easily flung the fox away. The fox demon crashed into the wall, stunned.
"squeak--!!"
The fox demon's fur stood on end.
"flutter!"
The Great Tengu spreads its wings.
A battle that shook heaven and earth, between birds and beasts, had begun! It awakened the Snow Woman and the Zashiki-warashi.
"What are you doing? Stop right there!" the Zashiki-warashi shouted angrily, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
In the end, both demons were imprisoned by the Zashiki-warashi.
The Snow Woman recounted what had happened to Izumi. Having understood the whole story, Izumi returned to the courtyard, relieved. Outside, the maid sent by her "brother" was preparing her dowry.
"Where did Lord Tengu go?" the one-eyed monk asked.
"I'm playing with a cute fox," the snow woman replied.
"And what about the adults?"
"Izumi is learning how to draw and apply makeup with Jiao Tu in her room."
"Aren't you coming along?" the one-eyed monk asked curiously.
"I'm worried about the Great Tengu. That fox was so fierce last night; I'm afraid he'll get hurt. I wonder if he can bring the fox back. I love white fox fur." The Snow Woman recalled the feeling of holding the fox spirit yesterday, "It was so soft."
One-eyed monk: "..."
He seemed to know why Lord Ōtengu was fighting with a fox.
"Sister Aoandon will tell us the story of the Demon King Shuten-dōji in a little while. Sister Yuki-onna, would you like to listen together?" The one-eyed monk brewed a pot of tea.
"No, I'm going to go play with Quan. Don't forget to tell me when Soft Scarf and Great Tengu come back later."
The one-eyed monk stood frozen on the ground.
——
When lunch was served, the Great Tengu still hadn't returned. Izumi looked at the empty courtyard with a sense of unease. Was the Zashiki-warashi waiting for her to come and get him?
Beside her, Yuki-onna left food for Ootengu, and thoughtfully left him a piece of his favorite red bean and minnow dish.
"Yuki-onna, where are they being held by the Zashiki-warashi?" Izumi couldn't sit still any longer.
"Don't worry, Izumi. Let's go prepare your dowry~" Yuki-onna picked up the rouge box.
A day passed, and the Great Tengu still hadn't returned. Izumi stood anxiously at the door, waiting. The Great Tengu didn't appear, but she saw a white figure approaching in the distance.
The white fox wobbled toward her courtyard, followed by her father.
"Greetings, Father," Quan said respectfully, concealing his anxiety.
"Quan, I want to give you a fox," said the father.
"Is this the one?" Quan looked at the cute fox softly crawling on her lap, and her heart seemed to melt, turning into honey.
No, we mustn't be fooled by this sugar-coated little cream puff!
"Yes." The father lovingly stroked Quan's head. "It's a shikigami that came here on its own. I like it very much, and now I'm giving it to you in the hope that it can help you."
"Thank you, Father," Quan said.
She accepted the fox spirit.
"I heard it had a conflict with your shikigami yesterday. I saw them at Zashiki-warashi's place just now, so I brought your crow back for you."
"...Thank you, Father."
"Marry into the Koizumi family, spend the rest of your life there, and encounter a beautiful cherry blossom."
My elderly father is still very sentimental.
"good."
Quan finally revealed a few smiles.
A leaf fell from the father's head and slid into the spring's embrace, the tender leaf slowly transforming into a black crow.
The snow woman flew out and slowly floated down in front of the spring, bending down and opening her arms.
Come on, Snow Woman!
The Great Tengu waited for that slightly cold embrace, a few familiar humming sounds passing by his ears before disappearing again.
Um?
With his eyes slit open, the Great Tengu opened them wide and glared at the fox demon who was snuggling in the arms of the Snow Woman.
"So cute~"
That's his spot!
The Great Tengu coldly watched as the uninvited guest took over the Snow Woman's embrace, and let out a cold snort.
"Let's go soak in the hot springs."
Izumi suggested that since her father had just left, they should head to the backyard. There was a hot spring in Izumi's courtyard.
Fully clothed, she sat in the 40-degree Celsius hot spring, feeling as if she were lying on a cloud. Beside her, the Snow Woman carried the fox spirit into the hot spring, and they began to chat.
As Mount Fuji came into view in the distance, Izumi breathed a sigh of relief; she would be able to go back soon.
"Before the moment of sealing the demon arrives tomorrow, I will leave here and go to the Oda family. There will be no Onmyoji there then, and the Oda family doesn't have any Onmyoji either, so you don't need to worry. Just follow my maid."
"Izumi, will we leave?" The snow woman looked at Izumi with worry, she was very attached to Izumi.
"Won't."
Just as Quan was about to say those two words, Da Tengu, standing to the side, said with a dark face, "If that's the case, I need to go back to Tengu Mountain first."
His gaze was fixed on the fox spirit in the snow woman's arms, with a hint of disdain.
"don't want!"
Izumi tugged at the Great Tengu's sleeve, reluctantly saying, "You are very important to me, you can't leave!"
Quan wanted to cry but had no tears.
I was just saying...
Ōtengu sighed, and Yuki-onna slowly sat down beside him. "Ōtengu."
"Um?"
"We love you the most," the snow woman said earnestly, throwing the scarf she was holding into the hot spring, where the fox spirit struggled.
The Great Tengu's lips curled up.
"Um."
-
The wedding was fast approaching the next day. When Izumi's husband from the Oda family came to take her away, dressed in white, the shikigami quietly turned into leaves and stuck to her clothes.
They were escorted into the bridal chamber by the maids ahead of them. Countless maids were busy tidying up the bridal chamber, and Ye Zi remained motionless, clinging to his clothes.
"Who are you?"
A busy maid asked.
"I am Lord Izumi's maid."
Quan's maidservant quickly replied.
The maid who asked the question said sternly, "There are no adults here. Lady Izumi is the master's eighteenth wife, nothing more. Remember that."
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