After lunch, the girls asked Mona for a reading.
She gazed into her crystal ball and said the rain would continue all afternoon.
So everyone decided to take the rest of the day off.
They set up mahjong tables all over the shrine.
Yoimiya, convinced to stay by Xiangling, joined in and learned to play.
Lucky as ever, she won several rounds in a row.
Around three, the rain began to taper off.
Yoimiya packed up and got ready to head home.
Everyone tried to keep her around, but she couldn't stay overnight. She had her shop, her parents, and responsibilities.
And if she didn't go home, her parents would panic.
Still, she left happily, carrying Xiangling's pastries, Rainbow Juice concentrate, and an umbrella.
A short while after the rain stopped, the sun peeked through the clouds again.
Urakusai had terrible luck at the mahjong table and quit after a few rounds.
He stepped outside to get some air.
Warm sunlight spilled across his body, and something inside him stirred with a strange, almost nostalgic sensation.
He tilted his head back to look at the sun.
The brightness made him squint slightly.
He'd felt this sensation earlier in the wilds that morning, though much weaker.
Probably because the sunlight had been filtered through thick clouds.
He murmured, "This feeling…"
He couldn't quite describe it, but something about it felt familiar.
As if he weren't standing under sunlight, but beneath the moonlight at midnight.
Youkai couldn't absorb the essence of the sun.
It was too intense, too destructive.
Even a great youkai like him could only cultivate at night by absorbing moonlight.
That was why he'd stretched out in the sun yesterday afternoon—just to feel it. Nothing more.
But now… he had the strange sense that he could absorb sunlight.
His thoughts drifted to the Transformation Pill Baal had given him last night.
There had been a faint trace of sun essence in that golden pill.
He hesitated only a moment, then decided to test it.
He tried to draw in a thread of sunlight the same way he absorbed moonlight.
The burning sensation he expected never came.
Instead, warmth flooded through his whole body.
Urakusai opened his eyes in shock.
He could absorb it.
Sunlight was far stronger than moonlight.
That meant his cultivation would advance several times faster.
He turned to look at Rii, who was clumsily learning to play mahjong, her tiny tail twitching.
Complex emotions crossed his eyes.
Youkai really couldn't be lumped together as the same kind at all…
---
Some youkai spent their whole lives walking on thin ice, struggling against the heavens, the earth, and humanity.
And some youkai didn't have to struggle at all. All they did each day was eat, drink, and nap.
Urakusai quietly pulled his gaze back.
After a moment of thought, he took out his phone and told Makoto about his discovery—that he could absorb sunlight now.
A while later, Xia Zhen replied that she understood and sent him a new task.
Find a way to bring the Youkai Faction back into the public eye.
Urakusai set his phone down, smoothed out his beard, and returned to his room.
A stack of documents lay on the table, intel Yae Miko had given him yesterday about the remaining youkai living in Inazuma today.
Even five hundred years later, when most youkai had faded out of sight, a few still lived quietly among humans.
Urakusai picked up the booklet and flipped it open. Several names had been circled in red ink.
Komaniya Express' most beloved courier—Kirara, nekomata.
A jobless young man who proudly proclaimed himself the first-generation boss of the Arataki Gang—Arataki Itto, oni.
The Tenryou Commission's general—Kujou Sara, tengu.
The Watatsumi Army's general—Gorou.
These were the youkai who were already fairly well-known among humans.
Urakusai stared at the booklet and muttered to himself.
"The fastest way to build momentum is still to establish role models… but Kujou Sara and Gorou's positions make things complicated for now… Kirara is out delivering packages and won't be back anytime soon… so I might as well start with Arataki Itto… I'll visit the Arataki Gang myself tomorrow…"
--
After a whole afternoon of mahjong, it was time for dinner again.
Zhu Zi and Rii weren't planning to go home.
She'd already called her parents before coming. They'd met everyone and felt reassured.
Yae Miko, as expected of a seasoned elder youkai, had spent the afternoon patiently teaching Rii how to play mahjong.
The problem was that she'd been petting Rii's head nonstop while teaching.
It felt suspiciously like she was settling the score for Xia Zhi having petted her own head earlier.
And even though Rii wasn't technically an employee, her face was identical to Zhu Zi's, so she got caught in the crossfire all the same.
Poor Rii didn't dare fight back against this sly fox.
After dinner came the bath and massage routine.
The first one in was Zhu Zi.
It had been days since she'd enjoyed the boss's Massage. She was desperate.
"Uuuh…"
The boss's hands were still as skilled as ever…
So good. So good.
Zhu Zi closed her eyes, letting out a soft, cat-like sound as she melted into the Massage.
While she relaxed, she started chatting with Xia Zhi about her uneventful days back home.
Taking Rii around town, visiting her usual shops, then returning to her room to write…
Then she told him about running into Yoimiya on their way up the mountain.
Zhu Zi snickered. "Boss, Yoimiya actually said she wanted to take me and Rii to mooch dinner. I almost burst out laughing! It was so hard to hold it in!"
Xia Zhi shook his head with a smile. "She meant well."
"I know. She's honestly a really good person. It's comfortable to be around her. It's just a shame she's always so busy."
"Xiangling gave her a phone. If you miss her, you can text."
"I tried, but she said she was busy making fireworks. She barely has time. Compared to her, I feel like a total salted fish."
"Being a salted fish isn't so bad."
"Hehe, true!"
--
Rii waited outside.
Yae Miko, as the senior youkai, was giving her guidance.
"When you go in, tell him you want the Essential Oil Massage."
"Essential Oil Massage?"
"Right. Then...."
Hanachirusato sighed, pulled Rii to her side, and interrupted.
"Don't listen to her."
Rii blinked innocently. "Huh?"
Hanachirusato looked straight at Miko. "Bullying kids that entertaining to you?"
Miko nodded without shame, smiling like silk. "Of course. Didn't you used to tease me the exact same way?"
Hanachirusato froze for a second. "…That was Kitsune Saiguu. Not me."
Miko clicked her tongue, disappointed. "Fine."
Hanachirusato turned back. "Rii, ignore her. Just listen to Zhu Zi."
Rii nodded quickly. "Okay…"
Freshly transformed little youkai were always this pure and gullible. It really was a bit endearing.
Hanachirusato absentmindedly patted her head.
Then paused.
…Right. That habit came straight from Kitsune Saiguu's memories.
She withdrew her hand, a little awkward.
When she turned her head, Miko was watching her with a very amused look.
Hanachirusato looked away, pretending she hadn't noticed.
Miko clicked her tongue again, smiling.
----
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