(T/N: Sorry, late cuz was working on an engineering project.)
Every time the red oni met someone, he would ask the villagers about the blue oni's whereabouts.
But unfortunately, no matter how many people the red oni asked, he couldn't find any trace of the blue oni.
But then, when the red oni met an old man, he finally got a clue about the blue oni.
The old man smiled and said, "Are you talking about that blue oni with two horns on his head, who doesn't like to talk much but is very kind?"
The red oni said happily, "That's right! That's Blue!"
The old man smiled and said, "That fellow, after helping me chop a huge pile of firewood, hurriedly left this place. He probably went to the other side of the mountain."
The red oni said excitedly, "Thank you, Grandpa! I'm going to find Blue!"
After getting news of the blue oni, the exhausted red oni instantly revived and ran off at full speed. Before long, he reached the other side of the mountain.
But unfortunately, when the red oni reached the other side of the mountain, the blue oni had already left.
He hadn't found the blue oni again.
But this time, he had found a clue. As long as he followed the clues, he would definitely find the blue oni.
So the red oni crossed hill after hill.
Crossed river after river.
He found trace after trace left by the blue oni. He discovered many clues of the blue oni's presence.
But no matter how hard the red oni tried, he couldn't find the blue oni himself.
The red oni was very sad, very disappointed.
"Blue, where exactly did you go?"
"Why did you leave so quickly?"
"Wait for me. Just wait for me a little, and I'll find you!"
Almost every time, when the red oni followed the clues, he could only find traces of where the blue oni had lived.
Every time, he was one step too late.
Gradually, the red oni even began to suspect that the blue oni was deliberately avoiding him.
If that was true, finding the blue oni would be harder than reaching the heavens.
And so, the more places he searched, the more certain the red oni became.
Blue must be deliberately avoiding him.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be one step late every single time, just a little short every single time.
He had to think of a good way to make Blue show himself.
But what method should he use?
Compared to the blue oni, the red oni's mind was relatively slow. He sat on a rock and thought for a long, long time, but only came up with a few unreliable ideas.
For example, preparing some snacks.
Like using fried tofu to lure a fox, using delicious snacks to draw Blue out?
But obviously, Blue was so smart, and the snacks he made were much more delicious than the red oni's.
Using snacks to lure out the blue oni was impossible.
What other method was there?
The red oni sat on the rock, missing the blue oni more and more. So he took out the letter the blue oni had left again.
Looking at the blue oni's handwriting, his eyes grew moist again.
"Blue is the smartest. If Blue were here, he would definitely think of a good way."
"If it were Blue, what method would he use to lure himself out?"
As he thought, the red oni's gaze fell on the letter again.
Suddenly, the red oni's eyes lit up.
He thought of what the blue oni had done before. Before leaving, to pass the message to the red oni, the blue oni had left him a letter.
Now he wanted to pass a message to the blue oni. Why not use a letter?
That was the method.
The only problem was that he didn't know where the blue oni was hiding, so he couldn't deliver the letter directly into his hands.
So the red oni learned from the blue oni's method.
He carved everything he wanted to say onto huge rocks, onto cliffs, onto large trees.
[Blue, my best, best friend. I miss you so, so much!]
[Since you left, I've made many, many new human friends. We're about to hold a very big gathering and invite all our friends!]
[Of course, Blue is invited too!]
[You don't need to come see me. Just watch from the shadows.]
[Gathering time: *%￥￥%￥!]
[Gathering location: #￥%#%￥*!]
[From Red!]
And so, the red oni continued forward, carving this message in many places as he went.
He believed that when the blue oni saw these crooked words, he would understand the red oni's meaning.
He would definitely come to the gathering.
About half a month passed.
The red oni had carved many, many messages in many places, ensuring the blue oni would see them.
Then the red oni packed his bags and prepared to return to the village.
About another week passed.
The red oni crossed hill after hill and swam across river after river, finally returning to the village.
When the villagers learned that the red oni had returned, they came out of their homes to welcome him.
"Brother Red Oni, you're back!"
"Just as you said, even though you went traveling, that despicable blue oni didn't come to cause trouble!"
"He must have been scared off by Brother Red Oni!"
"Brother Red Oni is so strong!"
"Although that blue oni didn't come to cause trouble, we still have to be on guard. If he ambushes us, it would be dangerous!"
The villagers surrounded the red oni, welcoming his return.
Seeing the enthusiastic villagers, the red oni said happily, "Villagers, on this trip, I picked lots and lots of wild mountain mushrooms on the other mountains, and lots and lots of mountain fruit!"
"Let's hold a gathering!"
This gathering was the bait to lure out the blue oni.
The red oni secretly resolved that this time, he would definitely find the blue oni. He couldn't let the blue oni continue wandering.
When the villagers heard that there were many wild mountain mushrooms and mountain fruit, and that a gathering would be held, they were all very happy.
"Yay! Another gathering! I want to eat roasted mountain mushrooms!"
"Although there are many mountain mushrooms and mountain fruit, for a gathering, these ingredients are still too few!"
"How about this? Everyone who attends brings some ingredients from home!"
"Some meat, some vegetables!"
"Then we can hold a perfect gathering!"
"Oh right, right! We also need to prepare more firewood and build several bonfires. We can dance around the bonfires!"
As the villagers discussed, the upcoming gathering was decided.
When the villagers went home to prepare ingredients for the gathering, cooking tools, and roasting tools.
And to prepare plenty of firewood.
The red oni slowly turned and looked at the long road behind him. "Blue, you should have seen those messages by now. You should have already come back."
"I miss you so much!"
"This bonfire gathering will definitely find you!"
As the sun slowly set, the night gradually wrapped around the entire village.
Only by the moonlight could one barely see the path ahead.
Outside the village, a grand bonfire gathering had already begun.
Villagers danced joyfully around the bonfire. Children ran around with roasted mountain mushrooms and roasted wild fruit.
Beyond the firelight, a blue face quietly poked out from behind a tree.
It was the blue oni, who had secretly slipped back.
Hiding behind the large tree, just to catch a glimpse of his good friend the red oni.