Gensokyo's Dimensional Black Shop

Page 43

A pure money offensive... Well done!

Just delivering a message earns you five million Origin Coins. Yakumo Yukari, let me tell you, you're going to spoil my tastes!

The Hakurei Shrine is located at the end of the Beast Path. Even including the time it takes to explain things to the Hakurei Shrine, it would only take Byakuya at most half a day to go there and back.

Five million in half a day... It couldn't be more cost-effective!

Perhaps I should change my approach and find Zi... Zi-mei, who's probably slacking off somewhere right now, and ask her to be my sugar daddy?

In the White Jade Pavilion, Yukari Yakumo, who was sleeping with Yuyuko in her arms, suddenly felt a chill and couldn't help but shiver.

"Purple~ Stop fooling around, let me sleep a little longer..."

……

On the night they brought Marisa back to the human village from the Enchanted Forest, because Marisa was hungry, Byakuya and Jeanne Alter took her to the Beast Path for a barbecue.

That day, Byakuya also met a girl with rare pink hair and a huge appetite. She was quite an interesting girl. Judging from the casual tone she used when talking about Yukari Yakumo, she seemed to be a remarkable character in Gensokyo.

However, that was at night, and the beast path, where humans no longer appeared, lived up to its name, becoming a playground for all sorts of demons and monsters.

This is the first time I've ever seen the Beast Path during the day.

Unlike the chaotic scene at night, the animal trails during the day felt to Baiye like the quiet, tree-lined paths in the forest parks before the journey, bringing joy to those who walked on them.

Looking up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves, Bai Ye squinted contentedly.

After staying at home for so long, it feels nice to go out for a walk once in a while. Thinking about it carefully, I realized that I had been cooped up inside the Dimensional Shop for more than a month because of Yakumo Yukari's 50 million yen.

rustling, rustling...

Hearing the commotion coming from the bushes, Bai Ye grunted and casually fired a magic bullet that looked impressive but had little power, hoping to force the guy crouching in the bushes out.

The moment the magic bullet flew into the grass, a white, unidentified object lunged at Bai Ye's face, which he then grabbed.

"This is... a hairy tama?" Remembering what Fujiwara no Mokou had told him about a creature that tasted pretty good when roasted, Byakuya grabbed a tuft of hair from the top of the hairy tama, held it up to his face, and examined the (mouth) face on it.

puff--

After staring at Bai Ye for a while, the hairy jade suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a magic bullet at Bai Ye—the kind that Bai Ye could blow away with a single breath.

Tsk, no wonder Mokou said he couldn't even act cute properly.

Shaking his head, Bai Ye casually tossed the hairy jade back into the grass.

Given the size of the tufted cat, its brain capacity is probably not that big, and its memory is probably only a little longer than that of a fish, which lasts about seven seconds. After being thrown back into the grass by Bai Ye, the tufted cat jumped around in place, and its fur suddenly hardened, turning into a spiky ball that rolled away into the distance.

As for Byakuya, after walking along a long stone-paved road, a wooden building (shrine) appeared before him.

At the entrance of the shrine, a girl dressed in a red and white shrine maiden robe rested her chin on her hand, watching Bai Ye's arrival.

"Hey you over there, judging from your aura... you're human, right? Did you come to the shrine to worship the gods?"

"...What if I say no?"

"Then I'll do as my mother taught me and throw you out!" The girl waved the gohei in her hand, pretending to be very fierce. Although it was quite a nasty thing to say coming from a shrine maiden, it was surprisingly cute thanks to her good looks.

After exchanging glances with the girl for a few seconds at the shrine entrance, Bai Ye reached out and threw a piece of gold into the donation box.

“My mother also said that we must treat all guests who make offerings with the utmost hospitality.” Hearing the clinking of gold against the offering box, the girl’s smile immediately brightened: “My name is Hakurei Reimu, and I am the shrine maiden of this shrine. And you, guest?”

"Byakuya, I have been entrusted by the youkai sage Yakumo Yukari to bring you something."

Chapter 103 The Shrine Maiden's Approval

"You sage..." Byakuya could clearly sense that Reimu Hakurei's enthusiasm for him had instantly cooled by half, with the remaining half probably only because of the gold he had put into the money box.

It seems the relationship between the shrine maiden and the youkai sage isn't very good, so what exactly did Yakumo Yukari do to such a little girl that's... I mean, something despicable?

"Although it was sent by that woman, let's come in and talk, for... sake." Frowning her delicate eyebrows, Reimu Hakurei stood up from the steps, dusted off imaginary dust, invited Byakuya into the shrine, and then served him a cup of tea.

Bai Ye picked up the teacup and took a sip. His first thought was that the taste was somewhat familiar...

"The spring water used to brew the tea was delivered by that woman a while ago. She said she spent a lot of money to buy it from a shady dealer, and drinking more of it is good for your health." Seeing Bai Ye holding the teacup and standing there motionless, Hakurei Reimu thought he had some questions about the tea, so she explained.

"Hey... if nothing unexpected happens, I am the black market dealer she was talking about."

No wonder that a while ago, Yukari Yakumo bought a considerable amount of the Fountain of Life from me with some kind of divine artifact. At that time, Byakuya was maliciously speculating that this old woman was getting old and her lifespan was coming to an end, so she bought the Fountain of Life to maintain her beauty. It turns out that she gave it all to this priestess.

"..." x2

The atmosphere inside the shrine became extremely awkward.

After we'd each drunk a full pot of tea, Reimu Hakurei, feeling a bit bloated, finally put down her cup and looked directly into Byakuya's eyes: "Let's get down to business. What did she ask you to bring me?"

"This is a little gadget that was just invented not long ago. If it is accepted by many people who are different from it, it might become a way of fighting within Gensokyo in the future."

Clearing her throat, Byakuya began to explain the concept of spell cards and Yakumo Yukari's vision for the future of Gensokyo under the spell card system.

……

"I see. It's because that woman thinks Gensokyo is too harmonious, and my strength is too overwhelming for most youkai. She wants to give those restless guys a chance to cause trouble, right?" After listening to Byakuya's explanation, Reimu Hakurei pouted.

“From your perspective… there’s nothing wrong with that.” Thinking of what Yakumo Ran had told him about the duties of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, Byakuya nodded.

Unlike the normal shrine maidens who protect humans from monsters and perform miracles to gather faith for the gods in the shrine, the Hakurei Shrine Maidens' duty is to protect the Great Barrier and the overall peace of Gensokyo.

In other words, for the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, there is no difference between youkai and humans.

As long as you don't have any inappropriate thoughts about the Great Barrier, she won't kill you just because you're a monster.

"Tsk, how true." Reimu Hakurei suddenly stood up, went to the door, and threw a Yin-Yang Orb into the sky. The Yin-Yang Orb was recalled after flying about a hundred meters.

"?"

"I was just giving a warning to some old hag with dishonest eyes." With a huff, Reimu Hakurei put away the Yin-Yang Jewel, returned to sit opposite Byakuya, and picked up a blank spell card from the table.

How do I use this?

"Just recall your moves and input the information into it."

"Oh."

Nodding, Reimu Hakurei closed her eyes, and a pure spiritual energy, so pure that even Byakuya was somewhat amazed, rose from her body, and a Yin-Yang Orb slowly appeared on her spell card.

“The Treasure Talisman: Yin-Yang Jewel.” Reimu Hakurei slowly uttered its name.

"Is that the one you just threw out?"

"Hmm, interesting." Reimu nodded after unleashing a spell card in an open area outside. Such power wouldn't be considered significant for most youkai, which explains why Byakuya described this spell card as something "capable of changing the existing order of Gensokyo."

"It's a pretty good product, but given the personalities of those who truly have the power to decide the situation, would they agree to it?"

"That's something Yukari Yakumo needs to consider. My job is just to introduce you to the spell card system." Byakuya shrugged indifferently.

"...You and that woman don't have a very good relationship?"

"I'm just doing what I'm paid to do. As for our relationship... well, we can only say we can chat for a bit, right?" With a smile, Bai Ye said goodbye to Ling Meng and headed towards the Dimensional Shop.

After he left, a gap opened inside the shrine, and the limp Yakumo Yukari collapsed onto Reimu.

"Eight, Cloud, Purple!"

Ignoring the shrine maiden's resistance, Yakumo Yukari put her arm around Reimu Hakurei's shoulder and nuzzled her face: "Reimu, you've met him, what do you think of him?"

"What's with that weird tone of yours?" Reimu Hakurei raised an eyebrow.

It's true that he doesn't have much contact with the outside world, but that doesn't mean he couldn't understand the hidden meaning in Yukari Yakumo's words...

"Hey~ Don't be so cold. Tell me your opinion on that shop manager first. To be honest, it's rare to encounter someone we don't understand in the last thousand years..."

"Aren't you only seventeen?"

"..."

"Little Reimu, you've changed. You were so adorable back then, how did you become like this?" Yakumo Yukari said with a dark face as she began to pinch Reimu's face.

Reimu Hakurei: "..."

Chapter 104 Marquis Voban, who played Battle Royale for a month

When Bai Ye returned to the Dimensional Shop, besides Jeanne Alter, she saw another familiar figure inside...

"Master Luo, what brings you here?"

"Why do you think I have time to come?" Upon seeing his appearance, Luo Hao's face showed a hint of dissatisfaction: "We clearly agreed to go to You Shi together to cause trouble for those old geezers, but you suddenly disappeared for a month without a sound, and even Voban doesn't know where you went."

"...He's gone too?" Bai Ye asked curiously.

“At least I used the Five Hells Holy Sect’s spies all over the world to search for him for half a month, but I couldn’t find any trace of him. If I hadn’t asked her, I would have thought that guy had come here to you.” Luo Hao pointed to Black Jeanne next to him.

Jeanne Alter smiled and nodded to Luo Hao: "But since Master returned from your world, I haven't left the Dimensional Shop. I really haven't seen those three old men you mentioned."

"Okay, I'll try contacting him first." After thinking for a moment, Bai Ye sent a shake to the card he had left for the old man.

"Buzz~"

In the depths of a pitch-black mountain range, a sound resembling a vibrating cell phone suddenly emanated from a cave in the secluded world.

Startled awake, Marquis Voban searched his body and quickly found the card that was trembling.

This card looks like a gift from that kid, right?

Considering it was a gift from a king of equal rank, he didn't throw the card away, but casually put it in his pocket—of course, mainly because the card wouldn't take up much space once it was properly stored, otherwise, given the old man's personality, the card would most likely end up in some garbage dump.

Holding the card, he immersed his mental energy into it, and a strange piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind.

"A dimensional shop...a ​​transit station connecting countless worlds?"

After muttering something, the old man's figure disappeared into the cave.

Almost the instant he disappeared, several figures whose faces were obscured landed at the cave entrance on divine light.

"He's no longer inside," the leading man said in an aged voice after examining the area.

“Impossible! I tracked him down by following the mark I left on him. Unless he has the power to purify himself and lift the curse, it’s impossible for him to erase my mark!” One of the figures behind him immediately retorted. “But if he had such a method, there’s no way we could have chased him for so many days.”

"Tch~ Don't you realize you haven't made a move in thousands of years? It's not surprising that something unexpected happened, is it?"

"Exactly, exactly. Don't forget what kind of guy we're chasing. Someone who can usurp the power of a god as a mortal. Who isn't incredibly lucky to do something like that? Maybe they've already discovered your mark, but they just haven't erased it and are just playing with us."

"you……"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing." The old man waved his hand. "The whole thing of chasing the Son of the Fool was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. We didn't have much hope when we came out. Just be careful when you get back. Now that we can't catch him, let's all go back. Remember to be careful in the future, and don't... next time we might not be able to come to your aid in time."

"..."

……

Meanwhile, at the Dimensional Shop, Bai Ye and Luo Hao both frowned as they watched Marquis Voban tumble out of the portal.

"Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" Bai Ye threw a ball of life force, enough for a normal person to live for hundreds of years, onto the old man. Seeing that his complexion had improved slightly, Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief and asked.

“I didn’t expect that information to be true. No wonder I couldn’t find any information about you before you appeared in Lushan.” Marquis Voban looked up and around, then glanced at Bai Ye in surprise: “I was just careless for a moment and got tricked by a few old geezers.”

"Those old fogies from the Netherworld?" Looking at her old rival's disheveled appearance, Luo Hao inexplicably felt like laughing... She realized that she wouldn't be able to find this old guy anymore.

No matter how powerful the Five Prisons Holy Sect is, a place like the Netherworld is beyond their reach.

"So, based on the information you obtained, how many people in You Shi actually refused to submit?" Upon hearing Luo Hao's voice, Marquis Woban was stunned for a moment before realizing that this was the culprit who had caused him such a predicament. He angrily retorted, "After I went in, I didn't even have time to observe the surrounding situation before I was surrounded by four or five refusing to submit. They didn't even give me a chance to explain, and they chased me for over a month!"

"Otherwise, why do you think I would approach the two of you before daring to venture into the Netherworld?" Luo Hao's face held a faint smile that infuriated Marquis Voban. "If there were only one or two of you, why would I need your help? I would have solved that myself decades ago. Besides, when I approached you back then, didn't I also say that 880 could at least guarantee that everyone would gain one power?"

"Hmph!" The old man snorted arrogantly.

That makes sense. If you think about it carefully, Luo Hao did say something similar back then, but who knew that those damned people would live so close by!

Living so close together, aren't you worried about potential neighborhood conflicts that could escalate into armed conflict?

"Given your current situation, it seems you've already been forced to reveal all your trump cards, haven't you?" Luo Hao chuckled and shook his head before stepping into the portal. Before leaving, he left Bai Ye with a message: "Judging from your appearance just now, even if I were still in Lushan, you should have a way to get the message to me, right? Contact me again after the old man has fully recovered."

“Alright.” Bai Ye nodded, grabbed the old man’s arm and helped him to the sofa: “Judging from your feeling, how much more vitality would it take to fully recover from that level just now?”

The old man gritted his teeth: "Those guys forced out one of my life-saving abilities, and it won't be able to recover its curse power for at least a month or two. That's the limitation of my abilities. Besides that, it seems those who refused to submit also left something else on me..."

Chapter 105 I have no intention of raising a lewd bunny girl.

"So, in your current state, how long do you think it will take to recover? She seems quite impatient as she waits," Bai Ye asked after checking the old man's condition with his spiritual power.

"Hmm...it's not a big problem, he just needs to rest for a few days." The Marquis closed his eyes and slowly exhaled after a long while.

"It's best if there are no problems." Bai Ye nodded.