Chapter 859
A Kiss! A Massive Battleground!
Su Chen looked at her.
Looking into those bright, expectant purple eyes that held a hint of "I'll bite you if you dare refuse"—she gazed at them.
Suddenly he laughed.
"it is good."
Looking back, Su Chen recalled the days that followed as a long and absurd dream.
He lived in an abandoned hut behind the shrine, a place secretly found for him by the little shrine maiden.
She found several old quilts from somewhere, and stole some dumplings from the cafeteria to stuff into his hands, earnestly instructing him: "Don't starve to death, or no one will play with me anymore."
Thus, he became Yae no Miko's only and most compatible playmate during her childhood.
They were supposed to be playmates, but they were more like accomplices.
Little God is born to cause trouble.
Today, I'm chasing the shrine maiden all over the mountain for stealing offerings; tomorrow, I'll scribble on the shrine walls with a brush made of fox fur; and the day after, I'll fold the elder's scriptures into paper boats and put them in the stream to "see how far they can float."
Su Chen always accompanied her.
It's not about condoning, but rather... participation.
He used his adult cunning to cover for her, used the logic of a "future priest" to help her analyze which blame should be shifted to the Tengu, and even taught her how to disguise herself as an innocent little fox.
Flatten your ears, open your eyes wide, tuck your tail between your legs, and say in the softest, sweetest voice, "I'm sorry, I'll never do it again."
The little god learned very quickly.
After successfully getting away with it the first time, she excitedly hugged Su Chen's arm and jumped around for a long time: "You're amazing! You're much better than those elders who can only say 'no'!"
Su Chen was dizzy from being shaken, and he laughed as he pressed her head down: "Don't jump next time, or your tail will show."
Little God then realized that his tail was sticking up high and wagging happily.
Her face flushed red, and she snapped her tail shut.
"...Don't look!"
Su Chen didn't expose her little scheme.
They climbed trees together to steal bird eggs.
Little Divine Child is an expert tree climber. With sharp claws and a tail for balance, he can leap to the top of a tree in no time.
Although Su Chen had shrunk, he still had the athletic ability of an adult, so he managed to keep up with her.
"That one over there! That big one!" Little Divine Child, perched among the branches, pointed to the bird's nest at the very top, his eyes gleaming. "There must be something good inside!"
Su Chen glanced at the crumbling, withered branch nest, then at the seven or eight meters below.
"That's a crow's nest."
"What's wrong with crows? You can eat crow eggs!"
"Crow eggs don't taste good."
How did you know? Have you eaten it?
"..."
Su Chen decided not to explain.
He simply climbed up, took out a few beautiful blue feathers from the nest, and gave them to the little god.
"Here you go. It's worth more than an egg."
The little god held the feather, his eyes wide open.
After a long pause, she muttered softly, "...How do you know everything?"
They stole the offerings together.
Su Chen taught her what it means to "commit a crime without leaving a trace"—steal half and keep half, don't be too greedy.
Use leaves to cushion your hands when handling it to prevent any odor.
After eating, bury the leftovers in a far place to lure the raccoon dog to take the blame.
After hearing this, the little god's fox ears twitched, and his gaze toward him became even more adoring.
"How do you know so much? Do you often do bad things?"
Su Chen remained expressionless: "No, I just read a lot of books."
The little god was skeptical, but was quickly drawn to the dumpling in front of him.
"Delicious!" Her cheeks puffed out, and her eyes narrowed into crescent moons. "I'll steal it again next time!"
"...This is called 'borrowing'."
"Fine, I'll lend it to you!"
They were both punished by copying scriptures.
That time, the little god was being impulsive and pulled out an ancient scripture that the elder had placed on the table to play with, resulting in it scattering all over the floor.
She hurriedly picked it up, but was caught red-handed by the elder.
Su Chen could have avoided it.
But he didn't.
"I pulled her." He stood in front of Xiao Shenzi, his expression unchanged. "She tried to stop me, but she didn't have time."
The elder looked at him suspiciously, then at the little god hiding behind him, desperately pressing his ears back.
"You're a human's child? What are you doing here?"
“I was lost, and she took me in.”
This excuse lasted for a month, and it still hasn't been exposed.
The elder remained silent for a long time before sighing.
"Alright. You two, rewrite the scriptures. You can eat only after you've finished."
That night, the lights in the side hall of the shrine stayed on very late.
Little Shenzi lay on the table, his pen grip crooked and unsteady. He missed three words while copying a line, and started to doze off as he copied.
After Su Chen finished copying his own copy, he took the messy paper she had copied and copied it again.
The next morning, Xiao Shenzi woke up to find herself lying on Su Chen's lap, covered by his coat.
Two stacks of neatly copied scriptures were placed on the table, the handwriting was neat and accurate, not a single word was wrong.
She stared at it blankly for a long time.
Then she gently buried her face in his sleeve and rubbed against him.
Days passed by like this.
In spring, we admire cherry blossoms; in summer, we catch fireflies; in autumn, we collect maple leaves; and in winter, we huddle together in an abandoned hut, sharing a single quilt for warmth.
Little Goddess gradually got used to having this person by her side.
I got used to looking back to see if he was still down there when I climbed the tree, I got used to leaving the biggest portion for him when I stole offerings, and I got used to hiding behind him when I was punished, feeling at ease just by looking at his back.
She didn't know what to call this feeling.
The elder said that humans are fragile, do not live long, and should not get too close.
But she felt that Su Chen was not fragile at all.
He could climb trees, steal things, copy scriptures, and gently pat her back when she had nightmares, saying, "It's okay, I'm here."
She didn't know if this was "like".
All she knew was that she would miss him when he wasn't around.
He was so thinking about it that his tail drooped down.
One day, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Will you always be here?"
Su Chen was whittling a wooden stick when he heard this and paused in his movements.
"……Won't."
The little god's ears were instantly flattened.
“But I will come back,” he added, looking at her. “Every time I come back, I will stay here with you.”
The little god stared at him for a long time.
Something was slowly changing in those purple eyes. From dependence, to attachment, and then to a heavy emotion that she herself couldn't quite explain.
"Then," she said, her voice soft but unusually earnest, "when I grow up, will you marry me?"
Su Chen's hand, which was whittling the wooden stick, stopped completely.
He looked up at the little girl with two small pigtails, her fox ears twitching slightly, and her purple eyes filled with earnestness and a touch of shyness.
"...Do you know what 'marry' means?"
“I know,” Koshinko said matter-of-factly. “It means being together forever. Like now, but it can go on and on.”
She paused, then added, "I've inquired. Humans and monsters can get married. The elders said it's troublesome, but I'm not afraid of trouble."
Su Chen looked at her.
Looking at this little fox who was barely taller than his shoulder, who would hide behind him when caught stealing offerings, who would fall asleep while copying scriptures, and who was now asking him in the most serious tone, "Will you marry me?"
He was silent for a long time.
After a while, Koshinko's ears began to tuck back restlessly.
Then, he reached out and ruffled her hair.
"it is good."
He said the voice was very soft, yet exceptionally clear.
"When you grow up, if you still remember me and want to marry me—"
"I will definitely come back."
The little god's eyes suddenly lit up as if they were filled with stars.
She lunged at him, hugging his waist tightly and burying her face in his chest. "Pinky promise!"
"Pinky promise".
Cherry blossom petals drifted in through the window and landed on the two of them.
That year, the little fox was eight years old.
She had a secret.
A secret about growing up, waiting, and "he will definitely come back."
The moment the timeline returned to normal, Su Chen opened his eyes.
The courtyard of the Hall of Rebirth remains unchanged, the tea in the teacups is warm, and the copper bells on the eaves are jingled by the wind.
Nothing had changed; it was as if he had only been lost in thought for a moment.
But the heavy warmth of childhood still lingers in my arms.
He looked down at his hands.
An adult's hands are no longer those chubby little hands.
So many years have passed.
For the little god, it was many years.
For him, it was something that had just happened.
The pink-haired, fox-eared priest, with his usual lazy gait, strolled leisurely into the courtyard, waving the folding fan he never parted with.
She sat down opposite him, her purple eyes curving into two familiar, cunning arcs.
“Oh dear, Guest Master Su,” she drawled, “where have you just come from? You look so dazed, could it be…”
She paused, her fan obscuring half her face, revealing only her smiling eyes.
"What childhood memories are you recalling?"
Su Chen looked at her.
Looking at this mature and charming face, it overlapped with the image of the little girl in my memory, with her hair in a small bun and her fox ears twitching, asking, "Will you marry me?"
He did not answer.
He simply stood up, walked around the stone table, and, to her slightly surprised gaze, bent down—
He reached out, put his arm around her waist, and gently pulled her into his embrace.
Yae no Miko's fan froze in mid-air.
"……Hey."
Her voice carried a rare hint of panic.
What are you doing—
Su Chen didn't give her a chance to finish.
He lowered his head and kissed her.
It was a very light kiss, like the first cherry blossom petal falling on the water's surface. Yet it was also very heavy, heavy enough to carry years of waiting, years of longing, and years of "he will definitely come back."
He knew that what was a very short time and a very deep memory for him would be a very long time for the other person.
Yae no Miko's eyes widened slightly.
In those purple eyes, the usual languor, playfulness, and composure that seemed to manipulate everything shattered into countless twinkling stars.
She didn't dodge.
She simply closed her eyes, letting the kiss transform her from "Lady of the Palace" back into the little fox with her hair in a small bun.
That little Yae no Miko who would wait for him to come back in the abandoned hut, who would steal the biggest dumpling for him, and who would fall asleep without any guard up in front of him.
They kissed for a long time.
It took so long that the copper bell on the eaves rang three times, and so long that a pine needle fell from the corner of the courtyard.
Su Chen finally let her go.
He looked down at her.
Looking at that usually calm and playful face, now flushed crimson, the blush spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears, even her fluffy fox ears were pink and trembling slightly.
Her purple eyes shimmered with moisture, her eyelashes trembled gently, and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye was particularly beautiful in the sunlight.
"Do you remember?" he asked, his voice low and tinged with amusement.
Yae Shenzi stared at him.
Those purple eyes held shame and anger, reproach, and disbelief that "how dare you treat me like this!"
But more than anything, it's a sense of fulfillment, a long-awaited joy that has finally been felt.
She turned her face away and muttered softly.
"...So what if I remember?"
Su Chen smiled.
He reached out and gently rubbed the tip of her ear.
Those fox ears that used to tremble uncontrollably in front of him, but now stood taut with shyness.
“Well,” he said, “I’ve come back to keep my promise.”
The tips of Yae no Miko's ears trembled slightly between his fingers.
She did not speak.
She simply raised her hand and gently tugged at his sleeve.
Just like more than twenty years ago, in that abandoned hut in Shadow Mountain, she would do the same thing every time he said, "I will come back."
Cherry blossom petals drifted down from somewhere and landed between the two of them.
In the afternoon at Wangsheng Hall, all was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.
a long time.
“...Take your hand away,” she said in a muffled voice, her tone utterly intimidating.
"I won't take it."
"……rogue."
“You never called me a hooligan when we were kids.”
"Childhood is childhood, and now is now."
"So you regret it now?"
silence.
Then, very gently, she snuggled closer to him.
"……No."
The sound was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Su Chen looked down at the fox in his arms, its face buried in his chest, with only its two reddish fox ears showing.
A smile spread from the corners of her lips all the way to the depths of her eyes.
Her wait was definitely worthwhile.
In the distance, in the shadows of the corridor, Zhongli, holding a teacup, silently turned around.
He didn't want to see it.
He really didn't want to see it.
But the uncontrollable upward curve of his lips and the extremely soft, amused sigh behind him betrayed him.
That's it.
This Hall of Rebirth is no longer a place for quiet cultivation.
But it's good that it's lively.
The copper bells on the eaves tinkled.
In the courtyard, the two "foxes," who had finally reunited, stood embracing each other.
A kiss.
Years of waiting.
And countless afternoons for the rest of my life.
the next day.
Su Chen pulled himself out of these two memories spanning a long period of time and opened his eyes.
The sunlight in the backyard of the Rebirth Hall was still warm, and the tea in the teacup was still lukewarm.
Across from him, Ayaka Kamisato's violet-blue eyes were fixed on him, awaiting his answer regarding the "engagement."
Before he could even speak, two familiar presences entered the courtyard one after the other.
The purple-haired martial god, whose lightning was almost imperceptible, and the pink-haired fox witch, who held a folding fan, had a languid expression but a glint in her eyes.
"When do you plan to take charge?" Shadow asked.
"Let me see how you plan to repay the debt you owe me," Yae no Miko said with a smile.
Ayaka Kamisato's fan creaked as she gripped it.
Under the corridor, Shen He quietly stood beside Su Chen.
In the distance, Zhongli silently picked up the now-cold cup of tea and gazed at the sky.
Those carefree days of wandering in this mortal world are probably gone forever.
Su Chen, with many eyes fixed on him from different angles, sighed softly.
A resigned, yet also contented, smile curved her lips. (End of Chapter)