Chapter 160: Yakumo Yukari's Home Turf

The violent surge of energy had reached its peak, and even Qi himself began to feel a sense of despair. Even if he were to use time-stasis once more, he could not carry the others out of the capital's perimeter. Besides, he could no longer invoke that power, not even knowing how to trigger it anymore.

As the final moment passed, the energy expanded like a tidal wave, sweeping across the land. A second sun appeared in the sky above the imperial capital, its dazzling light swallowing the entire city.

"The boundary between the strong and the weak."

The ethereal voice descended from the highest heavens into the mortal realm, sounding both distant and majestic.

Echoing in Qi's ears, it ignited a spark of hope. The instant he opened his eyes, the tidal wave of energy had already enveloped his entire body. It felt as warm as a bath in a hot spring under the early autumn sun, bringing absolute comfort from head to toe, from the inside out.

"What is happening? Are we not dead? And it feels so wonderful!" Chelsea opened her eyes in astonishment.

"Though I have no idea what is going on, the fact that everyone is alive and completely unharmed is the best possible outcome. Perhaps it is a miracle," Najenda said, wearing a smile born of having survived a catastrophe.

"My, my, young man, I was wondering why I couldn't find you in that other world. Did you run off to this place to flirt and make mischief? And you've gone and seduced a maiden of Gensokyo once again!"

A rift edged with a red ribbon and bow tore open from the void. From within the gap, which was densely packed with blood-red eyes, a stunning blonde beauty holding a parasol and a fan gazed up at the blazing sun. She leaned against the edge of the rift without descending to the ground.

"You... you... you... Granny Yukari?" Gao Jizhai's exclamation suddenly rang out from the edge of the violent explosion and light.

The explosion just now had weakened to the point where even he was completely unharmed.

Qi’s mouth twitched. *You courting-death young man, you are finished.*

"Oh ho ho, I have traveled to many worlds and am aware that rumors of Gensokyo seem to have reached some of them, and your understanding of me is not too far off the mark. However, whether you call me the eternal seventeen or a lecherous youkai, I wouldn't mind too much.

"Yet, of all things, I detest the title 'Granny Yukari' the most—so much so that I would forgo my daytime sleep just to punish you."

Yakumo Yukari wore a brilliant smile as she drifted lightly out of the gap, pacing with graceful steps toward the five-hundred-丈 giant.

"I was wrong, Lady Yukari. Truly wrong! In fact... in fact, I—I love you the most, truly I do!" Gao Jizhai shouted incoherently at the top of his lungs.

"My, I am quite pleased to hear that. But I wonder if your understanding includes this piece of information: Yakumo Yukari is capricious, devoid of human empathy, and operates on principles utterly alien to mankind." Yukari gracefully rested a hand against her cheek, smiling like a blooming flower.

"Is this the destiny of a villain? My untethered journey is ending just as it begins," Gao Jizhai muttered, abandoning any thought of resistance as he lamented that he clearly was not destined to be the protagonist.

"The boundary between the large and the small."

Yukari was a youkai who rarely changed her mind once a decision was made; this could be seen in how she had stubbornly established the Great Barrier on her own, despite the opposition of the majority of youkai.

The tip of her parasol gently tapped the top of the Supreme Teigu. The air rippled like the surface of water, sending shockwaves through the entire Teigu. Following that, at a speed visible to the naked eye, the giant rapidly shrank. Within three breaths, it had reduced to the size of a toy model that could be held and played with in the palm of a hand.

"So... so powerful!" Night Raid and the others were dumbfounded.

They had no realistic sense of having blocked the explosion earlier, but reducing a five-hundred-丈 colossal entity into a handheld toy carried an overwhelming impact.

"Lady Yukari is mighty, peerless, and invincible!" Qi flattered her first, though he quickly added, "However, Lady Yukari seems to have some misunderstandings. Much like Reimu, Meiling was merely someone I happened to encounter by chance. She was actually lured away beforehand by the person in your hands, and later we simply sparred in martial arts, recognized each other's strength, and became friends."

"My, the young man seems rather nervous. First Reimu runs off to your side, and now someone from the Scarlet Devil Mansion has done the same. Will there be a third time, a fourth, or... will the entirety of Gensokyo eventually be emptied out by you?"

Tossing the toy back into the rift, Yukari stepped right up to Qi and playfully tapped his chest with her folding fan.

"You jest, Lady Yukari. As you can see, my relationship with both Reimu and Meiling is purely platonic. Making a friend or two when traveling away from home is only natural. Their home is in Gensokyo, and sooner or later they will return. I neither hinder them nor could I possibly stop them, right?"

Qi shuddered all over and offered a dry laugh.

"Is that so? This broad daylight makes me so sleepy that my wits feel a bit sluggish. Come, let me fasten a pretty big red bow to you. In the future, if you happen to encounter any lost maidens of Gensokyo, you can use it to notify me, and I will be able to pinpoint your location accurately. Don't you think that's a splendid idea?"

Yukari plucked a bow from the gap, measured it against him, and placed it neatly atop Qi's soft, dark hair.

With the large red bow perched on his head, Qi's smile looked far worse than crying. "...Wonderful. I like it very much."

"My, it suits you quite well. My business here is concluded, though little Reimu and that person from the Scarlet Devil Mansion wish to bid you farewell. I hear your skill at brewing black tea is quite exceptional?"

Hearing Yakumo Yukari's seemingly random closing remark, Qi nodded repeatedly. "I have picked up a few techniques. Brewing tea for Lady Yukari would be my utmost honor, though unfortunately I lack the finest tea leaves."

"It's no trouble at all. Although I've run out as well, I happened to spot a tea-loving creature perched on the clouds to the east just now, and it has plenty. I shall simply borrow some."

Yakumo Yukari extended her hand, opening a spatial rift. When she withdrew it a moment later, a large canister of tea leaves rested in her palm.

"..."

"Young man, find a place and brew a cup of tea for me. By the way, let little Reimu come out to say her goodbyes; she has been chattering endlessly about how wonderful you are! Wealthy Qi! Heh heh heh."

"Over there is our base... Yes, right here. Lady Yukari, please follow me." Before Qi could finish, the rift swallowed him and deposited him directly at the base.

"The accommodations aren't the best, Lady Yukari, please forgive me. Please partake of this; I hope it meets your standards." Qi led Yukari to an open space, swiftly set up a shaded pavilion, brewed the black tea, and respectfully presented it.

......

"I have returned to the base now, so you needn't worry. If you have nothing else to do, gather back at the base. Before we part ways, I shall cook one final meal for all of you," Qi's voice echoed from the diamond bead.

"We'll be right back," Akame and Kurome said in unison.

"That aside, was that legendary Yakumo Yukari? She feels even more formidable than Qi described," Mine muttered, her mind fixated entirely on Yukari.

......

"The flavor is indeed exquisite, several degrees better than what Lan brews," Yakumo Yukari praised, taking an elegant sip of the black tea.

"I am most glad that it pleases you."

"Ah, little Reimu is already clamoring to see you." Yukari opened the rift once more, and the red-and-white young shrine maiden burst out of it, followed closely by Hong Meiling with her crimson hair.

" Wow, Wealthy Qi! It's been so long since I last saw you. Why haven't you come to visit me? Have you abandoned me, your dear lover?" Little Reimu lunged forward the moment she laid eyes on Qi.