Chapter 161: Letter from the Black Cat

Fang Yuan gently and calmly patted little Reimu’s head, treating her just like a younger sister. "There were some matters that delayed me, and I'm truly sorry. But Lord Yukari has come to pick you up, so you can return to Gensokyo now."

Little Reimu slapped Qi's hand away with a look of dissatisfaction. "I don't want to go back. Going back means starving again, there's no good tea, and the kotatsu isn't nearly this warm. Wouldn't it be better if you kept pampering me?"

"You see that, young man? Reimu has been completely spoiled by you! It's really giving me a headache. I'm wondering if I should just drag you back to Gensokyo instead." Yakumo Yukari gracefully sipped her black tea, gazing over with a smiling expression.

Qi forced a dry laugh. Had he not been unsure of who exactly had spirited Reimu and Meiling out of Gensokyo, he wouldn't have doubted for a second that Yukari would bypass any further words and simply haul him away by force.

"The Hakurei Shrine is your home, Reimu. The fortune your mother left you, as well as your other friends in Gensokyo, must all be worried about you. I'll come to visit you in Gensokyo when I have time, and I'll bring some good tea and a kotatsu with me."

Fang Yuan smiled and spread his hands. Little Reimu was still just a child and needed to be coaxed.

"Marisa hasn't come to look for me in several days. Although it's leisurely, it's also a bit lonely." Little Reimu pouted, looking quite gloomy.

"Hakurei Shrine Maiden, you can come chat with me whenever you're bored. I get bored guarding the gate all day too." Hong Meiling ran over, sat down across from Yakumo Yukari, and thought about pouring herself a cup while speaking.

Over the past few days, she had gone from being the gatekeeper who took all the abuse to a young lady enjoying fine food and black tea. She finally understood why the Young Mistress loved black tea so much; she had grown fond of it herself now.

"That's the Scarlet Devil Mansion's gatekeeper, and that black tea belongs to me," Yakumo Yukari said with a faint smile.

"Come on, come on, don't be so stingy. Good old Qi said that good things are even more delicious when shared." Meiling had never met Yakumo Yukari before. Although she had heard some rumors, she didn't know much about her. Otherwise, she would never have dared to snatch food like this.

"What a famous quote. I quite agree with it. Then why don't you go back and share this cup of black tea with your Young Mistress? That must be very interesting—no, even more interesting."

Yakumo Yukari’s smile blossomed like a flower, and Hong Meiling, who had just poured a cup of black tea, vanished from the world.

"That old hag is always so fickle and moody. Wealthy Qi, I want to drink the tea you brewed." Little Reimu widened her eyes with a pleading look.

"Mm, drink up and then be a good girl and go back, alright?"

Fang Yuan pulled little Reimu over to sit down beside Yakumo Yukari. Yukari glanced at them without a word, though she gave Qi a meaningful look.

"Mm-mm, give me another bag of good tea leaves, then. When I take them out to show off to Marisa, she'll definitely die of envy." Little Reimu nodded, overjoyed.

"By the way, Reimu, how many days has it been since that banquet?" Qi asked, seemingly offhandedly.

"It was the third day after the banquet that the old hag found me," little Reimu muttered with dissatisfaction.

"Little Reimu, if you speak ill of me again, I'll stomp your donation box to pieces and burn it," Yakumo Yukari smiled dangerously.

"Hmph." Little Reimu turned the back of her head toward Yukari.

"Here, Reimu, try this black tea. Lord Yukari... brought it over. You should thank her for letting you drink it." Qi poured two cups of black tea and filled one for himself as well. "Three days... time, you say? I remember that world seemed to have..."

"My, so the young man knows about it as well. When I tracked little Reimu's presence and found that she was in that world, time in that world was actually frozen. How do you suppose that happened, young man?" Yakumo Yukari handed over her empty teacup.

After refilling her cup, Fang Yuan shook his head and said, "I'm not entirely clear. A mysterious voice conveyed it to me, but I don't know the reason why he did that."

"This second cup is just as rich and mellow," Yukari praised.

"Um, did Lord Yukari break the seal of time afterwards to bring Reimu out?" Fang Yuan couldn't help asking.

"It wasn't nearly as simple as you make it sound, young man. I had to wear away quite a bit of time using my boundary powers. I wasn't even this tired during the Lunar War; even when fighting in the Sunflower Field for a full day, I could still sip my tea with ease.

Ever since that day, I've had to rest for two full days. I don't know how many years it's been since I last slept outside the Stray House. Even my sleep hasn't been very peaceful."

Though Yakumo Yukari's gaze was smiling, she stared intently at Qi, as if trying to see through something.

"Eh? What are you guys talking about? What time stopping? Oh right, Wealthy Qi, that person named Kuroneko asked me to give this to you. I almost forgot."

After thoroughly enjoying her black tea, little Reimu pulled a smartphone out from goodness knows where, handed it to Qi, and went back to enjoying herself.

Fang Yuan stood frozen for a long time, staring at the phone on the table in front of him, not daring to open it.

He, who had proactively left; he, who had harbored secret yearnings; he, who had used her as an excuse to push others away—he truly felt at a loss, unsure what kind of message Kuroneko might have sent.

"Oh my, could the young man already have a girlfriend? Considering he's only five years old, he's quite precocious!" Yakumo Yukari teased.

"Eh—" Reimu almost spat out the black tea in her mouth, holding it back only because she couldn't bear to waste it. After swallowing with great difficulty, she stared at Qi with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open. "F-Five... five years old? Younger than me?!"

Qi snapped out of his inner struggle and let out a wry smile. "Lord Yukari's eyes truly pierce through everything. I indeed only have five years of memories, but age is not the standard by which a person is judged."

"In other words, Reimu is the big sister, and Wealthy Qi is the little brother." Reimu suddenly seemed inexplicably pleased.

"Little Reimu, I must inform you of a fact: your Wealthy Qi is not a human at all. Humans don't grow this big by the age of five." Yukari tried to burst Reimu's bubble while secretly wondering which race Qi belonged to.

"Mmph! It doesn't matter. Since Wealthy Qi isn't human, he'll stay this young forever and can pamper big sister forever. He treats me so well, unlike that old hag—mmph!"

Veins seemed to bulge slightly on Yakumo Yukari's forehead as she forced a smile and pinched little Reimu's cheeks.

Qi shifted his focus back to the phone. *"Some things must be faced,"* he encouraged himself.

"I'll curse you to death, you heartless bastard." As soon as he opened the only video file on the phone, Kuroneko appeared on screen, shrouded in a dark aura and smiling gloomily.

Surprisingly, Qi felt a sense of familiarity and broke into a smile.

"I wasn't in my right mind that day. To think I refused to leave with you simply due to a continuously amplifying fear inside me and some absurd excuse about taking care of my younger sister.

Is your affection for me—you, who abandoned the darkness to embrace a hypocritical light—really so shallow? Have you forgotten the vows we once made? Then let me repeat them for you, and listen well.

I love you. My love for you surpasses the ten thousand yearnings in this world; it has remained unchanged since ancient times, and this feeling alone will never lose to anyone. Even if this body and soul are shattered and scattered as dust into this world, if there is a next life, my heart will remain the same."

Fang Yuan smiled, yet tears fell unbidden from his eyes.

"Giving it some thought afterward, I suspect it was the Lord of Light—some god must have quietly cursed me to keep our worlds apart. Though I don't know his scheme, I won't let him succeed.

Also, the next time you raise lovers or take concubines, pay a little attention to me. I, the Dark Night Kuroneko, am the true mistress of the palace.

I'm giving you ten days to return. Otherwise, the cursed ending will become reality. That is all."