Because of yearning, because of greed, and because of the ephemeral nature of their existence.
Because of the roots from which they were born, youkai instinctively resisted gods with reckless audacity.
Yukari feared Sū ěr. She feared that power. She wanted to stay away from danger, yet the ambition burning in her heart made her fantasize about what the world would look like if that power stood on her side.
The birth of every youkai meant a subversion of common sense, and every youkai was eventually consumed by the desires in their heart, driven to walk the world.
For her dream of becoming the Overlord of All Youkai, driving the gods out of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, and establishing a truly pure nation belonging to youkai... Yukari was willing to keep company with danger.
It was like dealing with fire. Fire is scorching, dangerous, painful, and lethal. Yet the apes who had not yet lost their fur grasped the branches still burning after a lightning strike, preserved the sparks, lit the night, and drove away danger... and after long ages, they used fire to ignite civilization.
Burying these contradictory thoughts deep in her heart, Yukari interacted with Sū ěr and Think with the highest degree of caution she had ever possessed. With the most non-provocative words and the softest attitude, she had even carefully thought of several reasons to persuade Sū ěr after daybreak. The only thing she hadn't expected was that after just one night, the man would be gone.
It seemed... unlucky. Or rather, he had simply gone out.
"Is it there... or there?" Her gaze fell on the distant West, then gradually drifted toward the East where she had just come from. Yukari murmured softly, her face—turned away from the Zashiki-warashi—becoming solemn to the extreme.
This was exactly what she feared: an uncontrolled, thinking, wandering natural disaster.
Yukari was praying.
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Naturally, Sū ěr had no idea that a blonde youkai was guessing his whereabouts outside his door. In fact, to talk about his and Think location, one would have to wind back the clock a bit.
"I'm so glad you're willing to fulfill my wish and catch that beautiful fox for me." Think gave Sū ěr a forceful kiss on his right cheek, preemptively setting the tone for the whole affair.
"...Wait, no, nothing's decided yet. Hold on." Sū ěr rubbed his right cheek with a deadpan expression. Despite her being an energy form without a physical body, Sū ěr didn't know why Think could make a kiss feel so "sticky," as if saliva had been left behind.
Sū ěr act of wiping his face earned him a swift blow from Think. What do you mean by wiping your face? Are you disgusted by me?
It seemed that no matter the race, there were subtle similarities among females.
"...The Nine-Tailed Fox likely won't be a match for Izumo when they go all out. I haven't decided whether to save her or help her... maybe we'll just give both sides a good thrashing," Sū ěr said stutteringly while trapped in Think headlock.
Sū ěr and Think were currently walking across the plains not far from the valley where their bamboo house was located. This plain, which had once been a peaceful cycle of nature, was now a mess.
Back when they were in Yamato, they hadn't noticed this because they entered the underground city so quickly. But today, Sū ěr truly experienced the shocking scene that occurs when humans gather in large numbers—especially with youkai present.
In just one day, they had ruined this plain until it was unrecognizable. At least within Sū ěr perception, aside from the animals that had fled into the valleys, there were no traces of wildlife within a radius of several hundred kilometers. Some had become rations, while others were currently emitting a fragrant aroma as they were held in the hands of humans and youkai—right in the middle of a foul stench.
Yes, a foul stench.
Perhaps due to the presence of gods, the humans of this era existed in numbers far exceeding what they should have, and they gathered in dense clusters. This Izumo army had about two thousand humans, which was a staggering force for this time, but the youkai were even more numerous.
And what happens when these humans and youkai converge?
The answer is simple: they become manure machines.
Sū ěr didn't even want to walk on the road; he chose the high-end method of floating at a low altitude. The area where the Izumo army was stationed was simply too trashed. Aside from the excrement of two thousand people, there was even more from the youkai. After all, non-corporeal youkai were a small minority; most were youkai transformed from wild beasts.
And they just piled it up—or didn't pile it at all, letting it be stepped on.
Apologies, but because the scene was so brain-jolting, Sū ěr decided to think of something pleasant after careful consideration.
Maybe he should just destroy them all.
No, wait.
Even his brain was becoming disorganized. Sū ěr simply blocked his breathing; right now, he felt that if he opened his mouth to speak, something would float in. Even the non-corporeal Think instinctively pressed her lips tight. Within less than fifteen seconds of arriving, they felt defeated, losing even the mood to bicker.
How should he put it?
Though he knew it was a limitation of the era and he couldn't blame these humans or youkai, Sū ěr still found it hard to hold it together. He even hesitated about whether he still wanted to visit Izumo later.
He and Think floated like ghosts at the edge of a height where they could see and hear everything in the camp, yet neither the humans nor the youkai below noticed their presence.
Compared to Sū ěr mind and body, which were uncomfortable to the limit, the humans and youkai in the camp below showed no discomfort at all; they were quite used to it.
A giant hound youkai, about the height of a house, sat in its original form in an open area of the camp, incessantly chewing on some unidentifiable cooked meat. Several humans with fawning expressions were grooming its shiny fur.
Though it looked jarring to the extreme, Sū ěr could see those humans talking to the hound youkai about things that happened during the march, and the hound youkai was boisterously promising to bring them some meat back after daybreak.
Setting aside the status disparity in their words, Sū ěr and Think truly felt a strange harmony in this relationship.
Was this the nation ruled by both gods and youkai that Yukari had spoken of?