Morcius frowned slightly as he looked at Hanachirusato in her current state.
Because his Yang Avatar had already reached the final place of corruption.
Morcius looked at this kind-hearted woman and sighed softly.
He had his Yang Avatar stand there and wait a bit longer before purifying it.
"The one named Ioroi, you see, is a mischievous yet kind-hearted bake-danuki."
"I hoped he would walk the right path, so I set a trap for him."
Hanachirusato stood with her back to the setting sun, looking at Morcius, speaking with a hint of playfulness.
"He walked right into it without a second thought."
"And then he even snuck into Ei courtyard to steal some Naku Weed."
She smiled as she explained to Morcius.
"But Ei caught him and immediately drew her sword to strike him down."
"I had to step in and plead for him before she let Ioroi go."
Wearing her mask, Hanachirusato spoke wistfully.
"And through my persuasion..."
"Ei took Ioroi under her wing, appointing him as Chief of the Bureau of Health, responsible for guarding the Chinju Forest."
Hanachirusato glanced toward Inazuma City, laughing softly.
"Later when the disaster struck..."
"I feared that this simple-minded tanuki would sacrifice himself for the forest."
She murmured as she gazed into the distance.
"So I deliberately used the bake-danuki specialty—hiding—to provoke him."
He said "Tch, you damn fox! When it comes to hide-and-seek, I'll never lose to you!"
I replied "Oh really? Then go ahead and hide."
He said "The Chinju Forest is our sacred domain! There's no way you'll ever find me!"
I said "I don't believe it. Listen well, you must hide properly. No matter what happens, don't come out. No matter what."
At that time, I looked at Ioroi in front of me.
And I said with all seriousness "Ioroi—no matter what happens, it was all part of my illusion. You must not be tricked. You must not show yourself."
Hanachirusato re-enacted the two roles. Even with the mask on, the playful expression beneath was still obvious.
"Hehe..."
Morcius looked at the playful Hanachirusato and chuckled softly.
"Though Ioroi is a little silly…"
"It's fortunate he believed you."
Hanachirusato stopped her reenactment, her gaze drifting toward the distant Chinju Forest, murmuring.
"I know a bit of what happened after that."
"Allow me to recount it."
Morcius said with a smile as he looked at Hanachirusato in front of him.
"Ioroi waited and waited in the Chinju Forest, but the stinky fox never came to find him."
"He got anxious and caused a ruckus, trying to draw out Kitsune Saiguu."
Morcius looked at Hanachirusato and continued.
Hanachirusato body trembled slightly upon hearing this.
She turned to face Morcius.
"But Kitsune Saiguu had already perished in the calamity."
"How could she return?"
Morcius sat on a rock and went on:
"Eventually, Ioroi began going around breaking the kitsune statues and, in one of them, found a comb used for the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual and take it away."
"Then he was sealed within the Chinju Forest by the onmyouji, Harunosuke."
Morcius gazed toward the direction of the forest, speaking as if to himself.
"Even now, Ioroi foolishly believes that Kitsune Saiguu is still alive."
"Still hoping she'll come to play with him…"
Looking toward the Chinju Forest, Morcius sighed.
"Ioroi…"
Under the mask, Hanachirusato seemed unable to contain her emotions—she was on the verge of tears.
But as the embodiment of filth and memory, how could she cry?
"..."
"Your time is running out."
Morcius turned to face Hanachirusato and said softly.
The Yang Avatar had already begun purifying the final Thunder Sakura.
"I see…"
"Thank you for purifying the corruption of the Sacred Sakura."
Hanachirusato turned around, watching the sun half-sunk below the horizon. The twilight cast a golden glow on her mask.
The golden light of dusk enveloped both her and Morcius.
"Think nothing of it."
"To me, it was but a trivial matter."
Morcius stood and walked to Hanachirusato side, speaking slowly.
"Had you been there at the time…"
"Perhaps the calamity that befell the world five hundred years ago wouldn't have happened at all…"
Hanachirusato murmured as she looked at the setting sun.
"I…"
Morcius closed his eyes upon hearing this, a trace of guilt in his tone.
Five hundred years ago, if he had been there, if his power had remained intact, seeing the calamity that spread across the world—he certainly would not have stood idly by.
"I'm sorry…"
He slowly opened his eyes, the divine light in them now tinged with remorse.
"Why apologize?"
"Surely a kind god like you was simply delayed by something important."
Hanachirusato tilted her head and looked at Morcius with a gentle smile.
Morcius froze.
He saw, in that moment, the face of an understanding young girl.
Her expression was full of warmth, smiling at him.
"Just like her…"
Hanachirusato seemed to remember something and murmured with her head down.
"Looking back on time…"
"It flows like water, and this world changes with it."
After a long pause, Hanachirusato raised her head and looked at the distant sunset, sighing:
"Time, huh…"
Morcius also looked up at the now half-dark sky and murmured.
"History can be recorded, but history is not reliable."
"Time possesses immense power, and history can be distorted by its passage."
In Morcius mind, Zhongli voice echoed.
"Morax…"
Morcius murmured.
"Eh?"
"Didn't the old man tell you? Our memories were altered."
Now Venti voice rang in Morcius head as well.
"The Immortal Lord was born a thousand years ago."
"But why does this book record events from three thousand years ago?"
A young girl voice joined the others.
"The book formed from the laws of yin and yang…"
"It was created by me personally…"
"Memory alterations…"
"All the Adepti even Azhdaha feel a sense of familiarity when they see me."
"What on earth is going on…"
Morcius looked at the sunset, murmuring.
"Could it be…"
Morcius furrowed his brows, startled by his own thoughts.
"Thank you for listening to my story."
"And for letting me know what happened to Ioroi after."
Hanachirusato turned to Morcius with a light smile.
Morcius was pulled from his deep thoughts, his gaze falling upon her.
In front of him, Hanachirusato figure slowly began turning into glowing light, gently floating into the sky.
"You're leaving?"
Morcius whispered, eyes half closed.
"Yes… Miko… Ei…"
"If I could stand before you two again, I wonder what expressions you'd wear…"
Hanachirusato murmured as she turned to face the descending sun.
"Hehe… who knows."
"Maybe I'll help you see them again."
Morcius smiled as he watched the fading figure of Hanachirusato.
"Hahaha, if that's the case…"
"Then I must give them a good surp—"
Clack.
A light sound echoed as something fell to the ground.
Before Hanachirusato could finish, a white kitsune mask dropped to the earth.
Morcius picked it up, silently gazing at it for a long time.
The Yang Avatar turned into a white streak of light and flew back into Morcius body.
Only then did Morcius look toward where the sun had set and realized it had already vanished completely beneath the ocean.
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist? Now you can read 30 chapters ahead on my P@treon [[email protected]/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)