After some sparring, the two gained considerable insight.
As everyone knows, hands-on instruction is inevitable during practice.
The Shrine Maiden, Hoshizaki Miya, was gentle and meticulous, yet also lively and humorous.
The tentative, elusive contact created an ambiguous sense of mystery, making Qin someone's heart flutter with anticipation.
Truly a demanding fox lady.
Qin someone declared that he enjoyed cultivation the most.
Indeed, even a slacker could have a diligent day.
"Lord Qin Yu, that's enough for today."
Hoshizaki Miya pursed her soft lips and approached Qin Yu.
Under his somewhat surprised gaze, she raised her hands and gently adjusted his slightly disheveled collar.
Her actions were as natural as those of a young wife.
"...Thank you for your hard work."
Qin Yu blinked.
Beneath the dim, starry sky, the fox lady before him was hazy and enchanting.
She slightly lowered her head, her eyes cast downward.
Her cherry lips, as soft and tender as jelly, were exceptionally alluring.
It was getting late, time to stop cultivating and rest.
"Well, then, we should head back first..."
Qin Yu responded instinctively, enjoying the lady's attentiveness and gentleness.
Everything was over, and it was time to return to camp.
Asahise Hibiki had been watching Nezu for a while from the shadows, but ultimately chose to leave.
[Let Nezu live on with the promise of reunion, and a life full of hope.]
[Perhaps such an ending... is not cruel.]
With these words, Asahise Hibiki slowly faded away.
[I'm sorry, Lord Hoshizaki Miya, Lord Qin Yu.]
[If this bow can serve its purpose, then it shall be my humble atonement.]
At that time, Qin Yu listened to Asahise Hibiki's story.
All of this began with a young man named Takamine.
...
In his youth, Takamine had followed a Tengu of Wind.
Asahise Hibiki, while working at Narukami Shrine, met Takamine.
Just like the beginning of all beautiful stories, the young girl developed feelings for the young man.
Although she never confessed her feelings, she would secretly rejoice in their occasional meetings.
And then...
Takamine achieved military exploits, received Kageno Tsukitsuru and Kirijin, and was also granted a marriage.
Asahise Hibiki also gradually grew into a powerful shrine maiden.
Although the man was already betrothed, the two had always admired each other.
And so, time dragged on.
They witnessed countless tides rise and fall in the harbor, slowly maturing.
It was then that Takamine told Asahise Hibiki he would teach her archery.
It was nothing more than an excuse to get closer to the person he loved.
Even though their hearts were entwined, they had simply met the right person at the wrong time.
What Asahise Hibiki wanted to say at that moment was likely...
But at that time, the situation on Narukami Island was becoming increasingly tense.
The foulness from the abyss was about to erupt at any moment.
They thought that with the presence of the Electro Archon, victory was assured.
However, a nation called Khaenri'ah... forced her to leave.
The abyss seized the opportunity and swept across the land of Narukami.
Those who remained naturally rose to meet the challenge.
Takamine knew this battle was perilous, so he made a bet with Asahise Hibiki.
When he returned, he would confess his feelings and marry Asahise Hibiki.
If he did not return...
Then the Kageno Tsukitsuru would be hers to keep.
This was a gamble of a reckless man.
He wanted both his bow and the woman he loved.
The story that followed...
The man who made the promise to marry upon his return had a predetermined end.
He fought until the very end.
He didn't know how many enemies he had slain, turned into foulness, and in the end, even Kirijin broke.
Because he had given the bow to Asahise, his skilled archery could not be fully employed, greatly reducing his combat power.
As he was engulfed by the foulness, the man still remembered the bet.
He had to return to Asahise Hibiki's side.
With this obsession, until...
Years later, after being corrupted by the foulness.
He, who had long since transformed into a monster of the abyss, still possessed a faint trace of reason and found Asahise Hibiki.
By then, Asahise Hibiki was no longer the young girl she once was.
Even as a monster, upon seeing the person he had yearned for, a sliver of humanity was stirred within him.
[Ah-Hibiki... I...]
The words hidden for years, ultimately, could not be spoken.
No one knows what emotions Asahise Hibiki felt as she used the archery taught by the man, and his beloved bow, to pierce her former lover.
[...]
In the dense forest, the shrine maiden named Asahise Hibiki gazed at the bow in her arms.
Finally, a few tears fell.
Her longing for her lover, and her hatred for the abyss, imprinted this will onto the Kageno Tsukitsuru.
From then on, this bow possessed a miraculous power to restrain the abyss.
The man had returned.
As for that gamble, who truly won?
Her heart turned to ash, she returned to Seirai Island and built a shrine.
It was then that she took in a child.
The guard, who would later become the Pirate King, Akahito Hyakume.
[This child is unrestrained and truly resembles him.]
[If he had returned, our child would be this age by now.]
Asahise Hibiki murmured, entrusting all her longing to this child.
And then...
It was largely the same as the records of the Shogunate.
But Asahise Hibiki did not wish to lose the one she loved again.
Even if he was a notorious pirate.
Last time, the person she loved had given his life to bring peace to Narukami Island.
So this time, she wanted to risk her own life for the safe return of the one she loved.
For the sake of that child, she decided to defy righteousness and rebel against the Shogunate.
Using the power of the Raiden Bird's seal.
She thought she could protect the island by setting up a barrier.
But she underestimated the power of the Raiden Bird, and ultimately caused great disaster.
This was Asahise Hibiki's life.
...
Qin Yu was lost in thought, contemplating Asahise Hibiki's last words.
Suddenly, he felt the lady before him raise her head.
"Lord Qin Yu, do you really have to go back like this?"
In the dim light, Hoshizaki Miya whispered, her eyes flickering.
Her collar had been tidied.
Her hands, however, slowly moved.
Like a water snake, they traced along his shoulder and then downward.
A faint resonance, the power of a heartbeat, strong and vigorous.
"I always feel so safe by Lord Qin Yu's side."
Hoshizaki Miya murmured.
Her hand on Qin Yu's chest suggested she was reluctant to leave.
After learning Asahise Hibiki's story, she had been silent for a long time.
But she soon found peace.
Because...
She now had a new pillar of support.
The pain of the past would not happen again.
This was the promise Qin Yu made to Hoshizaki Miya, who was also a shrine maiden.
...
"Can... I not go back?"
Qin Yu's throat inexplicably bobbed.
This, this wouldn't be very good.
Cough, he was a married man.
Producing and delivering his daily share of "provisions" was a must.
Returning home after dark would cause major problems.
Moreover.
You understand, Hoshizaki Miya.
If Ei or Makoto found out, their good friend and...
Qin someone gazed into Hoshizaki Miya's watery eyes and fell into thought.
Speaking of which, who was Ei's previous good friend?
"It's alright, Lord Qin Yu."
Her gentle voice was like a devil's whisper.
Hoshizaki Miya tilted her head, her hair falling onto her alluring, delicate face, languid and seductive.
The corner of her mouth curled up.
"You must be very tired."
"There's nothing wrong with relaxing once in a while."
"There happens to be a hot spring near the shrine..."
Having said this much, Hoshizaki Miya discreetly closed her mouth.
The decision rested with you.
My Lord Qin Yu.
"Cough cough! Speaking of which, did you guys used to go to hot springs together in the past?"
Qin someone coughed lightly, gazing at the stars in the sky and asked.
That pink-haired fox lady also liked hot springs...
Clearly, he was beginning to be tempted.
Just a hot spring, nothing would go wrong.
Soon.
As long as he rushed back then...
No problem, it wouldn't crash.
Qin someone, who never crashed, felt he was up to it again.
"Shenzi, that little one? I often took her to hot springs before."
Hoshizaki Miya tilted her head up and said with a smile.
Of course, there were also Makoto, Ei.
...And Yae Chiyo.
"Thinking of her again?"
Qin Yu asked gently, seeing a trace of recollection in Hoshizaki Miya's eyes.
Parting with friends was indeed a regrettable matter.
However...
Through Asahise Hibiki's memories, the two discovered some clues.
Yae Chiyo, who was swallowed by the god of foulness, might still exist in this world.
However, it was in the abyss.
"Let's go."
"Mhm."
The two walked down the mountain together.
And then...
Qin someone's smile slowly froze.
"Oh my, oh my... let this Guuji see who has returned?"
A figure in a charming pink silhouette leaned lazily against the shrine's entrance.
The pink-haired fox lady had smelled the scent of someone sneaking around!