When Reimu was in her normal state, she exhibited laziness and moral decay. As Oni-Miko, she became savage and violent. When transformed into Kuro-Miko, she turned malevolent and bloodthirsty. Not only did her personality grow progressively worse, but her power level also escalated with each transformation... While this process could technically be classified as a dissociative identity disorder, let's not dwell too much on semantics.

In any case, Lin Luo had absolutely no chance of defeating Kuro-Miko - whose strength far exceeded peak Divine Rank - without even raising a finger in defense. Though he could barely endure the God-Abhorring Realm, once Reimu amplified to Royal Calamity Realm, he would be completely at her mercy. The inevitable outcome was predictably gruesome, its brutality so extreme it could only be described with four words: not suitable for humans.

This was still assuming Reimu showed some restraint due to her daughter watching nearby. If Meiling weren't present, the beating would have continued indefinitely.

Of course, if Meiling wasn't there, Lin Luo might not have been such a docile victim either.

"Ah, what a great father I am..." Lin Luo lay on his back, unable to help but bitterly reflect as he gazed at the sky. He had first played the role of an edgy protagonist and then served as a punching bag - was there anyone in this world more selfless?

"Dad, I'm so proud of you!"

Before Lin Luo could get up from the ground, Meiling dashed toward him and pounced onto his chest. Rubbing her face against his shirt while clinging to him excitedly, she declared, "Dad finally accepted Mom's love! You're definitely the best dad!"

That's enough, brat!

Lin Luo felt tears welling in his eyes. He really wished he could be a bit crueler - he never wanted to play this edgy protagonist act. But Meiling's innocent expression made it impossible for him to refuse.

Dammit, why did this child develop such peculiar interests? It's all your fault, Mom! I remember that you're going to pay dearly tomorrow!

Lin Luo seethed in his mind while forcing a smile on the surface. "Of course," he said with an exaggerated gesture toward himself, "you should take a look at who we're talking about - I am..." He was mid-sentence when suddenly froze.

Before them, the otherworldly space created by Kuro-Miko had vanished entirely. They were back at Hong Meiling Shrine, and where the sinister Kuro-Miko once stood now knelt Reimu in her pure white miko uniform, blushing timidly at the shrine entrance.

"What the...?" Lin Luo was completely stunned. Could this be Pure Reimu? That didn't make sense! The evolution from Oni-Miko to Kuro-Miko was plausible enough, but how did they leap directly to Pure Reimu?

"Waah! Mom also turned into such a cute form!" Meiling immediately dropped Lin Luo and ran toward the strange Reimu, hugging her legs while cooing affectionately.

"Ugh, what's with Meiling being so clingy again?" Reimu gently patted her daughter's head, smiling warmly. Her entire demeanor radiated maternal warmth.

"What in the world is going on?" Lin Luo approached and asked curiously.

Reimu lifted her face but instantly blushed crimson at his gaze, turning away quickly as she mumbled, "That... welcome home."

Boom!!!

This single sentence hit Lin Luo like a thunderbolt, leaving him charred inside and out. No doubt about it - this was definitely Pure Reimu. Not only did her power level fall significantly below Kuro-Miko's, but her entire aura differed from both Oni-Miko and Kuro-Miko.

Weak-willed, kind-hearted, shy, gentle... These were precisely the four fundamental traits of a classic soft. Even in normal state, Reimu might occasionally show shyness, but certainly not weakness or kindness. And with Kuro-Miko that was completely out of the question. Yet here she was - this white-cloaked Reimu had effortlessly demonstrated all her soft attributes through just one sentence!

That gentle, kind, and naturally fragile aura... A textbook case of a soft! If this wasn't Pure Reimu, then who was?

But why did she suddenly become Pure Reimu? Even with Lin Luo's intelligence, the reasoning remained completely incomprehensible.

"Why are you like this now?" Lin Luo crouched down, gently lifting her chin while still in his edgy protagonist form. "By the way," he added as an afterthought.

Reimu's face turned even redder but lost all its former haughtiness, only displaying shyness as she softly explained, "This is my fourth state. After exerting so much power through Kuro-Miko, transitioning back causes temporary weakness. I can't revert to my original form during this period... So to ease the transition phase, my fourth personality appears."

Got it - not an evolution from Oni-Miko to Pure Reimu, but a regression. Like when Luffy uses Gear 3 and temporarily regresses into a child due to extreme energy depletion. Same principle.

"Hmm... Understood," Lin Luo pondered before finally scooping up the soft Reimu (and her still-clinging daughter). "Since that's how it is, let's go take a bath."

"Wai-wait! Why do we need to bathe?" Reimu immediately panicked.

Lin Luo smiled. "We fought for so long and sweated so much - of course we should bathe! Otherwise, won't sleeping be uncomfortable? Meiling, want to take a bath too?"

"Yes!" Meiling enthusiastically responded.

"There you go," Lin Luo gestured, "even Meiling says yes."

"...Fine then." Reimu reluctantly agreed with a timid nod.

Then, in his characteristically dominant laughter, he carried both into Hong Meiling Shrine. While the shrine did have its own bathroom, it didn't match Lin Luo's standards. Therefore, he had specially renovated a space in the back courtyard with capsule-style villa technology.

Inside the villa's bathhouse, Lin Luo cunningly exploited Meiling's adoration for him by giving her an assortment of novel toys and tricking the child into playing alone in another room. After all, in Hakurei, besides yokais and danmaku games, entertainment was scarce - how could a child resist the temptation of modern world playthings?

With Meiling occupied, Lin Luo now carried Soft Reimu to the adult-sized bathroom. As soon as they entered the water, he began unfastening her miko robes... After suffering such brutal punishment earlier, at least some compensation was due from this unexpectedly compliant form.

By the way, isn't it ironic? This is supposedly your wife - but first you have to endure a beating before reaping any rewards. Is that happiness or tragedy?

"D-don't do that..." Reimu blushed furiously as she tried to resist Lin Luo's advances, though her protests were entirely ineffective.

"Don't worry," Lin Luo reassured her while already removing both her miko vest and inner binding cloth to reveal her pale body, "Meiling is having so much fun right now. She won't come here."

"But... it's so embarrassing..." Reimu instinctively covered herself with trembling hands in soft protest.

How remarkably pliant she is...

Lin Luo couldn't help but marvel. He already knew Pure Reimu was a soft, but didn't expect her to be this malleable. If only Oni-Reimu could become similarly compliant...

From behind, Lin Luo wrapped his arms around her and cupped those perfectly rounded curves while whispering in her ear, "You don't need to feel shy. Meiling is both your daughter and my daughter - in other words, we are husband and wife. Isn't it normal for spouses to take baths together?"

"But... we haven't had a wedding."

"Er..." Lin Luo scratched his head awkwardly, "We can have one later!"

"Really?" Reimu turned her face slightly, her blushing cheeks holding faint anticipation.

"Of course," Lin Luo replied earnestly. "As long as you don't refuse me."

Under his intense gaze, Reimu once again averted her eyes and whispered, "W-why would I ever refuse... We already have a child after all."

Indeed - if it were anyone but her, she certainly wouldn't be this pliant. But the moment she reverted to Oni-Reimu's form, who knew what kind of thoughts that amoral self might entertain?

Oni-Miko, Kuro-Miko, and Pure Reimu - these three secondary personalities derived from Hong Meiling's core personality each carried her experiences and memories intact. Events occurring in one personality weren't forgotten when switching to another; only the expression differed based on personality traits. For example, Oni-Reimu or Kuro-Reimu would absolutely never bathe with Lin Luo.

Naturally, their fundamental essence remained unchanged.

Lin Luo's insistence on bringing Pure Reimu for a bath wasn't just about taking advantage - it was crucial confirmation of her true feelings. From Pure Reimu's response, it was clear that Oni-Reimu had already accepted him. After all, even in her most pliant form, she wouldn't bathe with someone she didn't love. The problem? Oni-Reimu was an undeniably tsundere type - even if her heart had accepted the truth, there was no telling how overtly she might refuse it.

"It's fine," Pure Reimu seemingly grasped the core issue and said, "as long as you treat me well, I'll definitely say yes." The use of "I" here referred not to this form but to Oni-Reimu herself.

You sure are easygoing. By that logic, consider yourself lucky if she doesn't turn into Oni-Miko next time.

Lin Luo mentally retorted before turning her around and smiling, "Well then, let's talk about more important matters later. For now..." He leaned closer with a wicked grin.

Reimu immediately recognized the lecherous expression in his eyes and blushed even deeper from ear to neck, whispering something so softly it was barely audible:

"U-um... please be gentle."