The yokai was almost identical to her, lacking backing or elders, equally fragile, still in its growing stages, constantly hunted by more powerful yokai... Sharing the same fate, the two of them collided abruptly, and after narrowly escaping death, they naturally gravitated toward each other.

Thus, they became friends—her first and only friend. They swore to rely on each other from then on, growing together!

However, the ordinary yokai had miscalculated one thing. Although her friend resembled her in many ways, there were also stark differences... such as exceptional talent. Compared to her friend, those called geniuses among yokai were nothing more than weeds by the roadside. That talent, far surpassing genius, was enough to incite jealousy in anyone, and even her lineage was incredibly mysterious; no one knew what line of yokai she belonged to, not even she herself.

Though the excellence of this friend dealt a significant blow to the ordinary yokai, she did not become dejected or part ways with her companion. Despite being ordinary, she possessed her own self-respect. She believed, until the very end, that effort would be rewarded. If she could not be a true genius, she would strive to become a genius through sheer effort... to survive in this cruel world, and to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her only friend!

For the moment she recognized the other’s potential, she knew this exceptional friend was destined to become an unparalleled great yokai in the future. To stand equally beside her, she too had to become an unparalleled great yokai!

From then on, they were inseparable, never parting whether eating, resting, or cultivating. Her friend possessed remarkable comprehension, learning almost anything after just one explanation, whereas it took her much longer. Yet, despite her friend’s outstanding talent, her nature was too gentle, and she lacked social graces, so the ordinary yokai often took the lead when navigating the world. They helped each other, growing together, striving to climb toward the summit. Only by becoming the strongest yokai could they live with true freedom.

And so, they grew amidst adversity, their progress far outpacing other yokai of the same age. Gradually, their dedication yielded rewards; they distinguished themselves among their peers, becoming nearly invincible. During sparrings, the ordinary yokai could occasionally even defeat her monstrously gifted friend, which once again affirmed the validity of her chosen path... With enough effort, the ordinary can indeed triumph over genius!

But this did not mean they could live freely thereafter. The world was too vast, and yokai lifespans too long. Even though they had grown much stronger, they were still infants among the multitude of yokai. They were merely the kings of the infants; above them were adolescents, young adults, mature yokai, and the truly ancient ones, culminating in the supreme Yokai King... To truly stand at the pinnacle, they still had a long road ahead.

Then, at some point, they encountered an opportunity—a chance for rapid ascent. They cherished it deeply and grasped it with all their might... Finally, they grew into true rulers, unafraid of anyone or any yokai, finally able to live freely and at ease. But...

After pouring out this long narrative, Yuka suddenly rose from her seat and walked to the window, gazing into the distance, her eyes filled with boundless nostalgia. "But as time flows, the more one gains, the more one loses. After losing what was most important to them, those two weak yokai who once relied on each other also walked down different paths, forgetting even their solemn vows. Tell me, is that not a kind of sorrow?"

Yuka turned back, looking solemnly at Lin Luo.

Lin Luo simply watched her serious and earnest expression, feeling a part of his unknown self being stirred, yet unable to utter a single word.

"You don't need to answer. This is just a story. The two protagonists in the story blamed no one; reaching that point was only due to their own stubbornness, their inability to let go." Seeing Lin Luo open his mouth as if about to speak, Yuka stated firmly, "Do not ask, do not explore, and do not try to uncover the truth of this story. Just pretend you never heard it... Perhaps when the time is right, you will encounter that very first dream!"

...

Shortly after, Lin Luo left the Flower House and the Sun Flower Field. Yuka did not see him off, as the battle in the Thirteenth Dimension, though she fared slightly better than Iwaya and Lily, had exhausted her greatly, requiring immediate recuperation. Lin Luo did not disturb them, merely going upstairs for a brief look before departing. When he arrived, though Lin Luo felt uncertain, his worries were generally outweighed by relief. But now, as he left, though he knew more, his heart felt heavy.

If he understood correctly, the ordinary yokai in that story must be Kazami Yuka, and the genius yokai... There were many geniuses in Gensokyo, but a genius who could match Yuka, yet walked a divergent path from her, could only be one person.

Yakumo Yukari!

Among the top-tier yokai in Gensokyo, Kazami Yuka and Yakumo Yukari had no friendly interactions; one could even say they were adversaries. Yet, Yuka had just told him they once relied on each other for survival—it sounded like a joke!

If it was a joke, it wasn't funny at all.

But if it was the truth, it was equally chilling.

Because Lin Luo could sense the helpless and mournful emotion in Yuka's voice as she recounted that tale.

What exactly caused two such close friends to diverge, even forgetting their vows? Lin Luo didn't know.

And more importantly, what was that opportunity?

Lin Luo vaguely felt that point was the most crucial part of the story, yet Yuka deliberately sidestepped that key element, forbidding him from probing.

Did she not wish to speak, or... could she not speak?!

Lin Luo was utterly clueless, and his mood grew heavier.

"No matter what, I should go take a look first." Although Yuka told him not to inquire about the story, Lin Luo still planned to visit the Yakumo residence. It wasn't about deliberately seeking clues; it was simply that he had been in Gensokyo for some time, and it was time to pay a call to Yakumo Yukari.

Of course, if Yukari also had a story to tell, he would be happy to listen.

Lin Luo couldn't manipulate Gaps, but that didn't prevent him from reaching the Yakumo residence situated on the Boundary Line. This time, unlike his previous visit, he wasn't greeted by Ran dragging her sexy body while streaking. However, he was fortunate enough to see Ran curled up asleep on the floor, and Chen, the orange cat, rolling around happily nearby, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Seeing these two lively figures instantly lightened Lin Luo’s mood.

As cat yokai, Chen's hearing was excellent, and since Lin Luo hadn't deliberately concealed his presence, Chen spotted him as soon as he saw her.

"The toy is here again, meow!" Chen's eyes lit up upon seeing Lin Luo. With a sudden flip, she sprang up from the floor and pounced toward him.

With wisdom equivalent to that of a human child, she clearly still considered Lin Luo a weakling she could play with freely, so she was ecstatic to see the toy delivering itself to her.

But Lin Luo was no longer going to be her plaything—the reverse was closer to the truth. As she lunged, he made an invisible grab, and the playful cat yokai fell right into his grasp.

Chen was greatly alarmed and instinctively prepared to cry out, but before she could make a sound, a fragrant, large grilled fish was presented right before her mouth. Without hesitation, Chen's outcry was stifled, replaced by the sound of her excitedly gnawing on the fish.

Seeing her enjoy the meal, Lin Luo smiled. "I have a question for you. Where is your mistress?"

"Don't know, meow." Chen shook her head, pointed to the still-sleeping Ran, and then buried her head back into the grilled fish.

Lin Luo knew she expected him to ask Ran himself. He chuckled softly, tossed a few more grilled fish over, and said, "You eat nicely here and don't make noise. If you behave, I’ll reward you with more grilled fish later. Got it?"

Chen loved fish the most, especially since Lin Luo's grilled fish were divine delicacies. She nodded immediately without hesitation, selling out her comrade with absolute ease.

Children are so easy to fool. If the Proxy Gods and Abyss Demons had the same intelligence, the world would be at peace, and I could finally enjoy my shameless, passionate life... Alas!

Lin Luo sighed inwardly, then approached Ran. Seeing how soundly she was sleeping, he couldn't resist the urge to tease her. He crouched down and poked her face with his fingers.

Ran, in her sleep, felt an itch and instinctively stretched out a paw... oh wait, her hand, and scratched her face a few times, then turned over and continued sleeping.

Evidently, because there was a lazy idler in the house, all the work had piled up on her. The excessive pressure meant she was completely immersed in sleep, without any defense, showing no sign of waking even when teased like this.

Perhaps even if she vaguely sensed something, she only assumed Chen was playing around.

Lin Luo found it slightly amusing, and his desire to tease her grew stronger. He flipped his hand, and a string of cooked fried tofu suddenly appeared. He dangled it in front of Ran's nose, waving it back and forth.

Although Ran was still fast asleep, the aroma of the fried tofu had already attracted her. Her consciousness hadn't fully engaged, but her body reacted first to the temptation of food. Her eyes remained closed as she sniffed, searching for the source of the fragrance.

Then, under Lin Luo’s merciful handling, Ran instinctively found the location of the tofu. She suddenly opened her mouth and bit down with the speed of a lightning bolt, instantly snatching a piece of tofu into her mouth and beginning to chew noisily.

After several such attempts, the entire string of tofu was devoured. Finishing it, she didn't forget to stick out her tongue to lick her lips, murmuring sleepy words like "so delicious."

Indeed, Gensokyo seems to house a population of dedicated foodies.

Lin Luo was speechless. While in terms of appetite, Ran clearly didn't measure up to Yuyuko's bottomless pit, eating while asleep showed she had achieved a certain level of mastery... Speaking of which, seeing her licking her lips so contentedly, Lin Luo felt a momentary urge to lick them himself, but he worried about the voyeuristic Madam Purple suddenly appearing and thus dismissed that tempting thought.

Next, Lin Luo continued to tease the little fox with fried tofu, and the gluttonous fox easily fell for it. However, after consuming more than a dozen strings, she still showed no sign of waking.

Though it was fun at first, such a one-man show eventually grew tedious. So, while Ran was busy eating the tofu, Lin Luo quietly leaned down and whispered in a hushed voice, "The Urban Management officers are here! Fried Tofu seller, run!"

"To hell with the Urban Management! Tofu, stop!"

Ran, who had been sleeping soundly, was instantly jolted awake. Her eyes snapped open, her body shot up, all fours planted firmly on the ground, and her nine tails stood perfectly erect... a complete display of a fox going berserk.

At that moment, all drowsiness vanished from Ran. But upon focusing her gaze, she saw no Urban Management officers—there was indeed some fried tofu, currently held by... Huh?!

Recognizing Lin Luo, Ran's expression immediately shifted, and she exclaimed, "How did you get here?"

"Before you ask that question, I think you should adjust your sitting posture first." Lin Luo pointed to Ran's four-legged stance and kindly reminded her.

Prompted by Lin Luo, Ran noticed the wildness of her current posture, blushed slightly, quickly reverted to a normal seated position, and then composed her expression into one of seriousness. However, when her gaze fell upon the half-string of tofu remaining in Lin Luo's hand, she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

She had been sleeping soundly before. In her dream, someone had been feeding her tofu, which she assumed was just a dream—after all, who would be so kind as to feed someone in reality? Thus, even when slightly stirring, she subconsciously didn't want to wake up, savoring the dream food.

Of course, she now knew this wasn't a dream delicacy; someone was indeed feeding her in reality. But looking at the smile on Lin Luo's face, Ran felt it was more of a tease, and she became instantly disgruntled.

"Chen, stop eating! That's bad person's food!" Ran quickly noticed Chen happily munching on the grilled fish and realized Lin Luo probably procured those too. She immediately stood up, snatched all the grilled fish from Chen's grasp, and sternly warned her.

"Eh! My grilled fish..." Chen had been enjoying herself, completely oblivious to the world, but when her delicacy was snatched away, her face crumpled instantly, and tears welled up.

"Ugh!" Ran could not stand Chen's acting cute or Yakumo Yukari's lack of principles—she couldn't resist the former and was helpless against the latter. The moment Chen showed that expression, Ran was defeated. After weighing her options, she ultimately returned the grilled fish.

Chen immediately stopped crying and smiled, happily taking them back to continue eating.

Sigh, forget it... Realizing Chen had been thoroughly infiltrated by the external enemy, Ran abandoned the plan for a united front and turned to Lin Luo, saying with annoyance, "One doesn't visit the Three Treasures Hall for no reason. What do you want?"

Lin Luo acted as if he hadn't noticed her displeasure and smiled. "I was just taking a casual stroll, passing by, so I decided to look in. Seeing you two reminded me to bring you something to eat... Look, this is an ultimate specialty from where I come from: Mapo Fried Tofu, chicken flavor, crunchy, want a few more servings?"

Lin Luo asked if she wanted more while already holding out dozens of strings, stacked high on a plate.

Ran couldn't help but swallow hard. After hesitating for less than three seconds, she snatched the plate like lightning and said coyly, "F-forget it. Given your sufficient sincerity, I won't hold the previous incident against you. Just be more careful in the future."

Hey, your willpower is too weak! I haven't even tried hard, and you've already folded!

Lin Luo was dumbfounded.

But with Ran placated, he wasted no more time and stated his actual purpose.

Ran ate while replying, "Didn't I already say on the day of the banquet? I don't know where Lady Yukari has gone recently either. Asking me is useless."

"You really don't know?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Ran shot him a look. "Lady Yukari's movements are inherently extremely mysterious. Usually, she's the one who comes to me; it rarely happens that I can find her. But don't worry too much about it; she will appear when she wishes to."

Lin Luo observed her closely and found no sign of deceit, so he stopped pressing. As she said, Yakumo Yukari would appear when the time was right; there was no need for him to rush.

After a brief chat, Lin Luo left the Yakumo residence.

However, not long after he departed, a Gap suddenly opened beside Ran, and a beautifully dressed young girl stepped out from it—it was the elusive Yakumo Yukari.

"Lady Yukari, he has left," Ran stated respectfully.

"I know." Yakumo Yukari nodded, watching the direction Lin Luo had gone. "It is precisely because he left that I have returned."

Ran looked utterly bewildered and asked, "Lady Yukari, you clearly wanted to see him, so why are you avoiding him now?"

"Because the timing isn't right yet. I fear if I meet him now, I won't be able to resist telling him everything, but doing so would endanger everyone." Yakumo Yukari sighed and said so.

"Why?" Ran grew even more confused.

"You don't need to know that. What concerns me more now is something else..." Yukari shook her head, then frowned. "I don't know if it's a misconception, but I have a dreadful feeling that something terrible is about to happen, something that threatens not only Gensokyo but also... I hope I am mistaken. This time, I truly hope my calculation is wrong."

Yakumo Yukari looked outward, her gaze clouded with ineffaceable worry.