"Wow! So many cute deer!!"
"Hey, wait for the main group."
The mont the bus doors opened, the restless Yurianna dashed out with her instant cara in hand, vanishing in a flash.
Behind her, Yan Huan and Yabashi Ki slowly stepped off the vehicle. Unable to keep up with the overly energetic Yurianna, they stood by the bus and took in the scenery of the surrounding park.
Before he could even speak, Yan Huan's nose twitched as he took a preliminary sniff.
"This sll... why does it feel sowhat familiar?"
Yan Huan stroked his chin. It gave him the distinct feeling of his previous life, when he would return to his rural hotown and encounter a water buffalo head-on while walking down a country path.
It wasn't that water buffaloes and deer gave him a similar impression; rather, a specific scene suddenly flashed in his mind:
A water buffalo swishing its tail as it walked, scattering fresh, warm 'chocolate' all over the road!
That was it. That was the sll.
Realizing what was going on, Yan Huan hurriedly tried to call out a warning.
He had just opened his mouth to shout for Yurianna, but it was already too late.
Up ahead, a miserable shriek echoed from Yurianna, who had been gleefully sprinting into the park.
"Ahhhh!! I... I stepped on deer poop!! Why is there deer poop all over the path?! Ugh!!"
"Hahahahahaha!!"
Beside him, Yabashi Ki and Ashley couldn't hold back and imdiately burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.
It could only be said that the deer's free-roaming privileges also included the freedom to relieve themselves wherever they pleased.
Looking around, never mind the park's grassy areas—even the stone-paved paths were dotted with fresh and dried deer droppings, scattered like landmines.
And so, their Mine Sweeper No. 1, Yurianna, made her heroic sacrifice.
"Everyone, you have free ti now! Please return and gather here at 12:00 PM so we can go have lunch together!
"Try to avoid climbing Mount Wakakusa. Just play around the base of the mountain so you don't miss the eting ti!"
In front of the buses, the horoom teachers were reminding their students of the schedule.
anwhile, Yan Huan glanced at the few doujinshi he had just purchased on a mobile website, then glanced at the Four Heavenly Kings—ah, no, the four beautiful girls—stepping off the bus in the distance. He couldn't help but wonder.
"Since when did those four get along so well?"
Over there, Spencer still wore an expression of deep, agonizing contemplation.
Evidently, her mind was occupied with so major issue, taking up so much ntal bandwidth that she was completely absent-minded as she walked.
But overall, seeing this scene left Yan Huan quite surprised.
After all, in the past, no matter how Spencer or Ye Shiyu were grouped with the other hosts, it was always like Thunder Striking Earth's Fire. A disaster was guaranteed.
Having these two face each other was a true King Against King scenario; they were practically a hair's breadth away from filming an Ip Man martial arts movie right in front of him.
Yet now, they were actually this harmonious?
Was it because of An Le?
Yan Huan hadn't expected that the catalyst to make these hosts get along would actually be An Le.
However, as he had analyzed before, he couldn't use the strategy of driving the tiger to swallow the wolf against the Modifiers.
Therefore, his current top priority was to quickly stabilize An Le's out-of-control Modifier.
With this in mind, Yan Huan temporarily looked away from the four girls and searched for An Le's figure.
He had just read a bit of the doujinshi An Le created and had a few things he wanted to confirm with her.
Just as he turned his head to look for her, a soft hand gently tugged at his sleeve from behind.
That familiar touch made Yan Huan pause. He turned to look over his shoulder.
He saw An Le standing behind him with a slightly flushed face, her gaze darting away shyly.
"Xiao... Xiao Huan..."
"An Le."
Hearing Yan Huan call her na, An Le finally released his sleeve. She offered a shy smile and asked,
"The gift I gave... gave you yesterday, Xiao Huan, did you like it?"
Hearing this, images of all that black cat rchandise surfaced in Yan Huan's mind. He nodded and smiled.
"Yeah, I like it a lot."
"That's good..."
An Le's face grew slightly flushed as she nodded.
She still rembered when they were kids and had encountered a small black cat in the South Ward.
Back then, Yan Huan had ntioned how much he liked black cats, but unfortunately, there was no place to keep it at the orphanage.
So, An Le had sched to secretly take the black cat ho and raise it herself.
That way, she would have an excuse to frequently invite Xiao Huan over to play.
Unfortunately, her mama discovered it after she brought it back.
Moreover, the cat had fleas and gave An Le several bites, so her mama flat-out refused to let her keep it.
The plan to raise a cat was abandoned just like that.
"By the way, An Le, why don't we go take a walk around Todaiji Temple together?"
"Eh? O-Okay."
The mont she heard Yan Huan's request, she nodded in agreent subconsciously, before even fully processing what he had said.
Seeing her agree so readily, Yan Huan offered a faint smile and spoke softly.
"Great, let's go then."
"Mhm!"
"It stinks. I don't even know why we ca here..."
As soon as she stepped off the bus, Bai Yi pinched her nose and fanned the air, attempting to wave away the sll of deer droppings.
"It's like this at the base of the mountain; it'll be better once we go into the temple or head up the mountain. But since we're already here, we might as well buy so deer crackers and try feeding them,"
Sakuramiya Hitomi explained, being more familiar with the area as a native of Sakura Country.
"Huh? What are you doing?"
Over there, a ntally overloaded Spencer was walking when a small deer blocked her path.
The deer stared at the golden bomb pig doll Spencer was holding, then lowered its head and bowed to her.
Seeing this, Spencer couldn't help but ask in confusion,
"Why is it bowing to ? Could it be that it thinks I'm its king?!"
"..."
'Idiot!'
'It's asking you for food!!'
Seeing this, dark lines ford on Bai Yi's face. Still, she couldn't help but turn and ask Ye Shiyu in a hushed voice,
"Hey, Ye Shiyu, you heard that just now, right? Yan Huan actually gave her a matchmaking gift first!"
"...It might not necessarily be a matchmaking gift."
"Then why didn't Yan Huan give us anything?"
"..."
Hearing this, Ye Shiyu was left completely speechless.
After all, when the Anti-Spencer Alliance was ford, they had assud Yan Huan didn't actually like Spencer, and was rely forced to compromise due to the imnse power of her Linn family.
But if Yan Huan actually had feelings for Spencer, even just a tiny bit...
For them, it would be a Disastrous Opening.
However, with the Great Demon King An Le currently before them, they could only silently agree to avoid dwelling on that possibility.
"Forget it, we'll find out whether it is or not by seeing if Yan Huan continues giving gifts later! Matchmaking gifts have to be given for ten consecutive days..."
Thinking of this, Bai Yi could only voice it out to comfort herself.
"Right, if we have to give gifts for ten days in a row, what should we give today?"
At the ntion of this, both Bai Yi and Ye Shiyu felt a headache coming on. After all, they knew nothing about Yan Huan's preferences.
But catching Sakuramiya Hitomi's composed expression out of the corner of her eye, Bai Yi asked in confusion,
"By the way, aren't you a wealthy Eldest Miss? Why did you only give such simple things yesterday?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi looked at the utterly clueless Bai Yi and sighed helplessly before explaining.
"Gifts given in normal, friendly relationships emphasize reciprocity, not one-sided charity. After all, we aren't asking for favors or rewarding subordinates.
"When an ordinary person receives an expensive gift, their first reaction is usually that they can't afford a proper return gift, so there is a high probability they will decline it.
"Because of this, the gifts I give the President or anyone else on the Student Council have never been overly extravagant..."
This concept was actually quite counterintuitive, as most people assud that the more expensive a gift was, the better.
However, it depended entirely on the situation and couldn't be generalized.
For soone like Sakuramiya Hitomi, it wasn't that she couldn't afford sothing pricier; it was just that sotis, doing so would backfire.
She couldn't bla Bai Yi or the others for not understanding. It was simply due to their backgrounds that Ye Shiyu and Sakuramiya Hitomi were more sensitive to these nuances.
"..."
Listening to all these convoluted rules, Bai Yi couldn't help but rub the space between her eyebrows, a headache brewing.
This matter was a bit too complicated for her, and she was certain it was the sa for Spencer.
Right in front of them, having finished her explanation, Sakuramiya Hitomi was just about to set off when she caught sight of a white Porsche 911 Targa parked not far away.
The mont she saw the sports car, Sakuramiya Hitomi's pupils shrank, and her expression instantly grew tense. "!!"
Seeing Sakuramiya Hitomi suddenly fall silent, Bai Yi followed her gaze and asked in confusion,
"What's wrong? Is that car so super rare model?"
"N-No..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi pursed her lips. Looking back at Bai Yi and Ye Shiyu with a panicked expression, she said,
"That's my older brother's car. He's here too!"
"Your older brother?"
Seeing Sakuramiya Hitomi so anxious, Bai Yi had thought it was sothing major.
Hearing it was just a family mber, she breathed a sigh of relief and quipped,
"...So why are you making that face just because your older brother is here? Do you two not get along?"
Seeing the sheer confusion on Bai Yi and Ye Shiyu's faces, Sakuramiya Hitomi didn't have the ti to explain in detail.
She frantically scanned their surroundings, speaking anxiously,
"No, my older brother dotes on ... But he has bad blood with the President!"
"Huh?"
"In short, we have to prevent my older brother from running into the President! Otherwise, they'll definitely end up fighting!!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi nervously pulled out her mobile phone, opened her contacts, and found the one saved as "Jing," intending to call him.
"My older brother's karate is seriously impressive! He can easily take on multiple people at once! If he beats up the President..."
Hearing this, Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi froze for a mont. Then, in perfect unison, they reached into their pockets—one pulling out her mobile phone, the other fishing out her pocket watch.
Seeing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi imdiately shouted,
"And you're not allowed to use your superpowers on my older brother either!!"
"..."
At her words, Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi silently put their devices back away.
Seeing that Sakuramiya Hitomi's call remained unanswered, Ye Shiyu let out a sigh and turned her gaze toward the Nara Park area.
"Since we don't know where your older brother is, the only option is to go stand guard near Xiao Huan."
"Yeah, as soon as he gets close, we'll stop him."
Staring at the unanswered call on her screen, Sakuramiya Hitomi had no choice but to hang up.
"That's all we can do... So, let's go find the Presi—"
Hmm?
Sakuramiya Hitomi scanned the area, but Yan Huan was nowhere to be seen.
Crap!
Did soone sneak off with him?!
The three girls froze simultaneously, instinctively turning their heads toward Spencer's direction.
Instead, they only saw her alone, howling as she chased after a large herd of deer. She terrified the deer so much that they abandoned their crackers entirely, solely focused on fleeing for their lives from this terrifying upright ape.
"..."
Seeing this, the three girls breathed another sigh of relief.
Good, no one was sneaking food.
Wait?
As the thought crossed their minds, a terrifying figure simultaneously surfaced in all of their heads.
Their faces paled slightly as they looked at each other at the sa ti.
"An... An Le?"
But the most crucial issue wasn't just that An Le was ruthlessly sneaking a bite...
Don't forget, she was not on the sa side as Sakuramiya Hitomi and the rest.
If Sakuramiya Hitomi's older brother tried to lay a hand on Yan Huan, who's to say An Le wouldn't use her superpowers on him?!
The mont she thought of An Le's pleasure-manipulating tentacles, Sakuramiya Hitomi couldn't help but shudder with fear.
If her older brother was subjected to that in public...
His life as the legitimate heir of the Sakuramiya family would probably be completely over, wouldn't it?
"Hurry! Hurry, go find the President and the others!!"
Not daring to imagine the consequences, Sakuramiya Hitomi blurted out with a trembling voice.
anwhile, inside Todaiji Temple.
"Xiao Huan, look, the Moonlight Bodhisattva..."
Inside the massive grand hall, An Le followed closely behind Yan Huan, gazing up at a Bodhisattva statue as she let out a soft exclamation.
Walking ahead, Yan Huan turned around and studied the Bodhisattva with its downcast eyes.
That was the Moonlight Bodhisattva.
Legend had it that this Bodhisattva represented the Tathagata's virtue of guiding others, transforming the suffering of sentient beings, and bringing them benefit, peace, and joy.
"Is there anything special about this Bodhisattva?"
"N-Nothing really..."
An Le scratched her cheek bashfully and explained,
"Before, didn't I leave Linn to attend school in Yongzhou, back in Dragon Country? At that ti, there was a temple near my school that enshrined a Moonlight Bodhisattva, and I used to go there by myself quite often..."
Looking at her side profile, Yan Huan couldn't help but look back at the Bodhisattva before them and asked with a smile,
"People usually pray to gods and Buddhas because they want sothing. What were you praying for when you went? To get good grades on your exams?"
An Le also looked up at the Bodhisattva and shook her head.
"No... I was praying to the Bodhisattva, hoping that one day, I'd be able to return to Linn..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan paused in surprise and turned his head to look at her.
Beside him, An Le just so happened to retract her gaze and look toward him as well.
At that mont, their eyes t.
The instant their gazes locked, An Le's face grew hot. She quickly looked away and whispered,
"A-Anyway, I did manage to co back eventually, so... I think this Bodhisattva is very effective..."
"I see."
After speaking, An Le turned her attention back to the Bodhisattva before them. She pressed her palms together and closed her eyes.
He watched as she prayed to the Bodhisattva for a long ti. When she finally opened her eyes, she stood there in a daze for quite a while.
Seeing this, Yan Huan stepped a bit closer and asked,
"Before, you prayed to return to Linn. What about this ti?"
"..."
An Le turned to Yan Huan and, for the first ti ever, revealed a hint of mischievousness as she smiled,
"I'm not telling Xiao Huan."
"..."
'Could it be related to our promise for that final day?!'
Looking at her mischievous smile, a faint sense of foreboding crept into Yan Huan's heart.
After finishing their tour of Todaiji Temple, the two exited the grand hall, planning to visit Kasuga Taisha Shrine next.
Along the way, Yan Huan remained silent for a long ti. Seeing that the surroundings had finally quieted down a bit, he decided it was ti to ask.
He had seen sothing in An Le's doujinshi—the one titled "Childhood Friend Turns Into a Sadistic Vampire"—that he wanted to ask her about.
"By the way, An Le..."
"Mhm? What's wrong, Xiao Huan?"
Yan Huan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.
He was just about to speak when an incredibly furious shout suddenly rang out from directly in front of them.
"Yan Huan!! I finally found you!!"
Hmm?
'Why does this voice sound so familiar?'
Startled, Yan Huan turned his head forward.
He saw a pink-haired youth charging aggressively toward them. In a flash, the youth struck a stance and leaped directly into the air, aiming a flying kick right at Yan Huan's face.
Behind him, at the entrance of Todaiji Temple, the belatedly arriving Sakuramiya Hitomi and the others witnessed this scene and instantly knew things were going terribly wrong.
"Older brother!"
Behind her, Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi's expressions shifted as they whipped out their respective bizarre gadgets.
Beside Yan Huan, An Le watched Sakura Jing charging in, ready to resort to violence against Yan Huan. Her initially bashful expression grew colder by the second...
However, in the very next second, Yan Huan subconsciously reached out to block Sakura Jing's attack.
But he had forgotten that due to the Physical Enhancent from Kiss God, his current physical constitution was terrifyingly high.
The aggressively charging Sakura Jing seed to be moving in slow motion. Yan Huan blinked in surprise, and then the smile hooking his lips grew increasingly inhumane.
As ntioned before...
He and Sakura Jing had bad blood.
Smack!
In the very next mont, Yan Huan viciously raised his hand and slapped Sakura Jing squarely across the face.
Suspended in mid-air, Sakura Jing hadn't expected Yan Huan's reaction speed to be so fast. Caught completely off guard, he was smacked straight down to the ground.
After rolling twice, he finally sat up on the ground, clutching his face in a daze as he stared blankly at the nearby Yan Huan...
In an instant, a heavy silence fell over the front of Todaiji Temple's grand hall.
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