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I: The Flowers Are Not Sleeping
Chapter 43: Thousand Tent Lanterns
Who is scolded and who is being scolded.

***

At the spring equinox, Yayoi's mother took her hand and went to the mountains together.

After the Kawabata family moved from Mutsu to Saitama Prefecture, they set up a cemetery and an ancestral hall here. People who died in the Kawabata family from generation to generation, except for married girls, would be buried here. Yayoi's grandparents, great-grandfather, great-grandmother are all buried here.

Yayoi didn't know much about the family history of her grandfather's family, and her mother didn't know much either.

Haruna told her that her great-grandfather was a leisurely person. During the cherry blossom season, when the weather was warm, he would move a wicker chair and place it under the very old cherry tree. He would lie on the wicker chair and take a nap. The little fat bird liked to hide in the cherry blossom clusters above his head, peeking out its head to look at the people under the tree, and from time to time it opened its mouth and makes a crisp chirping sound.

Great-grandfather took a nap amidst the chirping of these birds, and gradually fell into the soft spring scenery in the yard, gradually falling asleep. It was not until the magic moment, when the setting sun on the horizon dyed the clouds into a brilliant color like rouge, that he would woke up slowly, moved himself slowly, and walked into the house to wait for dinner.

At this time, great-grandmother would always give great-grandfather a look, saying that he lived like an old turtle.

Great-grandfather old turtle would not be angry, he would smile, his eyes would be bent into two slits, and his eyes would be as bright as the cool spring water gushing out of the stream. He would smile and ask great-grandmother what to eating today.

"Eat whatever you want." Great-grandmother handed over a full bowl of rice, "Don't be picky about what you eat. Learn more from Haruna. Haruna is much better behaved than you."

She was no longer the grandmother of a young girl, but her tone of voice was brisk, reminding Haruna of a young, beautiful, fun-loving and lively girl.

The morning light on the horizon cuts the darkness bit by bit, and the mountains were filled with light mist. The mist was dyed with a light golden color by the morning sun, like a layer of light golden gauze.

Yayoi was carrying a heavy wooden bucket, with a wooden spoon with a slender handle placed in the bucket. The sun fell through the gaps between the ebony buds and merged into the water. The water's light rippled with the rising and falling water.

After the ice and snow melted, the snow water seeped into the soil under the feet, making it moist and sticky when stepped on.

Under the trees, where the sun didn't shine, there was still a thin layer of snow.

Yayoi was held by her mother with one hand and carrying a wooden bucket in the other hand, walking on the path. Originally there was no road here. After the Kawabata family built an ancestral hall here, there was a road for people to walk.

But now, with the decline of the family, the place was inaccessible. The weeds on this road had grown wildly, and there were only faint outlines left.

Following her childhood memories and the outline of this path, Haruna led her daughter through the old torii gate and arrived at the resting place of her parents and grandparents.

Satoru and Suguru had been to this cemetery before. They didn't know what they had done here. The cursed object they were looking for was buried underground. Fortunately, they didn't do anything dirty like digging a grave. The good thing was, the tombstone was not damaged and was still neat and tidy.

There were many tombstones in the cemetery. Green grass and soil peek out from the gaps between the stone slabs under the feet. On top of the tombstones, slender shadows were cast under the ebony wood.

The tombstones of her grandfather and grandmother were next to the tombstones of her great-grandfather and great-grandmother. Except for Haruna and Yayoi, no one had visited them for a long time. The tombstones were covered with dust, and there were fallen leaves and a thin layer of snow under them.

The broom swept away the fallen leaves and residual snow underneath, and the brush swept away the dust on the tombstone. The rag was dipped in water and carefully wiped the tombstone. After sweeping, take out the bamboo tube, pour water on it, and insert the cherry blossoms that were broken off from the courtyard at home. Light incense sticks, and the tributes were steamed buns with red bean filling and orange-flavored soda.

Her mother said that her great-grandfather and Yayoi had a common hobby. Two generations apart, they both surprisingly liked orange soda.

As the old man was getting older, drinking soda was not good for his health, but drinking tea was just as good. Great-grandmother wouldn't let great-grandfather drink more, so great-grandfather secretly took his mother to the canteen in the town and carried Haruna on his back to finish the drink and then go home. Grandfather and granddaughter were caught when they came home smelling like orange soda.

"Orange soda."

In the soft sunlight, my mother bent her eyebrows and softened her eyes. Time passed by, and the smile on her lips seemed to be back to the time when the little girl was taken out by her grandfather to secretly drink soda.

"The orange soda is delicious." Yayoi blinked, her red hair fell from her shoulders.

"It's great that you like orange soda too." Haruna patted Yayoi's head.

"I also like steamed buns with red bean filling." Yayoi added, "Daifuku, also likes them."

Blood ties and fate were strange things.

Her mother suddenly remembered that her father also liked red bean filling steamed buns and daifuku. Looking at her red-haired daughter, the smile in her eyes deepened.

'Father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, thank you for bringing me into this world and giving me the opportunity to meet my daughter.'

Haruna clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and silently conveyed her gratitude and thoughts to her blood relatives who were already in another world.

A few white birds flew across the clear sky, and the cries of birds echoed in the forest.

Yayoi held the wooden bucket, turned around and looked at several tombstones. The cherry blossoms in the flower tube were delicate, the water light rippled in the glass container, and the wisps of fireworks lit by incense rose.

Yayoi blinked.

"Let's go, Yayoi." Haruna held Yayoi's hand.

Yayoi held her mother's hand and walked back along the road she had come. The soil under her feet was moist and sticky, and the grass still smelled of dew.

The steamed buns she made when she went to visit the cemetery in the morning were made by her mother. The steamed buns were stuffed with red bean paste. The orange soda was bought from a store not far from home. This store had been run by since her mother was a child. The owner Ishida-san from the store inherited this small shop from his father and had been running it until now.

There were plenty of red bean filling steamed buns and orange-flavored soda at home today.

The spring sun was soft and clear, create a shallow silhouette under the eaves. The fireworks overhead are blooming brilliantly, delicate and warm. When the wind passed by, the pink petals fluttered down.

Yayoi was sitting on the floor of the corridor, with a plump Tangerine lying on her lap. The sun was shining brightly today. Yayoi was sitting in the courtyard wearing only a sweater. Tangerine on her lap snored comfortably, and the sun was shining brightly on the fluffy fur, it's soft and warm.

Yayoi stroked Tangerine from time to time, until Tangerine under her hand started purring.

The cherry blossom branches on the wall shook, shaking off the cherry blossoms on the branches.

Yayoi was not surprised to see a white head popping up on the wall. When the other party saw Yayoi, he was open and frank, and quickly pulled himself up to the wall. He did not feel guilty at all about climbing over the wall and being caught by the owner of the house, but half-heartedly squat on the top of the wall and skillfully called to his partner standing on the other side of the wall.

"Do you eat steamed buns today?" Satoru jumped down from the wall and saw the steamed buns on the plate at a glance. His tone was familiar and natural. He swaggered under the eaves and quickly picked up a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth.

After he climbed over the wall in one step, Suguru looked up and saw a big white cat with bulging cheeks sitting under the eaves. He said out of habit, "Satoru, you can't be so rude..."

"Suguru climbed the wall too." Satoru puffed up his cheeks, swallowed the bun, and said with a flat expression, "Hey, Suguru, you can't be so rude~"

Suguru: "..."

It's hard, the fist was hard.

Satoru was a strange person. Not only was he powerful, he was also equally powerful in dancing in other people's minefields.

"Do you want to eat steamed buns?" Satoru held up the porcelain plate containing the steamed buns, twisted one of the steamed buns, shook it in front of Suguru's face, and then stuffed it into his mouth. His smile was particularly flat, "I won't let you eat it."

Suguru didn't want to talk nonsense with this guy who was as childish as a three-year-old child. No, this guy was even more childish than a three-year-old child.

After a burst of weird laughter, Satoru held a plate of steamed buns, twisted one and took a bite, "Hmmm, why are they all filled with red bean filling?"

It's delicious, but the fillings were a bit monotonous. It would be nice if there were a few different fillings.

"Because my grandfather likes to eat steamed buns stuffed with red bean filling." Yayoi said.

Satoru supervised the buckets and water ladles under the eaves. He paused and understood what Yayoi meant when she said "my grandfather likes to eat steamed buns stuffed with red bean filling". The steamed buns in his mouth suddenly no longer tasted good.

Except for Yayoi's mother, there were no descendants of the Kawabata family of sorcerers. Yayoi could only be counted as half, because she took her father's surname, her surname was Amamiya. The last sorcerer in the Kawabata family was Yayoi's grandfather, Haruna's father.

In March last year, Satoru went to the Kawabata family's cemetery. No one had been to the Kawabata family's cemetery for a long time. It was dilapidated and old, like a dying old man. The cursed object was under the ground, he could only dig it out and be done with it. Fortunately, this man still had some conscience and attempts, and did not do anything like digging up people's ancestral graves. Instead, he went to find the owner of the cemetery.

He didn't found the owner, but he found a little red-haired girl.

The most important thing was that this red-haired fool was an intuitive creature that could defeat him.

It was too late, and the cursed object was swallowed, but it didn't matter, the cursed spirit that swallowed the cursed object was also destroyed by him.

Satoru came back to his senses and continued to chew the steamed bun in his mouth as if nothing had happened. The sweet taste of the red bean filling filled his heart and mind.

Did the last sorcerer of the Kawabata family actually like sweets?

"Meow meow meow."

Tangerine climbed up from Yayoi's lap and slowly ran to Suguru, raising its chin with an expression begging for stroking.

Suguru paused for a moment, then reached out and started to pick up Tangerine. As he continued to pick up Tangerine, he felt someone staring directly at him, their eyes like thorns on his back.

Tangerine was purring comfortably after being rubbed by Suguru, but the hand that was touching the orange cat suddenly stopped, and Tangerine meowed unhappily.

Yayoi looked at Tangerine and then at Suguru, her eyes widened with an expression of disbelief, and she said in shock, "You actually hooked up with my cat!"

Yayoi suddenly felt a little aggrieved. She was obviously Tangerine's owner, she was the one who bathed it, fed it, and rubbed him. She turned around, and Tangerine actually ran to Suguru, meowing and begging for him to be rubbed.

Suguru: ???

Suguru looked confused and thought to himself, was there any need to go out of his way to hook up? This Tangerine just came over fooled by someone with a small dried fish.

Satoru almost burst out laughing, and put the steamed bun in his hand aside, watching the excitement and letting out a continuous burst of weird laughter.

"Suguru, have you fallen so low that you want to hook up with someone else's cat? Hahahahahaha-" This was a wild laugh of a shameless cat.

Suguru sneered, "You are truly depraved when you degenerate to the point of being rubbed."

The meaning of the words could only be known by those who were familiar with it.

Who rubbed whom and who was being rubbed, this was a question.

Satoru stopped laughing.

Suguru smiled and smiled again, "I've never been touched."

Yayoi turned to look at Satoru and said doubtfully, "Have you ever been rubbed?"

Satoru: "..."

Weren't you the one who rubbed me?!

Satoru dared not say anything, so he stretched out his hand to pinch Yayoi's face. In the end, the little red-haired girl ran away like a loach, and even took Tangerine from Suguru's arms, and hid far away.

Suguru wanted to laugh, but he had to hold it in. He couldn't laugh, he was about to develop new abdominal muscles from laughing.

The petals of the cherry blossom tree fell to the floor of the corridor, and the pink petals lay quietly on it. When the quiet wind passed by, the petals were brought into the room.

There was a burst of "hahahaha-" from the courtyard, and the owner of "hahahaha-" laughed at the other person without any hesitation, causing the other person to get angry, and the two started fighting in someone else's courtyard.

At least these two people still remember not to use cursed techniques.

***

· Genuine translation can be found only in OchatimesBlogspotCom, FanFictionNet, and Wattpad

• Omake •

Little redhead: Just hook up with Gojo. Why do you want to hook up with my cat?!

Gojo: Huh??? Suguru, you actually want to hook up with me! (hold his chest and flash backwards.jpg)

Brother Suguru: If I want to hook up with you, I might as well hook up with the little redhead's orange cat!!!

Tangerine: Meow???



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