21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 269 - 266: Night Climb to the Mountain Temple

Because the Jounouchi Hiromi’s family consisted only of her and her mother, along with their guest Chen Yu, even the New Year’s celebration seemed somewhat subdued. As for Hiromi’s grandmother and maternal grandmother, they lived farther away in the mountains, residing with other relatives, and had not come to join them for the New Year due to the inconvenience of travel.

Actually, many of Japan’s New Year traditions were influenced by China, with several customs being quite similar, such as families gathering for New Year’s Eve dinner and watching Japan’s New Year’s TV specials—the Red and White Song Battle tradition, and visiting temples on the first day of the New Year, among others…

It could be said that aside from some detailed differences in customs, Japan’s New Year had many similarities to China’s New Year, an undeniable result of the ancient Chinese culture spreading to neighboring countries.

However, as society gradually entered the modern era, traditions naturally came under influence. For instance, more and more people grew accustomed to life in big cities, and the connection to traditional New Year’s customs grew weaker, to the point where even the decades-old Red and White Song Battle was seeing declining viewership…

Such issues were not unique to China; Japan faced them as well. However, since one-tenth of Japan’s population was concentrated in Tokyo, with many others heading towards major cities, local county and city populations dwindled.

These local governments went to great lengths to revitalize their economies, and they naturally made good use of their traditional culture for protection and inheritance, which, compared to China that had undergone cultural turmoil, was somewhat better.

Of course, these issues meant little to a necromancer and a Blood Knight. Having finished dinner and while watching a boring TV program, Chen Yu and Hiromi Jounouchi were also discussing their plans for the New Year’s shrine visit.

"Mr. Chen Yu, would you prefer to go to see the New Year’s Eve bell-ringing shortly after midnight, or shall we go for the New Year’s shrine visit tomorrow during the day?" Hiromi Jounouchi asked Chen Yu.

Either option posed no problem for them; even if it meant staying up all night to watch the New Year’s Eve bell-ringing, and then witnessing the sunrise, followed by the first shrine visit of the New Year, it all boiled down to whether the two were interested in these activities.

"I’ve never witnessed the New Year’s bell-ringing at a temple before, let’s go see it together," Chen Yu decided after some thought. Staying up all night was a trivial matter for him, and for Hiromi Jounouchi, who now had a constitution comparable to a giant dragon, it would not be a burden.

Hearing Chen Yu’s desire to see the bell-ringing ceremony, Hiromi Jounouchi naturally didn’t mind. As a local from Yamagata City, she had seldom watched the New Year’s bell-ringing at Risseiji Temple either. With Chen Yu expressing such a wish, she couldn’t help but feel a hint of longing.

"If you want to see the bell-ringing, go ahead. Leave early to avoid the crowds on the mountain, and don’t forget to get me a disaster-preventing amulet," Mother Jounouchi responded when she heard Chen Yu and Hiromi discussing the New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony.

To avoid being a third wheel for her daughter, she made a clear gesture to send them off: "I’ll go to your Aunt Keiko’s house, they’re definitely playing mahjong tonight, and if I head over now, I might still make it in time to join in."

"Mom…" Hiromi Jounouchi started to explain but saw her mother already standing up and heading to the room, apparently to get ready to leave. Hiromi exchanged a resigned glance with Chen Yu, smiled bitterly, shook her head, and stood up as well. She changed into her coat with Chen Yu and they left the house together.

Although it hadn’t snowed today, the snow cover on the ground was still quite picturesque—a blanket of glistening white, untrodden and beautiful, almost too divine to disturb.

Hiromi Jounouchi, indulging in a childlike spirit, bounded playfully in the snow, leaving deep footprints with each step, a joyous smile spreading across her face.

"It’s been so long since I was this happy. When I was little, I loved stomping in the snow like this!" Hiromi Jounouchi said, her laughter growing as she turned to Chen Yu: "Back then, I was so small I’d sink into the snow, and my dad had to pull me out like one pulls a radish—it was so much fun!"

Hearing Hiromi say this, Chen Yu suddenly moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground: "Unfortunately, you’ve grown taller now. I can’t grab your hand, but I can hold your waist."

"Hmm~ I’m not a little girl anymore, so that trick won’t work on me!" Hiromi Jounouchi cooed in Chen Yu’s arms for a moment, then with a hint of haughtiness released his hands and ran a few steps ahead, only to turn back and ask him, "Mr. Chen Yu, it’s late and there are no cars, how are we getting to Risseiji Temple?"

Hiromi Jounouchi had chosen a light-colored coat for the evening, which, despite the night, gleamed under the warm orange streetlights, making her look extraordinarily beautiful.

Gazing at her beauty mixed with playfulness, Chen Yu walked towards her, took her hand, and said with a smile, "We can just walk there!"

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With that, Chen Yu began to walk forward, holding Hiromi Jounouchi’s hand, and the scenery around them blurred, as if they were riding in an exceedingly fast vehicle. But Chen Yu and Hiromi Jounouchi’s steps were just normal strides.

When the surroundings stabilized, Hiromi Jounouchi looked around and realized they were already standing at the foot of Risseiji Temple’s mountain.

"This is..." Hiromi Jounouchi was still a bit confused, surveying around her to confirm their location before turning to Chen Yu with a bit of shock, about to ask him how they got there.

"It’s just a simple application of spatial magic, compressing what would have been a long distance into a few steps.

If you, my master, could control the power I’ve bestowed upon you, you could do it with your eyes closed," explained Xiao Lan’s voice in Hiromi Jounouchi’s mind, with a dragon’s disdain yet still attentively clarifying for her, and simplifying the principles of the spell before transmitting it to Hiromi Jounouchi.

While digesting the information from Xiao Lan, Hiromi Jounouchi finally came to her senses and said to Chen Yu, "Mr. Chen Yu, shall we go up the mountain now?"

Saying this, Hiromi Jounouchi looked towards the mountain path ahead; although the road was covered in snow and the stone steps had ice formed on them, there was no shortage of visitors. Continue reading at novelbuddy

"Let’s go up. The temple seems to be quite popular today!" With that, Chen Yu linked arms with Hiromi Jounouchi, and they trudged up the snow-packed path toward Risseiji Temple on the mountain.