flstandardbreds Chapter 134 The Boy Who Saw a Monster
Chapter 134 The Boy Who Saw a Monster
Without bothering to carefully wipe the water droplets off his body, Yu Bai casually put on his pajamas and hurriedly walked into the bedroom.
Lost in thought, Yu Bai didn't even bother to reply to the greetings from the spirits along the way. His mind was completely occupied with: getting back to his bedroom and searching online for the answers he needed.
"...Mt. Misumi...the Moon Festival...it really happened!"
After searching online, Yu Bai successfully obtained the answer he wanted.
Sure enough, the information about Misumi-yama that I had been searching for but couldn't find before appeared online, along with a report about the Misumi-yama Moon Festival.
The Moon Festival: A unique festival in Misumi-yama. It originated from a festival held by people to pray for a bountiful harvest. At this time, villagers near Misumi-yama would select two people to compete: one to play the role of the drought god "Fugetsu-gami" (meaning "unlucky moon"), and the other to play the role of the harvest god "Fugetsu-gami" (meaning "harvest moon"). However, as time has passed, the residents of Misumi-yama have not held such a festival for a long time.
However, there are also rumors that although humans haven't held the Moon Festival for a long time, it is actually held every year among the yokai. The yokai of Misumi Mountain decide which faction will take over Misumi Mountain for the next ten years based on the results of the Moon Festival.
The Moon Festival is held every ten years, and the next Moon Festival is just two days away.
"Buyue, it seems we can finally meet." Looking at the information displayed on the computer, Yu Bai smiled happily.
……
Takashi Natsume has been troubled lately. Having lost both his parents at a young age, he drifts like a rootless duckweed, moving from one relative to another, experiencing the bitterness and helplessness of living under someone else's roof at a young age. Whenever the night is quiet, that loneliness and helplessness surge in like a tide, almost drowning him.
However, just when he thought he would forever drift aimlessly, the appearance of the Fujiwara couple was like a ray of warm sunshine, illuminating his gloomy world. Their love and care brought Natsume Takashi an unprecedented sense of warmth and security.
Therefore, he cherishes this hard-won family bond even more and is unwilling to bring any danger to Aunt Tazi and the others.
The danger he referred to was...
Thinking of this, Takashi Natsume's gaze shifted to a chubby calico cat beside him that looked exactly like the lucky cat figurines in the shop, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"Seriously, there are more and more monsters lately, and they just appear whenever they want. I saw a monster on the wall while I was on the phone just now, Nyanko-sensei."
"This is all your own fault, Natsume. Don't blame me for this. If it weren't for your recent meddling in the affairs of yokai, your name would have spread so widely among them, causing many yokai to want to see you." The calico cat, whom Natsume Takashi called Nyanko-sensei, said to Natsume as they walked.
If someone who was unaware of this scene were to witness it, they would be terrified by what they saw—a cat actually talking!
Because of the powerful spiritual energy that Takashi Natsume possessed from birth, he was able to see the existence of yokai and gods when he was young.
The calico cat he calls "Nyanko-sensei" isn't actually a real cat; its true form is a very powerful yokai named [Madara]. It was previously sealed inside a lucky cat figurine, but was freed when Natsume Takashi accidentally broke the sealing rope, and has been by his side ever since.
Spiritual power is also an ability that Takashi Natsume has always hidden. Among human groups, not everyone can accept the existence of yokai and gods.
When Natsume was a child, he had tried to mention the existence of yokai to others, but no one believed him.
Because of Natsume's frequent avoidance of yokai, he was seen as a strange child by others. Before being adopted by the Fujiwara couple, Natsume was often bullied by other children at school.
If it weren't for the fact that Takashi Natsume was a very gentle person and was treated kindly by the Fujiwara family, someone else would probably have turned to the dark side long ago after such a growth experience.
On another note, ever since he discovered the Book of Friends while sorting through his grandmother Reiko Natsume's belongings, Takashi Natsume has been drawn into a series of events involving yokai (supernatural beings).
Now, Takashi Natsume is quite famous in the world of yokai. Small yokai often come to him for help or want him to return their names to them.
After all, a name is the shortest curse, whether for humans, yokai, or gods. When Natsume Takashi's maternal grandmother was young, she fought and defeated many yokai. Afterward, she began collecting the names of the yokai she defeated, like a stamp collector. In a sense, Natsume Reiko, by acquiring the names of the yokai, also made a contract with those yokai.
However, human lifespan is short. After Natsume Reiko passed away, the Book of Friends, filled with the names of yokai, fell into the hands of Natsume Takashi. This caused some yokai to want their names back and no longer be bound by the Book of Friends. After all, once the Book of Friends falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, the yokai whose names are written in the book will indirectly fall into the hands of those people.
"Seriously, it's not worth it for me to protect you all this time! Natsume, you have to buy me lots and lots of steamed buns, or I'm going on strike!"
Nyanko-sensei stood on his hind paws, his two front paws spread wide, looking quite displeased. Natsume Takashi had no idea how Nyanko-sensei could make such a wide range of expressions with his calico face.
"Then you'd better do your job well before I'll even think about buying you steamed buns."
Natsume Takashi was no longer surprised by Nyanko-sensei's taunts. Back in the beginning, Nyanko-sensei still maintained a little bit of the aloofness that comes with being a great yokai.
But as time went by, perhaps influenced by its "container" of a lucky cat, it now exudes a strong cat-like aura in every move. It loves to eat, loves to sleep, loves to lick its fur, and loves to pounce on all sorts of small, moving objects.
Lately, he's been getting increasingly wider. Whenever Nyanko-sensei sits on him or lets him hold him, Takashi Natsume feels that this guy is getting heavier and heavier.
"What did you say?! Ah~ It's a frog..." Just as Natsume and Nyanko-sensei were bickering, a frog suddenly jumped out of the rice paddy, instantly attracting Nyanko-sensei's full attention. He immediately abandoned Natsume and excitedly chased after the frog, hopping and skipping into the rice paddy.
"Ugh, really. Oh well."
Watching Nyanko-sensei frolicking among the frogs in the fields, showing no trace of his former monstrous nature, Takashi Natsume shook his head helplessly, a gentle smile playing on his lips. He found a comfortable spot to sit, letting the breeze caress his face, quietly awaiting Nyanko-sensei's return.
Just then, Takashi Natsume heard a whispering sound.
"Ah, that must be Lord Natsume."
"How to do?"
"What else can we do but ask him for help?"
……
Takashi Natsume: Making his first appearance with Nyanko-sensei.
Shuichi Natori: As an actor, I'm sorry, I'm too conspicuous.
P.S.: The Moon Festival in Natsume's Book of Friends is a festival held in winter, close to spring. However, because of the timeline here, I changed the festival time to summer vacation.