Chapter Sixty-Two: The Wishes of the People

After devouring more than a dozen popsicles, Su Mo felt utterly unwell. Although he had gained considerable abilities from the spirits, he remained human at his core and lacked their abnormal constitution. Yoshino, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected—after all, she was an ice attribute spirit and utterly impervious to the cold of popsicles.

“It’s getting late. Let’s buy some offerings for the Tenko Festival, and then go meet Shixiang and the others,” Su Mo said, clutching his stomach and looking pale.

“Mm-hmm…” Yoshino nodded.

With that, Su Mo led Yoshino to the mall. After each had chosen their offerings, they headed toward the pond beside Tenko City Station. Though called a pond, it was actually an artificial river, quite expansive in area. The sky had not yet fully darkened, but already a considerable crowd had gathered at the riverside, all evidently here to honor the Tenko Ox.

When Su Mo and Yoshino arrived at their agreed meeting spot, Shixiang, Shishi, Origami, and even Kotori were already there; and it was the rare white-haired Kotori.

“Big Brother, it’s so dark here, it feels creepy. Let’s hurry home!” Kotori said timidly, especially after hearing the story of the Tenko Ox. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the ox would crawl out of the water and eat her, so she huddled in the middle of the group, shivering.

No sooner had Kotori spoken than Origami rushed forward and hugged Su Mo tightly.

“Su Mo, hold me. I’m scared,” Origami said without a trace of expression, her face betraying not even a hint of fear.

“What?” Su Mo was caught off guard by Origami’s sudden embrace, while Shixiang beside him glared, visibly annoyed.

“Origami, what are you doing? Get away from Su Mo right now!” Shixiang shouted.

But Origami shook her head and replied calmly, “No, it’s too frightening—I can’t move at all. So I have to hold Su Mo like this.”

Feeling Origami’s soft body pressed against him, Su Mo began to feel a headache coming on. Indeed, whenever Shixiang and Origami were together, trouble followed. By day, the two could play tennis until they collapsed; who knew what chaos the night would bring.

Seeing Origami clinging to Su Mo for dear life, refusing to let go, Shixiang grew jealous and, stammering, threw herself into Su Mo’s arms as well. “Su…Su Mo, I’m scared too.”

“Su Mo, I’m even more frightened than Origami, so you should only hold me. Don’t leave me,” Shixiang pleaded.

“Shidao, I’m scared, don’t go away!” Kotori chimed in.

Caught between the two girls, Su Mo felt both blissful and troubled. Sensing his discomfort, Rinnee suddenly suggested, “Why don’t we take this opportunity to show the offerings we’ve prepared for the Tenko Festival?”

“Great idea—I think that’s wonderful,” Su Mo said, shooting Rinnee a grateful look and slipping free from Origami and Shixiang’s embrace.

“Shixiang, you go first. Let’s see what you brought!” Rinnee smiled gently.

“I bet it’s soybean flour bread!” Su Mo guessed, knowing full well that Shixiang could hardly think of anything else.

But Shixiang gave a mysterious smile and declared loudly, “Haha, Su Mo, you guessed wrong!”

“It’s actually a grilled meat sandwich!” She pulled her offering from behind her back and explained, “I never have enough soybean flour bread for myself, so I bought this as my offering. Even though it’s cold, the grilled meat is still juicy and delicious.”

At this, Shixiang looked longingly at her now cold sandwich. Unconsciously, she began to salivate, but remembering it was an offering for the Tenko Ox, she forced her gaze away with great effort.

“What did Rinnee prepare?” Everyone turned their attention to her.

Rinnee lifted a large watermelon from behind her and said, “I didn’t know what to choose, so I picked a watermelon—big and sweet. I believe the Tenko Ox will like it.”

Seeing Rinnee with a watermelon seemed utterly out of character for her gentle and virtuous demeanor, and the choice was bizarre—did she think she was Icarus? Not everyone is so obsessed with watermelons.

“I have white lilies, specially for memorials,” Origami said calmly. The gift suited her perfectly, solemn and respectful.

“That leaves Kotori and Shishi,” Su Mo said, looking at white-haired Kotori and Shishi.

“I brought limited-edition Treasure Pearl lollipops! Aren’t they great?” Kotori grinned, her face radiant and completely different from her usual stern commander persona.

Beside her, Shishi produced a fruit cake, which, judging by its appearance, she had baked herself.

Finally, all eyes turned to Su Mo and Yoshino. Since Su Mo had helped Yoshino choose her offering that afternoon, he knew exactly what it was. Yoshino, blushing, shyly took out a small plush ox. “Mine is this. Since the Tenko Ox is an ox, he must be lonely, so I thought I’d give him a little calf plush to keep him company.”

Yoshino loved rabbit plushies, so she imagined the Tenko Ox would appreciate stuffed animals as well. She had even chosen one with a pocket underneath for a hand, much like her own rabbit puppet.

Seeing everyone present their offerings, Su Mo didn’t keep them in suspense and brought out a jug of wine from behind his back. Everyone stared, momentarily stunned.

“Didn’t Shishi say that the Tenko Ox became acquainted with the samurai because of wine? I figured he must love drinking. Otherwise, how could he have gotten drunk and been killed by the villagers?” Su Mo explained with a smile, placing the jug on the riverbank as an offering to the Tenko Ox.

Everyone set their offerings on the bank and began to silently make wishes. Since the Tenko Ox was the guardian deity of Tenko City, they believed that honoring him would help their wishes come true.

Shixiang: “I hope there’s endless soybean flour bread every day, that I can be together with Su Mo forever, and… hmm? Is that too greedy?”

Origami: “I hope Su Mo’s wishes all come true.”

Kotori: “I hope I can marry my brother… Is that too forward? Maybe I should wish for him to propose to me instead!”

Yoshino: “I hope… I hope I can grow up soon, so Mr. Su Mo won’t treat me like a child anymore.”

Yoshina: “I wish for Yoshino’s happiness forever!”

Shishi: “I hope everyone can always be as happy as we are today!”

Rinnee: “……”

……

Watching these adorable girls quietly making their wishes, Su Mo looked up at the sky and made a wish of his own.

“I hope that one day, I can take them all home with me.”