Just above this shrine, a person, or rather, a child, floated.
Unlike Takanashi's father, whom Fang Wuwei had seen before, that person was not some ethereal, barely human-shaped soul; Fang Wuwei could clearly see the child's full appearance.
Green hair, an incredibly petite body that would probably be smaller than Kuzuha if she landed on the ground, a cute face and voice yet constantly spouting irritating remarks, and incessantly cursing others—she was a perfect Imp.
She floated everywhere, spun everywhere, yet never strayed too far from the shrine, constantly hovering in the air above this area.
A lone ghost? No, absolutely not, this was a shrine, a large shrine, and moreover, this soul body was quite solid, unlike Rikka's father whom he had seen before.
Then… this thing is the god worshipped by this shrine?! Just this Imp?!
Watching this Imp, who with a big smile drilled into a passerby's body and then emerged, her smile even wider, Fang Wuwei suddenly felt that this New Year visit was completely unnecessary.
However, everyone else was enthusiastic, even Rikka and Totsuka, two severe Chunibyo sufferers, chose to worship, as it was a tradition, and the New Year visit was a big deal for them.
Fang Wuwei also didn't want to spoil their fun, so he could only hold his nose and go in with them to worship.
The Imp spent most of her time in front of the main hall, just floating in the air, tilting her head, putting her ear close to people's mouths, listening to their wishes, and occasionally showing a cunning smile on her face.
Fang Wuwei suddenly stopped in his tracks; he really didn't want to go...
"Brother Wuwei? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, let's go."
Kuzuha cast a puzzled look, and Fang Wuwei immediately stepped forward again, following the crowd towards the main hall.
At worst, I'll explode on this Imp; my Tsukuyomi has never been afraid!
It's just that I don't know… if this guy is really a true god, how strong is it… better not provoke it if possible.
But it was clear that Fang Wuwei underestimated the Imp's annoyingness.
Before praying, one needed to wash hands and rinse their mouth at the "temizuya" next to the main hall using a wooden long-handled ladle, to symbolize washing away impurities and praying cleanly to the gods.
Water slowly flowed down a bamboo pipe; the clear water felt incredibly cold in this winter.
But this was a ritual, and others also followed suit in a proper manner, though somewhat perfunctorily.
Most people here were very orderly, with groups of people taking turns to wash their hands, then queuing to pray, and it didn't take long for Fang Wuwei and his group when their turn came.
"It's true, you unhygienic small fry~ Your hands are no good, so useless~~"
The Imp floated over at this moment, hovering around the few people washing their hands, swaying her body in the air and constantly mocking them.
Although it was noisy, Fang Wuwei was in a good state of mind… He currently had no intention of provoking this unknown Imp, because he wasn't sure if this was truly the main god of this shrine, nor did he know how strong this guy was; if this guy didn't pose a real threat to them, then he would just let it go in one ear and out the other.
Although he wasn't afraid of the cold, he still perfunctorily completed the hand-washing process, not even rinsing his mouth, and walked directly towards the offering box area of the main hall.
"Small fry! Small fry! Unhygienic small fry! I will definitely curse you!!"
Seeing that Fang Wuwei didn't rinse his mouth, the Imp rushed up as if exploding, circling frantically around Fang Wuwei, pointing at him with a single finger, gesticulating, and continuously cursing "small fry, small fry."
Fang Wuwei intended to pretend he didn't see her, smiling as he advanced, aiming for the offering box, but a certain part of his body still unconsciously hardened… his fist, incredibly hard, veins bulging.
This Imp really [bleep] needs a lesson… Phew… Don't get angry, don't get angry… Might not be able to beat it, don't get angry, don't get angry… Just pretend I didn't see it, just pretend I didn't hear it.
"…? Wuwei, what's wrong?"
"Why do you seem angry?"
Yuta and Nibutani keenly sensed that Fang Wuwei's state was not right; although Fang Wuwei still had a smile on his face at this moment, they saw killing intent beneath that smile.
Looking down, they saw Fang Wuwei's clenched fists and somewhat stiff arms.
"Nothing, just suddenly remembered something unpleasant."
Yuta and Nibutani listened to Fang Wuwei's words, which were almost squeezed out from between his teeth, and rubbed their chins, deep in thought.
Is he under too much pressure? It must be… He's alone at home, with no one to rely on, no warmth, and he has to work to earn money while also focusing on his studies… Sigh, truly…
Yuta walked forward and patted Wuwei's shoulder, his face full of sympathy.
"If there's anything, you can tell us, we'll definitely help if we can. You don't have anyone at home, so if you have free time, you can come to my house more often; you know we've always welcomed you, right?"
"Yuta…"
Although Fang Wuwei knew Yuta had misunderstood, he didn't correct him… How could he say that he was being verbally abused by a spiritual Imp? Yuta's words did make Fang Wuwei a bit touched, but his emotions hadn't fully brewed yet…
"Ha! So he's an orphan! Small fry~ small fry~ A pathetic, lonely small fry with no family~~~"
A vein popped on Fang Wuwei's face, his breathing became rapid, and his smile became stiff.
"…Wuwei?"
"Hmm, I know, thanks for the concern."
Fang Wuwei squeezed these words out from between his teeth and walked forward, intending to shake off this annoying Imp.
But the Imp seemed to have fixated on him and immediately followed, her mouth full of words, nothing but "small fry, small fry," which was incredibly annoying.
Fang Wuwei was somewhat enraged; if it weren't for the crowd, and if he wasn't sure what would happen if he angered this god, whether it would cause irreversible consequences or expose his abilities, he would absolutely give this Imp a Tsukuyomi and teach her a lesson right now.
But not now, at least he had to wait until there was no one around… And he wasn't sure what this Imp was capable of, so it was best not to confront her and make an enemy.
Walking forward, Fang Wuwei impatiently pulled out his wallet, roughly reaching inside for coins, every movement filled with anger.
"Brother Wuwei."
Just then, Kuzuha suddenly reached out, her small hand resting on Fang Wuwei's bulging, veiny hand.
Her soft little hand calmed Fang Wuwei's anger. Fang Wuwei looked up and saw Kuzuha's face full of worry and fear.
Instantly, Fang Wuwei's heart calmed down.
"What's wrong?"
"…Nothing, just remembered something."
Fang Wuwei's smile softened a bit, and his movements became much more careful as he meticulously searched for change and coins in his wallet.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Everything."
Kuzuha returned a happy smile.
"What, he has a girlfriend now~ Someone actually likes this unhygienic bastard small fry~~"
The Imp floated in front of the two, crossing her legs in the air, and extended her bare foot towards Fang Wuwei's face, precisely at his mouth, and then her foot passed directly through, half of her foot penetrating his head.
Although Fang Wuwei's body felt nothing, he felt his soul had been insulted, and his recently calmed mood flared up again.
Phew… Don't get angry, don't get angry… Kuzuha is here, don't make others worry again… Phew…
Japanese people follow the "two bows, two claps, one bow" custom, which means bowing twice first, then throwing money, then clapping twice, ringing the bell after making a wish, and finally ending with another bow.
Fang Wuwei had no intention of following it; he skipped the initial bowing and directly threw money, but Kuzuha still bowed twice first before throwing money.
Casually pulling out a coin, Fang Wuwei didn't even look at the denomination, tossing it towards the offering box, and Kuzuha beside him also tossed hers.
Because of Fang Wuwei's deliberate waiting, the two clapped their hands and made a wish simultaneously. Kuzuha was quite devout, closing her eyes and silently praying.
Fang Wuwei also closed his eyes and suddenly noticed the Imp had gone silent, thinking she had left, and was secretly relieved, when he heard the Imp let out a huge laugh again.
"Haha! This short small fry actually wished for this unhygienic small fry to have everything go smoothly! Hahaha~~~"
Fang Wuwei instantly opened his eyes and sharply turned his head, seeing the Imp floating in the air in front of Kuzuha, pointing at Kuzuha with one hand, holding her stomach with the other, laughing heartily, her face displaying an arrogant and utterly punchable grin.
Fang Wuwei's spiritual power began to unconsciously emanate…
Seemingly having laughed enough, the Imp slowly stopped, stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, then rubbed her palms together, and made a waving motion towards Kuzuha.
"In that case, I will grant your prayer and make everything go wrong for you today!"
I [bleep] you [bleep]
Fang Wuwei's killing intent instantly burst forth; his right Sharingan transformed into a Mangekyo, staring fixedly at the Imp floating in the air, a terrifying aura gushing out with his spiritual power.
The surrounding people felt the temperature suddenly drop by several degrees, couldn't help but shiver, and instinctively took two steps back…
[Telegram 180s]
You [bleep] are dead today!! Tonight I [bleep] will come and kill you!! Not even [bleep] Jesus can [bleep] save you, I [bleep] said it!!!!