Ch 209. The Cup Itself is Not Valuable

"But after finding the cultivation method, the most important and troublesome part is how to obtain it in exchange."

"Some ordinary cultivation methods are not valued by the youkai, so they just give them away. However, for those more precious cultivation methods, acquiring them isn't so easy."

"Generally speaking, those more valuable cultivation methods are only in the hands of great youkai. However, under the current backdrop of declining mysticism, the great youkai who still remain in the present world often do so for specific reasons, situations, or unfulfilled wishes and obsessions."

"If I want to obtain valuable cultivation methods from these great youkai, I'll most likely need to listen to and resolve their wishes or obsessions, which isn't simple at all."

"But..."

Another twist came. Kotoko smoothed out Hoshimi's palm and began to write and draw in his palm with no particular pattern.

"But don't worry. I am the 'Goddess of Wisdom,' not the 'Goddess of Battle.' Those great youkai know this well. The wishes or obsessions they would want me to resolve are definitely tricky mental problems. As for those involving brute force, they certainly wouldn't come to me for help."

"Alright, I'm done." Kotoko turned to look at Hoshimi. "So, Hoshimi-senpai, now that you know how hard it is for me, how will you repay me?"

Hoshimi blinked, withdrew his hand, and placed it on Kotoko's waist. "Kotoko, how about this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hoshimi suddenly tickled Kotoko's side.

"Ugh~ Haha~" Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Kotoko first groaned slightly in pain, then scrunched up her face and couldn't help but laugh.

"Hoshimi~" Kotoko endured the ticklish feeling and gave Hoshimi a coquettish glare.

Hoshimi grinned widely, revealing his white teeth, smiling brilliantly. He didn't stop but instead intensified his tickling of Kotoko's sides.

"Ugh~~" The ticklish sensation and slight pain on both sides made Kotoko twist and turn like a mermaid.

"Hoshimi~~ You ungrateful man~~ Ugh~ Haha~~ I've done so much~~ And this is how you repay me~~ I... ugh~~"

Kotoko laughed and shouted while fighting back, trying to tickle Hoshimi's side in retaliation.

"Weak, weak. Kotoko, your attack is truly weak." Hoshimi withdrew one hand to defend and easily grabbed Kotoko's slender arms.

With one hand holding Kotoko's wrists, he pulled her arms up over her head.

In this position, Kotoko was forced to straighten her back, and her flat chest was pushed forward.

"Ugh~~" With her hands pulled above her head and her back straightened, she lost control over her body.

The sense of being controlled or, rather, helplessness made Kotoko's cheeks inexplicably flush red. She squirmed slightly, seemingly trying to break free, but in reality, this only added to the allure.

Looking at the petite Kotoko, who was easily overpowered, Hoshimi felt a slight itch in his nose. He instinctively leaned closer to Kotoko.

When their faces were less than a finger's width apart, Hoshimi stopped and met Kotoko's gaze.

Their red and violet eyes reflected each other, creating a strange and somewhat ambiguous atmosphere.

"..." Feeling a hint of shyness, Kotoko closed her eyes and slightly raised her delicate neck, her intentions clear.

With his breath turning warm, Hoshimi didn't hesitate and directly responded to Kotoko's gesture...

In the desolate, abandoned shrine, the lips of the young couple touched...

...

A long while later, on the path down the mountain, Kotoko, her face blushing, held Hoshimi's arm as she complained.

"Hoshimi-senpai~ My dress and stockings are all covered in dust. What do you think we should do?"

"Go home and change, what else?" Hoshimi replied lazily.

In the abandoned shrine, the dust was thick. During their earlier kiss, Kotoko accidentally fell to the ground.

At first, caught up in the passion, neither of them noticed the dust issue. By the time they realized it, their clothes were already covered in dust.

The two spent quite some time patting the dust off each other but couldn't completely clean it. So, they had no choice but to leave the shrine in their dusty state.

"Ugh~" Kotoko pouted and poked Hoshimi's side with her finger in a grumbling manner.

Hoshimi didn't mind since Kotoko wasn't using much force anyway; he treated it as a free waist massage.

After a while, feeling it was pointless, Kotoko withdrew her hand. She hugged Hoshimi's arm and leaned her weight on him, attempting to use this as another way to "get back" at him.

Unfortunately, Kotoko's petite body was light, posing no burden to Hoshimi. On top of that, she was missing a lower leg compared to others, making her even lighter and less intimidating.

"Kotoko, when will you show me how you handle conflicts between humans and youkai?" Hoshimi suddenly asked as they continued walking.

"..." Kotoko was startled. She turned her head slightly, her eyes dodging as she replied, "Hoshimi, why the sudden interest in human-youkai conflicts?"

"Ha~" Hoshimi yawned and casually replied, "I want to test whether my dream techniques work on youkai. If they do, it might be quite fun."

"..." Kotoko didn't respond.

The two continued walking down the mountain, their footsteps echoing unevenly on the stone-paved path.

After a long while, Kotoko sighed, "I understand. I'll take you to try it when there's an opportunity."

"Hmm, sounds good." Hoshimi replied and didn't say anything else.

He half-closed his eyes, looking somewhat drowsy.

For some reason, he felt a bit sleepy after the spiritual energy dissipated. It wasn't a strong sleepiness and could easily be suppressed.

Speaking of spiritual energy, Hoshimi suddenly remembered something.

He nudged Kotoko's side and curiously asked, "Kotoko, what's that teacup I used for cultivation earlier? Is it some kind of treasure?"

Kotoko pouted disdainfully, "Treasure? Not at all. It's just an ordinary cup with some years on it and a hint of Tsukumogami potential. It can hold spiritual energy, but the cup itself isn't valuable. What's valuable is the spiritual energy inside the cup."

"That tiny amount of spiritual energy is worth at least 5 million yen. If used as a cultivation tool for you, you could drain it in less than ten days."

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