Spring passed and autumn came; the days flew by in silent companionship. Xin Yu watched with his own eyes as the young girl grew day by day, her figure gradually becoming more upright and tall.
He also saw the lively younger girl's figure slowly grow taller.
The elder sister often wore a placid expression, appearing very dignified and proper.
The younger sister's face was always filled with smiles, making one feel she was a child brimming with vitality and sunshine.
Xin Yu sat leaning against the sakura tree, his head tilted up, watching the cherry blossoms on the branches sway gently with the breeze.
Xin Yu himself had forgotten exactly how many years had passed, only knowing that the young girl had grown into an adult, and the little girl had become a young maiden.
The village elders passed away one after another, adults gradually transitioned into old age, and Yae Sakura and Yae Rin's father—his temples, at some unknown point, had also been tinged with a touch of white.
Over these years, this Yae Shrine Priest rarely appeared before Xin Yu, as if intentionally avoiding him. According to Yae Sakura, he felt that his past self had misinterpreted the god's warning, thus feeling ashamed of betraying the god's trust and the generations of offerings his ancestors had made to the god. Therefore, he felt he had no face to appear before the god.
As for whether these words were true or false, Xin Yu naturally wouldn't delve too deeply.
Some things were best left unknown by everyone; digging deeper would only lead to awkwardness.
"Lord God, it's time to eat."
Yae Sakura's voice reached Xin Yu's ears. Turning his head, he saw her approaching him with a tray, upon which sat a rice ball that looked quite substantial.
"Sakura, don't you know already? I can't taste anything I eat. A little bit is enough. As a god, my need for food isn't actually that great. A small amount will do; there's no need to be so wasteful."
Yae Sakura, as if she hadn't heard, came to Xin Yu's side, knelt, and placed the tray in her hands on the ground.
"Please, eat."
Xin Yu's expression was slightly helpless. As for how she knew he couldn't taste food, it was one day, also during a season of falling sakura blossoms, when Yae Sakura had handed him a small bottle. He had assumed it contained normal water or something similar and had drunk it all in one go. As a result, Yae Sakura had seen through him, for the small bottle contained a flask of sakura wine—that is, alcohol.
At the time, he had even pretended that nothing was amiss, saying the "water" was truly sweet, only to be exposed in an instant.
Since then, Yae Sakura would try all sorts of dishes, attempting to create a meal that Lord God could taste.
But Xin Yu knew it was useless, so he had emphasized many times before that there was no need to waste so much food on him.
Unfortunately, the miko who was once most obedient to the god had now learned to be disobedient.
"This is an offering to Lord God; it's not a waste." Yae Sakura, seeing Xin Yu hesitate to eat, couldn't help but say.
Xin Yu glanced helplessly at the miko beside him and finally picked up the rather large rice ball, eating it slowly, bite by bite.
Seeing Xin Yu still show no expression after eating, Yae Sakura's face couldn't help but show a hint of regret. After trying for so long, why can't I still create a food that Lord God can taste?
After Xin Yu finished eating, Yae Sakura packed up and left with the tray. On her way, she turned to look at the figure still leaning against the sakura tree. As she grew day by day, Yae Sakura became increasingly uneasy. She always felt that in the next moment, Lord God would leave her side, leave forever, never to meet again.
This inexplicable feeling made Yae Sakura very anxious, so she increasingly desired to create food that could satisfy Lord God. Perhaps he would be happy then, and maybe he wouldn't leave.
Unfortunately, up to now, no matter how delicious the food, Lord God still couldn't taste anything.
"Is it because mortal food ultimately cannot let Lord God's tongue taste anything?" Yae Sakura couldn't help but think this way. Perhaps it was because the food of the gods' realm was far more delicious than mortal food, which was why Lord God had no sensation from these mortal foods.
Yae Sakura carried the changed clothes from the shrine and walked towards the river. Speaking of which, she had never seen Lord God bathe or change his clothes, yet he was always clean and tidy, without a speck of dust or dirt on him. Even when she deliberately got close, she had never smelled any scent on him.
After greeting everyone in the village, Yae Sakura arrived at the riverside. Just as she was about to wash the clothes in the basin, she suddenly saw a splash of bright red in the river.
She looked upstream and, sure enough, not far away, a figure was lying in the river, drifting towards her.
Yae Sakura placed the clothes in her hand back into the basin and hurried forward. She pulled the person from the water and found it was a woman dressed in strange attire.
The woman's body temperature was very low, her face was pale, and she had many wounds on her body. If not treated promptly, she would likely die.
Yae Sakura hoisted the woman onto her back and then ran towards the village.
As Lord God's miko, she naturally couldn't stand by and watch someone die. After all, through these many years of companionship, Yae Sakura understood that her Lord God was a truly benevolent deity. Previously, when a village hunter met with disaster in the mountains, his pregnant wife had climbed to the shrine, kowtowing with every step, and knelt before Xin Yu, praying for her husband's safe return.
And her Lord God, upon seeing this scene, had worn a particularly stern expression. He first reprimanded the woman, saying she had completely disregarded the life of the child in her womb, which was an extremely foolish act. Then, he quickly had Yae Sakura help the kneeling woman up, letting her rest in the shrine first, saying he would return soon.
Sure enough, not long after, Lord God returned to the shrine with the unharmed hunter.
Yae Sakura clearly remembered the smile on Lord God's face when he saw the husband and wife happily embracing—it was a gentle, heartfelt smile.
Yae Sakura quickly ran back to the shrine carrying the woman. She personally helped remove the woman's soaked clothes, dried her body, applied medicinal herbs to her wounds, and after bandaging them, dressed her in dry clothes.
After doing all this, Yae Sakura came outside the room and saw Xin Yu standing not far away.
Yae Sakura suddenly noticed that her Lord God's gaze seemed somewhat complex, a mixture of relief and reluctance.
Through the open door, Xin Yu saw the white-haired woman lying on the futon, and also a jet-black box placed together with her clothes.
"...So this day has come."
Xin Yu felt a pang of reluctance, but it quickly turned into acceptance.
The time for parting was near.