Chapter 121: The Rising Purple Aura
After everyone else had left, Yuta and Belldandy made their way to the temple.
The temple was located in a remote mountain area with limited access.
Unless someone specifically intended to come here, passersby were rare.
"Belldandy, I'll take down the temple's signboard. Can you tidy up the house? We'll rest here for lunch," Yuta said, glancing at the old plaque bearing the temple's name. This place now belonged to him.
"Alright! I'll start cleaning!" Belldandy cheerfully agreed.
"Okay," Yuta replied, watching Belldandy, who seemed to genuinely enjoy doing housework—a joy he himself couldn't quite grasp.
After finding a ladder, Yuta carefully removed the temple's signboard, lowering it gently to the ground with a rope.
"Should I put up some kind of decoration to show it's my place now? Something like a family estate plaque, perhaps?" Yuta mused, envisioning the transformation of the site.
He planned to turn the old temple into a luxurious modern villa.
Not only did the signboard have to go, but the temple itself would need significant renovations.
Yuta imagined building a high-end, modern villa capable of accommodating many people right on this spot.
The land and property here now officially belonged to Yuta, but building a luxurious villa would still require a substantial amount of money.
[Ding!]
Yuta had no hammer or nails in hand, so it was clear that this particular ding was that kind of ding!
[Ding!]
[A side quest was triggered. There would be no penalties or consequences for failing or abandoning this task.]
[Side Quest: Purple Aura Mansion
Objective: Build a mansion that embodies the principle of "Purple Aura Rising from the East."
Reward: The manga March Comes in Like a Lion, delivered early.]
"Purple Aura Rising from the East? What kind of nonsense is this..." Yuta muttered, frowning as he noticed a bag suddenly appear on the ground beneath him. It seemed to contain the reward already.
"Feng Shui... I have no idea how that works!" Yuta climbed down the ladder, pondering over the concept of Feng Shui.
A luxurious mansion wasn't the problem—figuring out how to achieve the "Purple Aura Rising from the East" part was.
He'd never dealt with a Feng Shui master before, and even if he managed to find one, could they really help him build such a mansion?
"Wait a second. Isn't this country more about onmyoji than Feng Shui masters?" Yuta thought, picking up the hefty manga collection from the ground. "Anyway, I already have the reward, so there's no rush to solve the Feng Shui issue."
Despite saying that, Yuta decided it would be best to carefully plan things out before starting construction.
He didn't fully understand what "Purple Aura Rising from the East" entailed, but it had to be better than building a haunted house.
With a goddess like Belldandy by his side, he was starting to believe in things like Feng Shui.
"That's it! Belldandy might know something!" Yuta exclaimed, realizing the perfect person to ask was right beside him. He quickly ran toward the courtyard.
The courtyard was still overgrown with wild grass, except for a small stone-paved path down the middle that remained clear.
Cleaning up this dilapidated place would take days of hard work.
However, when Yuta entered the house, he was greeted by the sight of Belldandy polishing the floor to a glossy shine, as if it had been waxed.
Belldandy, clearly enjoying herself, happily continued her work. She noticed Yuta rushing in and smiled warmly. "Yuta, this will be done soon!"
Yuta stared at the floor in disbelief. It was hard to imagine that it had once been an ordinary, weathered surface. This wasn't just about cleaning—it was a transformation.
"Can you really get this kind of shine with just a cloth and some water?" Yuta wondered, utterly baffled.
Yuta shifted his focus away from the floor and got straight to the point, looking at Belldandy.
"Belldandy, do you know anything about Feng Shui?"
"Feng Shui? What's that?" Belldandy asked, tilting her head in confusion. She had no idea what Feng Shui was.
Yuta suddenly remembered that Belldandy wasn't familiar with certain concepts, and this world seemed to lack figures like the Jade Emperor or Susano. The heavenly realm only had goddesses like her.
"It's kind of like a house's luck. Some houses can bring good fortune to their owners—that's what Feng Shui is!" Yuta explained briefly, linking the concept to luck to make it easier for Belldandy to understand.
"I see! So it's like a house blessed by a goddess, right? Yuta, do you want me to bless this place? Actually, that's not necessary. Any place a goddess lives doesn't need additional blessings," Belldandy said with a smile, interpreting Feng Shui as a form of divine blessing.
Yuta realized she still didn't quite get it.
After thinking for a moment, he tried again. "Not exactly. What I mean by Feng Shui is... well, imagine this place is just an ordinary spot. Feng Shui is..."
At this point, Yuta hit upon a more critical realization.
Feng Shui wasn't something you could create by yourself—it was about the natural attributes of a location.
Good Feng Shui referred to a place with advantageous positioning, not something you could manufacture on demand.
Belldandy, still curious, looked at Yuta and asked, "So what exactly is Feng Shui?"
Yuta glanced around the area and posed a question to Belldandy. "Belldandy, what do you think of this place? Is it good or bad?"
"It's wonderful!" Belldandy replied without hesitation. For her, anywhere with Yuta was perfect, and she also liked the peace and quiet of this location.
Yuta shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I'm asking if this location is good in terms of its position. For example, some places are naturally better suited for living. Houses built in those locations bring good fortune—people who live there might make more money, have healthier children, and generally lead happier lives. Even the plants and crops thrive better in those areas."
"Oh, I see now! Yuta, you're saying you want to bring an optimal energy flow to this place, right? That way, with the power of a strong energy vein, my strength would also recover a bit!" Belldandy's face lit up as she smiled. "It's not really necessary, but since you're asking, I can shift the energy flow to this location!"
Energy veins? What on earth is that? Some kind of dragon vein? Yuta was baffled.
Yuta had no idea what Belldandy was talking about or whether they were even on the same page, so he quickly stopped her. "Hold on, don't do anything yet. Let me think this through and look up some information first."
"Alright! I'll keep cleaning then!" Belldandy cheerfully went back to polishing the floor, thoroughly enjoying her task.
Meanwhile, Yuta accessed a website from another country and started searching for information on how to build a mansion that adhered to the principles of Purple Aura Rising from the East.
According to what he found, the process involved careful attention to the location, layout, and appearance of the house, as well as the inclusion of specific protective items—ideally something ancestral.
"Could I just hang up a framed DNA test result as a family heirloom on the front door?" Yuta muttered to himself, quickly dismissing the absurd idea.
Instead, he focused on adapting the information to the local culture and environment to design a Feng Shui-friendly house.
"This area has some local legends about zashiki-warashi (house spirits), but they're usually found in other people's homes and appear as children. I wouldn't even know how to deal with one if it showed up here," Yuta mused.
"Maybe I could plant a cherry blossom tree as a protective tree?"
"That doesn't feel right either. A peach tree would be more symbolic, and at least you can eat peaches," he thought, considering alternatives.
Yuta sat idly by the door, deep in thought but doing absolutely no work.
Belldandy, on the other hand, was happily continuing her cleaning. For her, this simple and peaceful life was deeply fulfilling.
As lunchtime approached, Yuta still hadn't come up with a good idea for a protective object. But when he saw Belldandy bringing lunch to him, a realization struck.
"How could I be so blind?" he thought. "This right here—she's the ultimate protective deity for this house!"
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