I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"Can you take me to see Shenying?"

He asked again.

The shrine maiden glanced at Lu Ban, probably thinking that this guy was treating this place like a tourist, wanting to see everything.

But she remained silent, only gesturing for Lu Ban to follow.

Lu Ban glanced at the Divine Child Pavilion. Since that arrow earlier today, there had been no movement there. It seemed that the High Priestess wasn't very busy, and perhaps she was hiding somewhere taking a nap.

"Wow, that's really high. Such a tall pavilion must be accessible only by using magic to fly up there."

Lu Ban sighed, then thought about how Amber would have to climb up and shoot arrows whenever it sensed something unclean, and found it somewhat amusing.

The shrine maiden did not respond, probably thinking that Lu Ban's statement was somewhat foolish.

As the two walked along the road lined with torii gates, they could see some shrine maidens cleaning. It seemed that only shrine maidens could live in the area behind the shrine gate, while priests and other shrine officials could only live on a lower level.

So, you're the only man on this floor?

Lu Ban thought to himself, bored.

The shrine maidens bowed to the young shrine maiden who was leading the way. Her status seemed quite high. Lu Ban guessed that she might have originally been one of the candidates for shrine maiden, but gave up because she was not strong enough, and thus stayed here to work.

Surprisingly, inside the Wajima Taisha Shrine, the frequency of cherry blossoms falling was much lower. It seemed that the towering, massive canopy was scattering petals more far out, while the area near the trunk appeared even more desolate.

Two shrine maidens were cleaning under the sacred cherry tree. Lu Ban found it a bit strange, thinking that this work was probably endless and would never be finished. But seeing how serious the two women were, he felt that it was just an ordinary task.

"This is the divine body of the Divine Cherry Blossom."

The shrine maiden said something.

A huge shimenawa rope was tied to the thick tree trunk, and many white gohei (ceremonial coins) hung around it. The place was somewhat dim, like the boundary between two worlds. As long as you crossed it, you could enter the other side.

Lu Ban glanced at the junction of the tree trunk and the ground, which looked like ordinary soil. He planned to wait until night to fulfill his wish to see the red leaves, and now he was staking out the spot.

He was initially worried that if, as the legends said, the cherry blossom tree and the ground were only rocks, he might have to dig up some rocks to bury it. It's great that it's just ordinary soil now.

Seeing Lu Ban's relieved expression, the shrine maiden tilted her head, wondering what the man was thinking.

"Thank you, I have already felt the grandeur of the divine disappearance."

Lu Ban expressed his gratitude, while secretly confirming the location for digging the pit at night. He apologized to the big tree in his heart in advance.

"?"

The shrine maiden didn't quite understand.

Because Amber needed to prepare for the selection process, Lu Ban naturally couldn't see her.

In the evening, after having dinner provided by the shrine, Lu Ban declined Xia Dao's invitation to go to the red-light district of He Dao to listen to music, citing the need to rest after a long journey as his reason for staying indoors.

In fact, he had already figured out the route to Shenying.

Pretending to be taking a stroll, Lu Ban left his residence, passing through the torii gate corridor in the morning, and headed towards Shen Ying.

There were no shrine maidens along the way; they seemed to be in their temples practicing and attending evening prayers at this time. The road was secluded, like the underworld.

Halfway there, Lu Ban suddenly sensed someone behind him.

He looked back and saw what appeared to be a woman in white passing by the torii gate in the distance, though she was not clearly visible, her image both real and unreal.

"Is this place haunted too?"

Lu Ban muttered something to himself, then turned around and saw a woman dressed in white with scarlet trousers standing in front of him.

The woman had deep black hair, a pale face, and eyes that were pale and delicate, possessing an otherworldly quality.

Lu Ban blinked, and the other person disappeared.

"Could this be... the spirit of the Divine Cherry Blossom?"

He thought of the legend he had heard during the day: this tree was the physical body of the first high priestess, and it possessed a spirit. Perhaps the spirit of that priestess was wandering in the island shrine, becoming a bound spirit.

What are you doing?

Suddenly, a childish voice rang out from behind Lu Ban.

Lu Ban turned his head and saw that it was the young girl.

She was dressed in a tiny shrine maiden outfit, looking every bit like a little shrine maiden.

Shh, I'm going to see the cherry blossoms.

Lu Ban made a shushing gesture.

"I want to go too! I want to go!"

"The little girl called out."

"That's fine."

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ban had no choice but to agree in order to avoid the other party crying and attracting more shrine maidens.

Moreover, if she gets caught, she can just say that she wanted to take the child to Shenying's place to play, and no one will blame the child.

perfect.

Without a shred of guilt, Lu Ban tossed the pot to the little girl beforehand, then took her hand and led her to the Divine Cherry Tree.

Having scouted the location during the day, Lu Ban quickly dug a small pit and then took out the Crimson Crystal.

"What is this? It's so beautiful!"

The little girl wanted to reach out and touch it, but Lu Ban didn't give her the chance.

He put the crystal into the pit, covered it with soil, and explained as he did so.

"This is a friend of mine, she was also a priestess. After she died, if you bury this under the sacred cherry tree, her soul will never get lost and will always be able to find her way home."

"The way home..."

The little girl seemed to not quite understand, yet also seemed to understand something.

Just then, Lu Ban heard a clear and melodious bell sound.

Chapter 355 [Red Leaf's Hairpin]

In an instant, Lu Ban felt that the entire cherry tree had become slightly brighter, and the cherry blossoms that had fallen at his feet were glowing with a pale purple light, turning the cherry blossom rain into a pale purple rain.

The little girl stared at the scene with her mouth agape, her face filled with surprise and astonishment.

Lu Ban turned around and watched from afar as the pale flames on the Divine Son Pavilion burned fiercely.

He had assumed the high priestess would come from somewhere else, but now it seemed she was already seated there.

The melodious sound of an arrow pierced the sky, and the arrow flew away into the distance, illuminating the night sky before quickly fading into silence.

However, the flames on the Divine Son Pavilion did not seem to have been extinguished and were still burning fiercely.

Even though Lu Ban had seen Amber wield the Pure Fire before, he now felt that the raging flames were no longer suppressible and were about to spread to the surrounding area.

Soon, Lu Ban heard a commotion, as if the witches were starting to move around. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but it was probably related to the current situation of the Divine Child Pavilion.

Then, Lu Ban heard a song and murmurs, like a prayer. With his eyes closed, he could imagine the scene of the priestesses kneeling in a circle around the Divine Child Pavilion, reciting prayers with their eyes closed.

This is also a kind of "word magic".

As the sound rang out, the flames seemed to weaken considerably. In the end, reason prevailed, and all the purifying fire was extinguished.

The Divine Child Pavilion returned to silence.

The lingering sound of prayer did not disappear; it continued for some time.

Lu Ban then saw that the exterior of the Divine Son Pavilion was charred black, clearly indicating that it had been burned several times.

“Sitting in a place like that for a long time must be very tiring.”

Lu Ban suspected that the current high priestess was indeed nearing her end and was unable to suppress her power, which led to the situation just now.

"No wonder amber is needed to inherit the position."

If one day the high priestess is unable to control the purifying fire, then perhaps the entire Kazushima Shrine and the entire sacred cherry tree will suffer.

The safest place is the most dangerous place.

Lu Ban looked at the Divine Child Pavilion, but before he could see the appearance of the High Priestess, he remembered something else.

"Since those witches have all come out, doesn't that mean people will be arriving here soon?"

Lu Ban decided to run away as soon as possible.

He grabbed the little girl and immediately ran out of the corridor, returning to the vicinity of the temple.

"Don't tell anyone else about tonight's events. We made a promise."

Lu Ban reached out his hand and made a pinky promise with the little girl.

"I'm all grown up now, I don't play these childish games anymore!"

The little girl straightened her back, looking perfectly justified.

"……All right."

Lu Ban withdrew his hand.

"You have to take me to play again if you have the chance!"

The little girl spoke again, clearly having already learned how to bargain.

"no problem!"

Lu Ban replied.

He didn't mean to deceive the child; he just didn't know when he would be able to come to the island again, and by then the little girl might have grown up or even become an old lady.

After taking the little girl back to her place, Lu Ban returned to his own residence.

The bright moonlight filtered through the cherry blossom treetops, casting a thin layer of light.

The room was filled with books, and with the help of the translation of "Silent Place," Lu Ban could tell that they were all waka poems, haiku, prose, and other writings left behind by shrine maidens and priests of the past.

He flipped through several of them, most of which were poems about sorrow and lamenting the fleeting nature of time. There were also some descriptions of shrine life, which were quite simple and unadorned.

Just as he was reading these words, the calligraphy on them suddenly distorted and turned into the system's indifferent and cold text.

[Complete the side quest: Return Home]