Reasoning, and then being blasted by the neighboring idol

Tsukima Village belongs to Aomori City in the north and is located in the mountains, so the cherry blossoms are still blooming at this time.

From time to time, falling petals fall into the gurgling stream, winding its way downwards.

After hugging the panda doll tightly, Nana Tsukima sat on a chair by the stream. "No, only the Tsukimiya family can communicate with the gods. Legend has it that if the shrine maiden performs a beautiful dance, our village will return to the moon like Kaguya-hime did."

"But now there are many probes on the moon, so people in the village don't really believe this legend anymore..."

"Besides, the moon is a bit bare, and I don't want to go there..."

"Tokyo is still better."

Tsukimiya Sakurano bit her red lips and asked about her family's affairs worriedly: "Where are the other members of the Tsukimiya family?"

"There's no one left in the main Yuegong family, and all the branch families have moved away."

Nana Tsukima sighed, "After all, it's in the mountains, so transportation is very inconvenient. Besides, there aren't many job opportunities in the village, and all the young people have left."

"Even after I get into college, I won't stay here."

In the past, people could make a living just by having a piece of farmland, but now, not many people need that kind of lifestyle anymore.

This is how the village disappears.

Those old people who stayed behind were just tombstones erected in advance.

In less than ten years, I'm afraid this village will be completely uninhabited.

"Sakurano." Miura Gensuke pulled his sister aside.

I came here today to look for the shrine maiden, but it turns out that no one is in charge of the shrine.

"I want to go to the shrine..." Tsukimiya Sakurano stared at the stream: "After all, that's where my mother lived for many years..."

"Let's go together." Miura Gensuke held his sister's hand tightly.

"Nana." He walked back to Nana Tsukima, holding his sister's hand. "Where is the village shrine?"

Nana Tsukima smiled and pointed to the distance: "The shrine is at the source of the stream. I'll take you there! It's very beautiful there!"

"No need." Miura Gensuke smiled and said, "We can just go there by ourselves."

My sister might take some of our mother's belongings from the shrine, and it would be bad if she was seen.

"Wait for me!"

Chouno Ayase followed the two of them, not knowing why, and walked along the stream towards the deeper part of the village.

Yuejian Village is located in a flat area among the mountains, and can be said to be surrounded by mountains on three sides.

The source of this stream should be the waterfall in the distance.

"Gensuke." Chouno Ayase put down her phone and asked curiously, "Have you ever wondered why there's a waterfall in the mountains?"

"Doesn't water gather in low places?"

Tsukimiya Sakurano looked back at her and said, "Chou Ye-san, please pay attention in geography class."

"The waterfalls in the mountains are mainly sourced from melted ice and snow, and groundwater stored in porous rocks."

"As expected of Tsukimiya-senpai..." Chouno Ayase blushed a little at her own ignorance.

After walking along the stream for a while, the three of them came to a cave.

The cave must have been widened by human power. In addition to the stream flowing out of the cave, there are wooden plank roads on both sides.

But the wood was almost rotten.

Gensuke Miura took out his cell phone to light up the cave.

"It's pitch black..." Chouno Ayase seemed a little scared and followed closer.

Sakurano held Miura Gensuke's hand tightly and leaned against her gently.

Fortunately, the cave was not very long and we reached the end in two minutes.

"Wow!" After exiting the cave, a stunned Chouno Ayase immediately took out her phone to take photos. "There's a beautiful little pool!"

Because of the angle of the mountain, the waterfall is not very turbulent in this section.

However, it is the snowmelt season now, so the waterfall has more water.

The splashed water naturally accumulated into a small pool on the nearby flat ground, with a diameter of about 50 meters.

The edge of the pool has been artificially modified and surrounded by stones to form a perfect circle, like a full moon.

The water was just ankle-deep, and in the sunlight, every pebble on the bottom of the water was clearly visible.

There are many cherry trees planted around the pond.

When the wind blows, ripples appear on the water and the flowers fall.

Tsukimiya Sakurano bent her slender waist and gently scooped up a handful of water. The water flowed back into the water from between her slender white fingers, splashing countless bright water droplets, leaving only a soft petal.

She jokingly placed the petals on the back of Miura Gensuke's hand, then looked at the stone steps beside the pond.

Continue up the long stone steps and you will reach the shrine.

“It’s so cold…”

Chono Ayase quickly wiped her hands as she tried to touch the pebbles in the pond: "The water is too cold..."

Miura Gensuke looked into the distance.

Here, you can see the farmland below the mountain and the snow-covered scenery above.

It is indeed a beautiful place, suitable for building a shrine.

After pausing for a moment to admire the beautiful scenery, Chouno Ayase suddenly clapped her hands and said, "Senior, since there are no shrine maidens in the village now, why don't you do it!"

Tsukimiya Sakurano blushed as she looked at Miura Gensuke: "I can't be a shrine maiden now."

"Huh? Why? Aren't you from the Tsukimiya family?" Chouno Ayase plucked off the cherry blossom petals from her collar.

The three of them walked towards the stone steps together.

"Because the shrine maiden must be a virgin." Miura Gensuke looked a little proud.

"Hey! You two! When?!" Chouno Ayase, who had never been in a relationship before, was deeply shocked: "I thought Gensuke was a virgin! You've been sneaking around too much!"

Tsukimiya Sakurano's cheeks turned even redder, and she glared at Miura Gensuke coquettishly.

Miura Gensuke smiled and put his arm around Sakurano's waist.

Meeting a beautiful sister who is three years older than you at the best age is really the most wonderful thing in the world.

Moreover, in modern society, the requirements for a shrine maiden are not that high. As long as she is an unmarried young woman, it will be fine.

Since there are so many strange anomalies in this world, maybe there really is a God.

I wonder if the concept of God will keep pace with the times...

As he walked up the long stone steps and passed through the red torii gate that symbolized the boundary between the divine realm and the human world, Miura Gensuke suddenly felt dazed.

This ancient shrine must have been worshipped by many people, right?

Compared with large shrines, shrines in mountain villages like this are naturally not very large.

There is only one main hall and one courtyard.

Because there was no one there, it was very quiet and deserted.

The decorations of the shrine are also very old and have not been replaced for many years.

Tsukimiya Sakurano stood blankly in the courtyard for a moment, then clasped Miura Gensuke's hand and walked towards the main hall of the shrine.

The main hall is divided into two parts, the inner and outer parts. In front of the outer hall hangs a thick shimenawa rope with a bell tied to it.

Worshipers need to pull the rope to ring the bell to awaken the gods.

The inner hall is where the divine body is stored, and only clergy such as priestesses can enter.

The so-called divine body is just a symbol.

"Pray with me." After entering the outer hall, Tsukimiya Sakurano's expression became more solemn, and she really looked like a shrine maiden.

Chouno Ayase opened her bag, took out a coin, put it into the cash box, and then pulled the bell.

She bowed deeply twice with a pious look on her face, put her hands together, clapped her hands twice, and then bowed deeply again.

After the prayer was completed, the three of them silently retreated and walked out of the temple.

Miura Gensuke couldn't help but laugh. Chou Ye didn't believe in God so much before.

"Gensuke, I want to try it." Chouno Ayase was a little nervous: "If we stop time now, the time demon shouldn't appear, right?"

"After all, this is Tsukuyomi-sama's shrine!"

Miura Gensuke felt that there was some truth in what she said.

In Japanese folklore research, monsters and gods have the same origin, and monsters are considered low-level gods.

For example, Kappa is regarded as a monster in some areas, and as the incarnation of the water god in others.

Tsukuyomi's status is obviously ten thousand times higher than Toki.

"Then I'll start!" Seeing that the senior didn't object, Chouno Ayase walked to Miura Gensuke's side and clapped her hands suddenly: "The World!"

Miura Gensuke: “…”

This guy must have watched too much JOJO...

And time didn't stop, he could still move freely.

Just as Miura Gensuke was about to speak, he noticed that Chouno Ayase was motionless.

A leaf blown down by the wind also stopped in the air.

"..."

He looked around.

Time really stopped.

He was the only one who could move within the range visible to the naked eye, and there were no time ghosts.

Miura Gensuke raised his hand in confusion and touched Chouno Ayase's cheek.

After meeting her, time began to flow again.