Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"Wow! The stone statue can actually talk!"

Walnut approached the stone statue, touching it from the left and right, and discovered that it really was a stone statue.

Jiang Bai felt an invisible gaze fall upon him, and then the voice in front of him suddenly became angry.

"You're not a cunning fox! You're a liar! You're all liars! You've deceived us all..."

As the voice continued speaking, it became aggrieved, as if it was about to burst into tears at any moment.

"Uh..." Jiang Bai really didn't understand what was going on.

The stone statue's voice was clearly old, yet it inexplicably made him feel childish.

"Ah, no, could it be that I made a mistake..." The little tanuki who brought the two of them hung its head, looking dejected.

"I was just about to say that this amulet was given to me by Yae no Miko, but you arrived in one move, so we had no choice but to follow..."

"Yae no Miko? She's the little fox who likes to perch on that stinky fox's shoulder!"

The stone statue's voice suddenly became inexplicably excited again, as if it had regained its motivation.

"Excuse me, are you this stone statue?"

“That’s right! My name is Gohyakuzo, and I am the tanuki demon who manages this guardian forest.”

"Then why are you inside the stone statue?"

"We have made a mistake and have been sealed away. It's not that we cannot break free, but we must wait for her, we must wait for her to come..."

"Who are you referring to as 'her'?"

"She's Fox Palace, that stinky fox! She said she'd play hide-and-seek with us, but she still hasn't found us!" Gosho's voice was both angry and aggrieved.

Jiang Bai and Hu Tao exchanged a glance, both already having guessed what was going on.

The reason why this Fox Palace has not come looking for this Five Hundred Treasures is probably because he has already died.

When this tanuki demon met this fox spirit, Yae no Miko was just a little fox, so you can imagine how much time had passed.

"Are you just going to wait here?"

"Why do you ask so many questions! I'm waiting for her right here!"

"You know Yae no Miko, could you help me get her to call Kitsune-no-miya over? Just tell her that the [Minister of Justice] misses him..."

Wu Baizang's voice was filled with hope, and Jiang Bai seemed to see the adorable giant fox demon in the stone statue, arms crossed, looking at him with hope.

Unfortunately, this wish is destined to remain unfulfilled.

If that Fox Palace servant were able to come, he probably would have already.

"And this comb, please return it to Fox Palace for us..."

An old comb landed on the stone steps in front of Jiang Bai.

"what is this?"

"I don't know. When we couldn't find the stinky fox, we tried to smash her statue to force her out. That's when we found this comb, and then we were sealed away..."

Ichizo's voice carried a touch of naivety and frankness.

Despite his aged voice, his mind was as pure as a child's.

"Okay." Jiang Bai didn't expose the cruel truth and agreed.

He put the comb away and changed his plans to go to Narukami Taisha Shrine.

He hasn't shown up for more than half a month; I hope Yidou doesn't worry about him too much.

Chapter 509 An Encounter in the Mountains

As she left the stone statue with the comb in her hand, Hu Tao sighed with regret.

"I wonder how long that 500-zou waited..."

Although all you can see is the stone statue and its voice sounds somewhat old, it just feels a bit silly, which makes you feel sorry for it.

"It must have been a long time. The little fox Yae no Miko he mentioned is now the chief priest of Narukami Shrine..."

"If you count it that way, it must have been at least several decades, right?" Hu Tao clicked her tongue. "Waiting for someone day after day for decades... monsters are really incredibly persistent when they set their minds on something..."

Jiang Bai shook his head. "Not only that, the Eightfold Divine Child is a fox demon, different from humans. I feel it must have been at least several hundred years ago."

Yae no Miko likes to call him "little guy," which indirectly reflects that Yae no Miko has lived for a very long time.

Judging from her vivid account of the events involving the scattered soldiers five hundred years ago, it's likely that she wasn't a little fox five hundred years ago.

Five hundred years! In the mortal world, five hundred years would have passed through seven or eight generations, or even dozens of generations. But for Wu Baizang, such a long time was spent doing only one thing—

wait.

How can you not move people?

Jiang Bai sighed, "Since Wu Baizang is the manager of this Guardian Forest, the Eightfold Divine Child must know about him. He probably just doesn't know how to tell him, so he hasn't come over yet."

Their trip was destined to fail to achieve the results that Wu Baizang desired.

But since I've promised, I naturally have to keep my word.

Deliver this comb to Yae no Miko and inquire about the identity of Kosai-no-kami.

If possible, let Yae no Miko meet this Ichizo.

A harsh reality is always better than being sealed in a stone statue, waiting day after day for thousands of years.

.....

Kong and Paimon walked through the woods. Because they were wanted, they couldn't go to the city, so they could only wander in the wild, explore, look at the scenery, and look for treasures.

Nevertheless, there are still many unknown areas in the massive Shadow Mountain.

"It sounds like someone's voice. Let's hide!"

In no time, Paimon climbed to the top of the tree and used the leaves to conceal himself. He also slipped into the canopy and observed the approaching people through the leaves, preparing to reappear after they left.

"What kind of person is that Yae no Miko?"

With her hands behind her back, Hu Tao skipped and hopped along the mountain path, making the obviously rugged path seem like flat ground under her feet.

"Well... it's hard to describe..."

Jiang Bai thought for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a way to describe Yae no Kami-shi.

His understanding of Yae no Miko was limited to a few meetings.

In their several meetings, Yae no Mikoto left her with the impression of being a "cunning and shrewd fox," someone who was very calculating, somewhat ruthless, and also quite amusing...

As for the others, I don't know much about them.

"It's Jiang Bai! And Hu Tao too!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice and seeing the familiar face, Paimon excitedly flew out from among the branches.

Kong jumped down from the tree and waved to Jiang Bai in a good mood.

They hadn't seen each other for quite some time since Jiang Bai took a blow from General Lei Dian Wu Xiang last time.

"Kurumi, what brings you to Inatsuma?"

Paimon circled around Walnut, quite surprised to see her there.

"This guy dared to draw his sword against General Thunder. If I don't come, won't I be collecting his corpse?" Hu Tao put her hands on her hips and glanced at Jiang Bai.

He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and glanced away.

"Um... it's not that exaggerated..." Paimon pointed with two fingers, a little guilty.

Jiang Bai did indeed confront General Lei Dian in order to save them.

Jiang Bai found it somewhat amusing. "Look at your reactions. The sect leader clearly came because he missed me."

Although he complained, he didn't really blame them.

He knew the danger before he did it, but he still did it. Now that he's done it and everything's fine, there's no way he could blame or be angry with him.

Hu Tao glanced at him but didn't refute him.

"Have you been staying in these mountains all this time?"

"Yes, there are few people in these mountains, so it's not easy to be discovered. It's also convenient for Yae no Miko to give Sora special training..."

"Still undergoing special training?"

"We're facing Thor! How can we not train ourselves to be absolutely perfect?" Paimon said, arms crossed, unusually serious.

"The main problem is that Yae no Miko's special training is too difficult..." Sora revealed the truth.

It's incredibly difficult to avoid that lightning-fast killing move. Although he's managed to dodge it quite a few times during this period of special training, he still needs to keep practicing to be absolutely certain of success.

To face that deity, one must be 100% prepared.

Seeing Kong's voluntary exposure, Paimon pouted.

She still wanted to pretend.

"The Divine Child only gives me one or two hours of special training each day; the rest of the time I'm free to roam in the mountains. I just heard you talking about her; are you planning to go find her?"

"Yes, I need to see her about something, and I'd also like to show the headmaster around Narukami Shrine and the Kami Sakura Tree."

"That's perfect, let's go together."

"Let's go!"

Paimon took the lead and flew at the very front.

As they walked, Kong asked Jiang Bai about recent events.

He's been in the mountains lately, so he has limited access to information about the outside world and doesn't know many things.

You should know that the Eye Hunting Order has been suspended, right?

"Ah."

Sora nodded; he had already learned of this important matter through Yae no Miko.

"The rebels moved General Thunder with their willpower, causing her to suspend the Eye Hunt order. Although their ostensible demands were met, the deeper seclusion order was not abolished."

"Thor's will has not changed; she has simply seen the suffering of the people and has therefore given them time to breathe."

The isolation order resulted in the cutoff of external resources. Therefore, the Commissioner for Investigation and Inspection dispatched a fleet to be specifically responsible for importing goods and food from the outside world. In this way, the economic problems caused by the isolation order could be alleviated.

With the addition of the Southern Cross fleet bringing a large amount of grain, Inazuma's crisis can be said to have been resolved.

As long as Thor's will remains unchanged, the Eyehunter's Decree may be reinstated.

"I've also heard that General Thunder had a battle with someone on Bayun Island..."

Kong looked at Jiang Bai with curiosity.

He's far away on Narugami Island, so perhaps only Jiang Bai can answer that question for him.

Jiang Bai's expression was somewhat complicated. "Well, General Thunder discovered the Fools' Evil Eye Factory and started fighting with the skirmishers..."

"As expected of the Fools! But they're just a bunch of stragglers..." Kong remembered this executive officer; he seemed to have a connection with Jiang Bai.

"Ran."

Jiang Bai was unwilling to say more.

Hu Tao glanced at Jiang Bai, her intuition telling her what had happened on Bayun Island, but seeing that he didn't seem inclined to talk about it, she didn't ask.

"I just came from Haiji Island and I'm not very familiar with the situation here. Is [Madam] still at the castle tower?"

Jiang Bai was a little curious whether Sanbing had told his colleagues about him obtaining the Heart of God.

Chapter 510 Divine Child: Do Me a Favor

“I heard from the Divine Child that he’s still here, but I don’t know if he’s been released…” Paimon shrugged.

She continued with a hint of worry, "The fact that the Fools are still around is always a concern, especially since Inazuma is still here. The lady has suffered a setback this time; I wonder what method she plans to use to steal the Heart of God..."

"what……"

Jiang Bai wanted to say that he had given the Heart of God to the scattered soldiers.