Kyoto Shenyin Love Story

Chapter 133: Inspection in the Forest

All the way covered by the woods, tick-tock, Sogu and Kyoko walked to an open place, only to realize that the rain had stopped.

However, it is still an extravagant hope.

Looking at the rolling ink clouds, Zongya only hoped that the rain would fall after the inspection was over.

Jingzi stood aside, not urging, just taking a rest.

"Let's go."

Soya didn't stand for too long, and continued to move up.

"By the way, where are we now? I always feel like I've climbed to a very high place."

The road here is narrow, Jingzi can only follow behind him.

"This is an illusion." She said, "I haven't climbed to the same height as the shrine yet."

"..."

Soya stopped and turned to look at her.

"You must be joking."

Jingzi showed her face, and there was a faint smile on the corner of her mouth.

"The highest point of the 'Divine Domain' is just behind the Inari shrine—the shrine can be seen from there."

"Really... How far is the highest point from here?"

"Not far."

"If you tell me a specific time, I will feel more at ease."

She finally laughed, "About 10 minutes."

Soya thought for a while, then asked again: "Can I go back to the shrine from there?"

"..."

Jingzi was taken aback for a moment, thinking that he was already thinking of quitting.

"Can……"

The sudden gap made her feel not only regretful and lost, but even complained a little.And such emotions were quickly noticed by herself, and she swept them all into the corner without showing any signs of expression.

He had done nothing wrong, Kyoko reminded herself, it was not his duty.

What's more, inspections in the forest were hard work, and he was able to accompany her halfway up the mountain, which was the best of humanity.

"When you get there, Soya-san should go down and rest first. Just leave the second half of the inspection to me."

Zong Gu was slightly taken aback, then looked at her again.

"no problem?"

Jingzi nodded briefly, walked past him, and came to the front.

"no problem."

The two continued to climb.

Perhaps because it is close to the upper exit, people often pass by, the road becomes wider and smoother, and the shrubs and grass on both sides are not as rampant as on the road from here.

The road is smooth, and the leader, Jingzi, walks faster.Soya struggled to follow behind, but he didn't say anything.But seeing her walk past a landmark monument without looking at it, he realized that he had still underestimated her emotions.

Although this is just a misunderstanding...

Realizing that the sound of footsteps behind her gradually disappeared, Kyoko, who had already walked seven or eight meters away, finally looked back.

Zongya was standing beside the stele, holding a long rope, carefully examining the spirit tablet on it.

"..."

The cheeks on both sides suddenly became extremely hot, and she didn't care about it, and walked back quickly.

Before she could apologize, Soya spoke up first.

"This piece of grass is a bit deep, almost covering the landmark. Fortunately, I have sharp eyes."

"..."

Kyoko pursed her lips, and when she was about to say something, he let go of the long rope.

"Okay, there's no problem here. Let's go."

"sorry."

"Nothing. I almost missed it too."

She lowered her head, "I'm sorry..."

"If you apologize, let's talk about it later when we are resting."

Soya half-bent, holding the stone tablet in his hand, without looking at her, "I'm already thirsty and want to drink the rainwater on the leaves. I really hope that when I return to the social affairs office, there will be poured hot tea waiting for me inside."

While speaking, he began to clean up the wild flowers and weeds around the stele.

"Kyoko will also go down to drink some water, rest for a few minutes, and then come back to continue the inspection... Anyway, that's my plan. I really hope that it will be easier when I go down the mountain."

"..."

A bundle of weeds was uprooted, and Kyoko clenched her sleeves tightly.

"Ok."

He didn't really intend to clean up all the weeds around the landmark, and it was almost enough to expose the main part of the stele, and the two quickly set off again.

A few minutes later, Soya saw the main hall of the shrine below in the forest.

Jingzi raised his hand and pointed, and a hidden path appeared in front of him.

"Let's go down."

After drinking the hot tea made by Kyoko and eating a few snacks, Soya took a short rest, and returned to the forest patrol road from the hidden trail behind the Inari Shrine.

Going up the mountain is hard, and going down the mountain is not easy.

Although the rain had stopped for a while, none of the ground was dry.The path is muddy and slippery, and you will fall if you don't pay attention.Once they encountered a steep slope, the two could only grab the branches next to them and go down, paying more attention than when going up the mountain.

"I said... Jingzi, inspecting the landmarks on the mountain on a rainy day, isn't it too embarrassing for yourself?"

"But it can't be done halfway."

"What is it like to give up halfway, you are too strict..."

"Self-discipline is the way to be righteous."

"Yes Yes……"

The two cheered up, but accidents were always inevitable.

"Kyoko!"

With sharp eyes and quick hands, Sogu grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"..."

Almost falling, Kyoko was startled into a layer of cold sweat on his back, and he breathed a sigh of relief after he stabilized his footing.

"thanks……"

Soya shook his head and let go of her wrist.

"I don't want to give up halfway, so be careful."

"Ah."

He walked in front, Kyoko took a deep breath, let go of distracting thoughts, and when he followed up again, his spirit had been refocused.

The mountain roads are rough, but not every stretch is slippery.Carefully walk down the steepest section of the ramp. The road below is winding and winding, but it is relatively smooth.

The two did not dare to relax, and continued to support each other.

"There's one over here, too."

As they went down the mountain, they checked the landmarks along the way, and Soya and Kyoko would also clean up the overgrown weeds near the stele.

"These weeds are really stubborn... Bring a small hoe next time."

"Come back next time, the weeds on the mountain may have all withered."

"So, you can't inspect a few times a year?"

"If frequent inspections are required, the shrine will also use a different method to indicate that this is a 'divine domain'."

After clearing the weeds in front of the stele, Soya lifted the long rope and found that the middle section seemed to be entangled by vines.

With force in his hand, the long rope suddenly broke free, and the spirit cards collided with each other, making a rattling sound.A wild flower was also carried up into the air, and he reached out to catch it when it fell.

The petals are white, the stamens are bright yellow, and the lower part of the stem supports the green calyx, which is small and complete.

After Jingzi had checked all the spirit cards, he put down the long rope, changed hands, and passed the wild flowers over.

She smiled, took the flowers, and turned them around in her hands.

"Thank you."

After inspecting for a while, Zongya, who had turned more than half a circle on the mountain, finally saw the scene where the boundary came into play - a wandering spirit was stopped outside the "God's Domain".

It was lying on the almost transparent boundary, with a mutilated body, a dull expression, and motionless. Obviously, its consciousness had dissipated to the point where it did not have any thinking ability.

"what……"

Zongu stepped forward to pull the wandering spirit away, it let out a meaningless low moan without struggling.

He sent it lightly, and You Ling flew into the air, then hit the boundary and slid down.

"..."

He looked at Jingzi, "What should we do?"

"How does Soya usually treat You Ling?" She asked back.

"If it didn't appear in your own home, then you should not have seen it."

"This is the boundary of the 'Divine Domain'."

"Ok."

Soya looked left and right, picked up a wet twig, took aim and threw it.

The flying branches traversed, and the wandering spirit quickly dissipated amidst the wailing, and there was nothing left.

The two moved on.

"I thought Kyoko would let it go... After all, it can't hurt people."

She shook her head, "Wandering spirits no longer have human consciousness, and they continue in a daze, which is even more painful...Although they may no longer feel pain."

"Wandering in the world, unable to return, this is the suffering of all spirits in the world. Letting go of a wandering spirit will not change anything."

Zong Gu was silent for a few seconds, "Who made the Underworld chaotic."

Kyoko turned to look at him, "The other world is chaotic, and the human world is also suffering from it. What Soya-san is doing can at least bring relief to the human world."

He looked at the tiny sky between the branches and leaves, "Although I was lucky enough to kill Zhilei, I am still at a loss as to how to find the traces of the other Seven Thunder Gods."

"The future will be long." Kyoko comforted, "As a companion, I will always follow Soya-san."

He lowered his eyes and smiled at her, "Thank you."

"By the way, what is Kyoko's future plan? Will she inherit the shrine?"

"..."

After a long silence, she nodded.

"Tamako and I, there will always be someone who will inherit the family shrine... I think this is my responsibility."

After the inspection was over and he walked out of the forest, Soya had no interest in drinking coffee, so he went back to the shrine first.

Kyoko goes to the coffee shop to find Minami Noma.

"Is it over so soon? Young people are fast." She stretched, "Then go back to the shrine."

Kyoko sat down.

"I want to have a cup of coffee before going back."

"..."

Glancing at the white wildflowers pinned to the shrine maiden's clothes, Minami Noma nodded and beckoned to the waiter.

"What do you want to drink? I'll treat you."

(End of this chapter)