The Witch's Taste

Chapter 178 Izumo Shrine
Izumo Shrine is located in the Izumo District in the northwest corner of Jibei City.

Due to the continuous shrinking of urban heat sources in recent years, the Izumo District, which is the farthest from the hot lake, bears the brunt. The annual average temperature is decreasing, and both the population and funds are constantly leaving. Now it is basically half dead... It is estimated that in another ten years, it will be moved to the outskirts of ice and snow.

There are a lot of abandoned houses, cemeteries and landfills here, and the only thing worth visiting for tourists is the long-established and famous Izumo Shrine.

The shrine was built during the pirate colonial period, and it was the private property of the ancient priest family "Kikuchi". Its history is earlier than the imperial fleet that came here.

It is said that even the rebellious pirates at that time would respect the priests of Kikuchi.But the iron-blooded governor Shi Zhiqing didn't believe in the belief in the gods and Buddhas of the island people at all. After conquering the planet Takamahara, he forcibly took the Izumo Shrine from the Kikuchi family into public ownership and turned it into a scenic spot open to the public.

However, precisely because there is no suspicion of commercial operation at all, the Izumo Shrine has overwhelmed other temples, and is regarded by the island people as a model of "spirituality, accuracy, and sincerity".

For example, if you go to other temples to ask for lottery, in order to coax you to donate generously, even if you get a bad lottery, the monk will interpret the hexagram in a better way.There are even some temples that have no lottery at all, only the lottery, the lottery and the lottery.

But the Izumo Shrine is not privately owned by the family, and the practitioners inside are all established by the public, so they will give you a lottery normally. If you are good, you are good, and if you are not, you are not good... This attitude quickly established a better reputation, so that there was an endless stream of people who came to offer incense and ask for a lottery on the first day of the first lunar month.

Xia Zili walked up the stone steps. Since the outdoor temperature here was very low, most people wore hats and cotton masks, and many even had furry ear protectors, so her strict attire did not attract attention.

She happily climbed up the mountain steps, stepping up three or four steps at a time. Chen Ziang walked slowly behind, and soon caught up with Xia Zili, who was bending over and panting.

"There is still a long way to go." Chen Ziang said with a smile, "Save your energy and climb slowly."

"I... can't move anymore..." Xia Zili said weakly, "Give me a hand."

"How?" Chen Ziang immediately became embarrassed.

Back up?Princess hug?arm?

"I don't know." Xia Zili leaned her body against him and moaned, "I really can't take it anymore, help me."

Hearing that she was out of breath, it didn't seem like she was doing it on purpose, but she was really tired to the point of collapsing, and she had to rest for a while.

Chen Zi'ang looked up and saw that there was an endless stream of pilgrims climbing the steps.

If she continues to rest, I'm afraid she will finally climb to the entrance of the shrine, and the shrine has been closed to limit traffic.

He held her arm for fear that she would have no strength, and the princess hug was too ambiguous, so Chen Ziang could only sigh and say:
"I'll carry you."

"En." Xia Zili didn't hold back, so she wrapped her arms around Chen Ziang's, let him support her hips, and rested her chin on his shoulder.

Chen Ziang just felt like he had carried a big lump of cotton on his back... Tired or not, but it seemed a little ambiguous.

He tried his best to ignore the soft breath spraying on his neck, and accelerated the pace of climbing under his feet.

Just reach the gate of the shrine and everything will be fine!
"Chen Ziang." Xia Zili asked softly, "Will you be very tired?"

Her voice was soft, like a thousand fluffy kitten paws gently scratching Chen Ziang's heart.

Chen Zi'ang was a little numb when she asked him this question, he's still a good boy, right?Simply said in a muffled voice:
"If you recover and can walk by yourself, just tell me."

"Oh, I'm still a little tired." Xia Zili said quickly, hugging his neck even tighter.

"I can't breathe..."

"Oh oh oh." Xia Zili quickly loosened his grip, but still didn't let go.

In order to avoid wild thoughts, Chen Ziang tried his best to think in another direction.

If it was Suzuna Tsukimiya, what would she do?

Well, first of all, she will definitely say some sweet things, such as "Senior, do you still have strength?" "Would you like Suzuna to come and give you a kiss to cheer you up" and so on.

Xia Zili is not such a super lively and outgoing personality, so she will not attack frequently, but this does not mean that she is better than Yuegong Suzuna to deal with it.

"I'm resting." After a while, the girl behind suddenly said, "Put me down."

Feeling relieved, Chen Ziang put Xia Zili off his back.

In order to show that she had really rested, Xia Zili deliberately jumped up and down a few times, and said with a smile:
"Look, I'm resurrected with full blood!"

"Okay." Chen Ziang said helplessly.

You have rested, my strength has been exhausted by you.

"Do you want me to pull you this time?" Xia Zili stretched out his hand towards him.

"No need." Chen Ziang declined.

But this kind of refusal seems to be considered by her as a man's attempt to save face. Xia Zili just smiled and said "it's okay", then took Chen Ziang's hand and continued to climb the stone steps:
"There are so many people around now, let's not get separated."

Chen Ziang looked around. Indeed, there were a lot of pilgrims today. The mountain steps can be described as "shoulder to shoulder", but it would be an exaggeration to say that they would get separated if they didn't hold hands.

but……

There was a soft and warm touch in the palm of his hand, and he sighed inwardly as he looked at the torii gate of the shrine that was faintly visible above.

...Forget it, let's get to the top like this.

Passing through the torii of the Izumo Shrine, the two washed their hands in the flowing pool next to them, and then joined the queue waiting for incense.

On both sides of the queue, there are various stalls for lottery, lottery, incense, and snacks.

In the private temples of the island people, it is difficult to see this kind of messy booth arrangement, because they know that the real charm of religion lies in "style", and it is to persuade the big donors who value style to invest money, rather than to earn the meager incense money of ordinary people.

However, the Izumo Shrine is a scenic spot, so it doesn’t matter how many there are, as long as you pay the maintenance fee, you can set up a stall, which adds a lot of fireworks to the quiet shrine.

Xia Zili looked at one of the pancake stalls. The stall owner was spreading the cabbage and raw eggs on the dough, pressing it with an iron plate and frying it, and then sprinkled it with mayonnaise and shredded wooden fish.

She swallowed slightly, took a sneak peek at Chen Ziang next to her from the corner of her eye, and finally decided to wait until the line was up and make a wish before going to buy it—otherwise she would appear too impatient and make him think she was a glutton, which would be too embarrassing.

But why didn't Chen Ziang notice her pitiful little eyes hidden behind the sunglasses?

If Tsukimiya Suzuna was here, she would definitely ask directly, "Sir, do you want to eat okonomiyaki? I'll buy you one."

In order to take care of her face, Chen Ziang would of course agree.

Therefore, Tsukimiya Suzuna not only passed on her pig addiction to her senior, but also won the intimacy right to eat a share of food with her senior, winning directly.

It's just...it's not good to make Xia Zili hungry.

"I'm a little hungry." Chen Ziang looked at the pancake stand, "Okonomiyaki, would you eat it?"

"I'm not jealous." Xia Zili said hastily, "I'll take a seat here for you."

Chen Ziang went to buy pancakes, paid for them, and handed them to Xia Zili when he came back.

She took the steaming food, pulled off her mask, and ate in small bites.

As the taste of the sauce entered the mouth, a sense of fullness and satisfaction also emerged from the bottom of my heart... Then Xia Zili suddenly realized that Chen Ziang hadn't even eaten a bite yet!

"Here you are." She handed over the food.

"No need." Chen Ziang waved his hand and refused, "Suddenly I'm not hungry anymore."

Xia Zili:!

...Oops, I must be greedy for him to find out.

She silently took back the food, feeling a little shy and embarrassed for a while, and couldn't even raise her head.

(End of this chapter)