tokyo creator

Chapter 269

The moment he passed through the torii gate, Hui Yuanchu had a sudden inspiration, and then stopped the car without thinking.

He turned his head and looked behind him, and could no longer see the dark and gloomy shrine just now, which was littered with doll fragments after a battle and was in a secret realm.

Behind him is the ordinary Fushimi Inari Shrine under the night.

At six o'clock in the evening, the dance hall, the worship hall, the main hall, the conferment office, the social affairs office... Bright and steady electric lights are lit everywhere in the shrine.

The approach is also shrouded in warm light from two rows of lanterns on both sides.

In the square in front of the temple, the last group of tourists were strolling away leisurely.

Laixiang also lost consciousness for a moment.

But she quickly recovered and said softly: "Yes, it's time to go out."

Hui Yuanchu looked at Lord Gong Si again.

But she closed her eyes and continued to pretend to be weak, and just said: "Please, please send us to that place first... I will explain it to you in detail later."

Hui Yuan initially shrugged and decided to do this first.

Anyway, although Epionia recovered after leaving the ruling domain, he still couldn't contact Oruru Aoi.

Unable to report the situation here and receive further instructions... Hui Yuanchu chose to continue the mission.

Now that the apostles have appeared, there is no way he can let this matter go.

"I'll send you off, Mr. Palace Secretary." He asked Laixiang for his opinion again: "What should you do? Should I send you back first?"

The girl looked innocent: "But Laixiang has no home."

"..."

"I originally wanted to sleep with Hatsu-chan tonight."

"..."

"Pfft--" This is when Lord Gong Si laughed.

The woman opened her eyes and said, "Come with Laixiang. There are still many things to trouble you."

……

The address given by the Palace Secretary is near the Imperial Palace.

Hui Yuan initially left the car in a nearby parking lot, and then Yu Laixiang supported Miyaji-sama, who could now walk slowly, and they slowly walked through the alley according to her instructions.

This area is one of the oldest urban areas in Kyoto, and it is naturally a traditional building block with a typical ancient capital style.

The alleys paved with bluestones are narrow, winding to the left and right, and scattered up and down.Go down a set of steps and then go up a ramp.

On both sides of the alley are old-fashioned wooden machiya houses left over from the Edo period, or courtyards separated by bamboo and wood walls.

After turning a few corners, they soon entered a more secluded depth.There is no one in front or behind the far-reaching alley, only the moonlight in the sky and the dim lights coming from the houses in the courtyards on both sides.

After walking for a few more minutes in such a quiet atmosphere, Granny Gongsi finally said: "It's right in front."

As she said, the street quickly turned the last corner.

But what appeared in front of Hui Yuanchu was a shop.

The store as a whole is also an old-style wooden machiya.But while the left side still has a traditional wooden door, the right side has also been replaced with a large modern glass display window.

Inside the display window is not a display room, but a horizontal and vertical bookshelf filled with books.

The warm light in the house projected through the glass windows from the gaps between the books, illuminating the dark road.

A bookstore?Haiyuan naturally looked up at the signboard above the machiya.

——brocade——grey——tang……

Jinhui Hall? ? ? ?

"Wow" - at this moment, the paper wooden door on the left was opened.

A tall figure in a kimono appeared at the door.

——Guanxu.

This man who almost never showed a happy expression appeared on this completely unexpected occasion at a time and place that Hui Yuanchu didn't expect at all.

He stood at the door of Jinhui Hall with a straight face and rolled up his sleeves, staring at the three people without saying a word. His eyes swept over the Lord Palace Secretary, Yi Chui Laixiang, and finally stopped when they fell on Hui Yuanchu. Stayed for a moment.

Hui Yuan initially didn't know if Guan Xu was also surprised by this meeting, but in the end he didn't say anything, but turned his attention back to Gong Si.

"You are the Palace Secretary of Inari Taisha Shrine, right? What are you doing here? Although you look miserable...but I don't accept losers here." The man with a world-weary face said coldly, and he was sarcastic when he opened his mouth. "If you lose, you should find a quiet place and die by yourself."

But the old woman was not angry at all: "I came to you just because I lost."

"My miko is dead." She smiled and pointed to Laixiang and Haiyuanchu next to her. "These two are the priests and mikos of other shrines. They are the winners."

Guan Xu frowned.

Then he changed his gaze to look "higher" and looked at Laixiang carefully again.

"Oh? So which shrine are you from? Yasaka? Hachimangu Shrine? Hirano?" But soon, his expression became sharp again, "...No, you are kidding. No serious shrine would allow a shrine maiden to do this. Dressed up.”

"Look at your eyeliner - it's not a miko, but a cosplay miko, right? The kind of ignorant high school girl who cosplays a miko to please men?" Guan Xu frowned, slowed down and spoke venomously, "That's not it, it's just bad Did you walk into a love hotel with the man next to you on your arm?"

Ibuki Raika didn't know what happened.

But Ibuki Rika has the wild instinct of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages like a fox.

Under the stern rebuke from the masculine aura, Ibuki Rika made no attempt to talk back.

She was very straightforward and hid behind Hui Yuanchu with a "ru". She lowered her body and only exposed her eyes from behind his shoulders, staring at Guan Xu warily.

"Ah, no, forget it, it has nothing to do with me." But the man quickly gave up and showed a dull expression.

"Anyway, I just need to preside over the ceremony in accordance with the regulations of the shrine." He put away his stern expression, shook his head, and then stretched out his hands from his sleeves to Hui Yuanchu and Laixiang, "Where is the sacred branch? Show me .”

Laixiang was still a little confused, but Master Gongsi quickly took something out of his arms and stuffed it into her hand: "Take it."

"Hey?"

That's...a handful of rice ears.

"Is this okay?" Gong Si raised his head and looked at Guanxu from a distance.

Guan Xu glanced at them a few more times, and finally turned around: "Huh... come in."

Then, without any intention of welcoming the guests, he just turned around and went back to the house.

However, the door is still open, which can be regarded as expressing the meaning of "allowing everyone to enter".

Hui Yuanchu followed and entered the store.

Inside the store, bundles of old books were piled up in a mess.Another half of the shelves contained various folk crafts that looked somewhat abstract and hideous.

Under the dim yellow light, the store is obviously not small, but it looks cramped and cramped, making it difficult to turn around.

Guan Xu, however, seemed to have eyes everywhere around him. He walked through the mountains and seas of old books with great agility without touching them. After just a few turns, he passed through the store and came to the opposite interior. room door.

"Anyway, since you are here, let's go and worship Amaterasu Omikami first." He said, opened the paper door, pointed to the machiya corridor inside, and got in again.

Hui Yuan had no interest in worshiping gods at first.

But this host is obviously the type who makes arrangements for his guests forcefully and does not tolerate resistance.

Hui Yuanchu could only follow helplessly.

Guan Xu did not lead them into a room where a sacred shed was built, as he thought.Guanxu just quickly walked through the entire corridor of the machiya, and finally opened the back door again without hesitation and walked out of the house.

Stepping out of the house and entering the courtyard, Hui Yuanchu looked around and quickly found Guan Xu's back——

The man was not far ahead... passing through the torii gate.

——In the quiet courtyard behind the house, amidst the chirping of cicadas, there is a torii gate.

Or should I say, there is a small shrine.

Inside the torii gate, two rows of red lanterns stand on both sides of the shrine, reflecting on the blue bricks after the rain.In the dark courtyard, there seemed to be four light paths extending out into the void.Guanxu walked slowly in the center of the light road, almost reaching the end of the light road.

In front of him were steps about one story high.

And above the steps, there is a worship hall with lanterns under the eaves, which is vaguely visible in the shadow of the trees.

Hui Yuanchu also walked in front of the torii gate, but stopped involuntarily.

Although there was nothing unusual about Guan Xu's back...but what happened before always made him couldn't help but think that "something will happen when he passes through the torii".

Laixiang apparently had the same idea.

She didn't speak, but she pressed against him tightly again, grabbing his arm, and the obvious tension was transmitted from the close body.

But just as they were hesitating, Mr. Gong Si directly passed the two of them, and limped directly through the torii gate.

Then, he turned back and waved to them.

Not far away, Guan Xu also stopped in front of the steps and turned around to wait for them.He folded his hands and stood under the bright lantern, the impatient expression clearly visible on his face.

In this case, Hui Yuanchu had no choice but to move forward helplessly.

The moment I crossed the torii gate, it was as if nothing had happened.

But Hui Yuanchu immediately realized that Epionia was offline again.

Then, he slowly raised his head and "stretched" his gaze to the sky along with countless invisible soul cicadas.

He came to a conclusion.

——This starry sky is not reality, but it is completely consistent with the starry sky he saw on Inari Mountain before.

...Sure enough, as soon as you pass through the torii gate, you come to the ruling domain.And it's actually the same one as before...

Could it be that this ruling domain is the so-called "god domain"?
Hui Yuanchu stood there, looking at the stars and thinking.

But Lord Gong Si not far ahead seemed to have seen what he was thinking.

She smiled and urged: "Don't worry, we will go back after worshiping Amaterasu Omikami. Moreover, this shrine is a non-military place, and no one will attack."

"If you have any questions, please wait until we get back."

Since Granny Gongsi had said so, Hui Yuanchu could only restrain his mind and follow her to Guanxu.

Soon, the group of people met and walked up the long steps to the high platform.

This small shrine located in the ancient neighborhood of Kyoto does not occupy a large area.The high platform built is only 50 meters long and wide.After the steps come up, the worship hall is on the left, and the main hall is conveniently in front.

Guanxu and Grandma Gongsi both naturally turned to the left.

Hui Yuan originally wanted to follow him.But when he naturally glanced in the direction of the main hall, he was stunned.

——Through the dim and flickering candlelight, he saw a figure sitting in the center of the main hall from a distance.

...It turned out to be Saioudai, the girl at the Aoi Festival during the day.

Now, she was still wearing the same heavy and expensive [-]-shirt set during the day, and she was sitting on her knees in the center of the main hall, motionless like a puppet.

But Huiyuan could see clearly that she was breathing slightly and that she was alive.

Moreover, Hui Yuanchu always felt that she was looking over from a distance and looking at him...

——It seemed that he wanted to express something to him.

On the side, the sound of conversation between Guan Xu and Gong Si could also be heard at this time.

"In order to prepare for the procedures, you still have to tell me which shrine you belong to." Guanxu seemed to be asking Laixiang.

Before Yi Bui Lai Xiang could react, Lord Gong Si interrupted again: "Lai Xiang Shrine."

"Laixiang Shrine?" Guanxu muttered to himself, and then he was silent for a moment, not knowing what he was thinking.

Finally, he slowly said: "Well, I remembered it. 'Laixiang Shrine', this name did appear in the April Shinto Main Office report, and it is the last shrine of Inari Taisha Shrine."

"—OK, so?"

"What do you mean by being defeated... You want to use the relationship between our club and the final club to transfer the divine branch, right? Sorry, there is no such loophole for you to exploit. If you admit that you are defeated, then the price you should pay will not be at all. It will be less."

As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly and glanced disdainfully at Gongji and Laixiang in front of him.

"There is no such thing as a mosha." Grandma Gongji shook her head and said, "Mosha is just a traditional term used to refer to another smaller shrine within the territory of another larger shrine. But in legal terms, the two have never been strictly defined. The master-slave relationship of the person.”

"What happened in April was just that the religious corporation Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine transferred the land to the religious corporation Laika Shrine in accordance with the law. That's all."

"Laixiang Shrine is an independently operated shrine."

"So, it is qualified to participate in the Shenzhi Festival." Then she continued to stare at Guanxu with a gentle but persistent expression.

Guan Xu gave up again.

"Ah, no, forget it, no matter what you do, it has nothing to do with me." He shook his head and said again, "Anyway, I just need to preside over the ceremony in accordance with the regulations of the shrine."

"Then, the ceremony will be arranged for tomorrow morning -"

Huiyuan came back to his senses.

He took a deep breath and decided not to wait anymore, but to ask now.

"Wait a minute, so now I want to know, what happened?" he shouted to the other three, interrupting their conversation.

Guan Xu and Gong Si both turned their heads and stared at him in confusion.

"...You don't know?" Granny Gong Si frowned, "Aren't you a special commissioner sent by the group?"

Hui Yuan was speechless for a moment.

But with the help of the cicadas, he quickly clarified his thoughts...

Sure enough, Miss Ori asked him to come to Kyoto, not just for the mere imperial seal.But to join up with these Shinto priests and help them do something.

But...why should this matter be arranged so secretly? ?
It was so secret that he now roughly understood who he wanted to help, but he had no idea what to do next.

"I do come from the group. But I only know that I am here to assist you. I don't know anything about other things." Hui Yuanchu rubbed his head and frowned.

Gong Si and Guan Xu looked at each other.

Then, Gong Si made a gesture of invitation, while Guan Xu snorted coldly and spoke.

"The name of this 'divine domain', or what is called the ruling domain according to the group's custom, is 'Heian Jing'."

"During this period, under the auspices of the shrine, with the participation of shrines from all over Kyoto and even Japan, a festival that is important to this country is being held here."

"——'Saiou Selection, Divine Branch Festival'."

Before Hui Yuanchu could ask any more questions, Guan Xu suddenly shook his head and turned around and walked down the steps without hesitation.

"Forget it. You don't know anything. Even if you just say that, you won't understand."

"Let's go. Since Amaterasu has worshiped, let's go back."

"Go back...and I'll explain it to you slowly."

Hui Yuanyuan couldn't get what he wanted, so he quickly followed.

But at that moment, he felt the gaze looking from the main hall again.

So, he asked casually: "By the way, by the way -"

He stretched out his thumb and pointed towards the main hall in the distance: "That... is the 'Saiodai' at the Aoi Festival in the middle of the day, right?"

"Is the Saio Dynasty related to the 'Saio Selection'?"

Guan Xu turned around, glanced at him, and then looked at the girl in the main hall from a distance, showing a "really boring" look: "That - isn't that the one?"

"The so-called 'Saio Dai'... is naturally because during the selection period of the Saio Festival, it is necessary to 'perform' the duties of the Saio on his behalf." He answered matter-of-factly.

　The status is still not good, the latest update may not be stable, I will polish it slowly.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)