tokyo creator

Chapter 271 From the Divine Palace
Guan Xu, a man, seems to hate everything in the world and has no interest in anything... But in fact, he also has "obsession" and "hobby".

Hui Yuanchu has discovered at least one such thing.

That is "good to be a teacher".

Although it is unclear whether he sincerely believes that teaching the truth is sacred, or whether he simply enjoys the pleasure of insulting "students" with legitimate reasons... But in short, it is necessary to make Guan Xu's Zhang Zhang seem to be famous all over the world from morning to night. The stinky face that was heavily indebted showed other expressions. It was difficult to say, but it was easy to say that it was actually easy.

—— Just pretend to be asking for advice humbly and ask —— him —— to talk loudly.

Especially when the topic is to his liking, he is more likely to take the initiative to talk endlessly, without caring whether the audience wants to hear it or not.

Hui Yuanchu, on the other hand, began to regret having stirred up his interest.

Because after personally demonstrating what "King Zhai" is, Guan Xu led everyone away from the God Realm and returned to the Jinhui Hall.

Then he first assigned rooms to Granny Gongsi and Laixiang, and then ordered the two of them to leave first with an irresistible gesture... Then, without mentioning Hui Yuanchu, he stared at him with burning eyes.An expression like "I finally got excited, how could I let you go so easily".

So, facing Lai Xiang's suggestive eyes and a certain meaningless gesture, Hui Yuanchu could only smile wryly and pretend he didn't see it.

...Maybe it will be a sleepless night.

What happened next is self-evident.

The class is not over yet.Guan Xu then took him to the study room on the second floor.

The room was full of messes, and there was no word for tidiness. There were books everywhere with their pages piled up in piles, various small objects for playing, and even a broken flower pot.

Hui Yuan initially looked up at the equally messy but half-empty bookshelf, and then looked at the rain that had started to fall at some point outside the window, and suddenly realized that these were all the aftermath of the earthquake and thunderstorm that had just ruled the territory.

...Did they really happen in the real Kyoto?Hui Yuanchu touched the wet window sill and thought to himself.

In fact, when he saw the heaven and earth moving according to Sai Odai's thoughts in the divine domain just now, although Hui Yuan was a little surprised, he was not too shocked.

Because anything can happen in the ruling domain, and he has seen even stranger spatial phenomena. After all, it is a place that is isolated from the real world and operates with different laws.

But if Saio's influence could really penetrate into reality, then the nature would be completely different.

That's called "power."

But "Saiodai" is not like a person in power, because her true spirit is still there and she is still an ordinary person.

Moreover, normally power and dominion cannot appear at the same time, because they are two stages of the same thing, just like flowering cannot bear fruit at the same time.

……Do not.

Hui Yuanchu shook his head.He understood a little.The things he saw this time could not be simply applied to the familiar concepts of "power", "ruling domain", and "spirit ascender" that came from the group.

Everything is a bit specious.

——So, this is another system outside the group and parallel to it, the so-called "Shinto".

Also, it is impossible for human beings to have only one voice or one school of understanding of the true spirit.

Perhaps Miss Zhe sent him here because she also had the idea of ​​letting him see the world?
While Hui Yuanchu was observing the room and thinking, Guan Xu did not stand still and wait.

However, he didn't go to clean up the room. Instead, he kicked away the broken flowerpot that was blocking the way, sat down on the only single sofa in the study, then took the porcelain bottle and poured a small glass of plum wine. , took a sip.

Hui Yuan came back to his senses, looked around and saw no second chair, so he had to stand in the pile of books and wait helplessly.

After taking a few sips slowly, Guan Xu raised his feet on the coffee table, and then looked at Hui Yuanchu: "Let me introduce myself again. I am Guan Xu, Mi Yi from the Shrine."

Hui Yuanchu had actually guessed it.

But he confirmed again: "Wait a minute, Jingu refers to 'Ise Jingu', right?"

Guan Xu looked at him with the whites of his eyes: "Your lack of common sense... Even a werewolf wild boy will be better than you after half a year of returning to society, right?"

Then he sighed and replied: "... Of course, right? To the Japanese, if they only use the word 'jingu', does it also refer to a second place besides Ise Jingu?" "

"I said, it's just confirmation. Just like the aunt who sells insurance will always ask you to say the word 'confirm' repeatedly, right? After all, what we are talking about now is very important." Hui Yuanchu said nonchalantly, At the same time, I was relieved in my heart...that's right.

In his field of vision, the information he had been looking up through Epionia after leaving the ruling domain was densely spread out there.

——The so-called "jingu Shrine" naturally refers to "Ise Jingu Shrine".

Although nowadays, there are many shrines named after "jingu" in various parts of Japan... but that is only because the restrictions were relaxed after the 50s, so as long as they are shrines related to the royal family or members of the royal family, they can be used according to customs. Call it a shrine.

For example, Atsuta Jingu Shrine is dedicated to Amaterasu Unken Sword Amaterasu, Heian Jingu Shrine is dedicated to Emperor Kanmu and Emperor Komei, or Meiji Jingu Shrine is dedicated to Emperor Meiji.

...But the source of this habit comes from "Ise Shrine".

And "Ise Jingu Shrine" is just an alias based on its location to prevent confusion with other shrines.

Its official name, as well as its title on other formal occasions, has always been just "Shrine".

The word "jingu" without any prefix is ​​always the exclusive title of Ise Jingu.

Because "Ise Jingu" has served for a long time in history, and it remains the apex and center of Shinto belief.

According to ancient records, the history of Ise Jingu can be traced back to the era of Emperor Suihito around 70 BC.

At that time, the imperial family moved the worship of Amaterasu Omikami, who was regarded as both the ancestor of the imperial family and the main deity, from the palace as a separate offering. Finally, the "Ise Jingu Shrine" was built in Ise according to the oracle.

For a long time thereafter, Ise Jingu Shrine was dedicated to the imperial clan deities.On the surface, the "Saio system" in which women from the imperial family serve as the chief priests of the shrine, which is known to outsiders, also originated from this.

After the Middle Ages, Amaterasu Omikami gradually transformed from a clan god exclusive to the royal family to a great god who guards all of Japan, and was revered by samurai.In the teaching of the harmony of gods and Buddhas, he was gradually recognized as the highest-ranking deity on the Shinto side.The status of Ise Jingu Shrine has also increased.

After the Meiji Restoration in modern times, the "National Shinto" that integrated Shintoism and national destiny was established, Shintoism was tied to the royal family, and Ise Shrine naturally became the pinnacle of Shintoism.

Even in the 50s, the country was restructured to separate politics and religion. Although the royal family and Shinto were kicked out of the governance center, its status as the core of Shinto remained unchanged.

Ise Jingu Shrine, or the Shinto Hontō as its outer organizational name as a religious corporation, was once again recognized as the "main sect" of all shrines nationwide, and all shrines were deemed to be under its jurisdiction.

Walking past the Nishikido Hall, the seemingly inconspicuous little shrine has actually entered the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

In addition, the Saio ceremony is so important...

Hui Yuan initially guessed that the organizer of the ceremony would only be the Shrine.And the host in front of him must be a senior priest of Ise Shrine.

Then, he now got Guan Xu's personal confirmation.

"So, what are the specific details of the ceremony of the Divine Branch Festival and the Saio...?" He hurriedly continued to ask.

But Guan Xu looked at him and didn't speak.

He just looked at Hui Yuanchu with the disdainful look of a university lecturer looking at a rubbish student: "Didn't the reference materials have already been given to you?"

Hui Yuan finally understood.

...Sure enough, I still have to answer that question, do I need to "hand in my homework"? ——About the meaning of "Aoi" in Aoi Festival.Hui Yuanchu chuckled twice.

He actually couldn't answer it, but...he just realized not long ago that Miss Zhe had already prepared a cheat sheet for him.

On their way to Ori's old house, there was the book Ori Lukui was reading.

"——The Golden Bough." Hui Yuanchu asked the cicadas to dig out their memories again, and once again "saw" the cover of the book Zhe Lukui was reading at the time, "——JG Fraser, "The Golden Bough"."

Of course, since he had never read the book at all... So in order to prevent being asked for details, Hui Yuanchu continued to pretend: "Please spare me the details. After all, the content of a book is , it’s too difficult to summarize it into one or two sentences.”

"Furthermore, there are still many things that I don't understand about the connection with the Saio Ceremony, so I hope Teacher Guan can give me some advice."

After the performance, Hui Yuanchu began to observe Guan Xu.

The man was silent, took a long cigarette from the side, lit it with an old-fashioned scythe, and hesitated as if no one was there.

Hui Yuanchu felt relieved.

...This man did not immediately insult him, but he seemed to be preparing for a long speech. This showed that Hui Yuanchu gave the correct answer.

Guanxu blew out a few more smoke rings and spoke slowly: "In ancient Roman times, there used to be an ancient and strange local folk custom...

"In the forest of Aricea on the shores of Lake Nemi near Rome, there is a temple of Diana, the forest goddess. The priest of this temple has the title of "King of the Forest" and can only be served by escaped slaves. .

"Once you successfully become a priest of the temple, all the pursuit of the escaped slave will naturally be wiped out... But this does not mean that the escaped slave will be able to live a pampered life from now on.

“From then on, his daily task was to guard a tall sacred tree near the temple day and night with a sharp blade in hand.

"...Because, once any other escaped slave is able to approach the sacred tree and successfully break off a branch from the tree, the new escaped slave will gain the right to duel with the priest. And if he can fight in a duel, If you kill the priest, then the new escaped slave can replace him and become the new priest and "King of the Forest".

"What the new escaped slave inherited was not only his well-known title of 'King of the Forest', but also his frightening days... until he was replaced by a new escaped slave in the same way. .

“In this way, a closed loop of fate is formed.

"——But the author of "The Golden Bough" sees more than just the folk custom itself. He is more concerned about whether many seemingly natural elements in this folk custom have some inevitable reason and origin?

“Why can priests only be born into escaped slaves?

"Why is he obviously the priest of God, but his title is the 'King' of the forest?
“Why can one become a new priest only by killing the previous generation?

"Why do we need to break off the cinnamon branches from the holy tree before we can qualify for the duel?"

Guan Xu took another deep breath of cigarette, and then looked at himself as he exhaled the lingering smoke, feeling a little lost: "Or, rather, it seems that the purpose behind the establishment of this system is to drive people to fight repeatedly..."

After a moment, he suddenly stared at Haiyuanchu and said: "It's very similar to the 'Saiou Selection - Divine Branch Festival'."

Hui Yuanchu suddenly cheered up.After waiting for so long, Guan Xu finally had enough chatting and got down to the topic?What he really cares about is what the "Kamizhi Matsuri" is all about.

But Guan Xu continued to stare at him.

"...Do you really not know the cause and effect of this matter?"

"Absolutely..." Hui Yuanchu said with a bitter face, "I didn't know anything, so I was called here, and the person who gave me the order has not been able to contact me until now."

Guan Xu fell into deep thought again, not knowing what he was thinking.

After looking at Hui Yuan Chu with suspicion, he finally said: "...So, do you still want to know about the Shenzhi Festival?"

"Of course." Hui Yuanchu said without hesitation.

When Guan Xu said "know", he certainly didn't mean "just forget it after hearing it", but meant that the more he knew, the more deeply he would be involved.

Hui Yuanchu saw a series of operations by the Inari Taisha Palace Secretary.Even though she hasn't given any explanation yet, based on Guan Xu's explanation to Saiou so far, Hui Yuanchu roughly guessed its intention.

On Laixiang's side, he also saw with his own eyes the look in her eyes that was fascinated by Saioudai's position just now...

Coupled with Oroku Aoi's silent but obvious intentions...

Huiyuan knew that no matter from which standpoint he started, he couldn't walk away from this matter.

In this case, it is better to collect information as soon as possible and make plans early.

Guan Xu nodded silently and seemed to have made a decision.

Then as soon as he opened his mouth, there was bombshell news: "You already knew the importance of Saio just now... Then I want to tell you that this time the Jinzhi Festival or the change of Saio is actually completely different from the typical process. It's different, it's just a special case.

"According to the normal process, although Saio is almost a lifelong member, he will retire and step down.

"Generally, Saio will take over when he is young, and when he feels that his body cannot survive in middle age, he will take the initiative to hold a 'normal sacred festival' to elect a successor.

"In the 'Normal Divine Branch Festival', eight qualified candidate shrine maidens are first selected from shrines across the country, and then they are sent to the shrine together.

"There, these candidate shrine maidens will compete in a series of competitions... Only the final winner will be qualified to take the laurel branch from the sacred tree in the shrine, and officially take over the position of Saio after the ceremony.

"—But, the situation this year is different." Guan Xu stared at Hui Yuanchu, "Do you know what happened?"

Although it was a rhetorical question, he obviously did not expect Hui Yuanchu to answer from the beginning.

Soon, he revealed the answer with a gloomy face and a hoarse voice: "——Saio is dead."

"Death-" Hui Yuanchu was stunned for a moment.

"That's right, Saiou, who was the incarnation of the country, died alone in the shrine half a year ago, on December 12th."

"twelve……"

Suddenly, Hui Yuan shivered.

That's right, even though he had long forgotten what fear was, and he had the power of flesh and blood, he could theoretically control every drop of flesh and blood in his body... But at this time, he actually shuddered.

At the same time, he once again thought of the scene he saw and heard when he first came to this world - Naoki Kawano's body like human skin jelly, and his "kill me" "'s entreaty.

That's right, the day that Saio died suddenly that Guanxu mentioned was also the day that he traveled through time and came to this world.

And that day was also——

Guan Xu looked at his face, seemed to understand something, and smiled rarely.

"...Yes, in the disaster of the Messenger, Saio died in his place." He said calmly, "If Saio hadn't died in his place, that disaster would have taken more than tens of thousands of lives? This country was probably already dead at that time. Destroyed."

Then, the man once again showed a world-weary look and clicked his tongue, seeming very regretful.

　Add, "This work is purely fictitious. It has no connection with any real people, events, groups, or organizations."Especially the parts involving religion and history are all made up by me for the sake of the plot, so don’t believe it.For example, in reality, Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine does not regard Ise Shrine as its main sect, nor is it under its guidance or jurisdiction.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)