tokyo creator

Chapter 275 The Tsuchimikado Family’s Big Adventure ([-])

Since they are all living people, it is easy to say.

After the misunderstanding was resolved, the Tsuchimikado siblings sat around on the cushions under the Buddha statue with the young man and woman in front of them, asking about each other's situation.

But when the other party just announced his name and identity, Qingyuki couldn't help but interrupt him: "What? Are you also a priest and a witch?"

He glanced back and forth between the two people in front of him, finding it hard to believe.

The boy's name is Hui Yuanchu. He is about the same age as Qingxing and is only a sophomore in high school. He looks ordinary but has a strange nonchalant temperament, as if nothing can impress him.

The other girl, who is beautiful and lively, and always has a cunning and coquettish smile like a fox, is named Ibuki Rika.Ibuki Rika is several years older than them all and claims to be a first-year student at Tokyo University.

If he hadn't seen the intimate scene at the beginning, Qingxing would have thought that the relationship between the two was that of brother and sister, but in fact they were a young couple.

And after a short conversation, Qing Xing discovered that among the two of them, the young boy, who was calm and calm to the point of being almost indifferent, was the backbone.

But Fang, a girl who is a college student, is lively and heartless.He is obviously an adult, but his every move, every smile is full of innocence, and he is not at all out of character.And even though he was half a head taller than the boy, he always looked up to him without thinking.

The combination of these two people is very strange.

Of course, the real problem is... Since both of them were wearing casual clothes, Qingyuki initially thought that they were just a pair of ordinary people who accidentally entered this place because of the gods, so he planned to help.

But at this time, why did the other party suddenly say: they are also priests and witches who came to participate in the Shenzhi Festival?

Kiyoyuki looked at Ibuki Rika who was opposite him a few more times.

...Just kidding, how can there be such an unruly miko!

Her hair was permed and dyed orange at the end, with seductive red lips and painted nails; her shirt was cut close to her waist but highlighted her chest, and she seemed to open her neckline intentionally or unintentionally, revealing a deep groove; and because she didn't want to kneel down, she hugged her instead. She was sitting on the cushion with her knees up, so the bottom of her skirt was looming——

Laixiang seemed to notice his gaze and turned to smile sweetly at him.

Qing Xing quickly looked away, blushing and heart beating for a while.

After finally calming down, he felt a little strange again.

Because if she was really a miko, wouldn't she become a competitor...

"Are you really the priests and shrine maidens who are 'officially registered' at the 'Beppote Shrine' of the Shinto Main Agency?" He asked again, emphasizing at the same time.

The so-called "Beppote Shrines" by definition refer to the nearly [-] shrines managed by the Shinto Main Agency that are registered in the "Regulations on the Advancement and Retreat of Important Employees", referred to as "Beppote", and enjoy special treatment. shrine.

In a real sense, it refers to those shrines with a long history that have been passed down from the gods along with Shinto beliefs and are regarded by the shrine as true "Shinto shrines" and as members of the Shinto shrine.

"Yes, we are -" Hui Yuanchu replied without thinking, but suddenly got stuck and turned around to ask Laixiang, "Ah, Laixiang, what kind of shrine are we from?"

Hearing Hui Yuanchu's question, Laixiang immediately puffed up his chest, which Qingxing didn't dare to look at, and said with a proud look: "Of course Laixiang's shrine is Laixiang Shrine!"

"I mean the official registered name on the 'other form'."

"It's the four words 'come, fragrance, god, society'."

"Aren't you and Miyaji-sama too casual in choosing names? How can you casually use your own name as the name of a shrine... I feel so shameful."

Regarding this point of view, the priest of Seimei Shrine, Tsuchimikado Kiyuki, could not pretend not to hear it. He had to stand up and express his attitude: "Ah, not really. In fact, the surname or given name of the ancestor is used as the name of the shrine. It’s quite common…”

"But forgive my ignorance, I have never heard of your society..." Then he coughed twice and said, "Excuse me, which great god does your society worship?"

Hui Yuan had a subtle expression on his face for some reason, and finally thought about it before replying: "The country will always stand up for you."

Yi Chuilaixiang also thought about it, and added: "There is also Lord Feng."

...how do you feel that it is a current version?Qingxing looked at the two of them suspiciously, but also had some guesses.

Probably the two of them hesitated for a moment, and they only mentioned the secondary deity of the shrine, but not the main deity.

And the general situation of hesitating about one's chief worship god...is mostly because the gods enshrined or the blessed items are relatively...not serious.

For example, the Goha Shrine in Ukyo District, Kyoto, is dedicated to the founder of Japan's hairdressing industry, Fujiwara Tarime Ryomasa, and is a holy place for many bald middle-aged men... Another example is the Yasui Kinhira Shrine in Higashiyama District, which worships Emperor Sotoku. It is a famous In a shrine that breaks bad ties, it turns out that the most popular prayer posted on the marriage monument is the mistress’s curse for the man to break up with his original wife soon...

There are other strange shrines dedicated to poor gods who are specially designed for beatings, to "Edison, the founder of strong electricity" and "Hertz, the founder of weak electricity", to male root gods, to beautiful buttocks... all kinds of strange shrines.

Qingxing thought wildly, coughed twice, and comforted: "It doesn't matter, there are 800 million gods on the land of Japan, no matter how weird your chief god is, I will never laugh-"

"So, our chief priests are these two."

"Ah——?" Qing Xing was stunned.

It seems that this is indeed the case... Although some people worship "Edison, the founder of strong electricity", the shrine will not recognize such a "god" in a Shinto sense!Therefore, it is impossible for this kind of shrine to be included in the special list by the Shinto Main Agency.

But it is obvious that those who are eligible to participate in the Kamize Matsuri must be Beppote Shrine.

So, he seems to have misunderstood?Is this "Laika Shrine" really a serious Shinto shrine that enshrines Kunitsuden and Toyokuni Lord?
After scratching his head, in order to ease the embarrassment, Qingxing had to change the topic and asked: "What about the ministers of your company?"

"The main sacrifice is the Lord Changli of the Kingdom of God, and the slave is the Lord of the Kingdom of Feng. I will only worship these two." After looking at Hui Yuanchu again, Laixiang replied.

"..."

"What's the problem?"

"It's not a problem, I just mean..." This time, Qingyuki was really surprised, "This is the first time for me to go to a shrine that 'only' worships these two gods."

He turned to look at his sister searchingly, seeking approval.

"Most other shrines will only set these two gods as slave gods...and the main gods will often choose those gods that are better known to the public and more popular." Chunhai sat aside obediently and hugged his knees. He took the words in a pleasant tone and explained in a low voice: "For example, Hie Shrine and Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine both enshrine these two great gods in their lower shrines or branch halls, but their respective chief gods are not them."

"There is no way." Qing Xing turned around and spread his hands, "Just saying that these two are the gods of the epoch-making generation, it feels like they are too far away. And they are 'one gods', so there is nothing they can do about it. It’s a deed that we talk about a lot.”

"In fact, everyone still prefers gods that are more friendly to the people. It is best if everyone is familiar with the kind of gods who bless trivial matters such as career, marriage, and health..."

"So, even though the ancestors of our family are only mortals, their incense is quite strong." When talking about his own shrine, Qingyuki felt a little proud, and then soon felt that he was bragging, so he quickly added One sentence, "Ah - yes, yes, there is also the Higashimaru Shrine on Inari Mountain, which is dedicated to the Edo period Chinese scholar Heda Harumi. Although he is also a mortal, he is very popular because he bless his studies. Woolen cloth."

Finally, Qingyuki glanced at Laixiang and asked the question that he was mainly worried about: "...So, actually, I want to ask, is there any problem with the incense at your shrine?"

"No problem at all! I'm fully booked every week!" Laixiang was full of confidence.

"Then, could I ask how many people there are?"

"It's one visit a week. If there are too many, Laixiang will be too busy."

Qingyuki was silent for a moment, and finally couldn't help but complained: "This is not a shrine at all, but a family shrine..."

"Hey, are you too rude to say that? Laixiang Shrine has land! And it's on Mount Inari!" Laixiang said angrily, "It's just that Laixiang is more selective. The unsuitable candidate is Laixiang. I won’t accept their offerings.”

Qing Xing thought about it and apologized simply: "I'm sorry."

Different shrines have their own traditions and ideas, and others have no right to interfere.Perhaps this Laixiang Shrine is the kind of private shrine that has a relatively secretive inheritance and serves certain ancient clans.Moreover, it is only for the upper class of the family to worship, and ordinary people are not usually accepted, so the small number of worshippers cannot be used to despise the other party.

However, the scale of this type of shrine is naturally not comparable to those of the famous big shrines... In other words, its status in the Kamizhi Festival is probably similar to that of Seiyuki Harumi and others, and they need to be careful to avoid those big shrines.In this case, there may be a possibility of cooperation.

Qingxing thought so, and then began to test: "So, what are your plans next?"

"I don't have any special plans..." Ibuki Rika said nonchalantly, "I'll go back at dawn."

This answer made Qingxing stunned again.

As he watched, he suddenly understood why he had always disliked these two people before - because their attitudes were too childish.

The four futons are divided into two sides, as if there is an invisible dividing line.Here were him and Harumi, dressed in traditional priest and miko uniforms, kneeling solemnly and solemnly. At the same time, they were distractedly listening to the movements outside, fearing that the living souls would rush in at any time.

On the opposite side, Hui Yuanchu and Laixiang had relaxed expressions and were wearing casual clothes. They were either sitting cross-legged or hugging their knees... It was as if the danger of Heian Kyo was not in their minds at all, and the dignity of Shenzhi Matsuri was just out for an outing.

But Qing Xing soon realized that maybe they were not deliberately frivolous, but——

Qingxing almost frowned and asked: "Do you... know what the Shenzhi Festival does?"

"Huh? Of course I know. I know it is a very important Shinto festival... but it has nothing to do with little characters like us anyway, right?" Haiyuanchu said with an expression of 'I understand very well', "After all, this department The instructions only said that we should pass through our torii gate and come to this place at a specific time, and nothing else was said. I think we probably only need to show our faces, and there is nothing else to do, just like That what..."

"It's the atmosphere team, it's the atmosphere team." Laixiang cheered from the side.

"...No, I found out that you don't know anything..." Qingxing's expression became even weirder: "Besides, you don't know how dangerous Heian Jing is, right?"

"Hey, we are not ordinary people who don't know anything. We have entered the divine realm after all." Hui Yuanchu showed an unconvinced expression, "'Ping'an Jing' is just bigger than those divine realms in the past. We didn't encounter any danger along the way? I just think this place is quite interesting."

"...No, Heian Jing is completely different from other divine realms..." Qingxing finally sighed and gave up the explanation, "...In short, your elders didn't tell you anything beforehand?"

"Elder...?" Laixiang and Huiyuanchu looked at each other again and said, "My parents, as well as Chujiang's parents, have been dead for a long time, right?"

Qingxing rubbed his temples unconsciously, feeling a headache.

Then, he looked at the two of them in a more formal manner and said, "Well, I would like to take the liberty to ask another question. How many priests are there in your society now?"

Laixiang stuck out her tongue, looked at Hui Yuanchu again, and when he nodded, he raised two fingers.

"...Just the two of you."

Laixiang nodded.

Qingxing sighed.

Now, he finally figured out what was going on.

This "Laixiang Shrine", which he had never heard of at all, probably used to be a large shrine with a social status, so it was recognized by the shrine, and it is still on the list now.

But the problem is that the heritage of this shrine has probably withered away for a long time.So much so that in this generation, the social family of Ibuki Rika and the clan family that Haihara originally came from are the only two people left who depend on each other.

Moreover, it seems that the death of the previous generation was very sudden.

As a result, Ibuki Raika and Haihara had not had time to accept the inheritance of the social family, and thus lost many secrets that could only be passed down orally from the previous generation.

Therefore, these two talents were ignorant of what they were facing, and they faced Shenzhi Festival with a leisurely attitude like a spring outing.

But in this way, Qing Xing felt much closer to the two people in front of him... In other words, he felt sympathy for each other.

For a split second, he also seemed to see the hardships that he and Chunhai experienced after their parents passed away, flashing past his eyes one by one.

And compared with Ibuki Rika and Haihara Chu, he and Harumi were actually a little luckier - after all, they still had their grandfather.Otherwise, their current encounter would probably be similar to the two people in front of them.

——Not knowing anything, he was deliberately sent in as a sacrifice by the shrine.

Maybe it was because his brother was used to it, Qingxing glanced at the two people of similar age in front of him, and suddenly felt a sense of responsibility in his heart.

He glanced at his twin sister again, only to see her nodding silently to him as if she was understanding.

Therefore, Tsuchimikado Kiyuki made up his mind to protect Hui Yuanchu and Ibuki Rika, just like he protected Harumi.

Well, although Haiyuan is the same age as him, Ibuki Rika is at least three years older than him...

First, start by teaching them some common sense.

"Then, let me tell you some common sense that your parents should have told you, about the Shenzhi Festival, about Heian Kyo... If you are willing to believe me."

Perhaps sensing the change in Qing Xing's attitude, Hui Yuanchu and Laixiang also became serious and said solemnly: "Please speak."

So Qingyuki stood up, walked to the fence, and then pointed out the rows of white lights under the torii gate in the distance to Hui Yuanchu and Laixiang.

"Have you seen those white ghost-like things?"

Hui Yuanchu nodded and said, "I've seen them on the street before. Laixiang originally wanted to touch them, but he ran too fast and couldn't catch up."

"Yes, I think they are quite cute! I really want to rub them!"

"That's not cute," Qing Xing rubbed his temples: "That's 'life soul'."

"Oh."

Seeing that the two people continued to have blank expressions on their faces as if they had heard of that name, Qingyuki sighed again: "So, it seems like you don't know what a living soul is, right?"

"Ah."

"If you had accidentally come into contact with them before, you would have become like that...and naturally you would have joined their queue forever. From then on, you will wander in the queue of living souls in the God's Domain day and night, and you will become like that... Add a new member."

"..."

Qing Xing finally saw Hui Yuanchu and Lai Xiang showing stunned expressions.

Then, it gradually turned into confusion.

"Unlike foot souls, living souls are not 'background boards' that have no interaction with the outside world. They can 'communicate' with living people in the sanctuary."

"...But this kind of "communication" is obviously quite dangerous for most people. Because the living soul's strong interest in living people can only be expressed in one way, and that is to pull living people into their queue. , become a member of the same form as them."

But the most troublesome problem is not even that.

Qingxing said silently in his heart.

Then he continued: "...What's even worse, however, is that avoiding them doesn't mean everything will be ok."

"Because their original source...is the priests and witches who participated in the Shenzhi Festival in the past."

Qing Xing glanced at Laixiang again - she frowned and unknowingly grabbed Hui Yuanchu's arm.

So, Qing Xing looked at the two of them, slowed down his speech and said seriously: "... Even if it's daybreak, you won't be able to get out."

"Or should I say, it's useless if you go out."

"Because all the priests and shrine maidens who come to participate in the Divine Branch Festival must offer sacrifices to Lord Feng Guo."

"If no sacrifice is offered at the end, then it will be considered as leaving the divine realm..."

Qing Xing paused: "It will also disappear one day."

"...At the same time, there will be one more person in the queue of souls in Heian Jingli."

"So, the so-called 'born soul' is actually a hermit who is trapped in the divine realm and cannot leave, and eventually forgets the form he transformed into."

"And the embodiment of the lifespan offered by the shrine maidens and priests to Lord Toyokuni."

Seeing the two people who finally showed horrified expressions and turned pale, Qingxing paused for a moment and swallowed back what he had planned to say.

——"The essence of the Shenzhi Festival is a massacre to please the gods", he decided not to tell them.

Qingxing changed his words and comforted them: "...but don't worry, it's actually not difficult to find sacrifices. If you believe me, just come with me."

(End of this chapter)