Chapter 53 Yang Yan: Why do you all look so haggard? !
"Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?"
Before Yangyan could open her mouth, she just uttered a breath, and heard another familiar voice coming up the Torii Shinto steps. Mizuiro, who was wearing a thick white haori, saw Yangyan's position and showed joy on her face. She quickened her pace and walked quickly in Yangyan's direction. Although she was in a hurry, she still maintained elegance and composure.
"Bai Ye? You Yu! Great, Sister Ling and the others are behind us and will be here soon——"
Shuise exclaimed excitedly, Yangyan's gaze fell on the other person, only to see... under Shuise's eyes, there were two very thick dark circles.
"What's going on with you guys?!"
Yang Yan almost screamed, but he quickly realized that this was the shrine of this small town, not a place where one could make noise at will, so he quickly pulled the three people into his guest room.
This hut is located in the shrine area next to the torii gate. It is a scattered location on the shrine where the previous torii gate caretakers lived. It was temporarily converted into a guest room by the shrine staff. The room is unobstructed and has a typical Japanese tatami style. A rotten broken knife that is not even as good as an axe hangs on the wall as the only decoration.
Bai Ye's eyes swept over the knife, and he always felt that... the knife was not as simple as it looked.
"Let me take a look at you three. Aren't you staying in a small town so that you can at least have better accommodation than me? Why do you all look like you've been drained of energy? Did that uncle who called himself Kisaragi Maru enslave you to work as waiters last night?"
Yang Yan touched his chin and stared at Bai Ye and You Yu with great curiosity. The condition of these two people was particularly bad. You Yu was still okay, but Bai Ye was visibly tired. He looked a little listless and gave off an attitude of wanting to die.
Yang Yan looked quite worried: "Are you really okay?"
"To some extent, what you said is true, Brother Yangyan."
You Yu is very good at taking advantage of her young age. She came close to Yang Yan and started to act pitiful: "Bai Ye and I swept the hot springs all night last night, and now our hands are broken. If brother Yang Yan is really worried about us, then why not exchange information with us——"
Shuise made an "Oh my God" expression and shook his head with Bai Ye, indicating that he didn't know the president.
"Let's get back to the topic. Last night, some... uh, very valuable intelligence changes occurred in the town. I think we can provide some help to each other."
Bai Ye's tone was sincere, and he was very willing to exchange information: "After all, this is a large-scale superimposed game space with a huge area. The main mission also determines that intelligence is extremely important in this game. At least at this stage, we can still cooperate and achieve a win-win situation."
Yang Yan was stunned for a moment, then patted the two on the shoulders: "Oh, that's not what I meant. Although we are indeed competitors to some extent, we are both standing on the side of the Sun Law Enforcement Bureau. I just want to say..."
Yang Yan touched the back of his head embarrassedly: "Hehe, I really didn't find any clues last night. As soon as the witch sister brought me to this guest room, I fell asleep in a daze. Let me tell you, the fireplace table here is really super warm--"
The red-haired boy pointed guiltily at the quilted hearth table on the tatami in the clean room behind him. Shuise touched his chin and leaned over: "Eh? The hearth table you have here is exactly the same as the one in the bathhouse that Linglan and I booked together. This one is really warm. I must buy one for the teacher when I go back——"
Last night, Bai Ye and You Yu, who were squeezed in the capsule bed with a group of soup workers who were not sure whether they were human or not, tossed and turned, and could not sleep at night, narrowed their eyes. The two looked at each other and saw a few big words in each other's eyes: "Then what are we?"
"Ahem, it's not like we don't have any clues. Don't worry, just listen to me first—"
Seeing Youyu and Baiye approaching him with a smile, Yangyan waved his hands in panic. He thought for a moment and an idea flashed in his mind: "Last night, around midnight, I heard footsteps coming from the Shinto path on the mountain. It should be someone leaving the shrine, and there were also familiar sounds of Japanese drums and Kagura bells."
Mizuse hesitated to speak: "...It's normal for a shrine to have these noises, right?"
"Also, those sounds are not heading towards the town, but... they are providing music for a certain existence deep inside the shrine on the mountain."
Yang Yan spread his arms, trying to create an atmosphere of telling a ghost story: "I am from Yedao. Mr. Spade from the Sun Law Enforcement Bureau brought me to the Law Enforcement Bureau. Haven't you heard of a legend that has been circulating on Yedao for a long time?"
Yang Yan blinked his eyes. "Under the blood-red moon, when the maidens of the Honshin Shrine dance, the mountain god breathes."
"jingle---"
The moment Yang Yan's voice fell, a gust of wind swept in from the window, blowing the glass wind chimes hanging on the window frame tottering and making a pleasant sound. Everyone in the room changed their expressions instantly and took a fighting stance.
"Who is it?! Wait—you two?!"
You Yu and Yang Yan opened the door on the left and right, and looked at the snow outside. They saw sharp swords colliding with each other, and the metal weapons flashed brightly in the refraction of sunlight and snow. Shuise and Bai Ye chased out of the door and watched Xuedie put the knife in his hand across Shizai's shoulder.
The blown snow fell on the fox statue enshrined in the shrine, making a rustling sound.
"Tell me why you came here."
Xuedie, who was supposed to be the guard at the Great Evil Hot Spring, stood on the Torii Gate in an imposing manner. Shizai stared at her with an unpleasant expression, but his eyes were always fixed on the knife in her hand.
He didn't care at all about the long knife beside his neck that could take his life at any time. Instead, he looked at Xuedie viciously. Even when he faced Wonder who snatched the scabbard away before, he didn't show such an expression: "I didn't realize it before... Xuedie, it's really hard for you. You actually kept it a secret from the head for such a long time..."
"I don't understand you."
Xuedie shook her head, but the girl's expression was still as stiff as a puppet, making people feel as if she was not human.
"What do you mean?!"
Mizuki looked at Izayoi seriously. Izayoi stood up and laughed sarcastically: "What do you mean... I was disguised among those masked soup workers last night. I saw everything - Xuedie, you are too familiar with this place. The owner of the Great Evil Hot Spring turned the hot springs in the backyard into a maze. I followed you and walked out of the hot spring maze last night. After seeing those monsters, you still didn't show any emotion, just like a real monster!"
Shizaye's words were very serious, and Xuedie was slightly stunned: "So, it was you who followed me..."
Izayoi sneered. He found an opportunity and used his knife to directly shake open the blood butterfly's knife. "I originally thought that the scabbard of the demon sword that flowed into Yedao should be the work of the devil apostle. But the head of the family thought that the demon sword was the work of a traitor in the Metropolitan Police Department, so he specially asked for it from the people in the Law Enforcement Bureau headquarters. But I didn't expect it to be you. Your first reaction to seeing those things is different from that of everyone present, because you know what the people here are doing. You are familiar with this place like the garden where you grew up."
"nonsense."
For the first time, Xuedie showed a distressed look. She raised her long sword indifferently: "It doesn't matter. Knock you down. I will go and investigate the thugs of the Mountain Group."
"Wait wait wait! Both of you please calm down--"
Mizuiro tried to stop the two demon players from killing each other in a panic, but the Metropolitan Police Department and the Yamagumi had a long-standing grudge. Izayoi saw the abnormality of the blood butterfly last night and did not hear Mizuiro's consolation at all: "Don't you know what I'm talking about? You know what the knife in your hand is. Last night you stood behind Kisaragi Maru and did something with him!"
Shi Liuye took a deep breath and swung his sword to block the attack of the blood butterfly when he landed: "I really didn't expect that the last person in Huangquan Town back then was actually you. It's a pity that the head of the family trusted you so much!"
Xuedie frowned: "I said, it's not me."
Butterflies were flying in the air, Youyu lazily held down his beret, and the sharp Western sword separated the two samurai swords with the sound of metal clashing. Youyu's physical skills foundation was even stronger than what Bai Ye saw in the live broadcast, and he easily blocked the attacks of the two people head-on.
"Everyone, please stop being so confrontational. Can't you sit down and talk it out?"
Youyu tried to say something nice, but Shizayoi and Xuedie above even briefly stood on the same side and glared at Youyu fiercely: "Night City detective, don't meddle in other people's business!"
You Yu muttered a few words and took a few steps back awkwardly: "Okay, okay, just ignore it. Don't be so fierce."
“Tsk!”
Xuedie and Shizayoi once again tightened their grip on the hilts of their respective swords. Seeing that the battle was about to break out, the flax-haired girl at the end of the torii gate said with a serious expression, "Suiiro! Yuyu! It's bad! Saotome Rin has disappeared!"
Linglan had obviously been running all the way here, her breathing was a little disordered. She took a deep breath and explained her experience in a few words: "When I went into the mountains with her, Lin said that she saw a masked man who looked like Tang Gong last night, so I went deep into the forest with her to chase him, but in the blink of an eye, she disappeared in front of me!"
You Yu and Yang Yan, who were trying to hug each other, turned their heads suddenly, and Bai Ye's expression changed instantly. When the situation was about to become a mess, the disappearance of Saotome Rin undoubtedly added fuel to the fire of the treacherous Huangquan Town.
"Gone? How did she disappear? She's not a demon player but an ordinary person. It would be dangerous if she encountered those demonized monsters. Let's go find her now—"
Yangyan's reaction was very intense. Bai Ye smelled something unusual from his abnormal attitude. The mystery hidden in this Yellow Spring Town seemed to be shrouded by these familiar demon players. He grabbed Yangyan and quickly made arrangements: "Whoever took Saotome away must still be near the shrine in such a short time. I observed when I came here just now. There are three directions on the mountain road. Lily of the Valley Blood Butterfly is in one group, Youyu Mizuiro and Izayoi are in one group, and Yangyan and I are in one group. Let's find Saotome as soon as possible."
The three members of the detective agency have become accustomed to following Bai Ye's deployment and command, and Xue Die doesn't care about the grouping. Shizai is the only one who wants to refute, but after hesitating for a moment, he thinks that this grouping is already the most reasonable one, and it also separates him and Xue Die, who are in fierce conflict, so he doesn't say anything more.
"Then let's go!" Yang Yan quickly chose the Shinto Torii gate leading deeper into Tang Hong Mountain. Bai Ye nodded and quickly followed Yang Yan.
The shrine of Huangquan Town was built deep in Tanghong Mountain. The winding Shinto road and the mountain road walked by the townspeople were intertwined, and it was difficult to distinguish them behind the torii. The hut of the torii guardian was still some distance away from the shrine itself. Yangyan and Bai Ye ran quickly across the Shinto road. The mountain road twisted and turned into the depths of the mountain in front. After crossing the overlapping mountain arch bridges, a relatively flat maple forest appeared in front of them, and the magnificent and exquisite wooden shrine building was right in front of them - they actually walked through those winding mountain roads to the back of the shrine near the top of Tanghong Mountain.
A winding stream gurgles through the snow-covered maple forest, with red mineral streams floating in it like blood-red petals. On both sides are artificially planted camellia trees. On the snow around the stream, there are footprints that have just been left.
The baseball bat in Yangyan's hand caught fire, and he turned left and right several times cautiously: "Who?!"
"It's me, dear guest! Put down the dangerous soul weapon in your hand!"
A lively voice sounded, and a silver-haired boy in a red and white kimono jumped out from behind the maple tree. Bai Ye and Yang Yan showed surprised expressions at the same time: "You are... the one who followed the witch last night..."
"It's me!" The boy stuck out his tongue. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Shinto Rakuko, the younger brother of the chief priestess of this shrine, Mimi Do Chizuru. Dear tourists, why are you so nervous? Did something happen?"
Although Shinto Lehu is the second most suspicious person in Huangquan Town, he looks young, only thirteen or fourteen years old. Yangyan was relieved instantly, and the hand holding the weapon loosened, revealing a familiar and honest smile: "Ah, we are looking for our friend, her name is Saotome Rin, a girl with silver hair, the one who came with us last night, I wonder if you remember her, little brother."
"Silver-haired sister, I don't know, but now is a big day in Huangquan Town. Maybe she suddenly became interested in going to the shrine to pray. The shrine in Huangquan Town is said to be the origin shrine of the Tanghongshan Mountain God in Shinto legend. The mountain god enshrined there is very powerful!"
"Thanks, little brother."
Shinto Lehu pointed in a direction to Bai Ye and the other person. Yang Yan hurriedly thanked him. Looking at the backs of the two people who hurriedly left, Shinto Lehu walked to the camellia tree, holding the pocket in his arms, thoughtfully.
On both sides of the stream, the toon trees are still green, and are even dotted with snow-white toon flowers. Perhaps because of the abundant geothermal hot springs in Tanghong Mountain, the toon flowers bloom in winter as well.
"Hehe~ This world is a deep valley full of tears, and there are always people who are chosen to become the goldfish swimming in it."
The Shinto fox scattered the camellia petals, looked at the rippling water beneath the petals, and sighed in the tone of reciting a haiku.
He mercilessly plucked the camellia flowers from the branches one by one: "I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, they would be so anxious... 8 years have passed and they still refuse to change their minds... In a sense, it's the same as your attitude towards looking at flowers, growing flowers or picking flowers..."
Shinto Lehu looked towards the shrine's back, his eyes no longer smooth and cunning, but instead looked gentle against the backdrop of snow and white camellia.
"There are always people who think contrary to yours, picking the flowers growing freely on the roadside, or taking them home with their roots, thinking they can own this beauty, but they don't know how to maintain it. This is the possessiveness of beauty..."
"The most terrible possessiveness."
Shinto Rakuko sighed.
It is also the origin of the birth of demons.
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