Just as the maid was speaking and leading the people behind her into the side hall, Lu Ban also saw that the words on the calligraphy and paintings hanging in the room were twisted and crooked, forming a systematic, indifferent and cold text.
【Washima】
[In the 32nd year of Shenwu, everything was in need of reconstruction]
[The head priestess is about to step down, and the political circle of the island is in turmoil. Political enemies are sometimes more terrifying than those filth that devour lives. ]
[A long journey, just to escort a witch. History will not remember your existence, people will not know your name. Only the pure fire can contain everything and illuminate the dark sea.]
[No war in spring, only the sorrow of separation]
[Task requirements: Escort the shrine maiden to the Wajima Taisha Shrine]
[Quest requirements: Witness the birth of a new priestess]
[Difficulty: Alienation]
The moment he saw these words, Lu Ban felt a subtle sense of dizziness.
This has never happened before.
At the same time, Lu Ban saw that changes appeared under the text of these systems.
[Invasion of the Chosen One detected, mission changed]
[Task requirements: Escort the shrine maiden to the Wajima Taisha Shrine]
[Quest requirements: Witness the birth of a new priestess]
[Quest requirements: Find and kill the invading hostile Chosen Ones]
[Difficulty: Alienation]
"The invasion of the Chosen Ones?"
Lu Ban immediately thought of the three foreigners he saw on Pohnpei Island. Their goal was to awaken the evil god in Lu Ban's world. So, what these hostile chosen ones of God did on He Island might be to obstruct Lu Ban's escort mission?
He thought a lot.
For example, according to previous speculation, the Land of Silence can control the time when the Chosen One arrives in a foreign land. So, perhaps Lu Ban is now in the future Kazushima. If the talented shrine maiden he escorted fails to successfully arrive at Kazushima Taisha and become the chief shrine maiden, then Kazushima will be attacked by filth creatures due to the power struggles among the upper echelons, and eventually destroyed.
Then the chosen ones of other gods would naturally come to kill the witch.
Of course, as a young man of the new era who has studied materialistic thinking and has a people-oriented historical perspective, Lu Ban believes that this mission may not be that critical.
After all, this is a "scene" constructed by the gods.
Maybe Lu Ban successfully rescued the shrine maiden, maybe not, but it doesn’t mean that the death of the shrine maiden will completely destroy the island.
It may be that without the shrine maiden, the ability of Washima Taisha to clean up filth has weakened a lot, so the destruction time was advanced. It may also be that the shrine maiden was too powerful, so Washima was burned clean by the purifying fire ahead of time.
This is probably the extent of its influence on history.
The destruction of a world, apart from the influence of one or two heroes, is more due to the course of history. It is not the heroes that create the times, but the times that create the heroes.
Just like what Lu Ban did during the demonic tide of the Kingdom of Night, even without him, at least the Kingdom of Night would still exist hundreds of years later. Maybe because of his existence, fewer people would die in the Kingdom of Night in these hundreds of years, and some history would be changed, but the general trend would remain unchanged.
If Kazushima had always followed what Ayame said and relied on those powerful families to decide the candidates for the chief priestess, then destruction would be almost inevitable.
Whether the witch survives or not is the difference between this happening sooner or later.
"Be polite and don't stare at others."
Acorus beside him reminded Lu Ban, and he came back to his senses.
When he saw the system prompt just now, Lu Ban's target was the girl sitting opposite him.
He focused his eyes and found that the other person was also staring at him, as if silently condemning Lu Ban's rudeness.
This is a young girl wearing red and white clothes, the style of a shrine maiden. Lu Ban had seen it on Uta Island.
She was very beautiful, with the youthfulness of a girl and a slightly mature temperament, thick ink-black hair, amber eyes, and she sat upright and meticulously.
"Feel sorry."
Lu Ban looked away, but the girl was still staring at him.
"I am Acorus, the mercenary in charge of navigation this time, and this is my subordinate Lu Ban."
Acorus spoke, trying to lighten the mood.
"amber."
That was all the girl said.
After a moment, Lu Ban realized that this was her name.
Is it called Amber because the eyes are amber?
"Lord Amber, we will do our best to ensure your safety on this journey. We only hope that we can be honest with each other and trust each other."
Ayame continued.
"Regarding this route..."
When Acorus said this, the girl Amber listened very carefully, as if she wanted to write it all down so that even if something happened to the person she was escorting, she could still go to Waseda Taisha on her own.
After saying that, she looked at Lu Ban again.
"Is there something on my face?"
Lu Ban was curious.
Amber was about to say something, but finally put her hands in front of her and tugged at her collar.
"Your clothes, your collar..."
Lu Ban looked down and saw that he had loosened his collar because the warm air outside was too hot.
He adjusted his collar and saw Amber finally relax.
Is this guy also obsessive-compulsive?
Lu Ban immediately sat up straighter.
After watching the girl in red and white clothes leave, the two men did not stand up immediately.
"Is this the most powerful miko in the world? If she could become the chief miko, perhaps the sea would really be a little quieter."
Acorus said with some emotion.
"Go back and pack your things, we will leave early tomorrow morning."
Lu Ban followed Changpu back to where the mercenaries lived.
That was the villa provided by Amber's family, and there were several mercenaries in it. Lu Ban learned through chatting that the composition of these mercenaries was very complicated. There were former soldiers, some warriors who practiced martial arts, and even priests who were expelled from the shrine. These people could be called pirates from another perspective. They were just mercenaries who did things for money and usually had a good official status. Because they dared to take risks, they were more familiar with many complex waters than those magistrates.
At night, Lu Ban, who finally had a normal meal in Hedao, was very moved and ordered three big bowls of food.
While his companions were drunk and partying, Lu Ban decided to go out for some fresh air.
The villa is very large with lush vegetation. Under the cool, bright moonlight, you can see cherry blossoms falling with the wind. At night, the fallen cherry blossoms appear a light purple, making them even more enchanting.
Lu Ban looked at the flowers for a while, did some stretching exercises, and then heard some strange noises.
Whoosh——
Ding——
He followed the sound and saw a spacious courtyard.
Rather than a yard, it is more like a dojo or an archery range.
There were several targets hanging on one side, and at a distance, on the wooden floor, stood a young girl.
Amber was standing there wearing a suit that bound her chest, white socks, and holding a longbow.
She looked intently at the void ahead, her eyes not focused on the target, as if she was staring at something more distant.
After a gap so long that it seemed like a still image, Amber slowly raised the arrow in her hand and pulled the bowstring with an elegant posture like dancing.
If you shoot the arrow like this, you will definitely hit the target.
When Lu Ban saw this gesture, he felt a sense of emotion.
It was another long wait, and just when Lu Ban wondered whether he should leave, Amber released the taut bowstring.
Without any suspense, boring and tedious, the arrow made a buzzing sound and hit the center of the target, splitting the previous arrow precisely in half.
Amber maintained the arrow-releasing posture for a while, and after a long time, she finally relaxed.
"Sorry for the wait."
She looked at Lu Ban on the side.