On the hill behind the small fishing village.
Nan Yuanman and Feng Congqian hid in the bushes, holding their breath and gazing at the brightly lit village in the distance.
Nan Yuanman leaned closer to Feng Congqian and said in a small voice, "Dad, my second brother lives in that village."
Feng Congqian nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the 'people' patrolling back and forth not far away.
Calling them people isn't quite accurate, because they're dressed in the kind of samurai outfits worn in ancient times, like those in Japanese anime, with a samurai sword at their waist and a particularly ferocious and eerie demon mask on their face.
Their walking posture was even more bizarre, with their toes pointed upwards, like ghosts in horror movies, floating around.
Feng Congqian didn't notice their presence at first, but Nan Yuanman pulled him back in time and dragged him into the bushes, thus preventing him from running into them head-on.
Nan Yuanman's gaze also fell on these 'people'. She was certain they were not living beings. Their life force was very faint, and they were almost completely enveloped in dense yin energy and resentment. They were neither human nor ghost, just like... just like...
Nan Yuanman racked her brains and thought hard, and finally remembered what these 'people' looked like: like the old man Zhou who had come back to life before!
But then she caught a whiff of human life in that village.
Can zombies live alongside living people?
When Nan Yuanyuan was thinking wildly, thinking about how to sneak into the village without alerting the other party, a clear and curious female voice suddenly came from behind: "よそ者, あなたたちはここで何をしているのですか?" (Outlander, what are you doing hiding here?)
Nanmanyuan: "!!!"
Feng Congqian: "!"
The two turned their heads simultaneously as if on cue, and saw a pretty young girl wearing a gray dress, carrying a large bamboo basket full of firewood on her back, squatting behind them at some point.
The young girl blinked at them, with a look of surprise on her face: "Are you here to seek the protection of the miko?"
Nan Yuanman squatted on the ground, looking at Feng Congqian with a blank expression, and leaned closer to him to ask in a low voice, "Dad, what is she mumbling about?"
She didn't understand a word.
and……
This girl is clearly alive, so how did she discover that she had a concealment talisman on her?
Upon hearing the word "shrine maiden," Feng Congqian's eyes flickered slightly, and he replied in Japanese, "Yes, we came seeking the protection of the shrine maiden, but we accidentally got lost."
"It's getting late, could you show us the way?"
A smile appeared on the girl's face: "いいですよ, private について来てください." (Okay, you come with me.)
As the girl spoke, she stood up and walked out first. Feng Congqian, holding Nan Yuanman's hand, looked warily at the 'people' dressed in samurai attire who had suddenly stopped not far away.
The girl followed his gaze and gently reassured him in Japanese, "Don't be afraid. These are the priestess's guards. As long as you don't provoke them, they won't hurt you."
Feng Congqian took a deep breath, picked up Nan Yuanman, and slowly followed behind the girl.
Sure enough, following behind the girl, those strange people did not attack them. However, even after they had gone far away, Feng Congqian and Nan Yuanman could still feel the sharp edge behind them.
It was as if... someone was watching them from the shadows.
This strange girl who suddenly appeared was very talkative. She told Feng Congqian that her name was Ueda Yuuki, and that she had been abandoned by her parents when she was young. She was taken in and raised by a shrine maiden.
Not only her, but most of the villagers in this small fishing village were rescued by the priestess from outside, abandoned by their relatives, or were disabled and ostracized by society.
As Feng Congqian listened, he quickly translated what she said to Nan Yuanman. At the end, he asked her, "Do outsiders often come to this village? You seem not at all surprised that you found us."
“Yes.” Yuuki Ueda nodded vigorously, praising the shrine maiden highly: “Because the shrine maiden is very powerful, she can heal people and exorcise evil spirits, so people from many small villages around here occasionally come to her for help.”
"The priestess is very generous. Just give her a little food and she will cure the sick."
"However, the priestess is not so easy to meet. It's already quite late. Why don't you two stay at my house for the time being, and I'll take you to the shrine to find the priestess tomorrow night?"
Yuuki Ueda had hardly ever left her small fishing village since she was a child, and the people in the village were exceptionally kind and honest. Outsiders who came to the shrine maiden for help were also very warm towards her, so she was completely unguarded against Nan Yuanman and Feng Congqian.
They are so innocent that they seem out of place in this era.
Nan Yuanman and Feng Congqian exchanged a glance and decided to stay at Yuki Ueda's house for the night without alerting her.
At the same time, they extracted more information about the witch from her.
After all, judging from what she just said, the 'witch' is a very kind person, so it is questionable whether she would help Xie Qingya use the magic of stealing luck.
but……
"A shrine?" Feng Congqian looked around naturally, a hint of curiosity appearing on his handsome and mature face. "How come I haven't seen any trace of a shrine along the way?"
"The shrine of the priestess is not in the village, but in a place like a fairyland." Yuuki Ueda stood on tiptoe and said with great longing, "Only by becoming the priestess's guard can one be qualified to live in the shrine."
"Every year, the priestess chooses four people from the village to become her guards. Unfortunately, I'm still too young and wasn't selected this year. Maybe I can become the priestess's guard next year!"
Feng Congqian's eyes flickered slightly as he carefully noted down the key points Ueda Yuki had mentioned, intending to discuss them with Yuanman later.
As they entered the small fishing village with Yuuki Ueda, Fuuya Takubo, inside the shrine, raised an eyebrow and tilted his ear as if listening to something.
Yue Yaxin breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could exhale, she heard herself mutter to herself, "Oh? Outsiders have arrived?"
"Among them is a spirit with great fortune? Not bad... a good candidate to make a puppet."
Yue Yaxin's heart sank slightly. A stranger? A spirit? Had someone wandered into this place by mistake?
Taikubo Fuuya turned her gaze back to Yue Yaxin, who was possessing Xie Qingya, her dark eyes filled with displeasure: "No matter what you're holding, you've achieved your goal here. Behave yourself and don't make a fuss."
Taikubo Fuuya's expression was cold: "My patience is limited. Don't provoke my bottom line again and again. Otherwise, even if you have the cult leader protecting you, I will turn you and your good-for-nothing son into puppets."
Yue Yaxin pursed her lips and didn't say anything, looking frightened. Only then did Taikubo Fengya leave with the head in her hand in a happy mood.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com