"Next is Asakusa, Asakusa. The exit is on the right."

When Ren Suo left Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line, he was already able to understand the subway station announcements - not by matching the sounds with his native language, but by subconsciously knowing the meaning of the words, which was not much worse than his English level.

The most important point for learning a foreign language is whether one can skip the step of "comparison with the mother tongue". Ren Suo had studied English for 11 years (3 years in primary school + 3 years in junior high school + 3 years in high school + 2 years in college) but he could not skip this step until he was forced to stay in a small dark room for a total of eight hours. He was able to cross this threshold with the help of props and the increased understanding of bonds.

Now, in order to reach the basic level of Japanese, it only takes him... 100 minutes.

And for at least ten minutes he was distracted by secretly glancing at Qiao Muyi.

"Ornament of Seeking the Truth" and "Demon King's Advent·Decree·Advance by a Thousand Miles" raised his understanding to an unimaginable level in a short period of time.

Although 'understanding' is not the same as 'wisdom', when he listened to Qiao Muyi's teaching at full capacity and compared it with the learning courseware on his mobile phone, Ren Suo's feeling about the words on the courseware changed as follows: "璺龘鱻鬹" → "听日勤奮" → "鸡爪苏素".

Ren Suo went from "I couldn't understand what was written here", to "it looked like traditional Chinese characters that needed to be identified", and finally to "I could recognize Japanese characters as proficiently as simplified Chinese characters".

This wonderful sense of achievement made Ren Suo study even harder. Even Qiao Muyi was surprised and asked, "Xiao Suo, you still say you don't know Japanese? You've learned it before, right?"

"No, no." Ren Suo said that he was not the type to learn secretly, he was lazy openly: "It's because of you, Master, that I learn so fast."

If it weren't for the "Demon King's Coming·Edict", Ren Suo might not have been able to improve his comprehension to the state of "understanding at a glance, and mastering once understood". This bond ability was given by Qiao Muyi, and Japanese was also taught by Qiao Muyi. In many senses, it was really because of Qiao Muyi.

Qiao Muyi did not pursue the matter further, but just helped Ren Suo explain vocabulary and grammar more seriously.

After Ren Suo learned Japanese, he was eager to practice in real life. He followed Qiao Muyi out of the subway station and saw a Japanese dessert shop on the side of the road. He immediately went in excitedly and then came back to Qiao Muyi in a hurry: "No money."

Ren Suo didn't know Japanese before, so it was useless to give him money, so Qiao Muyi naturally took it all by herself. She calmly slapped Ren Suo's hand away and said, "Have you forgotten that we don't have much money? Don't waste it on buying snacks."

"Okay." Ren Suo was not a stubborn person. He bought food just to chat with the clerk and test his spoken English. However, he was slightly startled and realized that Qiao Muyi had just spoken to him in Japanese.

"If you want to practice speaking, why don't you just chat with me?" Qiao Muyi glanced at him and said, "If you want to practice, don't be distracted and listen to me carefully."

"Okay." Ren Suo nodded. At this moment, he was bumped by a pedestrian. Knowing that he was blocking the road, Ren Suo quickly moved sideways and complained, "There are so many people!"

Seeing Ren Suo almost sticking to him, Qiao Muyi raised her eyebrows slightly and suddenly asked, "Do you know the way?"

Ren Suo: "...How can I find my way here for the first time?"

"Then give me your phone."

Ren Suo obediently handed the phone to Qiao Muyi. Qiao Muyi looked at the map on the phone, then looked at him, "There are so many people here, you won't get lost while walking, will you?"

"Should... not be right?" Ren Suo was not sure. He seldom went out to play, and this was his first time going abroad. He had no idea which way was which.

At this time, Ren Suo felt his hand being grabbed and was being pulled forward by Qiao Muyi. He was slightly startled, Qiao Muyi turned her head to look at him and said, "Then hold my hand, don't get lost. My phone is here."

She paused and said, "Aren't you going to chat with me to practice speaking? It's crowded and noisy here. Please come closer. I don't want to talk too loudly."

"oh oh."

Ren Suo subconsciously squeezed Qiao Muyi's hand. It was so soft. So this was what a girl should have...

Click!

Ren Suo seemed to be able to hear the wailing of his own hand bones. The soft jade that he had just held turned into soul-burning steel, causing his hand bones to ache. How come each of them was so much stronger than me!?

Qiao Muyi glared at him and arrogantly dragged him across the traffic light. Ren Suo didn't dare to make trouble again. He hung his head like a kitten that had just been neutered, and was led by Qiao Muyi with grievance.

A hundred meters from the Ginza Line subway station, you will arrive at the entrance to Omotesando: Kaminarimon. The plaque above Kaminarimon reads "Golden Dragon Mountain" in three large characters, and a red lantern with a black background and white border hangs in the middle of the gate. The lantern is ridiculously large, occupying almost 80% of the space of the entrance - fortunately, the gate is big enough.

It is almost noon now, but there are still many tourists visiting Sensō-ji Temple. The entrance is crowded with people coming and going. Many people are standing under the lanterns of the 'Kaminarimon' to take pictures, and the entrance is very congested.

When Qiao Muyi passed by, she took a curious look at the lantern and was about to leave. However, Ren Suo stopped her and pointed at the golden bottom of the lantern and said, "The founder of Panasonic got sick and came here to pray for recovery, so he donated this big red lantern to Sensoji Temple."

Qiao Muyi took a closer look and indeed found the words "Panasonic" engraved under the lantern. She looked at Ren Suo with a little surprise: "How do you know this story?"

Ren Suo blinked, tilted his head, and said with a wandering look: "Isn't this natural?"

Then the two of them walked into Nakamise Shopping Street. Just like the many fortune-telling and longevity lock amulet businesses in Xuanguo Temple, Sensoji Temple, as a famous tourist attraction in Tokyo, has naturally been commercialized a long time ago, and more thoroughly than Xuanguo Temple - the Omotesando between Kaminarimon and the main hall has become a pure commercial street. In addition to the common configurations such as souvenirs, you can even eat and drink here, and there are even a wide variety of two-dimensional peripheral figures.

However, Ren Suo didn't know if anyone would come here to buy figures. He probably thought Zhao Huo would - buy figures from Sensoji Temple, could they be used to ward off evil spirits and protect the house?

It was also the first time that Qiao Muyi saw the bustling commercial street in the temple. She was dazzled by the flow of people and various shops. However, she was soon led by Ren Suo to a shop that smelled of eggs.

Qiao Muyi glanced at the shop sign. On the left was "Sensoji Temple Specialty" and on the right was "Ninja-yaki". Ren Suo spoke to the waiter in Japanese very naturally, "I'll give you one each of the five-story pagoda, lantern, pigeon, and thunder god. Thank you."

Then Ren Suo extended his hand to Qiao Muyi and introduced: "This Kimura Ningyoyaki is the most authentic Ningyoyaki in Sensō-ji Temple. You must try it when you come to Sensō-ji Temple. Besides, it's already noon, let's have some snacks here to fill our stomachs first."

The waiter at the counter smiled and said, "Yes, Kimura's four special doll-shaped omelettes will never disappoint our customers."

Qiao Muyi glanced at Ren Suo, took out money from her wallet, and soon got a white box containing human-shaped cakes. The lid of the box was also painted with the landmark pattern of Sensoji Temple. After eating, the housewives could take it home, wash it, and use it as a lunch box.

Ren Suo held the box and looked at Qiao Muyi. He felt that she didn't seem to have any intention of letting go of his right hand (their hands were still holding each other), so he handed the box to her and motioned for her to open it.

Qiao Muyi opened the lid and saw four deep red human-shaped cakes inside. Just as their names implied, their shapes were a five-story pagoda, a lantern, a dove, and the god of thunder, and they looked quite exquisite.

She picked up the lantern-shaped Ningyoyaki and tasted it. It tasted like an omelet with red bean filling, sweet and good.

Ren Suo looked at her eagerly from the side and shook her hand, signaling her to let go so that he could also have a few pieces of the human-shaped baked goods to taste.

However, Qiao Muyi grabbed his hand even harder, preventing him from pulling it out. Then Qiao Muyi picked up a doll-shaped human figure and said, "Open your mouth."

"Ah—mmmm."

"How about it?"

“This pigeon doesn’t taste very good.”

Qiao Muyi fed the Thunder God's humanoid to Ren Suo again, but Ren Suo still felt it was not very tasty. Qiao Muyi immediately responded: "You don't like this kind of sweet food? It's full of sweet fillings."

"Yeah." Ren Suo nodded: "I prefer saltier food."

Qiao Muyi said "oh" and suddenly leaned close to Ren Suo and said, "You don't like sweets, so why are you so familiar with Ningyo-yaki? And why did you go out of your way to buy Ningyo-yaki from that old Kimura shop?"

Qiao Muyi's face was so close that even her trembling eyelashes were clearly visible. Ren Suo immediately laughed and turned his head to the side: "Well... do you like this?"

Qiao Muyi glanced at him, drew back, and ate the last piece of the five-story pagoda-shaped yaki. As she ate, she said, "It's OK. If I have to choose between hate and like, I like it."

"That's all."

Ren Suo tried to change the subject, but Qiao Muyi was not so easily fooled: "You haven't answered why you are so familiar with Ningyoyaki."

Ren Suo rolled his eyes, his gaze wandering away, not meeting Qiao Muyi's, and said casually: "Isn't this natural... Hey, there's a cat here!"

Ren Suo pulled Qiao Muyi to an alley between shops. There was a little orange cat curled up in the corner, seemingly sleeping. However, when Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi came over, it immediately perked up and stood up. It did not run away, but looked at Ren Suo stupidly and meowed a few times.

When Qiao Muyi saw it, he thought of the little cat at home, so he squatted down and wanted to touch it. Unexpectedly, as soon as Qiao Muyi approached, the little orange cat trembled and meowed, then lay down obediently, turned over, revealing its snow-white furry belly, and closed its eyes as if it was ready to die, just like a weak girl who gave up resistance and accepted rape in the face of a tyrannical man.

Ren Suo laughed: "It lies down and exposes its belly because it's afraid of you, hehe (#^.^#)."

Qiao Muyi was not convinced. She reached out and stroked the little orange cat a few times, saying, "How could it be afraid of me? It's obviously afraid of you, right?"

Ren Suo raised his eyebrows and gave a provocative smile: "I am very popular among cats... Come on, hand."

Ren Suo stretched out his hand, and the little orange cat immediately stretched out its right front leg and placed it on Ren Suo's hand to please him. Then Ren Suo looked at Qiao Muyi with a proud smile as if he had won the favor of a rich and beautiful woman, and chuckled.

Qiao Muyi's eyes turned cold, and he said to the little orange cat, "Lie down!"

Feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from the giant in front of him, the trembling little orange cat immediately turned over and lay down, closing his eyes and saying nothing - come on, come on, life has finally dealt a blow to a little kitty like me, hurry up, just treat it as being bitten by a dog.

Qiao Muyi looked at Ren Suo and snorted, with the corner of his mouth curled up to reveal a disdainful smile: So what if you win its heart, if I want it to lie down, it has to lie down, and if I want to pet it, I can pet it!

A depressed Ren Suo pulled Qiao Muyi and walked to the other side of the commercial street, and lined up in front of a dessert shop with ease.

"Let's try this Asakusa Lantern, which is ice cream sandwiched between cookies. We can choose from eight different flavors of ice cream, and there are exclusive special ice creams for different seasons, but Matcha flavor is a must... Which one do you want to try?"

After hearing Ren Suo introducing the local delicacies in detail, Qiao Muyi wanted to say something but held back.

Next, they ate kameezaki (tourmaline ningyoyaki) and Asakusa kujue fried buns, and walked around for more than ten minutes before reaching the Hozomon Gate.

Like Kaminarimon, Hozomon also has a big red lantern hanging in it, but it is a little smaller than the one at Kaminarimon. On the lantern is written "Kofune-machi" in black letters on a white background, and there are statues of Nio on both sides.

After passing through the treasure gate, Ren Suo excitedly pulled Qiao Muyi to look back and said, "There are two straw sandals there, each 2 meters long, 1 meter wide, and weighing 150 kilograms. It is said that they took three years to weave by hand, and they symbolize the crystallization of faith."

Qiao Muyi asked: "Won't these straw sandals rot in the wind and rain?"

"Really? But this pair of straw sandals is replaced every ten years, and a grand straw sandal offering ceremony is held when they are replaced..."

Ren Suo introduced the incense burner while pulling Qiao Muyi forward. There was a large incense burner in front of them. Ren Suo led Qiao Muyi around it and said, "Everyone who comes here will walk around it and pray for health and longevity."

Then he took Qiao Muyi to the water house, which was a huge pool. A statue of Wu Zun, who was leaning on a cane and had a dragon wrapped around his body, stood in the center of the pool. There were six stone dragons on the platform under the feet of the statue, and clear water was spraying out of the dragons' mouths. In short, it was a very pretentious fountain.

There were several water ladles beside the pool, and the passengers were using them to scoop water to wash their hands. Qiao Muyi finally let go, and Ren Suo stepped forward and picked up the water ladles while washing his hands, while introducing: "There are etiquettes for washing hands here. First, pour some water to wash your left hand, then use your left hand to take the water ladles to wash your right hand, then use your right hand to take the water ladles and pour some water on the palm of your left hand, drink a mouthful of the water in your left hand to rinse your mouth, spit it back into your left hand and throw it away. If you feel it is not clean, you can wash your left hand again..."

Qiao Muyi obediently washed her hands according to Ren Suo's instructions, but this time she couldn't hold back any longer. After washing her hands, she grabbed Ren Suo and asked, "How come you know the steps of washing hands so clearly?"

"Well..." Ren Suo's eyes wandered again.

He suddenly sighed, pointed ahead and said, "We can draw lots there to see if it's going to be auspicious or unlucky. Sir, why don't we go and draw lots to see if we have any luck? If we have some luck, maybe our trip will go smoothly."

Qiao Muyi looked over and saw a house with a Mikuji sign hanging not far away - that was the lottery house, where divination was charged 100 yen per time.

Ren Suo pulled Qiao Muyi to the place where the lottery sticks were placed and asked Qiao Muyi to shake the lottery sticks. However, Qiao Muyi picked up the lottery sticks with one hand and handed it to Ren Suo.

Ren Suo thought to himself, "Can't you just let go and shake the lottery ticket yourself?" But he still obediently stretched out his left hand and shook the lottery ticket box with Qiao Muyi.

Unlike the stick holders that look like chopstick holders in period TV dramas, the stick holder in Sensō-ji Temple is completely sealed, with only a very small opening to shake out the sticks. Travelers have to shake it many times before they can shake the sticks out.

Qiao Muyi suddenly said, "I have never had any talent for this kind of activity that requires luck."

Ren Suoqi asked, "Is there a saying that luck can also be considered a talent?"

"Yes, I have reposted the lottery event hundreds of times on Weibo, but I have never won once." Qiao Muyi said: "From childhood to adulthood, I have never had good luck. Although I can't say I am unlucky, I am not favored by luck either... But in this situation, I think I will win a very unlucky one."

Phew.

Ren Suo suddenly laughed, and he laughed very happily, with his eyes narrowed like crescent moons, which made Qiao Muyi look confused - is it so funny that I am unlucky?

"Don't worry." Ren Suo's tone was full of smiles, but it contained convincing confidence: "Even if you have bad luck thirty-three times, you will definitely draw 'good luck' this time. I promise."

"Why?" Qiao Muyi looked at Ren Suo in confusion. How could you be so sure about drawing lots? And how could the number of bad luck be accurate to thirty-three times?

"because……"

Dongdong, a wooden stick fell out of the stick tube that the two of them were shaking and landed on the table with a crisp sound.

“It’s a given.”