Chapter 057 Chapter 57

"Be a polite person?" Yanagida Maiko looked confused. She looked at the tall torii and suddenly understood. "Does it mean that we should follow the New Year's rituals for worshipping gods?"

Okita Shinro nodded.

"I understand." Maiko Yanagida walked forward, bowed respectfully in front of the torii, and then walked to the side of the path in front of the torii. In order to avoid offending certain creatures here, she didn't even dare to touch the wooden frame of the torii.

After Yanagida Maiko, it was Aburano Hideto, who was still timid, bending his waist and lowering his head, following Yanagida Maiko. Then came Okita Shinro.

Miyuki was some distance away from them, but she was able to hear clearly what Okita Shinro said. Seeing the cautious expressions of the three people in front of her, Miyuki naturally imitated them all.

A group of four people lined up, walked through the Torii Alley, and arrived in front of the shrine.

Shinro Okita looked around the shrine and saw the hand-washing pond. According to the rules, one should wash hands after passing the Torii Gate. Shinro Okita was the first to come to the hand-washing pond. He scooped up a spoonful of water with a wooden spoon and turned to signal Maiko Yanagida. Maiko Yanagida understood and walked forward, stretching out her hands.

Under the night sky, a dark liquid fell on the fair hands of Maiko Yanagida and rolled down her skin. After Maiko Yanagida touched the liquid, she rubbed her hands subconsciously. Suddenly, she felt that the feeling seemed a little wrong. She lowered her head and took a closer look. A fishy smell came to her nose. She looked again and found that what poured out of the wooden spoon was not water, but sticky blood.

Maiko Yanagida screamed and took a few steps back, looking at her hands with horror.

Because it was too dark at night, Okita Shinro didn't realize what he had poured out until Yanagida Maiko screamed, then he lowered his head and stared at the sink.

The liquid in the pool was dark and its color could not be seen clearly, but it did not seem to be water.

Moreover, there seemed to be something floating up and down inside.

Okita Shinro took a breath of cool air. He didn't dare to delve into what was in the pond. He just looked at the wooden spoon worriedly.

The liquid that was poured out looked like blood. Does washing your hands with this thing mean your hands are clean?

Or, use the water you bring with you...but where do they get any water?

From the time they got off the train at Kisaragi Station until now, they have not been exposed to water.

The blood on Yanagida Maiko's hands could not be removed, so she might as well go with the flow and give it a try.

"Just wash it like this." Okita Shinro said, he scooped another spoonful with the spoon and said to Yanagida Maiko, "Wet both your hands."

Maiko Yanagida showed a disgusted expression, but finally chose to believe Shinro Okita. She turned her head away, closed her eyes, and stretched her hands forward, signaling Shinro Okita to "clean" her hands.

A spoonful of dark red sticky liquid was poured onto Maiko Yanagida's hands. Suppressing her disgust, Maiko Yanagida stroked her hands together and smeared the red liquid all over them.

Then she let her hands hang down, not wanting a single drop of liquid to get on her clothes.

"Do you want to wash?" Okita Shinro asked Aburano Hideto behind him, "First of all, I'm not sure if washing hands with liquid that looks like blood is considered polite. Maybe it is, maybe it's rude."

When Maiko Yanagida screamed, Hideto Aburano saw the blood on her hands. He was afraid of this and felt disgusted.

As a professional who has entered society, Aburano Hideto has his own thoughts on etiquette. At least in his opinion, not washing hands is cleaner and more polite than having hands stained with blood. God cannot possibly like blood and dirt. In Aburano Hideto's understanding, the hand basin at the door is a trap.

He won't guess wrong because he has more experience than the college student.

Hideto Aburano believed in his own judgment more, so he rejected Shinro Okita and did not intend to get his hands stained with blood.

Seeing that he refused, Okita Shinro nodded and looked at Miyuki who was standing far behind him.

Miyuki immediately shook her head. She wouldn't think too much about it. She just felt that something was wrong with the sink and didn't want to touch it.

As a result, the only one with blood on her hands was Maiko Yanagida. She felt like she was isolated, with fear all over her face and heart.

"Then please pour me some water." Okita Shinro handed the spoon to Aburano Hideto.

Aburano Hideto took the wooden spoon and asked in a slightly trembling voice: "Are you sure? I don't think this is the right choice."

"Yes." Okita Shinro nodded and looked at Yanagida Maiko, "Whether it's good or bad, I can't let her face it alone."

Maiko Yanagida looked at Shinro Okita with gratitude in her eyes.

Aburano Hideto, who had been single all the time, curled his lips slightly, scooped up the blood with a spoon, and painted Okita Shinro's hands dark red.

Afterwards, two people who had washed their hands and two people who had not washed their hands came to the shrine's cash box.

"Next is the five-yen coin." Okita Shinro felt his pocket and took out his wallet. He had the habit of carrying change with him all the time. Although he didn't use five-yen coins often, he could still save a few for change when he went to the supermarket a few times. Four coins, one for each person, was just right.

Seeing Okita Shinro opening his wallet with his bloody hands, Aburano Hideto immediately said, "Wait, let me take out the change for you! That... is all stained with blood after all, it's not good..."

Okita Shinro looked at the bloody handprints on his pants pockets and the outside of his wallet, and handed the wallet to Aburano Hideto: "Okay, I'll leave it to you."

Hideto Aburano stretched out two fingers, pinched Okita Shinro's wallet, and poured out a few coins from it. Because his movements were a bit rough, some coins with larger denominations fell to the ground and disappeared.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Aburano Hideto said, "I'll compensate you later."

"It's okay, it's just a few 100 yen coins." Okita Shinro whispered, "I hope I can get back alive."

Who cares about that little money?

Hideto Aburano took out four coins, put the wallet and two coins in Okita Shinro's hand, and threw one to Miyuki.

The coin did not fall into Miyuki's palm as she wished, but fell on the ground. Miyuki lay on the ground and searched for a long time before she found it.

Both Okita Shinro and Yanagida Maiko saw Hideto Aburano's bad attitude, but neither of them said anything.

As for Miyuki, it was a pleasant surprise to get a five-yen coin. She thought these people would just ignore her and leave her to fend for herself.

According to the order of entering the shrine, starting from Yanagida Maiko, people throw coins and ring bells to pray.

Maiko Yanagida behaved very properly. Japanese people are used to going to shrines to worship gods, and even elementary school students would not make mistakes in such matters.

After clasping your hands and bowing, it is time to draw the fortune.

There were no shrine maidens or the like here, so Maiko Yanagida had to look for the fortune stick by herself. Then she saw a box in a remote place next to the shrine's cash box.

There should be a signature inside. Maiko Yanagida tentatively reached her hand inside, touched a piece of paper, and pulled it out.

Because it was too dark, the words on the lot were blurry, but one could tell it was good or bad luck. The lot that Maiko Yanagida got said small good luck.

It’s not bad, as long as no one gets killed here, it will be the biggest motivation for Mayuko Yanagida.

She took the fortune stick and walked aside to wait for the result of Okita Shinro's fortune drawing.

A few minutes later, Okita Shinro came over with a relaxed smile on his face. He showed the fortune stick in his hand to Yanagida Maiko. Yanagida Maiko squinted her eyes and looked at it carefully, and recognized that it was "Daji".

"Good luck." Maiko Yanagida said in a relaxed tone.

Okita Shinro nodded and said, "Well, I suddenly feel that there is hope that I can survive until the next train."

Maiko Yanagida laughed softly.

Before the laughter stopped, they heard a shout from Aburano Hideto. They looked up and saw Aburano Hideto standing stiffly in front of the lottery box, holding his own lottery paper, and his whole body was shaking like a sieve.

Okita Shinro suddenly thought of something and hurried over. He looked at the lottery in Aburano Hideto's hand and saw a big dark red word on it: 兇.

Then, Okita Shinro subconsciously looked at the hand basin. Even though the liquid there looked like blood, it would be polite to wash one's hands for the creatures here.

"This...what should I do..." said Aburano Hideto tremblingly.

Because of his change, Miyuki, who was behind and hadn't had time to throw a coin to ring the bell, didn't dare to move. She almost trotted to the sink, picked up a wooden spoon with her right hand and poured the blood on her left hand, then kept rubbing her hands together, fearing that if she got one less point of blood, she would get a lucky sign.

Before Miyuki could rescue him, Hideto Aburano had already got the lottery ticket and it was too late to wash his hands. He could only look at Shinro Okita with pleading eyes, hoping that he would think of a solution.

Okita Shinro thought for a moment and said, "Hang it up! Leave the evil lottery here, hang it up, and then leave here!!"

It is a custom in the Japanese shrine that occasionally a few people will draw an unlucky lot. Such people will leave the unlucky lot in the shrine, which means leaving the bad luck here, and then leave the shrine by themselves.

Leaving here means that the shrine will no longer protect Hideto Aburano.

"No, this is the only safe place. I can't leave!" Aburano Hideto grabbed Okita Shinro's hand, "Think of a solution, think of another solution!"

Miyuki's hands were already stained red. She threw five yen into the cash box and rang the bell.

The constant ding-dong sound, coupled with Aburano Hideto's begging for help, made Okita Shinro very upset.

"It's useless for you to ask me for help. I've already told you that it's up to you to decide whether to wash your hands or not." Okita Shinro pulled back the hand that was grabbed by Aburano Hideto, "The only solution I can offer is this one. It's up to you whether you want to do it or not."

Hideto Aburano's eyes widened, and suddenly his look became fierce. He snatched the lucky lot from Shinro Okita's hand, threw the unlucky lot in his own hand at Shinro Okita, and turned and ran away.

"You, you watched me die without helping me!" Aburano Hideto shouted, "I can save myself! This lot is mine, and the murder is yours!"

Okita Shinro was startled, then he started chasing after him after he realized what was happening.

Miyuki, who was drawing lots here, unfolded her lot, and there was a word on it: fierce.

Miyuki was stunned.

No one noticed that something stood up from the hand basin in the corner behind them.