354. Scouting the Spot

"You may move freely in most areas of the sacred mountain, but please do not approach the vicinity of this hall and the Divine Child Pavilion, as the purifying fire may burn living people."

A shrine maiden dressed in red and white stripes, with her hair tied up with red and white sandalwood paper, spoke to Lu Ban.

As Amber's companion, Lu Ban received the same treatment as her family and was able to live directly in the shrine.

"What about Divine Cherry Tree?"

Lu Ban asked again.

"If you wish to visit the Divine Cherry Tree, you can go to the worship hall, where you can directly touch the divine body of the Divine Cherry Tree Blossom. The Divine Cherry Tree Blossom is the physical body of the first Divine Child and possesses spirituality, so please treat her with care."

The priestess's voice was devoid of emotion.

"It's actually the physical body of the first generation?"

Lu Ban was somewhat surprised, then thought of something else.

"By the way, that little girl, whom we brought with us, where does she live?"

"She is in the side hall, where the High Priestess is preparing to test her spirituality."

"I'd like to go and have a spiritual test. Could you please show me the way?"

Thinking it might be a waste not to take a look, Lu Ban asked the shrine maiden to lead him to the side hall, which was the shrine in the northwest of the main hall. Under the dark blue eaves, a little girl dressed in white was kneeling on a cushion. In front of her, an old shrine maiden was taking out a yellow Talisman Paper and placing it in front of her.

"What if the shrine maiden sees the contents of the paper and exclaims something like 'third-level fighting power,' and then banishes her from the shrine?"

Lu Ban joked.

The shrine maiden looked at Lu Ban with a strange expression.

"Just kidding."

Lu Ban smiled.

"She should be fine. Although she's not exceptionally talented, she's at least somewhat gifted. She should be able to work as an ordinary shrine maiden."

The shrine maiden offered another explanation, still devoid of emotion. But explaining the matter itself was already quite expressive, Lu Ban guessed that she might simply not like to express her emotions.

"That's good."

Lu Ban watched from afar as the little girl underwent the old witch's test. The result seemed neither good nor bad. Just as the witch beside him had said, this little girl should be able to become a witch.

"Once she becomes a priestess, she will receive a new name, and everything from the past will be irrelevant to her."

The shrine maiden spoke again.

"Alright."

Recalling the tragic scene on Changfeng Island, Lu Ban nodded.

"Can you take me to see Divine Cherry Tree?"

He asked again.

The shrine maiden glanced at Lu Ban, probably thinking that this guy was treating this place like a tourist, wanting to see everything.

But she remained silent, only gesturing for Lu Ban to follow.

Lu Ban glanced at the Divine Child Pavilion. Since that arrow earlier today, there had been no movement there. It seemed that the Head Miko wasn't very busy, and perhaps she was hiding somewhere taking a nap.

"Wow, that's really high. Such a tall pavilion must be accessible only by using magic to fly up there."

Lu Ban sighed, then thought about how Amber would have to climb up and shoot arrows whenever it sensed Corrupted Ones, and found it somewhat amusing.

The shrine maiden did not respond, probably thinking that Lu Ban's statement was somewhat foolish.

As the two walked along the road Torii Gate with torii gates, they could see some shrine maidens cleaning. It seemed that only shrine maidens could live in the area behind the shrine gate, while priests and other Shrine Officials could only live on a lower level.

So, you're the only man on this floor?

Lu Ban thought to himself, bored.

The shrine maidens bowed to the young shrine maiden who was leading the way. Her status seemed quite high. Lu Ban guessed that she might have originally been one of the candidates for shrine maiden, but gave up because she was not strong enough, and thus stayed here to work.

Surprisingly, inside the Wa Island Grand Shrine, the frequency of cherry blossoms falling was much lower. It seemed that the towering, massive canopy was scattering petals more far out, while the area near the trunk appeared even more desolate.

Two shrine maidens were cleaning under the Divine Cherry Tree tree. Lu Ban found it a bit strange, thinking that this work was probably endless and would never be finished. But seeing how serious the two women were, he felt that it was just an ordinary task.

"This is the divine body of the Divine Cherry Tree."

The shrine maiden said something.

A huge shimenawa rope was tied to the thick tree trunk, and many white gohei (ceremonial coins) hung around it. The place was somewhat dim, like the boundary between two worlds. As long as you crossed it, you could enter the other side.

Lu Ban glanced at the junction of the tree trunk and the ground, which looked like ordinary soil. He planned to wait until night to fulfill his wish to see the Momiji, and now he was staking out the spot.

He was initially worried that if, as the legends said, the cherry blossom tree and the ground were only Stone, he might have to dig up some Stone to bury it. It's great that it's just ordinary soil now.

Seeing Lu Ban's relieved expression, the shrine maiden tilted her head, wondering what the man was thinking.

"Thank you, I have already felt the grandeur of the Spiritual Possession."

Lu Ban expressed his gratitude, while secretly confirming the location for digging the pit at night. He apologized to the big tree in his heart in advance.

"?"

The shrine maiden didn't quite understand.

Because Amber needed to prepare for the selection process, Lu Ban naturally couldn't see her.

In the evening, after having dinner provided by the shrine, Lu Ban declined Natsushima's invitation to go to the red-light district of Harmony Island to listen to music, citing the need to rest after a long journey as his reason for staying indoors.

In fact, he had already figured out the route to Divine Cherry Tree.

Pretending to take a stroll, Lu Ban left his residence, passing through the Torii Gate corridor in the morning, and headed towards Divine Cherry Tree.

There were no shrine maidens along the way; they seemed to be in their temples practicing and attending evening prayers at this time. The road was secluded, like the underworld.

Halfway there, Lu Ban suddenly sensed someone behind him.

He looked back and saw what appeared to be a woman in white passing by the Torii Gate in the distance, though she was not clearly visible, her image both real and unreal.

"Is this place haunted too?"

Lu Ban muttered something to himself, then turned around and saw a woman dressed in white with scarlet trousers standing in front of him.

The woman had deep black hair, a Pale face, and eyes that were pale and delicate, possessing an otherworldly quality.

Lu Ban blinked, and the other person disappeared.

"Could this be... the spirit of the Divine Cherry Tree?"

He thought of the legend he had heard during the day: this tree was the physical body of the first Head Miko, and it possessed a spirit. Perhaps the spirit of that priestess was wandering in the Wa Island Grand Shrine, becoming a bound spirit.

What are you doing?

Suddenly, a childish voice rang out from behind Lu Ban.

Lu Ban turned his head and saw that it was the young girl.

She was dressed in a tiny shrine maiden outfit, looking every bit like a little shrine maiden.

Shh, I'm going to see the Divine Cherry Tree.

Lu Ban made a shushing gesture.

"I want to go too! I want to go!"

"The little girl called out."

"Okay."

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ban had no choice but to agree in order to avoid the other party crying and attracting more shrine maidens.

Moreover, if she gets caught, she can just say that she wanted to take the child to Divine Cherry Tree's place to play, and no one will blame the child.

Perfect.

Without a shred of guilt, Lu Ban tossed the pot to the little girl beforehand, then took her hand and led her to the Divine Cherry Tree tree.

Having scouted the location during the day, Lu Ban quickly dug a small hole and then took out the Crimson Crystal.

"What is this? It's so beautiful!"

The little girl wanted to reach out and touch it, but Lu Ban didn't give her the chance.

He put the crystal into the pit, covered it with soil, and explained as he did so.

"This is a friend of mine, she was also a priestess. After she died, if you bury this under the Divine Cherry Tree tree, her soul will never get lost and will always be able to find her way home."

"The way home."

The little girl seemed to not quite understand, yet also seemed to understand something.

Just then, Lu Ban heard a clear and melodious bell sound.

*

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