355. Momiji's Hairpin

In an instant, Lu Ban felt that the entire Divine Cherry Tree had become slightly brighter, and the cherry blossoms that had fallen at his feet were glowing with a pale purple light, turning the cherry blossom rain into a pale purple rain.

The little girl stared at the scene with her mouth agape, her face filled with surprise and astonishment.

Lu Ban turned around and watched from afar as the Pale flames on the Divine Child Pavilion burned fiercely.

He had assumed the Head Miko would come from somewhere else, but now it seemed she was already seated there.

The melodious sound of an arrow pierced the sky, and the arrow flew away into the distance, illuminating the night sky before quickly fading into silence.

However, the flames on the Divine Child Pavilion did not seem to have been extinguished and were still burning fiercely.

Even though Lu Ban had seen Amber wield the Pure Fire before, he now felt that the raging flames were no longer suppressible and were about to spread to the surrounding area.

Soon, Lu Ban heard a commotion, as if the witches were starting to move around. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but it was probably related to the current situation of the Divine Child Pavilion.

Then, Lu Ban heard a song and murmurs, like a prayer. With his eyes closed, he could imagine the scene of the priestesses kneeling in a circle around the Divine Child Pavilion, reciting prayers with their eyes closed.

This is also a kind of "Word Spirit".

As the sound rang out, the flames seemed to weaken considerably. In the end, reason prevailed, and all the purifying fire was extinguished.

The Divine Child Pavilion returned to silence.

The lingering sound of prayer did not disappear; it continued for some time.

Lu Ban then saw that the exterior of the Divine Child Pavilion was charred black, clearly indicating that it had been burned several times.

"Sitting in a place like that for a long time must be very tiring."

Lu Ban suspected that the current Head Miko was indeed nearing her end and was unable to suppress her power, which led to the situation just now.

"No wonder Amber is needed to inherit the position."

If one day the Head Miko is unable to control the purifying fire, then perhaps the entire Wa Island Grand Shrine and the entire Divine Cherry Tree will suffer.

The safest place is the most dangerous place.

Lu Ban looked at the Divine Child Pavilion, but before he could see the appearance of the Head Miko, he remembered something else.

"Since those witches have all come out, doesn't that mean people will be arriving here soon?"

Lu Ban decided to run away as soon as possible.

He grabbed the little girl and immediately ran out of the corridor, returning to the vicinity of the temple.

"Don't tell anyone else about tonight's events. We made a promise."

Lu Ban reached out his hand and made a pinky promise with the little girl.

"I'm all grown up now, I don't play these childish games anymore!"

The little girl straightened her back, looking perfectly justified.

". All right."

Lu Ban withdrew his hand.

"You have to take me out again sometime!"

The little girl spoke again, clearly having already learned how to bargain.

"No problem!"

Lu Ban replied.

He didn't mean to deceive the child; he just didn't know when he would be able to come to the Harmony Island again, and by then the little girl might have grown up or even become an old lady.

After taking the little girl back to her place, Lu Ban returned to his own residence.

The bright moonlight filtered through the cherry blossom treetops, casting a thin layer of light.

The room was filled with books, and with the help of the translation of "The Silent Land," Lu Ban could tell that they were all waka poems, haiku, prose, and other writings left behind by shrine maidens and priests of the past.

He flipped through several of them, most of which were poems about sorrow and lamenting the fleeting nature of time. There were also some descriptions of shrine life, which were quite simple and unadorned.

Just as he was reading these words, the calligraphy on them suddenly distorted and turned into the system's indifferent and cold text.

[Complete the side quest: Return Home]

[Like fallen leaves returning to their roots, a soul that yearns for the sky eventually returns to the earth. At least, her soul has returned to its homeland. May peace forever surround her.]

[Reward: 50,000 Silence Points]

[Reward: Momiji's Hairpin]

A crimson hairpin appeared in Lu Ban's hand.

This hairpin seemed to be made of some special material, crystal clear, but definitely not crystal or glass. In Lu Ban's understanding, it was more like bone, crystallized bone.

Holding it in my hand, it felt slightly warm, like a young girl's palm.

[Momiji's Hairpin]

[pollute]

The shrine maiden's hairpin, never used.

[If a shrine maiden of Wa Island Grand Shrine falls into depravity, she will become Calamity Priestess); the more powerful the shrine maiden, the easier it is for her to fall into depravity.]

This hairpin belonged to a witch who had fallen from grace but was ultimately redeemed.

[Hold the hairpin tightly, for you may witness the despair she once saw.]

"The affairs of the ancient times are long gone, unknown to me."

Lu Ban never expected to obtain Momiji's Hairpin, but she seemed to have never used it before and didn't know its specific uses.

He gripped the hairpin tightly, following the description.

Soon, Lu Ban felt a wave of heat.

The heat intensified, and if at first it felt like being under the scorching summer sun, now it felt almost like being in a frying pan.

He saw the surrounding houses engulfed in flames, and he saw a withered hand grab his ankle on the ground, and countless humanoid creatures crawling out of the soil.

These creatures, pieced together from human limbs and internal organs, present a sense of frenzied and perverse chaos, with all of them crawling toward Lu Ban.

He felt as if he had become the same Momiji he had been, his body sealed by a spell, lying on a stone bed, watching helplessly as these ugly monsters crawled up to him and tore his body apart with their sharp, filthy claws and teeth.

Even as it was being devoured, the Momiji retained some consciousness.

Lu Ban released his hairpin, and wisps of smoke rose from his head, filling the room with the aroma of roasted pig brains.

thump--

Lu Ban to the ground, Motionless.

Several hours later, a blade of grass finally emerged from Lu Ban's ear.

These grasses grew tenaciously, and eventually, Lu Ban's entire body was enveloped in their new greenery.

When the first rays of morning light peeked through the gaps in the trees and fell on Lu Ban's face, he finally twitched and got up.

His body was covered with withered yellow leaves. He looked at the red hairpin that had fallen to the side and felt a mix of emotions.

"I never expected that fulfilling Momiji's long-cherished wish would result in this as a reward. It can only be used to harm people."

Recalling the pain of being torn apart and devoured by those monsters, Lu Ban felt that Momiji Momiji truly pitiful.

Even after death, they are dragged out and turned into Calamity Priestess to continue harming people. Just thinking about these Corrupted Ones is terrifying.

Lu Ban wrapped the hairpin in cloth and put it away carefully. It seemed that only direct contact would cause the illusion to appear, and carrying it normally should not be a problem.

Thinking of this, Lu Ban took out the mask again. He had obtained it after killing the Bandaged Man. Because he had been at sea, he was worried that there would be problems after the identification, so he had delayed until now.

Now that we're at the heart of the Harmony Island's extraordinary power, an appraisal shouldn't be a problem.

Lu Ban took out the mask and chose to have it appraised.

Thank you to "Summer Shade" for the 3000 coin reward, to "Book Friend 20211121223807418", "Little Bookworm 10086", "SkyBlue7", and "Rain Mirror" for the 1500 coin rewards, to "Book Friend 20210526095802659" for the 600 coin reward, to "DogHot" and "Kim Tae-yeon's Goda" for the 500 coin rewards, to "Walking Green Belt" for the 300 coin reward, to "Erebus" for the 281 coin reward, and to "Swaying Wine Glass", "Cheap Sword", "Chasing That Bear", "Three Days Fish Two Days King", "Mango Is Really Not Busy", "Want to Spend Time Quietly with You", "Phantom Star Moonlight", "Hua Yuan Chen", "|Book Friend 3527", "Hei Yi", "Author Daddy", "Lu Mingze from the Other Side of Destiny", and "Book Friend 20170730140152069" for the 20170730140152069... "Mo Chen" and "I'll watch it after I sleep" gave a 100-coin reward!