It was already evening after everything was dealt with.
And Shion was sitting in the main seat at the moment, listening to the hustle and bustle gradually dissipating outside the hall, and let out a long breath.
One day... a whole day.
Since her return, there has been an endless stream of congratulations, worship, and compliments.
There were also elders who were so excited that they talked incoherently, businessmen rushed to express their loyalty, and the people wanted to sacrifice her.
She is tired.
But she wanted to meet someone more.
"Ashitaba."
She spoke, trying to maintain the dignity of a miko in her tone.
"Go and ask Mr. Fujiwara to come over."
Ashitaba was stunned for a moment, then bowed and responded.
"Yes."
He turned to leave, but was stopped by Shion.
"Wait a minute." Shion pursed her lips, "Just say... just say that I want to thank you in person."
Ashitaba nodded and exited the hall.
Shion sat there, twisting his sleeves with his fingers unconsciously, feeling a little uneasy for no reason.
What is she worried about?
It's just a one-time meeting.
It's not like I've never seen it before.
But when the palace door opened again and the familiar figure walked in, she couldn't help but sit up straight.
Ning Xue changed into a clean robe, and his hair, which was bound by a scarf, was a little messy.
He was not wearing a mask, revealing his handsome but tired face.
When he reached the center of the hall, he stopped, looked around and nodded slightly.
"Miss Miko."
Shion looked at him and suddenly felt that most of those depressed emotions had disappeared inexplicably.
She cleared her throat and tried to maintain the miko's demeanor.
"Your Excellency Fujiwara, I am able to eliminate Mōryō this time, thanks to your help.
On behalf of Land of Demons, this miko would like to express my most sincere gratitude to you."
Ning Xue listened quietly and did not answer the call.
Shion paused and continued.
"From today on, you are my Land of Demons most distinguished guest.
No matter what your needs are, Land of Demons will definitely help you."
As she spoke, she stood up and bowed solemnly.
Upon seeing this, the attendants and guards on both sides of the palace also bowed and saluted.
Ning Xue looked at this scene, his expression still calm.
"Miko doesn't have to be like this. It's just part of the deal."
Shion pursed her lips.
transaction.
Another transaction.
She suddenly felt a little irritable, but in front of so many people, she couldn't say anything.
"Please step aside." She waved her hand, "I want to have a private conversation with Mr. Fujiwara."
Ashitaba was stunned for a moment, then looked at Shion, then at Ning Xue, with a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes.
"Miko-sama, this..."
"Back off."
Ashitaba sighed and bowed in response.
"Yes."
He waved his hand and led everyone in the hall to file out.
The palace door slowly closed.
Suddenly, only Shion and Ning Xue were left in the huge hall.
Shion stood in front of the main seat, looking at Ning Xue below, suddenly at a loss.
What to do now?
Just stand and talk like this? Or...
She bit her lip, suddenly walked down the steps, and walked straight to Ning Xue.
"Follow me."
She said that, without waiting for Ning Xue to respond, she turned around and walked towards the back of the palace.
Ning Xue raised his eyebrows and followed without asking any more questions.
Pass through a hanging curtain, bypass a huge screen, and behind it is a small side hall.
The furnishings here are simple, with only a low table, a few futons, and the faint moonlight coming through the window.
She walked to the low table, sat down, and then patted the futon opposite.
"Sit."
Ning Xue looked at the futon, then sat cross-legged and looked at her calmly.
Shion was a little panicked by what he saw. He subconsciously recognized the face and coughed lightly.
"That..."
She paused, then turned back, trying hard to look directly at him.
But when I looked into those eyes, I completely forgot all the words I had prepared in the palace just now.
Especially when I think of what I just said in front of everyone in the palace.
"Land of Demons is the most distinguished guest. No matter what your needs are, Land of Demons will definitely help you."
Now she wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
What a shame!
How on earth did she just say that?!
But the words have been spoken and cannot be taken back.
She took a deep breath and braced herself.
"You said before that you came to Land of Demons to seek help.
Now that Mōryō's matter has been resolved, it's my turn to fulfill my promise."
She paused and her tone was solemn.
"Tell me, how can I help you?"
Ning Xue looked at her and was silent for a few seconds, as if he was weighing something?
After a long time, he finally spoke.
"Can I trust you?"
Shion was stunned.
She didn't expect that he would ask such a question.
Seeing the flash of hesitation and struggle in the other person's eyes, she realized at this moment that maybe the other person would not trust anyone easily for some secrets.
Even if there is a life and death relationship.
Shion took a deep breath, looked directly into his eyes, and spoke word by word.
"I, Shion, swear in the name of the witch Land of Demons.
I won't tell anyone what you said to me today.
If I violate it, I will die in the loneliest prophecy."
After she finished speaking, she looked at him quietly.
Ning Xue looked at her, looking at the unquestionable seriousness in her eyes, and was silent for a moment.
Then, he raised his hand and slowly took off the turban on his head.
The restrained and free Caged Bird underneath is exposed.
It was a strange and concise rune, like a vine, outlining an inverted swastika mark in the center of the forehead.
Shion looked at the mark on his forehead and his pupils shrank slightly.
"This is..."
Ning Xue put down his headscarf and spoke in a calm tone, as if he was telling someone else's story.
"It's called Caged Bird."
"Caged Bird..." Shion murmured repeatedly, feeling a heavy feeling in his heart.
"Hyuga Clan, divided into Main Branch and Branch Family."
Ning Xue spoke calmly, as if all this had nothing to do with him.
"Main Branch is orthodox and inherits everything in the family.
Branch Family... is Main Branch's guard, a tool, and a chess piece that can be sacrificed at any time."
He raised his hand and touched Cursed Seal on his forehead with his fingertips.
"And this is the logo of the Branch Family. Once engraved on it, it cannot be removed for life."
"And it has two functions."
"First, protect the secret of Byakugan.
When any Branch Family member dies, Caged Bird will automatically activate, destroying the brain and eyeballs, making Byakugan unobtainable by outsiders."
"Second..."
He paused, his tone remained calm, but Shion felt a chill to his bones.
"Control."
"As long as Main Branch is willing, they can activate Cursed Seal at any time.
That kind of pain... is enough to make anyone kneel down and beg for mercy, enough to make anyone give up resistance.
More importantly, they can directly destroy the brains of the Branch Family members through Cursed Seal... it only takes a moment."
Shion covered his mouth.
She looked at Ning Xue in disbelief, at his calm face, and at the green Cursed Seal on his forehead.
She couldn't imagine how a person could tell such cruel facts in such a calm tone.
"As long as you are a Branch Family person, once you reach the right age..."
Ning Xue lowered his eyes, his voice was still calm, but it made Shion's heart ache.
"Then it will be forcibly printed."
Shion opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
She remembered what she had said to him.
"Sometimes I feel that this shrine is like a gorgeous cage.
I am the bird enshrined here."
She thought that was the greatest misfortune.
But now, listening to Ning Xue's story, she realized how naive she was.
She was just enshrined in a cage, respected by others, and had no worries about food and clothing.
And he...
His entire family, all Branch Family people, have been locked in a cage from the moment they were born.
I won't be able to get out for the rest of my life.
"So..." Shion's voice was hoarse and his eyes were red.
"Is this why you left Konoha?"
Ning Xue looked at her, nodded, and shook his head.
"This is only part of it, but now there is an urgent need to unblock this, or block it. So that it can no longer be controlled by anyone."
He looked at Shion, with a rare look of desire in his eyes.
"Can you help me?"
Shion looked at him, looked at those eyes, looked at that childish face but it was full of exhaustion.
For a moment, her eyes turned red.
I feel sympathy for him, but also feel sorry for the difficulty of his journey.
She took a deep breath, suppressed the tears in her eyes, and nodded solemnly.
"I will, no matter how hard it is."
Ning Xue looked at her firm expression and finally uttered only one sentence.
"Thank you..."
Shion looked at the Cursed Seal on his forehead, and an indescribable emotion surged in his heart.
She took a deep breath, suppressed the tears in her eyes, and was about to say something.
Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind.
A question popped up.
"Wait..."
She raised her head and looked at Ning Xue, with curiosity and confusion in her eyes.
"You said... Caged Bird is the symbol of the Branch Family. Once it is engraved on it, it cannot be removed for life, and Main Branch can sense the location and status of the Branch Family at any time?"
Ning Xue nodded.
Shion frowned slightly and continued to ask.
"Then... how did you escape?"
She paused, thinking about her words.
"According to your description, this Cursed Seal should be very tight.
Once you leave Konoha, they should be aware of it immediately and send people to hunt you down.
But you went all the way from Land of Fire to Land of Demons, and..."
She looked at Ning Xue but did not say the second half of the sentence.
Moreover, he seems quite comfortable.
Ning Xue was silent for a moment, and then spoke after a long time. There was no emotion in his voice.
"Because... I'm mixed race."
Shion was stunned for a moment.
"Mixed blood?"
Ning Xue nodded.
"Hyuga Clan, the obsession with blood is very deep, so most of them are intermarriage within the clan.
But mixed race..."
He paused, seeming to formulate his words.
"It was an accident in itself."
Shion listened quietly without interrupting.
"Hyuga Clan rarely intermarry with foreigners.
Even if there are, the children born are often regarded as... flawed products."
Ning Xue's tone was still calm, but Shion could hear a hint of sarcasm in it.
"Pure-blooded Byakugan will definitely be able to open his eyes as long as he undergoes specific training.
But the probability of mixed race awakening is even lower.
Therefore, the attitude within the clan towards mixed-race children is very unified."
He raised his eyes and looked at Shion.
"I don't care."
"If you die, no one will feel sorry for you.
If he ran away, no one would bother to chase him.
No one will waste Chakra to know whether my Caged Bird is still there.
After all, in their view, if a defective product is released, it will die."
Shion Listening, a complex emotion surged in my heart.
Don't care.
I don't care if I die, I don't care if I run away.
Even Cursed Seal's perception was too lazy to waste Chakra checking.
She couldn't imagine what kind of situation this was.
Completely ignored by his own family.
"And..." Ning Xue paused, and the corners of his mouth curved in a very faint arc.
"I am of mixed race. Being born Byakugan is considered a miracle within my clan."
"So if I fake my death, even though it is of some value, no one will look for my body.
After all, why would a noble pureblood condescend to look for a defective product?"
Shion Listening to these words, I felt like my chest was clogged.
She recalled that when she was a child, she was regarded as a monster by her peers because of her prophetic ability.
But that's just being alienated and isolated.
At least her mother loved her, her guards respected her, and her people needed her.
But what about Ning Xue?
He was regarded as a defective product from birth, ignored by his own family, was engraved with Cursed Seal that could never be erased, and was finally discarded as inferior product.
Her eyes turned red again.
"Then..."
She spoke, her voice a little hoarse, "If the mixed-race continues to marry outsiders, will the children born have the ability to awaken Byakugan?"
Ning Xue glanced at her, as if he didn't expect that she would ask this question.
He was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Three generations of mixed blood... Theoretically, the probability of awakening Byakugan will be lower. But it is not completely impossible."
He paused, and there was a hint of complexity in his tone that even he himself was not aware of.
"If I can live until then, maybe I can verify it."
Shion was stunned for a moment.
Then, she reacted suddenly, and her cheeks instantly turned red.
"I... I didn't mean that!! I was just... just curious! Yes, curious!!"
She waved her hands and explained incoherently.
Ning Xue Looking at her appearance, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
It was a very subtle arc, somewhere between helpless and funny.
"... I know."
He said, his tone was still calm, but Shion felt inexplicably that he seemed to be really smiling.
She bit her lip and turned her face away, not daring to look at him again.
But I was secretly complaining in my heart.
This guy obviously looks cold and cold at ordinary times, but why at times like this...
She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
"Ahem... well, let's get down to business."
She cleared her throat and returned to the topic.
"I need to study the Cursed Seal you mentioned. It may take some time, or... it may not be successful."
She paused, looked at Ning Xue, and spoke seriously.
"But I will try my best."
Ning Xue looked at her, looking at the seriousness and determination shining in those purple eyes.
After a moment, he nodded slightly.
"Hmm."
Shion pursed his lips and stood up.
"Then... you go back and rest first.
Starting tomorrow, I will check the classics left by witches of the past to see if there are any relevant records."
She paused and added another sentence.
"During this period, you will live in the shrine. If you need anything, just tell Ashitaba."
Ning Xue nodded and stood up.
He walked to the door and suddenly stopped.
"Shion."
Shion was stunned for a moment.
He usually calls her Miss Miko.
"What's wrong?"
Ning Xue didn't look back, just turned his face slightly and said again.
"Thank you."
After he finished speaking, he opened the door and walked out.