After leaving the village chief's house, Teiichi and the other two didn't rush to check into the hotel. Instead, they wandered around the village as if they were genuinely on a sightseeing trip.
Beneath their feet lay a path paved with stone slabs. Although not perfectly smooth, it bore the marks of time.
On both sides of the road are houses arranged in a pleasing, staggered pattern, their green roof tiles gleaming softly in the sunlight.
The three continued on their way, seeing an old man sitting in front of his house, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan; seeing children playing and laughing; seeing a woman drawing water...
In short, it depicts a harmonious and beautiful rural life.
To be honest, compared to what Teiichi has seen outside over the years, this place is not considered wealthy, but it is definitely not as poor as the image that Shinsuke described.
So... was it a ghost that brought about the village's bountiful harvests these past two years, thus changing the lives of the people here?
If only my guess was wrong... Teiichi sighed inwardly.
On the way, Kanae looked at Teiichi with Teiichi puzzled expression and asked:
"Shouldn't we ask other people about the Harvest Cult?"
Upon Teiichi, Ding Yi hesitated slightly, then tentatively asked:
Have you ever encountered a mission where humans and ghosts colluded?
"Humans colluding with demons?" Kanae repeated softly, then asked, "Like the one on Shoura Island?"
Teiichi, before remembering that Shoura Island was a mission he had completed after leaving the team.
"Yes, it's a mission like that!"
Kanae gently shook her head. "No, missions like that are rare even in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps!"
"Ghosts can be considered the natural enemy of humans; under normal circumstances, you would kill them on sight!"
"Moreover, although many ghosts can think, their logic of action is completely different from that of humans. In this case, there are even fewer that can cooperate with humans!"
Teiichi slightly. "So what would you do if you encountered that kind of situation?"
"You're not asking that 'either/or' question we asked before, are you?" Kanae tilted her head slightly, looking at Teiichi.
When Teiichi left the group, he asked at the Hashira Meeting, "If one person had to be sacrificed to kill a demon, what would the others do?"
Teiichi shook his head and denied it, saying, "No, it's just that when you're carrying out a normal mission, what would you do if you encountered a mission where everyone is colluding with ghosts?"
"Then I'll kill the demon and hand the person over to the police!" Kanae replied.
She didn't hesitate much about the question; it was even simpler than the Teiichi.
"What if there are many people colluding with ghosts?" Teiichi and continued to ask, while continuing to walk forward.
However, after taking two steps, she stopped and turned to look at Kanae was still standing there.
Kanae stood there, stunned, staring at Teiichi with disbelief in her eyes.
"You mean there are many people in this village who are colluding with evil spirits?"
Teiichi calmly looked at Kanae and nodded.
"What if I said the whole village might be conspiring with the devil?"
"..."
Kanae stood there, her mouth open, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.
Her emotions told her that such a thing was impossible; even if there was malice, it would only be the malice of one or two people at most.
But reason told her that Teiichi wouldn't suddenly say such a thing for no reason.
Are the people in this village really all in league with ghosts?
Teiichi was about to say something more, a villager came out from not far away.
Seeing this, Teiichi said, "Alright, this is just my guess. We'll have to investigate further to find out if it's true! Let's go!"
Kanae hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but ultimately nodded.
Turning her head to glance at the street she had just walked through, the village no longer seemed as harmonious as it had appeared to her...
The three continued walking forward, but unlike before, this time Kanae seemed somewhat dazed, simply following Teiichi unconsciously.
At one point, Teiichi's gaze was suddenly drawn to a little girl with two pigtails walking towards him.
It's not because of anything else, but because...
Teiichi turned his head and glanced at Kanae, who seemed slightly distracted, then at the little girl who had been keeping her head down but had already approached the two of them.
"If this continues, the two of them will bump into each other..." Teiichi quickly made a judgment in his mind, and then lightly raised his right hand to block Kanae's subconscious step forward.
The sudden stop brought Kanae back to her senses, and she instinctively glanced at Teiichi.
"What's wrong?"
Teiichi his mouth, about to explain, when he saw the little girl, who was already very close to the two of them, bump straight into Kanae and then fall backward to the ground.
The sudden turn of events brought Kanae back to her senses. She quickly knelt down and helped the little girl up, saying with concern:
Are you alright?
The little girl shook her head, got up, bowed to the two of them, and apologized:
I'm so sorry!
"Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?" Kanae asked softly.
The little girl shook her head, said nothing, and continued walking in the same direction.
The two stood there watching the little girl's figure for a while, then Teiichi said softly:
Let's go!
Kanae nodded slightly.
If you walk any further, you'll see the village shrine.
It was a small wooden building, with white shimenawa ropes tied in front of the shrine swaying gently in the wind, and red pillars standing out against the green trees.
Although it's called a shrine, it's actually just a small, standalone wooden hut with a plaque outside that reads " Goddess of Abundance ".
Is this ghost actually a woman?
With that Teiichi, the three of them stepped forward and entered the shrine.
Inside the shrine, there is a high platform, and on the platform is a clay statue of a female deity.
The statue was sculpted rather roughly; you can tell that not much money was spent on it.
However, the two horns on his forehead and the two horns on his hair are still clearly visible.
Teiichi's gaze lingered a little longer on the winding horns.
Hmm, maybe it's a twig, or maybe not...
Teiichi his gaze on the statue and began to scan the interior of the shrine.
The shrine is rather desolate; apart from the high platform and the statue, there is only this offering table in front of the high platform.
There was nothing on the altar, and it was even covered in dust.
It looks like it's been abandoned for a long time.
Upon seeing this, Teiichi couldn't help but feel a sense of surprise.
A temple was built for it, a statue was sculpted for it, and just two months ago, children were even offered as sacrifices to this demon. How come the shrine is now so desolate?
Is it purely a matter of self-interest?
Trading children for a bountiful harvest?
But if that's the kind of relationship, then why build a temple for this ghost?
Without key information, it's impossible to Teiichi any conclusions.