After a while, Kazuma and Tamamo finally arrived at the foot of the shrine.
When I got closer, I found that next to the torii gate where the stone steps of the shrine started, there was a signboard with an introduction to the shrine.
"Meizumi Shrine... seems to be dedicated to the god of spring water?" Kazuma muttered and continued to look behind.
Just now, He Ma also complained that the festival here is called Meiquan Festival, which seems to be randomly put together by tourism officials. I didn't expect the name of this festival to match the shrine.
According to the introduction on the signboard, the god enshrined in this shrine is a stone. In the past, spring water gushed out from under the stone. Gradually, hunters who went hunting in the nearby mountains began to gather near the water source, and then reclaimed some fields.
Later, a Shinto priest came and built a shrine near the stone.
Now there is no spring water flowing out from under the stone, but the well water drilled by the residents is still sweet.
Kazuma finished reading the content on the stand, and turned to look at Tamamo.
Tamamo said: "It seems to be a folk belief that has nothing to do with monsters, and occasionally there are such cases."
"Occasionally? Wouldn't there be monsters or gods related to it because of the residents' beliefs?"
"No." Yuzao shook his head, "Let's go, go and see what happened to the plaster made from the scalp of the kappa."
Kazuma looked up at the long stone steps and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"The stone steps are too long, aren't they?"
"Don't complain. Before you were injured and hospitalized, I went to ask you for an amulet to speed up your recovery, but you have climbed these stone steps a hundred times."
"Is it real? As tall as this one? Is there such a shrine in Tokyo?" Kazuma looked skeptical.
Yuzao: "Yes. Well, it's not as tall as this one, but it's still pretty high."
"That's it."
Hema looked up at the long stone steps, decided that short-term pain is worse than long-term pain, and suddenly rushed all the way to the top of the stone steps.
His speed was so fast that he almost ran into the Miko who was sweeping the floor.
"Wow!" The witch was startled, and took a step back, but her left foot tripped over her right foot, and she fell hard.
While recovering his breath, Kazuma looked at the shrine maiden.
This must be Hiroko who works part-time at the shrine. She is indeed just like what Ms. Kamashima said, she is a relatively ordinary girl with pimples and freckles on her face. There is no comparison to beautiful girls.
However, if she uses concealer and foundation to cover up her pimples and freckles, she can still see them. If He Ma in her previous life is chased by such a girl, she will immediately surrender and get married in place.
In my previous life.
Kiryu and Ma deeply realized the goodness of time travel.
After the sizing was completed, He Ma's breathing had completely calmed down. Apart from the beads of sweat on his forehead, it was basically impossible to tell that he had just run such a long section of stone steps at high speed.
He took out his handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his hands, and then stretched out his hand to the girl: "Sorry, I scared you, didn't you hurt yourself?"
"No, no." The girl grabbed Hema's hand and stood up. After standing up, she immediately let go of Kazuma's hand, and her face flushed.
"Are you?" the girl asked with lowered eyes.
Kazuma: "Katyu Kazuma, I'm in Tokyo for vacation, and I live in Hinadenso on the opposite side of the mountain. Are you Miss Hiroko who works here?"
"Ah, I am." After listening to Kazuma's self-introduction, Hiroko had a look of surprise on her face. She raised her eyes and looked at Kazuma quickly, "From Tokyo? Are you also a member of the Institute of Fantasy Creatures at Meiji University? "
He Ma's eyebrows twitched: Meiji University Fantasy Creature Research Association? Could it be the students who had an accident last year mentioned by the convenience store uncle
He didn't rush to ask, but continued to chat along the topic: "No, I'm the University of Tokyo Kendo Club..."
"The Kendo club is here with us? We don't have a dojo here, only hot springs." Hiroko was even more surprised.
"It's not the Kendo club. We were invited by Sony Music to come to the mountains to create." He Ma sighed in his heart as he said, it has been a long time since the other party did not recognize him immediately.
Hiroko looked at Kazuma again, and then asked, "Invitation from Sonny Music? So are you working at Sonny Music?"
He Ma Xin wanted to see me at my age, and my first reaction should be like this.
He smiled and said, "No, I'm a musician."
"Musician? Eh? This...then you really have a good face."
"I'm eighteen."
After the words fell, Hiroko took a step back, looked at Kazuma from head to toe again, then shook his head: "I don't believe it, what works do you have?"
He Ma immediately hummed a few words about his previous works.
Hiroko frowned while remembering and muttered: "This song is so familiar... I feel like I heard it in school, and the mouth tape I bought from Qiu Jiang looks like... Ah, kiryu! Could it be that you are that! That and that!"
He Ma Xin thought it was finally time for me to pretend, so he put on a coquettish expression and nodded: "Yes, I am."
Hiroko gasped for cold-hot air.
now it's right.
"I want to call Qiu Jiang!" Hiroko turned around and ran towards the building that was probably run by the shrine.
Kazuma, who was directly put down, opened his mouth halfway, looked down at the broom thrown on the ground when the girl sat down on the ground just now, and thought that this girl has such a personality, her carefree spirit is a bit like Mikako.
No, Mikako won't have the shy expression when facing strangers at the beginning.
Mikako is notoriously familiar with herself, and she has a feeling that she will go up and pat everyone on the shoulder, "Hey buddies, do you want to burn Night City to ashes together?"
Hema picked up the broom, leaned against the torii pillar at the end of the stone steps, and then looked back down the mountain.
Yuzao is just like an old lady, climbing the stone steps step by step.
He Ma suddenly wanted to rush down and shout at her: "No, you have to take two steps up the stairs at the Naval Academy, try again!"
At this time, Yuzao raised his head, met Kazuma's eyes, and then made a "you go first" gesture.
He Ma was about to shout "I'll wait for you", when he heard Hiroko's voice from the direction of the shrine office: "Well, sorry, I forgot to ask you, do you need anything to come to the shrine?"
So Hema turned around, walked towards the shrine office, and replied: "I'm here to sell the healing plaster that is said to be very effective, and learn about the history of this shrine by the way."
It was originally planned like this, but now he and Ma have to add one more thing: find out what happened last year.
Hiroko appeared behind the sales window next to the gate of the social office: "I want to buy plasters, Lord God just finished a new batch yesterday."
"Is this plaster really made by God?"
"That's right, the Almighty went to the mountains to collect herbs and grind them for medicine. He always said that the mountains are full of treasures." Bozi replied while taking out the things packed in plain paper boxes and putting them on the table. The writing brush reads "Meiquan Dieda Ointment".
"Is this real calligraphy?" He Ma asked.
"Originally, but now the people from the Tourism Promotion Association made it with their printer." Bozi paused, "Do you want anything else?"
"I'm here to find inspiration to create music." Kazuma smiled at Hiroko, "It would be great if you could show me around the shrine. It would be nice to have some introduction."
Hiroko tilted his head: "Isn't the introduction all written on the sign at the foot of the mountain? I'm just a part-time worker, and it was the Lord God who saw that I and my grandma were pitiful and let me work here. I really don't care about the shrine. don't know.
"Ah, if it's about the festival, you can go to the village office or the tourism promotion association to learn more."
"Well, why don't you show me the shrine? You're a witch."
Hiroko pursed his lips and thought for a while, then nodded: "Okay, but if I show you around the shrine, you have to sign for my friend."
"Is that the girl named Qiu?"
"Qiu Jiang is a boy." Hiroko corrected with a smile.
He Ma's first reaction was to warn the boy named Qiu not to have a snowball fight, but no one could get this "Chain Saw Man" meme in 1981.
So he said, "Oh, what a youth."
"No, there is no youthful development, just friends."
"I understand, I understand everything." He Ma smiled, "Signature, no problem, as long as he doesn't dislike my ugly handwriting. Then can you show me the shrine now?"
"Yes, yes, I'll come out right away! By the way, the plaster... ah, I bought it after visiting the shrine, right, so let's put it here."
Hiroko ran out again, and then directly introduced: "This building, as you can see, is the shrine's social office. I usually work on the first floor, and the second floor is a warehouse for storing various items. It is connected to the social office. The first floor of the house is the residence of the priest's family... "
While listening to the horse, he turned his head and looked in the direction of the stone steps.
Tamamo hadn't climbed up yet.
Thinking about it carefully, when she ran out of the hotel in Osaka before, she also walked slowly. Could it be that she is not acting, but that she is really not good at sports
So before she ate my teeth, she really couldn't dodge it
Hema raised his eyebrows, looked away and continued to listen to Hiroko's introduction to the shrine.
"This is the main square of the shrine. The stalls for subsequent festivals will be mainly set up here. The one at the end of the square is the palace, but Meiquan Shrine is special. The god body is not in the hall. This hall is only a place for ceremonies. The god body is in the hall. Here..."
Bozi is really just introducing what a building is and what it is used for. There is no decoration or additional content at all, and the explanation is boring.
Behind the palace of the shrine is another stone step road, which is much narrower than the one at the main entrance, but the density of torii gates is much higher. Basically, there are three stone steps for one torii gate.
Shimenawa ropes are hung on the top of all the torii gates, and the imperial coins on the shimenawa ropes flutter in the wind.
When climbing the stone steps, Bozi had no intention of speaking at all, probably because he felt that this was an ordinary stone step and there was nothing to say.
Hema took this opportunity to ask: "Just now why did you think I was a member of the Institute of Fantasy Creatures at Meiji University?"
"Huh? Because the tourists here during the peak season are either men in suits who look very powerful, or wives in gorgeous kimonos. Few young people come here. Last year, the group of brothers and sisters were very conspicuous, and I chatted a lot about Tokyo. matter."
Hiroko fell silent again after saying this sentence, feeling that she was simply answering the question, and she didn't mean to start a small talk by asking the question.
Hema could only continue to ask: "I heard that there was an accident in the mountains last year. One died and one was injured. Are these young people also?"
"Hmm." Hiroko's voice became low. Although Kazuma could only see her back, he could guess her expression just by the voice.
He and Ma waited for a few seconds, judging that Hiroko was unwilling to talk about it, so he didn't continue to ask.
When I get back to the hotel, ask Hanayama Akira, who is also from Meiji University.
He glanced ahead over Bozi, and found that the stone steps were quite long, and it was a bit boring to just climb the stone steps in silence, so he planned to hum something.
It happened that the stone steps and the torii gate reminded him of the folk song "Travel Song" sung by Tamamo.
"Steal sandals, steal sandals..." He Ma hums in a low voice, and the first two lines of this song are often called "steal sandals" by empty ears.
Hiroko trembled visibly, then she turned her head and shouted: "Don't sing! Shut up!"
Hema was taken aback by Hiroko's sudden emotional change, and said "sorry" subconsciously.
Bozi also reacted at this time, she lowered her eyes, and said in embarrassment: "I, I am the one, I shouldn't shout so loudly. My grandma and I depend on each other for life. When I was young, my grandma always told me that I can't sing this song on the mountain. "
He Ma: "Why?"
"Because in the past, people in this village would drink alcohol to a child who couldn't afford it, make him fall asleep and then take him to the mountains and throw it away. My grandma said that she didn't do this when she was young, but after the Great Kanto Earthquake in the 11th year of Taisho, after Life got tough again and it just… started doing it again."
Hiroko bowed to Kazuma: "Anyway, I'm very sorry! But, please don't hum this song in the mountains, it will bring misfortune. Last year..."
Her words came to an abrupt end.
Kazuma: "You mean that the students of Meiji University sang this song in the mountains last year, so there was an accident?"
"I didn't say that!" Hiroko hastily denied, "It's just that when they came last year, I was the one who took them to visit the shrine, and when they walked up the stone steps to see the god body, Miss Akanishi also sang this song..."
Miss Akanishi, it seems that Akanishi is the surname of the "Dr. Monster" girl mentioned by the convenience store uncle.
Hiroko continued: "Miss Akanishi is very familiar with monsters. After I told her what my grandma said, she assured me that nothing would happen. Although the folklore is based on what happened in the past, in the final analysis It’s just a legend.”
He Ma suddenly felt that what Miss Akanishi said sounded familiar.
People can't help but think of a monster who has been using science to explain supernatural events and prove that monsters don't exist.
Hiroko looked at Kazuma: "Miss Akanishi and the others had an accident at the end. Although it may be just a coincidence, I think Kiryu-san will stop singing, it's unlucky."
He Ma: "Would you rather believe what you have than believe what you don't have?"
"Eh?"
"Chinese proverb."
"Eh? Ah, that's it, you are indeed a student of Dongda University, so amazing."
He Ma suddenly felt that the identity of a student of Dongda University is very useful. No matter whether he said a Chinese proverb or made an accurate judgment on the international situation, the people around him would only sigh, "As expected of a student of Dongda University".
The idea that Tokyo students must be elites has been rooted in the DNA of the Japanese.
Do anything with a horse and their DNA will move.
Hiroko turned around and continued to lead the way, but this time she took the initiative to speak: "Miss Akanishi and the others give me the impression that they are very similar to Kiryu-san. They are very knowledgeable, and they can say very profound things casually, or share things I have never heard before. previous knowledge."
Meiji University, once known as the twin empires with the University of Tokyo, is now over for the empire, but the prestige of the university seems to be still there.
"Watanabe-kun, who passed away, was very good at English. He always held an original English book and taught me a lot of English slang..."
He Ma immediately recited a passage of Byron's poem in English, and then asked, "Is it better than my English?"
Hiroko looked back at Kazuma in surprise: "Uh... sorry, because my English is terrible, I can't tell which of you is better at English."
"Then Watanabe-kun's English is better." Kazuma said, after all, they are all dead, "I heard that there is another one who has become a vegetable?"
"That's Mao-kun, Oda Shigeru."
Kazuma caught a detail from Hiroko's brief answer: "When talking about the dead one, it was Watanabe-kun, and for the vegetative person, it was Mao-kun. Hiroko, are you more familiar with this Oda-san?"
Hiroko nodded: "Well, Watanabe-kun has an aura of repelling people thousands of miles away, while Mao-kun is easy-going and loves to laugh. He is Miss Akanishi's boyfriend."
Kazuma: "So Miss Akanishi came down from the mountain and cried miserably, mainly because of Mao-jun?"
Bozi was silent.
Kazuma felt his old detective's intuition—well, it was the future old detective's instinct sounding the alarm.
He had an unreasonable association: fell off the cliff, could it be...
"College students, did anyone see the moment Watanabe-kun and Mao-kun fell off the cliff?" Kazuma asked.
"No, they scattered on the mountain to find that one, that's the one..."
"Hammer snake."
"Yes, Hammer Snake, they were scattered and looking for Hammer Snake. When it was getting dark, they gathered together and found that two people were missing. Their minister, Zhujing, immediately decided to go down the mountain and report to the Tourism Promotion Association and the village office, requesting a search and rescue."
"A very correct decision." He Ma praised.
It is very dangerous for laymen to climb the mountain at night, it is better to leave it to the mountain people and professional search and rescue teams.
"Everyone went into the mountain to find the two people in the early morning of the next day. It was too late to find two people under a soil slope at dawn."
Hiroko's voice became very low when he was talking, and Hema almost couldn't hear clearly. Her panting as she climbed the stone steps almost drowned out her voice.
It seems that recalling the events at that time made Hiroko very painful, but Kazuma continued to ask: "During the search and rescue, how was Miss Akanishi?"
"Eh? Of course... anxious and sad."
"you saw it?"
"At that time, I was the only young girl in the whole hot spring street, so the adults in the village office asked me to accompany Ms. Akanishi. Although Ms. Akanishi was so anxious that she couldn't sleep, and she was nauseated and vomited, she remained strong until the next day when the two After being carried from the mountain to the hot spring street, she broke down and burst into tears."
He Ma silently remembered Hiroko's words in his mind.
In fact, he wanted to take out a notebook and write down the main points, but that would mean that the criminal police were investigating the case, which might make Bo Zi nervous and unwilling to elaborate.
He still wanted to continue asking questions, but the stone steps had already come to an end. Hiroko stepped on the last stone step, bent down and pressed his hands on his knees, panting heavily.
"This stone step is obviously not longer than the stone steps in front of the mountain, but why is it so hard to climb up." Hiroko muttered softly, "Kiryu-san, let me slow down."
Nothing happened with the horse, he looked around.
In front of me was a forest glade, the ground had been artificially leveled, but no floor tiles had been laid.
At the northernmost end of the open space, there stands a large stone with shimenawa rope tied to it, and royal coins are hung on each knot.
That should be the god body of Meiquan Shrine.
Bozi calmed down his breathing, straightened his waist and introduced: "This one is our Yushen Body. I say it's inappropriate, but it's really not interesting."
and horse nod.
The shape of this stone is not strange, the color is also ordinary, and there is no inscription or other features. Except for Shimenawa, it is just an ordinary big stone.
It feels like building a shrine, so I just use the largest stone near the spring water outlet as the god body.
But they are all here, it would be a loss not to take a closer look.
So he stepped forward with his horse, and was about to touch the stone, when he suddenly found something like a ditch under the stone.
"What is this ditch?"
"Ah, the water channel. It is said that before the Meiji Restoration, spring water would flow out from under this stone. The water that flows out will be stored in this ditch first. When it is almost full, it will naturally flow down the mountain through the water channel behind."
He Ma stretched his head to look behind the stone, and sure enough, the ditch surrounding the stone was connected with a not-too-wide waterway behind.
Judging from these facilities, when the shrine was built, the water output of this spring was not good enough, and the drinking water in the village should be supplied by well water.
What happened to those hot springs on the mountain of Chitianzhuang
It couldn't have been bombed by the US military, could it
The U.S. military is full to support the bombing of the mountains
Could it be the same as those hot spring hotels in China that Ma and Ma have visited in the previous life, is the warm water heated by the boiler room
Of course, it is also possible that violent geological movements lead to the emergence of new hot springs, such as the Great Kanto Earthquake mentioned by Hiroko just now.
If it is true that Ryunosuke Akutagawa likes to come here, it may be true in terms of time.
He Mazheng was thinking about it, but Bozi's voice interrupted him: "Well, have you finished reading? It's getting late, and I'm still in a hurry to go home and cook for grandma..."
"Okay, I'm done." He Ma decisively ended his thinking and walked towards the stone steps.
After climbing such a long distance, just to see a broken rock, it is no wonder that Hiroko is reluctant to show people around.
When going down the stone steps, the two of them walked a lot faster. They just chatted a few words about music and "Qiu Jun" before they finished their walk.
After the two came out from behind the palace, Kazuma saw Tamamo standing under the torii at the entrance of the shrine at a glance.
She was obviously resting there out of breath from climbing the stone steps, but it gave people a feeling of being integrated with the torii, as if she was a part of this shrine.
Hiroko looked at Yuzao with his mouth wide open: "Eh? It's all because of He Ma Sang singing indiscriminately, the monsters are here!"
"No no, that's my house... My apprentice Jinguji Tamamo is a human being."
Actually not, but the setting is so.
"Eh? Is it a human being? I thought she was a fox in the mountains..."
It's the demon fox in the city.
"Does the demon fox really exist?" He Ma asked.
Hiroko: "Old people say it exists, and..."
"Love to eat the hearts and livers of beautiful girls?" Kazuma said what Grandma Noda had heard.
"Yes! My grandma always said that."
It seems that the old lady in this hot spring street will talk about the demon fox who loves to eat the hearts of beautiful girls.
Jinguji Tamamo also noticed Kazuma's side at this time, but she didn't seem to be able to see who it was without glasses.
Then I saw her bend down and touch the base of the torii gate of the shrine, and then she opened her glasses, put them on, and looked this way.
He Ma bad-heartedly wants to hide her glasses next time, and see how she can only do divination if she can't find the glasses.
After putting on the glasses, Tamamo waved to Kazuma, and shouted at a volume that could be heard from this side: "How is it?"
"The Yushen body is really a stone, nothing special." He Ma responded.
As for the matter of the Fantasy Creature Research Association of Meiji University, I will talk to Tamamopan when I get back to the hotel.
Tamamo walked towards Kazuma, and the three met at the square in front of the shrine palace.
"This is Miss Hiroko." Kazuma introduced, "And this is my apprentice Jinguji Tamamo, whom I just introduced."
"Hello." Yuzao bowed to Hiroko, "My master has made you worry."
"No, no, no," Hiroko might not be used to being used honorifics, and seemed flustered, "I'm a shrine maiden. Although I'm a part-time shrine maiden, it's my duty to show people around the shrine."
"What a lovely Miko-san." Tamamo smiled.
"No, no, I'm far behind you."
He Ma: "Just now she thought you were a demon fox who came out of the mountains to fight teeth."
Bozi's face flushed red: "This... that's because, because you are so beautiful!"
"Thank you. I'm also often said to have the style of the great demon fox Yuzao."
He Ma "ah ha ha" laughed a few times.
"You...won't you also want to see the Yushen Body?" Hiroko asked cautiously.
"No, I feel that I have done enough exercise today. I don't want to climb any more mountains." Yuzao resolutely refused without moving forward.
Hiroko also breathed a sigh of relief, and she turned to the agency office: "Then I'll pack a pack of medicine for you, is there anything else you want to buy? We have amulets here that protect study, work, and love, and you can also write ema."
He Ma: "Did I miss a lottery?"
There are generally three tricks for shrines to generate income: amulets, fortune-telling and painting horses. As for ringing the bell at the gate of the Royal Palace and throwing money, it is usually a hundred yuan coin once, unless it is a large shrine with a thriving incense, otherwise there is no income.
Bozi stopped at the door of the social office, turned around and smiled awkwardly: "I don't know how to undo the lottery, even if you beg me, I can't do it, I have to wait for the divine master to come back."
Tamamo: "The shrines in Tokyo have already written the meaning of the sign directly in vernacular, so there is no need to untick the sign."
"Ah, Tokyo is so advanced, our side is not there yet." Hiroko smiled awkwardly.
At this time, she suddenly looked at the entrance of the shrine.
Kazuma and Yuzao also turned their heads to follow his gaze.
A man in climbing gear has just climbed the stone steps.
"God Master Sang, you are back." Bozi bowed to this man.
"Um."
The man nodded, and then turned his gaze to Kazuma.
He suddenly widened his eyes: "You are! You are that Kiryu Kazuma!"