Did I ascend to heaven?
Looking at the thick clouds beneath her, Xiaolan's mouth opened slightly, revealing a dumbfounded expression.
At that moment, the sea of clouds suddenly churned, and white mist swirled in the air, sketching out images.
It was the story of a witch named Kikyo, who served the Sacred Tree during the Warring States period and vanquished those harmful demons...
What shocked Xiaolan the most.
The witch's appearance was exactly like hers, and looking at her, Xiaolan felt like she was looking at another self.
“How is this possible?”
After watching, Xiaolan's head felt dizzy, and her face was full of disbelief.
“Child, you are Kikyo's reincarnation.”
A faint, androgynous voice suddenly echoed through the world of clouds, a voice as ancient as if it came from another world.
“You… you are…?”
Xiaolan widened her eyes in surprise, having heard this voice in the visions just now.
“I am the Sacred Tree.”
As the voice fell, the clouds parted to the sides, and a towering giant tree suddenly appeared, piercing from the ground to the sky, its top beyond sight, with clouds swirling around its branches.
And Xiaolan was now being lifted by a leaf.
“It's really… the Sacred Tree… Lord!!”
Xiaolan's voice was stammering, her tone betraying her shock.
“Child, you are Kikyo's reincarnation, a natural witch.” The faint voice held a mysterious charm, “Are you willing to continue to protect peace in the coming chaotic times?”
“Lord Sacred Tree, are you saying there will be danger in our world?” Xiaolan’s heart skipped a beat.
“The age of great strife is approaching, whether it brings opportunity or danger remains to be seen.”
The faint voice sighed, and a crystal-clear leaf fell from the towering giant tree, floating before Xiaolan and transforming into a green crystal necklace.
“Put it on, child.”
“No matter what, I don't want you to be in danger, there is an evil presence near you.”
“Thank you, Lord Sacred Tree!”
Xiaolan bowed solemnly, her hands receiving the vibrant green crystal necklace.
…
“Xiaolan, Xiaolan.”
In the shrine courtyard, seeing Xiaolan standing dazed before the ancient tree, Conan pulled her clothes.
“What’s wrong?!”
Xiaolan snapped back to reality, looking around in confusion.
“You’re saying what’s wrong,” Conan complained, “You’ve been standing here for about twenty minutes.”
“Big sister Xiaolan must be thinking about her boyfriend.” Ayumi accurately stabbed.
“No I’m not.”
Xiaolan glanced at the Sacred Tree before her, holding the crystal necklace around her neck with a heavy heart.
Did Xiaolan wear this out?
Conan’s expression turned strange. He was about to ask, but his attention was caught by the disheveled man coming out of the shrine.
…
Kohei Ichiro was walking listlessly on the street.
The streets were bustling with pedestrians, most of them tourists here for the Fushimi Inari Shrine Grand Festival.
They were in groups, laughing and bustling… completely different from Kohei Ichiro, worlds apart.
“I'm such a failure, living like this.”
Kohei Ichiro laughed self-deprecatingly, avoiding the crowds, and returning to his cramped apartment, only about fifteen square meters.
“Another failure.”
Before him, there was a bronze box, similar to a Shinto shrine, what was inside, Kohei Ichiro didn't know.
He found it among his father's belongings after his recent passing, planning to take it to a shrine or temple to exchange for some money to treat his daughter's illness.
According to his father's diary, this was a family heirloom passed down through the Kohei family.
Oh, their family, hundreds of years ago, were monks in Hida City, running a temple that enshrined the statue of Namahage.
However, after the war, the temple fell into disrepair, and the Kohei family wandered and settled here.
By his generation.
They were essentially at the bottom of society.
Kohei Ichiro worked hard every day, hoping to bring a happy life to his family, but… but…
Thinking of a few days ago, when the members of the Sumyoshi-kai barged in, beat up his father, and his wife committed suicide unable to bear the humiliation, Kohei Ichiro closed his eyes, clutching his palm tightly, his veins bulging on the back of his hand.
“Bang bang!!”
Knowing that Kohei Ichiro had returned, a few members of the Sumyoshi-kai came to harass him again.
Kohei Ichiro listened to their rough kicking sound, took a deep breath, his originally straight back bent again, opened the door, bowed and said:
“Takahashi-kun, please give me another three days.”
“I'll give you time, who gives me time.”
Takahashi, a member of the Sumyoshi-kai who walked in, sneered, and slapped Kohei Ichiro across the face.
“With interest, a total of 1.7 million, you're at least a manager at Matsuda Electric, you wouldn't be able to come up with this much, right?”
“I'm just a team leader at the company, I was laid off a month ago.”
Kohei Ichiro lowered his head, gritting his teeth, “Besides, haven't I already paid back 1.3 million?”
“You delayed for so long, don't you need to add interest?”
Takahashi, in his thirties, with a tattoo on his arm, looked amused, and patted Kohei Ichiro's face.
Then he looked at the bronze box on the floor, raised his eyebrows and said, “Hey, your family has antiques?”
He picked up the bronze box and tried to open it, but found that this thing couldn't be opened.
“What the hell is this?!”
Takahashi slammed the bronze box to the ground, looked viciously at Kohei Ichiro, this cowardly loser, and kicked him to the ground, snorting coldly:
“I'm telling you, don't play delaying tactics.”
“I've checked, you have a blind daughter in the hospital for treatment, right?”
“She looks pretty good, just like your wife, if you don't pay back today, I'll make her a big star.”
“The blind girl series seems to have been selling well, haha—“
By the end, Takahashi and his two men all let out lewd laughter.
But Kohei Ichiro got up from the ground, as if he had been touched on his reverse scales, his eyes red, he roared: “You are not allowed to touch my daughter!!”
“What are you, you dare shout at me.”
Takahashi disdainfully pushed Kohei Ichiro away, he fell to the ground, his forehead hitting the tip of the bronze box.
Bang!!
Blood flowed from Kohei Ichiro’s forehead, instantly absorbed by the bronze box.
“Do you want to make a deal?”
In a daze, a low voice rang in Kohei Ichiro’s ears.
He looked at the bronze box that was somehow open, and the finger wrapped in a thick layer of talisman paper inside, nodded heavily, and said in a hate-filled voice: “Yes!!”
Saying that, he disregarded everything and stuffed the finger into his mouth.
…