The trees were blocking the road, and the ticking sounds. Soya and Kyoko walked to an empty space, and then they realized that the rain had stopped.
However, it is still a luxury to turn sunny.
Looking at the rolling Mo Yun, Zong Gu only hoped that the next shower would fall after the patrol was over.
Kyoko stood aside, not urging her, just thinking it was a rest.
"Let's go."
Zong Gu didn't stand for too long, and he continued to move up.
"After that, where are we now? I always feel like I've climbed to a very high place."
The road here is narrow, and Kyoko can only follow him.
"This is an illusion," she said, "and hasn't climbed to a place as high as the shrine."
“…”
Zong Gu stopped and turned to look at her.
"You must be kidding."
Kyoko Zhanyan had a faint smile on her lips.
"The highest point of the 'Divine Realm' is right behind the Inari Shrine - where you can see the shrine."
"Is that right...how far is the highest point from here?"
“Not far away.”
"I'll feel more at ease if you tell me a specific time."
She finally laughed, "About ten minutes."
Soya thought for a while and asked again, “Can you go back to the shrine from there?”
“…”
Kyoko was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had already begun to retreat.
"Can……"
The sudden gap made her feel not only regret and loss, but even a little complaint. She quickly noticed this emotion and then swept it to the corner without showing any expression.
He did nothing wrong, Kyoko reminded himself that this was not his obligation.
What's more, the forest patrol was already hard, and he had already done his best to accompany her to walk halfway up the mountain.
"When you get there, Student Zong Gu will go down and rest first. Just leave the second half of the inspection to me."
Zong Gu was slightly stunned and looked at her again.
"Is it okay?"
Kyoko nodded briefly, walked past him and came to the front.
"no problem."
The two continued to climb.
Perhaps because they are approaching the exit above, people often pass by, the road becomes wider and flatter, and the shrubs and grass on both sides do not spread as wildly as they did on the way.
The road was smooth, and Kyoko, the leader, walked faster. Soya followed behind him with a little difficulty, but said nothing. But seeing her walking past a landmark stone tablet without looking, he realized that he had underestimated her emotions.
.
Although this is just a misunderstanding...
I realized that the footsteps behind me were gradually disappearing, and I had already walked to Kyoko, who had been seven or eight meters away, and finally looked back.
Zong Gu stood beside the stone tablet, holding a long rope in his hand, and was carefully checking the spirit sign on it.
“…”
Her cheeks on both sides suddenly became extremely hot, and she didn't care and walked back quickly.
Before she apologized, Sonogu spoke first.
"This piece of grass is a bit deep, and it is almost covering the landmark. Fortunately, I have sharp eyes."
“…”
Kyoko pursed her lips and wanted to say something, he put down the long rope.
"Okay, there's no problem here. Let's go."
"sorry."
"It's okay. I almost missed it."
She lowered her head, "I'm sorry..."
"If you apologize, let's talk about it later when you rest."
Zong Gu half bent down, holding the stone tablet with his hand, and didn't look at her, "I'm so thirsty that I want to drink the rain on the leaves. I really hope that when I return to the office, there will be some hot tea pouring in it waiting for me."
As he spoke, he began to clean up the wild flowers and weeds around the stone tablet.
"Kyoko also goes down to drink a little water, rest for a few minutes, and then come back to continue patrolling... I plan so much. I really hope it will be easier when I go down the mountain."
“…”
A bunch of weeds was uprooted, and Kyoko clenched her sleeves.
"OK."
He was not really planning to clean up all the weeds around the landmark, so that the main part of the stele would be exposed, so the two of them would set off again soon.
A few minutes later, Soya saw the shrine hall below in the forest.
Kyoko raised her hand and a hidden path appeared in front of him.
"Let's go down."
......
Drinking the hot tea made by Kyoko and eating a few snacks, Soya took a short rest, and then returned to the road to patrol the forest from the hidden path behind the Inari Shrine Hall.
It’s hard to go up the mountain, and it’s not easy to go down the mountain.
Although the rain stopped temporarily, none of the ground was dry. The road was muddy and slippery, and if you were not careful, you would fall. Once you encountered a steep slope, the two of them could only grab the branches next to them and pay attention to it than going up the mountain.
More concentrated.
"I said... Kyoko, patrolling the landmarks on the mountain on rainy days is not too embarrassing for me."
"But you can't give up halfway."
"What's the point of giving up halfway? You're a little too strict..."
"Discipline oneself is the way to be honest."
“Yes yes…”
The two of them were so energetic, but accidents were always inevitable.
"Kyoko!"
Zong Gu had quick eyes and quick hands, and grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
“…”
He almost fell down, and Kyoko's back felt a layer of cold sweat. He only breathed a sigh of relief after he stood firm.
"Thanks……"
Zong Gu shook his head and let go of her wrist.
"I don't want to give up halfway, be careful."
"Um."
He walked in front, Kyoko took a deep breath, abandoned her distractions, and kept up with her spirits.
The mountain road is rugged, but not every section of the road is slippery and difficult to walk. Be careful to walk down the steepest section of the slope. The road below is winding, but it is also relatively smooth.
The two of them did not dare to relax and continued to support them.
“There is one here too.”
While going down the mountain, checking the landmarks along the way, Soya and Kyoko will also clean up the excessively lush weeds near the stone tablets.
"These weeds are so stubborn... Come here next time."
"Next time I come here, the weeds on the mountain may have all withered."
"So, I can't inspect it several times a year?"
"If you need to check it frequently, the shrine will also change its way to indicate that it is the 'Divine Realm'."
After cleaning up the weeds in front of the stone tablet, Zong Gu lifted up the long rope and found that a section in the middle seemed to be entangled by vines.
He used force on his hand, and the long rope suddenly broke free from the bondage. The spirit cards collided with each other, making a rustling sound. A wild flower was also taken to fly into the air, and he reached out to catch it when it fell.
White petals, tender yellow stamens, and a piece of flower stem underneath support the green calyx, which is small and complete.
After Kyoko checked the complete spiritual card, he put down the long rope and handed over the wild flowers.
She smiled, took the flower, and turned it in her hand.
"Thanks."
After patrolling for a while, he walked around the mountain for most of the time and finally saw the scene where the boundaries were in play - a spirit was stopped outside the "Divine Realm".
It lay on the almost transparent boundary, with a broken body, a dull expression and motionless look. Its consciousness had obviously dissipated to the point where it did not have any ability to think.
"ah……"
Zong Gu stepped forward and pulled You Ling away. Its mouth made a meaningless cry, and did not struggle.
He sent it lightly, You Ling flew into the air, then flew into the boundary and slid down.
“…”
He looked at Kyoko, "What should I do?"
"How would classmate Zong Gu treat You Ling normally?" she asked back.
"If it's not in your home, then pretend you didn't see it."
"This is the boundary of the 'Divine Realm'."
"All right."
Zong Gu looked around, picked up a wet branch, and threw it over with a quick aim.
The flying branches scattered across the board, and the wandering spirit quickly dissipated in the whine, leaving nothing left.
The two continued to move forward.
"I thought Kyoko would let it go...it wouldn't hurt anyone after all."
She shook her head, "You Ling no longer has human consciousness, it continues in a daze, and it is even more painful... although they may no longer feel pain."
"Wandering in the world, you cannot return. This is the suffering of all the spirits in the world. Letting a wandering spirit cannot change anything."
Zong Gu was silent for a few seconds, "Who made the underworld in that world chaotic?"
Kyoko turned her head to look at him, "That world is in chaos, and the world is deeply hurt. What Soya is doing can at least make people relieved."
He looked at the shattered sky between the branches and leaves, "Although I was lucky enough to kill Zhilei, I was still at a loss to find the traces of the other seven thunder gods."
"The future is long," Kyoko comforted, "As a companion, I will always follow Soya."
He lowered his eyes and smiled at her, "Thank you."
"After that, what are Kyoko's plans in the future? Will he inherit the shrine?"
“…”
After a long silence, she nodded.
"Takiko and I always have someone to inherit the shrine at home... I think it's my responsibility."
......
After the inspection was over, Soya walked out of the forest. He was not interested in drinking coffee and went back to the shrine first.
Kyoko went to the cafe to find Noma Nan.
"Is it over so soon? The young man is moving fast." She stretched, "Then go back to the shrine."
But Kyoko sat down.
"I want to have a cup of coffee before going back."
“…”
After looking at the white wild flowers on the witch's suit, Noma Nan nodded and waved to the waiter.