Early in the morning on the 2nd, Takaki Kitahara visited Asakusa Shrine.
The torii gate with peeling paint is located at the end of a long slope. The early summer sunshine is not refreshing and pleasant. Fortunately, there are many trees on both sides of the slope. Walking in the shade of the trees will not make you sweat in the sun.
Passing through the torii gate, a spacious courtyard comes into view.
Kitahara Takaki's expression suddenly became suspicious.
Located in the noisy center of Tokyo, this place is as quiet as...a ruins, with most of the buildings collapsed and overgrown with weeds everywhere.
How could the master live in such a shabby place?
Takaki Kitahara walked towards the worship hall through the weeds in the courtyard with doubts.
There is a faint sound of birdsong in my ears, and the eaves of the small building vaguely reflect the sunlight, which is as dazzling as glass. There is a large place under the eaves of the worship hall, and a young man in a white hunting coat is sitting on the ground. The wind blows away the old sunny weather under the eaves.
The doll can dance.
Seeing such a scene, Kitahara Takaki suddenly felt relieved.
Although the courtyard is still experiencing vicissitudes of life, it no longer feels abandoned.
"Master Fujiwara!" He walked quickly to the steps and bowed.
"You don't have to be so polite, come and sit." Fujiwara Izaya invited.
Sunlight filtered through the treetops and shone in front of the ancient worship hall. Kitahara Takaki took off his shoes and knelt down opposite Fujiwara Izaya.
Compared to him who was sitting upright, Fujiwara Izaya looked very casual.
His right elbow rested on his right knee, his chin rested on his right hand, and he looked relaxed and easy-going.
"Master, here you are..." Kitahara Takaki was about to ask what was in his heart.
"Have you had breakfast?" Fujiwara Izaya suddenly asked.
"Well," Kitahara Takaki shook his head, "I rushed here early in the morning, but I haven't yet."
"Yukihime!" Fujiwara Izaya clapped his hands, "A guest is coming. Let's get some food to entertain them."
Suddenly a cold wind blew around him, and Kitahara Takaki couldn't help but shiver. The wind blew through the weeds in the courtyard, covering the grass blades with a thin layer of frost.
Countless ice crystals condensed together in the air.
In the blink of an eye, a woman as pure and beautiful as snow was born from the ice and snow.
"...Is this a snow girl?" Kitahara Takaki's eyes widened, and there was uncontrollable excitement in his voice.
The snow girl who had just come out was startled by the unfamiliar voice.
Her little ears twitched suddenly, and she hurriedly shrank behind her owner, tilting her head slightly, and looked at the stranger who appeared at home warily.
Those beautiful clear blue eyes stared at Kitahara Takaki, as if they were confiding some sad past.
"Don't be so rude." Fujiwara Izaya fondly touched Xuebao's head, pulled her back to him, and introduced her to Kitahara Takaki: "Her name is Yukihime, and she is my shikigami."
The snow girl still doesn't like strangers.
After being pulled forward by her master, her instinct was to shrink up and get into his arms to hide.
"It's so amazing..." Kitahara Takaki's face was slightly red, and his eyes were shining. "There is actually a snow girl in the world, and she is also a shikigami. Is the master the legendary Onmyoji?"
Fujiwara Izaya smiled faintly.
He did not answer the question, but leaned against the pillar and looked at the courtyard, with a detached look in his eyes.
Master doesn’t want to show off to me...Kitahara Takaki admires him more and more in his heart.
Actually.
Fujiwara Izaya is a shitty onmyoji.
Nowadays, onmyojis are very rare in the entire Shinto religion. This is not to say how powerful an onmyoji is or how difficult it is to become an onmyoji, but that only priests who practice Tsuchimikado Shinto can become onmyojis. Tsuchimikamon Shinto is a god
A branch of Taoism originating from the Tsuchimikado family, direct descendants of Abe Seimei, has gone through hundreds of years of ups and downs and is still the largest force in Shintoism, in charge of the largest shrine in Japan, Meiji Shrine.
The previous generation head of the Tsuchimikado family was called Tsuchimikado Shino. She had a close personal relationship with Fujiwara Izaya's father and gave birth to daughters named Tsuchimikado Tomoko.
It's a pity that Aunt Shino and Sister Tomoko followed their father to Takamagahara, and the current Tsuchimikado Shinto has nothing to do with Fujiwara Rinya.
"Mr. Kitahara," he looked back at Takaki Kitahara and asked, "Would you like the sukiyaki pot?"
"Eat!" Kitahara Takaki was full of joy.
"Yukihime," Fujiwara Izaya touched Yukihime's cold silver hair and ordered: "Go to the kitchen and bring out the ingredients. The master wants to entertain the guests."
The snow girl tilted her head slightly.
The eyelashes covered with frost trembled slightly, as if saying "Xue Bao doesn't understand."
"..." Fujiwara Izaya lowered his head slightly and whispered in her ear: "You can bring out the ingredients I prepared in advance, and bring out a bottle of sake. Please Xuebao, please don't look stupid today.
, otherwise others will think my shikigami is a mentally retarded monster!"
The snow girl didn’t know whether she understood.
But when she heard the word "retarded monster", she still curled her lips in grievance and reluctantly drifted to the backyard.
Kitahara Takaki was once again stunned.
The snow girl's light and soft body floated into the sky like a gust of wind, and the ice crystals covered with it shimmered faintly in the morning light.
"It's so beautiful..." Kitahara Takaki murmured as if he had lost his soul: "Icy and pure, beautiful and sad, just like the legend."
"Mr. Kitahara," Fujiwara Izaya asked, "has my brother's funeral been arranged?"
"Oh, it's ready." Kitahara Takaki came back to his senses and hurriedly kowtowed and saluted: "Thank you very much, master, for your help."
"Has the construction site resumed its construction period?"
"It has been put on the agenda and we will resume work after the Golden Week."
"That's fine, but you have to be careful," Fujiwara Izaya reminded him, "after dusk, everyone must evacuate the construction site and don't stay."
"I know, the Suzuki Police Department has warned me." Kitahara Takaki replied, "He will arrange for people to come over at night to monitor, saying that he wants to be alert to the revenge of the mastermind behind the scenes."
"good!"
Fujiwara Izaya nodded and smiled.
The snow girl floated back to the porch with a casserole and stove in her hands.
After placing the things behind her master, she floated back to the kitchen and brought out ingredients and sake.
"Mr. Kitahara, wait a moment."
Fujiwara Izaya smiled lightly and turned on the gas stove.
Heat the casserole, evenly smear the bottom of the pot with oil, and roast the thinly sliced beef. Then add sugar, soy sauce, cooking wine and other seasonings in sequence. After the bottom of the pot is cooked, put the washed vegetables into the pot and cover the pot.
Cover and simmer for some time.
During this time, Yuki-onna poured two glasses of sake obediently.
After the master put the lid on the pot and had some time, she immediately held the wine glass with both hands and fed it to the master's mouth.
"Thank you Yukihime." Fujiwara Izaya took a sip of sake.
The coolness of the snow girl's hands seeped into the wine through the wine glass, and it was so cool that it penetrated the heart and mind.
"It's really magical..." Kitahara Takaki put the wine to his lips and didn't care about drinking it. He just looked at the Yuki-onna with wonder on his face.
"Once you become familiar with this world, you won't be surprised." Fujiwara Izaya leaned against the pillar and gently patted the snow girl curled up in his arms with one hand, "Everything has a spirit, even a snowflake."
Xuebao obediently stretched out his little hand and poured another glass of wine for his master.
"Everything has spirit..." Kitahara Takaki asked, "Even inanimate things?"
"Naturally, even if there is no life, as time goes by, spirits will be cultivated." Fujiwara Izaya picked up the wine glass and slowly handed it to his lips: "Oil bottles, abacus, broom and other common things, due to contact with
A large number of people is the easiest thing to produce spirits."
After speaking, he took a sip of sake and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
It's the kind of vague smile, like the one displayed by a Bodhisattva statue.