Naturally, the miko stationed on guard did not notice Lu Jian turning into gray mist.
Those murmurs lingered in Lu Tan's ears, and he ignored them and continued to move forward.
The shrine is very empty, and there seems to be no one else here at all.
Joho-in is also among them.
Lu Tiao glanced at the other courtyard.
Be quiet.
Although it was late at night, Lu Tiao didn't notice any trace of anyone's presence at all.
He decided to go to the Jinghuo Yuan to take a look first.
The smoke continued to drift, and Lu Tiao got into the Jinghuo Yard.
When he came to this house, he found that there was nothing here.
There are no retired Sons of God, not one.
"Have you not moved in yet?"
If you think about it carefully, this one has been the Son of God for thirty-seven years, so the one before her may have been dead for so many years.
And she has just left office and may be checking somewhere else.
Lu Tiao entered the house and saw that the furniture inside was neatly arranged, but there were no signs of anyone using it.
The tables and chairs were covered with a thick layer of dust, which obviously cannot be achieved in a year or two.
After walking around in a circle, Lu Jian came to the main hall.
Although according to the shrine, this shrine is the residence of gods, if there are gods in this world, it must be the cherry blossom tree, so this shrine should be very empty.
Lu Jian's [True Sight] also told him that there was nothing special in this temple.
Out of curiosity, Lu Tiao entered the main hall.
He saw that there was nothing in the empty hall, and the mysterious moonlight shone in, making it feel lonely.
No, it's not nothing.
On one side of the main hall, there is a shelf.
There are countless jars on the shelf.
Lu Tan saw this scene and quickly realized what it was.
He moved closer.
Each jar has a name written on it.
Changming, Daisy, Iriya, Yayoi...
The jars appear old and new depending on the time.
There is no doubt that these are the sons of gods of the past.
The ashes of the sons of gods throughout the ages are placed here like this.
In the deep darkness where even the moonlight cannot shine, the remains of these people who once protected the world are placed neatly. They are not enshrined by ever-burning lamps, and no one comes to worship. They are more like some kind of seal that cannot be seen from the light of day.
Like a thing.
Amber may become a part of it one day.
Lu Tan sighed.
After coming out of the main hall, Lu Tan glanced at Zi Pavilion again.
He hesitated for a while, but finally decided to go see Amber.
At least see her one last time.
It turned into smoke and dust, and as he approached the high attic, Lu Tiao first discovered something.
There is a lock on the door of that attic.
Not just one, but several locks.
These locks were full of burn marks, but they locked the door firmly and reliably.
And this is the only entrance and exit to Shenzi Pavilion.
Lu Tan then noticed that the Shenzi Pavilion did not have any windows.
This whole building is like a sealed jar.
When he realized this, Lu Tan's heart skipped a beat.
"Could it be said that the process of becoming the Son of God is the process of alienation?"
Lu Tan thought to himself.
In the land of silence, only pollution can resist pollution.
Is it possible that pure fire is another level of pollution?
Relying on pure fire to eliminate filth, and pure fire itself is pollution. Eventually, the entire island will become a land dominated by pure fire. If humans cannot adapt to pure fire, civilization will disappear?
And all of this requires a carrier.
This carrier is the Son of God.
This Wajima Taisha Shrine and this sacred cherry blossom are a constraint.
To allow the process of self-contamination to proceed peacefully.
"amber......"
Lu Jian had some bad premonitions.
The door lock is locked by Amber sitting inside.
After the previous Son of God's Pure Fire was passed to Kohaku, this lock was set up to prevent Kohaku from escaping.
"Wait a minute, after all...can the Son of God really leave the Son of God Pavilion?"
Lu Tuan reacted.
He had been at Wajima Taisha Shrine for so many days, but he had never seen the Son of God.
In fact, no one has seen the Son of God except the old witches who are responsible for the handover of the Son of God.
After the Shenzi Pavilion is locked, can the Son of God really leave this place and only board the Shenzi Pavilion and shoot the arrow of pure fire when something filthy appears?
If Shenzi has not left Shenzi Pavilion for so many years, how on earth can she survive as a human being?
Lu Tan's heartbeat began to accelerate.
He felt that he had touched the edge of Wajima's deepest taboo.
If you continue going down, you may encounter something bad.
Some things he didn't want to see or understand were right in front of him.
Just above the Shenzi Pavilion.
He hesitated for a moment.
But the last bit of luck made Lu Tan decide to keep going.
Like smoke, he rose up under the moonlight and arrived outside the door of Shenzi Pavilion.
He smelled something.
A smell that shouldn't be here.
Burnt smell.
That's the pungent odor left after the fat of a certain animal is burned.
Buzz——
Lu Tan felt his ears buzzing.
The good news is that his previous guess may not be correct.
The bad news is that the reality may be worse than that speculation.
Facing this door, Lu Tan stopped in mid-air, and finally chose to go in.
Turning into light smoke, Lu Tiao slipped into the locked door.
The first floor of Shenzi Pavilion is very empty. Except for the black burn marks on the walls, no trace of human existence can be found.
The burning smell became more and more intense, and Lu Jian also felt a bit of burning heat.
"amber?"
Lu Tan called out tentatively.
He climbed to the second floor.
Shenzi Pavilion has three floors in total, and the second floor is smaller.
But there are a lot more things.
Lu Tiao saw that in addition to the same black marks as those on the first floor, there were also long dragging marks on the floor of the second floor.
Yes.
That is, the traces left by humans crawling on the ground with their hands after losing the ability to move.
The trace headed towards the first floor, but failed to reach the stairs.
On the handrail of the stairs leading to the third floor, there were more traces of finger scratches.
Blood flowed from the ends of his fingers, and he scratched the wood, leaving five finger prints one after another.
The hot breath is getting stronger and stronger.
"Amber, are you there?"
Lu Tan asked.
No response.
He climbed up the stairs to the third floor.
The third floor is no longer empty.
The ground was covered with ashes of unburned firewood and straw, and here the smell of burning fire reached its peak.
Lu Tan quickly found the source of the burning smell.
She was standing in the middle of the room.
The chains bound her body and tied her tightly to the central pillar.
On the pillar, countless finger prints tell the story of her fear and despair at that time, which is shocking.
Only a few fragments of the gorgeous clothes were left on the charred, dry, and mottled body. The golden crown that could not be carried by the burnt hair had turned black and fell at the feet like dry wood.
That face still maintains an expression of horror, fear, and despair, but you can no longer see those beautiful amber eyes, only the deep, dark eye sockets, and shriveled, withered cheeks, which originated from the last
An expression of instinctive fear.
She still looked like she was holding a bow in her hand. The pale flames formed a bow and burned quietly in her hand, lighting up the place and bringing a scorching breath.
This is the current priestess of Wajima Taisha Shrine.