Amidst the rain, a black Mercedes-Benz car parked in front of an ancient building in the wilderness.
Xia Mi got out of the car, took the paper umbrella and nodded slightly at the men wearing black clothes with short swords in white sheaths on both sides of the aisle in front of her.
"This is what the underworld looks like!"
Jiang Yi then got out of the car, and Shi Jinzi, who had been waiting for a long time at the entrance of the shrine, quickly came up to meet him. She raised a printed paper umbrella over Jiang Yi's head.
Jiang Yi, who looked a little cold, looked at the lights burning in the ancient building in front of him. He nodded to Shi Jinzi and strode towards the shrine. A group of members of the inspection team behind him immediately followed.
This time the inspection team arrived at the shrine of the Jaki Hachi family, but no one greeted them...not counting the Inuyama family guide who was always bowing in front of them, he was just a guide.
The pouring rain was hitting the roof of the shrine. It was a bit reluctant to hold a paper umbrella under such heavy rain. Shi Jinzi tried hard to lift the paper umbrella to Jiang Yi's head while walking. After a while, her body was soaked by the rain, and her gauze fabric was wet.
The kimono sticks to her body, and her graceful figure can be seen at a glance. Fortunately, no one dares to look at her on such an occasion. Fortunately, the road leading to the main hall is paved with stone bricks, and there is no trace of mud.
First, they passed the burnt torii gate. The Inuyama family's guide was extremely solemn, walked through the stone steps covered with cherry blossoms, and stopped under the vermilion stone wall in front of the main shrine.
Three sticks of incense sticks were placed in front of the stone wall, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance. This was personally presented by Masamune Nagatachibana, the head of the eight Sheqi families who entered the scene first.
The guide of the Inuyama family bowed deeply three times. After completing the ceremony, he straightened up a lot. Setzuko also held up her umbrella and bowed slightly.
Xia Mi, Su Qian and Ling looked at Jiang Yi who was motionless. They were thinking about whether they should abide by their rules and respect their etiquette and customs on the territory of the Sheqi family.
However, none of them made any move, and just continued to cast their eyes on Jiang Yi. After all, they were not here as guests tonight...
The guide of the Inuyama family also stopped and looked at Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi turned slightly sideways towards the vermilion stone wall in front of the main hall, as if turning a blind eye. This was a contempt and insult to the Sheqi family! He was secretly angry in his heart, but he didn't
Dare to show it.
He could only respectfully remind: "This is the shrine where my family worships our ancestors."
Shi Jinzi also observed Jiang Yi with her peripheral vision, and she found that Jiang Yi was looking at the centuries-old cherry trees in the garden. In this majestic heavy rain, the cherry trees were also covered with sad cherry snow.
In Jiang Yi's eyes, the eight shrines of the Sheqi family dedicated to their ancestors are inferior to a cherry tree and the cherry blossoms swaying in the wind and rain...
Jiang Yi turned a deaf ear to the words of the Inuyama family guide. He stretched out his hand outside the umbrella, but what fell into his palm was only rainwater, not a single cherry blossom.
Jiang Yi retracted his hand and walked towards the main hall. Shi Jinzi quickly followed. The guide hurriedly stepped aside, but accidentally fell into the mud. He did not dare to disturb the solemn atmosphere by saying anything...
The three members of the inspection team looked at each other and looked at the cherry blossoms floating around them. They all knew that tonight would not be peaceful.
Both the headquarters and the branch knew that this inspection would not be harmonious, but no one expected that such a big friction would occur on the first day of the inspection team's work in Tokyo.
First, on the Ring Expressway, Cheru Inuyama, a descendant of the Inuyama family and a cadre of the executive department, attacked Jiang Yi, the leader of the inspection team sent by the headquarters. First, he used the word spirit, and then caused a car accident with the intention of murdering him.
Then the family joined the underworld gang Green Knife Club, and hundreds of knife-wielding underworld members besieged Jiang Yi.
Finally, three members of the inspection team reported that in Xingshen Temple, the head of the Sakurai family of the eight Sheqi families restricted the personal freedom of the three members and forced them to drink tea in Xingshen Temple with unknown intentions...
Because Principal Angers of the Headquarters personally called, the leader of the inspection team, Jiang Yike, had full authority to handle all matters in Japan on behalf of the Headquarters, so the next night, the eight Sheqi families and the Japanese branch of Kassel College met with the inspection team at the shrine.
Today, the shrine still maintains tranquility and harmony. This is also the first time that Natsumi, Susie and Rei Sanonna have realized the artistic charm of this ancient building.
Nothing has changed before the formal negotiations, whether it is the living security or work arrangements of the inspection team, tonight's reception is also in line with etiquette, but they might as well smell the implication that the storm is coming...
Jiang Yi walked step by step along the stone steps to the front of the main hall. The red door of the main hall was open, and it was filled with dark figures, but there was no sound.
Hundreds of men and women in black knelt and sat in their respective positions. They all knew their status in this huge organization, and no one knelt in the wrong position.
The door of the main hall was filled with densely packed black umbrellas. Setzuko also threw the paper umbrella in her hand into the pile of umbrellas, and Natsuya who followed her did the same, as if performing some kind of ritual.
Shi Jinzi originally wanted to welcome Jiang Yi to her seat first, but Jiang Yi touched the soaked kimono on her back and said, "Go and change clothes."
"Hai!" Shi Jinzi bowed and said, "Jiang Jun, please wait for a moment. Shi Jinzi has changed his clothes and will come to serve Jiang Jun."
[To be honest, I have been using Yeguoyuedu to read and catch up on books recently. I can switch sources and read aloud with many sounds. Yeguoyuedu is available for Android and Apple.]
Jiang Yi nodded. He crossed the threshold and walked into the main hall. All the participants who were kneeling in the main hall stood up. Every time Jiang Yi passed by a row, a row of people bowed deeply, spreading like a tide, neatly
It looks like it's been rehearsed.
There are two rows of seats on the left and right in front of the main hall. One side is for the eight Sheqi families. The first row has a three-square small table, and the second row is a five-square small table. The three inner and outer families are seated respectively; the other side is for the inspection team.
, there is a small table for one side in the first row and three small tables in the second row, which are the positions of the team leader and three team members respectively.
From these details, we can see the strict hierarchy of the eight Sheqi families. Everyone can only sit in their own seat.
On the side belonging to the Sheqi Eight Families, there are two empty small tables in the first row, so the silver-haired old man sitting on the small table in the middle should be the head of the Sheqi Eight Families, the head of the Tachibana family Masamune Tachibana.
As soon as the four Jiang Yi people took their seats, the silver-haired old man led the five family heads behind him to stand up, and they bowed in Jiang Yi's direction.
"I'm very sorry about what happened yesterday," Tachibana Masamune said.
Bowing is Japanese etiquette, and it is also an expression of apology from the Sheqi family.
On the side of the inspection group, the three girls in the second row quickly stood up and returned the greeting. After all, he was a gray-haired old man. You must have basic etiquette when treating an old man like Principal Angers.
But Jiang Yi still looked like he was sitting tight. His first move was to observe Tachibana Masamune, which made Fuma Kotaro behind Tachibana Masamune clenched his fists.
Although he is already a gray-haired old man, no one would doubt his identity as a patriarch the first time they meet Tachibana Masamune. His indifferent look also reveals that he has everything firmly in his hands.
His confidence and the tone of Jiang Yi's apology were both unhurried and unhurried.
"The heads of the Uesugi family and the Minamoto family are a little late for some reasons, but they will arrive at the scene before the official meeting starts." Tachibana Masamune continued.