Sakurako named herself Xixing Temple, and I don't know if it's a coincidence, but Junhu is also in the west.

They held the cherry-colored umbrella and walked all the way west, as if they had walked through the world.

Since childhood, she has lived in seclusion with her parents in the mountains and forests, and later has been living in a mountain village, and this is the first time that Sakurako has seen this world up close.

They passed by the bustling, crowded, lit up, singing and dancing, wine and food. If the world was like this, it would be great, right?

Unfortunately, most of the time, the world is not like this.

So what does the world look like?

The world is a beggar with a cane next to the crowd, the world is an orphan abandoned in the corner under the lights, the world is a smiling skin, wine and meat in the midst of singing and dancing, and the world is the kind of taste that cannot be tasted in wine and food.

But whether it's prosperous or ugly, this world is not what Sakurako wants to see.

For her, her life has been drowned in the sea of fire, and has been buried by the cherry blossoms one after another.

One day, walking on the road, Sakurako asked Hatsu.

"Chu, will you come back after you leave?"

It was raining lightly, and the raindrops made a soft sound on the umbrella.

After thinking for a while, he replied.

"If you don't have a mission, you won't. ”

She will only be ordered to go to the world where she is supposed to go, and she will not go anywhere without a mission.

Sakurako turned her back on her hands, palms together, and walked forward with her head tilted.

There seemed to be a black bird flying in the sky, it seemed to be a swallow, and it turned out that it was the season for the swallow to leave before I knew it.

After taking a few more steps forward, Sakurako suddenly turned around, and she opened her hand and said to Hatsu.

"Carry me. ”

"Huh?"

The sound of the rain became more intense, and the raindrops fell to the ground and converged into a murmuring stream.

Sakurako said to Hatsu again with red eyes and a clean smile.

"I want you to carry me. ”

Just like when they first met.

"Hmm. When I first came to my senses, I walked in front of Sakura and squatted down.

Sakurako walked behind Hatsu and lay on her back.

Chu's body was a little cold, but Sakurako hugged her tightly and leaned her face on her shoulder.

Hatsu stood up and continued to walk forward, Sakurako was on Hatsu's back, looking at the road ahead that seemed to be endless, quietly feeling Hatsu's steady steps.

She smiled, lowered her head, and gently closed her eyes.

She didn't want to let go anymore, she wanted to use this last time to hold on to her last everything.

At first she could hear Sakurako's breathing in her ears, but she didn't look back at Sakurako, just silently walked towards the front.

That day, Sakurako had the same dream she had before, and the black bird carried her on her back and flew far, far away.

"Chu. In the dream, Sakurako lay on Hatsu's shoulder and whispered.

"Don't go, okay?"

Hatsu's footsteps paused, but she didn't answer Sakurako, and as most of the time, she could only remain silent.

······

I don't know when a word spread among the samurai that a woman named Saikoji Temple was looking for Jizo. Moreover, she was going to kill him.

However, people don't like to call that woman Xixing Temple, they prefer to call her Xixing Demon.

Saigyu is a biography youkai, and according to legend, it was only a cherry blossom tree at the earliest, until a person committed suicide under its tree, and it became a youkai. Its blooming flowers are beautiful, and it attracts people with this beautiful flower, and then makes them die under the tree, and the bones of the dead will be buried by its roots. The biography describes that the more people who die, the more beautiful the flowers it blooms.

Just like this biography, Saigyoji is also a very beautiful woman, but also just as dangerous.

Although she does not kill, anyone who has fought with her will have her wrists cut off by her, and she will never be able to use a knife again for the rest of her life, which is even more painful for a samurai than death.

So, in word of mouth, Saigyuji became a demon-like figure.

She said that she was holding a paper umbrella painted with cherry blossoms, wearing cherry-colored clothes, and holding a long rusty knife in her hand. She is always followed by a woman holding an umbrella for her, with a scar on her face. The two of them walked all the way west, towards Junhu.

······

In a crowded sake shop, Jizo drank a bowl of sake in one gulp, some of which was on the stubble at the corner of his mouth, and he placed the empty bowl on the table.

The wine of Guhu is the best within a hundred miles of the neighborhood, especially in autumn.

Watching the red maple falling, pouring a pot of sake, and drinking it yourself, some people say that it is simply a thought of life.

It means that the whole life is lived by such a thought.

The person who said this is probably an incorrigible drunkard, but I have to admit that when the flying red maple falls, holding a glass of sake in his hand, it is really a good situation in life.

"Meow. A cat meow rang out from Jizo's arms, and Jizo lowered his head.

A brown wild cat poked its head out of his wide clothes on his chest, barking and clutching his beard.

"Oh, do you want to drink it too?" the corners of Jizo's mouth curled up slightly.

He picked up the flask on the table and added another bowl to the bowl.

The brown wildcat jumped on the table, circled the bowl, and then crouched in front of it, bent down, and licked the wine.

"Meow. The wild cat shivered and even its tail stood up.

"Haha. Jizo laughed and reached out and touched the wild cat's back.

This is the consequence of your greed, so remember it. ”

The people on both sides looked at Jizo in shock, many of them knew Jizo, and when they suddenly saw him laugh, they all unconsciously felt a little chill in their backs.

Wildcats rolled on the table.

Jizo laughed, shook his head, and picked up the wine bowl without minding that it was a wild cat that had drunk it, and drank it all in one gulp.

At this moment, a drinker at the other table stood up, walked past Jizo's table, put a small piece of paper on the table, said nothing, and walked away quickly.

Jizo's brow furrowed, and he picked up the paper.

There were some messages and a short message written on the paper.

"Saigyoji?" Jizo muttered to himself, putting down the note.

"Then I'll wait for you here. ”

He continued to drink, presumably drunk, and continued to scratch his ears on the table.