Ran Hegui looked at the huge wooden torii gate above him and took a deep breath.

Thanks to the very well preserved forests around it, Atsuta Jingu Shrine is known as the 'Atsuta no Mori' – even now in the middle of the day, the surrounding trees are so dense that the sunlight barely shines in – so the air inside the shrine is quite good.

It must be cool to come here in the summer to escape the heat, Ran He thought to himself.

Passing through the huge torii gate and stepping on the approach surrounded by ancient trees, Ran Hegui and his party first came to the annex of Atsuta Shrine, the Hachiken Shrine, although it was a separate shrine near the main gate, but there were quite a lot of people worshipping in it, and the people lining up to enter the shrine had already divided into several columns.

Probably because of the flow of visitors to the shrine, there are many souvenir shops and teahouses around and inside the shrine, and there are many inns and izakaya built a little further away from the shrine, and the business is very considerable. The large and small shrines in the shrine are endowed with different blessing attributes, and in those shrines, you can ask for amulets, pray to the gods, and ask for lots, and the whole shrine is full of life and excitement.

They stayed in a nearby hotel for two days.

In the past two days, they tried to find out about Atsuta Jingu from the innkeeper, the innkeepers, the tourists staying in other hotels, and the local residents, but they didn't find out any valuable information, it was just some gossip, such as which shrine maiden in the shrine was beautiful, which priest did not follow the rules in private, and which You Yi relied on whiskers to pat the horse.

After all, they are not from the Divine Palace, and the information they can learn is relatively limited, and it is normal that they have not been able to make contributions.

So they came up with the idea of infiltrating the interior of the shrine.

In order to maintain order in the shrine, to help guide the people who visit the shrine, to handle social and palace affairs such as prayers, exorcisms, and rituals, and to sell the shrine, clean the premises, exchange poems, and pick up kagura dances, Atsuta Shrine has a large number of priests such as priests, priests, and shrine maidens, who are the main force in maintaining the daily operation of the shrine, and who are the closest to the people who visit the shrine.

The "priest" here is not an armed warrior in armor like the Daomen Lingguan, but only a priesthood, which refers to the priesthood who belongs entirely to the shrine.

Therefore, Chief Zheng ordered them to start from these people, pretending to come to the shrine to worship, but actually using these people to find out the news.

Watching his companions find a target to attack one by one, Ran Hegui also began to look for a shrine or shrine maiden who could bring him closer and find out information.

After secretly observing the surroundings, Ran Hegui decided to find a witch to inquire about the news.

Of course, this is not that Ran He is obsessed with lust and blinded by lard, nor is it that he has to do anything morally correct or start with a woman, it is simply that his colleagues do not work hard.

When he was observing just now, he had already discovered a problem, and that was that most of his colleagues had decided to ask the priest for information.

Ran Hegui didn't have any sexist discrimination, and felt that the witch who was a woman must know more top-secret information than the priest who was a man, he just understood a very simple truth.

Different sources of information can be obtained.

There are three ways to obtain information: by personally exploring the physical object itself, by communicating with others, and by retrieving information published by the government.

Obviously, the witch would not whisper something to a male priest in private that was not suitable for public use, and this was the gender difference in access to information between men and women, which he had already understood when he was a student at the Vientiane Dao Palace.

Ran Hegui looked around at the shrine maidens around him who were suitable for "starting with" - this was for serious and authentic official duties, and it did not cause him any subtle psychological changes, nor was it enough for him to condemn his rotten and depraved heart.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

He found a suitable object for spying on intelligence, a shrine maiden standing by a stone lantern and doing nothing.

The witch was delicate but not gaudy, wearing a white robe on the outside of her upper body, a shirt of the same color on the inside, a bright red hakama on her lower body, a pair of red straw sandals on her feet, her long black hair was wrapped in white sandalwood paper behind her head, and she simply tied a high ponytail with a twine, which looked very refreshing, and the whole person exuded youthful vitality and fresh and refined atmosphere.

It's best to deceive such a girl, Ran Hegui thought to himself, and at the same time quietly walked towards the witch.

"This son of God, where should I go to pay my respects?" Miko is another name for a shrine maiden.

The shrine maiden didn't seem to expect to be accosted by the people who came to worship, so she looked around suspiciously, and found that there were no other shrine maidens around, so she stretched out her finger and pointed at herself and asked, "Are the guests asking me?" ”

Ran Hegui nodded, pretending to be embarrassed and said, "To be honest, this is my first time coming to the Divine Palace, so I don't know how to worship." ”

The shrine maiden looked at the young guest with some surprise, who claimed to have never visited before.

Of course, Ran Hegui knew what she was wondering about, so he naturally explained: "I am a samurai under Lord Katagiri Shinkei, the lord of Haidong County, and I have served Lord Shinjing since I was a child. Since my father had been strict with me since I was a child, and Lord Shinkei trusted me as a person and asked me to be his bodyguard, I didn't have much free time to visit the shrine. ”

As if feeling that his performance was not in place, Ran He returned a deep sigh and said in a low tone: "Before, Lord Xinjing was ordered to follow the lord on the expedition, and I was also fortunate to follow the lord to the battlefield...... It was truly a terrifying place of death, and I and the other guards fought to protect the safety of Lord Shinkei, and finally escaped from that hell. Now that the war has subsided, Lord Shinkei asked me to come to the shrine on his behalf to pay respects to the warriors who died on the battlefield, and pray for Lord Shinkei and myself. ”

The shrine maiden covered her mouth with her hand and said apologetically, "I see, I'm really sorry for the sadness that caused the guest......"

Ran Hegui pretended to wave his hand lightly: "This can't be blamed on the Divine Son, loyalty is the foundation of the samurai, and since we pledged our allegiance to Lord Xinjing, we have already thought that there will be such an ending." ”

The shrine maiden nodded and replied, "I understand, I will explain it to you, I don't know which shrine the guests are going to visit?" ”

Ran Hegui pretended to think for a moment and replied, "For such a solemn thing as worshipping warriors, I want to go to the main palace to pay respects." ”

If you want to find out the most important news, of course, you have to go to the most important places.

The shrine maiden thought for a moment, nodded and agreed, "The main shrine is located in the innermost part of the shrine, I can just take the guests to visit the various landscapes in the shrine, please come with me." ”

She just turned around and wanted to leave, but as if she remembered something, she turned her head and asked, "I'm Qing Wen [みほもえ よか], I wonder if it is convenient for guests to tell your name?" ”

Ran Hegui was prepared, and replied without hesitation: "In the next night, the moon and the crane." ”

Qing Wen carefully recalled the name of the samurai in his impression, and found that there was no image of a samurai that could be corresponded, and he didn't think much about it, and smiled and led the way for Ran Hegui.

It was also the first time for her to take guests to visit the Atsuta Shrine in its entirety, so she chattered non-stop along the way, dutifully introducing all the places of interest in the shrine to Ran Hegui, and Ran Hegui also kept slandering.

"We are now walking on the Twenty-Five Ding Bridge, which is the earliest known stone bridge in our Owari Province...... "A stone bridge without any exquisite carvings.

"That tall stone lantern is the famous Sakuma lantern in the shrine, and it was donated by General Sakuma for the shrine at the beginning...... "A two-zhang high stone lantern, I don't know if it can be used to light it."

"After passing the torii gate in front, you can see the most famous sacred tree in our Atsuta Shrine - according to legend, this sacred tree was planted by His Royal Highness Wuzun and Concubine Gong Zhenyuan, and it was just a small banyan sapling at that time, but now it has grown into a huge sacred tree that even our ten shrine maidens can't hug...... "A big banyan tree."

Not kidding, Qing Wen is a very qualified host.

It's a pity that he didn't have a light meal in the shrine.

"The wall in front of it is the 'Nobunaga Tsuki' donated by Nobunaga to our shrine, and the Imagawa family in the east of Shinoo Chang Province combined the forces of Mikawa and Enoe to lead more than 20,000 soldiers to attack Nobunaga. Nobunaga naturally refused to be killed, so he selected a thousand soldiers to make a long-distance attack in the rain, and launched a decisive raid on the head of the Imagawa family who passed through the place in the barrel narrow, and killed the head of the Imagawa family in a battle, winning the great battle that would have killed him and destroyed the country if he lost. After the war, because he passed by Atsuta Jingu Shrine on his way to the war, he donated the ...... of 'Nobunaga'"

Ran Hegui looked at the words, and found that the so-called "Nobunaga Valley" was just a soil enclosure more than 100 zhang long and about one person high, and then thought about the various so-called "historic sites" he had seen along the way, he felt that these "scenic spots" in Fenglan Prefecture were simply different from the places of interest in Daxuan.

However, in order to play more realistically, Ran Hegui still pretended to be an eye-opener along the way, and couldn't stop admiring the wonderful scenery of Atsuta Shrine.

Maybe he couldn't pretend anymore, so Ran Hegui took the initiative to divert the topic: "Miko, I saw that some witches will wear clothes embroidered with cranes and pine trees, why don't you wear them?" ”

Qing Wen didn't expect this samurai to ask such a question, so he was slightly stunned, but immediately replied with a smile: "Lord Yeyue is really careful to observe, that is our witch's 'Chihaya' coat, it is a shrine maiden costume that can only be worn by the shrine maiden, and an assistant shrine maiden like me can't wear that kind of clothes." ”

The shrine maiden is generally a professional shrine maiden such as the daughter of the shrine's lawsuit, and the assistant shrine maiden is a shrine maiden who is temporarily recruited when the shrine is busy.

Ran Hegui was a little curious: "When the Divine Son was not a shrine maiden, it was ......"

Qingwen hesitated for a moment, and said softly with some embarrassment: "I...... I'm usually the author of lightweight novels, the kind with color illustrations...... Because the novel I wrote didn't sell much, I would come here from time to time as a shrine maiden......"

The two fell into an eerie silence.

Lightweight novel is a new type of literary style born under the influence of the culture of the Western Continent in Fenglanzhou, which can be understood as "a novel that can be easily read", mostly written in the reader's usual oral language, which is relatively light and easy to understand, and is suitable for young boys and girls to read easily. The themes of the stories are so diverse that they cannot be covered in a single style.

Ran Hegui had never read this kind of script, so he considered the words and said, "...... Have you ever considered writing a different story? For example, writing an autobiography of a shrine maiden or something? Maybe you can also write a legendary novel based on a samurai like me? ”

Qingwen's eyes lit up, and he seemed to be very interested in this rare material, but after looking at the location of the two of them, he still shook his head and said, "We have arrived near the main palace, let's let Lord Yeyue finish the worship before talking about these topics."

"There will be a 'Temizusha' near the last torii, and we will cleanse ourselves at the Temizusha before visiting, so that we respect the gods, so please follow my movements......"

The so-called "Temizuya" is actually a huge pool with wooden spoons next to it.

There is a special way to cleanse oneself in the hand water house: take a wooden spoon and scoop water, wash your left hand, wash your right hand, rinse your mouth, wash your left hand again - because your left hand touches your mouth that has not yet been cleaned, and finally stand up the spoon and wash the handle and the hands holding it.

After Ran He did so, the two finally came to the main palace to worship and could pay their respects.

"Visiting outside the worship hall is generally called a skimmed worship method, and entering the worship hall is the official worship method. For ordinary guests, a skimmed approach is sufficient, as they are also unable to enter the shrine or shrine. Please continue to learn from me......"

The abbreviated worship is mainly two bows, two beats, and one worship.

First, bow slightly and throw money into the cash box, followed by ringing a bell or ringing a bell to summon the gods to descend from the sky. Then there is the second prostration—two deep bows; Second Beat - Clap your hands twice, your right hand should be lower than your left hand, and after clapping, fold your hands together and start praying. Finally, bow deeply to the gods, and bow slightly again when you leave, and this is a complete set of etiquette.

After the second beat, Qingwen whispered to Ran Hegui again, "Lord Yeyue can pray to the gods and make a wish." ”

Ran He closed his eyes tightly, pondered it inwardly, and "prayed" to the gods here: "I wish my Daomen army to be invincible, invincible, and kill all these wolves in Fenglan Prefecture who dare to have wolf ambitions against my Daomen and the Central Plains!" ”

A Taoist priest made a wish to the Shinto gods, and he made this wish to make the locals of Fenglu Prefecture unlucky, I don't know what those gods would think.

Qing Wen didn't know that Ran He had made such a "terrifying" wish, and seeing his pious attitude, he thought that he was praying for the blessings of those dead guards, and he couldn't help but be greatly moved.

Although she despised the civil strife of the "Gosanya" and the act of harming innocent people for her own selfish gain, she felt that the samurai who died for their loyalty were worthy of respect.

After Ran Hegui finished praying for blessings, Qing Wen happily took him to the main gate of the shrine and left, and on the way back, her mouth still didn't stop for a moment - but when she came, she explained the monuments of the shrine to Ran Hegui, and on the way back, she pulled Ran Hegui to ask questions.

Ran Hegui searched his intestines and introduced the protagonist's experience from the script to Qingwen one by one. Da Xuandi is rich in resources, and he copied some character settings and stories from various best-selling scripts in the Central Plains to use, which really gave Qingwen a lot of inspiration for writing.

Ran He attributed it to giving this Fenglanzhou female author a little "cultural shock".

These questions and answers on the way back also gave him a lot of gains.

Half a month ago, Qing Wen was distracted by the idea of the script when cleaning the shrine approach, and accidentally offended Miyi who was passing by, Miyi was furious and directly punished her to clean the shrine main palace.

"You mean, before you left that night, you saw a couple of ninjas dressed in black enter the main palace, and then saw them quietly leaving with something like a long knife in their hands?" Ran Hegui felt that he had dug up an extremely useful piece of information.

Qingwen nodded, and said with certainty: "I can feel that those samurai are very strong—much stronger than you, if it weren't for their hurry to transport that thing out, they would definitely be able to find me hiding in the next room." ”

"The room they went into is usually only allowed to enter by Miyaji-sama and Quan Miyaji-sama, I don't know if those ninjas were put in by Miyaji-sama, and I didn't dare to report it to Miyi, so I kept it a secret until now......"

When asked about what he said later, Ran Hegui couldn't hear it at all, he only felt that his brain was "shouting" in a chaotic manner.

A long knife that needs to be transported away so secretly, a divine knife that has been enshrined in the Atsuta Shrine according to legend, and a fairy knife that is one of the few top-notch demi-immortals in the Phoenix Scale Prefecture.

Sky Cloud Sword!

The Shinto Sect quietly transported away the half-immortal Heavenly Cloud Sword that had been enshrined in Atsuta Shrine!

Don't think about it, this sword is definitely used by the Shinto sect against the Daomen!

Ran Hegui no longer paid attention to Qingqing's chatter, hurriedly made an excuse, and hurriedly ran towards the main gate of the shrine.

Qing Wen shouted twice behind Ran He's return, and seeing that he didn't react, he could only reluctantly wave his hand at him to say goodbye.

It's a pity, this samurai-sama is quite interesting, and I don't know if he will come to the shrine to pay homage.

Ran Hegui ran to the main gate and roughly reported the information he had obtained to Director Zheng, and then the director retrieved the colleagues who came with him as quickly as possible, and after the assembly, the group quickly left Atsuta Shrine and rushed towards the hotel where they were staying.

……

In the main palace, Mitsutoshi Takenaka stroked the folding fan in his hand, listened to the report of his subordinates, squinted his eyes with satisfaction and smiled: "It seems that our 'guest' is about to leave, so we, the 'hosts', must act quickly and show them the 'hospitality' of our Fenglu Prefecture......"