377, Onmyoji (2/2)
at this time,
In the Inoue family's most exquisitely built main hall, which is like a temple,
The light yarn flutters in the wind,
Toshio Inoue, who has a stick-shaped bun and gray hair on his temples and looks quite upright among the people of Toriu Island, is kneeling on a futon with his face facing the many servants and maids waiting outside the door.
beside him,
Dressed in linen clothes and wearing a 'folded black hat', the hunched-over Onmyoji stood aside, bowing from time to time to speak to him respectfully.
In front of the two of them,
There is a large bronze mirror.
The two of them looked at the bronze mirror.
Exchange a few words from time to time,
Sometimes the brows relax, sometimes they frown.
After a long time like this, the old onmyoji managed to straighten up and shouted to the servants outside the door: "Master Inoue, it is not appropriate to go out today! Close the doors!"
"yes!"
The servants outside the door quickly became busy.
Su Wu watched them put up the gauze hanging from the main hall door edge and window lattice, and sealed the doors and windows.
My heart was at a loss for a moment.
Is this ‘divination’?
Can the results of such divination be accurate?
Su Wu finally understood that what the original owner's father said about 'Onmyoji' was just a rumor. There was no water in it or any falsehood.
Together with the so-called "Shikigami" method of Onmyoji,
Also lost interest.
at this time,
The elderly Onmyoji in the main hall walked slowly out of the door that was about to close.
Many servants avoided him and bowed to him respectfully.
Su Wu also stood on one side to make way for the old Onmyoji.
However, the other party approached him and looked up at him. The wrinkles on his face relaxed at this moment: "What a majestic body. Are you a descendant of the Tang Dynasty?"
Was it noticed by the other party so quickly?
Su Wu was slightly startled when he heard this.
Before he could speak, the old Onmyoji reached out and patted his elbow, and then said with emotion: "With such a tall physique, it would be a pity not to become a warrior and join the Duke's sect to establish a career..."
With emotion,
The onmyoji paced away.
Many servants cast envious glances at Su Wu.
It seemed that Su Wu felt that it was a great honor to be able to talk to an Onmyoji.
Damu, who ran to help earlier, also saw the scene of Onmyoji talking with Su Wu. After finishing his work, he came to Su Wu with excitement on his face: "Master Anlu has spoken to you, Abu!
You should have a few more words with Mr. Anlu.
If he is happy,
I will give you a command spell casually, so that we won’t have to run away in such a panic when we encounter Li Wei in the future!
and,
A command spell can be sold for a lot of money..."
Su Wu was deeply suspicious of Damu's words.
The oil-paper umbrella that Haruko, the young lady of the Inoue family, held in her hand before, should be an object blessed with the Onmyoji's command spell. However, this kind of thing only slightly affects the level of the "Split Mouth Girl".
A command spell can allow people to face things like Li Wei calmly, but I'm afraid it's simply impossible.
However, Damu said that a command spell can be sold for a lot of money - this is probably true.
"When are we going to the sword forging place?" Su Wu asked Damu.
Damu said quickly: "Just wait until I finish cleaning the east courtyard. Wait for me, I can finish it right away!"
Talking
He ran away quickly.
Here in the main hall, there are servants busy with various things everywhere.
There were even a few warriors wearing paper armor patrolling the courtyard.
They should be the retainers of the Inoue family.
These warriors were not like the warriors Su Wu had seen on the street before, who had their heads shaved cleanly and combed into 'tsukiyo hair' - they had stick-shaped buns, which is similar to that of most people in the current era. Ordinary hairstyle.
Su Wu guessed: Maybe in this era,
There are not many samurai who comb their hair like this, and the era of those samurai has not really come yet.
While many servants were busy, Su Wu wandered around the courtyard and became the only "free person" here. The servants were not surprised by his behavior, and some even ignored him as if he were nothing. .
After waiting for about ten minutes,
Su Wu was bored and was about to go out to the courtyard to take a look. Miss Haruko, wearing a white dress and a red skirt and a witch costume, came skipping over with a brand new oil-paper umbrella.
"Abu!"
She jumped into the pavilion.
Under the red skirt, a pair of feet bound in white shoes swayed with the skirt and loomed.
Haruko moved lightly, jumping up and down in the skirt, but she did not step on the skirt that was almost touching the floor.
"Miss Haruko." Su Wu nodded in response.
"I saw you just now. Old Man Anlu was talking to you, saying you were tall, like a Tang Dynasty man!" Qingzi chattered around Su Wu, raising her head to visually measure his height.
"Be careful when you see Old Man Anlu in the future!
That old man is not a good person - he would spy on me while he was giving divination to my father! "
Su Wu was speechless when he heard this: "No way? Is he already that old?"
"Abu, you are just too naive. People who look kind may not necessarily be good people, and being old does not mean that they will not do bad things.
Old man Anlu - his first shikigami was made from the souls of the dead mother and child after he tricked the common people's daughter into becoming pregnant and threw her into a well! "Qingzi lowered her voice, with a serious look on her face.
Su Wu's eyes narrowed slightly.
He nodded immediately: "I will pay attention, Miss Haruko."
"ha!
Just keep it in mind. "
Haruko smiled so hard that her eyes turned into crescent moons, and her lips revealed rare neat teeth.
Her appearance should have taken after her father's,
Also born relatively beautiful.
"Abu, every time yesterday's 'Slit Mouth Girl' was about to catch up with us, thunder and lightning would always fall from the sky to stop it. Do you know the reason?" Qingzi looked at Su Wu,
Su Wu shook his head, looking confused: "I don't know.
Maybe this is God’s favor! "
Haruko pouted: "I don't believe it!"
Just finished speaking,
She quickly covered her mouth again: "What happened!
No taboos, no taboos..."
After chanting "no taboos" three times, Miss Haruko breathed a sigh of relief, glared at Su Wu bitterly, and said no more.
However, when Su Wu looked at her movements, a thought flashed through his mind.
He opened his voice and asked Haruko: "Ms. Haruko, will the Soseki Shrine's joint festival continue for how many more days?"
"Yes." Haruko responded.
"The joint sacrifice - does it mean that Soseki Shrine has invited other gods?" Su Wu asked again.
Haruko smiled and said: "Yes.
Do you want to visit the shrine? "
Su Wu was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "I think so."
"Then tell me, what happened to the slit-mouthed girl yesterday?
As long as you tell me, I can take you to see inside the shrine today! "Qingzi raised her chin and said proudly.
“How do I know what’s going on with the Slit Mouth Girl?
I'm just an ordinary servant. "Su Wu shook his head and replied.
Could it be that I couldn’t enter the shrine alone?
Not necessarily.
At worst, I could find a way to sneak into Soseki Shrine alone and take a look.
"I think you must know the reason!
This is the intuition of a miko! "Qingzi said loudly and firmly.
Su Wu turned around and saw Da Mu running towards him in a hurry, so he stepped towards him and ignored Miss Haruko's shouting.
Haruko's clenched fists were clenched again, and her clenched fists were clenched again.
After repeating this several times, he snorted heavily and approached the two servants.
The two first sent Haruko to Soseki Shrine.
The sound of bells and drums could be heard intermittently in the shrine. Haruko looked serious, walked through the torii gate with a straight face, and walked towards the shrine shaded by dead trees.
Su Wu stopped for a while in front of the newly built stone tablet at the shrine.
He tried hard to distinguish the writing on it,
I can barely read that this shrine used to worship a god named "The Girl in the Stone". In the past few days, the "Hashihime" who has been lingering in the "Shui Qian Bridge" was successfully enshrined in the shrine and became the Girl in the Stone. to accompany the worshiping god.
The two gods will protect the land of 'Boqi Kingdom' together.
So that disasters such as earthquakes and flash floods will no longer occur frequently here.
I have read the inscription,
Some confusion arose in Su Wu's heart: How did they confirm that the 'god' had been enshrined in the shrine by them?
as well as,
Are the ‘gods’ also Li Wei?
He turned his head and glanced at the soy sauce-colored Tang-style building behind the torii, and at Oaki's urging, he left the shrine.
The two of them ran in a hurry,
It took another ten minutes,
Return to 'An Gang Sword Forging Works'.
They arrived early today, and there were only a few young people in the sword-making workshop.
Everyone was sitting around the fire, talking quietly among their partners.
——Most of these apprentices are common people. They come to work in the sword-making factory. Firstly, they hope to learn a craft that is close to their own. Secondly, there is a lunch here every day. This lunch is the most important thing for many people in a day. of all food sources.
Even ‘Damu’ and ‘Abu’ who worked in noble houses actually only had two meals a day, breakfast and dinner.
This is also the place where the swordsmith serves a lunch.
Only then could Damu be able to eat three meals a day.
It's just about eating three meals a day. Whether or not you're full is another matter.
Damu is different from Abu,
Although Abu does not eat or live with the servants of the Inoue family, the food provided by his father is much better than that of ordinary servants.
More and more young people gathered in the sword forging shop,
People were sitting around the fire, talking in low voices.
- Talking too loudly will also consume your energy and make you hungry faster.
Su Wu is not afraid of being hungry.
He went out a few times and wanted to 'visit' other stone houses. As soon as he approached the door, he was stopped by the craftsman inside.
In a quick glance, Su Wu could only see the shirtless people inside, working hard to forge a red sword embryo.
Unable to identify the swords they forged,
Did you use the 'ghost ore' that your father said?
The ghost ore is actually called the "Killing Stone". It is said to be the skin shell left behind after a powerful Ligui's "molt", fused with the iron ore veins.
Another theory is that the nine "killing stone veins" in Dongliu Island are actually what Li Wei turned into after his death, rather than the fusion of Li Wei's peeled skin and the ore.
Some people believe both versions.
In order to compete for the nine mineral veins, the princes and nobles of Dongliu Island caused a lot of bloodshed.