"Little grandpa, how are you? Have you contacted the master?"
After packing up his equipment, Kanoya asked the little old man No. 3 beside him.
Since just now, little old man No. 3 has been sitting cross-legged on the ground in a meditative state. He is trying very hard to get in touch with his own body and his master.
But unfortunately, the space we are in now is too abnormal.
Not only did the mobile phone communication fail completely, but the "Ghost Talk Communication" also didn't work. Little Old Man No. 3 can only feel that there is still a weak connection between the body and himself.
Through this connection, it may be possible for the two parties to "communicate", but the current "signal" does not support this.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
Little old man No. 3 shook his head in response.
"Well, it seems that things are more troublesome than we thought at the beginning." Xiaolu was not immediately frustrated, but at the same time, he suddenly thought of something, "By the way, little grandpa, you have lost contact with the original little grandpa No. 0. Right? In other words, you exist independently now?"
"Aba whined."
The little old man No. 3 nodded, then started to get up from the ground again, making a fist with one hand and hitting his chest.
The clothes of the void monk swayed with his firm movements.
This action is usually done by the little old man when he expresses his loyalty to Kamiyagawa.
Xiaolu has been living with various strange stories in his family for so long, so he naturally understands the meaning.
"That's what I'm asking, I don't want to doubt you." Kanoya waved his hand quickly, "That is, even if the master went to another world, the connection between your clones and the main body will not be lost, right? I just wanted to Said, maybe where we are now is even weirder than that other world."
It is assumed that the consciousness of the little old man's clone and the original body were disconnected at the moment when the loyal No. 3 followed Kanoya and jumped down the earthquake crack in Ocha, and was teleported here.
So even if No. 3 forms an independent consciousness, it should still retain all the memories of the previous body.
That's why he always maintained closeness and respect to Kanoya, one of the eldest ladies in the family, just like before.
From this perspective, Xiaolu believes that even if the little old man No. 3 is independent-minded, he can still be trusted and is still a very reliable elder in the family.
He had no reason to betray his master and himself.
Moreover, if he wants to protect himself before being rescued by his master, Xiaolu must also rely on Little Old Man No. 3.
"Abba, Abba."
The little old man raised his hand and touched his chin, which seemed to agree with Xiaolu's guess just now.
He has the nature of a scout and has a strong sense of perception. And like the ontology, it has rich exploration experience. In his opinion, this place was indeed too unusual.
His body has followed his master to explore many strange and unpredictable places. Although this place looks a bit ordinary on the surface, the level of weirdness hidden in the secret may be even greater than those places in other worlds.
This can be seen from the fact that the little old man's body and clone were forcibly disconnected since he was a child, and the clone even developed an independent consciousness.
"Then what should we do now?" Xiaolu became distressed.
There are two paths before her. One is to wait in place, waiting for the master to save her; the second is to seize the initiative and try to explore the surrounding area, maybe she can get more information about this strange area. .
She never thought about separation from Little Old Man No. 3, such as letting the latter explore the surrounding area while she stayed where she was.
"It feels like it's better to stay with the little grandpa all the time. Isn't it like this in horror movies... The protagonist group is in a very scary and weird place, but they have to separate and act, and then they are killed one by one..."
This is what the little deer thinks about.
Her idea does make some sense.
After all, Kanoya is not Kamiyakawa, the god who blocks the killing god. His own strength is limited. At present, all his confidence comes from the props given by his master and teachers.
If little old man No. 3 leaves her side, her awareness of emergencies and dangers around her will be greatly weakened.
It would be better to act together, at least there would be someone to take care of them.
Of the two options currently available, Kanyeya actually prefers the second one.
She is Kamiya's disciple after all, and she still has some adventurous spirit in her heart. It should be better to explore around and get some information than to be passive now.
However, although the deer occasionally jumped out, he was not really stupid. She was reluctant to get close to the seemingly large depressed village not far away, so she only planned to explore the outer perimeter first.
As soon as the idea was raised, the little old man thought about it for a while and then agreed.
Together they began to explore the surrounding area in the direction of the original village.
…
There were muddy mountain paths along the way, and the pair of white indoor shoes under Lu Yewu's feet were already stained with mud.
After walking for about half an hour, the little deer and the little old man reached the end.
Yes, the end.
The road ahead seemed to have been cut open by a knife, with straight cuts appearing, as did the mountains and earth here.
Outside the section, there is a thick gray haze.
The thick fog was so thick and rolling that it was impossible to see what was inside, but a vague whistling sound could be heard, like the sound of wind or the howling of a monster.
Standing at the cross section of the mountain and looking down, there is also thick gray fog below, and I don't know how deep it is below.
In short, Kanoya looked down and felt an instinctive dizziness.
She simply calmed down, then moved a large stone from the dark forest nearby and threw it towards the cliff like a knife.
The stone fell into the mist without making any sound.
After a long time, no sound of landing was heard.
"How deep is this cliff? Or is there no end at all?" Lu Yewu shrank his neck.
Now, she was even more convinced that where she was now was definitely not reality.
Because the road ahead was impassable, Luyewu had no choice but to enter the forest under the leadership of Little Old Man No. 3.
The dense branches blocked the sky and the sun, and the forest was as dark as a maze, but with the scouts around, there was no need to really worry about getting lost.
It's a pity that the two of them explored for a while, and when they reached Luye House, the soles of their feet were sore that they couldn't find a way out. Instead, they wandered back to the vicinity of the depressed village.
"So, there's no way out here to the outside world?"
Even Kanoya, who was always positive, couldn't help but feel a little depressed at this time.
It's dusk.
The mountain forest environment outside the village was already dark, and as the daylight weakened, it became even more silent and terrifying. It was a bit cool in the evening, and the sky was still gray. The sun had only set halfway when it lost its obvious light. The gray sky revealed an endless blackness that stretched into the distance.
The deer rested far outside the village and simply drank a little bit of water from its own water cup.
Then I broke off a small piece of the sandwich and ate it.
The food and water she brought with her were limited, but fortunately her appetite was not large. And maybe because she is nervous and worried now, she doesn't have much appetite.
After resting for a while, the little old man No. 3, who was on guard in place, suddenly sensed something.
He quickly stood up from the ground and signaled Kanoya to run away.
There is something approaching their location in the direction of the mountains and forests!
Kanoya reacted quickly and quickly stood up and followed the little old man away.
At this moment, she seemed to hear a low bark of a wild beast in an unknown place far away in the forest.
Like a wolf howling.
The mountain forest at night was not easy to move around, and Lu Yewu did not dare to turn on the flashlight of his mobile phone for direct illumination, for fear of attracting something unknown, so he did not hide and escape very quickly.
All around was a dull gray, with silhouettes of grass and trees twisting on the ground and in the air.
Kanoya tried his best to suppress his rapid breathing. The branches of the bushes around him scratched his arms and thighs, which caused some pain.
As she ran, she saw the little old man No. 3 in front of her turn his head, raise his hand and hold out three fingers.
"Three? What does it mean that there are three things close to us?"
The deer was in panic at the moment.
After all, she didn't have any experience fighting alone.
And what's even worse is that she doesn't know what little old man No. 3 is sensing.
The unknown itself carries a natural feeling of terror.
After Little Old Man No. 3 pointed out the number of threatening targets in the forest, Xiaolu glanced back and seemed to see a bright light shining not far away.
Her steps were messed up, her feet slipped, and she rolled down a slope.
"Well...it hurts..."
The fall hurt, but Kanoya didn't dare to make too much noise.
Her right knee was hit a bit hard and it hurt a lot. After struggling for a while, she managed to get up from the ground in a hurry.
"Woo-hoo-hoo!"
The little old man beside her was anxiously telling something, and the next second his figure suddenly dimmed and disappeared.
The scout did not play the shakuhachi, but just restrained his own aura.
However, with Xiaolu's perception ability, it is impossible to see where the little old man No. 3 is at this level. He can only get a little strengthened sense of smell by practicing incense, and he can vaguely smell that the other party is still around, and he has not abandoned himself. Leave.
Naturally, the little old man didn't run away, he just hid beside Lu Yewu.
Danger is approaching and they can't escape.
Therefore, Little Old Man No. 3 had no choice but to hide his aura and stay by Xiaolu's side to see how the situation would develop before making any plans.
His true body did often run away when he was exploring the Valley of Gods, but that was because his master was very powerful and strong enough to deal with various crises and emergencies.
But Miss Kanoya... just for a moment.
If he ran away, he would be really disloyal and unjust, and he would be embarrassed to see his master again in the future.
Moreover, after the three targets in the forest got closer, the scouts with superior perception felt that the danger was reduced.
Maybe the target of those three things is not Miss Kanoya at all?
Maybe things will turn around.
rustle--
The sound of brushing branches and leaves from the bushes came from behind.
Lu Yewu smelled something similar to human beings, as well as a strange smell of water, earth, and gunpowder smoke.
Mixed together, it feels dangerous.
But the deer's knees were in severe pain, and he reluctantly wanted to lift his feet and walk again. Suddenly, he heard a loud "bang" coming from behind.
Clumps of soil splashed beneath his feet.
The smell of gunpowder was strong.
Someone fired.
"Alas!"
Kanoya whispered, quickly leaned down, grasped the brass chain of the Shōtoku incense burner with one hand, and reached into the outside of his schoolbag to hold a spice bag with the other hand.
rustle--
There was the sound of bushes turning again.
A dim but strong light shone on Kanoya's somewhat panicked face, making her unable to open her eyes for a moment.
After finally getting used to the light, she saw a figure standing on the slope.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I thought it was that evil wolf." The man said, his voice was a little old. Although he said "Sorry", his tone was cheerful.
The human-like smell, as well as the vague smell of water and earth, all emanated from that person's body.
The smell of smoke and gunpowder came from a double-barreled gun in the opponent's hand.
It looked like a shotgun.
"A hunter with a shotgun? Is it a human being? But... something doesn't feel right."
Lu Yewu tightened his grip on the copper chain of the incense burner and did not move.
Japanese society theoretically prohibits guns, and private possession of guns is prohibited, but this "ban" is not that strict. If an individual can obtain a legal gun license, he can legally own a gun, but the types of guns he can own are very restricted, and he can only purchase shotguns and air guns.
Generally speaking, it is very difficult to obtain a gun license, and the ammunition capacity of shotguns and airsoft guns that an individual can possess cannot exceed two rounds.
It is only allowed for hunting and shooting events.
But because of this aspect, in some areas of Japan, you do have the opportunity to see hunters with shotguns.
Although the number of such people will be very small.
The hunter walked down the hillside with a gun and a flashlight, and Lu Yewu could see the other party's appearance more clearly.
He is a grandfather who is about sixty years old, with gray hair on his temples, resolute facial features, a strong body, and a steady pace in the mountains and forests.
And what's strange is that the old hunter always has a charitable and empty smile on his face.
Just kept smiling.
"Why are you, a little girl, staying alone in the forest at night? It's very dangerous." The old hunter said with a concerned tone.
"I……"
Kanoya didn't reply and didn't know how to reply.
While she was hesitating, there was another rustling sound nearby, and two more figures appeared with flashlights.
They were two middle-aged people in their thirties, a man and a woman, also holding shotguns in their hands.
Like the old hunter, the two new people also had strange smiles on their faces that couldn't go away.
The flashlight swayed and shone on their faces, reflecting their grinning mouths and exposed teeth.
This smile made Kanoya feel uncomfortable.
"It's a girl? I thought it was the wolf. Mr. Watanabe, did you just shoot? Did you hurt someone?"
The middle-aged woman among the two new hunters said this, and tried to check the situation of Luye House.
But Kanoya resisted this and shrank back.
"I didn't hit her. But I think she was scared. It was my fault for shooting." The old hunter named Watanabe said with a smile.
"You said... wolf, right?"
Kanoya finally spoke at this time, but he took the initiative to divert the topic away from himself.
The three people in front of me looked strange, but they seemed to be able to communicate.
Moreover, the three shotguns in the opponent's hands forced Kanoya to try to communicate.
"Yes, yes." Grandpa Watanabe nodded, "After the earthquake a few days ago, there was a mudslide in the mountains and several places collapsed. Then the beast suddenly appeared and injured several people in the village. I He, Takao, and Xigui wanted to join forces to hunt that beast."
After hearing this reply, Kanoya fell silent again.
She thought of a question——
Are there wolves in Japan?
(End of chapter)
