Seeing Xiaoxue throwing herself into his arms as soon as she got off the train, Shiraishi patted her back gently, then pushed her away helplessly and said:
"You're such an adult, don't pounce on me at every turn. Didn't Third Master teach you how to be a proper lady, Xiaoxue?"
Before Xiaoxue could speak, she heard a rush of footsteps. The third wife caught up with him out of breath. He just heard Baishi's words and said, "Your Excellency Baishi, I hope more than anyone else." Your Highness can become an excellent lady only because of the lack of discipline. Your Highness has become more and more willful recently."
Xiaoxue glared at Third Taifu's complaints.
"Really? However, I haven't seen you for a while. You look like you are getting older now, third wife."
Shiraishi smiled at San Taifu.
Looking at the wrinkles on the third wife's face, there are many more wrinkles than a few years ago, and I can't help but sigh that time flies by.
"Yes, I also think that today's young people are a bit too lively, especially His Highness. If this continues, I feel that I will be ashamed of the late His Highness Hayuki."
Seeing the third wife wiping tears while speaking so emotionally, Xiaoxue was immediately speechless.
"You are getting more and more outrageous, Mr. Third. Even I want to relax occasionally. If I always stay in an empty palace, I will be out of touch with the times."
"That's better than being exposed outside."
The third wife smiled helplessly, but her tone was full of doting.
After all, the place they live in is indeed changing with each passing day.
I vaguely remember that more than ten years ago, the famous names of various countries were still symbols of sacredness and dignity.
Just like a high-altitude god who does not eat the smoke and fire of the world.
But as time goes by, it is completely impossible to continue to maintain that kind of unworldly persona and still want to govern the country well.
After all, if a country's famous name is positioned too high, its image will become smaller in people's minds.
Therefore, today, if the daimyo still wants to add the element of 'god' to himself, it will not work at all.
A country like the Kingdom of Ghosts, which still uses the power of witches and goddesses to maintain national rule, can only be treated as an example and is difficult to copy and imitate.
"Okay, don't just talk about Xiaoxue, you can also take some time to relax."
Shiraishi smiled.
The date for the finals of the Joint Chuunin Examination has been determined. Therefore, in the past few days, officials from all over the ninja world and well-known big businessmen have rushed to the Kingdom of Demon to watch the finals of the Joint Chunin Examination.
Such a grand event would naturally involve the appearance of the neighboring country Snow Country.
But compared to the representatives from other countries, Xiaoxue and San Taifu were the ones who arrived earlier.
"The finals of the Joint Chunin Examination? It is indeed an event worth looking forward to."
The third wife nodded.
Although Snow Country was not involved in this joint chuunin exam, it also knew the importance of this joint chunin exam.
The mutual testing between big countries always happens inadvertently.
As one of the three major countries in the western part of the continent, the Demon Country is in urgent need of expanding its influence externally. As the organizer of the third joint Chunin Examination, it is a good opportunity to expand its influence.
Although the Kingdom of Ghosts had experienced the War of the Kingdom of Wind before, most of the power displayed was still concentrated on a few top ninjas in the military. The ability of the military ninja troops to participate in battles has not yet been known to all countries in the ninja world.
After the War in the Kingdom of Rain, new weapons were sold to the Hidden Rain Village in order to contain the Kingdom of Fire. Although it also aroused great international repercussions, it was only controlled behind the scenes. The main participants in the battle were the ninjas from Yuyin Village and the ninja troops from the Daming Mansion of the Land of Fire.
In two extremely critical wars, the strength displayed by the Kingdom of Ghosts is still an unsolved mystery.
The strength of the ninja, the head of the Demon Country's military, is naturally valued by all countries. The various new weapons it has developed have also been highly recognized by the arms market.
The only thing that has not yet been determined and remains to be seen is the combat effectiveness of the ninjas other than the head ninjas of the Demon Country's military. These backbone ninjas.
Especially the new generation of genin can best reflect the potential of a ninja village.
And this potential, after several years of fermentation, will gradually form the mainstay of the Ninja Village and become the cornerstone of the Ninja Village organization.
This principle also applies to the military of the Kingdom of Ghosts.
Although the third husband has great confidence in the new generation of genin trained by the Demon Country's military, no matter how confident he is, he needs to witness it with his own eyes to feel completely at ease.
"Speaking of which, Asuka and the others don't seem to be here."
After walking around in a circle, Xiaoxue found that besides Shiraishi, there were only some government officials from the Kingdom of Ghosts with familiar faces, and only Shiraishi who was close to her was present.
"Asuka? He and Cai are receiving special training from Yiji for five days. After all, the two of them will represent the Demon Country's military in the third exam. Before the finals, you probably won't be able to see the two of them. ”
Shiraishi led the way, and Xiaoxue and Santafu also followed.
The ninjas from the Kingdom of Snow and the government personnel from the Kingdom of Ghosts also followed closely behind and did not come to disturb the three of them.
With Shiraishi present, they were not worried that some unsighted person would assassinate Xiaoxue, a famous figure in the Land of Snow, at this time.
"Well, that's a pity. Come to think of it, you two mothers must have important things to deal with at this time."
When mentioning her two mothers, Xiaoxue's tone obviously became a little subtle.
Shiraishi said vaguely: "Yes, the two of them are indeed very busy, and I haven't been at home much these days, so during this period, you can stay at Ziyuan's place for now. She happens to be quite bored alone at the shrine, so you You can go and stay with her to prevent her from always sneaking out of the shrine because she is bored."
Thinking of Shion, Shiraishi suddenly got a headache.
Although like Koyuki, Shion is also his adopted daughter, but in terms of willfulness, she is even more willful than Koyuki.
And since there is no one around Shion who can restrain her, the miko around her are also very obedient to her wishes.
As long as he doesn't cause trouble, Shiraishi will turn a blind eye over time.
Because if you think about it carefully, the biggest use of Shion as a miko is to seal and suppress the demons again when they cause trouble again.
Other than that...it seems that as a miko, she really has nothing to do and no obligations that she must fulfill.
This kind of willfulness is completely different from the previous generation of miko Maitreya.
"Well, I understand, then I won't disturb Father. Speaking of which, I haven't met Ziyuan for a long time. I will attend with her then."
Xiaoxue ruffled her hair and smiled slightly.
"Then I'm sorry to bother you. I hope that the child can calm down in the past few days, so that I can save some worries."
After receiving Xiaoxue's promise, Shiraishi's mood became much brighter and his walking pace became brisker.
Thinking about it this way, I'm a little lucky that when I created the clone, I didn't design some characters that were too troublesome. Otherwise, so many 'children' would all make a fuss. Just thinking about it makes Shiraishi feel dizzy.
◎
"You...did you sneak out again?"
The voice came from behind the huge stone door. It was a long, ancient, and unique voice full of vicissitudes of life.
It seems that as long as you hear it, your soul will be unnaturally captured by the owner of this voice.
Although the stone door is tightly connected, a purple-black light can still be seen in the narrow gap, and a little seeps out from the gap.
But outside the stone gate, there are also layers of spherical barriers wrapped around it.
Under the sunlight, the barrier emits a sacred brilliance like platinum.
Therefore, even if the dark purple-black light wanted to poke its head out from the stone door, it still could not move freely outside.
The sacred barrier seems to be its natural enemy. As soon as it appears, its body will experience burning pain.
Although it is a symbol of immortality, pain is equal to both humans and monsters.
Even if it is not afraid of death, the sprite has no habit of abusing itself.
The one communicating with it here is a young girl wearing a white miko uniform and long pale golden hair.
She wears a red string around her neck, and a bell is attached to the string.
She sat on the ground with her back against the stone door, and just nodded slightly to the sound coming from behind the stone door.
"The mountain is too boring. There are so many interesting things under the mountain, but my father doesn't let me go every time, saying that I am just too playful. Even if I go, I can't stay too long, and I have to have an entourage with me. "
Having said this, Ziyuan couldn't help but puffed up her mouth and seemed unhappy.
"That is your protection. Your mother Maitreya has the power to reverse time and space. As you inherit her bloodline, you naturally also have this power. When you meet a certain person, their life and death will be seen through. And death , is not a very beautiful thing.”
Even a miko who is physically and mentally pure will feel confused after seeing too many deaths.
This kind of witch has been seen many times in the past.
Ugly and beautiful, she was eventually swallowed up by all kinds of desires in the world and died an unexpected death.
Therefore, most witches who truly practice will not choose to join the world. Most of the time, they perform ascetic practices at shrines.
Most of the witchcraft they practice does not harm humans, but targets monsters. The higher the state of mind of such a miko, the lower the influence of monsters on them.
As for the witches who enter the world, most witches who practice heretical techniques do not need to pay attention to spiritual purity.
Their witchcraft has a terrible killing effect not only on monsters, but also on humans.
For them, joining the world is equivalent to spiritual practice.
As the mainline miko of the Kingdom of Ghosts, she is responsible for sealing it, the sprites, so it is naturally impossible for her to enter the world and practice.
Once attracted by the darkness of the world, a witch's power will become impure, and her ability to restrain it will become weaker.
For thousands of years, it has never changed.
"Yeah?"
"It's not a good thing to be too kind. Instead, it creates unnecessary compassion because of so much sadness."
"But I don't like the feeling of being superior. It's too far away from other people."
Ziyuan raised her hand, holding the golden light, and stared blankly.
"For us, human life is too small and short. Maybe the next time you open your eyes, the world has changed, but we will still exist forever. Even if you deliberately get close to them, most of them will only feel flattered and unable to understand you. of goodwill.”
Although the so-called lives are all equal in the eyes of monsters, there is no such thing as noble or mean.
No matter who you are, there will be so-called selfishness.
However, after all, he is an 'object' condensed from the darkness deep in the human heart.
No matter how close he is to a human being, he knows that he is not human.
This is also true for Shion who turned from a human into a 'miko'.
"It's so annoying! I'm not here to listen to you! Besides, as a monster, do you really know what I'm thinking?"
Ziyuan stood up and glared angrily at the demon behind the stone door through the gap.
"This is the tragedy of your excessive longing for the world. Your emotions are becoming more and more human-like. Maitreya never loses her temper."
Not frightened by Ziyuan's sudden change of expression, the demon still spoke in a calm tone.
In its view, Ziyuan has too much immaturity.
It is completely incomparable to Maitreya who sealed him.
Just like a rebellious child in adolescence, he always likes to disobey adults in everything.
"snort."
Regarding this comment from the demon, Ziyuan also knew that she was far inferior to her mother Maitreya, who could face life calmly and calmly.
"Besides, you dump rubbish at me every time. Even if I don't want to hear it, I can't cover my ears. It must be difficult for you to fulfill your duties as a miko. You currently lack such awareness."
"Well……"
It can't be said that it's a monster.
However, just as the demon said, Shion's first reaction to the so-called witch's responsibilities was not to accept it, but to avoid and fear it.
It is precisely because I have seen countless deaths that I am afraid of death.
Because every time you seal a monster, you need to pay the life of the witch.
"You are a child who lacks 'love'. Just like an ordinary human girl, when she does not desire enough 'attention', she will lose her temper. But there is one thing that is strange, why do you, as a miko, How can something like this be produced?"
This sentence seemed to be asking Ziyuan, but also seemed to be asking himself.
Because in his opinion, Shion really didn't look like a qualified miko.
The previous generations of shrine maidens, including the previous mainline shrine maidens, all showed amazing determination since childhood. No matter what kind of verbal temptations they faced, no matter how many human deaths they witnessed, they would never waver. of faith.
Facing them is like facing a stubborn stone, unable to pry open any weakness in them.
But Ziyuan, in the eyes of the demon, is full of weaknesses.
Willful, arrogant, and will become overly emotional if provoked by words. There is simply no difference between them and humans.
But because it is full of weaknesses, it is impossible for it to start.
The mikos of the past seemed to be running an established program. Although they were stable, they also lost the possibility of continued growth.
Ziyuan gradually developed an emotional humanity, which was undoubtedly a strange thing in the eyes of the monster.
Although the seal may no longer be stable due to these excessive emotions, the future will become unpredictable because of this.
He doubted whether this was done intentionally by that man, Chiba Shiraishi.
"What do you want to say?"
Shion's tone became alarmed.
Although she has not yet realized the responsibility of being a miko, she also knows that the existence behind the stone gate is too dangerous for humans.
"Since you are eager to be noticed, you no longer live in a human world, but live the life you like freely like an ordinary human girl, able to love the people you like, instead of living like this. Life is arranged by people and ends up in an infinite cycle... Then, let’s survive in a different way."
"another way?"
Ziyuan felt strange about what the demon said.
"I bear humanity's 'evil' for you, and I want to re-understand the world."
For thousands of years, he has been suppressed by successive witches.
Failure once or twice can be regarded as accidental.
But five, ten or even more times, they all ended in failure.
If we attribute failure to chance, then this kind of chance would be too arrogant and stupid.
"!?"
Because the words of the demon were too sudden, Ziyuan was stunned on the spot.
Just when Shion was at a loss and didn't know how to answer, a miko walked through the corridor and walked outside the barrier.
"Lord Shion."
"ah?"
Ziyuan was startled and pretended to look carefully at the stone door, as if she was carefully checking the seal on the stone door to see if there was any problem.
"What's matter?"
She turned her head cautiously and asked.
"His Royal Highness Fenghua Koyuki, the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, is here to visit you. Do you want to see him?"
the miko asked.
"What? Sister Xiaoxue is here? Great, take me to see her quickly!"
Upon hearing the news, Ziyuan immediately forgot all about the monster's words before and couldn't wait to walk outside the barrier, letting the witch lead the way.
As the footsteps faded away, the demon knew that Ziyuan had left this place.
The empty hall fell into deathly silence again.
Even with the sunlight shining in, the atmosphere here still seems extremely depressing to ordinary people.
"When are you going to see it again?"
The ghost's voice suddenly sounded in this space.
Not long after it finished speaking, a man walked out from behind a stone pillar not far away, with a smile on his face and looked at the sealed stone door. It was Bai Shi.
"Even if you are sealed, do you still have this level of perception, monster?"
"Hmph, your human existence is as dazzling as the sun in the sky. Wouldn't it be weird if you didn't want to be discovered?"
Regarding Bai Shi's question, the demon laughed unceremoniously.
Bai Shi couldn't deny the sneer of the monster.
"However, you are really naughty enough to eavesdrop here."
The demon continued to be sarcastic.
"Don't worry, I have no interest in you, I'm just taking precautions in advance so that my daughter won't be deceived and still help count money."
"Sure enough, you heard everything."
The demon was not too surprised by this result.
"The spiritual life of a witch is too cold, even for adults, let alone children. It's hard to bear it. At this time, you really need a 'close friend' to talk about the garbage in your heart and relieve the stress."
"You're an interesting human being."
She clearly knew that the miko was in contact with monsters that were hostile to humans, but she didn't stop it. Instead, she just paid attention silently. Should I say that she was arrogant or that she had the ability to control all this? The demon said this about Shiraishi.
"A layer of things that remain unchanged seems too unsightly. If mikos need to make changes in this generation, then, as a member of the same class, you might become a key turning point. This is how I think about it."
Shiraishi thought of Maitreya.
That celibate miko.
No matter when you look at her, she is a respectable woman.
But because people over-idolize her, her existence is always so out of reach in the eyes of ordinary people.
Only at the end of his life did he express his true desire to become an ordinary human being.
Therefore, over the years, Shiraishi has always treated some of Ziyuan's willful behaviors with a tolerant attitude.
As long as he didn't do anything too extreme, even if things might get up and down every time he went out, he would turn a blind eye and just hope that Ziyuan could live a freer life.
Otherwise, with Ziyon's poor escape skills, he would be captured and taken back to the shrine for custody by the people he arranged before he even left the shrine.
After all, she was his adopted daughter, and Shiraishi didn't want her to stay in the shrine forever and live like a prisoner.
"Are you trying to use me?"
"Don't be so explicit, just use each other. Do you want to stay in that dark world all your life? There is no light, no air, no water, no life, and no concept of time. It's just imagination, I just feel like it’s better to just die.”
The monster fell silent.
Although it cannot feel death, like humans, it also has so-called emotions. If a person stays alone for a long time, it will feel lonely.
Except that the body and soul are different from humans, in terms of emotions, they are no different from ordinary people.
"Is the human world interesting?"
The demon asked this question anxiously.
It's a bit funny to say that although it hates humans, it doesn't know what the human world is like.
So in this case, can it still persist in its reasons for hating humans without any distracting thoughts?
It seems that I have never thought about this issue since I was born.
Regarding this question, the demon felt expectant for the first time, but also felt confused.
It is afraid that its expectations are too high, and it is also at a loss because it is about to come into contact with a field that is completely unfamiliar to itself.
As if feeling the complex emotions in the demon's heart, Shiraishi also became slightly silent.
Then he turned around and slowly walked to the edge of the sealing hall. He raised his head and glanced at the sky outside. After a long time, Shiraishi calmed down his emotions and said:
"Don't worry, the world we live in, although it is not a beautiful paradise, is still far from hell. It is just a small piece of human world between the two. That's all."
Whether it is too high expectations or too much disappointment, it is unnecessary.
In Shiraishi's view, all the worries in the demon's heart are obviously unnecessary.
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