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"Great Imperial Divine Life, how dare an old woman like me accept such a precious thing!"
Not wanting, but not dare.
"Take it. It's just sand on the beach."
It is indeed the sand of the sea, but that also depends on what kind of sea it is. The endless Forgotten River can be called the sea.
But according to legend, that is a place where only the god of the underworld can set foot, and ordinary souls can never return.
The God said so, and Yubaba pretended to refuse, but couldn't wait to accept the "fee".
Chapter 244: God's Protection
The River of Oblivion that Yubaba thought of was actually not true. The River of Oblivion was just a fake thing born in human legends.
There are many similar myths, such as the River Lethe in Eastern mythology, the River Styx in Greece, and Acheron, all of which point to the sea of souls.
They are all projections of the Soul Sea in the minds of living beings. Only the Soul Sea itself is a real existence that is beyond mythology.
The fine sand of the soul sea.
If you want to talk about precious things, they are everywhere on that endless seashore.
But it is certainly not ordinary.
After the soul returns, it becomes pure in the sea, waiting for the next reincarnation. The past memories and emotions are precipitated, and the impurities are condensed into the fine sand on the seashore.
All living beings can only go there after they die and accept the fact of their own death. So no one can grab the fine sand, except Gaia.
The embodiment of the seven emotions and six desires might be of great use to demons and ghosts.
Yubaba carefully put the fine sand into the magic bottle, not daring to waste a single grain.
"I will offer sacrifices to the sacred object given by the God every day!"
That's not necessary. Gaia doesn't need offerings from others, nor does she need offerings from monsters.
This handful of fine sand was enough to cover the cost of the hot spring hotel. Then Lingye took out a piece of string, not for Yubaba, but for the only human in this hidden place.
"Xiao Lin, this is for you. Thank you for accompanying us to enjoy the cherry blossoms. This is the hairband I made for my home economics class."
"Headband?"
"Well, according to human legend, there is a spirit called Wamonjin. The thread that is carefully woven is the spirit. It connects thoughts across time and space. This will protect you, and please don't resent humans."
Xiaolin looked at the silk thread in her hand, feeling a little overwhelmed. This was the first time she received a gift.
Don't you hate humans?
She didn't hate humans. Although she was abandoned, it was when she was just born and she had no memory of it.
She grew up in a barn, and had been exposed to demons and ghosts, and she had never seen a human being. Of course, she didn't care whether she liked or hated things beyond her concept.
This is the first time I have encountered a human guest visiting the oil house. It feels very friendly and welcoming.
"I understand. If I have the chance to meet a human next time, I will give them a warm welcome."
Xiaolin's hair was very long and originally fell past her waist. She tied the ends of her hair with a red rope that was woven as a gift for the first time she received.
Very suitable.
After cleaning up the placemats under the cherry tree, Xiaolin packed up the plates and went to the kitchen. In order to entertain the distinguished guests, the chef, who was supposed to be off work, stayed on.
"Uncle Salmon, the customer said that the meal is enough, there is no need to order more, you can go and rest."
The chef with a salmon face yawned. The sun was already so high, it was already late at night for them, and he was so tired that he dozed off.
Finally I can get off work.
“This is the reward from the customer.”
There is a reward? Uncle Salmon was a little surprised, but found that the so-called reward was just a bottle of sand.
"Sand? What kind of reward is that?"
There was a "pop" sound in the air, and Tangbaba appeared in the kitchen. She grabbed the sand bottle from Xiaolin's hand.
"Grandma, this is for Uncle Salmon."
Although Yubaba is the owner of the ablution house, a bad-tempered witch, her words are final in the ablution house, and no one dares to contradict her. But the ablution house itself exists on the basis of a contract.
Even if Yubaba is extremely greedy, she cannot embezzle the rewards that customers clearly pay to her employees.
"What does this stupid salmon know? Look at the stupid things he said. What kind of reward is this? It's a waste of sand to give it."
Apart from Yubaba, no one really knows how to use these.
"This is for you." Yubaba casually took out a palm-sized gold nugget and threw it to Uncle Salmon. "I want to exchange it with you for this bottle of sand. Is that okay with me?"
No problem, of course no problem!
Uncle Salmon was so surprised that he couldn't believe that the greedy Yubaba would be willing to give such a big piece of gold. He couldn't get so much even if he worked for a whole year.
Xiaolin felt that Uncle Salmon must have suffered a loss, but since everyone involved agreed, she couldn't say anything.
What's more, as Yubaba said, neither she nor Uncle Salmon knew how to use the sand. In their hands, it was just ordinary sand.
Might as well change it for gold.
"Xiao Lin, you too, give me your hair tie and I'll give you two pieces of gold this big!"
"Ah?" Xiao Lin hesitated. Two pieces? It was indeed a great temptation.
Gold is very useful. The demons in the oil house all like gold, which can be exchanged for food and better care. If she gave the frog steward a piece of gold, the frog steward would definitely not ask her to do hard work anymore.
Yubaba couldn't wait any longer. Just like before, she reached out her hand without waiting for Kobayashi's consent, and couldn't wait to grab the hairband first.
Although I don’t know what the hairband is used for, since it is a gift from God, it must have unimaginable uses just like the fine sand.
However, this time, the moment her hand touched Kobayashi's hair, her whole body flew out as if hit by a truck.
All the magic powers and spells lost their effect at this moment. The strongest witch in the hidden land became an ordinary person at this moment. She was smashed heavily against the wall and slowly fell to the ground while hanging on the wall.
"Yubaba! Are you okay?"
"No, it's okay."
Of course she was hurt. Every bone in her body seemed to be broken. As a witch, she had never suffered such serious injuries in her life.
Sitting on the ground, Yubaba supported her waist. The magic returned and she stood up tremblingly with the help of magic. However, the injuries on her body could not be healed. The magic was ineffective against these injuries.
Even if there is something, you can't tell her. She knows it, this is blasphemy. The first time was just a warning.
Her greedy eyes were still fixed on Xiaolin's hair tie, but she didn't dare to move it casually. She already understood the function of the hair tie, but this "understanding" after personal experience made her prefer not to know.
The hairband clearly did not contain any magic or traces of curse, but it left her, a thousand-year-old witch, completely defenseless.
She understood that it was something woven by the gods themselves. No magic or special medium was needed. It was woven with the thoughts of the gods. The thoughts of protection.
God bless you.
"God bless you" and "God bless you" are the phrases that people often say for comfort, and this hairband really makes them come true.
Holy and evil protection, gods and ghosts are invulnerable
Even if Xiaolin is a spirit, with this hairband, neither the shrine maiden nor the monk can save her soul. Even if Xiaolin is a human, with this hairband, demons and ghosts can no longer harm her.
In this oil house, no one can hurt her. Even if she leaves the hidden place and steps into the human world, no extraordinary power can drive her away.
Whether to choose to become a monster or a human is up to her.
Please do not resent humans. Is this God's compensation to the "mountain dwellers" who were abandoned by their human parents?
Why am I not a mountain dweller? At this moment, Tangbaba thought with some regret. For such a divine object, she would be willing to exchange the entire "Oil House" for it.
Because its real value lies in the fact that fairies and ghosts will disappear because they are forgotten by humans, but with His protection, there is no need for an anchor point.
This is also the function of the "fine sand". The fine sand formed by human thoughts can be used as a temporary anchor. But the "fine sand" is a consumable, and this hair rope is not. God's grace is eternal.
When the three girls were on their way back, it was already afternoon.
"It's really great here, just like in a dream." Sakura swore that she would never be afraid of monsters again. "Every monster is so enthusiastic. It turns out that monsters are so friendly."
"Yes, the food is delicious, but it's a pity that I can't take pictures of the cherry blossoms with a camera." Chise felt very sorry about this. Seeing the beautiful scenery but not being able to take pictures was the biggest torture for her as a photography enthusiast.
“Now we can shoot.”
Hearing Ling say that, Zhishi took out her phone and turned on the camera function. Sure enough, the camera worked again. But now they were back to the original red gatehouse and the dark corridor, and there was nothing to take pictures of.
Looking back at the place I just walked past, there was only a pale light source, and no cherry blossoms were visible.
"Tomoyo, I heard that after you leave the hidden place, you can't look back, but you looked back." Sakura reminded.
"Huh? Is there such a saying?" Zhishi realized belatedly that he had violated some taboo.
It seems to be true.
"It doesn't matter. We can't look back because once we look back and see, our memories will not disappear. People will forget, but the memories will always be there." Lingye said.
If you look back, you will be marked, not by others, but by yourself. Then if you are not careful, you will go back and get lost in the hidden place again.
"If Tomoyo accidentally goes there again, just let Yubaba notify me to pick you up."
"I see." That's fine. Anyway, everyone in the oil house is so welcoming. It would be nice to go there again for vacation. Tomoyo was relieved. Of course, it would be better if the three of them were together next time.
Coming out of the long tunnel, Hachiken's car was already waiting there.
Ling also had a relaxing holiday, but Beidou was very busy.
Everyone in the TAC team is very busy.
Because the 'Silver Shark' vehicle-mounted gun is about to be developed and since V7 and V9 were previously destroyed by enemies, the TAC team's alert level has been raised to red during these critical days.
Red is a wartime state, which is considered a wartime state with the possibility of an attack by a super beast. The Black Panther on the ground and the Airo in the sky have people patrolling around the research and development base in shifts all day long.
"The Silver Shark has reached the final assembly stage and is expected to be completed tomorrow morning. This is the last night, and I hope everyone can be vigilant." Captain Long ordered, "Although it may be that we are just worrying too much and fighting wits and courage with an enemy that does not exist. There has been no sign of any enemy appearing in the past few days, but we must not be lucky."
"I understand, Captain. Since it's the last night, I think we don't need to take turns. Let's all be on alert. We can have a good rest after the dust settles tomorrow." Yamanaka suggested. He was on patrol during the day, and he should rest at night, as should Beidou.
Beidou didn't mind either.
"In that case, well, thank you for your hard work, Yamanaka and Beidou. After tonight, I'll give you a few days off."
With the Silver Shark, the TAC team's combat power will be greatly enhanced. Although it is also not a conventional weapon, and the ammunition is antimatter like the V9, there is only a limited stock, but fortunately the vehicle-mounted weapons are easy to use, and finally there are more options when facing the super beasts.
Chapter 245: The Flame Super Beast
The captain led Yoshimura to defend the research headquarters and set up an iron wall defense position. Tanks, rocket vehicles, and all other large weapons that could be mobilized were installed in front of the station.