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She stood in front of the temple and looked at the square in the distance. The temple was located on a higher ground. Although there were many people gathered in the square, she could still clearly see the entire lion dance from here.
It’s just a little far, fortunately Ling is not nearsighted.
It is called a lion dance team, but in fact there is only one person dancing the lion. He is wearing a lion headgear and his face cannot be seen clearly. There is another person next to him with a sweat towel wrapped on his head and a small bronze drum on his back, beating out the rhythm.
Dong Dong Qiang, Dong Dong Qiang!
The ceremony ended and people began to flow in and out of the hall.
The pilgrims would bow respectfully when passing by Lingye. From her initial discomfort, she can now respond calmly.
"There is no such arrangement, but this is also very good."
The residents' spontaneous activities took place in the square in front of the shrine. This is how it should feel.
The gods sit high in the temple, and outside the temple is the hustle and bustle of the market. There is no contradiction between the two. This is the purpose of Shintoism, to worship the gods and pray for the blessings of all people.
Dongdongqiang, Dongdongqiang! The sound of the small bronze drum can be heard from far away.
"That's my dad, the one who dances the lion dance." The speaker was a little boy about ten years old.
Although he usually did not think that his father's lion dancing was a noble profession, like juggling, but everyone's gaze at this moment made him feel proud.
Because the boy was asking for amulet, he said this in front of the amulet pavilion.
After hearing this, Chiyo exclaimed in praise, "It's amazing."
The boy was even more proud of himself after being praised by a cute girl of the same age. Should he also learn lion dance?
After dancing the Kagura dance at the Spring Festival, Lingye's main work for the day was completed. She was not like Kuze, who needed to take care of a festival from beginning to end.
Even if she were asked to do it, she wouldn't do it. Hyuga Miyaji didn't have such a luxury.
She can arrange the rest of the time as she pleases.
That was originally the case, but Ling also met an unexpected visitor.
"I apologize for disturbing you and being so rude."
The translation was like this, but the woman who was speaking actually used an older way of speaking. This reminded Ling of Kuze Hanane when they first met.
The woman kneeling in formal attire opposite her was also wearing a shrine maiden's attire.
And if her limited knowledge of Shinto was correct, the other party's Chihaya pattern was unusual, and he should be a Saizu like Kuze.
"Excuse me, are you..."
"I am sorry for not meeting you. I am a shrine maiden from the Sengen Shrine. My name is Shimazu."
She really couldn't get used to this kind of classical Chinese accent. Ling also confirmed it once again.
But perhaps this is one of the practices of a shrine maiden.
The mystery of the gods traces back to the past, and the words and phrases used by the witches who convey the oracles must naturally be ancient.
Like Jiuze, being able to speak classical Chinese words without repetition for five or ten minutes without stopping, so that everyone can hear them clearly, and know the individual words but cannot understand them when put together, that is God's will.
It is the basic accomplishment of a shrine maiden.
You can't just convey God's will like I did and just say "This lake is beautiful", right?
By the way, after today's Kagura dance, she did not convey God's will, and Hyuga priest did not mention it either.
Maybe he was frightened by her straightforward "God's will" last time and has become desperate.
The Shimazu shrine maiden was still talking, and Ling tried hard to focus her wandering thoughts.
Spring afternoons always make people feel sleepy.
"It was Kuze Sai-sama who introduced me..."
"Kuse?" The familiar name perked Ling up.
Shimazu was stunned and realized that the girl opposite him had been distracted and had not listened to her at all.
However, Shimazu was not angry. Instead, he realized that the tone of his voice was wrong and he was used to acting like a "shaman" in the shrine.
"Sorry, what I just said doesn't count. I'm Shimazu Sakiko, a shrine maiden from Sengen Shrine."
"Some strange things happened in our Sengen Shrine the other day. I heard that Izumo Taisha had helped the TAC team subdue demons, so I went to ask Kuze Saizu, and she asked me to ask you."
Shimazu used honorifics in his last words, because Kuze also used honorifics when referring to Reiya.
Is there really a witch in this world who can exorcise demons?
Shimazu had not been able to confirm it before, but Kuze Saizu told her that such a shrine maiden existed.
Right in front of her now.
Chapter 260 The Stolen Artifact
Shimazu came to visit because their shrine was robbed.
What was stolen was not money, but a "divine weapon", the legendary sword used by the god Asama to exorcise demons.
The title of "sacred artifact" makes people feel noble, but in fact it is just a cultural relic that has been enshrined in the hall for a long time.
It is called a "rode sword", but it is not in the shape of a sword, but more like a wheel with a sharp blade, similar to the crescent moon wheel in cold weapons, and also like a big sun behind the Buddha. It is more like a ritual item than a weapon.
It is not made of metal, but carved from stone. Otherwise, it would have rusted and decayed over the long years. Only stone can survive for hundreds or even thousands of years without dying.
It is impossible to verify how old it is, but it may be as old as the history of Sengen Shrine itself. It is naturally a very valuable cultural relic.
Shimazu was worried because the item was a shrine heirloom, and Fujinomiya was also worried, but because he was worried about losing something valuable.
If it was just a theft, of course the police should be called in. But it wasn't just the Sengen Shrine that was stolen yesterday.
On the same day, Mishima Taisha Shrine and Izu Shrine both lost their respective offerings, including the national treasure-level cultural relic Heart Sutra written by Minamoto no Yoriie, which was carefully preserved in the storeroom of Mishima Taisha Shrine.
Even the Kunoyama Toshogu Shrine, which was dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, was stolen.
A shrine robber appears?
But what Shimazu was thinking about was the divine body that was cleared away by the palace priest the day before, and she also expressed this doubt.
"So, Shimazu Miko, you think it was that Fire God Kaima who stole the shrine's sacred artifact?"
"Although I know that this world should really believe in science, including most of us clergymen, we don't actually believe in gods. As the saying goes, 'God is in the human heart, not in the human world', but I always feel that gods should really exist. We disposed of the divine body at will, which was disrespectful to the gods, so we were punished by the gods."
Shimazu also thought that what he said was a bit ridiculous, but the shrine maiden in front of him was the one who had "real magical powers" in the words of Kuze Saizu of Izumo Taisha, and she even helped to exorcise evil spirits in a battle between the TAC team and the super beasts.
She felt that the other party might be able to understand her.
I didn't realize the anxiety I felt when facing the falling rocks at that time. Now when I think back, I always feel that the fear was unreasonable, as if the negative emotions in my heart were aroused for no reason.
She didn't know what magic power was, and of course she had no way of telling whether others really had magic power, but at this moment, kneeling in front of the Oshima priestess, she did feel a sense of security.
Ling also made a cup of tea. Although according to the rules, a formal tea ceremony should be used for such an occasion.
However, Ling did not stick to these things. She just soaked the petals in boiling water, let them cool for a few minutes, and handed them to the other party when she felt the temperature was acceptable.
Shimazu took it somewhat stiffly.
It was a little unbelievable. No matter in age or seniority in Shinto, she was the older and more experienced one. But when she was face to face with Lingye, she was completely unaware of this.
This feeling was not repulsive, but rather relaxing. It was not a relaxed expression, in which she was more reserved than when facing her own palace officials, but a relaxed feeling from the bottom of her heart, with a sense of reliance. So much so that some of the words hidden in her heart came out.
"The chief priest of our shrine didn't believe in gods and demons, so he asked the police to handle it. After the police were notified, Inspector Uesugi of the Shizuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters led a team to the scene, but they found no clues. After that, they received reports from other shrines, so they left in a hurry."
Hyuga Miyaji came with a tray of fruit.
As soon as the two began to talk, the Hyuga priest who was accompanying them left in a hurry. It can be imagined that he went to check whether there was anything wrong with the offerings in his own shrine. In a shrine with hundreds of years of history, everyone would have one or two "sacred artifacts".
Now he came back with a relaxed look on his face, and even had the leisure to bring some fruits. The offerings must be there, nothing stolen.
If the disaster has not befallen you, you can feel at ease and sympathize with others.
"Shimazu Miko, are you here to ask us to recover the stolen artifact?"
"Get it back?" Shimazu was stunned for a moment, and even forgot to drink the cup he was holding. "No, no, that's too dangerous! I heard that you, Oshima Miko, are a true Miko of the gods, so I want you to judge whether it is really the work of the devil."
Whether it was a demon or an ordinary thief, it was very dangerous. Shimazu would certainly not ask for such a dangerous thing. She just wanted to resolve the doubts in her heart.
At the foot of Yuefeng Mountain, a father and son were walking down the mountain.
"Shintaka, how was Dad's performance today?" The middle-aged man was holding a lion head in his hand. He was the one who had danced the lion before.
Xintai gave a thumbs up.
In the past, he always thought it was unreasonable to watch his father playing with the lion head at home all day long. But today's lion dance gave him a different and wonderful feeling.
The crowd was bustling, and everyone looked at my father. He attracted everyone's attention. Is lion dancing so majestic?
Shinta's praise made his father even more proud. His son always hated the lion's head in the past, saying it looked like a monster. To be honest, the lion's mask is a bit scary. It's dark and looks a bit like Prajna, but all things that drive away evil are like this. This is the first time someone has praised his lion dance.
At this time, the sound of a fire truck was heard at the foot of the mountain.
"Another fire? How many times has this happened today?"
Shinta couldn't explain it, but he felt like there had been a fire all day and the fire truck sirens never stopped.
At the same time, the TAC team also received a report of theft at the shrine.
"Why, are you stealing something from our TAC team again?" Konno found it a little unbelievable. "Last time, a panda was lost. What kind of 'artifact' is this time? It can't be aliens again? They came all the way to Earth just to steal antiques from the shrine?"
I always feel that the TAC team has been a bit off topic recently.
"Our TAC team is almost becoming a police station."
After all, the previous panda involved sensitive diplomacy, so regardless of whether there were aliens behind it or not, the TAC team intervened immediately.
But this time it was just some old antiques in the shrine, and no one took it seriously. Instead of paying attention to this, it is better to pay attention to the fires everywhere in Tokyo today.
Although the investigation results showed that the fires were accidental, there seemed to be something wrong with such a large number of fires.
At this time, the TAC team's phone rang again.
Noriko answered the phone, said a few words and hung up quickly.
"It seems that we have to take care of this shrine theft."
"What's wrong?" Captain Long didn't want to pay attention to it at first. Whether it was the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department or the Shizuoka Police Headquarters, this kind of thing was their responsibility.
He thought the same as Konno, how could aliens and super beasts steal things from the shrine? It was probably just a human crime.
But Noriko's tone at this time made him realize that something was unusual.
"Captain, the Chief Cabinet Secretary called in person. In addition to the previous stolen items at Sengen Taisha, Mishima Taisha, and Izu Shrine, the 'sacred artifact' of Ise Jingu Shrine was also stolen just now. The Cabinet hopes that our TAC team can assist the Metropolitan Police Department and retrieve the sacred artifact as quickly as possible."