Chapter 427

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Chapter 427: Ttk!

Hokusinn Kichyō purposely waited here.

She had made up her mind and thought it was unlikely to be rejected by Bai Wei.

Bai Wei looked at the bright ‘Living God’ sign above her head with a subtle expression. You are already a Living God yourself, do you still need to go to the shrine to seek blessings?

Have you never heard of Reimu Hakurei going to the Hakurei Shrine to draw lots? That’s not drawing lots, it’s causing trouble. Of course… as long as you pay, Reimu Hakurei wouldn’t mind this small matter. Embarrassment isn’t as important as the cost of the visit.

Yagyū Simozi looked up and down at Hokusinn Kichyō, who was wearing a luxurious kimono, and asked, "Shouldn’t you go for a New Year’s visit with your own family? Did you abandon your father like this?"

"Father has already gone ahead to that place. A New Year’s visit is also necessary social activity for him," Hokusinn Kichyō replied gracefully.

Bai Wei casually asked, "Which shrine?"

There are many local shrines in Edo. Because there are too many people visiting for New Year, the police have to stay up late to maintain security and prevent congestion and stampedes.

Bai Wei has never liked crowded places. If there are too many people at a shrine or temple, he would have to wait in a long queue.

"It’s not a shrine, it’s a special kind of shrine called a ‘shrine’," Hokusinn Kichyō replied.

"Is the shrine also open for visits?"

Hokusinn Kichyō smiled and said, "Visiting the shrine requires connections. We can’t have those important people squeezing with ordinary people at regular shrines. The status of the shrine is unquestionable. Even the top officials of the Police Department have to pay their respects and show their face, saying some nice words."

Yagyū Simozi raised an eyebrow and said, "It’s better to go to a regular shrine."

"Either way," Bai Wei intentionally yawned to show he was tired, both physically and mentally, "let’s go visit first."

Yagyū Simozi compromised and sat in the back seat, while Hokusinn Kichyō smiled knowingly, clearly intending for Bai Wei to sit in the middle.

Bai Wei picked up Sakurai Shiru and handed her into the car, then gracefully maneuvered past Hokusinn Kichyō before she could block him, and took the seat next to the driver.

Kichyō felt sad, but she elegantly pushed Bai Wei into the car and was sorry they couldn’t sit together in the back seat.

The vehicle started and the old driver’s driving skills were very steady.

Hokusinn Kichyō could only see the side of Bai Wei’s face, so she focused her attention on Yagyū Simozi and Sakurai Shiru. She looked closely at Sakurai Shiru’s little face and noticed that her cheeks were turning red.

"So pretty," she couldn’t help but reach out her hand to touch the girl’s cheeks.

Yagyū Simozi extended her hand and pushed away Hokusinn Kichyō’s right palm. "You can look, but don’t touch. This is my brother’s makeup."

Hokusinn Kichyō blinked, "Mr. Bai knows how to do makeup?"

"He does," Bai Wei answered concisely, then felt his response was too bland and added, "He’s really good at it."

"Oh?" Hokusinn Kichyō was curious.

"If you want to learn, I can teach you. Makeup is just a journey from beginner to advanced."

"Burial?"

"The person who does makeup for the deceased is also called an embalmer," Bai Wei continued, "It’s more challenging to do makeup for the deceased than for the living, but there are advantages too, basically no negative reviews."

Hokusinn Kichyō was amused, "Mr. White is truly talented."

Bai Wei nodded, "If I can’t support myself in the future, I’ll find a part-time job at the funeral home."

Hokusinn Kichyō looked at Sakurai Shiru and said, "Why don’t you consider becoming a professional makeup artist?"

"That won’t do," Bai Wei said calmly, "Doing makeup for the deceased is a sign of respect, but it’s a different story when it comes to the living. I only do makeup for those I like and admire, not for others."

As these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the car became somewhat romantic. Yagyū Simozi, who was sitting dignifiedly, couldn’t help but smile. She leaned back in the backseat of the car, took a deep breath, and kept her gaze fixed on Hokusinn Kichyō. Her eyes seemed to say, "Miss, I have already outshined you by far."

Sakurai Shiru also blushed. She was already fourteen this year, entering the sentimental stage of adolescence.

Hokusinn Kichyō asked directly, "And what about me? Can I?"

Throw a fast ball directly.

Bai Wei looked at her serious expression through the rearview mirror and said, "I admire you."

"Well…" Hokusinn Kichyō’s eyes lit up.

"But you can’t be my sister at your age," Bai Wei said. "Let’s forget about it."

Upon hearing these words, Hokusinn Kichyō immediately wanted to retort, but Yagyū Simozi quickly covered her mouth.

The two girls were both friends and rivals, having clashed countless times. Even a strand of hair could tell that Hokusinn Kichyō was about to blurt out something like "I can’t be your sister, but I can be your wife" or "I can also change my identity and join this family." Yagyū Simozi decisively interrupted her.

Half an hour later, the vehicle arrived at the shrine.

The shrine also housed a Shinto temple, and many important people would come here for New Year’s prayers, paying attention to the proper etiquette.

However, inside the shrine, in the past, there were no specific deities worshipped, only a small shrine set up. The effect was definitely not as impressive as the Inari Taisha Shrine.

Originally, the New Year’s visit was just a ritual, and it didn’t have any purpose other than wishing for good luck.

After Bai Wei and the others arrived, they found that there were many people at the shrine, and they could easily spot the influential class of Edo.

Yingzhou is essentially a feudal system, where scholars, nobles, capitalists, and parliamentarians, among others, are all mixed up.

As soon as Bai Wei arrived at the shrine, a shrine maiden who was responsible for finding him noticed him, and her eyes lit up as she hurried over.

Igarashi Shimizu, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, said, "Looks like I won the bet. I bet with others that Mr. Bai Wei would definitely come here to visit."

The sword witches don’t have kimono, but they don’t wear kimono either. If they want to visit the shrine for New Year’s, they wouldn’t choose the evening of that day, but rather noon on the first day of the new year.

Bai Wei asked, "Are the others busy?"

"Hmm, everyone is following the cleaning schedule. Today is my turn, so I’m quite lucky. Ise is still recovering from an injury, so she’s staying in the house and resting. She’ll go to the shrine the next day. Jingūji performed Kagura dance for half the night and is resting backstage now."

While Igarashi Shimizu was speaking, she also noticed the three people behind Bai Wei.

She was talking, then suddenly got stuck.

"They are…"

"Let me introduce them," Bai Wei counted, "This is Hokusinn Kichyō, Hokusinn’s daughter; this is Yagyū Simozi, my sister; this is Sakurai Shiru, also my sister… I already told you about them."

Igarashi Shimizu nodded, "Mr. Bai mentioned that these two, especially Hokusinn and Yagyū, each have special skills and impressive determination…"

Bai Wei choked.

Hokusinn Kichyō："？"

Why does this introduction sound inappropriate?

Igarashi Shimizu looked at the three beautiful girls in exquisite makeup, kimono and furisode. Then, she couldn’t help but look down at her own miko outfit and remembered that she didn’t bother to do her hair or makeup.

Oh no…

She thought of a word, ‘defeated’, completely outclassed.

Being defeated on the first encounter, how can she hold her head up afterwards?

Igarashi Shimizu thought that by dressing up nicely, she could regain some points. However, without makeup, she barely passed with a score of eighty. It was far from enough to compete with this group of experts who scored over ninety-five. It may be an exaggeration to say that she felt inferior, but deep down, she really wanted to press the reset button and give herself a makeup that scored ninety.

No, it’s not possible… absolutely not possible.

Even though she lost, she couldn’t let her shrine be defeated.

Lady funeral attendant said that Mr. White would come to the shrine to teach, and whether we can succeed or not depends solely on our own abilities.

With such talented people in our shrine, we can’t let these three girls defeat us. I need to quickly inform the others to make themselves look more presentable!

The flames of nameless anger and desire to fight started to burn. Everyone has a desire to look beautiful, and the shrinesword witch is unwilling to lose to Bai Wei’s family and friends.

Her face remained unchanged, she just smiled and led the people inside.

When a sword witch passed by, she gave her a signal and whispered something in her ear.

"Mr. Bai is here, make sure the girls dress up nicely to welcome him… Remember, put on light makeup!"

Another sword witch received the instructions and immediately ran to the backstage.

This sentence didn’t escape Bai Wei’s ears. He felt that something was not right. This is a shrine, not some strange place.

He turned around and glanced at the two stunning girls, walking with their heads held high. He immediately understood the reason.

The emperor thought to himself, "Oh no, this has nothing to do with me."

Similar situations had occurred before in the Black Rose Order. When female witch spies who were on duty outside came back to report, they were covered in dirt and smelled like gunpowder. They looked like they had just crawled out of a dark cave. At that moment, they saw some witches wearing noble costumes, nodding and savoring macarons. Their mindset exploded. They had endured hardships outside without a word of complaint, but when they came back and saw this scene, they couldn’t help but shout, "I can’t stand this injustice!"

Finally, Bai Wei decided on another rule. At least half an hour should be reserved for personal grooming before the meeting, including bathing, changing clothes, and putting on makeup.

This temporarily eased the tension. If even members of the same organization were like this, it would be even more so if they were on opposing sides.

The battlefield for women doesn’t smell of gunpowder, but is accompanied by the scent of perfume.