Chapter 428

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Chapter 428: All Signs Point to Success

Enter the shrine and begin to worship.

There are very few people who come to worship seriously. Most come to join in the fun or offer a casual greeting. The shrine has set aside a large area for these people to socialize and chat.

Bai Wei saw Hokusinn Xuanma talking with someone from afar on the road. After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to disturb them.

Since they were inside the shrine, Bai Wei threw coins into the offering box, folded his hands, and prayed. At first, he had no intention of making a wish, but decided, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” and wished for “smooth sailing this year and a more relaxed life.”

As he lowered his hands, he noticed that the other three girls were prayerfully closing their eyes. Bai Wei chuckled. The gods enshrined in the shrine were both emperors and himself.

Just as he was thinking this, he actually heard the wishes being made.

“I hope everyone in my family is healthy and safe.”

This was Sakurai Shiru’s wish.

“I hope to win the championship in the royal martial arts competition and restore the glory of the Yagyū family.”

This was Yagyū Simozi’s wish.

“I hope to have a successful relationship with the person I like, be pushed forward by them, get married, have twins, and then…”

This was Hokusinn Kichyō’s wish. It was a bit long, around a hundred words. It seemed she had prepared her speech in advance.

Bai Wei’s mouth twitched. He was standing on the altar, but the emperors were not responsible for these matters. If she wanted a successful marriage, she should pray to the god of matchmaking.

He chose to pretend he didn’t hear.

After the worship, Bai Wei went to the spot where the fortune-telling lots were being held. He picked up the tube, shook it, and drew the twenty-first lot.

“Can you interpret the lot for me?” Bai Wei asked. “Twenty-first.”

“Mr. Bai, please wait a moment.” The shrine maiden inside quickly slid her finger along the scroll, and the air was filled with the scent of perfume. Soon, she turned around, found the paper with the twenty-first lot, and handed it over.

Bai Wei took the paper and glanced at the sword witch. She hadn’t changed much, though she seemed more delicate, though the dim evening light made it difficult to tell.

He decided not to expose her and said, “Happy New Year!”

He opened the paper and quickly scanned it. There was a bold ‘Xiong’ character written on it.

Waiting for the wind to board the boat: Moonlight dim and hazy;

Wanting to avoid the fragrant wheel;

Mountains towering thousands upon thousands.

“Do you need an interpretation?” the sword witch asked. “It’s very accurate, and Mr. Bai, your interpretation is free.”

Bai Wei turned the slip of paper around and said, “Solve it.”

The witch lowered her head and looked at it. Her expression froze—angry!

She immediately tochanged her words, “Not effective!”

Bai Wei shook the slip of paper again, glancing at the number. “Fifty-nine.”

The witch took out another slip of paper and said, “This one should be more accurate…”

Bai Wei opened it and looked.

Worries and troubles lead to lost loyalty; a stick of incense can clear the sky.

Though there may be small obstacles, restful sleep brings a long life… angry.

The witch took a deep breath and said, “This one belongs to the situation where it’s not very accurate.”

Bai Wei smiled and said, “Quite accurate, indeed.”

The priestess sighed in frustration. “Don’t take it seriously, Mr. Bai.”

Bai Wei waved his hand dismissively. He wasn’t concerned about it. The fortune-telling wasn’t about the future; it was about the past. This was the emperor’s shrine, and also Bai Wei’s own shrine. When he drew a fortune, it was about himself. He knew his own matters clearly, so how could it be inaccurate?

The twenty-first lot corresponded to Yagyū Yukichiyo’s past life, which was unfortunate. The fifty-ninth lot referred to the life where he was executed by the female emperor—also unfortunate.

However, these two consecutive unfortunate fortunes carried a strong aura of killing intent, which frightened the young girls in the shrine.

Seeing their nervousness, Bai Wei casually changed the topic. “Your eyeliner is smudged.”

The girl opened her makeup mirror and realized she had drawn one eye bigger than the other. She blushed with embarrassment.

When she was still worrying, she saw Bai Wei pick up an eyeliner pencil and some powder from the makeup box. He gently held her chin with one hand and said, “Don’t move.”

The girl became nervous, not daring to move or even blink.

Bai Wei skillfully drew the eyeliner, made simple corrections, added a few more touches, and then picked up his lipstick. He drew a pattern below the corner of her eye to balance the imbalances and added a unique beauty to her delicate face.

“Done.” Bai Wei let go of his hand. His makeup skills were sharp, and since she was his follower, painting on her face was like painting on paper.

“Oh…” The young girl, under twenty years old, felt disoriented. Her light makeup couldn’t hide her blush that reached her ears, filled with shyness.

Bai Wei took the signed paper and hung it on a branch standing near the shrine. The good can be taken away, but the bad must be left behind. This is the rule of drawing lots.

The young sword witch stood behind the counter, watching Bai Wei as he walked away. Her gaze was somewhat infatuated.

Until a nearby shrine maiden came over and tapped the table. “Snap out of it. What are you looking at?”

“Nothing, senior.” She lowered her head, pretending to organize something. She didn’t plan to brag about this matter.

“Wait, lift your face up.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Your makeup…”

“Huh? Is it very strange?” She quickly opened the mirror to take a look. In the next moment, she was shocked by her reflection. Her lips were coated with lip balm, like jelly. Her eyelashes were neatly curled. The thick application of foundation had originally made her skin look unnaturally pale, but now it had turned into a healthy, milky white. It looked as though her skin was naturally fair, soft, and tender, like baby skin. The most special thing was the eyeliner on the left side—it was drawn with shallow lines, and when looked at closely, it seemed to emit a faint golden color. It was as if a fluttering butterfly perched at the corner of her eye with every blink.

She had never seen such exquisite makeup before, nor had she done it herself.

“You didn’t do this yourself, did you?”

“No, it was Mr. Bai…”

“What?!”

“!” The little girl realized she had let slip and quickly covered her mouth.

Another sword witch raised her eyebrows and then said softly, “Stay behind tonight to clean up the mess. You betrayed the sisters of the shrine and the common people.”

“Don’t!”

…

After a little unnoticed incident, Bai Wei returned to Sakurai Shiru’s side with Yagyū Simozi to find Saki Jingūji. They wanted to greet her for the New Year, as she was said to be resting backstage.

This wasn’t Bai Wei’s first visit to the shrine. Once he understood the layout, he walked in. The duty priest saw him and greeted him with a smile, wishing him a happy new year but not stopping him.

He made his way to the lounge, changing room, and makeup room. He thought there was only one person inside, so he pushed the door open. But as soon as he cracked it open, he realized something was off and immediately closed it.

Inside, over ten witches were applying makeup in front of mirrors.

“What’s going on, brother?” Simozi asked curiously.

“Just wait,” Bai Wei said. “It’s not a good time to go in right now.”

To prevent the perfume scent from spreading further, Bai Wei had a clever idea. He sent a message to Jingūji, activating her Fairy Principle temporarily through their bond, giving her a sixth sense of blessings, as if they had come straight from the heart.

In less than a minute, Saki Jingūji came out of the lounge. She wasn’t even wearing shoes, just a very fancy priestess outfit… There were different levels of priestess outfits. The red and white ones, the blue and white ones, and the highest level—pure white, with feathers on the outer layer and a golden crown on her head. It resembled the attire Mitsuha wore when she chewed the kuchikamizake in Your Name.

When Yagyū Simozi saw Bai Wei, she rushed towards him, crying and saying, “I missed you so much!” She kept glancing at Hokusinn and Yagyū, hoping to find an opportunity to break through their defenses and offer Bai Wei a delicious meal of meat, eggs, onions, and chicken.

Saki Jingūji performed the Kagura dance for a long time, saying she was tired, but Bai Wei didn’t feel a thing. This proved that she had no reverence for the gods at all. If she had embraced the golden faith, she would have surely received the blessings of gold. Since the golden tree had been planted and the network connected, her long Kagura dance should have had a reaction. This only proved that she didn’t truly mean it.

Bai Wei said, “Fine,” but deep down, he thought it was for the best. It was good that Jingūji had no belief, as it allowed her to maintain an objective, impartial attitude toward all things.

When Jingūji appeared, the girls wanted to say something, so Bai Wei let them speak freely. He felt that a scene of competing and showing off one’s beauty was not something he needed to witness.

He turned back to the hall, and while waiting, Hokusinn Xuanma approached him after finishing his conversation.

“Do you have a moment?” he asked.

Bai Wei nodded and immediately followed Hokusinn Xuanma. The two of them walked outside the venue to find a quiet place.

Bai Wei got straight to the point. “I hope that on the first day of the New Year, you won’t be talking about anything unlucky.”

Hokusinn Xuanma slowly said, “Unfortunately, it’s not good news… It’s related to a royal martial arts competition.”

Bai Wei said seriously, “Don’t be long-winded.”