Chapter 432

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Chapter 432: A Seeker

The golden liquid flowed but didn’t undergo any changes. It quietly hovered.

Everyone was curious about what it would turn into. Unexpectedly, it suddenly stopped moving.

Yagyū Simozi said, "Shouldn’t you guys do something?"

Hokusinn Kichyō looked at the Ming Country in the crowd, their eyes met and noticed his slight nod.

She guessed, "This should be some kind of blessing from the gods?"

Igarashi Shimizu immediately remembered some things that Sophia had seen before. She quickly approached, while pulling out the beloved dagger she had just recently put away, and aimed the blade at the golden liquid, fully submerging it.

The golden liquid seemed to seep into the blade. She retrieved the dagger, held it in the palm of her hand, and examined it closely. There was now an additional layer of golden arc on the edge of the blade, like a pattern, as if there was a vein running through the blade.

Igarashi Shimizu held the dagger with both hands and swung it once. There was a loud explosion in the air, producing a beautiful sound, resonating sharply. Faint golden particles expanded in the atmosphere.

She exclaimed, "So powerful…" This was the golden blessing that affected weapons.

Back then, His Majesty was able to conjure thousands of golden soldiers out of thin air, and this dagger in my hand is probably only a fraction of the power bestowed upon it back then.

After Igarashi, the other sword witches followed suit and bestowed the golden blessing upon their weapons on the spot.

When Saki Jingūji approached eagerly, the golden liquid was completely used up.

"Why?" Jingūji looked displeased at the shrine and said, "I danced the Kagura dance for so long, don’t I deserve some credit?"

…If you really want to dance, I’ll pretend to watch.

…Just like in math, if you can fool me, I can fool you too.

Yagyū Simozi glanced at Hokusinn Kichyō and asked, "Are you envious?"

Hokusinn Kichyō smiled gracefully and replied, "Not at all."

Having witnessed Bai Wei using gold and understanding many of his secrets, Yagyū Simozi now knew even more of the secrets that only Bai Wei and she shared. Compared to the sword witches who received blessings and were ecstatic, she felt like she was at the Palace of Versailles, no matter what she said.

The miracle ended, the Golden Power subsided, and the majestic deities withdrew, making the atmosphere relaxed.

Bai Wei chose to respond to Amaterasu, not only out of politeness, but also because he felt it was necessary to leave a reminder. The main deity of the shrine was right here… The unnamed shrine used to rely solely on their own efforts without any deity’s assistance, but now that he was here, he couldn’t let them continue to suffer losses. Besides, he didn’t need to do anything extra, just occasionally show his presence, like a nuclear weapon – you can choose not to use it, but you can’t be without it.

But this Amaterasu seems to be just a peacemaker.

After the others had gone far away, Hokusinn Xuanma explained, "Amaterasu is a dove in the Emperor’s family, advocating peaceful coexistence and opposing brutal expansion. If she doesn’t show up this time, the conflict will intensify… As a cabinet member, Asakura is not a radical, but he is also involved in formulating economic policies. Once he loses face, it will also reflect badly on the cabinet, and the hawks may become aggressive."

Bai Wei said, "It’s really complicated, but overall, she gives a good impression."

Hokusinn Xuanma sighed, "But other members of the Emperor’s family may not be like that."

Bai Wei asked, "This matter could be of great importance, why haven’t we seen the High Priest or Shrine funeral attendant?"

Hokusinn Xuanma nodded, "It is indeed strange, I didn’t see them when I arrived, and it’s already almost two o’clock now."

Bai Wei smiled and said, "Never mind, these matters don’t concern me. Whatever happens, I am just here for the New Year’s visit."

"That’s true, let’s not talk about these unpleasant things. Happy New Year."

"Hmm, Happy New Year, congratulations and best wishes for wealth, good luck, and good health." Bai Wei said a string of words, and then added, "What about the red envelope?"

Hokusinn Xuanma left in a huff.

"What were you talking about? My father ran away because of it." Hokusinn Kichyō approached with a smile, she deliberately leaned closer before lowering her voice and said, "I saw everything just now, don’t worry, I will keep it a secret."

Bai Wei shifted the subject, taking Sakurai Shiru’s small hand. "The first pilgrimage is over, it’s time to go back and rest."

Igarashi Shimizu chased after them, "Don’t forget the gift bags!"

Yagyū Simozi picked up the gift bag, "We can’t lose this, we have to hold onto it securely, or else it might fall and we’ll get hurt."

The sword witches smiled knowingly. Despite some things that happened, everything turned out well and they unexpectedly received New Year gifts from the gods. They thought about how they would show off their gold-embellished swords to those lazy folks still in bed when they returned. They were sure to be envious.

"Please teach us a lot in the coming year as well."

After exchanging greetings, they left the shrine and each went their own way back home.

Bai Wei, who was the first to leave, noticed many people lingering near the parking lot and saw a few people communicating in the cars.

"Brother, look inside the gift pack." The sister’s words brought him back to his senses.

Bai Wei nodded and then opened the box. It felt like opening a surprise box. Igarashi also said each big gift pack had slightly different contents.

The gift from the shrine was unlikely to be a simple combination of snacks and a few signs.

Opening the gift pack, the top layer of gifts was normal. There was a set of standard shrine maiden and priest robes provided by the shrine. There was also a hardcover biography, featuring the last emperor of Europa. It was similar to priests gifting a Bible and a cross. However, it was obvious that the shrine didn’t have their own religious book, so they had to temporarily buy this biography, which was a mix of history and fiction. There was also a ritual dagger without a blade, a box of top-grade wagashi sweets exclusive to the shrine, a bottle of filtered mountain spring water from Kamiji Village, which was likely processed through the golden tree, a bag of salt used for exorcism, and a more delicate handmade amulet.

Up until this point, everything seemed normal. Bai Wei continued to look down and then took out a wine bottle.

As soon as he saw the clearly handwritten label on top, his face turned dark… Local specialty chewable liquor.

There was more than one bottle.

The label on the first bottle read: Producer: Igarashi Shimizu.

It was too strange. After another glance, the second bottle’s producer was listed as: Yoshine Ise.

This is definitely not a surprise box, you did it on purpose!

…

In the parking lot, Kaoru Komiya opened the car door and walked into the carriage. Before she could sit down properly, she was pulled in by someone.

The bodyguards ignored Amaterasu’s rudeness and deliberately looked away.

"What’s the situation?" the other person inside the car asked.

"I have made my appearance, what else can I do?" Kaoru Komiya couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the nervous look on her face, "If you invite me to appear, trust me a bit and say a few good words to me, it’s not difficult."

"Thank you, you’ve done me a favor." She sighed with relief.

"What’s the trouble? Do we still need to talk about these?" Kaoru Komiya sighed softly, "Why don’t you go by yourself?"

"I am not able to."

"Even though we changed into our kimonos, it’s a shame that no one will see us." Amaterasu tugged on her sleeve. "Shall we visit somewhere else later?"

"Okay."

"Alright then, it’s settled." Amaterasu remembered something just now. "By the way, I noticed that nothing would have happened even if I didn’t go. Since the deities are present, everything would stay calm."

"But just in case, if the shrine becomes chaotic, he will definitely get involved. Did you notice him just now?"

"Oh, you always bring up Mr. White with just a few words." Amaterasu sighed in annoyance and helplessness. She poked her friend’s forehead. "There’s an extraordinary deity appearing in the shrine, can’t you pay more attention to these things?"

"That’s not something I should worry about. Besides, since we’re on good terms with the shrine, there shouldn’t be any problems. Does he give you a bad feeling?"

"He’s very ancient and mysterious, not someone I can interact with at my level. I hope we can coexist peacefully." Amaterasu sighed softly. "Yingzhou is like a floating leaf, yet this small shrine accommodates so many gods and buddhas. I feel like I’m walking on thin ice every day and night, struggling to keep my family stable. And now, someone wants to share the seat with them. They have no fear, but I’m trembling for them."

"Don’t worry, even if the sky falls, there’s still the shogun."

"…" Amaterasu stared at her friend in speechless disbelief. "Is it appropriate to say that in front of me?"

"So, have you finished your work?" she clumsily changed the topic.

"I just came to make an appearance, so the goal is achieved. By avoiding funeral attendant at the shrine, it proves that they have no intention of participating."

"But there are still people coming to the cabinet, and they are not few."

"So they were all left out, they came to visit before the first shrine visit. It’s easy to guess what they were thinking. After all, the shrine’s position is supreme, especially with that golden tree. After tonight, its position will be completely unshakable. It’s better for me to build good relationships earlier. I can’t tolerate them bringing political struggles here." Kaoru Komiya seemed to say to herself, "The biggest unknown still lies in the Shogunate’s sword hunt, hmm…"

The good friend immediately said, "Don’t go after Mr. Bai."

"I won’t, but I’m afraid Mr. Bai will come looking for me. Once someone like him ignites, they won’t easily be extinguished." Amaterasu emphasized, "You seem to have taken quite an impressive and challenging person, Wagaizuma."

"I’ll take that as a compliment to him."

"But he knows so many beautiful girls. Do you really want to continue being reserved?" Xunzi suddenly made a countermove.

Hatsurai Wagaizuma refuted seriously and confidently, "Mr. Bai and I are both people with ambitions, people who have risen above low-level interests. I pursue music, and based on what I know about him, he is not someone who easily compromises with the status quo. No matter how many beautiful girls there are, they won’t easily sway him."

"What exactly?"

"He said he wants to marry eight siblings as his wife."

"Does that count as having ambition?"

"Why not? The oldest eight siblings in Yingzhou are the Eight-Headed Snake."