I'm a thankful fox in Tokyo

Chapter 247 Festival
Grandma Tomoko, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, saw through the window that two people were sitting not far away, each carrying a small stool, as if watching the sunrise. She just looked at their backs, and for a moment she felt that the corner that had been missing in her heart for decades seemed to be barely filled up.

If Qingsi and Ying could see this scene in the underworld, they would rest in peace.

The old lady muttered to herself in a low voice, and she didn't seem to feel sad, or maybe she had shed all her tears that year.

She neatly put the tempura fried shrimp that Higashino Yu liked into the wok. The scorching oil quickly fried the batter until golden brown. Then she began to peel the yam that Yuko liked. However, as she was peeling, the knife stopped and she stared blankly at the snow-white yam.

In the world of blues, the two figures snuggling together became so familiar. The morning light suddenly came from a very far distance in front of us, making the world in front of us blurry.

"Qingsi, my child"

After the sun rose, Dong Ye Yu stopped gathering and refining the purple energy, and used it to cleanse his soul as usual. His Yin Spirit came a little closer to the goal of pure Yang, and in a moment he ended today's morning practice.

Opening his eyes, he saw Yu Zi facing the morning sun, still immersed in the feeling of her soul being baptized by the purple air. Her eyes were first tightly furrowed, then gradually relaxed, her thin cherry-colored lips glowing with a pink luster in the golden morning sun.

The first time I successfully refined purple energy, I felt truly magical, as if my body, which had been accustomed to being in the dark and cold, suddenly came into contact with the warm sunshine.

After a while, she slowly opened her eyes, and suddenly felt the sunlight. She squinted her eyes again and subconsciously blocked them with her hands.

Dong Yeyu asked with a smile: "How do you feel?"

"Hmm..." Miko pondered, gradually getting used to the sunlight. She first carefully recalled her feelings just now, and replied softly: "My body has become lighter, and my spirit seems to be much better, um..."

Having said this, she stood up, supported by Dong Yeyu's shoulders. Her dreamy and lively amber eyes were filled with the golden glow of the morning light. She looked into the distance and subconsciously took a deep breath.

"It feels like the world has become more colorful and brighter, and warmer, like sleeping in a kotatsu in winter."

"Remember this feeling. Get up early every morning like this to catch those rays of light. Don't sleep in."

Dong Yeyu earnestly reminded that the most important thing in cultivation is talent, and the second most important thing is perseverance and persistence.

Miko looked at the gradually resurrecting Tokyo under Ayase Sakashita, and asked softly as if in a dream: "Will Tono Nissan accompany me like today?"

"Is this it?"

Higashino Yu said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Miko, I probably can't be here every day. I still have a lot to do this summer. I have to go to Taoxiang to do some things, and then come back to review for the final exams. After that, I will go to Fukuoka to participate in the Yulongqi Kendo Tournament. After the competition, I won't be able to rest for a few days because I have to go on a school trip and training camp."

Dongye Yu counted on his fingers the things he was going to do in the upcoming summer vacation.

First of all, we must go to Yulongqi, not for the so-called honor, but to fulfill Shifan’s wish. After the competition, we will take Shifan to Fuchiyama Castle and try to let him rest without regrets.

Of course, another reason is to see if, after repaying the teacher's kindness in teaching, he can get a magic weapon that can be used to fight against the monsters in Dajiang Mountain.

Fa Tian Xiang Di is still in the primary stage now, and his body's ability to withstand blows is slightly stronger than before. If it were to transform into its original form, it would be harder, but it is far from being indestructible.

After all, he had only been practicing for a month. If he wanted to make rapid progress in this kind of body-building magic, he had to practice it in a special environment. If he simply used magic power and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine his body, that would be a very slow and steady approach.

Although it is more solid and stable than quick learning, the speed of forming combat effectiveness is extremely slow.

The visualization of the Dharma image is similar, with some progress, but it is still a ball of hazy fairy light. It can avoid spells, but it is not immune to all spells.

With his current level, he might be able to defeat the leader-level demons in Oeyama, but if he faced the Four Demon Kings or even a big demon like Shuten Douji who had been famous in the island country for thousands of years, he would probably have to flee in embarrassment.

Seeing that there will be no breakthrough progress in cultivation and Taoism in a short period of time, we can only rely on magic weapons.

Miko nodded, as if she was just asking casually, with no disappointment on her face. After a moment of contemplation, she continued, "In late August, the shrine will hold the Yomiuri Festival and the Hongu Festival. They are regular festivals with fireworks, beautiful lanterns, and many snacks. It's very lively."

Higashino Yu gets PTSD when he hears about fireworks displays. When he was a kid, he took the kids from the orphanage out to watch a fireworks display and they asked him to pay for tickets. The young fox was stunned at the time. Aren’t fireworks displays free?

So when he heard this term, his eyes immediately became sharp: "Does it cost money to watch the fireworks show?"

"It's free, and we agreed before that Miko will treat Higashino Nissan to delicious Taiyaki."

"Is it only Taiyaki? But I like grilled squid, and I have a big appetite. I'll make Miko go bankrupt." Higashino Yu smiled jokingly.

Miko said seriously: "I will study hard and make a lot of money when I grow up."

"Oh, okay! Then I will be your freeloader from now on."

"Then I'll just raise Tono Nissan reluctantly." Miko also smiled.

Behind me came the rich aroma of fried shrimp and the voice of Tomoko's grandmother.

"Ayu, Yuko, breakfast is ready."

"Hi~"

The two answered at the same time. Higashino Yu held a folding chair in each hand, and Miko followed behind him, whispering about the fun parts of the festival. The morning sun lengthened their swaying shadows and then blended them together, and the morning breeze brought the breath of Tokyo.

The sun dried up last night's rain, leaving no trace, and a new day began.

After breakfast, Higashino Yu and Miko followed the old man to the shrine to help prepare for the festival. The Shinkansen to Momogo Town would not be available until noon, so there was no rush.

The energetic part-time shrine maiden named Natsuki Moriyama, who came from the countryside to Tokyo to work, also came to the shrine early, picked up a broom and began to sweep up the fallen leaves after yesterday's storm.

Around nine o'clock, the shrine began to become lively. The neighbors got the news that the shrine was going to hold a festival and came to help.

Four or five old men in white priest robes walked up respectfully from the bottom of the shrine and lined up to wash their hands at the water fountain.

At the foot of the mountain, there were some middle-aged men wearing green priest robes who were about to step into the Torii gate.

Four young men in blue work clothes and hats were walking up the lower half of the approach to the shrine. Two of them were carefully carrying a large wooden box up the mountain, while the other two were holding an ornately shaped drum.

Out of curiosity, Higashino Yu asked the old man and found out that the Inari Shrine was not large and usually there was only one priest, Tadamichi Iori, in charge of the shrine.

But that doesn't mean there are no other priests. Other priests will only wear court robes and come to perform ceremonies together during festivals. There are also musicians who are specifically responsible for playing Kagura.

It had just rained, so the steps leading to the shrine were a little slippery. He didn't know what was in the wooden box, which was quite heavy. Higashino Yu guessed that it was some utensils for the festival, like the beautifully decorated drum.

Seeing the workers sweating profusely while carrying the boxes, and worried that they might break the boxes and cause the festival to be delayed, he walked over and said, "Let me do it."

A young worker wiped his sweat and said with some caution: "Who are you?" At this time, a middle-aged man wearing a green priest's court robe passed by and greeted Higashino Yu: "Higashino-kun, are you here to help Iori Miyaji during the holidays?"

Dong Ye Yu took a look and was surprised. The person who came was Mr. Oda, the boss with whom Sanlang was drinking a cup or two alone.

"Boss Oda is also a priest in the shrine?" Higashino Yu was a little surprised. He had never heard of this before.

Boss Oda smiled and shook his head: "He is not a priest, but a musician. The musicians of the shrine have always been hereditary. My ancestors played Kagura for the god Inari, and it is natural for my generation to continue this fate."

He patted the big wooden box that the worker was carrying with great effort and said, "This box contains the instruments used to play the sacred music."

"Ahhhhhh! What are you doing?!"

"It's going to fall, it's going to fall!"

"Hold on!"

The two workers were swaying and about to lose their balance, so Dong Yeyu quickly squatted down and reached under the wooden box to feel it.

"thanks, thanks."

One of them wiped his sweat, while the other glared at Boss Oda angrily: "I broke something, you're going to pay for it?!"

Boss Oda smiled awkwardly, "Ahem, anyway, that's it, Higashino-kun, I'm going to the shrine first."

After saying this, he lifted the wide hem of the priest's robe and went up the stairs dejectedly.

"It's raining and the stairs are very slippery. Let me move it. You heard it just now. I'm here to help at the shrine. Don't worry. But I'd like to trouble you two to help those two people steady the drum." Dong Ye Yu pointed to the workers who were moving the drum below.

The two workers hesitated for a moment, looked at Dong Yeyu's tall and powerful figure, and reminded him: "This box is very heavy."

"Let me try."

As Dong Ye Yu spoke, he took the heavy wooden box from their hands, weighed it and estimated that it weighed less than two hundred kilograms.

Two people are sweating profusely after lifting 200 kilograms?

Higashino Yu glanced at the two people's thin figures and shook his head slightly. The Reiwa generation is not good enough either.

Then he carried the large wooden box and walked up the stairs to the shrine as if it were flat ground. In ten seconds, he arrived at the water fountain without blushing or breathing hard.

The priests who were washing their hands looked at Dong Ye Yu in astonishment, and said to old man Iori with a smile: "The young man is full of vigor and strength. He is a good guy. With his help, Iori priest will be more relaxed in the future."

Iori Tadamichi smiled brightly, without his usual politeness and humility. "Indeed."

After all the props needed for the ceremony were prepared, the musicians took out their instruments from large wooden boxes, including the sheng, shakuhachi, taiko drums, and kagura flutes.

After they were seated in front of the main hall and other priests were in place, Iori Tadamichi stood in front of the main hall and officially announced the start of the festival.

Shinto rituals are relatively complicated. Even temporary rituals have such steps as offering the basket, opening the door, offering food to the gods, playing prayer speeches, presenting jade beads, removing the food to the gods, and closing the door.

As the name suggests, the opening and closing ceremonies are the ceremonies of opening and closing the main hall - the main hall houses sacred objects such as mirrors, magatama, and swords that symbolize the gods.

Shenzhuan is the offering to the gods, similar to the three livestock and six domestic animals in China, and the jade strings are the branches of the willow trees, which are important props used in sacrifices here.

Originally, as the family maiden of the Iori family, Miko should have performed the Kagura dance to the gods at this time. However, due to her mobility problems, she had never learned to dance before, so the Kagura dance basically does not exist in Inari Shrine, and the Kagura Hall is vacant all year round.

After a series of complicated rituals, the musicians played Kagura, which sounded a bit like elegant music and seemed a bit weird at first, but the more you listened, the more you felt that it had a unique sacred meaning, and it lived up to the name of Kagura.

Higashino Yu and the neighbors who came to help were watching the ceremony from the side. There were also foreign female tourists who had come to visit the shrine early. They looked like Europeans and were taking pictures with their mobile phones, but the direction of the pictures seemed a little wrong.

Dong Ye Yu turned his head and looked for a moment, and found that the camera was facing him. The foreign female tourists did not show any fear after being discovered secretly filming. One of them had red hair and wore glasses. She looked delicate and had the temperament of a librarian and walked over generously, claiming to be a travel blogger on YouTube.

"You are the most handsome boy I have ever seen. Your eyes are like stars. My name is Livni. Can I take a photo with you and interact with you?"

Yu Zi, who was standing next to Dong Yeyu, looked at these hot girls with some caution: "No——"

"Photo? Of course!"

Higashino Yu covered Miko's mouth, met the girl's calm eyes, and blinked his left eye to show that he had a special reason.

Then he turned his head to look at Livni's phone, and it turned out to be a blogger, who was live streaming at that time.

I estimated, more than 500,000 fans?
Dong Yeyu looked at the comment section of the live broadcast room, which was constantly popping up with comments from fans, as if he was watching a flood of wealth.

"cool!"

"A boy as sunny as sunshine!!!"

"I can!"

"Let me introduce you to my husband."

It turns out that it is the same both at home and abroad. Dong Yeyu curled his lips, but thinking of his deserted and unimproved account on YouTube, he did not refuse this sudden traffic.

"But in exchange, can you help me promote my account?"

Higashino Yu opened his mobile phone, revealing a YouTube channel that only six people followed - five of them were familiar friends such as Asumi Sanae.

Livni had been in the wrong for taking the secret photos before, but it was just a promotion for the account, so there was no loss for her, so she did not refuse.

"no problem!"

After that, they chatted like friends. Livni picked out some normal comments in the comment section to ask questions, and Higashino Yu answered them, mostly introducing some customs and culture of Tokyo as well as some things that foreigners were curious about.

Finally, Livni sent a channel link, and Dongye Yu pointed at the link at the bottom of the screen and smiled.

"This is my channel on YouTube. I will regularly introduce you to the customs and practices of the island country, as well as the daily lives of high school students. If you like it, please follow me!"

(End of this chapter)