Tokyo: My Hundred Demon Scroll

"It is the Inari God."

Grandpa recognized the empty carriage, and the old man's eyes widened with curiosity: "Could it be the Heavenly Fox Lady of the Mitsuchi family? Is she serving the Iijima family now?"

Logically speaking, using the word 'serve' to describe the relationship between gods and humans is somewhat disrespectful.

But the Iijima family's situation is very special.

They possess divine arts capable of creating gods and enhancing their power.

To some extent, the Iijima family could indeed occupy a dominant, lordly position in their interactions with the gods.

"No, not the Iijima family."

Grandpa corrected, "To be precise, I'm serving my grandson."

"..."

The old man was not human; he was also a deity.

He is the spirit of cherry blossoms, a flower spirit above the ignorant and benevolent gods, yet inferior to the true gods.

In terms of race, she is similar to Yingcao, who is beside Gu Yun.

"Grandpa~~~"

Gu Yun stood inside the carriage, lifted the curtain at the back, and called out and waved down.

Because he was located inside the divine chariot, ordinary people could neither see Gu Yun nor hear his shouts, except for beings with spiritual power such as snails and old men.

"It's Gu Yun Onii-chan's voice."

Lu, who was playing with Xiao Si inside the house, heard Gu Yun's shout and quickly ran to the courtyard.

"Law, where are you going?"

"I heard Tanigumo Onii-chan's voice!"

"Xiao Gu Yun is here?"

Iijima immediately put down the dishes she was washing, dried her hands, and walked towards the entrance.

However, Gu Yun did not come from that place.

The Iijima House is divided into a front yard and a back yard. The front yard is the main gate, which connects to the entrance hall, while the back yard is open and has a pond, a pebble garden, and a huge cherry blossom tree.

"Hey, long time no see, Ritsu."

Gu Yun jumped off the divine chariot and casually waved his hand, turning it into a fiery cloud that dissipated.

Lu watched this scene with great curiosity.

"Haha, I have something to ask Grandpa today. I'll take you to play in the sky next time."

"Oh, right, these are gifts," Gu Yun said. "Some of them are for Xiao Si. Please pass them on to him for me."

"Thank you, Onii-chan!"

Gu Yun patted the head of the little cross-dressing man, then walked up to the snail and the old man: "Grandpa, who is this...?"

In Gu Yun's spiritual vision, the old man was not human, but a benevolent deity.

However, benevolent deities should be quite small.

So there are also benevolent gods who are adults and elderly?

[Obtain clues to the new shikigami 'Sakura Fairy']

【Sakura Fairy】

Awakening Quest: Contact a cherry blossom flower spirit (Completed)

Summoning method: Find a cherry blossom tree and bestow upon it the divine power of cherry blossoms.

'This clue about the shikigami came so suddenly.'

Gu Yun never expected that a visit to his grandfather would lead to the appearance of a new shikigami; surprises were everywhere.

Sakura Fairy, another new SR character to acquire.

"Let me introduce you to Xiao Gu Yun."

Grandpa said, "This is my old friend. You can call him Mr. Nanfeng."

"Hello Mr. Nanfeng, I am Iijima Tanigumo."

"Ah, what a distinguished young master."

"It is truly my blessing to be able to speak with you."

Captivated by the aura emanating from Gu Yun, the old man removed his top hat and elegantly introduced himself: "I am the spirit of the cherry blossom tree, and every year at this time, I ride the south wind to travel to various places."

Old Man Nanfeng and Grandpa were friends for many years, and he had received a lot of help from Snail in the past.

"The words of the cherry blossom tree spirit..."

Gu Yun asked curiously, "Do you have jurisdiction over all the cherry blossoms in Japan?"

"No no no."

Old Man Nanfeng quickly waved his hand and said, "I cannot control the cherry blossoms, I can only make them bloom, and not all of them."

There is more than one fairy of cherry blossoms; the old man of the south wind just happens to be in charge of this area.

Moreover, he is already quite old and has been looking for an opportunity to retire.

"Do gods retire?"

"When humans are tired, they go to the underworld; when gods are tired, they pass through the next life."

The underworld is also known as the afterlife, while the next life is a very magical place.

In the description of the old man from the south, the afterlife is built on a boundless ocean, connected by railways.

The gods would call them giant dragon boats, traversing sacred waters and enjoying relaxation in streets and shops created by fantastical beings.

“The souls in the land of the dead are to be reincarnated and reborn, and they will also go to the ‘afterlife’.”

The present world is the material world, which is the first layer.

The Yellow Springs is the afterlife, the second level.

The next life is a return from the underworld to the present life, so it is 1.5 levels.

During this process, the spirits of the underworld will discard the filth, and the place where they discard it is the world of the ghost stories—the 2.5th layer of the illusory world.

The third layer is the quagmire of evil gods, and the fourth layer is the sky of benevolent gods.

The fifth level is the divine realm where the gods reside.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of the diverse world that Grandpa and Miyako once described to Gu Yun.

"So, there are many gods in the next life?"

"Um…"

The old man from the south said, "True gods cannot go to the afterlife, because the afterlife is the lower realm."

As the saying goes, the upper realm does not contain anything of the lower realm, and the lower realm has no spirits of the upper realm.

Therefore, gods without physical and spiritual bodies cannot go to the afterlife.

To get there, they need to create a body for themselves, made of various materials and in all sorts of bizarre shapes, including animals and monsters.

"After the human soul reaches the afterlife, it embarks on a final journey."

They would ride the tram, travel along the tracks, and reminisce about their two lives, before and after death.

"In this process, the soul loses all its color and becomes a dark shadow."

These shadowy figures will get off at different places and begin their next chapter in life.

"sound…"

Gu Yun had a vague sense of déjà vu. He thought to himself, "Why does this place look so much like the Lost Land in Spirited Away?"

Yubaba's bathhouse, the food street surrounding the bathhouse, and the gods who come from the sea by boat.

"If Master Iijima is interested, he can go and see the afterlife."

Old Man Nanfeng smiled and said, "But remember to prepare paper and a mask."

"what?"

Gu Yun asked in confusion, "What?"

"Used to cover the face and block the aura of things in the mortal world."

In Japan, the pronunciation of "paper" is similar to that of "god," which can be used to mislead demons.

The mask, needless to say, is something used to conceal one's identity.

The afterlife exists between the material and the spiritual realms, so ordinary people also have a certain chance of entering it.

However, when a living person enters the afterlife, they will be corrupted by the laws of the afterlife and will soon disappear.

To survive, one must eat food for the next life.

However, this means that, like Izanami in Japanese mythology and Persephone in Greek mythology, those who ate food from the afterlife could not return to the world of the living.

However, this had little effect on Gu Yun.

Because of his high spiritual status, his very existence is enough to be recognized in the next life.

As for the saying about covering one's face with paper, it's more like giving face in the afterlife. Even if you can act recklessly, you still have to put on an act.

"If I have the chance, I'd like to see that mysterious world."

Gu Yun did not forget the purpose of their visit to see his grandfather. They chatted with the old man Nanfeng for a while, but the old man knew that the grandfather and grandson had something to do, so he took his leave.

"Have a safe journey, Mr. Nanfeng."

"Come again next year!"

After bidding farewell to the cherry blossom tree spirit, Grandpa sat down with Gu Yun and said, "I already know about it over the phone."

"This is a bit troublesome." x2

Almost at the same time as his grandfather spoke, Gu Yun said the same thing.