As the savior, I only want to play single-player games.

In other words, they have lost track of Suzuka Ise and can only confirm that she is in Chiba—not excluding the possibility that she has been moved.

Moreover, the latter is highly probable.

But they still needed to come and see for themselves, at least to find out who was targeting the Ise Grand Shrine.

As soon as they entered the city, the driver, unsure of which way to go, respectfully asked, "Your Excellency, what should we do?"

"Amaterasu will guide us!"

The old woman listened silently. She stretched out her withered index finger, with a strand of black hair wrapped around the tip, radiating spiritual light. Then, the strand of hair suddenly floated as if it were alive, pointing in one direction.

This is a type of Yin-Yang magic. It uses a strand of hair as a medium to find the person in question. If the person is dead, it can then be used to find their blood relatives.

Ise Kiriko had no close relatives from the previous generation, and she herself died more than ten years ago. Now, there is only one person who carries her blood.

That person is now extremely important to the shrine, especially now.

Since yesterday, the Jingu Palace has placed an increasingly higher priority on Suzuka, Ise, than on any other matter. They were puzzled when they discovered that the team that had set off several days ago had not yet sent any news. Upon investigation, they found that these guys adhered to the principle of reimbursing operational expenses, not only using public funds for meals and drinks, but more importantly, not doing any work.

If we hadn't known they hadn't betrayed us, they would have been beheaded long ago and sent to be sacrificed to the gods.

Yin-Yang magic is not something ordinary people can use. If it were a few days ago, even if one had magical power, one would not be able to cast the spell. Even if one burned one's soul, one could only complete the initial process. Once the soul was completely burned away, there would be no way to follow up.

But now it's possible. Not to mention her extraordinary background and mastery of a bunch of techniques, even a wild psychic running a fortune-telling shop on the street could mimic a move or two based on the records in mysterious ancient books.

Simply put, the current environment allows it.

Depending on the lineage, these extraordinary techniques have different names in different places. In essence, they rely on the existence of the spirit world. Without the spirit world, no matter how strong the magic power in one's body is, it cannot produce any effect.

The old woman thought the trip would be difficult and that they would be targeted by snipers, so she had already instructed everyone in the convoy to be ready and to load their guns.

She herself was also silently mobilizing her magic power, suspecting that the other party had extraordinary means to distort the mind. She was preparing to cast spells such as "Clear Mind and Wise Mind" at any time, so that she could pour cold water on her subordinates at the critical moment and prevent them from being shot by her own people.

But in reality, there were no obstacles, and it went surprisingly smoothly, making the priest wonder if it was a trap.

The convoy arrived at an apartment building, where twenty burly thugs quickly dispersed to control all exits and ensure there were no abnormalities before bringing out the old woman known as the priestess.

The two witches had already gotten out of another car and were helping their priestess up the stairs, staggering as they went. They reached the third floor and, following the guidance of the strand of hair, finally stopped in front of a house.

A witch gathered her hair and then politely rang the doorbell, anxiously waiting for the person inside to open the door.

Click!

The door opened from the inside, revealing a beautiful woman with long, straight black hair. She had elegant features, a graceful figure, and wore a white coat.

A mere mortal?

The priest was filled with doubt and unease. Where had the mysterious force mentioned in the intelligence gone? Or did they only intend to send a mortal to negotiate with the divine palace? Weren't they worried that they would take action?

Suzuka Ise is of little use to other forces, but it is of paramount importance to the shrine. The shrine has long been prepared to bleed heavily, and is even willing to give up resources at the mystical level, giving up anything it can in exchange for Suzuka Ise.

There was nothing they could do; their lifeline had been seized, and everyone in the Divine Palace was extremely troubled by this.

The black-haired beauty was also surprised to see this group of people, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Who are you?"

The priestess said, "I've come to find Suzuka Ise. The child is here, isn't she?" She looked like she was on her deathbed, and her attitude was no different from that of a neighborly old woman. She was being supported by two shrine maidens, because it seemed that even a gust of wind could blow her over if they didn't.

She noticed that the young beauty who opened the door initially looked surprised and doubtful, but soon a look of realization appeared in her eyes, as if she understood their purpose.

Hiratsuka Shizuka looked left and right and felt that this was not a place to entertain guests.

"Please come in."

The priest and two priestesses entered the house, and the bodyguards behind them also tried to come in, but were blocked by Hiratsuka Shizuka. There were too many bodyguards in the house.

The priest didn't seem to mind; he simply nodded to the bodyguards, indicating that they could wait outside.

Upon arriving in the living room, the priest secretly cast a spell and discovered that Suzuka was in one of the bedrooms.

During this time, Hiratsuka Shizuka picked up her phone and sent a message to Yotsuya Miko, asking her to come over as soon as possible. She didn't think she could handle the situation. She had personally observed those bodyguards; their waists were bulging, clearly indicating they were armed.

The priest sat down in the living room and noticed that Hiratsuka Shizuka had taken out her phone, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she asked, "What is your relationship with Suzuka?"

There were only the two of them there, and no executioners, which was different from what she had expected.

Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed slightly. She should have been the one to ask that question. Suzuka had no parents, and her only grandmother was still in the countryside—she wasn't stupid, so she naturally didn't think the old woman in front of her was Suzuka's grandmother.

What are these people looking for Suzuka about?

But when an elderly woman asked her a question, she felt she couldn't refuse to answer, so she said, "She has been temporarily placed in my care."

"Foster care?" The priest's wrinkles deepened, feeling that things were getting more complicated. "Why doesn't Suzuka come out?"

Regardless, let's meet the person in question first.

Hiratsuka Shizuka hesitated for a moment, but not sensing the man's malice, she chose to tell the truth: "She hasn't been feeling well lately."

At that moment, a shrine maiden stepped forward, intending to go and see Suzuka's room.

But Hiratsuka Shizuka reacted quickly, standing up and stretching out her arm to block her.

She scratched her head with her other hand, finding the matter extremely troublesome, and said helplessly, "Let's sit down for a while. Suzuka can't receive guests right now."

This shrine maiden was young and pretty, dressed in white robes and red hakama, very much in the style of a traditional shrine maiden.

At this moment, she looked back at the high priest with some difficulty, waiting for her next move, unsure whether she should use force.

Seeing Hiratsuka Shizuka's strong reaction, the priestess dismissed the shrine maiden, saying that it was enough to confirm Suzuka was in the room without figuring out the situation.

"We need to make sure she's safe."

"She's not doing well right now, but I would never hurt her," Hiratsuka Shizuka said earnestly. "You can come in and sit down, but you can't see Suzuka."

As she spoke, Hiratsuka Shizuka mentally estimated that as long as the bodyguards outside didn't come in, the two little shrine maidens shouldn't be a match for her; she could just grab their clothes and throw them out. However, the old woman made her a little scared; her eyes were too clear, and she didn't look like an elderly person at all.

She knew nothing about the mysterious world, nor did she know if these people knew Tendo Kagura. She decided to wait until Yotsuya Miko arrived before making a decision.

……

……

……

The latest updates have been a bit creepy.

I'll add one more chapter each tomorrow and the day after.

May all gods swiftly come to my aid; if anyone disobeys, I will subdue Fengdu: Chapter 45: A Flaw

The priestess of the shrine looked her over and made sure that she was really just an ordinary person. She had lived to such an old age, so her real name was naturally not priestess, but her surname was Shimizu. The priestess was the highest priest in the shrine, and she had seen countless people.

The black-haired beauty before them had a calm expression, bright eyes, and no gloom in her brows, showing that she was an upright person.

The priest spoke in a casual tone, "We were the ones who were anxious, but we don't know how that child got here?"

It's not good for a conflict to break out at this point, and a tense atmosphere is not conducive to negotiations.

Hiratsuka Shizuka's expression softened somewhat, and she sat down again.

These people must be very important, with so many bodyguards accompanying them; it's like something out of a TV drama.

“She has no one to take care of her now, so she was sent here to me. What do you want with Suzuka? Is there something you need?” Hiratsuka Shizuka carefully observed the three of them. She couldn’t tell anything from the priestess. Her clothing and patterns were completely unfamiliar. Shrine maidens were common, but professional ones were rare, especially those who had particular manners in walking, sitting, and lying down. Small shrines couldn’t cultivate shrine maidens with such elegance.

"Does she have any connection with you?"

The priest smiled. Family scandals should not be aired in public, but it's alright to talk about trivial matters.

"Not with her, but with her mother."

Hiratsuka Shizuka was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but her mind worked quickly. As far as she knew, Suzuka's mother had died in childbirth. Could these people be from her mother's side, and were they here to inform Suzuka of her inheritance?

But that's unlikely; there's no reason why they would wait so many years to come looking for us.

She continued to ask, wanting to know what had happened to Suzuka's mother.

"You didn't know?" The High Priestess of Shimizu was surprised, but she managed to keep her expression in check. She hadn't expected that this person would actually get involved in this matter without knowing anything about it.

When Suzuka Ise's mother was mentioned, a complex expression immediately appeared in the eyes of the priestess Shimizu. It was clear that, given her age, she had seen that priestess.

"Kiriko died in childbirth... That's not entirely wrong."

"Ise Kiriko was the most talented shrine maiden in the shrine. She should have achieved even greater things, but unfortunately, she went astray and broke a taboo..."

Ise Kiriko wasn't exactly amazing, nor was she particularly strong. After all, in the previous era, all extraordinary phenomena were nipped in the bud. Even in the land of ascension, the ancestral land of the divine palace, it was normal that no miracles had occurred for a hundred years.

But it must be said that her talent was absolutely the highest, unmatched by anyone, otherwise she would not have become a shrine maiden and been given the surname Ise.

"Hehe, I'm sure you can tell that we come from Ise Grand Shrine, and I am the current priest."

Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded to herself; she had had this suspicion before, and now it had been confirmed.

The priestess of Shimizu was very kind and said with a smile, "Her mother is no longer alive, and now the gods have descended and the times have changed. We need a new priestess to communicate with the gods, but it seems that no one has the qualifications."

Therefore, they want to bring Suzuka back.

Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't believe it. A child who is a genius is not necessarily a genius. Suzuka's physical condition was ridiculously poor. He didn't show any outstanding abilities from beginning to end. He was just a sickly person.

"With the power of the shrine, surely they can find a second person with outstanding talent to become a priestess?"

The priestess of Shimizu shook her head: "Suzuka in Ise is very special."

"What if she doesn't go?"

These words were not asked by Hiratsuka Shizuka, but came from outside the door, calm and pleasant.

The four of them looked over together, and the door opened, with two girls walking in one after the other.

The first girl to enter had black hair and golden eyes; her gaze was bright, and her aura was calm. The woman following behind was voluptuous, with short orange hair; her eyes were pure, and she exuded confidence.

Yotsuya Miko arrived very quickly, almost as soon as she received the news.

Hiratsuka Shizuka breathed a sigh of relief. The other party was the highest-ranking priest of the shrine. If it were before, as a materialist, she wouldn't have thought anything of it, but now, the shrine's status had been elevated to an unprecedented level, and it was even said to be an ancient shrine famous throughout the country.

Dealing with them is really stressful.

"I'll make you some tea." Hiratsuka Shizuka stood up and nodded to Miko.

She saw Miko in person. She had previously used her connections to look up Miko's information, but compared to then, she was much thinner now, with an exceptionally slender and petite figure.

"Thank you for your trouble." Miko nodded, then looked at the High Priestess Shimizu and asked again, "What would happen if Suzuka didn't go to Ise Grand Shrine?"

The High Priestess of Shimizu narrowed her eyes, not expecting that it would be two little girls who appeared. After hearing this, she fell silent.

Her entourage wouldn't let the two girls walk in like that, but they did just that, as if they were in an empty house.

Were all those bodyguards dead?