Chapter 867: Guarding the Forest, Tanuki

"That old friend should be able to help you to some extent. Therefore, for the sake of the 'Great Purification of the Divine Sakura', this is necessary." Hanasari said to Ying and Paimon, "You two have demonstrated your magnanimity, friendship, and impressive skills twice."

She looked at Jiang Yi again: "Now with your powerful partners, I think you will continue to move forward for the well-being of this land, right?"

Paimon nodded: "Of course! This food that doesn't fill you up should be considered as an action that must be taken to complete the mission!"

"If you think about it carefully, you can taste the flavor of the food, but you won't feel too full and you can keep eating. It seems pretty good!" Paimon has a novel perspective, "No matter how greedy you are, you won't get fat."

Ying retreated to Jiang Yi's side speechlessly: "It's better to throw away Paimeng who is so greedy and easily fooled."

"Hey!" Paimeng stomped his feet. "Don't think you can hear me just because you whispered! Jiang Yi must have corrupted your thinking!"

"Please stop arguing, both of you!" Hanasari said, "Let me talk about the other tree roots. The last two barriers are located in a place called 'Desolate Sea', which is the northernmost part of Narukami Island. Hmm! I don't know if there are still people living in Desolate Sea. I haven't been there for a long time."

"The last one... is outside the courtyard of Kamisato's house. There is a cave on the mudflats looking northeast. The tree roots are inside." She said, "You should be able to find it."

"Before you leave, I want to ask you about the 'commemorative mirror' you mentioned before..." asked Hanasari.

"Eh?" Paimon put his hands on his hips. "Then answer our question first. In the past memories we saw through the 'Memory Mirror', there was a person who looked exactly like the masked miko lady, also called 'Hana Sanri'. Is that you?"

Paimon really doesn't give up.

"It's me!" Hua Sanli said.

"It's really you!" Paimon had already guessed it, but he was still a little shocked to hear this answer.

Jiang Yi and Ying sighed, wondering when Paimeng would become wise and calm. Stop making a fuss.

Hanasari bowed, "I'm terribly sorry. I never meant to hide anything. It's just that I never had the chance to explain."

"I..." She hesitated, "Now is not the right time. I'm really sorry..."

"Forget it, forget it, I understand." Paimon finally saw through Hanasari's unspeakable secret, "When you have a chance, Miss Hanasari, tell us."

"That's right!" Although Ying was still a little concerned, she nodded.

Hua Sanli and Jiang Yi looked at each other, then avoided each other's gaze.

"Thank you very much," she said.

Jiang Yi said nothing, just smiled and nodded.

Paimon told Hanasari about the "memorial mirror".

In fact, Hanasari had observed the mirror in Ying and Paimon's hands, but she was puzzled by the name "memorial mirror". Now when she heard the whole story, she suddenly felt angry.

"That, that mirror was actually taken away by that guy Hongji... The people of the Hiiragi family, they squandered it and were complacent about it." She cursed the head of the Hiiragi family a little angrily, combining it with foreign machinery and causing it to be destroyed. It was really amazing that he could think of such an idea.

Ying and Paimeng looked at each other.

"...Huh." It took a long time for Hanasari to calm down. "I really lost my temper. Please forgive me. Then, please take good care of this...'memorial mirror'. It is a very precious item."

"Of course, if you ask about this artifact, I don't know much more than you do. In short, it is very valuable," she emphasized.

Ying said she understood.

"Really! It's very precious!" Hua Sanli said again worriedly.

It was the first time that Ying saw the witch emphasize something like this.

"I understand. I will keep it safe... trust me." She also made a promise.

"Is it the function that's valuable? Or does it have special meaning?" Paimeng scratched his head. "If it's a function, Jiang Yi would have learned it in no time."

"Just because I learn something easily doesn't mean that the technique is cheap," Jiang Yi corrected.

"You have already used it, so I won't say much." Hanasari said, "Anyway, after you set off, in the 'God Sakura Grand Purification', if you want to find a talisman, look for the 'Sky Fox' around the seal, which is a special fox statue that can be activated by the power of thunder."

"In the past, the talisman was guarded by the 'Sky Fox'."

"But... after everything became different, the Sky Fox and the Earth Fox gradually became unwilling to show themselves, and instead fell into deep sleep, waiting for her to appear again one day."

So, there were really a lot of Inazuma fox monsters back then. Jiang Yi thought of those statues, and they were the same as the followers of the Emperor in Liyue who turned into statues that could be seen everywhere. However, the reasons were different.

Hanasari added: "If you encounter setbacks, try to look for 'ground foxes' around you. There are many places with small, special little fox statues."

"The 'Earth Fox' is an old companion," she said. "In the past, although their power was weak, they valued friendship very much. If you observe them through that... 'Memorial Mirror', you can more or less see things and scenes from the past and get some clues that may be useful."

Hanasari requested, "In addition to the Great Purification of the Divine Sakura, you can also try and observe the 'Sky Fox' and 'Earth Fox' sleeping in various places on the island when you travel normally."

"If it helps your adventure, please make good use of the 'memorial mirror'."

Ying and Paimon nodded: "We will put it to good use!"

Hanasari once again showed the nervousness of handing over a precious item to someone else: "Besides using it well, be sure to protect it! Don't bump it, and clean it regularly!"

Paimeng almost didn't remember all the requirements after hearing them one by one.

"I understand!" Paimeng felt that he should take it very seriously so as not to waste Hua Sanli's instructions.

"I will do it." Ying said seriously.

"That's good." Hua Sanli finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Then please allow me to say goodbye to you for a while."

"There is no need to rush to reunite. If the 'Red Cherry Blossoms' understand the pain of separation, they will stay forever. When the time comes, our destinies will surely come together just like the 'Red Cherry Blossoms'."

She said mysteriously, "Until then, I will pray for you at the well in Konda Village, at the roots of the Thunder Sakura tree that you successfully purified. I wish you all the best."

Hanasari bowed to Ying and put her hands together in prayer.

……

Ying, Jiang Yi and Paimeng left the cave, crossed the water and headed towards the Guardian Forest, the location of the third barrier.

The night was hazy and the forest was dark, with only a few spots casting moonlight.

The glowing ground vegetation is faintly visible in the dense bushes.

This is the situation.

Jiang Yi thought of Linghua.

"Ying, can you dance here?" he suddenly asked.

"Huh? Did you take the wrong medicine?" Ying looked at Jiang Yi with a question mark in her eyes.

"Forget it then." Jiang Yi said casually.

"Jiang Yi must have a reason for asking this question." Paimeng whispered to Ying's ear, "Did someone dance for him here?"

When it comes to gossip, Paimon's intuition and intelligence are always unexpectedly high.

"How about, Paimeng, can you dance for him? I always feel that he is looking for an excuse to slip back to Kamisato's mansion." Ying said. Kamisato's house is near the Guardian Forest. With Jiang Yi's speed, he could slip back in a second.

"How could I?" Paimon spread his hands.

Jiang Yi feels that he sees girls being distracted more and more frequently recently.

The strength has increased, and the power has become inflated?

He sorted out his mentality.

Or is it because there is no Shura Field, not exciting enough?

But it’s better not to have a war involving girls.

"Oh, there must be no one. Even if there is, they can't understand what we are saying." A voice full of sneaky, peeking, and smug sighs echoed through the silent forest, "It's all because of that brat, so boring..."

Paimon was startled: "Who, who is talking?"

"Is it... the old friend that Hua Sanli mentioned?" she asked.

"Go and take a look!" Ying listened to the sound and sensed the direction.

"The Guardian Forest. Legend has it that in the past, this sacred forest was once the home of many monsters." Jiang Yi looked at the many sacred trees wrapped with the ropes. "Even now, if you walk in it, you can occasionally encounter mysterious creatures that do evil to people..."

There are various shapes of stone statues of raccoons everywhere, scattered torii hidden in the woods, and abandoned shrines hidden deep in the forest... They are like trickling streams, telling the legends flowing through time.

"The Tanuki-chan, a rumor that the Inazuma people often hear about, is about the guarding forest." Calming down and not missing the girl, Jiang Yi actually felt the quiet and mysterious ancient flavor of the forest.

"This is probably what we are facing now!"

After the three of them walked for a while, they heard voices coming from the forest again.

"Huh? This smell is... leaves and fresh earth..."

"It's the scent of an unfamiliar fellow tribesman!"

"Here! Here, come here quickly——"

Paimon was a little confused. "Are you calling us? The smell of leaves and fresh soil. This is the first time I've heard such a description."

In the past, people's comments about them were all about the smell of wind and rocks, the smell of the sea of ​​stars.

"Are they the dishes in Huasan?" Ying guessed.

"Well, what you eat is a feast made from leaves and fresh soil!" Jiang Yi said this naturally and made a joke that made Ying and Paimeng change their expressions.

"Ugh!" Paimon felt like vomiting.

"Okay, I lied to you." Seeing Ying's face was not very good, Jiang Yi comforted her, "I also ate a bite, so the dishes are fine."

"It makes me even more worried when you say that." Ying rolled her eyes.

However, she was pretty sure she didn't eat leaves and dirt.

"Next time, don't make such jokes!" Paimon stomped his feet.

"Look, this is the statue of the fox that keeps the talisman... It's empty inside." After walking a little further, Paimon looked at the statue in front of him and said, "It seems I have to ask my old friend the noodle girl if it has hidden itself."

Ying: "Noodle... Noodle girl?"

Paimon crossed his arms and said, "I just thought of a nickname for her. How is it? Is it easy to remember?"

"I hope you can call her that next time in front of her." Jiang Yi looked at Paimeng. If Hua Sanli was still there, Paimeng would probably have one more enemy in his life.

"It's not easy to remember at all." Ying spread her hands, "It's incomprehensible."

"Okay! That's fine!" Paimon felt bad after hearing that. "Keep going! I'll think of another one later."

At this time, the voice came again.

"Hello--hello--can you hear me?"

"We're heading in the right direction! Just keep moving forward!"

"We're almost there! Have you seen a majestic stone statue of a giant raccoon?"

"Oh, it's been a while since I've seen a fellow tribesman with such strong power. I'm really looking forward to it."