Chapter 305 The Lord Palace Secretary spoke

The old woman waved to her, meaning to follow her to the side and not to delay those who came to pray later.

Natsume Naoki and Izumi Mio looked at each other and followed the old woman to the tree beside the shrine.

"Old man, what do you mean by the rules of the shrine?" Natsume Naoki asked.

The old woman waved her hand and replied: "The tradition of Teine Shrine since ancient times is that there is a separation between Yin and Yang. We do not sell guards or do business here, and we don't even give up incense. It is not governed by humans but more governed by gods."

Izumi Mio was confused and couldn't understand it at all.

Natsume Naoki looked at the shrine maidens or priests who occasionally walked together on both sides of the shrine, and seemed to understand something.

"Are they forbidden to talk to us?" Natsume Naoki asked, "These clergymen seem to turn a blind eye to us."

The old woman shook her head: "It's not forbidden, but voluntary. It is said to be a way to get rid of the mortal world. If it were not to give Shinto believers like us an opportunity to worship Teineyama God, the shrine would probably not be open to the public.

."

She paused and continued: "So these old guys we often come here respect the rules of the shrine and will not talk to them easily. But if there is an emergency, the adults in the shrine are still very open-minded... I

Listen to me, are you looking for someone?"

Natsume Naoki quickly replied: "I'm looking for the priest."

"There are many priests. All the men in the shrine are called priests. Who are you looking for?" the old woman asked with a smile.

Are there many priests?

Natsume Naoki frowned, what should I call the retired priest in his diary?

After thinking for a moment, according to the diary, he should be the host of the entire shrine, similar to the abbot in a temple, right?

So he replied: "Old man, who has the final say about this shrine?"

The old woman suddenly realized: "Oh, it turns out that you are here to see the Palace Secretary! Then come with me. I just happened to go to the main hall to take a look and ask for an autograph."

The so-called main hall is actually a slightly larger house. Natsume Naoki stood at the door and looked up, feeling that it looked a bit like a windmill from the front.

All the windows are sliding double-glazed, and there are air-conditioning cabinets and electric switches outside, giving the shrine a more modern feel while being primitive.

It seems that the clergy in the shrine retain the traditional practice concepts while also advancing with the times.

This made him feel a little relieved, otherwise it would be difficult for him to communicate if he was too pedantic.

Entering the main entrance, there are some statues and hanging paintings inside. It is more like a mini museum than a shrine.

After entering the door, there were some young faces. Among the old people, there were two young people.

The men and women wearing uniforms from a nearby school seemed to be skipping class.

Strange, would anyone skip class and come to the shrine?

Just out of curiosity, Natsume Naoki suddenly understood when he heard their conversation after getting closer.

Oh, I came here to seek marriage.

"The monks here don't say anything. I want to ask when we will get married, but they don't answer me."

"Of course you will ignore me if you call me a monk. Monks are only found in temples. Here you have to call me the priest."

Following the old woman from the main hall to the side hall, a man wearing snow-white Shinto robes knelt and sat on the tatami. He wore a pair of round-rimmed glasses and squinted his eyes, with a warm smile on his face.

He looked young, only in his thirties, but his temperament made Natsume Naoki feel a little concerned.

There were many old women and old men sitting near him, telling their troubles or worries and waiting for something.

The man shook a wooden tube in his hand. Whenever a devout believer finished speaking his request, a bamboo stick would fall out of the wooden tube with fortune written on it.

Then these old people either clapped their chests to thank God or looked miserable, but they all left with words like "Thank you, Mr. Palace Secretary" and so on.

This man with a smile and squinted eyes didn't say a word the whole time.

Just as the old woman who brought Natsume Naoki and the others said, it seems that the tradition of this shrine is not to talk to visitors.

"Master Palace Secretary, I would like to ask if my son can bring a daughter-in-law back to celebrate the New Year at the end of the year." The old woman who led the way sat in front of the man and said: "If possible, can you help me figure out my son's future relationship?

?”

The man was still smiling, and then he shook the wooden tube.

After a while, a bamboo stick fell out.

The old woman quickly picked it up and looked at it. The bamboo stick clearly said "Good Luck" written on it.

"Oh, it's Daji!" The old woman was overjoyed, "I have been begging for a signature for so many years, and this is the first time I see Daji! Thank you, Lord Palace Secretary!"

The old woman stood up and quickly bowed to the man.

The man waved his hand. He turned to look at Natsume Naoki who was standing aside. He smiled at the corner of his mouth and tilted his head.

It's like a junior high school math teacher grading homework and seeing a solution taught in college.

It's very strange, with a bit of surprise in it.

So he stretched out his hand to Natsume Naoki, indicating that the old woman should thank him.

The old woman didn't understand what was going on and left happily.

No one came back to ask for a fortune, so Natsume Naoki simply sat down in front of the man.

"Did you just say that it was me that the old man should thank?" Natsume Naoki was very smart and understood what the man just meant.

The man did mean this, but he wouldn't answer.

The former palace minister, his master, took the rule of not talking to tourists very seriously, and at the same time restrained the shrine maidens and other priests who came to work part-time at the shrine.

It's like an iron rule of the company. Once you violate it, you will be fired and you will have to find another job at another shrine.

But in fact, after people in the shrine understood the philosophy of the old palace priest, they all did so voluntarily and were not forced.

The man looked at this pair of talented and beautiful young people with curious eyes, feeling in his heart that indeed, in a place like the shrine, you can see all kinds of strange people.

In his eyes, the girl's body exudes a faint white light, which is a sign of good luck. She must be very lucky in her daily life.

He looked at Natsume Naoki again.

This boy is even more peculiar. Although his luck is not as obvious as that of girls, he is still golden.

That means he can also bring good luck to those around him.

For example, the old lady who just showed them the way and explained to them enthusiastically.

When he came back to his senses, he held the wooden tube and weighed it gently. His meaning was very clear.

What do you want to ask?

Natsume Naoki looked around, then lowered his voice: "A girl came here two days ago. She called herself Asai Mao or Nanami Mao. Do you have any impressions?"

The man was stunned, and Naoki Natsume could clearly see the surprise on his face.

It seems to be asking how you knew.

Natsume Naoki didn't know how to explain, so he said: "I am her friend. She has been absent-minded since she came back from here. I am worried about her, so I came to ask what happened at that time."

Since no one in the shrine can speak, then who did that guy Mao come to see?

What happened again?

The man shook his head.

Sorry, I can't tell you anything, this matter is a very important secret.

There were already people queuing up behind me. It seemed that because everyone got up early in the morning and they were free on weekends, more and more people came to visit and ask for visas.

There were obviously more people in the main hall than when we arrived just now.

Natsume Naoki knew that there might be no results today.

Do we have to wait until the day of the sacrificial ceremony?

He was a little unwilling, so he took out a pen and paper from his backpack: "This is my contact information. If you figure it out or the girl comes again, please be sure to notify me. This is really important to me!

"

He hurriedly wrote down the number and name, placed it gently in front of the man, then stood up, bowed, and left.

But just when Natsume Naoki and his senior were about to leave the side hall, a voice rang out suddenly.

"Is it you?"
Chapter completed!