After six o'clock, the sky became much darker, and in the twilight, the frozen white sky in the distance was vaguely visible.

The weather in February is still very cold, and the Ghost Country is not a rich country. Only a few people in the city can use a heater. In the countryside, there is no need to use a heater for heating. Just find one in the house.

In the open space, there was a pair of firewood piled up for warmth.

This is how the villagers of the Ghost Country here survive the winter.

In many small and poor countries, winter nights are sometimes more terrifying than ninjas during war.

Houses without winter heating equipment can easily freeze to death at night.

Especially those homeless in war-torn areas.

Faced with the old woman's warm hospitality, Shiraishi and Ayane stayed for a dinner.

The wooden house is not pretty, but it is strong enough to protect it from wind and rain.

Close the doors and windows tightly, and you can only hear the whistling sound of the cold wind hitting the solid wood.

The dinner was very simple, only steamed buns, pickles, and very thin rice porridge.

Shiraishi could see that this was the best food the old woman could produce.

If it wasn't a guest visiting, I probably wouldn't be willing to take it out to eat.

The ingredients in the house are also wild vegetables and radishes that can be found everywhere. The life of the elderly living alone may be simpler, but it can be seen that the living conditions in this village can only barely solve the problem of food and clothing.

The old woman's name is Ye Zi. She currently lives alone. Her husband died of illness a few years ago.

I have a son who works in a port town in the Kingdom of Ghosts. He is a sailor and has already started a family. Every year in December and January, he takes his wife and children back here to celebrate the New Year, and then returns to the port town to work.

.

"That is the statue of a miko."

While eating, Shiraishi's eyes caught sight of a clay witch statue enshrined on a shelf in the room.

"It's Miko-sama."

A smile appeared on Grandma Ye Ye's face.

"I can see statues of witches in many places. By the way, this country is really devoted to witches."

Understanding it literally and experiencing it personally are two different feelings.

The faith of shrine maidens can affect even such remote and poor villages, and has been integrated into the daily life of the people of the Ghost Country.

"Of course, the reason why this country is peaceful is all because of the miko-sama. We must thank the miko-sama who brought us peace."

Granny Ye put her hands together and bowed in the direction of the clay witch.

While eating, Granny Ye told Shiraishi and Ayane the story of a witch slaying demons.

More than twenty years ago, not long after the First Ninja War ended, the Kingdom of Demons suffered a terrible disaster. A terrible monster emerged from the sky and spread death across the land of Demons.

"That's really scary, those terracotta warriors and horses..."

Grandma Ye Ye recalled the past events and spoke in a sighing tone.

Given her age, it is very likely that she has experienced that terrible nightmare herself.

"Terracotta warriors and horses?"

When Shiraishi heard this title, his voice suddenly became louder, as if he felt incredible because of this title.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the name?"

Ayane was listening with interest and looked at Shiraishi in confusion.

"Ah, no, how do you say this name...it sounds a bit weird. Mother-in-law, please continue, what happened to those terracotta warriors and horses?"

Shiraishi didn't know where to start complaining.

Terracotta Warriors and Horses...this name is really special.

"Those terracotta warriors and horses are said to be stone monsters sleeping in the underworld. They are three meters tall and hold huge stone knives in their hands. They are an army of monsters that will not die. They are called the 'ghost army' by many people and are controlled by that monster.

With death and disaster."

Grandma Ye Zi didn't pay attention to Bai Shi's increasingly weird expression and continued to tell her story orally.

“Aren’t the surrounding countries governed?”

Shiraishi looked curious.

"I remember that some ninjas came to deal with it, but it seemed to have no effect. Many people died because they were an immortal army."

Grandma Ye didn't know the specific situation, but she saw many ninjas trying to stop the ghost army. As a result, many people died. There were corpses of ninjas on the road, killed by the ghost army.

"So what happened in the end?"

"In the end? Of course it was the miko-sama who took action to put down this demonic chaos... But that seemed to have happened during the previous generation of miko. I can't remember many things clearly. I only remember that after sealing the monster, the miko

Your Excellency and the others died together."

Grandma Ye Ye said regretfully.

"I see, that monster's name is..."

"Sprite. The name of that monster is Sprite."

Grandma Ye said the name of the monster that caused the disaster and remembered it very clearly.

After eating, Grandma Ye decided to take a rest.

After all, she is very old and her energy is far less than that of young people.

Shiraishi did not bother, but borrowed a woodshed and went there with Ayane to rest for a night.

The two of them found an open space in the woodshed and sat down, lighting the firewood to dispel the darkness and coldness around them.

"I didn't expect that there are such interesting stories in the Kingdom of Ghosts. The battle between monsters and ninjas, and finally the witches calmed down the chaos..."

Ayane clearly regarded what Grandma Ye Zi said as a story in a picture book.

"It's not necessarily false. In the Konoha Library, similar events are indeed recorded. A big disaster did occur in the Kingdom of Ghosts more than twenty years ago. It should be what Granny Ye said.

Monsters are causing trouble."

"But isn't that a monster? There shouldn't be any ghosts in this world, right?" Ayane felt that the topic was a bit perplexing.

"There is a very mysterious natural energy surrounding Maitreya, but it seems to be different from the natural energy we practice, and something else is added to it."

"Anything else?"

"I don't know what it is, but it's definitely not a magical technique after fusing chakra, but another special technique. It should be the inheritance of the miko."

Shiraishi said this.

Shiraishi recalled that when he went to see the miko Maitreya before, the peace and kindness he felt was probably also the power of the miko affecting him.

"Besides, Toad's lair, Mt. Myoboku, even has the means to bring back the dead, so the miko's special ability doesn't seem so difficult to accept."

Baishi folded his hands on his chest. Although he couldn't believe everything Granny Ye said, the monster monster might be true.

It's a pity that he has only been in the Kingdom of Ghosts for a short time, and he doesn't know much about many things.

Moreover, the more core secrets related to the immortal demon should be in the hands of the miko herself. Most people only know so much.

"Is Minato Namikaze really not dead?"

Ayane also heard Shiraishi talk about this matter and found it incredible that the dead can be resurrected. If this is true, then Myobokuyama's ability is too great.

"There are people in Konoha Hospital who I arranged to go in, and afterwards, I asked Kado's people who stayed in Konoha to also investigate, and it turned out that Namikaze Minato, who had received my fatal blow, was indeed still alive. After that,

Soon, an old green-skinned toad visited Konoha Hospital and took something from Minato."

Shiraishi seemed to have witnessed that scene with his own eyes and said to Ayane.

"That's really amazing. If you encounter it in the future, it seems you need to be more cautious."

"Don't worry too much. If there is such a method of resurrection from the dead, it can only be a forbidden technique, and the practitioner himself has to bear huge risks and costs."

Shiraishi doesn't believe in Myobokuzan's method of bringing back the dead, and he can perform the magic at will without paying any price.

And at this stage, there is no need to worry about Konoha's pursuit. In order to deal with Sunagakure and Iwagakure, Konoha has almost tried its best and has no remaining power to deal with him.

The most important thing now is to strengthen the power in your hands.

"It's almost time to rest, Shiraishi-kun, I'm a little tired now."

Ayane yawned.

"You go to sleep first, I still need to think about some things."

"Really? Then, good night."

Ayane naturally put her head on Shiraishi's knees, closed her eyes and slept, with a smile on her lips.

"It's too cold on the ground, so I can keep warm."

Ayane closed her eyes and explained something specifically.

"I didn't say anything to you."
To be continued...