"No way..."
When Chisato Nishikigi followed the map to Luo Shu's location, she was stunned by the sight of the shrine with its blue bricks and red wood.
"In an area surrounded by poor villages, there's actually such a grand shrine."
Standing on the halfway point of the stone steps, Chisato glanced at Kaede's Village in the distance and clicked her tongue.
"Built on the people's suffering."
Just then, Luo Shu's voice came from behind her.
"You're slower than I expected."
Hearing this, Chisato turned and saw Luo Shu standing beneath the torii gate at the top of the steps.
From his elevated position, Luo Shu looked down at Chisato, his eyes briefly lingering on the dust-stained hem of her skirt before asking:
"Did something happen on the way?"
"Got attacked by yokai."
Chisato pulled a bitter face and waved the pistol in her right hand.
"Completely out of bullets, not even a spare magazine left. Might have to start making bullets with Dying Will Flames now."
"That many yokai?"
Luo Shu was surprised. He knew Chisato's marksmanship well—if even she had exhausted her ammunition, the frequency of yokai attacks must have been extreme.
"Exactly! This Abyss is super unfriendly. Just passing through the forest, I ran into hordes of them."
Chisato climbed the steps while venting her frustration.
"All they did was scream 'human flesh, human flesh.' Even after killing half of them, the rest wouldn't flee. The danger level wasn't high, but the sheer number of fights was insane—almost matched my annual kill count."
As she finished speaking, Chisato's leather shoes stepped onto the final stair.
"What about you, Luo Shu? Get attacked too?"
"Ran into two. Managed to squeeze some information out of them."
Luo Shu glanced at the Shrine behind him. He now suspected that encountering only two yokai might have been Kikyo's doing.
"Shall we compare notes?"
As he spoke, Luo Shu took out his previous notebook. Seeing this, Chisato Nishikigi blinked, then similarly produced a black-covered notebook before looking at Luo Shu.
They shared a knowing smile:
"Let's swap." x2
After exchanging notebooks, they began flipping through them. In Chisato's notes, Luo Shu found more information:
"Yokai gradually weaken until hunger overcomes reason, driving them to attack humans? Forest-dwelling yokai resort to cannibalism when unable to obtain food?"
"When yokai consume each other, they mutate into stronger variants..."
"Is this confirmed?"
"Ah, we got this from six yokai who could still understand human speech. It's probably true."
Chisato had already finished reading Luo Shu's notebook, as it only contained about twenty Q&As.
Still, she had noticed one crucial detail.
She turned her head, blinking curiously as she gazed at the shrine's main hall:
"Does the shrine maiden here possess the Shikon Jewel that strengthens yokai powers?"
Thinking about how she'd been chased through the forest by yokai, Chisato Nishikigi's expression turned somewhat gloomy as she said:
"Why is it that you found an Abyss Artefact as soon as we entered, Luo Shu, while I got chased around by yokai?"
Luo Shu continued flipping through his notebook without looking up, reminding her:
"Take another look at the shrine."
"Huh?"
Chisato blinked in surprise at his words, then turned to survey her surroundings. Immediately, she spotted the enormous sacred tree to the right, and near it, a small wooden hut encircled by Shimenawa Rope.
In Japan, sacred trees were essentially just very old trees, but the problem was...
"This layout... Higurashi Shrine?"
Chisato suddenly understood Luo Shu's meaning and hissed:
"A Connecting Point?!"
Through the organisation's long-term Abyss Exploration, certain patterns had naturally been identified.
Among the most important were Connecting Points.
Typically, a Connecting Point referred to identical scenes appearing both inside the Abyss and in the real world outside.
These scenes typically included passages that linked the Abyss to reality. In the early days of exploration, before Emergency Escape Devices were developed, the first task for explorers was to locate these Connecting Points to ensure safe return.
"No way..."
Realising this was indeed a Connecting Point, Chisato immediately set down the metal case she'd been carrying and sat on it, sighing dramatically:
"We entered together, yet not only did you find an Abyss Artefact, Luo Shu, but you also located the Connecting Point. Do they give out beginner's luck prizes for Abyss exploration or something?"
"Looking back, poor me had to hack through the forest and got chased by yokai - how utterly miserable."
"My apologies for being fortunate," Luo Shu responded in a somewhat irritating manner before changing the subject:
"But according to your reconnaissance, it seems the wilderness of this Abyss Warring States World is dangerous everywhere."
At this, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes, his expression turning grave:
"A monster breeding ground..."
"Who knows what kind of Great Yokai might emerge..."
Just then, a cool voice came from behind them.
"What are you doing here?"
Kikyo, dressed in red and white shrine maiden attire with waist-length hair and an aloof expression, approached in wooden sandals while carrying a water basin.
While Luo Shu remained composed, Chisato beside him widened her eyes in astonishment:
"Wow!! An actual shrine maiden, not just some part-timer, but a real one!"
Chisato bounded over to Kikyo in three quick steps, grasping her hands as she said:
"I'm Chisato Nishikigi, 17 years old. Pleased to meet you, Miss Shrine Maiden."
"Ah... um?"
Kikyo stared blankly at Chisato, taken aback by the overly enthusiastic girl, and instinctively gave her a once-over.
Initially, Kikyo had thought this was just an ordinary girl, but when her gaze fell on Chisato's short skirt, her eyes froze.
"Impure."
Chisato tilted her head in confusion with a questioning "Huh?"
Yet the next moment, Kikyo pulled her hands free, scooped up some spring water, and splashed it onto Chisato's face.
"It's so cold... Who did that?"
Chisato Nishikigi, suddenly splashed with water, was momentarily stunned. She quickly looked down at her dampened blouse, then turned to Kikyo with a bewildered expression.
Staring at Kikyo's solemn face, Chisato asked in confusion:
"Is there some local custom here where guests get splashed with water?"
Yet Kikyo seemed even more perplexed than Chisato:
"How strange. The spiritually infused spring water had no effect?"
Kikyo eyed Chisato suspiciously before pointing at her skirt:
"That outfit... you're wearing it voluntarily? Not possessed by some demon?"
Hearing this, Chisato was utterly dumbfounded.
Nearby, Luo Shu couldn't help but cover his mouth and turn away, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
"This is normal clothing! It's a school uniform! A Tokyo schoolgirl's uniform!"
"A scholar's garments?"
For the first time, Kikyo's composure cracked. Her usually calm face now showed genuine shock:
"Has the capital Kyoto already fallen to lustful demons?"
Meanwhile, Luo Shu, still chuckling, used the system to contact Kirika Tachibana and transmit their findings.
However, upon receiving Luo Shu's reconnaissance report, Kirika responded:
"Huh? Itō just reported that your team only entered the Abyss moments ago. How did you gather so much intelligence so quickly?"
Reading this reply, Luo Shu's pupils constricted slightly.