Tokyo Gods Only Want Beautiful Priestesses

Amidst the flames, the old monk shouted loudly, ignoring the raging fire burning his soul, and simply asked questions.

"Are you truly immortal? If there is no death, what is the end of life?"

Lost in the world, Yoshikiyo Sato finally remembered when and when he had become obsessed with death.

Before he died, when he was still the Saigyō monk and the poet Satō Yoshikiyo, praised by the world.

During one of his travels, he came to Hokke-ji Temple in Nara, the place where the Fujiwara clan had built its glorious legacy.

It was the residence of his ancestor, Fujiwara no Fuhito.

Here he met a girl weeping in Hokke-ji Temple, named Fujiwara Chiyo, an immortal child possessed by a phoenix.

He recalled their conversation that day, in which the girl sought solace from him, asking him what the meaning of an immortal life was. He, however, was troubled by the girl's constant cycle of death and rebirth.

Yoshikiyo Sato was a monk who believed that life is a continuous process of seeking enlightenment through reincarnation, and that the desires brought about by the physical body are all obstacles that blind one's eyes.

Death, the liberation from the bondage of the physical body and the entanglement of desires, is precisely the path to enlightenment they seek.

But how can an immortal being attain enlightenment? If one cannot die, doesn't that mean one's entire life is trapped within the physical body, tormented by desires, unable to attain enlightenment or liberation?

What then is the difference between the human world and hell?

Troubled by this question, Yoshikiyo Sato did not answer the girl. After pondering it all day, he came to his own answer: "I wish to die beneath the spring blossoms, on a moonlit night."

If life is suffering and torment, then death may be the silence of eternal sleep, as well as enlightenment and liberation. Yet, after he died as he wished beneath the cherry blossoms, he still wandered the world, living on in the defiled underworld.

They despise the defiled land and yearn for the pure land.

When he saw the phoenix that had taken flight soaring into the sky, a memory he had cherished, he finally understood that he was still troubled by the same question he had grappled with, by the girl's appearance back then.

"Where does immortal life end? What is its meaning? Nearly a thousand years have passed! What have you gained from this thousand years of suffering? Answer me! Tell me the answer! Fujiwara Chiyo!"

When the monk asked her a question, Chiyo simply gave him the middle finger.

"Fool, how would I know such a thing? I need to work hard just to fill my stomach."

Amidst the flames, Yoshikiyo Sato stared at Chiyo in astonishment, seemingly unable to comprehend what the meaning of filling one's stomach was for an immortal being.

But his thoughts didn't last long. Under the flames of the phoenix, his body shrank rapidly, and his soul, unable to feel pain, was burned into a wisp of smoke in the flames.

"Look, your father is dead."

"My father has been dead for almost a thousand years, okay?"

At some point, Jingu, carrying a kimono-clad girl bound with ropes, stood behind Hanayama-in Haru, silently making sarcastic remarks.

"Lord Jingu!"

Hanayama Haru had gotten somewhat used to the shrine's occasional unpredictable appearances, but that wasn't what she was focused on right now; she was concerned with something else entirely.

"Lord Jingu, since you were here, why didn't you stop it? Now it's all burned!"

To everyone's surprise, the shrine that Hanayama Haru was wary of causing trouble didn't cause any problems, but Chiyo, whom he felt was reliable, caused a major issue instead.

However, the shrine maiden didn't rush to pay attention to her, considering the small fire to be easily dealt with, and continued to joke with the girl.

"Then I was wrong. Look, your father's soul has been scattered."

The girl pouted, feeling very uncomfortable being tied up, especially since the way the shrine was tied up, while not exactly erotic, was certainly prominent enough, making her feel very uncomfortable.

"It's just a normal cycle. After wandering around for so long, it's all just empty talk."

The girl was neither sad nor happy. Perhaps she should have sent her father to reincarnation long ago. The body of the dead would return to the earth to become nourishment, and after the soul was assigned a place by hell, it would one day return to the earth and give birth to new life.

Being burned to ashes by Chiyo is just another way for the soul to return to the earth. All things are ultimately in the cycle of life and death, only this cycle is different from what ordinary people imagine.

Reincarnation is not an alternative continuation of the old life, but a completely new beginning in the true sense.

Chapter 73 The thief never escapes

"Lord Jingu, if this continues, there will be nothing left!"

The firebird had dissipated, but the fire in the manor was still spreading. Hanayama Haru felt that even if the shrine intervened now, only ruins would remain.

"I know, I know, putting out the fire is a piece of cake."

The shrine clapped its hands, and the earth cracked open, swallowing the entire burning manor. A massive amount of soil instantly extinguished the raging flames and buried the entire manor.

After swallowing the entire manor, the land returned to its original state, and the flowers and plants grew rapidly, making it seem as if the manor that once stood there was just a phantom.

Hanayama Haru was stunned, then realized that this was not the kind of earth-shattering method she wanted!

"Where's the rain? Shouldn't it be raining? We might as well let it keep burning!"

Well, she admitted that she was a little excited, and for a moment she even dared to complain to the shrine.

But to everyone's surprise, the shrine maiden neither got angry nor acted indifferent; instead, she rolled her eyes at her as if she were a fool.

"Have some common sense, okay? How can ordinary rain extinguish such a big fire? Unless you want to cause a flash flood or mudslide."

Ah...this...Hanayama Haru glanced at Kaori beside her, wanting to ask her how to handle the situation, but found that the other was lost in thought and didn't seem to care at all.

Kayama-in Haru called her name a few times before Kyoko came to her senses and smiled at her.

"It's alright, I'll take care of this little problem for you later."

Under the grateful gaze of Hanayama Haru, Kyoko looked at Chiyo, who was crawling out of the ground, and began to think about something again.

Meanwhile, the shrine and the mysterious girl on the other side started making a ruckus again.

"So why did you insist on tying me up too? Everything's over, my father was burned to ashes by you, shouldn't you let me go?"

"Who knows if you're some kind of mastermind behind this, secretly sacrificing your father for some scheme? After all, I still don't know how I ended up in the underworld."

Jingu held the rope in one hand and looked at the girl with a mocking expression.

“You’re very cunning. I’ve asked you your name several times, and you’ve always dodged the question. You’re highly suspicious. I have to take you back and interrogate you severely.”

"I am just an ordinary little ghost, and I have long forgotten the trivial matters of my past life. Now I am just an insignificant one among the billions of souls in the underworld."

"This guy's putting on an act again," Jingu muttered, but Hanayama Haru beside him was a little confused.

What is it? The mastermind? Father? The underworld? I only went into the Divine Palace for a short while, how did it involve so many things?

Seeing that the two shrines had no intention of letting her go, the girl gritted her teeth and took out the fan she kept close to her waist.

"Why are you so persistent, sir? My daughter is a ghost and cannot stay in the mortal world for long. Please accept this small fan. If you ever need anything in the future, you can use this fan to go directly to the underworld to find my daughter. What do you say?"

The young girl could easily guess the shrine's little scheme. If she didn't offer some benefits from either side, she'd have a hard time escaping today.

"Really?"

The shrine maiden took the fan, which contained a deep aura of death. If an ordinary person were to hold it, they would probably seek death within a day.

"Of course, this fan is also my daughter's personal item. It has no other uses except to connect the mortal world to my daughter's underworld abode."

Jingu tried it and it seemed to work, so he waved his hand and let the girl go. However, he grabbed the girl's hand just as she was about to slip away.

"If you don't leave your name, how will I find you even if I go to the underworld? You should leave your name."

"If you ever come looking for me in the future, just call out 'Sakura'."

Having said that, it disappeared like a ginseng fruit upon touching the ground, running back to the underworld.

Hanayama Haru watched the entire scene at the Shrine, which resembled forcing a woman into prostitution, and was somewhat speechless. She didn't know whether she should tell Suga Ai what she had just witnessed.

Why are your gods getting so shameless lately? Did they flip some strange switch?

"Pah! You almost buried me alive, you know that?"

Chiyo, who had just emerged from the ground, jogged over, the flames burning on her body like a feathered robe, preventing any accidental exposure.

"I didn't bury it, I know what I'm doing."

Jingu casually brushed it off, then picked up a blade of grass from the ground, transformed it into a coat, and handed it to Chiyo. Turning to Kaori, he said, "Do you Onmyoji have any way to prevent this guy from having his clothes ripped off every time he fights? It's such a bad influence."

"Oh? Oh, I'll think of something when I get back."

Hanayama Haru felt that Kujou Kaori was acting strangely today, as she seemed out of sorts. However, she assumed that it was because she was shocked by the first encounter with such an outrageous person as Jingu, and didn't pay much attention to it.

"Alright, let's head home. You still have to treat us to lunch at this hour."

Jingu sat in the carriage, playing with the fan in her hand. Although it was meant for a young girl to use close to her body, it was not small compared to the other fan, and it could also be used by a man.

Hanayama Haru sighed as she took one last look at the manor, now buried beneath a green hill.

Forget it, someone's taking the blame anyway, I don't want to think about it anymore. I feel like I've already experienced too much of what Hanayama Inu has to do today, I just want to go back and slack off.

However... Hanayama Inuharu's eyebrows twitched, and he secretly took out his phone.

After the group drove away, Sakura, who had slipped away earlier, emerged from under the cherry blossom tree and sighed deeply as she looked in the direction the group had gone.

"Seriously, when someone comes to me with something like this, only that silly deer of a father would agree without even thinking about it. Now he's really been sent to reincarnation."

"Oh? What's up? Why don't you tell me?"

A golden fox fell from the tree, looking at Sakura with ill intent. It was none other than Tamamo-no-Mae, who hadn't appeared for several days.

After suffering such a humiliating defeat, she didn't see or look for anyone. The shrine maiden thought she was secretly hiding somewhere, licking her wounds and making plans on her own. In reality, the sly fox had been secretly following and spying on the shrine maiden's every move these past few days.

She was just waiting for the right moment and opportunity to get revenge for that shot. Besides revenge, she also wanted to find a chance to make the shrine disappear in an instant and get her revenge.

Damn it, how could a vixen like her be so weak? It must be Bao Ji's fault, not hers. We have to get revenge.

But now... Tamamo-no-Mae stared at Sakura with ill intent, but although Sakura was startled at first, she immediately laughed and unfolded her small fan.

Although she appeared weak and helpless in front of the shrine, that was only due to the vast difference in their abilities, and did not mean that she was truly powerless.

A battle between women is about to erupt.

Meanwhile, Jingu, who had originally planned to gather more information during the meal, saw a beautiful, indifferent face as soon as she got out of the car.

"what?"

Chapter 74 How can dogs and donkeys be called supreme beings?

"What? Is Lord Jingu unhappy to see Ai?"

The pretty young girl sat there, her slender and graceful figure appearing exceptionally delicate and upright in the sunlight, and the bow tie adorning her chest seemed to particularly highlight her well-developed physique.

No matter how many times she looked at the legs encased in black pantyhose, they always attracted Jingu's attention, a feeling she rarely had with other people.

"How could that be? It was just a bit of a surprise."