Witch Special

According to common sense, when the special envoy is able to return, as long as he sends an application through his personal terminal, he will be immediately pulled back to the main world by the "company" no matter where he is.

However, the Garden of the Dead might be an exception. It seemed to operate under a different system, preventing even the "Company" from gaining access. Therefore, whether teleporting here or back, Lin Zhenxi had to leave the confines of the Garden of the Dead, passing through the Hakurei Shrine to reach the world outside the Great Barrier of the Garden of the Dead.

So now, Lin Zhenxi rode on the broom and flew directly towards the shrine. In a short while, she flew across the beast path and arrived safely in front of the shrine's torii gate.

Honestly, compared to the torii gates in the Festival World, the one at Hakurei Shrine is not only much smaller, but also much duller in color. I wonder if the miko, when she saw the magnificent torii gates in the Festival World, ever stole one and replaced it with her own.

After all, I heard from Teacher Patchouli that the successive shrine maidens of Hakurei Shrine seemed to have no luck with money and had always lived a very hard life, like breaking a dollar into two petals.

There was no other way. Hakurei Shrine was deep in the mountains, and anyone who wanted to visit had to cross the long Beast Path. Even though the shrine maiden would regularly clear the Beast Path of dangerous monsters, she simply couldn't clean up the small monsters like Maodama that were everywhere, like stones on the roadside. In the end, she simply ignored them.

However, the harmlessness of the peltama depends on who it targets. To ordinary people living in the human world, the peltama is still a very dangerous creature, not to mention the mischievous and ruthless goblins. Taking all these factors into consideration, ordinary people in the human world would not easily risk visiting the Hakurei Shrine.

Furthermore, if you're looking for spiritual solace, Myouren-ji Temple, located right next to the village, is also an option. It's right next to the village, so you don't even need to leave. It's just a short walk away for after-dinner refreshments, making it much more convenient than the long and potentially dangerous Hakurei Shrine.

Therefore, the business performance of Myouren-ji Temple is very good. Compared with Hakurei Shrine, it is almost like heaven and earth, with a world of difference.

In terms of floor area, number of buildings, grandeur of decoration, and number of staff, Hakurei Shrine was crushed.

Anyway, when Lin Maki arrived at Hakurei Shrine, it was quiet. Although the courtyard was clean and there were no fallen leaves, there was no one there either. Even the shrine maiden was nowhere to be found.

Without even a receptionist, it's a wonder they get any business. But then again, perhaps the shrine maiden herself has given up on treatment. She's been through so much hardship in her first half of life, so naturally, she doesn't expect to live a life of luxury in the second half.

But even if no one greeted her, it didn't matter. Lin Zhenxi had been to the Garden of the Dead many times and knew exactly how to leave. So she put away her magic broom and walked straight into the courtyard of Hakurei Shrine, heading towards the main hall.

The pool leading out of the courtyard of death is just behind the main hall.

As she passed by the main hall, Lin Zhenxi noticed the offering box placed at the main entrance. Compared to the slightly dusty wooden floor, the offering box was incredibly clean, its surface smooth and imperceptible, almost patina-like. She wondered how diligently the shrine maidens here cleaned the offering box.

Maybe she really hopes someone will come to the shrine to pray...

Well, how about I pray for you too?

Lin Zhenxi still remembers the "five-yen coin" that she got from the treasure chest in the celebration world. Obviously, the blessing coin was used in this kind of occasion.

In fact, there is more than one shrine in the Garden of the Dead, there is also a Moriya Shrine on the other side of the Monster Mountain, which enshrines two gods, Yasaka Kanako and Kashiya Suwako. The Lake of the Wind God that Hayashi Maki visited in the Festival World belongs to the Moriya Shrine.

But for Lin Zhenxi, a place like Monster Mountain was simply too dangerous. She was trembling with fear even in the wilds of the Death Courtyard, let alone going to a place like Monster Mountain, where monsters were everywhere. She didn't want to be a snack for them.

By the way, Teacher Patchouli once gave Lin Zhenxi a popular science introduction to the history of the Garden of the Dead, and also said that the official belief here is actually the Dream Goddess in the Three Temples and her two subordinate gods, the "Blue Moon Goddess" and the "Blue Star Goddess", but the Moriya Shrine and the Hakurei Shrine enshrine other gods, and the Three Temples did not say anything, and even seemed not to care at all. It seems that the Three Temples are quite tolerant when it comes to issues of faith.

It is not even certain whether the gods enshrined in these two shrines are real gods. Perhaps they are just some powerful beings who proclaim themselves gods.

Standing in front of the offering box, Lin Zhenxi recalled the procedures for praying for blessings that she had read about online. Although they were not even in the same world, when praying for blessings, the most important thing was sincerity; whether the procedures were correct was actually unimportant.

Anyway, as long as Lin Zhenxi did her best, she believed that the shrine maidens here would not care whether her prayer process was in compliance with the regulations.

So, first... I think it's time to wash your hands? Lin Zhenxi looked around and saw a sink at the door, which was constantly filling and overflowing. She walked over and put her hands in the sink, rubbing them carefully.

After using the warm air barrier to dry the water droplets on his hands, Lin Zhenxi once again returned to the offering box.

What's next? Clap your hands or flip a coin?

Lin Zhenxi noticed the big bell above the offering box. She had the impression that when praying, one needed to ring the bell first and then clap one's hands, while clapping one's hands, silently reciting one's wishes in one's heart.

This should be the process...

So Lin Zhenxi grabbed the hemp rope hanging from the bottom of the bell and shook it hard twice, causing the bell to make a clattering sound, which made it sound as if the bell was made of very thick material.

When the bell rang, Lin Zhenxi clapped her hands three times and silently said in her heart, "I hope everything will go well in the future.", "I hope every deployment can be successful.", "I hope my family and I can be healthy and happy." Three wishes in total.

After completing the wish, Lin Zhenxi took out the "five-yen coin" from the space cube and threw it into the donation box in front of her.

The coin passed through the grating above the offering box and fell into the box with a hollow sound. It seemed that although the offering box had been wiped clean, it was empty inside, with no goods at all.

However, this is quite consistent with other people's stereotypes about Hakurei Shrine and Hakurei shrine maidens. If the offering boxes here were full, it might not be realistic, and people might even doubt what is in the boxes.

Maybe it's fallen leaves, or frozen frogs or something like that, but it definitely can't be money.

Then, the next second after Lin Zhenxi threw the coin into the offering box, a black-haired girl wearing a red and white shrine maiden costume suddenly appeared beside Lin Zhenxi. She was so fast that Lin Zhenxi didn't even realize where she came from.

She probably had seen Lin Zhenxi a long time ago, but before Lin Zhenxi threw the coin, she had no interest in Lin Zhenxi at all and was too lazy to even show her face.

"Welcome! Sir, what business would you like to handle? My Hakurei Shrine offers a variety of services, from summoning gods and exorcising evil spirits to protecting homes and protecting the environment. As long as you ask, I will definitely help you handle the matter perfectly."

Hayashi Maki was taken aback by the shrine maiden's overly enthusiastic attitude. Although she had heard from Patchouli-sensei that the Hakurei shrine maiden was poor, she probably wouldn't be so eager for a coin, right?

How long has it been since anyone came to worship here that the shrine maiden is so attentive to this rare guest?

"Uh... I don't have anything to ask for, I just thought since I'm at the shrine I might as well pray."

"Okay, let's pray, right? Please wait a moment, sir." After saying that, Hakurei's shrine maiden left Lin Maki behind, turned around and ran away like a gust of wind, leaving Lin Maki alone there, not knowing why.

But soon, she ran back with a handful of amulets in her hands.

"Come, come, sir. These are amulets imbued with Hakurei's divine power. They are guaranteed to work. They will bring you safe transportation, smooth love, academic success, good health, continuous good luck, abundant wealth, successful love, a happy marriage, and many children..."

"Well, I'm single and have no plans to find a partner." Lin Zhenxi interrupted Miss Hakurei's sales pitch.

"Oh, then these are not needed." As she said that, Miss Hakurei, the shrine maiden, picked out some amulets and held them in her other hand, and then continued to recommend other amulets to Lin Zhenxi, as if she would never let her go if she didn't accept them.

Finally, succumbing to the miko's exuberant enthusiasm, Hayashi Maki chose the Good Luck Amulet, the Health Amulet, and the Academic Amulet. Three wishes, three claps, three amulets. Hayashi Maki felt like she should throw two more into the offering box to complete the number three.

But this time, unexpectedly, the shrine maiden rejected Lin Zhenxi's idea, because the offering must be made before receiving the blessing. If the offering is made after receiving the blessing, it will become a transaction with the gods, and humans are obviously not qualified to make transactions with gods.

Of course, the miko wasn't actually rejecting Lin Zhenxi's offerings; she was hoping for a long-term relationship. After receiving the blessing, if the wish came true, one would need to return to fulfill the vow. At that time, how much offerings to make to the shrine would depend on the believer's own wishes.

Fulfilling vows is the bulk of a shrine's income.

So in the end, Hayashi Maki brought these three so-called "amulets infused with Hakurei's divine power" and came to the pool behind the main hall accompanied by the shrine maiden.

This is also the passage in and out of the courtyard of death.

After waving goodbye to the shrine maiden, Lin Zhenxi jumped into the pool and left the Garden of Death.

Main world, return!