The wait before reunion is always the hardest to endure, as it makes the weight of longing increase exponentially.
However, Yaezakura did not dodge Lu Mian's aggressive gaze, but just looked at Theresa with a foolish look on her face.
Theresa looked up at Lu Mian, then looked at Yaezakura, and narrowed her eyes slightly.
At this time, she also noticed that something was wrong with Yaesakura.
It would be fine if you weren't scared when three fish-headed monsters as tall as a human suddenly jumped out of the stream where the water was just enough to cover half of your calves. You could also explain it as you were just so frightened because you had never seen such a scene before.
Now, with her almost naked appearance being stared at by a grown man and she doesn't dodge or evade, it means that she either has a problem with her brain or she has a problem with herself.
Before Theresa could think about it, Lu Mian suddenly asked:
"Beautiful lady, may I ask your name?"
"Sakura, Yaezakura." Yaezakura, who seemed to be only paying attention to Theresa, also had a good impression of Lu Mian, a man with a strong scent of Kallen, and did not hesitate to give an answer.
Lu Mian smiled, and then asked the next question, "So may I ask Miss Yaezakura, when and where are you now?"
"As for the time, it was the eleventh year of Bunsho, and the location was Shinano...Yae Village..." Yaezakura answered fluently.
Chapter 14 Sakura Sakura wants to see you (two in one)
Facing Lu Mian's classic question about time and place, Yaezakura thought for a moment and immediately answered:
"As for the time, it was the 11th year of Bunsho, and the location was Shinano... Yaesura..."
“Wen, Wenzheng eleventh year!?” Before Lu Mian, the questioner, could say anything, Theresa exclaimed.
It's not Theresa's fault for making a fuss, because as far as she knows, the eleventh year of Wen Zheng is a full five hundred years away from the "present" time where they are.
Is this an accidental time travel or a confusing illusion?
Her doll-like delicate face was filled with surprise, and she subconsciously looked up at the man beside her, hoping to get some comfort.
This action was rewarded with a chuckle that made one feel at ease no matter from what angle or under what circumstances.
After signaling to Theresa with his eyes that "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything", Lu Mian looked at Yaezakura again, but did not rush to speak.
His expression was a mixture of light and dark, as if he was thinking.
Now, the "enemy" that had drawn him and Theresa into this mysterious fantasy world was clearly identified:
Yaezakura, or rather the Herrscher Kiryuumaru behind Yaezakura.
So, what does Feiyukumaru want to do?
Did he want to use this illusion to kill Yaesakura and Theresa, the two unexpected obstacles?
No, that's not right. For a Herrscher who is capable of doing this, Feiyukumaru must have a bigger agenda. Simple murder is not justifiable.
From the perspective of Lu Mian, who knew something about Yaezakura's experiences, Feiyumaru used the "dream weaving" method to construct such a dream world that was strongly related to Yaezakura, and he must have wanted Yaezakura to recall something.
When she was young, she was the only shrine maiden in the village, but she had to kill her own sister with her own hands in order to pray for rain under the coercion of her biological father.
When he grew up, he met Kallen but was forced to fight her with swords because of the black box's bewitching power.
These two memories that are heavy and desperate enough may become useful tools to pry open Yaezakura's heart.
And when Yaezakura loses her mind and can't control her emotions, Feiyukumaru can then achieve his goal.
His purpose might be to take this opportunity to use his power of erosion to completely erode Yaezakura, and then return to the world by "taking over another's body", and win the resurrection match by doing sit-ups like Dante did.
After all, if he could be independent on his own, there would be no need for him to be tied to Yaezakura and waste five hundred years.
Lu Mian, who stood on the opposite side of Feiyuwan, relied on his advantage of foresight to guess and sorted out all the motives of Feiyuwan.
But his brows were still slightly furrowed and did not relax.
It's about the second simulation.
Because of the friendly explanation given by Dr. Snake, who did not want to reveal his name, Lu Mian now knew very well that, in theory, those shining people and their families who survived because of him should have the ability to "converge".
The little guy Ling, who is of the same origin as Feiyumaru, should also have the ability to easily restrain Feiyumaru.
Why does the Feiyukumaru still exist here?
Is it that Ling, like Gracie, did not choose to do so?
Or...she actually couldn't do it at all.
Is it possible that the Scarlet Priestess Maru, who has transformed into the Herrscher of Corrosion, is actually a completely different existence from the individual named "Rin"?
If it's the former, then there's nothing much to say.
If it's the latter, then it actually seems quite reasonable.
Thinking like this, Lu Mian, who had made Yaezakura and Theresa wait for quite a while, had a mixed expression of light and dark.
He put away his complicated thoughts and chuckled again. He took the initiative to supplement Theresa and Yae Sakura's motivations for their actions:
"Yae Village, it's really an 'interesting' place, Miss Yaesakura. My sister Theresa and I passed by here while traveling, but we didn't find any people. Can you lead us into the village to rest?"
Hearing this, Theresa, who didn't know the relationship between Lu Mian, Otto, and the Fool, just felt that she was two generations younger for no reason. But she didn't say much. Instead, she smiled at Yaezakura in cooperation.
This is her only advantage: she has a clear understanding of herself without becoming arrogant.
Let her do the talking, can she?
It's very difficult.
Faced with Lu Mian's somewhat far-fetched explanation, Yaezakura did not delve into the matter. No, it would be better to say that she no longer had the ability to do so at this moment.
The shrine maiden with long cherry-colored hair stared blankly at the silver-haired, blue-eyed girl who was smiling at her, with an inexplicable expression on her face.
After a while, she seemed to have just reacted, and said softly:
"So you two are travelers passing through here. I am the shrine maiden of Yae Village. If you don't mind, you can rest for a while at the Yae Shrine where I currently live."
"In that case, my 'sister' and I will be very grateful. Thank you, Miss Yaezakura, for leading the way." As he spoke, Lu Mian took Theresa's hand with one hand and raised the other hand forward as a "please" gesture.
Feeling the warmth coming from the palms of their hands, Theresa, who had remained silent and didn't say anything, looked up at Lu Mian suspiciously.
Looking at the smiling expression on the other person's face, Theresa, who already felt that she was at least two generations younger than him, felt that the pronunciation of the word "sister" was abnormally heavy, as if she was taking advantage of him.
"Do you think I'm stupid and take advantage of me?" The girl's eyes were sharp.
In response, Lu Mian still smiled lightly, not showing any panic, "No, it's just that it's the first time in my life that I have a sister and it's new."
Yaezakura, who was standing by, looked at the two people communicating silently, her face a little gloomy, but she didn't say much.
He just turned around and took on the responsibility of being a guide.
Just like that, the three of them walked away.
Soon, on a small hill in the distance, a giant, half-real and half-virtual fox named Feiyuwan appeared.
He, who had obviously been observing here secretly for a long time, narrowed his narrow eyes slightly, revealing a very human confusion.
Why, just by looking at the back of the man named Lu Mian, he inexplicably had a bad premonition that he would die.
You know, this is His world.
There is something strange...
Tsk, never mind, the advantage is mine!
Everything is under control, the erosion is unstoppable, and the Herrscher is at full firepower!
Feiyuwan stood on the hill and thought for a long time, but he couldn't figure it out, so he simply shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
It can be seen that as the "God of Creation" of this world, He really has a certain amount of confidence in Him.
-----------------
After about ten minutes' journey, Lu Mian and Theresa entered Yae Village under the guidance of Yae Sakura.
The village was quite lively - men, women, young and old, some were setting up stalls, some were shopping, some were walking, some were playing...
Overall, it was a happy occasion.
Because it is located in the Far East, the various buildings around it have a strong Japanese style.
Yaezakura walked in front, ignoring all the villagers.
Lu Mian followed closely behind, the breeze carrying the fragrance of cherry blossoms wafting into his nose, his face full of indifference.
Indifference to the surrounding villagers and the surrounding environment.
It was as if the only things worth caring about in this world were Yaezakura in front of him and Theresa beside him.
Compared to Yaesakura and Lu Mian's indifferent attitude towards everything around them, Theresa, who was not a serious person to begin with, became much more lively and looked around with curiosity.
As she watched, she seemed to suddenly discover something wrong, and tugged at Lu Mian's sleeve with her little hand, signaling him to come closer. After the latter came close enough, she whispered:
"Lu Mian, there's something strange about this village. Normal people should have some reaction to something new, even if it's not as new to them as it was to me.
"But right now, these villagers not only didn't pay any attention to our two new faces, they didn't even have any relevant reaction. This is very strange. Something is wrong. It's really wrong."
Lu Mian had naturally noticed something was wrong a long time ago, and he even saw it more clearly than Theresa.
He shook his head slowly, wanting to say something.
Just then, something interesting happened.
It was as if the “world” had heard the question raised by Theresa and corrected itself.
The villagers of Yae Village, who were originally lifeless and could only operate mechanically like zombies, began to gradually become lively.
This was not only reflected in the more lively crowd, but also in the fact that people gradually began to express their admiration for the arrival of Lu Mian and Theresa.
Seeing this, Theresa covered her mouth with her hands, and was so surprised that she couldn't utter a word.
Lu Mian stared at the crowd for a moment, with the corner of his mouth curled up slightly as if in a sneer.
He no longer had the idea of saying anything else, so he just put his arm around the girl's round shoulders and followed Yaesakura all the way.
After a while, the three of them arrived at the Yae Shrine.
The Yae Shrine where Yaezakura lives is located on the back mountain of Yae Village. Passing through the strange village and walking up the mountain along a stone road, you can see an ancient shrine.
Different from normal shrines, this shrine has more life atmosphere, and even in some places the shrine function is sacrificed for the sake of life.
It is probably because the people in this shrine have a special way of "worshiping" and do not need to follow the rules.
Lu Mian thought so without changing his expression.
Yaezakura had no idea what Lu Mian and Theresa were thinking behind her. Like them, she was "visiting" the place where she had lived for a long time.
As if she thought of some bad memories, she frowned, and the expression on her beautiful face suddenly became somewhat painful, so she quickened her pace.
After quickly taking Lu Mian and Theresa to a remote guest room, Yaezakura, who was obviously lost in her memories, apologized and left.
In the house decorated in Far Eastern style, only Lu Mian and Theresa were left, standing one taller than the other, looking at each other.
"Lu Mian, you have also noticed the weirdness of this world. To be honest, I am not good at planning and layout. What should we do now?" Theresa sat down on the tatami and looked up at Lu Mian.
Seeing this, Lu Mian pinched his smooth chin as if thinking, and after a while he suddenly said:
"How about we take a nap first?"
Following the direction of the voice, Theresa saw two beds of bedding close together and was inevitably stunned, as if she couldn't believe her ears.
Immediately, a blush quickly climbed up her creamy little face, "You, you, you, what are you thinking about? If you continue like this, I will really teach you a lesson on behalf of Kiana, understand? Hurry up and think about the business!"
Lu Mian could no longer hold back his laughter after seeing Theresa's adorable appearance, but he still responded in a serious tone:
"Yes, Principal!"
At this point, Theresa could no longer fail to see that Lu Mian was teasing her. She really didn't know what to say, so she finally chose silence, trying to kill the evil-minded man in front of her with her eyes.
Lu Mian helped Theresa relax a little in his own way and quickly stopped joking. "Okay, okay, no more joking. Now the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, and the other party is very likely to have the means to monitor us.
"In addition, we need to pay attention to one more thing. We may not be the main target of the mastermind behind the scenes. The shrine maiden named Yaezakura may be the protagonist on this stage.
"This is the current situation. As for the specific problem, we need to analyze it specifically. Let's go out for a walk together and see if we can get some useful information?"
After listening to Lu Mian's arrangements, Theresa nodded slightly, then stood up and walked outside.
