Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 1543

"Then let's find a more suitable location. It wouldn't be good if we scared other people," Ji said.

Kagura pointed in another direction: "Over there, that's a good spot."

Upon hearing this, Kyosuke Kosaka raised his hand and used his spiritual power to make a move, and a small patch of earth and stone silently disappeared.

Then, one by one, people went up.

Kyosuke Kosaka, who was ahead of them, looked up and saw in the distance rows of simple huts made of trees and leaves, surrounded by fences, probably to keep out wild animals.

However, there was no one in sight.

"They've all gathered together; judging from the noise, they must be having a party."

Longkui looked towards a certain spot in the village.

When she was in the cave, her senses were blocked, but when she came out, there was no problem, and she could easily sense her surroundings.

"Go during the party..." Ji hesitated again.

Kyosuke Kosaka was surprised; it turned out that this girl did have some basic common sense.

“Go on, I brought some other things with me, so I called myself a merchant, and then I had a reason to go over and say that I was going to trade with them.”

"What is it?"

"Salt."

"……what."

Ji seemed somewhat disappointed.

Kyosuke Kosaka shook his head inwardly; he wasn't Doraemon.

Besides, no one would appreciate what I bring out, and even if someone did like it, I wouldn't have anything of equal value to offer. So I might as well use salt. Luckily, there's coarse salt in the space.

473. The World Situation/Restraint Relationship of the Gluttonous God

"Who?"

"We are merchants who have wandered and suffered all the way here. All we have left are the best salt blocks."

As the only man in the group, Kyosuke Kosaka naturally took the initiative to strike up a conversation with the villagers.

"Salt? We can't afford it. You'd better go somewhere else!"

One young man was the first to speak out, looking like he wanted to drive people away, as if he had seen a thief.

Kousaka Kyosuke also understands.

The world has chaotic seasons, and the degree of suffering is less than in his world, but it still makes it difficult for many people to live easily. So it is only natural to be wary of strangers.

Moreover, it is only natural to be wary of strangers.

"Is that so? Well, there's nothing we can do about it..."

Kyosuke Kosaka gave a helpless look, then looked at Ki.

He had no intention of stubbornly staying and finding excuses to do so, as it was unnecessary and would only provoke the people who seemed to be having a party to commit some violent acts.

In any case, from what he observed, quite a few strong young men had secretly taken up sticks or similar weapons, and they could be beaten up at any moment...

The situation will be quite awkward then; whether or not you fight back, it doesn't feel like things are going to turn sour.

"Let's go." Ji was sensible and understood the current situation, so he suggested leaving.

Suddenly, an old woman with a cane spoke up.

"This...you must be a deity from the forest?"

Lord God? !

Many people in the village gasped in surprise, staring at Ji in disbelief.

In their eyes, she was just an ordinary girl, how could she possibly be a deity?

"Oh? It's you... the little girl who got lost decades ago."

Ji examined the old woman for a moment and immediately recognized her.

The old woman chuckled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I am the little girl you sent home. I'm so glad you recognized me."

At that moment, someone suddenly spoke up.

"If they are gods, why has the world become like this? Why don't they save us?"

As soon as he finished speaking, scattered sounds arose from the surroundings.

Longkui retorted without hesitation:

"Who are you? Why should we save you or others? Is this something the gods are obligated to do? And what have you done for the gods? Have you made daily offerings, or done other acts of piety?"

"I……"

Boom!

A cane fell to the ground, making a sound.

The old woman looked at the person who was blaming Ji with some anger: "What are you complaining about? How do you know that the deity did nothing? Besides, have you ever believed in her?"

It seems the old woman also understands the concept of equivalent exchange.

Kyosuke Kosaka thought to himself.

It's just that one person's words inevitably made him develop a slight dislike for the entire village.

He was really unhappy with that moral blackmail theory he had just heard, and if Longkui hadn't already spoken up, he probably would have retorted as well.

"Hurry up and apologize! Isn't what Grandma Zhiye said right?" A little girl jumped out and looked at the man who had initially complained about Ji.

"It's alright..." Ji quickly said.

The old woman sighed: "Never mind them, come with me."

As she spoke, she raised her hand with difficulty to signal the group to follow.

Seeing this, Kyosuke Kosaka followed the old woman along with the others.

Finally, we arrived at a long table, which was the main table.

The others were all sitting at small tables.

This shows that the old woman's status was not low.

"You've all come at just the right time. It's a rare feast in the village, a day when we can eat our fill. You must be hungry, so please have some."

"Then we won't be polite."

Kyosuke Kosaka readily agreed, chuckled, and reached for the fruit with the most quantity to eat, secretly analyzing whether there was a problem.

He really wanted to refuse any food in the world, but sometimes there was no need to ruin other people's good intentions.

So I'll take a bite first to check, and if there's a problem, I'll have no choice but to tell you.

"Better safe than sorry..."

Kosaka Kyo said heartily.

After taking a bite and finding no problem, he slowed down his eating pace, naturally without alerting the others.

Ji and the old woman had already started chatting.

“After last winter, spring never ended, and food ran out quickly, which made everything uncontrollable because the feeling of hunger was unbearable… Our village was moved here a few years ago, and we were able to barely survive because of the sudden phenomenon of all four seasons coexisting in this forest.”

"Aren't there plenty of fruits to eat here?"

"My lord, this may seem to you, but it's not the case for us humans. While the coexistence of the four seasons here allows trees to bear fruit, the downside is that the fruit is not what we usually know. For example, a fruit that looks like an apple might have already turned into poison..."

The old woman slowly explained the strangeness of the forest.

Kyosuke Kousaka listened quietly, not surprised at all.

It is perfectly logical that the gluttonous evil god plunges humanity into a hell of hunger.

What he needs to do is to defeat the evil god Noshigami as soon as possible, restore order to the world, strengthen the Ame no Habakiri in Seimei's hands, and then continue in this way.

Although it's a story about fighting monsters and leveling up weapons, the level of danger goes without saying.

After the feast of wild fruits came to an end.

Kyosuke Kosaka was also preparing to leave with his people, even though the old woman earnestly tried to persuade him to stay. Before leaving, he gave the old woman a jar the size of a pineapple, which contained pills for fasting.

Diluting one pill with water is enough to sustain the people of this small village for two or three days.

That jar was probably enough to sustain their entire village for more than a month.

"...The medicine must be very precious, right?"

On the way, Ji couldn't help but ask.

Kyosuke Kosaka mumbled something vague: "It's alright."

The elixirs used for fasting were nothing in the past, but during times of food scarcity, they became priceless treasures.

Kyosuke Kosaka also kept a portion for each of his partners, worried that they might encounter similar predicaments. He carried the remaining small amount with him and would occasionally use it to help some poor people he saw.

Now, the last bit of it is left in this world.