"Let me see. This is Byakko Plain. The big mountain ahead is Mt. Yougou, and at its summit is the Grand Narukami Shrine."
Spreading out the map, Ember pointed as he looked. Soon, he found his way forward.
The Grand Narukami Shrine is a famous tourist attraction and place of worship in Inazuma, so its location was naturally easy to find.
Looking up, Ember was surrounded by a lush, green plain. The plain was incredibly vast, with not many tall trees.
And in the distance of the plain was Mt. Yougou, bathed in a dark purple shadow.
"Mt. Yougou, a mountain true to its name," Ember remarked, seeing the highly recognizable mountain.
If all places were as recognizable as Mt. Yougou, he wouldn't have to worry about getting lost in the future.
Byakko Plain could already be considered the heart of Inazuma. An obvious change was that at least three burly men wouldn't jump out to rob Ember here.
Ember's journey in Inazuma became more comfortable the further he went. As for the reason… it was naturally because he found a hint of his old feeling in Inazuma.
He used to get into a big fight every three steps and a small fight every two, and anyone who could move couldn't help but take a swing at Ember.
Although Byakko Plain was located in the heart of Inazuma, it was peculiar that such a vast plain contained absolutely nothing. It was quite miraculous.
"No people, but plenty of foxes," Ember muttered as he walked along the path, sensing the pulsations of many small creatures around him.
"Hmm? Come here!"
The grass near the road rustled. Ember, quick as a flash, extended his iron hand and, by its ears, pulled out a white fox.
"Woah!"
The white fox probably hadn't expected to be caught. Its movements visibly paused, as if it hadn't reacted yet.
"Wah!"
But soon, the white fox began to struggle. Its short limbs flailed, but unfortunately, Ember was holding its long ears, like carrying a rabbit. Its limbs just thrashed at the air.
"This intelligence is not simple," Ember lifted the white fox and met its gaze.
Upon seeing the panic in its eyes, he knew this was no ordinary fox.
"Is this a place for raising yokai?" Ember casually tossed the white fox away, stroking his chin in speculation.
The fox's behavior was like that of a legendary yokai. If so, could this Byakko Plain be a gathering place for Inazuma's fox yokai?
But what did that have to do with Ember? Nothing. So, after tossing the white fox away, Ember continued onward.
The lush, long grass gradually disappeared, and scattered farmlands began to appear on both sides of the road.
Accordingly, signs of human activity naturally increased.
"Stop! What are you doing?!"
A checkpoint suddenly appeared ahead on the road. The Sergeant stationed there immediately blocked Ember's path upon seeing him approach.
"Uh… going to the Grand Narukami Shrine."
Ember paused. He suddenly realized he was a wanted criminal with a prominent spot on Inazuma's list.
This… Ember glanced at Mt. Yougou, which was almost within sight. He felt a bit disinclined to cooperate.
With his hands behind his back, Ember's palm slipped into a spatial rift. Through the rift, his hand grasped a large, dusty club that had been unused for a long time.
"Grand Narukami Shrine, and dressed so strangely?"
"Alright, go on! I hope your stamina holds up."
"Huh?"
Ember released the large club in his hand, and the spatial rift disappeared with it.
These few soldiers, they wouldn't be planning to call for reinforcements after he left, would they?
"Huh what? Are we supposed to give you a crutch or something…"
"Bang!"
"Ouch!"
Ember instantly turned into an afterimage, knocking the soldiers at the checkpoint into a daze.
As for whether they had discovered Ember, or whether they would call for reinforcements, did it make any difference to Ember?
...Mt. Yougou, named because one side of the mountain range is perpetually in shadow.
Perhaps due to being constantly shrouded in shadow, the vegetation on one side of Mt. Yougou was entirely purple, forming a stark contrast with other normal vegetation.
"This place is so chilly, like it's haunted." Stepping onto the purple grass, Ember was met with a gust of cold wind. The sudden drop in temperature made him grumble.
Continuing onward, Ember soon saw a dilapidated shrine before him.
"..."
Looking at the illusory figure in front of the shrine, Ember fell silent.
"There really are ghosts?" He scratched his head, astonished at the phantom before him.
He looked up at the mountaintop. The pink of the cherry blossoms was so prominent at the summit of Mt. Yougou, which made Ember even more speechless.
The ghost was below the shrine. Should he say the ghost was formidable, or the shrine was incompetent? Inazuma's departments were truly more bizarre than the last.
"Hey! Can you talk?" Ember reached out, and the phantom dissipated like mist, vanishing completely into the shrine.
Rubbing his fingers, Ember nodded thoughtfully, "Lingering regret? Waiting for someone or something?"
The phantom figure of a Miko re-materialized from a distance. She had her back to Ember, as if beckoning him to come and see.
However, Ember didn't go over. He jumped onto the roof of the dilapidated shrine, carefully observing this clearly extraordinary place.
As Ember's gaze intensified, some things that hadn't been there before gradually appeared in his eyes.
"Ward… suppressing something?" Ember glanced at the Miko's phantom, which remained motionless. He nodded.
"Alright! It'll only take a moment. I'll help you out."
With that, Ember's gaze turned towards a dark, small canyon in front of the shrine.
Then Ember's figure instantly vanished, and when he reappeared, he was already above the canyon. Immediately after, Ember delivered a direct punch downwards.
"Boom!"
The earth groaned, and the canyon collapsed. And before his eyes, another shimmering purple appeared.
"Why is it purple again?!"
Ember was startled when he saw the shimmering purple. In the past, purple was no different from any other color to Ember.
But ever since he came to Inazuma, purple had become the color of disaster in Ember's mind.
Any problem in Inazuma seemed to be linked to purple. The tatarigami was purplish-black, the Mikage Furnace was deep purple, and now this ghostly thing was also purple.
Ember felt that if he saw purple again, he would probably punch it directly.
"Bang!"
As the smoke cleared, a samurai in red armor appeared before Ember.
"Resentment? Not from that great serpent?" Ember took one look and knew this thing was another manifestation of resentment.
There was probably some great array sealing resentment beneath the canyon. Ember's punch just now had directly destroyed the array.
But then again, if the overflowing resentment could already form a physical body, this great array probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.
"Dead man, just lie still!"
A flash of a blade, and the head of the samurai formed by resentment fell to the ground, disappearing. At the same time, the shimmering purple light gradually dimmed.
Kicking aside the scattered rubble, Ember walked through the canyon. Picking up the faintly visible magatama on the ground and looking at the upright tree root, Ember placed his palm on it.
He sent out a wisp of consciousness, following the tree root. Soon, his consciousness retracted, and Ember felt even more numb.
He clutched his head, exasperatedly shouting, "Six locations! And it's six locations spread across the entire Narukami Island! Who maintained this great array? Drag them out and execute them!"
After a moment of exasperation, Ember accepted reality. Now, his itinerary included another task: dealing with the resentment congealed within the cherry tree roots.
"Let me count…"
"War, tatarigami, supply transport, the Furnace, cherry tree resentment, delivering notes…"
As he counted, Ember's voice grew softer. Because he suddenly realized that, in fact, he didn't need to do any of these things.
"Where are the Fatui?"
"Where are the Fatui on Narukami Island?"
"Workhorses, more workhorses!"
Faint whispers echoed. At that moment, all the Fatui on Narukami Island suddenly felt a chill down their spines.
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