Chapter 340

PS: This is the second update, the third will be in the early morning, everyone can check it out tomorrow morning

At the beginning of the new year, the cold wind carried tiny snowflakes that slapped against the car windows, and a thin layer of white frost condensed on the glass. The train steadily drove toward Gunma, and the winter fields flashing past outside the window were desolate and silent, yet they could not in the slightest seep into the warm little world inside the carriage.

On the evening of January 1st, Uesugi Muneyuki and Mai Xuejie secretly met at the Tokyo Imperial Hotel, had dinner there that night, and then engaged in intense dual cultivation. The next morning, they boarded the vehicle heading to Gunma Prefecture.

As usual, Uesugi Muneyuki does not like to drive, so Mai Xuejie is always the one driving.

Today is the day to explore Kurosawa Shinai. Uesugi Muneyuki seems slightly nervous, not knowing what he should prepare, while Mai Xuejie's opinion is that you don't need to prepare anything.

"Don't be nervous, remember the secret arts I taught you and the martial arts you learned from that plump woman……hehehe~ from that plump woman." Mai Xuejie, sitting in the driver's seat, laughed and shook her head: "Just exploring a shrine, it's not like we're facing new gods and old gods—is it worth it?"

"Is that so? I always feel like something big is going to happen." Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head, also putting on thick winter clothes and a scarf, for the winter in Gunma Prefecture is no joke.

As for Mai Xuejie, she still possesses that breathtaking beauty; even in light makeup, her jade-toned skin in the cold air appears even more fair and translucent, as if covered with a layer of moist luster like thin snow, almost revealing the faint blue veins beneath her skin.

Her signature shoulder-length hair, carrying a hint of laziness, flows smoothly and loosely, a few strands blown by the wind lightly touch her slightly reddened cheeks from the cold, adding a touch of pitiful charm. Those clear, bright deer eyes, under the winter's slightly pale sunlight, appear especially profound, the outer corners slightly drooping, naturally bearing a sense of pure innocence. Now, because of her relaxed and joyful gathering with Uesugi Muneyuki, they have curved into a gentle crescent moon, sparkling with warmth. Her tall nose tip has been tinged with a cute pink by the cold air, and from her slightly parted lips, wisps of white mist exhale.

She chose today a calf-length oat-colored down jacket, with moderate fluffiness, not overly bulky, the smooth cut well wraps her figure, providing reliable warmth. The fabric has a delicate sheen, in the winter sunlight emitting a soft halo. At the open collar of the down jacket, the warm inner layer worn underneath can be faintly seen—a high-necked LV cashmere shirt in a soft light gray color, the fabric texture fine and soft, snugly following the lines of her slender neck.

The lower half is a form-fitting deep blue fleece-lined jean, outlining straight and slender leg lines, the pant legs neatly tucked into the ankles, a pair of thick, tall boots with a slight heel, the fluffy edges adding a touch of cuteness and warmth.

This outfit is not very to Uesugi Muneyuki's taste, but it just happens to show that Mai Xuejie regards him as being in a completely unguarded state, and moreover, Mai Xuejie also predicted that after last night's dual cultivation, Uesugi Muneyuki today definitely has no extra energy or thoughts left.

She guessed right—she is currently the only woman Uesugi Muneyuki finds difficult to deal with. The man in the passenger seat occasionally recalls last night's warm, fragrant, soft jade, lively and vivid, and his spirit still feels a bit listless.

"Speaking of which, during the Kohaku two days ago, I heard NHK complaining." Mai Xuejie gathered her courage, smiled charmingly, her eyes like a deer's cute and playful, radiantly indescribable: "Last year it was you and Fuji TV who took the first place in Kohaku ratings, this year again it's you and Fuji TV, plus me taking the first place in Kohaku ratings—are you saying you have a grudge with them, the NHK Broadcasting Corporation? But this year's Kabukicho live broadcast earned NHK some ratings back, so for now you're let off the hook."

NHK's recent ratings slump is obvious. The Kohaku Uta Gassen once reached 80% in the last century, an almost impossible-to-surpass epic level, but after entering the new millennium, the Kohaku ratings have been declining year by year; now, the first half at 35% and the second half barely over 40% has become the norm.

Last year's Kohaku was blown away by Fuji TV's Odaiba rooftop live broadcast; this year's Kohaku Uta Gassen regrouped, the female host invited was the national goddess Shirakawa Mai, the male host invited was the national idol group Arashi, resulting in the first half 37% and second half 45%, which counts as a rebound, but still not as good as Fuji TV's "God's Hand SP."

Kameyama President grinned so hard his mouth twisted, while NHK held an emergency meeting overnight to discuss what to do.

However, NHK, this neutral left-leaning media, has this one good point: you fawn over it until you reach the heavens, and it's merely like Sima Qian giving you a bit of face, slightly favoring and emphasizing the martial aspects of people like Li Guang and Xiang Yu. If you offend it badly, it's at most like Sima Qian swapping some parts of historical material and reshaping Liu Bang, a wandering elder, into a rascal and scoundrel, constantly emphasizing Wei Huo's external relative status, but it won't alter, falsify, or conceal facts. On merits and faults, it remains relatively fair and objective.

"Puchi~" Uesugi Muneyuki was amused: "Actually, NHK talked to me about cooperation, but the NHK Broadcasting Corporation couldn't possibly do stunts like a private broadcaster like Fuji TV and go straight for the lower three paths……They wanted to do a serious science program with me, but the problem is, how should I put it? Am I supposed to tell NHK, I'm drawing conclusions from conversing with dead souls?"

"Pfft~hahahaha, besides, probably Fuji TV treated you to a comfortable time?" Mai Xuejie couldn't help laughing; being with Uesugi Muneyuki, she is always especially happy, and indeed she found someone who can truly open up and talk about the inner world's content: "You enjoyed several female anchors in the green room?"

"Just two, I recorded two programs, Koyama Old Ghost arranged two for me—one Ebihara Yuka, one Tei Reiji." Uesugi Muneyuki casually complained: "Because Tei Reiji likes to go out for field interviews, I requested her a few more times, and as a result, I was also suspected of having an affair with her."

"Could there be a problem?" Mai Xuejie laughed so hard the car shook: "Also, those tabloids spreading that you, a Metropolitan Police Department pervert, turned Sakuradamon into the Ooku, specially fond of defiling other people's wives and daughters? And some police, for KPI, actively offering their wives and children—is that really true?"

"I'm not, I didn't!" Uesugi Muneyuki, at this point, felt a bit numb, wanting to refute that he is not some Uesugi Shigetoku Metropolitan Police Department pervert, but recalling the matter of Kashiwagi Misa, he could not defend himself no matter how many mouths, so he changed his wording: "I have never actively engaged in these things!"

"Tsk tsk, feeling guilty?" Mai Xuejie gave a Ding Zhen look, while secretly laughing in her heart.

Why does Uesugi Muneyuki now have that kind of strong demand after an autopsy?

She did it!

Actually, before she transplanted the Seishokurin into Uesugi Muneyuki, he needed more of a psychological effect, because after contacting dead souls, living people naturally feel uncomfortable (having to cross the boundary between life and death), and for Uesugi Muneyuki, naturally, eating and drinking heartily and playing Princess Connect are the best ways to restore his mood, and moreover, he, in his early twenties, is originally at a time of abundant energy with no outlet.

But after the transplant, Uesugi Muneyuki's energy circuit changed; he now truly needs Princess Connect to balance the energy within his body.

However, does this need to be let known to the junior student?

Mai Xuejie's deer-like, lively eyes are full of slyness and playfulness.

He didn't ask either, so since he didn't ask, the junior student just needs to believe me~

From Tokyo to Gunma Prefecture is not far; Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai chatted and laughed along the way, time passed very pleasantly. Moreover, both used the "Invisibility Technique," making passersby and gas station staff find it hard to remember their appearances, so no commotion occurred.

This let Uesugi Muneyuki realize that last year's Gunma trip would be discovered, purely because Mai Xuejie did it on purpose.

This woman's tricks are truly endless; although she means no harm, I must find a way to counterattack somehow.

Just like that, Kurosawa Shinai gradually approached. The Mercedes-Benz S600 did not drive directly into the village but stopped in a rather concealed spot.

Getting out of the car, Mai Xuejie stood in the winter Gunma mountain wilderness background; the oatmeal, light gray, deep blue tones harmonized and were tranquil, both resisting the severe cold and yet having not a trace of urban celebrity ostentation, instead full of the relaxation and warmth of play, the fluffy down jacket and knit cap making her look soft and cute, while the tight jeans and clean lines preserved her slender figure.

She stood in the desolate snowfield, behind her the roof covered in vast white snow and the evergreen pines and cypresses, exhaling white breath, her nose tip red from the cold, her smile eyes gently curved, and that entire figure wrapped in soft warmth—together they formed a picture of quiet and beautiful winter homecoming. That natural beauty without makeup, in Gunma's mountain air, cold and clear, appeared especially pure and moving. Hearing Uesugi Muneyuki's call, she laughed and responded, turned and lightly jogged up the stone steps, the hem of the down jacket and scarf swaying lightly, leaving in the winter a trace of warm and bright impression: "Here! Junior Student!"

"What a desolate place."

Deep in the mountainous interior, an old road long since torn apart by weeds and ice snow, like a frozen gray scar winding, the end of the road is the hometown of Ms. Kurosawa—a village abandoned by time for over twenty years, quietly lying in the mountain hollow of deep winter.

Everything here seems to have stayed in the 1980s; January's severe cold has long frozen all signs of life, the air stagnates like ice, drawing it into the lungs stings painfully. Though the snow has temporarily stopped, the sky still hangs low with an iron-gray face, hanging deeper cold, as if at any moment it might pour down endless white. Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai walk through the village, checking the position of Kurosawa Shinai.

In the village center, several wooden-structured houses, like old people unable to bear the weight, have bent and twisted spines, finally collapsing under the weight of snow, the broken beams facing the snowy sky, like despairing dry bones. On the half-collapsed roof, rotten black tiles peel off layer by layer, revealing the already moldy and rotten rafters underneath; a rotten paper sliding door is pushed by the wind, opening and closing emptily with a monotonous, dry "creak" sound; the paper on the door is riddled with holes, the Showa newspaper on it long since faded of color.

By the roadside is a child's tricycle rusted through and through, buried halfway in the snow, only exposing a twisted handlebar and one rust-red wheel; beside it, several bamboo poles long since lost their supporting function are slantingly inserted into the snow, still hanging a section of rotten grass rope, frozen solid, in the cold wind not a thread moves.

"Now I understand why Ms. Kurosawa firmly insisted on leaving this place." Uesugi Muneyuki complained to Mai Xuejie: "A life visible to the end, unchanging seasonal cycles, and damn it, so cold."

"The times are progressing, and we, the gods and buddhas syncretized Shinto, must also change with the times, just like over on the Kansai side they've already come up with monk rock and Buddhist chant singing, we religions must also adapt to the changes brought by the new era." Mai Xuejie also pondered: "Simply relying on honor, faith, and duty these things cannot bind the shrine maidens and shrine priests."

"Let me see, Kurosawa Shinai is……" Uesugi Muneyuki was about to check the direction when the distant scenery made his and Mai Xuejie's faces change.

On the village road leading to Kurosawa Shinai, a off-road vehicle is parked!

Someone?!

Uesugi Muneyuki's expression changed, and moreover he saw the entrenching tool hanging on the back of the off-road vehicle.

Someone! And, someone prepared!

(End of Chapter)