My Hidden Road

After climbing a hillside, the village the old man mentioned appeared in Naoto's eyes. It was a canyon basin surrounded by mountains. There was a small river flowing next to the village, and it was surrounded by lush woods.

Walking down the hillside, a small bridge was built over the gurgling water. There was a woman washing clothes beside the river. When she saw Naoto, she showed a friendly smile. Walking on the small bridge, Naoto felt an unusual feeling.

The mind calms down.

After walking past Xiaoqiaoliushui Village, there was a hotel in front of the village. I knocked on the door and walked in. I found that the owner was the old man. When I saw Naoto appear, I stood up to welcome him.

"Young man, welcome."

A good-looking woman walked out of the house, bringing tea and some snacks to entertain Naoto. After several conversations, we learned that the old man's name was Sigui, that the woman was his daughter-in-law, and that his son had not returned from farming.

A little head poked his head out of a room inside, and saw Naoto shrink back in. The old man introduced that this was his grandson named Yang Yong.

After a short conversation, the woman led Naoto into a room on the second floor. The room was simply decorated and full of farmhouse atmosphere. There was a hot spring behind the hotel, so Naoto could take a dip on his own.

Taking off the ninja sword and equipment, Naoto found a bathrobe in the cabinet, put it on and went to take a bath. Stepping into the bath, Naoto felt his whole body relax, and exposed his head to breathe outside.

Soak in the hot spring bath.

When Naoto walked out of the bath, the sky was already dark. His body was all red and his nose was bleeding. When Naoto walked out of the bath, he happened to meet Mr. Shigui's son, a very capable man who was tanned by the sun.

Naoto and he smiled and nodded at each other, then walked back to the room and lay down.

"Dong dong dong!" There was a knock on the door.

"May I ask who it is?"

"The shop has prepared dinner for you, please try it."

When Naoto asked, he stood up and opened the door. As expected, the woman carried a food box, placed several relatively exquisite dishes on the table, exited the room politely, and told Naoto that he could ask her to clear away the tableware after finishing the meal.

Touching the remaining money on his body, Naoto hoped that the charges here were not too expensive. Naoto, who had not eaten a few normal meals since he came to this world, ate without ceremony, wiped out the food like a whirlwind, and then lay down

Sleep on the tatami.

His tired body relaxed after taking a bath. Naoto slept peacefully until noon the next day. What woke him up was the birds on the treetops outside the window, which kept chirping.

Then Naoto nailed a kunai to the tree to scare away the birds.

When going out, Mr. Shigui introduced the nearby scenery to Naoto, hoping that he could go and see it. Naoto stepped on the Ninja sword and walked out of the hotel. He walked to the river and stretched out his feet to soak in the water. He didn't let him go yet.

Close your eyes and enjoy it, a little ghost head appears above him.

"Hey, this is not polite."

"Are you a samurai?"

Naoto responded: "That's right."

"Oh, I thought you were a ninja." The kid is Mr. Sigui's grandson, the boy named Yang Yong.

"Ninjas are all bastards, and none of them are good."

"Why?"

"Because my hometown was destroyed by ninjas, and I ended up living in this place."

Yang Yong was too young to understand these sophistications. As a young man, he only knew that ninjas were very powerful people. They could fly over walls and fly over walls and release ninjutsu, and he admired them very much.

A group of people suddenly walked across the river, wearing black clothes and black robes with black oil paint on their faces. Dozens of people lined up in a line and chanted prayers. It looked like they were performing some kind of religious ceremony. A flag with a black background and white patterns aroused Naoto's attention.

Notice that I seem to recognize the triangle pattern inside the circle.

"Yang Yong, are they performing some kind of ritual?"

"Them?"

Yang Yong scratched his head and said: "They are a nearby religious group. I heard from grandpa that they are believers in a certain god. They basically do this every once in a while, but they don't disturb everyone's life."

"That's it."

"Naoto-nii seems to be very interested in them?"

Naoto smiled and said, "I'm just curious, where do they live?"

Yang Yong pointed to the valley not far away and said: "I live in the village next door. The people there believe in religion. It is an easy place to find. Do you want me to take you there?"

"No, thank you."

Naoto declined Yang Yong's kindness, put on his shoes, straightened his trousers and followed the person performing the ceremony. Yang Yong, who was standing by the river, was very puzzled.

Following the team that was performing the sacrificial ceremony, Naoto wanted to see the so-called Evil God Cult and see its true face.

Naoto walked very openly, following behind them. The people performing the sacrificial ceremony also noticed him, but they did not make a sound to stop him. They seemed to be happy to see someone following his footsteps.

Walking up the river, these people did not stop all the way, and whispers echoed around them. Because it was in the valley, the echoes would take a long time to disappear, which sounded quite shocking.

After walking for two or three hours, Naoto followed them to a cave. There were people guarding outside the cave, and Naoto was stopped as a matter of course. After a while, a middle-aged man wearing a sacrificial robe walked out.

"Following in the footsteps of Lord Evil God, another lost boy has found his destination. The Evil God Cult welcomes you."

Naoto was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to do. Are these people mentally ill?

"I...I just want to visit, don't disturb me?"

"Of course not, boy."

The middle-aged priest kindly invited Naoto to enter, and then began to talk about the teachings of the Evil God Cult. He hoped that Naoto would join the Evil God Cult and become a believer.

Walking into the cave, an atmosphere of silence hit me, so depressing that I was speechless. When I came to a hall, many believers knelt down and prayed devoutly under a pattern.

"Everyone is praying, so that the Evil God will be happy." After saying this, the middle-aged priest knelt down and worshiped on the ground.

Naoto looked around and knelt on the ground with him. Seeing that Naoto was very happy to kneel before the middle-aged priest, Naoto quickly invited Naoto to visit other places. As he spoke, Naoto deliberately revealed the suffering he had suffered and fabricated the ill will of the people around him.

, touting the kindness of the middle-aged priest to him.

After using a set of methods, the middle-aged priest was overjoyed and began to ask Naoto if he wanted to join the Evil God Cult. At first Naoto refused, but somehow he agreed to join the Evil God Cult.

"The purpose of the Evil God Cult is to kill everyone around you who brings you pain, so that the Evil God will be happy and give you powerful power."

"Give great power?"

"right."

The middle-aged priest led Naoto to a place used for sacrifice. There were many believers busy in the large space. Some were praying and others were shouting. Everyone fell into a state of madness.

Suddenly, Naoto clenched his fists and watched as two bewildered civilians were pushed with their hands tied behind their backs and walked to the image of the evil god. A cultist walked away with a huge March sickle, swung the sickle and chopped it off. The heads fell to the ground, with bright red blood.

Soaking the ground, the believers drew the evil god's pattern on the ground with blood, and then lay on it motionless.

"what are they doing?"

The middle-aged priest replied proudly: "Accept the blessing of the evil god and listen to the will from the evil god."