In the middle of the night, all the shrine’s clergy were sleeping in the shrine lodgings or the shrine office.
Ordinary clergy like the attendants and kannushi were just considered small fry mobs.
Only positions like Gon-negi or the Shrine Supervisor counted as elite monsters.
The good news was, all these clergy were basically glass-cannon mages.
If he’d attacked during the day and faced them head-on, bolstered by the divine domain’s power, trying to steamroll the shrine would have been a brutal fight.
But right now it was deep in the night, and all the mage mobs were fast asleep, leaving only a handful of feeble patrolling attendants.
Under cover of darkness, Lin Xun operated the Ninja Master shell to stealthily infiltrate.
He also carried the Golden Roc Raptor Claws, whose special trait let him remain invisible after a kill. In dual-wield mode, even if he killed an enemy with the Dragon Sword Masamune, he could stay stealthed.
The Ninja Master shell was extrely powerful, no small fry could survive a single blow, and even elite monsters or weaker bosses couldn’t withstand it.
Since no monster could tank one hit, the Ninja Master never lost his invisibility and thodically carved his way through.
In the entire shrine, only the the Shrine Master had slightly higher strength, barely enough to count as a mini-boss.
But like all the others, this mini-boss died miserably in his sleep.
The Shrine Master’s shell was still far inferior to the Direct Vision President, so Lin Xun just stripped its gear and discarded the shell.
He spared no effort, staying up all night to completely scour the shrine over and over.
By dawn, the harvest was finally complete.
Reviewing the results, while the shell levels hadn’t risen, the combined haul of Spirit Essence and looted equipnt amounted to nearly two hundred thousand, a very respectable inco.
Stripping gear required possessing the target shell, and possession caused enemies to stop respawning. That ant that co sunrise, when pilgrims climbed the mountain to worship, they’d find a shrine of the dead.
[You quietly return to the Main Hall of the shrine…]
[You arrive deep within the Main Hall. The True Shrine Maiden in white and red, Tsukishiro Murasakiyo, is still unconscious…]
[You hoist her over your shoulder. Before the sky fully brightens, you swiftly descend the mountain…]
[It is still too early for any worshippers to arrive. The mountain path is completely deserted.]
[Carrying your beloved disciple, still lost in slumber, you hurry to the inn at the mountain’s foot, the Ka-maru Inn…]
[…]
[…]
[You channel your qi and vault through the guest room’s window. Thanks to your exceptional ninja skills, no one notices you at all.]
[You lay your disciple, whom you rescued at the risk of your life, gently on the bed. You notice her eyelids flutter, she seems about to wake…]
[What will you do next?]
[1. Switch to the Fire-Worshipping Heartless Chunin shell, reveal your identity to your senior sister, produce the letter your teacher gave you before dying, and go with her to Tisi Island to live a blissful life as an immortal couple.]
[2. Stay in the Fire-Worshipping Heartless Ninja Master shell and tell your disciple that the No-Illusions Shrine secretly pledged itself to the evil god and has now been completely exterminated by you. Ask her what she plans to do next.]
[3. Switch to the Knowledge-Seeking Direct Vision Association President shell, and, assuming the identity of a foreign mage, invite her to accompany you on your next journey. As for your next destination, of course, it is the very heart of Thousand Orchid City, the Tenshukaku.]
Lin Xun automatically ignored the first option and carefully examined the second and third.
Tsukishiro Murasakiyo was clearly an important story character, and the presence of these options ant she had follow-up side storylines.
Even though he now had a healer shell, having an extra powerful ninja/healer at his side would make things easier.
If he needed to heal himself, he would have to switch to the shrine maiden shell to cast spells.
Doing so after a fight was fine, but in the middle of combat, switching to the shrine maiden to heal would be rather troubleso, or even dangerous.
However, he already had a plan for the trip to Tenshukaku. Bringing Tsukishiro Murasakiyo along might be a bit inconvenient.
While thinking it over, he pressed the second option.
[You remain in the guise of the Ninja Master, quietly waiting for your disciple to awaken.]
[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo slowly opens her eyes. Seeing her beloved master standing safe and sound by the bed, she suddenly sits up and throws her arms around you, too overwheld to speak.]
[You gently pat her back in reassurance and explain that the No-Illusions Shrine had been completely taken over by the great yokai Celestial Demon Nurarihyon, with many having secretly pledged loyalty to it.]
[After you and the foreign mage defeated Nurarihyon, you purged the shrine in blood, leaving no survivors.]
[Since the foreign mage’s identity was sensitive, he had already departed, and you had rescued her and were now preparing to return to Tisi Island to recuperate.]
[You ask Tsukishiro Murasakiyo what she plans to do next. Whether she wishes to return to Tisi Island or remain as a shrine maiden, you will support her.]
[Upon hearing this, she imdiately replies without hesitation that she wishes to follow you back to Tisi Island, to serve you in your old age. She insists that rescuing her must have worsened your old injuries, and now that she has finally learned so divine arts, perhaps she can heal you.]
[As she speaks, she disregards her exhaustion and prepares to raise her kagura bell to perform healing…]
[Do you wish to support Tsukishiro Murasakiyo’s decision?]
Support my ass!
Lin Xun had no intention of returning to that wretched place called Tisi Island.
[You fly into a rage, lifting your hand as if to slap the woman before you, but your hand hesitates in midair.]
[You roar, “Foolishness!”]
[How could you simply abandon your duty of serving the gods? You are both devout followers of the Ancient Heavenly Enma. To cast aside your faith rely to care for a decrepit old man, have you lost your mind?!]
[Though the No-Illusions Shrine has been destroyed, Kyoto still holds Sakura Falls’ grandest shrine, the Teni Grand Shrine!]
[As your most outstanding disciple, she should naturally go to the Teni Grand Shrine and serve before the statue of the Ancient Heavenly Enma. How could she forsake her beliefs for selfish desire?!]
Lin Xun’s eyes lit up.
“There it is, this must be the follow-up story!”
He imdiately grasped how the ga’s progression was designed.
Under normal circumstances, the Ninja Master would have died during the battle with Nurarihyon.
Ordinary apostles would have been presented with the sa options, only the identities would differ.
He guessed the first option was a joke, the second allowed Tsukishiro Murasakiyo to decide on her own, and the third option was to recruit her as a party mber.
If he picked the third option, he would gain an extra fighter but miss out on the hidden storyline of Tsukishiro Murasakiyo infiltrating the Teni Grand Shrine.
As for the second option, following the intended path, since the master would have died, Tsukishiro Murasakiyo, devastated by grief, would naturally choose to continue serving as a shrine maiden at the Teni Grand Shrine, thus triggering the next arc.
And the first option, going back to Tisi Island to accompany the Chunin Yoichi… well, let’s just say, that was never going to happen. A bootlicker never wins love.
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