"I'm so bored... I want to find something interesting to do..." The girl with a red headband squatting at the edge of the grass was playing with the grass leaves underneath out of boredom.
Her best friends, the girls wearing orange, purple and blue headbands respectively, are now standing next to the girl with the red headband.
"If you feel bored, just practice archery." The purple headband said casually.
"No way." said the redhead. "I practiced this morning. My arms are still sore. Now I just want to play."
"Then...why don't you come to my house and sit down?" The orange headband suggested in a low voice, " We can sit together and chat, and time will pass quickly."
"Besides, my grandma just made a new dress recently. We can take turns trying it on together."
"Oh!" The red-headed girl stood up from the bushes. "Ashley, your grandma made another new dress... huh? That's right!"
The red-headed girl stopped talking before she could finish her words, and then said abruptly, "Yes."
Just as the other three girls standing beside her cast doubtful glances at the girl with the red headband, the girl with the red headband said excitedly:
"How about we ask Yashili's grandmother to go and see the possessed gods of those strangers?"
The possessed god - in the Ainu language it is pronounced "Torunpei".
The Ainu people believe that every person is possessed by a god from birth and is protected by the possessed god.
Each person has a different possessed god, so each person's personality and abilities are different.
The more powerful a person is, the more powerful the spirit that possesses him is.
The possessed spirit usually attaches itself to the back of a person's neck and enters and exits the body from the back of the neck.
Some people who have special perception in this regard can see what the possessed spirit of others looks like.
The girl with the orange headband - that is, Yashili's grandmother, is a well-known person in Qina Village who can see what the possessed spirit of others looks like.
After hearing the suggestion from the girl with the red headband, Yashili, who was wearing an orange headband, was stunned for a moment, and then said hesitantly:
"Isn't this... not good?"
"What's wrong with that?" The girl with the red headband retorted without hesitation, "Yashili, aren't you curious about what the spirits possessing those foreigners are like?"
"Maybe you can see some very interesting possessed gods."
The red headband's words aroused the interest of the blue headband and the purple headband.
Yashili, who happened to be bored at the moment, also became a little interested.
"Then... go ask my grandma." Yashili said softly, "See if she is willing to go and see the possessed gods of those foreigners."
"Okay! Let's go!" The red-headed girl raised her fist high, then took the lead and ran towards Yashili's house.
The four girls rushed to Yashili's house with great fanfare.
Yashili's family was originally a happy family of four - grandma, father, mother, and Yashili himself.
It is a pity that Yashili’s father also disappeared in the previous “disappearance incident”.
Since then, Yashili's family has become a broken family, with only her, her mother and her grandmother left at home.
Red Headband, Purple Headband, Blue Headband and Yashili - the four girls just rushed into Yashili's house and saw Yashili's grandmother making clothes and Yashili's mother weaving.
The four girls told Yashili's grandmother directly why they were there.
When she learned that the four people wanted to take her to see the possessed gods of those foreigners, her grandmother was somewhat reluctant to agree.
But unable to resist the four children's begging, grandma finally agreed to their request.
Yashili, carrying her grandmother on her back and surrounded by her three friends, looked for the strangers who had just visited their village.
"Where have all those foreigners gone?" The red-headed girl put her hands over her eyes and looked around.
"I'm more curious about what the spirit that possesses the male is like." The purple-headed girl smiled, "If he is really a fake warrior, then his spirit must be very weak."
"I'd rather see the spirits of white people." The girl with the red headband continued.
"I don't know whose possessed spirit is more powerful, these foreigners or the men of the same age in our village... Ah! Found it! It's the white-skinned foreigners!" The man with the blue headband pointed his finger not far away.
The others looked over—and happened to see Skuluch and others coming out of the house of Chepke Village Chief.
…
…
Led by two middle-aged men sent by Chepke, Skulucci and others strode out of the village.
Along the way, it naturally attracted all kinds of attention.
Some people simply cast curious glances at Skulucci and the others.
Some people stared at Skulucci and others with eyes as if they were on guard against thieves or burglars.
Skulucci ignored the various gazes coming from all around him, and walked out of the village with his head held high and big strides.
Just like a general returning triumphantly after a victorious battle.
However, Avde and Lev, who were brought into the village by Skuluch and are now following Skuluch closely, do not have as good concentration as Skuluch.
The two of them never let down their guard from beginning to end, and kept observing the surroundings with vigilant eyes.
Looking at the low houses built of grass, wood and fur, the Ainu people who were not very tall due to their race, and the bows and arrows they carried on their backs, Afjie whispered to Skulucci in front of him:
"Boss Skulucci, what did you just say to those Ainu people?"
The language Afjie and his friends spoke was Lucia, so there was no need to worry that the villagers of Qina Village would hear their conversation.
"I'm just reminding them that Vladimir's gang is planning to plunder everywhere, and this village might be in trouble, so I suggest they make preparations early."
Afde and the quiet Lev both widened their eyes at this moment.
"And then?" Afjie asked, "How did the Ainu people respond?"
"They seem to be determined to defend their village to the death." Skulucci spread his hands. "What a pity! I kindly suggested that they lead the entire village to hide in the mountains for a while."
"Boss Skulucci, why are you always like this..." Afjie's face was full of helplessness.
"It would have been fine if you didn't join Vladimir and his men in the looting, but you even came all the way to inform the surrounding Ainu people..."
"It's not 'coming here specially to report the news.'" Skulucci quickly corrected the mistake in what Afjie had just said, "I just came here to inform them."
"Boss Skulucci. That's why you're always called a weirdo by others."
The helplessness on Afjie's face became even more intense.
"Why do you always do such thankless things..."
Although Afjie is not one of Skulucci's veteran subordinates, he is also an old man who has followed Skulucci for a long time.
Because Skulucci saved his life, he has been following Skulucci wholeheartedly.
Because he had served under Skuluch for many years, Afjie was sure that his boss must be the strangest of all the Cossacks.
Skuluch was one of many Cossack expeditions sent to explore the Far East.
Although the formation of the Cossacks is somewhat romantic - a group of people who could not bear the oppression fled to a new land, established a new homeland, absorbed various nationalities except Jews, gradually grew stronger, and were called "free people". ("Cossack" means "free people" in Turkic)
But in fact, anyone who knows a little about the Cossacks knows how cruel and bloodthirsty they are.
Before Avde was born, the vast land east of the Ural Mountains and west of the Pacific Ocean had already come under the rule of the Tsar.
The Cossacks were the main force of the Tsar's army that conquered the land east of the Ural Mountains.
In the process of conquering this vast land, the Cossacks did various things that even Avde, who was also a Cossack, found it difficult to talk about.
Not to mention burning, killing and looting, even cannibalism was something his father and grandfather had done.
Everyone in Europe knows that the Cossacks are bloodthirsty and brutal.
However, Skuluch, who is also a Cossack, does things that are not like what a Cossack would do.
Since being sent to the Far East, Skulucci has never done anything that would be criticized as "brutal" or "bloody".
The group of people who were sent to explore this large island inhabited by the Ainu people were asked by the Tsar to "focus on exploration and reconnaissance, and avoid causing trouble."
Therefore, each expedition team sent here had to restrain their brutal nature.
But despite this, almost all expeditions would do something from time to time that would make people sigh: This is truly a Cossack thing.
Many villages on the northern end of the island have suffered varying degrees of damage from various expedition teams.
In this era, technology was underdeveloped and information was transmitted slowly.
In addition, the Ainu people are not united.
Therefore, villages such as Kuma and China, which are located in the southern part of the country, still do not know that many Ainu villages in the north were razed to the ground by the Cossacks.
But only Skulucci has not done anything bad so far.
He never did anything wrong and devoted himself to exploration and drawing.
So Skuluch was always scolded as a "weirdo" by his other Cossack compatriots.
Skulucci's behavior of never burning, killing or looting has always been criticized as a thankless task - in fact, it is true.
Many people felt that being under Skulucci's command was not comfortable enough as they could not rob money or women, so they all left Skulucci's command and joined the command of other people who could make them live happily.
Those who still remain under Skulucci’s command are either explorers who just want to focus on exploration.
Or someone who is indebted to Skulucci - like Afjie.
Or they are people who admire Skulucci and are attracted by his charm - such as their second-in-command: Vasily.
Even though his style of never doing bad things caused many of his subordinates to flee, Sculucci had no intention of changing his ways and continued to do his own thing and be seen as a "weirdo" by others.
In response to Afjie's helpless sigh, Skulucci just smiled and did not respond.
Afjie stopped talking about this topic and asked Skulucci a new question:
"Boss Skulucci. What are we going to do next?"
"What the hell can I do?" Skulucci shrugged. "I've said everything I need to say and done everything I can do. The people in this village can decide what to do next."
"Whether they want to defend the village to the death or flee with all the villagers - I have no control over it and I can't do anything about it."
"Let's leave the village now and join the others. After spending the night here, tomorrow morning..."
Before Skulucci could finish his words, he paused.
“Oh, yeah…”
Skulucci muttered.
"I almost forgot about Ayaka and his two Kazuto friends..."
Skulucci looked around.
"Hey... where are they?"
Skulucci looked around, but only saw the villagers of China Village. He didn't see Ayaka or the two Japanese friends that Ayaka brought with him.
But at this moment, he saw four girls with headbands of different colors and an old lady not far from him.
The five of them stared at them with strange eyes.
…
…
Time goes back a few minutes ago——
After discovering Skulucci and his group, Yashili and others stood aside from a distance and looked at Skulucci and his group.
"Grandma, how is it?" The girl with the red headband asked Ashley's grandmother impatiently, "Can you see the spirits of those people?"
Grandma nodded: "I can see it."
The purple-headed man looked expectant: "Then their possessed gods all look expectant."
Grandma raised her chin towards Sculucci and the others.
"The spirits possessed by these three people are all very powerful."
Grandma said slowly.
"The young man who was talking to the red-haired man just now, he is the one with the weakest spirit among the three of them."
She was referring to Afjay.
"The young man who was silent just now is slightly stronger."
She was referring to Lev.
"As for the red-haired one...his possessed spirit is so powerful."
What grandma was referring to was, of course, Skulucci.
Looking at Skulucci in the distance, a look of slight surprise and praise appeared on grandma's face.
"I've lived for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen such a powerful spirit possessed... The spirit possessed by that red-haired stranger is more powerful than any other spirit possessed by anyone I've ever seen before."
"That red-haired stranger must be a very remarkable man."
Grandma's words made Yashili and the other three open their eyes wide and slightly open their red lips in surprise.
"Is that red-haired guy so powerful..." Red Headband stared at Skulucci who hadn't noticed them yet in the distance, "Is his possessed spirit more powerful than all the men in our village?"
Grandma nodded without hesitation and added mercilessly:
"And he's much more powerful than others."
"Then grandma, can you see their personalities from the gods that possess them?" asked the girl with the red headband.
"I can see it vaguely." Grandma nodded, then turned her gaze to Skulucci and others again.
Because Skulucci and others kept walking towards the outside of the village, Yashili and the others had to follow closely behind Skulucci and others and keep moving with them.
After taking another deep look at Sculucci and the others, grandma said calmly:
"The young man who has been talking to the red-haired girl must be a very loyal person with a cheerful personality."
"The one who never spoke. His personality is not very good. People who are possessed by this type of spirit don't like to communicate or interact with others. They are very withdrawn."
"As for the red-haired one...he has a very good personality."
A look of praise appeared on grandma's face again.
"Compassionate, kind, and broad-minded... that red-haired stranger is really amazing."
"Not only is he very capable, he also has a very good personality."
"This is the first time I see you, grandma, praise someone like this..." Yashili murmured in a low voice.
Just then, the red headband let out a low cry of surprise: "Oh, did they discover us?"
At this time, Skulucci discovered Yashili and others who were staring at them.
After looking at Yashili and the others with a puzzled look, Skulucci smiled and waved at them.
"Let's go." said the girl with the purple headband, "We have already seen the possessed gods of these white-skinned foreigners. Let's go see the possessed gods of the Japanese pair."
"Yeah, I agree!" The girl with the blue headband nodded in agreement.
So, Yashili and the others took their grandmother and quickly left from Skulucci and the others.
"Where is that couple now?" asked the girl with the red headband.
"Who knows." The purple headband replied, "Let's look around first. Our village is so small anyway, we can always find it."
…
…
After watching the girls with headbands of different colors and the old lady leave, Afjie muttered in a low voice:
"Who are those people?"
"Maybe they have never seen anyone with white skin, so they came to see us." Skulucci shrugged. "Don't worry about them."
After saying that, Skulucci turned his gaze away from Yashili and the others who had already left.
"Okay... where should I go to find Ayaka and his two friends?"
…
…
Somewhere in Qina Village——
Ogata, Amaji, and Aiyaka filed out of a house.
"Nothing again..." Ating pursed his lips while mumbling in a low voice that only he could hear.
They have now questioned about a quarter of the villagers in Qina Village.
So far, the reward is - nothing.
No matter who you ask, they all say “I haven’t seen it” or “I have no impression of it”.
Although there has been no results, Ogata is neither anxious nor annoyed.
He just said to Aiyaka in a calm tone:
"Let's go to the next one."
"Yeah." Ayaka nodded.
By now, Ogata has deeply felt how much China Village lacks young and strong men.
Whether walking on the village roads or entering other people's homes, there are very few young and strong men to be seen.
"It's getting dark now." Ogata looked up at the sky, which was already starting to get slightly darker, "Let's ask another household."
"After we have asked the last household, we will stop here for today. We will ask the remaining people tomorrow."
"What a coincidence, we have the same idea." Ayaka said with a smile, "Let's stay at my good friend's house tonight."
"After a night's rest, we'll continue asking other people in the village tomorrow."
"Let's speed up a bit while it's still light."
"The next household is..."
Ayaka turned his head and looked towards the house next door.
Looking at the house next to him, Ayaka raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, the next family is a bit extraordinary."
"Is there anything special about the next family?" Ogata asked.
"Yeah. The next family is indeed a little special."
Ayaka nodded.
"The old woman in the next house is a capable person who can see the torunpe behind people's necks."
"Torunpei?" Xu Fang looked puzzled. "What is this?"
Atachi, who was standing next to Ogata, also cast a puzzled look at Aiyaka.
"Torunpei... in your language and human language, it should be translated as 'possessed god'."
"We Ainu people believe that everyone is possessed by gods and protected by gods since birth. We Ainu people call these gods that possess us humans 'Torunpei'."
"The spirit that possesses each person is different. So everyone's personality and abilities are different."
"The more powerful a person is, the more powerful the spirit that possesses him will be."
"The spirit of possession usually attaches itself to the back of a person's neck."
"Some people are born with the ability to see what the spirit behind other people's necks looks like."
"The old woman in the next house has this ability."
Ayaka touched his neck.
"That old woman has seen my possessed spirit."
"That old woman said that my spirit is very powerful. She has rarely seen such a powerful spirit."
Ayaka grinned.
"Mashima, Atachi, if you are interested, you can ask the old woman to show you what your possessed spirit looks like."
After saying that, Ayaka led Ogata and Atachi and strode towards the house next door.
Ogata was not interested in what Ayaka just said about the "possessed god".
Ogata had no interest in anything related to gods and ghosts.
On the contrary, A-Ting was very interested in the possessed god mentioned by Ayaka, and she looked eager to let the old woman see her possessed god.
When they arrived at the door of the low house next door, Ayaka shouted at the door, and a beautiful woman about 30 years old walked out of the house quickly.
After Ayaka talked to the woman in Ainu for a few words, he raised his eyebrows and turned to Ogata and said:
"What a pity! The old lady who can see the possessed gods is not here right now. She was taken out to play by her granddaughter, and I don't know when she will be back."
Ogata didn't care much about whether or not the old woman could see his possessed god.
But he cared very much whether the old woman was at home or not.
Because the old woman might have happened to have seen Xuanzheng and Xuanzhen.
If I miss the chance to meet that old woman, I might miss out on valuable clues.
The beautiful woman then said something to Ayaka and others.
“She told us to go inside first,” Ayaka translated the woman’s words. “Let’s go inside first. The old woman should be back soon.”
Ogata and Omachi nodded.
…
…
"What? Did that couple go to Yashili's house?" The girl with a red headband looked at a middle-aged woman in front of her with surprise.
The middle-aged woman standing in front of the girl with the red headband nodded:
"Well, I just saw that couple Kazuto and Ayaka went to Yashili's house."
"We've been looking for them for so long, but we didn't expect that they actually went to Yashili's house..." The man with the purple headband muttered helplessly.
They had just been looking for the couple who had arrived in the village at about the same time as the white-skinned strangers.
But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find them.
It was not until now, after asking someone, that I learned that they actually went to Yashili's house.
"What are they doing at my house..." Yashili asked timidly.
"Who knows." The red-headed girl said, "Anyway - let's go to Yashili's house."
"Let grandma see their possessed spirit, and also see what they are doing at Yashili's house."
After that, the most energetic girl with a red headband took the lead again and rushed towards Yashili's house.
As they were running back home, Yashili's grandmother suddenly turned her head and said to Yashili:
"What a pity for that red-haired stranger just now."
"If he is one of our Ainu compatriots, I will definitely hold his hand and let him marry my Yashili."
"It's rare to meet someone with such a powerful possessed god, so we can't miss it ."
As soon as grandma finished speaking, Yashili's face turned red.
"Grandma! What are you talking about?"
"I'm not talking nonsense." Yashili's grandmother said seriously, "You are 14 years old and you will get married soon."
"I will not agree to my granddaughter marrying a person with a weak spirit."
"My grandson-in-law can only be a man with a powerful possessed god."
“The stronger the better.”
"It's still too early for me to get married..." Yashili muttered.
"It's getting late." Grandma shook her head. "Don't worry. Yashili, I will be your future husband."
"I will never let someone with a weak spirit possessed become your husband."
Grandma's remarks made Yashili's three friends all laugh.
"Yashili, we will also check for you." The girl with the purple headband smiled, "We will never let a boring, weak man become your husband."
"Don't talk about this anymore!" Yashili scolded with a red face.
"It's a pity that in recent years, there are few people with powerful possessed gods..."
Grandma looked regretful.
"It's rare to meet a person who is possessed by a powerful spirit, but he is a stranger... Alas..."
"Grandma, you don't have to force Yashili to marry an Ainu, right?" the girl with the red headband said, "There's nothing wrong with marrying someone from a different race, right?"
"Hasn't there been a few people in our village who married someone else?"
As soon as the red-headband girl finished speaking, grandma shook her head.
"No, I still want Yahili to marry an Ainu, not a foreigner."
"Different nationalities have different living habits."
"So it's very hard to form a family with someone from a different race. You have to constantly get used to and adjust your living habits."
"That's why I won't let Yashili marry someone from a different race."
"Not even with people."
"I told you not to talk about this anymore." Yashili's face turned even redder.
"Grandma, if one day you meet a person who is possessed by a very powerful god, what should you do?" The girl with the purple headband asked in a joking tone, "I think as long as you are good enough, it doesn't matter if you marry a foreigner."
“Even if there really is a foreigner possessed by a powerful spirit that can make me ignore national differences, I probably won’t encounter him.” Grandma shook her head helplessly.
…
…
Their steps were fast.
In the blink of an eye, they returned to Yashili's home.
As soon as I walked through the door, I saw Ayaka and the couple sitting on the floor.
In fact, Ogata and the others had just come in and hadn't even sat down on the floor yet.
Looking at the returning Yashili and others, Yashili's mother who stayed at home hurriedly introduced the purpose of Ogata and others' visit to Yashili and others.
Ogata and Atachi, who were sitting on the floor, quickly stood up and greeted Yashili and others who had suddenly returned.
While greeting, Ogata also briefly looked at the old woman and the four young girls who had suddenly arrived.
There's not much to say about that old woman. From the outside, she looks like just an ordinary old woman.
——Is she the old lady who can see the spirits of others that Ayaka mentioned?
After muttering to himself, Ogata turned his attention to the four girls surrounding the old woman.
The faces of the four girls surrounding the old woman were all white and clean, without any tattoos.
Ogata remembered what Ayaka had told him before - among the Ainu people, if you see a woman without a tattoo on her face, it means that she is underage.
Among these four underage girls, the one wearing an orange headband is the prettiest.
She has big black eyes, a small round face, and fairly delicate features. She seems to be the youngest of the four girls.
After Yashili and the others nodded casually and returned the greeting, the girl with the red headband whispered to her grandmother beside her.
"Grandma, what about the possessed gods of Kazuto... eh? Grandma?"
The girl with the red headband was surprised to find that Yashili's grandmother was now opening her mouth and staring with eyes wide open.
He looked as if he had seen something very surprising and scary.
The gaze from grandma's eyes was directed directly at the person standing in front of her - Ogata.
Everyone present, including Ogata and Atachi, noticed the strangeness of grandma at this time.
Ogata looked at the old woman with a puzzled look on his face who was looking at him with strange eyes.
He thought the old woman's look was strange.
Because it didn't seem like the old woman was looking at him.
More like looking behind him...
——Is there something strange behind me?
Ogata turned his head and looked behind him.
Yet nothing could be seen except air.
"Grandma." Yashili asked her grandmother with a worried look on his face, "Why are you..."
Before Yashili could finish his words, his grandmother suddenly rushed to Ogata.
"#￥%@&*#￥@%%@ (Ainu language)" The old woman spoke a long string of Ainu language at high speed.
Ogata and Omachi had no idea what she was talking about.
But Ogata was surprised to find that after the old woman finished speaking, Ayaka and others showed horrified expressions.
The prettiest girl with an orange headband reacted the most violently.
Not only did she look horrified, but her cheeks were also turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"What did the old woman say?" Ogata asked Ayaka.
Aiyaka pursed his lips, looked at Ogata and Atachi with a strange look, and said slowly:
"She said: She wants you to be her grandson-in-law..."
“…Huh?” Ogata tilted his head.
Ating, who was standing by, instantly revealed an expression that was difficult to describe in words.