This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 115 - 114: Soul Leading Flower

Chapter 115: Chapter 114: Soul Leading Flower

Beichuan Si didn’t take long to find a hidden path amongst the weeds.

The path appeared as if no one had trodden upon it for quite some time, a hint of desolation poking through the intermingled yellow and green weeds and brambles.

This must have been the small road from Shenzhu Village to the outside world at the time.

As for whether there were other roads, Beichuan Si wasn’t sure.

With the morning heat rising, the chill turned into droplets upon meeting the warmth, making the once-used trail from Shenzhu Village to the outside world exceedingly muddy. The hiking boots Beichuan Si had specifically put on sunk into the yellow mud with each step and took some effort to pull out.

Beichuan Si lifted his foot, recording the route while continuing to probe forward with his stick.

At such a slow pace, it took nearly three hours for Beichuan Si to reach the outskirts of Shenzhu Village.

Beichuan Si stopped and looked around.

He stood in the middle of a path on a rice-field ridge. Nine years had allowed weeds to sprout scatteredly across the path.

The fields on both sides appeared desolate, neglected for too long. The flow of Shenzhu River continued quietly, moving from the right side of Beichuan Si downstream. From his angle, he could also see a waterwheel that, having lost many of its blades, squeaked and decayed in its rotation.

Beichuan Si figured that the water wheel, almost completely rotted, would probably fall over with just a light touch.

He dropped his stick and walked down the main path toward the village.

Inside the village, two small water channels were deliberately dug, allowing the water from Shenzhu River to flow into the fields of each household, imparting a semblance of a Japanese pastoral style.

However, some waterways hadn’t been cleaned in a long time and were now blocked by silt.

Beichuan Si walked towards the inside of the village.

Gradually, the view narrowed, and various rustic Japanese-style wooden buildings came into sight.

"Shenzhu Village was struck by the mudslide in ’09, right? Why not use more convenient materials like concrete and steel instead of nostalgically using wood?"

Most of Shenzhu Village mainly consisted of red-and-white walls, tiled roofs, and wooden frames.

If Beichuan Si were walking in a village from the Taisho Era, he might understand, but Shenzhu Village persisted until it was hit by the mudslide in 2009 and eventually became a ’ghost village’.

"But why...?" Beichuan Si walked into a household.

The entryway was overgrown with grass. As Beichuan Si walked inside, he could even see the furniture and bedding placed around.

Not a single thing inside the house had been touched, apart from the accumulated dust and webs of spiders, everything remained as it was.

The government hadn’t even sent anyone to clean up what was left of Shenzhu Village...

And most puzzling, where was the mudslide?

Beichuan Si hadn’t seen any traces of mudslide sediments from his vantage point earlier; the entire village’s residents seemed to have vanished into thin air.

One enigma after another emerged, and all signs suggested the world truly had forgotten this village.

Beichuan Si covered his nose as he left.

A strange smell lingered inside the room, probably of mold and rotting wood, inhaling too much of which wasn’t good for one’s health.

And besides...

This should just be an average household, hardly resembling the abodes of the prestigious Shenzhu Family or the Magong Main Family.

Beichuan Si’s reason for coming here was to delve into the ancient secrets between the Magong and Shenzhu Families.

"If it’s the two most prestigious families in this village... it must be over there."

Beichuan Si walked out and looked up.

Directly in the center of the street stood a three-story Japanese-style building rising from the ground.

The building stood quietly, enveloped by surrounding single- and double-storied Japanese-style houses.

Below the three-story Japanese-style structure was a half-collapsed surrounding wall from which one could even see the dilapidated scene inside the courtyard.

"Could it be that the Shenzhu Family and the Magong Family share one residence?" Beichuan Si muttered to himself.

Just as he was about to step forward, his expression suddenly changed, and he turned to look around.

People...

Countless villagers with ashen faces had somehow positioned themselves on either side of him.

Everyone had a silent expression, with only the white of their ’eyes’ staring ahead at the Shenzhu Family home.

And Beichuan Si just happened to be in the midst of this throng of people.

The moment these ’people’ appeared, Beichuan Si felt his body stiffen, but amidst the circulation of the dead aura, he managed to break free from the restraint.

"Is this... an afterimage?" Beichuan Si’s eyes widened.

Hundreds of afterimages!!!

With such a vast scale and intense longing, even he was momentarily affected!

No wonder Hirakawa Hideaki and Dubian Qiansui had involuntarily followed these afterimages.

Beichuan Si immediately took two steps back.

He slowly lifted his cellphone—

Click.

He decisively snapped a photo.

The afterimages of the Spiritual Bodies were clearly visible in the picture, with their terrifyingly solidified thoughts even manifesting on the camera sensor.

The ’villagers’ did not show any expression in response to Beichuan Si taking photos but continued to walk forward silently.

This was expected, after all, as afterimages were merely phenomena created by the concentration of people’s thoughts at the time.

Under Beichuan Si’s watchful gaze, each afterimage disappeared like snow under the spring sun the moment they were about to step into the Shenzhu Family home.

The next moment, the system’s cold reminder tone sounded:

The binding task ’Soul Leading Flower’ begins.

’System notification: You discover that the information painstakingly investigated is merely the tip of the iceberg of Shenzhu Village’s distasteful history. Workers treated as ’human pillars,’ savage and bloody rituals hidden in darkness, unknown pasts, and the village kept as it was—all these chill you to the bone.’

’But now you’re deeply entangled within it, the curse unknowingly seeping into your marrow as you continued your investigation. Only by uncovering the hidden secrets of yesteryear can you hope to escape.’

’Task completion condition: Investigate the truth behind Shenzhu Village.’

’Task completion reward: Soul Summoning Flower.’

"Binding task?" Beichuan Si heard this term for the first time and instinctively skimmed the text explanation.

Just one Shenzhu Village was connected to so many tasks.

One task was the ’curse’ task associated with Magong Tong, and another was the current ’Soul Leading Flower.’

Beichuan Si tucked away his cellphone, removed all his cold-weather gear and hiking boots, and changed into sneakers and clothes that were easier to move in.

He slowly walked towards the towering three-story building with vermilion and white walls, a chilling sensation gradually rising around him.

Intuition told Beichuan Si that even if this building didn’t belong to the Magong or Shenzhu families, it definitely concealed some secrets of the past.

Today, he would thoroughly explore it.