This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 127 - 126. Why do you apologize?

Chapter 127: Chapter 126. Why do you apologize?

Beichuan Si ultimately chose to rest among the coffins.

After all, the Magong Main Family mansion was fraught with danger at night, as malevolent spirits attacked from every corner. If Beichuan Si wanted to venture out, he had to be fully alert to face the dangers lurking in the shadows.

But another problem followed.

Beichuan Si wasn’t made of iron; as a flesh-and-blood human, his physical and mental energy was depleted after a day of strenuous searching and had not yet fully recovered—his vital energy had only restored to about half.

Even Beichuan Si wasn’t willing to deal with malevolent spirits in this condition.

Thus, staying among the coffins was a perfectly normal thing to do.

As Magong Yongshi had said, the space among the coffins, where she resided, was a serene sanctuary, always protected by the tree in the courtyard and the guardian stones. Spirits could not enter this place, so Beichuan Si could rest easy there—

"But I never said you could do something like this in my room..." Magong Yongshi said, looking at Beichuan Si emotionlessly tearing down the jade walls surrounding the coffins to use as firewood, her face bearing a hint of grievance.

Hearing this, Beichuan Si simply gave her an extra glance, "The temperature varies greatly between day and night in the mountains, I need to maintain my body heat and stay dry. I assume you wouldn’t want to see me fall ill, right?"

"That... is true," she conceded.

Beichuan Si’s reasoning was sound, and Magong Yongshi, not being a stickler, ultimately agreed.

The space among the coffins, where Magong Yongshi, one of the Soul Suppressing Twins, lived was in no way inferior to the Magong Family Head’s room.

The bedroom alone consisted of an inner and outer room, with the outer room furnished with tatami mats.

In the middle of the tatami, there was a small sunken hearth used for heating in winter.

Beichuan Si rubbed the flint and, using small twigs, started a fire.

Once the flames grew stronger, he added larger pieces of wood.

The night winds at the Magong mansion carried a bone-chilling cold that seemed to freeze one’s limbs.

Under the flickering flames, Beichuan Si’s somewhat stiff limbs felt a warm sensation.

Beichuan Si took off his shoes and socks, stretching his toes while glancing back at Magong Yongshi.

Magong Yongshi was still trying to use her cellphone, the tapping sounds on the screen making Beichuan Si worried that she might break it.

As for the other, Nishijou Kurenai...

This little one had already stealthily slipped away from him at some point and now was trying to pull the stopper out of a stone bottle in his backpack.

She was putting all her effort into it, her whole body sprawled on top of the bottle, her round hands gripping the stopper, her feet flapping continuously as she struggled.

Seeing her about to spill the dew from the stone, Beichuan Si reached out to grab the bottle.

But unexpectedly, Nishijou Kurenai clung on tightly, and when he grabbed the bottle, he ended up pulling her along with it.

Beichuan Si held her little body swinging in the air but didn’t let her fall.

"Kurenai, come down," Beichuan Si said calmly.

Yet the little one continued to cling tightly to the stopper.

"..."Without much care, Beichuan Si grabbed the stone bottle with one hand and tried to pry Nishijou Kurenai off with the other.

After all, if this little one continued to fuss, the dew might end up being spilled.

Nishijou Kurenai’s little face was stretched wide, but she refused to let go.

Her expression seemed to say, ’I’ll stick with the dew no matter what,’ which made Beichuan Si both amused and annoyed.

He gradually increased his grip—

Accompanied by a ’pop,’ the stopper finally came off, and Nishijou Kurenai was separated from the bottle.

She looked somewhat dumbfounded holding the stopper.

"It was meant for you anyway, so behave yourself," Beichuan Si said, lightly smacking her small head.

But Nishijou Kurenai looked dazed and seemed not to notice Beichuan Si’s action.

Under the firelight, her little puppet-like body looked pitiful, frail, and helpless.

"Yongshi, how should the stone dew be used?" Beichuan Si, holding the stone bottle, turned his head expressionlessly and asked.

"For the stone dew, a physical soul body should directly drink it, but for cases like Kelian’s..." Magong Yongshi paused as he put down his phone, looked at Nishijou Kelian, and said seriously, "After all, the doll is an embodiment of her soul, and the main effects of the stone dew are to cleanse the soul and enhance good thoughts."

Beichuan Si glanced at Nishijou Kelian and then at the stone dew in his hand.

Without much hesitation, he raised his wrist and gently poured the stone dew onto Kelian.

The crystal-clear and peculiar liquid touched Nishijou Kelian’s doll body and completely seeped into it, leaving no trace of dampness on the surface.

Under Beichuan Si’s watch, the golden aura surrounding Kelian thickened slightly.

Nishijou Kelian obviously noticed it too; she shook off her listlessness, jumped up, and raised her hands as if she wanted Beichuan Si to pour all the stone dew quickly.

It seemed to be effective indeed.

Beichuan Si, rejuvenated, held nothing back and tilted all the stone dew toward Nishijou Kelian’s small form.

The golden, semi-transparent liquid completely merged into Kelian’s body.

After absorbing all of the stone dew, Nishijou Kelian lazily collapsed on the ground, seemingly a bit overstuffed.

"Let her rest for a bit; absorbing more than four years’ worth of stone dew at once isn’t easy to digest," Magong Yongshi suggested from the side.

Beichuan Si agreed and then left Nishijou Kelian lying on the ground.

He took out a water bottle.

There was still a third of the water left in the bottle.

Under the curious gaze of Magong Yongshi, Beichuan Si placed the water bottle by the fire and took compressed biscuits out of his backpack.

"What are you doing, Mr. Temple?" Magong Yongshi inquired.

Beichuan Si turned back, somewhat puzzled.

Initially, he thought Magong Yongshi carried an air of a sheltered young lady, but now he was also noticing her unreliable and offbeat traits.

Wasn’t taking out compressed biscuits and a water bottle simply for eating? Why even ask?

Perhaps sensing the somewhat strange expression in Beichuan Si’s gaze, Magong Yongshi coughed awkwardly.

If ghosts had complexions, she would probably have turned bright red by now.

No wonder she reacted that way.

After all, spirits neither eat nor drink nor do they excrete.

Magong Yongshi had already lived nine years without eating or drinking, so her reaction was somewhat understandable.

He took the water bottle away from the fire pit, crushed the tough compressed biscuits, and poured them into the bottle.

The biscuit crumbs mixed with the warm water to form a paste.

Though it didn’t look appealing, the warm mush actually felt quite comforting to drink.

Beichuan Si drank the liquid meal one sip at a time, occasionally adding some wood to the fire.

"Can eating this stuff make you full?" Magong Yongshi asked from the side.

"It can’t fill you up, but it gives a sense of fullness," Beichuan Si explained after swallowing another mouthful, "I originally hadn’t planned to stay overnight at the Magong Family, but unforeseen circumstances forced me to change my plans."

Unforeseen circumstances—

Magong Yongshi lowered her head, a bit embarrassed as she said,

"I’m sorry, Mr. Temple, it’s all because of me—"

But before she could finish, Beichuan Si interrupted, asking,

"Why are you apologizing?"

Beichuan Si’s clear, piercing eyes made Magong Yongshi pause.