This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 142 - 141: Campfire and Death Qi (11th Update)

Chapter 142: Chapter 141: Campfire and Death Qi (11th Update)

Beichuan Si stuffed the large notebook into his outdoor bag outside the Shrine, then continued to grope his way inside.

Shenzhu Shrine had not been renovated for a long time. Many places inside were leaking, and being built over water, the damp moisture was heavy. Some wooden floorboards had already been eroded and rotted beyond repair, so that as soon as Beichuan Si stepped on them, his foot went right through.

There were three ancient wooden doors in the main hall, each seemingly leading somewhere.

So, which way should he go?

As Beichuan Si pondered this, he looked at Nishijou Kurenai perched on his shoulder.

Kurenai, being a good spirit, of course had much higher intuition than him. Following her lead would surely prevent big mistakes.

Under Beichuan Si’s gaze, Nishijou Kurenai climbed to her feet, her round fingers pointing towards the left ancient door.

"Let’s set off."

Nishijou Kurenai had made her choice, so Beichuan Si no longer hesitated and opened the wooden door.

As soon as the wooden door opened, a cold and damp air rushed towards them.

The left door linked to an outdoor, covered bridge at the Shrine. The bridge extended forward, about fifty meters away, with a large hall twinkling with firelight. The bridge divided into three paths there: middle, left, and right. The left and right bridges encircled the fire-lit hall in a square, guarding it in the middle of a pond, while the middle bridge faced by Beichuan Si connected to the entrance of the fire-lit hall.

The railings of the bridge were stained with filthy pond water, black and bottomless.

Yet Beichuan Si paid it no mind and raised his foot to step directly onto the bridge.

Crack!

Beichuan Si’s foot broke through the surface of the bridge.

As mentioned before, the Shrine built over water had not been repaired for a long time, causing some wood to rot. Beichuan Si had just stepped on some of this decayed wood.

Unable to help himself, Beichuan Si shook his head, his hands braced against the bridge, and he pushed himself up—

"Huh?"

He felt it then—something below the bridge was pulling at his ankle with enormous strength!

The force was nearly enough to dislocate his ankle.

Beichuan Si quickly pulled out Jian Ding, and with a flicker of death energy, he split the bridge open with a large hole.

Although he momentarily lost his support, this provided Beichuan Si with a wider view. Propped by one hand, death energy swirling in his eyes, he finally saw what was beneath the murky water—

There were pairs of ghastly, twisted, pale hands.

Dozens of them clung to Beichuan Si’s ankle, as if trying to drag him down to the depths of the pond.

A cold light flashed in Beichuan Si’s eyes, and with a flick of his wrist, Jian Ding calmly moved into his palm.

Spiritual Dagger Technique!

Infused with death energy, Jian Ding shone brilliantly.

Jian Ding flew from his hand and plunged into the water, its sharp blade easily tearing the ghostly hands apart.

Only then could Beichuan Si pull his foot free. Led by the lines of death energy, Jian Ding returned to his hand.

He lifted his trouser leg, and on his ankle, one could clearly see the dark bruises from the pulling.

"Dead bodies under the water? Could it be..."

Beichuan Si thought of the fate of the man after the failed wedding purification ritual.

"Buried at the bottom of the pond..."

Could there be some significance to this?

After a brief treatment with death energy, Beichuan Si picked up Jian Ding and, holding a flashlight, continued to grope forward.

For some reason, the further forward he went, the hotter Beichuan Si felt.

It wasn’t a bodily warmth, but rather a deeper kind... as if his soul itself were heating up.

The fifty-meter distance felt like transitioning from winter to summer, and Beichuan Si raised the flashlight to look at the headband.

Unfortunately, the headband was empty, with nothing written on it.

Since there was no information, Beichuan Si decided to investigate the situation by directly entering.

He placed his hand on the sliding door, his body tense, always ready to deal with various unknown situations.

This time, the door slid open effortlessly, unlike the struggle of entering the Shrine’s main hall.

As soon as Beichuan Si opened the door, a wave of heat hit him in the face.

He gazed intently into the interior.

The whole hall’s dome was no more than five meters high, with countless red silk ribbons dangling from the ceiling.

In each of the Four Directions of the hall, there stood a ghastly red column connected by sacred ropes. In the midst of these, a huge fire basin blazed fiercely.

The fire basin was at least half a meter off the ground, within which burned a mysteriously blue flame.

The strange fire burned, appearing somewhat bewitching.

Beichuan Si’s body did not feel the heat, but his soul felt a burning sensation.

He took two steps forward, just about to approach the blue flames when he heard something behind him.

Beichuan Si looked back.

He saw four people dressed in hunting attire and wearing strange masks entering from outside.

These were afterimages.

None of them harbored resentment or good spirits; they were merely images constructed of pure longing.

They moved solemnly, each carrying a small fire basin.

After whispering something akin to a prayer, they threw the small fire basins into the blue flames. Then, they pulled out more fire basins from their hands, which also burned with small blue flames.

They maintained their silent state as they retreated from the hall and slowly dissipated.

In the place where the priests disappeared, old and tattered manuscripts were left behind.

Beichuan Si picked them up and examined them:

"Shenzhu Shrine, Ceremony of Fire."

"It is said that the souls of the living are drawn to the Spiritual Fire, thus, when collecting the fire, one must wear masks engraved with spells and use roped fire basins to gather it."

"The Spiritual Fire is the soul’s fire, fed by the souls of young men who perished during the failed pool bottom purification ceremony."

"Any ritual related to misfortune must be conducted with Spiritual Fire in hand, as it drives away evil spirits and suppresses calamities."

"The Spiritual Fire must not be extinguished."

"The Spiritual Fire must not be extinguished."

"The Spiritual Fire must not be extinguished."

Repeated three times, this also underscores the importance of the Spiritual Fire to the Shenzhu Shrine.

"The Spiritual Fire must not be extinguished..." Beichuan Si murmured, savoring the ancient and enduring tradition.

Suddenly, a crisp alert sounded from the system.

System alert: You have discovered a new type of oddity "Spiritual Fire."

Spiritual Fire: An eternal flame worshipped by generations at Shenzhu Shrine, fueled by the souls of the living, possessing the effect of exorcising evil spirits and warming the soul.

Shortly after, another crisp alert sounded in Beichuan Si’s ears.

System alert: The host’s deathly aura highly complements the Spiritual Fire, would you like to absorb the fire seed?

Absorb the Spiritual Fire?

Beichuan Si turned to look back at the blazing blue flames.

Standing here, he could feel the scorching effect the flames had on the soul.

If he could absorb this...

Even Beichuan Si felt somewhat unable to resist such a temptation.

Indeed, if he could absorb and harness such powerful Spiritual Fire, then his journey through the Shrine would undoubtedly become much easier!

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