This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 143 - 142: The Legend of Shinra Bell (12th Update)

Chapter 143: Chapter 142: The Legend of Shinra Bell (12th Update)

Beichuan Si had ultimately given up on collecting the eternal flame.

At least they weren’t taking the flame now.

The reason was very simple.

The texts of the Fire Ritual recorded that the eternal flame must not be extinguished.

This sentence was emphasized three times on the slip of paper; even a fool could sense something extraordinary from it.

If they were to take the flame and the suppressed disaster were to burst forth, wouldn’t the loss outweigh the gain?

Once this mission was completed, Beichuan Si could still come back and collect the eternal flame; he didn’t need to take such a great risk for something that would inevitably be his.

Beichuan Si suppressed the restlessness in his heart and left the side hall where the eternal flame was stored, having found nothing.

From the perspective of the long bridge on this side, other than the room that stored the eternal flame, no other rooms could be seen.

But if one were to look in the direction of the main shrine hall, they could see a sprawling complex of buildings.

The entire shrine was like Miyajima Shrine, a floating palace on water.

That must have been the scene behind the other two wooden doors that he hadn’t investigated.

Realizing this, Beichuan Si returned to the main shrine hall and proceeded toward the second wooden door on the left.

After some effort, he opened it, and the familiar sight of the sewage-filled long bridge appeared before Beichuan Si.

Not far in front of him was a standard shrine building, though it was much smaller than the storehouse where the eternal flame had been.

Without a word, Beichuan Si walked forward and pulled open the door.

Walls with black streaks on vermilion and white, columns of a tragic red color, squeaking wooden boards.

The room looked like a place where witches usually conducted rituals, filled with musical instruments like bamboo flutes and drums.

Near another large door inside the room was a huge shrine wall honoring a Shinra Bell entwined with a red knotted cord.

The red knots were eerily and bewitchingly red, giving one an unsettling feeling.

Candlesticks were placed on both sides of the shrine wall, the candles faintly flickering.

The entire room was surprisingly clean; if it weren’t for the damaged, blackened walls, Beichuan Si might have thought it was just an ordinary shrine room.

Beichuan Si scanned the room with his flashlight, his gaze finally resting on the Shinra Bell at the main worship spot.

Above it black malice was emanating.

Many Shinra Bells were placed in the room, but only this one was specially honored here.

Beichuan Si reached out toward the Shinra Bell.

In that moment, it seemed as if certain memories flowed into his mind.

Beichuan Si stood in an unfamiliar scene.

The scene was in an underground palace with a low ceiling that suffocated one’s spirit. In the center of the underground palace was a long table stained with blood, and bound to it with chains was a young man in a linen kimono, with a fierce face and bulging eyes.

Beneath him, blood had long since congealed, and insects hovered around his pale, cyanotic skin.

By the looks of it, the young man had been dead for a long time.

Then, in the quiet underground palace, the clear sound of a lock being opened rang out.

A woman wearing a red and white witch’s outfit, holding a Shinra Bell, pushed open the door and hurried in.

The witch had long hair and a gentle face.

But this gentleness turned into shock and sadness when she saw the young man lying on the long table, who had already lost his life.

She clamped her mouth tightly, tears streaming profusely from the corners of her eyes.

And yet, she dared not make a single sound,

as if afraid that any noise would alert someone.

The witch threw herself onto the young man, the stench of decay permeating through the cloth, yet she clung tightly to the young man’s sleeve, unwilling to let go.

She lay there, suffering and softly sobbing.

After a long while, the anguished witch softly murmured:

"Shenzhu Mountain is the place closest to the Yellow Springs."

"Death is likewise another form of survival."

"Wait for me, Jing."

Beichuan Si stood silently behind her, watching her next move.

The witch, trembling, took a short knife from her bosom.

Looking at the smooth blade, then at the young man on the table with eyes wide open in death, the witch’s trembling stopped. With devout expression, she put down the Shinra Bell as if conducting a ritual, positioning the knife against her smooth neck.

She exerted force on her wrist!

The blade entirely penetrated her neck, slicing deep into it.

Pfft—

Blood gushed out in torrents.

The witch’s pale hand, dragging the knife, weakly fell as she slumped beside the table, her mouth moving slightly.

"Ah—ah—huh... huh..."

But her extensively damaged vocal cords were insufficient to let her speak.

The blood stained her witch’s robe and the Shinra Bell, even the ropes symbolizing purity were dyed red.

In Beichuan Si’s view, the dead witch’s wide-open eyes stared unblinkingly at him.

Deeply staring at him.

Beichuan Si’s breath shifted and he pulled his consciousness back from the memories.

He thoughtfully looked at the Shinra Bell in his hand.

That must have been the witch’s memory before her death.

The dense resentment had all settled upon this Shinra Bell, causing anyone who touched it to be pulled into that illusion.

Beichuan Si unconsciously swept his gaze back to the altar wall.

Beneath the Shinra Bell, there was a wooden box engraved with enchanting flowers.

Beichuan Si picked up the wooden box and opened it.

Inside were documents wrapped with a fine rope.

"Marriage Purification Ritual, about the legend of the Shinra Bell."

"Young people who went through the Marriage Purification Ritual fell in love with the witch from the Shenzhu Main Family."

"To maintain the family lineage, they captured the young man, brought him into the underground palace, and killed him, but the witches from the Shenzhu Main Family all possessed certain spiritual powers."

"The Shenzhu witch, through her spiritual power, discovered the matter, and during an important ritual, while everyone was absent, secretly obtained the keys to the underground palace and used a short knife to commit suicide there."

"By the time they arrived, only the blood-soaked Shinra Bell and the witch’s eyes, staring at the family members, remained."

"Those who found the body all died mad from various causes soon after; it’s said that touching this Shinra Bell would tempt one to commit suicide in the same way."

"Hence, it was placed in the ceremonial room for worship and preservation, to cleanse and purify the witch, while forbidding any other witch from touching it."

"The legend of the Shinra Bell."

Beichuan Si held the Shinra Bell and muttered to himself.

No wonder the ropes of this Shinra Bell were so vividly red.

Dyed with human blood, how could it not possess such breathtaking beauty?

Just as Beichuan Si contemplated this, the Shinra Bell in his hand suddenly started ringing rapidly, dinging and donging!

This was a very strange thing.

Because Beichuan Si hadn’t shaken the Shinra Bell at all!

With a movement of his hand, Beichuan Si cast a layer of deathly energy over the Shinra Bell, then briskly threw it behind him.

With a thud, the Shinra Bell struck a woman dressed in a black witch’s robe, holding a short knife.

Unknowingly, this woman had already appeared right behind Beichuan Si.