This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 148 - 147: Shenzhu Zhong (17th Update)

Chapter 148: Chapter 147: Shenzhu Zhong (17th Update)

Shinzhu Rina seemed to sense Beichuan Si’s hesitation. Her incomplete body twisted strangely and she moved backwards, fully disappearing into the wall.

She vanished once again.

It was only appropriate that the other party could understand.

After all, it would be quite strange to simply trust a malevolent spirit.

Beichuan Si’s first priority was to ensure his own safety, followed by Magong Tong and the mission of the system.

Seeing that Shinzhu Rina had truly completely disappeared, Beichuan Si stepped into the room.

This indeed was the place where Shinzhu Rina and Asao Shizuka had perished.

It was identical to the underground palace described in the Shinra Bell.

Apart from some knives covered in malevolence and a long table, there was basically nothing else in the room, which reeked of decay.

People... were cut and chopped here like livestock... all for the rituals of the Shenzhu Main Family.

For those who ascended the mountain, there was no path left to turn back.

This was a one-way ticket to the underworld.

This excessively bloody and somewhat mysterious ritual also made Beichuan Si slightly raise his eyebrows.

He did not linger in the room for too long; the longer he stayed, the stronger the pungent smell of decay seemed to become.

After leaving that blood-stained room, Beichuan Si walked into the second corridor.

Compared to the previous room, this environment was undoubtedly much more comfortable.

This was a room akin to a record office.

But although the room was large, there were only a few bookshelves inside.

Beichuan Si, carrying the Jian Ding in his hand, explored inward.

The documents were not many; there were only about five or six volumes per shelf, and even Beichuan Si alone could easily investigate them.

Beichuan Si reached the first volume of documents and began to browse through its records.

It was written in an exceptionally neat font:

"Shenzhu Shrine·Pinv, Jinnv."

"Pinv and Jinnv are derived from the names of the legendary Da Zhi Pi God and Huo Jinri God; as their names suggest, Pinv and Jinnv are responsible for the blessing and Huo Jin Exorcism rituals, respectively."

"Pinv and Jinnv should be chosen from the venerable elderly women of the Shenzhu Shrine."

"In every village young adult’s coming-of-age ceremony, Pinv shall first bless, followed by Jinnv carrying out the Huo Jin Exorcism ritual."

"Pinv and Jinnv are also responsible for the care and education of the young Concubines."

"Concubine?"

As the main ritual performers of the village, the status of the Concubine should also be similar to that of Pinv and Jinnv.

But why aren’t the records of the Concubine together with Pinv and Jinnv in one document?

Moreover, the existence of the Concubine seems too mysterious.

At least Beichuan Si had hardly ever encountered this name in so many documents and records.

Even the records of the Soul Suppressing Twins are present, but why are there so few records of the Concubine?

The sense of incongruity was too strong.

Beichuan Si reached for the next volume of documents.

Unwinding the string, he carefully flipped through it:

"Shenzhu Shrine·Concubine."

"The identity of the Concubine, aside from the family heads, Pinv, and Jinnv, should be kept secret from others."

"The Concubine must not possess emotions."

"The Concubine should always remain focused and serene."

"During the Soul Summoning Flower ritual, the Concubine must not exhibit personal emotions, neither sad nor joyous."

"Each year, the Concubine should be brought out of the underground palace for the ritual to purify the spirit."

"Concubine... Soul Summoning Flower welcoming ceremony..."

Could this Soul Summoning Flower welcoming ceremony be the final ritual of the Soul Summoning Flower?

Beichuan Si muttered to himself as he opened the next scroll.

This scroll discussed the educational methods for Concubines.

Every Concubine should, from a young age, be placed in the underground palace, leading a life isolated from the world.

They were tutored directly by Pinv and Jinnv, who were also responsible for their meals and daily care.

During the live human punishment ceremony, Concubines were indoctrinated with the notion that ’this is a simple and normal ritual’.

In other words, each Concubine had no proper concept of life and death.

Rather than saying they were nurturing priestesses, it was more like turning each young girl into a smiling executioner.

Can you imagine?

Normalizing the dissection of humans, rationalizing the killing of people, sanctifying this bloody and barbaric act.

Such girls were raised with the knowledge of normal people, but without the moral principles normal people should have.

But—

Ignorance is also purity.

Such cruel words were written at the bottom of the scroll.

Indeed, just as recorded in this scroll.

A Concubine’s ignorance about life and death was also a form of purity, a bizarre kind... established amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

She could stare at a living person with those pure eyes, a serene and innocent smile on her face as she swung down the butcher’s cleaver.

But could you say that such innocence was not innocence?

The environment in which Concubines lived, the wrong education they received, all these had twisted the Concubines of generation after generation.

An indescribable horror and cruelty were revealed through the neat words of the scroll.

Concubine... What kind of monster was that?

Beichuan Si frowned tightly.

No wonder she could carry out the cruel blood purification ceremony expressionlessly—how could someone who had undergone such irrational education possess a normal human heart?

Beichuan Si slipped all three scrolls into his waist pouch.

He continued to delve deeper.

Inside were two more bookshelves; the first not only held scrolls but also books on literacy, presumably used to educate Concubines.

As for the second bookshelf, Beichuan Si found it quite rewarding.

Although most of the scrolls on this shelf recorded various brutal punishments that Concubines had to implement,

Among them, there were also records of blood purification ceremonies over generations.

"If Shenzhu Zhong’s love affair with a man was discovered, then there should also be records of blood purification here,"

Beichuan Si scanned line by line.

Shenzhu Yiyi, deceased.

Magong You, deceased.

...

Shenzhu Shuo Yue, survived.

It seemed that undergoing the blood purification ceremony did not necessarily result in the death of the Soul Suppressing Twins, as there were some records of survival.

However, compared to the number of death records, the number of survival records seemed quite insignificant.

But Beichuan Si was not looking for these; his eyes swiftly moved downwards, his mouth subconsciously muttering the name of Shenzhu Zhong.

Ultimately, he flipped through the entire thread-bound book of blood purification ceremonies without seeing the name of Shenzhu Zhong.

Indeed, there was no mention of Shenzhu Zhong at all.

"So that means... the affair of Shenzhu Zhong with the unnamed young man was successfully concealed? And after successfully hiding it, the ’defiled’ Shenzhu Zhong was sent to the Soul Summoning Flower welcoming ceremony, leading to the failure of the ceremony..."

This explanation seemed to make complete sense—

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