This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 152 - 151: Solitary Confinement (21st Update)

Chapter 152: Chapter 151: Solitary Confinement (21st Update)

Shinju Rina had disappeared.

Without grudge as the energy of a Spiritual Body, she could no longer exist in the world.

It seemed her obsession had finally been fulfilled.

Should have... been fulfilled, right?

Did Shinju Rina and Asao Shizuka still exist in this place close to the Yellow Springs, albeit in another form?

Beichuan Si had no idea.

All he could do was look up at the hanging white paper lanterns above.

Among them, two lanterns were dimly flickering to life.

Compared to the gloomy flickering candles in the Shenzhu Shrine, these two tiny candles struggled and swayed, emitting a faint yet warm glow.

This light shone on Beichuan Si, filling him with an inexplicable strength all over.

Even Nishijou Kurenai seemed much livelier under this warm glow.

The system notification sounded:

Host has gained the immediate status: ’Shenzhu Witch’s Blessing’.

Beichuan Si was startled and subconsciously opened the system page.

His physical attributes were unchanged, but—

The deathly energy that had been largely depleted had somehow been restored to full without him noticing,

And in the traits section, Beichuan Si saw a line of small text clearly.

Shenzhu Witch’s Blessing (Immediate Status): Increased recovery rate of deathly energy and physical strength.

Though he had not received any skill points as a reward, this status was even more beneficial for Beichuan Si.

With this status, he could continue exploring the Shenzhu Shrine.

He could resolve the entire incident sooner.

"Thank you," Beichuan Si looked up and thanked the lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

The candle flame flickered as if bidding farewell.

Feeling the gradually recovering strength in his body, Beichuan Si was now more confident about the upcoming exploration of the Shenzhu Shrine—

As long as he found the altar for the Ritual of Welcoming the Divine Flower, solving the issue with the Knife Witch wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Beichuan Si opened the final door.

This time, there was no familiar bridge scene; what entered his eyes were the towering ceilings and the ancient Japanese-style sliding door rooms.

It was clear that people had once lived here. The floor showed obvious signs of human repairs.

If the place where the Knife Witch resided was in the Shenzhu branch family, then this place should be where the Shenzhu Main Family lived.

Compared to the grandiose mansion of the branch family, these Japanese-style houses where the Shenzhu Main Family lived undoubtedly had a serene and solemn atmosphere.

The neatly arranged rooms, the orderly distribution, the paths were as neatly tiled as squares.

Beichuan Si pulled open the first door.

This should be where the witches dined, with many dining tables placed on the floor and the Family Head’s black hunting clothes hanging at the most honorable seat.

It didn’t seem there was much to investigate here, but Beichuan Si went in for a search anyway.

In this search, he indeed found some records.

’The Family Head always shows favoritism towards Shihui. Why is that? Even though Shihui is not from the Shenzhu Main Family, just a person from an outsider tribe, why is he always favored by the Family Head?’

’Even our food is different now. We can’t comprehend the Family Head’s thoughts any longer. Don’t you all agree?’

It felt like the scribbles of a child snitching to a friend through notes.

"Shihui...?" Beichuan Si muttered the name.

From the content of the notes, it was apparent that this ’Shihui’ was not from the Shenzhu Main Family, yet the Shenzhu Family Head held considerable affection for this ’Shihui’.

According to the records obtained from the previous investigation, the Shenzhu Main Family should be living separately from the branch family... so why had this ’Shihui’ suddenly appeared here?

Could it be that there was something peculiar about this Shihui?

When it came to peculiarities, Beichuan Si naturally thought of the Soul Suppressing Twins.

But—

Weren’t the Soul Suppressing Twins supposed to be called Shenzhu Zhong?

Beichuan Si instinctively touched the outer layer of his waist pouch.

There, the hardness of the blackwood hairpin caused his gaze to flicker.

Regardless, he decided to jot down this clue before moving on.

Without wasting any time in a dining room, Beichuan Si continued to delve deeper into the Shenzhu Family residence after taking mental note of the clue.

Shenzhu Main Family.

The secrets hidden within surely surpassed ordinary understanding.

...

The complex was laid out neatly, its functions highly concentrated.

This significantly reduced the difficulty of Beichuan Si’s exploration.

He was headed for the Family Head’s quarters and the library room.

It was in these two places that he could find crucial clues from the past.

As Beichuan Si continued his search inward, the red and white walls stained with black marks seemed to be oddly colored.

"This is—"

Beichuan Si paused, extending his finger and rubbing hard against the wall.

The white chalk powder tinged his fingertip.

At first glance, it seemed like a normal chalk white color, but—

Compared to the wall’s surface ahead, this portion of wall seemed tinged with a faint yellow.

Could it be that this side was damper?

Beichuan Si lifted his flashlight again and continued forward.

Another crossroad.

Originally planning to explore the left and right sides as he did before and then proceed deeper, but—

"Let me go! Let me go!"

The childish, distant cry came from behind. Beichuan Si turned back just in time to see a man wearing a priest’s hunting clothes and a tall hat, dragging a child along the ground toward the central corridor ahead.

An afterimage?

Without hesitation, Beichuan Si ran in the direction the afterimage had taken.

But what Beichuan Si had not expected was that this run would last five to six minutes.

"Where is this?"

Beichuan Si stopped, looking around.

Rooms lay on both sides of the central corridor.

But rather than calling them rooms, they were more akin to cage-like dungeons.

From left to right, there were four low small rooms.

Square, long wooden bars extended from the floor to the ceiling.

Each room contained nothing but a low writing desk and a wooden bucket for excretion.

Beichuan Si had no key, so he kicked down the wooden bars and crawled into the first room.

Piles of thick white paper lay in the first room.

The paper had turned yellow with age, but the childish scribbles on it were still discernible.

It was littered with broken sentences.

The general meaning was—I shouldn’t have fought with so-and-so; as part of the Shenzhu Main Family, we should be helping and supporting each other.

These hastily and childishly constructed sentences made it clear that the writer was actually quite young.

"So this is like... a punishment room for children?"

Any child who did something wrong would be locked in this confinement room.

No wonder there was nothing placed here and why wooden bars were used.

As a confinement room, it indeed did not need to be furnished with many items, and a child’s strength would certainly not suffice to kick down the bars as easily as Beichuan Si had done.

"Three more rooms..."

Beichuan Si’s eyes were deep.

Intuition told him that perhaps here he could learn some information about the elusive Shenzhu Shihui.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.