This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 221 - 187. Laughter and Tears (4000 words)

Chapter 221: Chapter 187. Laughter and Tears (4000 words)

Qiushan Caiyin took a deep breath and forced a smile as she spoke, "Stop it, Mr. Beichuan, don’t joke around with me anymore, it’s quite scary being out here so late at night."

Her words seemed light in the night, but her tone was somewhat trembling.

Beichuan Si appeared to sense Qiushan Caiyin’s fear. He silently glanced at her, then turned his head with the flashlight in his hand to inspect the twisted iron fence.

His silence made Qiushan Caiyin feel an inexplicable terror. She swallowed hard and couldn’t help but take two steps back:

"Mr. Beichuan, since I’ve already brought you here, you won’t be needing me any longer, right? I should..."

As she spoke, she tried to turn around and leave, but Beichuan Si caught her wrist.

"Mr. Beichuan...?"

Qiushan Caiyin’s feet trembled, and she was about to cry.

What’s going on?! Why is Beichuan Si acting like a psychotic killer?! This is too terrifying!

"You can’t leave now," Beichuan Si lifted his head.

Under Qiushan Caiyin’s extreme fear, she somehow felt Beichuan Si’s face twist into a menacing expression.

I can’t leave now? When can I leave then? Not until I’m chopped up into pieces?

With a gloomy expression, Qiushan Caiyin turned her head away. She felt certain she’d encountered a criminal, her voice shaking in the cold wind:

"Please, let me go, Mr. Beichuan."

Ah?

Beichuan Si found the situation rather strange and curious.

What’s with this young girl? She had been speaking fine just a moment ago; why did she suddenly change her face?

Beichuan Si really couldn’t understand the thought processes of these young girls anymore.

Seeing her about to cry, Beichuan Si reassured her:

"Please rest assured, Miss Qiushan. I am not a suspicious person, and I won’t make you do anything strange. It’s just that the slope is rugged, and if anything happened to you on the way, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to your parents."

After hearing these words, Qiushan Caiyin lifted her tearful eyes, "Is that true, Mr. Beichuan?"

"Of course, it’s true." Beichuan Si nodded, then continued, "After this ordeal at Yuchuan Elementary School is over, we still have our agreement to go to Tokyo, right?"

At the mention of ’Tokyo,’ Qiushan Caiyin couldn’t help wiping her tears and nodded vigorously, "I understand."

"Mhm," Beichuan Si responded, but inside he still felt a strange sense of guilt.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he just cajoled an innocent young girl into doing something wrong.

But despite that, the most important thing right now was—

Yuchuan Elementary School.

Beichuan Si looked towards the grim silhouette of the distant building, then began walking around the wire fence.

"Just as I thought."

Beichuan Si stopped in his tracks.

"What’s wrong, Mr. Beichuan?" Qiushan Caiyin was genuinely scared by Beichuan Si’s earlier demeanor, always feeling as if something was watching her from behind.

This made her instinctively stay a bit closer to Beichuan Si.

And as she got closer, she naturally saw—

The wire mesh had been haphazardly cut open with pliers to create a large hole.

The hole was just big enough for a person to bend down and enter Yuchuan Elementary School through it.

"What is this?" Qiushan Caiyin was incredulous, "The area nearby should be strictly off-limits, how could people still get in?"

"If someone went inside, they must have their reasons, and maybe that reason is..."

Beichuan Si’s gaze was distant.

It seemed the seal might not have been naturally broken, but deliberately sabotaged.

"Mr. Beichuan, what are you doing?" Qiushan Caiyin asked in surprise as she watched Beichuan Si suddenly lift his leg.

Without looking back, Beichuan Si said, "I want to have a look inside."

With that, he kicked vigorously at the shaky iron fence before him.

Accompanied by a loud ’bam,’ the standalone wire fence collapsed upon impact.

Uh—

Qiushan Caiyin stood to one side, stunned.

Mr. Beichuan’s kick... toppled the iron fence buried thirty to forty centimeters into the ground?

High school students in Tokyo... are they all this fierce?

Beichuan Si slung his backpack back on, turned around, and said, "Let’s go, Miss Qiushan."

"Go... what do you mean... Mr. Beichuan, you know, Yuchuan Elementary School has had some bad rumors about it, and although I don’t believe in those sorts of ghost stories in this world, but..."

Being a local of Yuchuan Town, Qiushan Caiyin might not particularly believe in general horror and ghost stories, but she had experienced the legends about Yuchuan Elementary School since she was a child.

Children had indeed disappeared in this area, and high-ranking monks had conducted rituals here.

Even if Qiushan Caiyin didn’t believe, she naturally held a sense of dread about this place.

Regarding what Qiushan Caiyin said, Beichuan Si naturally replied, "Wouldn’t it be even more dangerous for you to stay out here alone, Miss Qiushan?"

"...That’s also true," Qiushan Caiyin’s mouth twitched.

It was pitch black all around, and of course, she would feel frightened standing here by herself.

After hesitating for a while, Qiushan Caiyin gritted her teeth and followed Beichuan Si’s steps.

The area around Yuchuan Elementary School was desolate, overgrown with weeds. The silhouette of the old wooden schoolhouse became clearer in the distance.

Seemingly trying to lighten the mood, Qiushan Caiyin began, "As you can see, Mr. Beichuan, this area used to be the front playground. The farthest building is Yuchuan Elementary School. In fact, this area was to be preserved for expansion, but due to the lack of investment, the school couldn’t start expanding and was instead abruptly closed."