This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 336 - 244: Rain Hall (Target of 8000 words achieved!)

Chapter 336: Chapter 244: Rain Hall (Target of 8000 words achieved!)

"I want to tell a ghost story too! I want to tell a horror story too!" As everyone had finished telling their stories and she was the only one left, Beichuan Hui Li immediately jumped up, trying to look like she was ready to tell a story.

But before she could steady herself, she was smacked on the head by Beichuan Si.

She instinctively raised her head, just in time to meet Beichuan Si’s eyes.

Beichuan Si said indifferently, "I’ll tell you a ghost story on your own."

As he spoke, he pointed towards the other side of the stove, his expression darkening slightly, "The rice is burnt."

...

It was deep into the night.

The mountain wind howled through the ravine, making a sharp ’whoosh’ sound.

The girls were sent to sleep by Beichuan Si, but he was still busy.

He was in charge of cleaning up the bowls, skewers, and barbeque rack.

After he had put everything away, Beichuan Si stretched lazily.

But he still didn’t go to sleep.

After cleaning up, Beichuan Si moved towards the chic little wooden hut of the campsite manager.

He knocked on the door, "I’m here."

The door opened, and there stood the old man that the other girls had seen at midday.

Because this old man seemed to know something, Sakurai Saki had also told this information to Beichuan Si, who had come back with Shen Gu Mirai and Beichuan Hui Li.

Beichuan Si had arranged with the old man to come over at night and ask some questions.

And the old man was clearly surprised that Beichuan Si had actually come back, so he nodded in agreement.

This old man was named Shengong Mu, the campsite manager of this area. It was quite normal to have a campsite manager here, as people often played here and left flammable materials that could easily cause forest fires.

Here he earned a salary and also sold some firewood and charcoal to campers. His life was not too difficult.

However, this old man was also a bit too old–the age spots scattered across his face and the frequent bouts of heavy coughing made one doubt his mobility.

"Come in, young man," Shengong Mu made way and waited until Beichuan Si entered the wooden hut, then he slowly walked to sit by an old man’s chair.

After sitting down, he didn’t wait for Beichuan Si to speak and slowly asked, "Young man, you must have entered that Western-style mansion, haven’t you?"

Speaking, Shengong Mu’s dim old eyes struggled to open a bit wider, as if trying to see Beichuan Si’s current condition.

"Indeed, I did enter, and it must be what Mr. Shengong called ’Rain Hall.’"

"Rain Hall... that’s truly a word one can’t forget."

Shengong Mu sighed.

His local accent was thick, not like standard Japanese, and it was also quite different from the Kansai dialect.

And when Shengong Mu spoke, there was an indecipherable tone at the end of his sentences, probably the accent from his time. Even Beichuan Si had to really concentrate to barely understand his words.

Moreover, his tone wasn’t particularly nostalgic, but rather more like ’Rain Hall’ had left him with some unpleasant memories.

Rain Hall... Rain Hall...

"That’s the mansion that stands out amidst a torrential downpour..." Shengong Mu lamented as he asked, "Young man, did you go into Rain Hall today? Or did those two girls just take the wrong path by accident?"

"I went into Rain Hall and then brought them out."

Upon hearing this, Shengong Mu, whose eyes were already barely open, suddenly opened them wide, and while looking at Beichuan Si, he murmured, "Entered Rain Hall? No... that should... that mansion... that place..."

As he spoke, he sighed, and cloudy old tears involuntarily flowed down.

Beichuan Si sat waiting for a while until he managed to calm himself enough to reply, "Sorry, I just thought of some past events."

Saying this, he coughed heavily a few times, making one wonder if he might cough out his own liver.

Beichuan Si asked, "Mr. Shengong, I have some questions about Rain Hall, if it’s not too much trouble, could you answer them?"

This old man was definitely greatly associated with that place resembling a religious building. If he could get his help, it would save a lot of trouble when going to Rain Hall next.

Shengong Mu didn’t hide anything; after all, it was a long time ago. He took a long time to recall before he started to speak:

"That mansion... it was originally built as a religious welfare charity institution, effectively, it was an orphanage in today’s terms..."

Under Shengong Mu’s recollections, the events that had happened at Rain Hall in the past were slowly revealed.

Rain Hall was an orphanage in a rural forest area, built at an undetermined time, primarily used to shelter children who had lost their parents and raised them.

Similarly, it was also a religious orphanage that promoted Christianity.

Shengong Mu was now eighty-three years old, in his dotage.

When he entered Rain Hall back then, he was only nine years old.

"There was food, warm clothes, companions of the same age, and every day dedicated teachers would teach you reading and writing. Aside from daily morning prayers and Sunday services, it was like paradise."

"In fact, that’s what I thought at the time."

"Rain Hall... it might just have been paradise."

A mere nine-year-old child, sent to the welfare orphanage by relatives who kept passing him around.

Having already experienced the fickleness of human relationships, how could he not fall into such a wonderful place at once?

However, things were far from as simple as they seemed on the surface.