This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 77. No, Can’t

Chapter 77: Chapter 77. No, Can’t

Sakura Yuki hurriedly caught up and began speaking anxiously,

"Sorry, could you possibly—"

"No." Beichuan Si’s voice was calm as he cut her off in response.

"Eh?! But I haven’t said anything yet?" Sakura Yuki’s voice faltered.

"Anyway, you were certainly going to say ’could you take me with you,’ ’I could be useful too,’ right?" Beichuan Si spoke as if he had seen through Sakura Yuki’s thoughts.

"You—" Sakura Yuki’s spiritual body trembled, her voice sounded somewhat frantic, "How did you know?"

"..." Beichuan Si.

Beichuan Si glanced at Sakura Yuki, feeling as though he had had this sort of conversation with a girl surnamed Shinkai before. After a moment of silence, he said, "I have no reason to take you in."

"But, but didn’t you take in another little one?" Sakura Yuki pointed towards the small doll on Beichuan Si’s shoulder.

Nishijou Kelian.

"Kelian is my family." Beichuan Si’s voice became even more tranquil.

He lifted his cold gaze and glanced at Sakura Yuki.

Sakura Yuki’s lips quivered, completely afraid to speak further under such a gaze.

"You want to follow me, simply because you want me to investigate the truth behind your death all those years ago. But I will do those things, and you have already told me everything you wanted to know, so from that perspective, there’s no need for me to take you in."

Beichuan Si’s voice paused, then he continued,

"Besides, following me won’t do you any good, you should be aware of your condition by now, right?" Beichuan Si extended his hand, this time without attaching any aura of death, and his palm passed right through Sakura Yuki’s body.

Sakura Yuki’s mouth twitched, watching his hand that had stopped right in front of her chest.

Yet she didn’t dare utter a word, for fear of upsetting Beichuan Si.

"It’s been ten years, I don’t know how you’ve held on, but your spiritual body has weakened tremendously." Beichuan Si withdrew his hand expressionlessly.

Beichuan Si had no interest or lecherous intentions towards Sakura Yuki; he was simply verifying what he was about to say,

"Your current state is hardly better than that of a newly born ghost harboring slight resentment. If you forcibly followed me, you would likely disappear immediately. You must understand that to both me and you, you are but a burden. If you want to know the murderer who killed you, I will come and tell you after I find out."

Sakura Yuki was stunned, her pace, which had been keeping up with Beichuan Si, gradually halted.

She was born in Xucha Library, yet had no idea why she had died, nor why her body had been abandoned inside the Xucha Library. In her extremely weakened state, she didn’t dare to step outside the library.

Had Beichuan Si not come today and asked his questions, would she have been worn away by time before figuring anything out?

But no matter what, she wanted to know how she died...

Watching Beichuan Si’s calm and detached face, Sakura Yuki seemed to come to an understanding and stepped back, saying softly,

"Mr. Beichuan."

"Hmm."

Sakura Yuki bowed deeply to Mr. Beichuan. Her neat, ear-length short hair gave her an indescribable scholarly aura.

"Yuuki asks of you, please find out who the murderer was back then."

"I understand." Mr. Beichuan accepted Sakura Yuki’s bow with dignified indifference.

It wasn’t only for Sakura Yuki and the spirits of Class 2B at Xucha High School that Mr. Beichuan sought to uncover the murderer from those years ago—it was for himself as well.

But he was no less worthy of her bow.

Mr. Beichuan had no interest in wasting time on romantic entanglements. After accepting her bow, he turned briskly and once again plunged into the vast night.

From the moment he lifted his foot to leave, he never looked back.

The chilly moonlight poured down, illuminating the still-standing Sakura Yuki in front of Xucha Library, intensifying the faintly dark aura surrounding the ethereal girl.

Mr. Beichuan.

I wish you all the best.

Sakura Yuki let out a deep sigh and then faded away.

...

In fact, there was something Beichuan Si hadn’t finished saying.

Sakura Yuki’s state was between that of a vengeful spirit and good spirits.

But in Beichuan Si’s view, the resentment in Sakura Yuki was noticeably stronger than her benevolence.

Especially considering the possibility that someone had killed her, Sakura Yuki also harbored a trace of lingering attachment.

Beichuan Si saw all these changes but chose not to point them out.

If he let Sakura Yuki follow him, who knew if she would suddenly transform into a vengeful spirit?

Ten years of accumulation, trapped in a library without seeing the daylight, killed without even knowing it.

If that resentment were to suddenly erupt—

At the moment, the resentment was still under Sakura Yuki’s control, and Beichuan Si didn’t know how long she could hold on.

Perhaps the moment he turned around, Sakura Yuki would have been transformed into a vengeful spirit?

What then could Beichuan Si do?

It would be nothing more than an exorcism.

No matter what kind of spirit, whether beautiful or ugly, as soon as it turned into a vengeful spirit, Beichuan Si wouldn’t hesitate to act.

Because their essential nature had already changed.

And appearance was just a shell; Beichuan Si had little interest in it.

"However..."

Standing at the front gate of Xucha High School, Beichuan Si looked at the main building where resentment was beginning to stir and rise.

"I guess their time to meet the other Yuki won’t be too far off."

Beichuan Si turned and walked away.

On his way out, Beichuan Si also saw a paranormal forum staff member serving tea and pouring water for the just-awakened Tanaka Takashi.

These two were nothing more than strangers who temporarily crossed paths with Beichuan Si.

But after thinking about it, Beichuan Si still decided to go over and greet Tanaka Takashi.

It would be troublesome if he thought Beichuan Si had gone missing in Xucha High School and reported it to the authorities.

"Mr. Beichuan?! Are you alright?" Tanaka Takashi had just woken up, and seeing Beichuan Si emerge from the entrance, he almost jumped up in excitement:

"Mr. Beichuan! You don’t know! We really saw a real ghost! It was definitely not something from a movie or an actor could do! That compelling sense of despair... uh..."

Tanaka Takashi stopped mid-sentence.

Because he felt Beichuan Si’s gaze.

It made sense... according to the staff next to him, he and Yamakou Hideyasu had both been carried out by Beichuan Si alone, such a tough person couldn’t be just anybody.

Even upon further reflection, such excellent skills might indicate an exorcist deeply undercover.

Thinking this, Tanaka Takashi’s face turned red, and he no longer entertained the idea of continuing.

"It’s good that you’re okay," said Beichuan Si in an indifferent tone.

Then, without heeding Tanaka Takashi’s calls to stay, he turned and left.

This dismissive attitude toward Tanaka Takashi only managed to confuse the man himself, who muttered uncertainly:

"Why do I feel like Mr. Beichuan just showed up in front of me because he was worried I’d call the police?"