Chapter 1 Special Ritual

A special ritual...

Li Ang narrowed his eyes, immediately thinking of the Jizo statues that were abundant in Yuanke Village, and asked, "Parricide?"

The Shinto religion of the Sun Island blended deeply with Buddhism.

In ancient times, the living conditions in the rural areas of Sun Island were harsh. Jizo Bodhisattva was regarded as the protector of children who died young or were miscarried. He would use his sleeves to take away the souls of those children, protecting them from harm by evil ghosts, and at the same time, let them listen to Buddhist scriptures in his sleeves all year round, accumulating merit in the hope of being reincarnated.

"...Not exactly parricide."

Ogasawara Masayuki said in a hoarse voice, "Mothers and children, siblings, husband and wife, lovers...

The ancestors of Yuanke Village believed that

as long as the strong, inseparable emotional bonds between two people were severed, a powerful force could be released.

It's not limited to relatives."

"I see."

Li Ang nodded, "Then what is the Heichuka family opening the entrance to Yomi (the land of the dead) for?"

"For sealing."

Ogasawara Masayuki said, "The ancestors of Yuanke Village believed that Yomi is the land of evil gods and the dead.

All hatred and resentment in the human world will pour into Yomi.

The form of existence of Yomi is difficult for humans to understand.

They couldn't understand the form of existence of Yomi,

but they knew that once the rich resentment in Yomi spread to the human world,

it would cause great destruction to the world of mortals, to the point where all living beings would die and hundreds of ghosts would walk at night.

Therefore, the ancestors of Yuanke Village came up with a solution:

every four years,

they would release power by severing the bonds between people,

to resist and eliminate the resentment in Yomi.

This solution is the Yuanke Festival."

Ogasawara Masayuki paused for a moment, and said in a hoarse voice, "For ordinary villagers and outsiders, the Yuanke Festival, as advertised,

is just hanging lanterns, setting off fireworks, dancing, singing, and having fun.

In fact, the most important parts of the Yuanke Festival are only two: the shrine dance and the Heichuka family's In'en (fate) ritual.

Yuanke Village is located in a remote area.

The Heichuka family is the builder and owner of the village.

They are also the managers of the shrine and the makers of the rules.

When the Yuanke Festival begins, villagers and tourists gather at the shrine, drink Kisen (returning spring) wine, and watch the dance.

The Kisen wine is brewed with water from the Kisen well and has special effects.

After drinking the Kisen wine for a while, they will fall into a state of anesthesia and hallucination, unaware of the outside world.

When the Noh performers and the audience are immersed in the Noh performance,

the Heichuka family will appear, and their Mi Kakushi (hidden eyes) will select two people who meet the requirements of the In'en ritual."

"Mi Kakushi."

Wang Congshan frowned, immediately thinking of the woman whose eyes were gouged out in the previous illusion.

"That is, people who are blind and rely on their spiritual sense to perceive the outside world."

Ogasawara Masayuki explained, "The Heichuka family's bloodline is special, and their spiritual sense is naturally higher than that of ordinary people.

In order to select the person with the highest spiritual sense,

in each generation, they will put all the eligible children of the family in a dark, soundproof, closed room and let them play hide-and-seek.

The one who can find everyone,

or the last one to be found,

will be selected as the Mi Kakushi and have their eyes gouged out.

From then on, they will live in the secret room of the Heichuka family and have no contact with outsiders in order to maintain their purity."

He slowly said, "The Mi Kakushi selected in this way can use invisible eyes to see the In'en between people.

When the Mi Kakushi finds someone who meets the conditions for the In'en ritual,

the other members of the Heichuka family will take the two back to the Heichuka residence and come to the Kisen well.

They hand one of them scissors and let them kill the other in a daze,

and throw the body fragments into the Kisen well, where they are corroded and dissolved by the well water.

This step corresponds to the scene in the mythology where the warrior offers Hiruko to the In'en god.

It is mainly to open the entrance to Yomi."

Tsk.

Li Ang clicked his tongue. When they came down from the Kisen well just now, they saw with their own eyes that the well water was mixed with fragments of eyes, fingers, hair, etc. Thinking about it carefully, it was really disgusting.

It's like taking a bath in a miscellaneous soup that doesn't meet hygiene standards.

The corners of Wang Congshan's mouth twitched. The Kisen wine that Yuanke Village used to entertain outsiders was actually made from miscellaneous soup, and the key was that she had drunk it.

Ogasawara Masayuki didn't know what the two were thinking and continued, "The Kisen well is connected to the land of Yomi, and its well water will be contaminated with anomalies under the influence of years of accumulation, and it can dissolve the limbs of the dead.

The Kisen wine made with well water will make people sink into hallucinations and be unable to extricate themselves.

My teacher was also a folklorist and visited Yuanke Village a long time ago, and was received by the Heichuka family.

He mentioned that the Heichuka family does not usually drink the water from the Kisen well, but uses another well.

The reason for this is that on the one hand, the water from the Kisen well is ominous,

and on the other hand, the ancestors of the Heichuka family are also integrated into the water of the Kisen well—those selected for the In'en ritual are not necessarily outsiders. As long as they meet the conditions, internal members of the Heichuka family will also be selected for the In'en ritual."

Ogasawara Masayuki said in a hoarse voice, "After completing the first step, the entrance to Yomi is briefly opened,

and the Heichuka family

will lead the person left over from the In'en ritual down to this space.

They will put him in a metal box like a coffin, pour water from the Kisen well into the box, and then transport the entire metal box to the edge of the cliff via rails.

At the edge of the cliff, they tie a hemp rope to the metal box and slowly lower it into the abyss.

As the effects of the Kisen wine gradually wear off,

the person in the box will slowly wake up and realize what he has done.

Then, he will be swallowed by infinite regret and pain.

During this process, the strong emotions released by severing the In'en will suppress the resentment in Yomi and calm it down.

As time passes, the person in the box slowly becomes desperate and calm, and is finally assimilated by the water of Kisen.

Together with the person and the box, they sink into the abyss, suppressing the resentment once again.

At this point, a complete In'en ritual is finally completed,

until four years later, when the sealing effect wears off, and a new round of the cycle begins."

Ogasawara Masayuki slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his gaze fixed on the dark, lightless metal box below the cliff.

"What's in this box should be your mother, and Fujimura Shuhei's wife, Fujimura Masumi."

Li Ang said, "Since the box is still hanging there,

then obviously, there was some problem with the last round of the In'en ritual, so that it failed to complete the suppression, but instead allowed the resentment in Yomi to surge up, and Yuanke Village was completely destroyed."