Chapter 310

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Chapter 310: Grave Guilt! The Unforgiving World!

Kokonohana Nori found a clinic by herself and borrowed its facilities to perform surgery on Yoshine Ise.

She herself was a surgeon, and that was why she came alone, without any backup.

Even after the surgery, Ise couldn’t fall asleep right away. She took some pain relievers and had to force herself to stay awake.

The funeral attendant was cleaning the bloodstains on her fingers and asked, “So you were discovered midway, but you have no idea about the specific location, right?”

Shimizu replied, “When a large number of evil demons gather, it’s a dangerous sign. We should report it to the shrine.”

Kokonohana Nori sighed. “The shrine currently doesn’t have the power for a decisive battle. Surely, they know this, which is why they specifically chose this time in December.”

“The Metropolitan Police Department and Onmyoryou… Although Onmyoji are usually not much use, they should at least be helpful in situations like this. We can’t be worse than emergency toilet paper,” Igarashi Shimizu said, her frustration evident.

“What about reporting to the shogunate?” Ise suggested. “If we send a skilled swordsman, there should be a way to handle it.”

Kokonohana Nori sighed again. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to contact the outside world. Once the enemy knows you’ve escaped, they will do everything they can to obstruct us. Our situation isn’t safe. If they’ve made thorough preparations, they won’t let us escape easily.”

“If the transportation routes are really cut off, we won’t be able to leave the mountain area. There’s another hidden dimension in Shikoku Town, like a pocket. Once you enter, you can’t get out. You need to be mentally prepared to endure and stay here.”

“Fortunately, there are many empty houses in Shikoku Town, so it’s not too difficult to find a place to hide. They may try to block us, but it’s unlikely they’ll openly search for us here.”

Ise expressed her worry. “I’m not sure. The person we tracked earlier might have been one of them. Maybe they’ve been replaced, or many of the townspeople might have been bribed?”

Shimizu asked cautiously, “Do we need to change our location?”

The funeral attendant answered, “I don’t think my true identity has been revealed, so I can temporarily go out. The clinic here only has basic doctors who aren’t capable of performing surgeries, so there’s no risk of exposure. I’ve set up a barrier to sense any supernatural presence, and so far, nothing has happened. At least tonight is safe. Tomorrow morning, I’ll find a way to send you back first. If necessary, we’ll find a safer place.”

She paused and added, “Earlier, Bai Wei mentioned a family named Shimura. Tomorrow, I’ll go and ask them. If they’re willing to help and provide a safe place for us, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

Ise, summoning her courage, said, “I’m not worried about whether we can leave or the issue of safety, Lord Funeral. We can’t just sit idly by and do nothing.”

The funeral attendant replied quietly, “Of course, I won’t just sit and wait for the worst. You all should focus on recovering, don’t worry about these things.”

She glanced at the two sword witches and decided it was best to conclude this heavy topic. She wanted to engage in some light conversation to lift their spirits.

As her thoughts drifted, she suddenly coughed, then, narrowing her eyes, asked, “Should I have said — isn’t he still here — so you’d feel more relaxed?”

Shimizu, who had been drinking water, choked. “Cough, cough! I didn’t… didn’t mean that, Lord Zangyi, please don’t misunderstand!”

She said cautiously, “That person, Bai Wei… Bai Wei is Jingūji’s lover, but I don’t have that kind of intention.”

“I never said you had that idea, but you brought it upon yourself,” Kokonohana Nori gently tapped Shimizu’s head.

“It was obviously you, Lord Kokonohana, deliberately…” Shimizu sat on a nearby sofa, hugging her knees. “I’m really grateful to him for saving my life, it’s true.”

Ise added, “The heart was moved too.”

“Don’t speak nonsense,” Shimizu quickly denied.

“I was talking about myself,” Ise continued.

Qingshui’s face turned red, then she looked at Ise with disbelief. “Are you serious? You dare to say such a thing? Aren’t you afraid of Jingūji challenging you to a duel?”

“He’s not Jingūji’s lover,” Kokonohana Nori interjected. “It’s not true. He denied it himself.”

“Is that so?” Shimizu exclaimed in astonishment. “Then why did he go to rescue Jingūji? What was the reason?”

“Why did he save you?” Kokonohana Nori asked in return. “Did he say why?”

“I didn’t have time to ask,” Igarashi Shimizu replied regretfully.

“The people of the Ming Country are like this. The spirit of chivalry is a kind of romance to them. Maybe they just do it because they can, without needing to explain,” Kokonohana Nori blurred the lines of the close friendship between Saki Jingūji and Yagyū Simozi.

“So, that’s how it is,” Igarashi Shimizu said, deep in thought.

“Did you just heave a sigh of relief?” Yoshine Ise mercilessly dismantled her friend’s argument.

“I’m not, I didn’t!”

“That’s great! I was worried our close friendship would be ruined because of a man.”

“Ise, can you be a bit more reserved?” Shimizu exclaimed, pounding the sofa. “He’s good-looking and can fight, but you’re just… so outrageous.”

“Fool…” Ise sighed. “Is it necessary to be reserved? He saved my life; if it weren’t for him, I’d be dead today. Can’t I have feelings for my own life-saving hero?”

Shimizu opened her mouth to reply, but then said, “Ise, this isn’t love, you’re mistaken.”

“Of course not, it’s dependence or the bridge effect,” she rationalized, before saying emotionally, “But is it really a bad thing? Since it has already happened, why not embrace it?”

Shimizu said earnestly, “Your thinking is wrong. We owe him our lives, a debt that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Even if he makes unreasonable demands, I won’t bat an eyelash, but liking him because of it is completely different. You’ve only just learned who he is, where he lives, what he likes to eat, how he dresses, his familiar gestures, catchphrases, hobbies — you know nothing about him. Suddenly saying you want to surrender to the feeling of liking him… Isn’t that playing the wrong tune?”

Yoshine exclaimed in surprise, “You can actually be so rational?”

“Of course, I’ve always been very rational.”

“But when you read romance novels, you never really think about these things. It’s all about a wealthy gentleman, who never shows any signs, suddenly falling in love with a laundry worker’s daughter who slapped him, or a domineering CEO casually giving away billions of cash. You enjoy these kinds of scenes.”

“Novels and reality are two different things, I understand that very well, I truly do!” Shimizu was caught off guard and vehemently denied, “Funeral attendant, please, tell them about her. My best friend was terrified, her mind is not normal anymore.”

Kokonohana Nori smiled and said, “Isn’t it fine this way? Being reserved won’t put food on the table. It would be better to get married early; after all, a sword witch doesn’t hold much value.”

Igarashi Shimizu knew she couldn’t continue the conversation, so she went to prepare something to eat and ran off to the small kitchen in the clinic.

There were only two people left in the room. Kokonohana Nori asked, “So, what are your true thoughts?”

After a moment of silence, Yoshine Ise let out a gentle sigh and said, “I envy Jingūji.”

“Just jealous?”

“Right now, it’s still just…”

“That’s not it anymore,” Kokonohana Nori hesitated, then said, “I know it’s impolite to say this, but Ise, you don’t seem like the sentimental type.”

“Kokonohana, if you can control it, sensitivity wouldn’t be called sensitivity anymore,” the sword witch lay flat on the bed, gazing at the ceiling. “There are very, very few sword witches who’ve experienced what I have… I went through life and death once, and then I was saved. Many sword witches never get the chance to survive.”

“Just a little bit more, and I would have died. My heart would have been devoured by an evil spirit, my flesh served on a dining table. I would have died in a terribly tragic way, with my dignity trampled upon. My life, soul, and beliefs would have vanished into nothingness… Actually, I’m really scared. Scared to death.”

Her voice was deep and muffled, “So at that moment, I made a vow. Whoever could appear and save me would be my savior.”

Kokonohana Nori listened quietly, then gently touched Ise’s slightly warm forehead. “I understand how you feel… I really understand.”

Ise whispered, “But he is not my god, Lord Funeral Director.”

Her tone was filled with bitterness, and her expression grew even more bitter. “He didn’t come to save me, it was just a coincidence. I know I shouldn’t delude myself… but I still wonder, if he stayed, what would I have said to him? Could I have asked him more about himself, gotten to know him better…”

Bai Wei was not here. Upon learning the location of the shrine, he hurriedly made his way there under the starry sky.

He left decisively, quickly, without thinking about staying to wait for her surgery to finish or exchange a few more caring words.

Yoshine Ise understood once again that if the person here was Saki Jingūji, he would have stayed.

“I admire Jingūji very much… really… admire him, almost to the point of jealousy.”

She bit her lip, trying to make blood seep from between her teeth.

Though Kokonohana was a funeral attendant, she couldn’t answer such complex emotions. She could only sigh and say, “Just go to sleep. When you wake up, you’ll forget these feelings. You’re just scared, but you’ll feel better.”

“Will it really get better?” Yoshine Ise mumbled wearily, “What if I have a nightmare? What if I find myself back in that place? I don’t want to dream about it, nor do I want to dream about him…”

As she spoke, her exhaustion overtook her. Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep.

After Kokonohana Nori watched her fall asleep, she got up and walked toward the kitchen to prepare some easy-to-digest food.

Just as she walked down the hallway, she saw Shimizu at the kitchen counter, kneading dough. Her downcast expression and the salty tears on her cheeks spoke volumes.

People who have faced death were not just Ise; Shimizu had been under the butcher’s sword too. She knew best the fear of feeling Death’s blade brush against her spine.

Their moods were the same.

The difference was that one person silently faced away from others, shedding tears, while the other lay immersed in a shallow dream, filled with fear.

Kokonohana wondered, if Bai Wei were here, would their inner suffering lessen even a fraction? Just a few words of comfort could turn Shimizu’s tears into laughter. Holding Ise’s hand could alleviate her fear of nightmares.

But he wasn’t here.

The funeral attendant exclaimed softly, “Truly, he is a man burdened with grave sins…”