Chapter 318

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Chapter 318: Kamitsumiwoikirihime Has Passed Away

Rokuro Shimura, gone mad.

In his mind, he had already gone completely insane.

No matter what Bai Wei said, he couldn’t bear to listen to him.

He simply sat down on the ground, holding a handful of mud in his hands, and kept repeating a single word.

"Flowers, flowers…"

But his daughter’s name was Hitomi Shimura, and for a while, she couldn’t understand the meaning behind Rokuro Shimura’s repeated word "flowers".

The house he lived in was already in a state of utter ruin, barely providing enough shelter from wind and rain.

If a person had long been insane, how had he managed to survive for twenty years?

Just as Bai Wei was filled with curiosity, he heard a sound – footsteps.

An old lady with white hair walked up to the side of the house, holding a bowl in her hands. The bowl was filled with white rice and a few simple vegetables.

She spotted a stranger and her first instinct was caution. She then examined Rokuro Shimura, who didn’t appear to be bullied, but she still didn’t dare to approach him.

"What kind of people are you?" the old lady asked cautiously.

"We are…" Hokusinn Kichyō was about to respond.

Bai Wei snapped his fingers and golden flames ignited at his fingertips. "We are the immortal beings from the Ming Country," he declared.

He was using magic, which made it difficult to deceive those within his profession, but deceiving ordinary people was very easy.

He said, "You should know, Rokuro Shimura, that I once met an immortal being. I promised to cure his daughter’s illness."

A tale, partly true and partly false.

The old woman immediately let down her guard and hurriedly attempted to kneel down.

She immediately believed it, for she knew so little about this matter. If he wasn’t an immortal, how else could he have found the eccentric old man named Rokuro Shimura?

"Do not kneel, for immortals are not gods," Bai Wei straightforwardly asked as he opened the door, "Rokuro Shimura, what has happened to him all these years?"

The old woman started to tell her story with a sad expression, "Twenty years ago, he lost his daughter."

"Did she pass away?" Hokusinn Kichyō asked, having just learned that Hitomi Shimura had the same illness as Sakurai Shiru.

"No, he was taken by the people in the town and sacrificed alive."

"Human sacrifice?" Bai Wei’s face turned as solemn as water. "What is going on?"

"Twenty years ago, it was said that in order to summon the Sengoku God, a young girl of about ten years old had to go near Sengoku Shrine and bring it out. However, the area nearby was too dangerous, and entering it was certain death… Hitomi Shimura was sent inside and has never come out since."

The elderly woman looked sad. "Liu Lang, you know, he was severely injured and couldn’t move for half a year. He was even left with a limp leg. Despite his limp, he hobbled all the way to Sengoku Shrine and stayed there for several days, hoping to find his daughter, even if it meant finding her remains."

"Did you find it?" Kichyō asked very carefully.

"Where can we find it? The air in that place is poisonous. If we stay there for a long time, we will gradually become foolish. At first, he was fine, but as time went on, he became crazier and had difficulty speaking. He slowly became senile. Finally, six months ago, he completely lost his mind. He just sits in front of the house staring into space. He’s already a big fool. I’m afraid he will starve to death, so I bring him some food every day."

As the elderly woman spoke, she sat next to Rokuro Shimura and began feeding him bite by bite.

Bai Wei asked, "What does the flower he’s murmuring in his mouth mean?"

"This is the flower he grew. Fifteen years ago, he suddenly started planting flowers. But there was no water in the village, and all the ones he grew withered and died. Surprisingly, they thrived on the mountain where there was water. He relied on selling flowers to make a living." The elderly woman paused and asked, "Do you think… Can he still be cured?"

Bai Wei shook his head solemnly.

He had already seen Rokuro Shimura’s life countdown.

"Is that so," the elderly woman rubbed her eyes. "Well, well, this child has suffered for a lifetime, and it’s time for them to rest and take a break."

He remained silent for a while.

Bai Wei asked, "When did this town become the way it is now?"

Grandma said, "It was twenty years ago, during that sacred ritual… The ritual failed, and Kamitsumi, the great goddess, became angry. The village lost its water source."

If it was indeed related to Kamitsumiwoikirihime, then it had an unavoidable connection with the present-day shrine maiden.

Bai Wei and Hokusinn Kichyō exchanged glances, it was time to return to the shrine and find out the truth.

"Take good care of him," Bai Wei said. "I will come back again."

…

Returning to Kamitsumi Shrine, the sky grew even darker, as if it was perpetually overcast here.

Bai Wei entered Kamitsumi Shrine and saw Miko Kuya watering the flowers. She appeared to be tending to the bushes, but in truth, she was propagating them through cuttings.

After all, he had lived for a long time, and he had seen this type of plant before in Europa. The most memorable was a botanical witch who went by the name of Black Rose. Her special abilities played a role in improving agriculture, so Bai Wei had kept her hidden until now, waiting for the era of the Allied Nations to shine brightly and address post-war food production issues.

Bai Wei spoke its name, "Rosemary," aloud.

Rosemary has the ability to produce adventitious roots. It bends the branches near the ground and covers them with soil, while leaving the top exposed to the air. Once new roots grow, the new individual can be cut from the mother plant and planted in open ground.

Miko Kuya lifted her head and spoke in a gentle tone, "You came back so quickly. Did you see everything?"

Hokusinn Kichyō took a step forward and asked earnestly, "Why did you cut off the village’s water source?"

"If I had cut off the water source, would they still be alive today?" Kuya pondered, "I merely reduced the supply."

"Why?"

"This is the meaning of Kamitsumiwoikirihime."

"You told her to come out and meet me."

"This is very difficult."

"Why?"

"Because she passed away," Kuya replied, "She died at the hands of those villagers."

She, behind the mask of the Perfection, chuckled mockingly with her golden eyes.

"If you felt sympathy when you saw their misery, then I can only tell you-this is exactly the result I wanted."

Hokusinn Kichyō fell silent.

Bai Wei joined the conversation and said, "Was Kamitsumiwoikirihime’s death related to the ceremony twenty years ago?"

"Yes," Kuya asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"Of course, I will go back," Bai Wei replied without hesitation, "and then prevent this absurd future from becoming my reality."

Kuya turned around and continued tending to her lavender garden. She crouched down, gently pressing down the notes on the lavender.

After waiting for a full ten minutes, finishing the maintenance of the garden, she finally spoke, "I need to make some preparations."

Bai Wei nodded and asked, "When will you be ready?"

"Tonight," Kuya said. "She wants to stay, and I need to make some attempts. It seems that the reason for the time shift is not about you, but about her."

Hokusinn Kichyō nodded reluctantly and said, "I will cooperate with you, but it’s just cooperation. Don’t try to have any ulterior motives, otherwise…"

Kuya teased, "Even little kittens can bite people. Oh, I’m so scared!"

Hokusinn Kichyō couldn’t possibly be at a disadvantage in this regard. Just as she was about to mock back with her chest held high, Bai Wei brought down one hand and tapped her on the head, interrupting her pre-casting motion. "Cooperate well and try to get it done early."

In fact, Kichyō’s height has already exceeded one meter seventy, making her a supermodel with a figure no less impressive than Judy Selvicer’s. She was definitely not a short-legged Dahe Fuzi sword, but when her hair was being touched, she became very well-behaved and even knew to lower her head to cooperate willingly.

The black panther, who moments ago was about to pounce and bite, suddenly transformed into an affectionate and clingy Maine Coon cat.

Kuya was supposed to seize this opportunity to mock him, but for some unknown reason, she couldn’t bring herself to speak, only casting a subtle glance instead.

Bai Wei left Kamitsumi Shrine.

Hokusinn Kichyō didn’t tidy her ruffled hair and instead asked, "When did it start?"

"Now, while your state of mind is relatively stable," Kuya led her into the shrine.

"What do I need to do to cooperate with you?"

"Um, let’s start by talking about your relationship with Kamitsumiwoikirihime and the experiences you’ve had with him. It seems like you’ve traveled through time with him before, haven’t you?"

"It might take a while," hesitated Hokusinn Kichyō. "Maybe even tens of thousands of words," she added.

"You may speak," Kuya gestured for her to take a seat.

Hokusinn Kichyō started to confide, and the first sentence made Kuya lose focus, "I and him have experienced hundreds of cycles of reincarnation together."

…

Sengoku Shrine, or rather, the Realm of Spirits.

Even though an aging shrine was built here, it merely served as a modest embellishment for the entrance of the mystical cave.

Bai Wei thought that the scenery here would be very frightening, but the unexpectedly beautiful view left him mesmerized.

The shrine was surrounded by flowers, with the realm of spirits leading to the underworld. The mist here was composed of the toxic aura rising from the underworld, a genuine and lethal poison. Even at low concentrations, it could kill any fragile life and drive the minds of those who dared to venture here into madness.

Unfortunately, within this poisonous mist of the underworld, flowers bloomed. Not only did they adapt to the toxicity, but they also thrived on the essence of the underworld.

Bai Wei remembered Rokuro Shimura, who had already gone insane, and a possible speculation began to take shape in his mind.