Chapter 348

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Chapter 348: Planting a Tree at Kamiji Village

The mayor of Kamiji Village was young, only in her early forties. She had studied in Hokkaido over twenty years ago and was a prominent legend among the notorious delinquent groups. She was known for smoking, drinking, getting wild haircuts, and racing motorcycles, surpassing even the famous young motorcycle gang leader, Hokusinn Xuanma.

However, the harsh winds and frost had left many marks. In her youth, she had lost an eye and three fingers. Yet, she continued to manage Kamiji Village. Though she was fully aware that the era of witches would eventually fade away into the annals of history, she still hoped for its arrival to be delayed.

"Mimi, you’re back, huh?"

"Kokonohana Nori," nodded Kurosawa Yaka gently. She then opened the car door, and following closely behind her came Kokonohana Nori.

Upon seeing Kokonohana, the village chief’s expression immediately turned unpleasant. "Why have you come back?"

"Can’t I come back?"

"This home no longer has a place for you," Kokonohana Reiko sneered. "Only now that you have fallen ill and realized there’s no cure left, do you think of coming back for treatment? Hoping to live a few more years?"

The village chief’s surname is also Kokonohana. In fact, she is Kokonohana Nori’s elder cousin. However, since the split within the shrine years ago, they have actually gone their separate ways. Kokonohana Nori was born in the witch village, but advocated for the division of beliefs, which was even more troublesome as her faction’s ideas succeeded.

The shrine, which divided beliefs, became a sharp sword. Sword witches, as the sacred priests, could wholeheartedly wield their swords to protect the peace of Yingzhou. However, the casualty rate reached an all-time high in history, despite the presence of the Blood Moon Disease. This was an inevitable consequence.

Kokonohana Nori understood where her cousin’s resentment came from, but she remained calm and replied, "I didn’t come back to seek treatment… The past is long gone, why do you insist on holding grudges?"

"Why should I hold grudges!" laughed Kokonohana Reiko coldly.

"For over twenty years, day and night, I have been working hard to build the shrine. I have not contributed any less than you," Kokonohana Nori said solemnly. "I just hope that all of them, like us, can break free from the duty of being a sword witch."

"To do this, do we have to go against tradition and abandon our training?" Kokonohana Reiko asked in return.

"You guys are too stubborn, stubbornly clinging to old ways, demanding that the shrine maintain belief in non-existent gods. This only deepens the impression, repeating the same mistakes. We must drive out this belief from the shrine so that it can truly become a sword of protection for us."

Kokonohana Nori spoke solemnly, "Over the years, the headquarters of the Edo Shrine has accepted more than thirty sword witches from different shrines across places like Kyoto, Osaka, Hokkaido, and Kyushu. And the branch shrines in those areas, from scratch, have been established. Among them, seventy percent of the sword witches don’t contract the Blood Moon Disease!"

The funeral attendant still believes they are right, "If we cling to our past beliefs, all we’re doing is sending more witches to the battlefield, repeating the same mistakes from twenty years ago over and over again. What’s the point?"

Kokonohana Reiko remained unmoved, responding with a cold smirk.

"Yes, you are amazing, you are successful. Compared to you, one of the most skilled funeral attendants throughout history, I am just a poor old woman living in a broken village. I can’t match your long-term vision and worries about Yingzhou. As for me, tending to this small plot of land is the very most I can do."

"You are so amazing, why don’t you take a look at your own people! The Kokonohana family now only has a little over ten members left, and more than half of them are old or disabled!"

"In the village, there are so many elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people. How many times have you come back to visit them? Have you ever paid attention to the sound of those children crying?"

"Just yesterday, three more elderly people passed away, and there are many more struggling on the brink of life and death. Several children were lying next to me, cold to the touch as I held them. They cried out in pain, and all I could do was comfort them and sing them lullabies. Even with the strongest paindemons, nothing seemed to help. After soothing them for a while, they fell asleep. But this is only the beginning; they will continue to suffer like this as they grow up."

"Do you know how many people you took from the village and how many resources you took away in order to build the shrine? Leaving us in the village counting the days until our death, and yet we have to take care of the injured who have wandered out of the shrine! To comfort their spirits! And to squeeze in and give a final farewell to the young ladies! Have you ever considered my feelings?"

"Every day, I lived a difficult life, my nerves were tightly wound, and I couldn’t even take a breath. I had to keep a smile on my face, even when things were tough and exhausting. I was afraid that if I let my guard down for a moment and turned around… everyone would be gone, they would all be gone!"

"You are the head of the Kokonohana family. Where did you go when the village needed you?"

"You ran off to build Yingzhou, did you? Well, then turn around and look at your loved ones. Look at your fellow kin."

"They bled on the ground, they suffered and choked back tears. Do you think that by covering your ears and closing your eyes, you can’t hear or see it anymore?"

Kokonohana Reiko pointed at Kokonohana Nori and started to curse loudly, letting out all the grievances that had been suppressed in her heart for over a decade.

She grabbed Kokonohana Nori’s collar with both hands, her voice hoarse as she shouted, "Yingzhou, the shrine, I don’t care! All I care about are the people I can see, whether they can live a good life!"

Kokonohana Nori gazed at her older sister, opened her mouth, but then swallowed her words back.

…I did it for all of you…

She had wanted to say this.

Unfortunately, neither side could find a solution to the disaster. No matter which path they chose, it would be wrong.

It wasn’t that their actions and choices were wrong, every path had its own significance, but the outcomes were not as they had hoped.

When faced with the bloody sacrifice right in front of their eyes, even the most cold-hearted person would feel a momentary pang of sorrow, let alone the fact that they were all flesh and blood.

Kokonohana Nori suddenly lowered her head and said, "Your hand…"

Kokonohana Reiko was about to pull her hand back, but she was stopped, and her sleeve was pulled up to reveal a white bandage with blood seeping through.

"Cousin, you…"

"Hehe, I’m getting old too. Blood Moon Disease can only delay the onset and is difficult to cure. Even if it gets cured, it will relapse. This is already my third time. There’s no need to continue wasting medicine since the effectiveness is getting worse anyway."

Kokonohana Reiko’s expression remained cold, proud, and rigid as she let out a bleak, mocking laughter, unknown to whom the mockery was directed at.

"My time is also coming soon. I probably won’t make it through this year. It’s just as well, I’m tired too. I really don’t want to keep cleaning up this mess for you anymore. Go down early and reunite with my old friends."

She also seemed to have understood and accepted the reality with a very calm expression.

Kokonohana Nori tried to console her, but she couldn’t find the words. However, she knew deep down that her cousin would never die.

"Why did you come back? Not just to see me almost dying, but also to pick a fight with me while I’m still alive!"

Kokonohana Reiko lit up a cigarette and blew out white smoke.

"It is not."

"Tell me quickly if there’s something." Kokonohana Reiko said impatiently, "I still need to go back and prepare my coffin."

"In order to guide someone." Kurosawa Yaka noticed that the smell of gunpowder had dissipated a bit, and then she spoke up, "The other party intends to visit Kamiji Village for inspection."

"Is it an important person from the Shogunate?" Kokonohana Reiko showed no interest. "Could it be the Shogun himself? Even if he comes, it won’t make a difference."

"No, it’s not." Kokonohana Nori noticed that it was already eleven forty. She said, "Let’s find a suitable place first."

"The center of the village?"

"The crossroads is not very suitable, with people coming and going," Kokonohana Nori thought for a moment. "My family has a piece of ancestral land, but it has been abandoned for a long time."

"Yes, it used to be a nice place, but it has been vacant since the demolition. Since you won’t be coming back, we never built a new house," Kokonohana Reiko asked again, "So what exactly is the matter?"

Suddenly, a voice sounded coldly from behind the crowd.

"–Planting trees."

A warm and youthful voice came, startling Kokonohana Reiko.

"What kind of person sneaks around like a demon? Don’t they know I can give them a good beating?" Just as she was about to start scolding, Kokonohana Nori covered her mouth.

Kokonohana Reiko noticed a figure in the darkness. He was dressed in ancient European palace attire, with a white coat adorned with magnificent golden tree patterns. His golden eyes and hair were of a pale, golden hue, along with distinct features different from those of the East. Faint golden particles of light scattered from his shoulders, resembling the magical particles released into the atmosphere when a sealed, steel-cutting sword is unleashed. The crimson moonlight dispersed as a result.

Kokonohana Nori spoke respectfully, saying, "You have arrived… and a bit earlier than expected."

Bai Wei said, "Because you have also arrived here."

In reality, I had finished watching a variety show, so I arrived a bit early.

At the scene, apart from Kokonohana Nori, both Kokonohana Reiko and Kurosawa Yaka were seeing him for the first time.

Especially Kurosawa Yaka, even though she had talked a lot on the way and mentally prepared herself enough, her pupils still trembled when she saw the real person appear.

…So, it really does exist?

Kokonohana Reiko is fearless, despite smoking, styling her hair with a hot iron, speeding, and getting into fights; she is an extremely devout sword witch devoted to her belief in witchcraft.

She had seen that oil painting with her own eyes, so she was absolutely certain, it was him! It was him! It was definitely him!!

Every devout witch who believes in the emperor has, countless times, dreamed of the fortune of meeting him in person.

Dreams always have to be big, and yet this dream came true so effortlessly.

Bai Wei looked at Kokonohana Reiko and reached out his hand. For a moment, she thought her irrational words had angered this divine being from the mortal world.

But in the next moment, she felt an unprecedented sense of comfort and ease throughout her body. The bandage on her arm slipped off, and the ugly scar and injury vanished instantly. At the same time, her eyes and left hand became extremely itchy.

After a while, she opened her left eye and exclaimed, "My eyes… can I actually see now?"

Yaka Kurosawa was surprised, "Reiko, your hand has healed, and you also look a lot younger."

Before, Kokonohana Reiko, despite being only forty years old, had already aged considerably. But as Bai Wei extended his hand, she instantly regained the appearance of her youth in her twenties or thirties. Her injuries completely healed, leaving the two others astonished by the miraculous transformation before their eyes. Truly, this was a wondrous display of rejuvenation.

"Thank you for bestowing your blessings, Your Majesty." Kokonohana Nori held onto Kokonohana Reiko and was about to kneel down. Such a miraculous rebirth deserved a humble gesture of gratitude.

But she was stopped.

"There’s no need for thanks, nor is there a need to kneel," said Bai Wei. "No one is worth you kneeling to them."

Being told not to kneel, yet they couldn’t help but feel the overwhelming urge to prostrate themselves before the god of mankind… Supreme Will, what do you have to compare with our deity?