Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The run-down temple…
Jiang Shaoxu leaned against a pillar slightly covered in dust and looked at Jiang Yu.
“So you’re saying, the monk called Qi Hai is messing around with some girl, and he’s jealous of Nara Orisora because he’s popular among the visitors. When someone saw Qi Hai with a girl, he framed Nara Orisora instead and accused him and Miyata, who often came to the temple to deliver the herbs,” Jiang Shaoxu repeated Jiang Yu’s words.
“Exactly, the witness didn’t see it clearly either. He only saw the person’s bald head, wearing the same clothes as the monks of Yanming Temple.
“I believe we all know how scary rumors are. Even when the witness didn’t see the person clearly, soon everyone will assume it was Nara Orisora and Miyata. After all, Nara Orisora is indeed quite close with Miyata…”
“So the people found Nara Orisora and Miyata and asked what they were during that night.”
“Nara Orisora did visit Miyata that night, he said that he went to pick up some herbs, and went back to the temple right after. He happened to stumble into Qi Hai, who was going down the mountain on the same night, which is why Nara Orisora was confident that Qi Hai was the one who was spotted. However, when the people asked Miyata where she was, something went wrong,” said Jiang Yu.
Jiang Shaoxu said confusingly, “What exactly did Miyata say to make everyone believe they were both lying?”
“Miyata said she was in a bad mood that night, so she went to the island opposite the cliff and spent the whole night there enjoying the sea breeze. She even saw the sunrise,” said Jiang Yu.
“Is there anything wrong with that? Even if they didn’t have any witnesses, they still can’t deem them guilty just like that,” said Jiang Shaoxu.
“The problem is the island, the island that Miyata mentioned never existed. We even went to confirm it; there isn’t any island there. I don’t understand why Miyata would say that when there’s obviously no island around. It’s obvious that Miyata is lying. She even brought the people to the cliff to show them the island, but it was completely empty. Since Miyata was lying, everyone immediately assumed there was something going on between Nara Orisora and Miyata. Only people panicking would try to cover things up with such a ridiculous lie…” said Mu Tingying.
Jiang Shaoxu was confused too. “Why would she say that?”
“How would I know?”
“The rumors spread quickly, even people in the city knew about it. After that, Miyata learned that the temple was going to expel Nara Orisora for ruining the temple’s reputation. To prove they were innocent, the girl soon committed suicide. After Miyata’s death, the whole situation escalated. Soon, rumors about the Soul Eater in the temple began to spread around. Everyone said that it was Miyata’s ghost roaming around the temple. She would be infuriated when she saw young couples at the temple, and would kidnap their souls…”
Jiang Shaoxu recalled everything that happened and soon understood the entire incident.
Although Miyata did not turn into a ghost, she did turn into a Vessel Demon Spirit and kidnapped people’s souls.
“So you are here… we’ve been looking for you all!” Li Kaifeng was walking toward them on the path.
Jiang Shaoxu blurted out when she saw them approaching, “Aren’t you and Gong Yu supposed to look for the monks who left the temple for some ritual?”
“Yeah, we found them. They told us they are clueless, too. By the way, what are they doing? They looked like they are asleep,” Li Kaifeng walked up to Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu and stared at them blankly.
“They went inside an illusion, the world that the demon spirit created with her memory.
“It’s a Vessel Demon Spirit. Some high-level vessels have a unique space inside them. The Vessel Demon Spirits can create an illusion inside the space as they wished. The illusion is Xixiong City a few years ago. Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu are in there looking for the demon spirit, which is the girl Miyata…” Jiang Shaoxu tried to explain the situation to Li Kaifeng in a single speech.
Li Kaifeng had a blank face after hearing the explanation.
Jiang Shaoxu rolled her eyes.
Jiang Yu chuckled too. It was difficult to understand the situation in a short amount of time.
—
Inside the illusion…
Even though Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu did not understand Japanese, it was obvious that the entire city was discussing the incident. Everyone had already heard the details of the whole process.
“He must be very sad?” said Ai Jiangtu, glancing at Nara Orisora.
Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu had lost the trail. They could only follow the sad Nara Orisora secretly.
Nara Orisora left the temple. He headed to a mountain to the north of Xixiong City.
Up on the mountain, Nara Orisora was holding the carving knife left by Miyata. He was carving crazily on every rock, trying to vent his anger.
His hand was bleeding, too. The blood dropped onto the rocks. Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu were grieved by the sight.
It was obvious that Miyata was in love with the monk, and the monk was in love with her,too. However, they did not cross the line. Their pure relationship only consisted of delivering herbs and healing people. They did not mess around with one another like the others had described.
Now that Miyata was dead, Nara Orisora could only hurt himself to vent his sorrow and anger, to mourn for the deceased girl on this deserted mountain.
“Mo Fan, I think we’re running out of time,” Ai Jiangtu looked into the distance and saw Xixiong City turning blurry. The space within his vision was distorted.
“But we haven’t found the demon spirit!” Mo Fan was unwilling to give up.
He felt sorry for Miyata, yet it did not mean she could turn into a demon spirit and hurt other people.
“We can come back again, but it’s too much of a burden if we stay any longer. Let’s head outside and discuss things with the others, Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan will be fine for now,” said Ai Jiangtu.
“Alright.” Mo Fan knew it was useless to search aimlessly. The Miyata that died was only an illusion. It was not Miyata herself. Perhaps the actual demon spirit was still roaming in the outside world.
—
Back in the run-down temple, Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu opened their eyes.
Even without smelling Jiang Shaoxu’s scent, they could easily tell they had returned to the real world.
“How was it?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.
“It feels like we’ve just watched a sad movie,” Mo Fan calmly replied. Ai Jiangtu nodded silently.
Mo Fan saw Li Kaifeng and immediately asked excitedly, “By the way, did you find the young monk, Nara Orisora?”
“Don’t mention it, I was almost scolded by those monks,” said Li Kaifeng.
“What? Why would they scold you?” asked Mo Fan in confusion.
“Nara Orisora died a few years ago,” said Li Kaifeng.
Mo Fan’s eyes widened, “Bullshit, I even talked to him at the temple yesterday. He told me not to sit on the stone turtles, said that I’ll be punished by the ocean.”
“That’s what the monks told me, I have no reason to lie to you,” said Li Kaifeng.
Mo Fan was just about to respond when Nanyu interrupted quickly, “Mo Fan, the young monk you mentioned, did anyone else other than you see him?”
Mo Fan immediately shivered when he heard Nanyu’s question. It even gave him goosebumps!
