Chapter 1059: Chapter 58: Fingernails (4K)

The mythological stories recorded on the paper are not lengthy; the style resembles folk tales passed down orally by elders in secluded residential areas.

[It is said that a long, long time ago, there lived a samurai and his wife in a place called Mount Tanigawa. The couple was deeply in love and had four children, all daughters.

The samurai felt that his family business needed an heir, so he and his wife had another child, but it was a leech child (born with missing limbs), and his wife died tragically during childbirth.

Feeling deep sorrow and regret, the samurai lay weeping at the foot of Mount Tanigawa. The mountain deity pitied him and told him that he could seek out the god on Feathers Zhang Mountain, who governs human destinies and might have a solution.

So the samurai went to Feathers Zhang Mountain, offered sacrifices, and continued to plead for help. The god of destiny on Feathers Zhang Mountain pitied him and untied a hemp rope from the waist and lent it to him, instructing him to climb along the rope into the well at night, where he could reach the Netherworld to meet his wife.

The samurai tied one end of the hemp rope to a tree and let the other end hang into the well. Holding onto the rope, he descended into the well, untouched by water, and reached the Netherworld.

At the gate of the grand hall of the Netherworld, he saw his wife and said to her, "My dear wife, our child cannot be without a mother’s care. Please come back with me."

His wife replied, "Unfortunately, you didn’t come earlier. I’ve already eaten the food of the Netherworld. Since you’ve come all this way, I am willing to return. I will plead with the god of the Netherworld to let me return to the mortal world, but during this time, you must not look upon me."

After saying this, his wife returned to the grand hall of the Netherworld, and the samurai built a house from wood outside the hall.

Time passed for a long while, and the samurai waited with no sign of his wife’s return. He broke off a tree branch, lit it as a torch, and entered the pitch-black hall,

only to see a terrifying corpse lying on the ground, rotted beyond recognition, teeming with wriggling maggots.

The samurai was overcome with fear and fled,

but the corpse rose from the ground and pursued him closely.

The samurai fled all the way to the entrance of the Netherworld, grasped the suspended hemp rope, and climbed upward,

when the horrifying corpse below suddenly spoke, "My dear husband, I’m your wife. Can you not recognize me?"

The samurai was shocked and let go of the rope, carefully making out the corpse wearing his wife’s clothes.

The couple embraced and wept, and as the samurai’s tears fell on his wife, the maggots dropped away, the rotten flesh regenerated, and she returned to human form.

Though the samurai was overjoyed, his wife informed him that because he had seen her appearance prematurely, she could never return to the mortal world again and must remain in the Netherworld forever.

Thus, the samurai climbed back to the mortal world along the hemp rope to plead with the god of destiny,

and the deity, moved by their love, gifted the hemp rope to him forever.

From then on, the samurai took the children to Feathers Zhang Mountain and built a house to live there,

and on a particular night every July, he would lead the children using the hemp rope to descend into the Netherworld to visit the children’s mother.

Feathers Zhang Mountain was thereafter renamed Mount Yuan.]

The above constitutes the entirety of the legend, along with the comments written by the author on the paper.

[My teacher, the renowned folklorist Iwamoto Kazukazu, recorded this legend after interviewing over a dozen elders in Fate Carving Village in the 1960s about the village’s origins.

It resembles the myth of Izanagi seeking the deceased Izanami in the Netherworld in several respects.

Simultaneously, it contains philosophical ideas that serve as moral lessons in daily life, such as not favoring sons over daughters, the importance of mutual trust between couples, and the need to uphold promises, lest misfortune ensues.

The story is widely circulated in Fate Carving Village and neighboring settlements. Fate Carving Village holds a celebration every four years, with lanterns hung brightly, performing a Noh drama based on this story at the shrine to educate people to value family, cherish partners and love, protect family members, and honor commitments.

During the celebration, the shrine’s administrators, also Fate Carving Village’s largest landlords, the Hiratsuka family, provide free food and drinks, attracting many outsiders.

However, due to the legend, some hopeless individuals, at their wit’s end, come to Mount Yuan, viewing it as a land adjacent to the Netherworld,

seeking to die there, hoping to reunite with their loved one in the Netherworld like the story’s samurai.

Annually, disheartened people commit suicide, disappear, or are spirited away at Mount Yuan.

This custom dates back to the mid-Kamakura Shogunate, before the Muromachi Shogunate’s establishment.

My teacher Iwamoto Kazukazu was fortunate to be invited by the Hiratsuka family to reside at their residence during the Fate Carving Festival.

His notes detail the scenes of Hiratsuka family members preparing props like Noh masks, shimenawa, gohei, lanterns, and sake for the festival.

Sadly, he has passed away, and I must try to reconstruct Fate Carving Village and the Hiratsuka Family Residence according to these descriptions, hoping to restore the village lost to the earthquake disaster.]

Beneath the commentary are several simple maps depicting the topography of Fate Carving Village and the floor plan of an ancient mansion—the Hiratsuka Family Residence. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Beside the maps are a few remarks by the commenter.

[Uh... Recently, my head has been increasingly painful, with a melody continuously echoing in my mind. Perhaps, perhaps this melody is related to my past before amnesia...]

The foregoing is the complete content written on the paper.

Li Ang finished reading all the text, frowned, and said, "The paper’s material and the ink on it are quite old; it probably isn’t a forgery.

The text’s author claims his teacher is the folklorist Iwamoto Kazukazu. Could this paper belong to Ogashira Masashi,

the father of Ogashira Tetsuya and Ogashira Ayaka?"

"The paper fell at the corridor entrance..."

Wang Congshan pondered and asked, "When you went upstairs, did you see the paper had fallen on the floor,

or was it intentionally dropped by that figure with black hair?"

"Hmm..."

Li Ang recollected and affirmed, "This paper was originally on the ground, not dropped from the figure with black hair."

"Hmm, that’s odd." Wang Congshan squinted and said, "If he dropped it, it could directly prove he’s guiding us to understand the truth behind Fate Carving Village step by step.

He might be Ogashira Masashi, missing for ten years.

If he isn’t Ogashira Masashi, then who else could he be?"

For now, this question remains unanswered as they both look at the Hiratsuka Family Residence’s floor plan, discovering that the corridor filled with hemp ropes they face is marked on the map as the "Rope Corridor,"

leading to a room named "Knotting Room," connected to the residence’s courtyard.

"Knotting Room should be where the shimenawa is made." Li Ang said, "The paper mentions the Hiratsuka family as the shrine’s administrators; hence, the barrier at the shrine’s entrance is likely linked to them; perhaps they set it up themselves.

The current task requires us to find scissors capable of breaking the shimenawa seal, and it’s possible that those scissors are in the Knotting Room."

"Shall we proceed?" Wang Congshan glanced at the Rope Corridor, where the hemp ropes hang silently, giving no hint of a trap to ensnare and strangle intruders.

"Let’s try it first."

Li Ang folded the paper, letting Wang Congshan keep it safe, while he slowly stepped forward, lazily extending the Heart Monkey Staff into the corridor.

As soon as the Heart Monkey Staff reached the middle of the corridor, the surrounding hemp ropes immediately activated, twisting around it,

until Li Ang decisively withdrew the staff, retreating from the corridor’s range,

all the ropes then returned to their dormant state.

"Alright, it looks like even inanimate objects can’t pass through easily."

Li Ang sighed, saying to Wang Congshan, "Since the corridor’s other side leads to the courtyard, we can first go from the right side of the hall, head to the courtyard, to reach the other end of the corridor and see if we can enter the Knotting Room from there."

"Okay."

Wang Congshan nodded, and the two descended from the second-floor platform, following the map instructions, proceeding from the hall’s right corridor to the courtyard.

Along the way, they saw that many rooms in the mansion were relatively tidy, while others were messy inside, doors wide open, with dried bloodstains on the floor.

However, they did not see any corpses or skeletons.

"Some valuables like jewelry haven’t been taken, and even unfinished meals remain on the table,"

Li Ang noted, "It seems the Hiratsuka Family was completely unprepared when disaster struck."

"Hmm."

Wang Congshan nodded, her gaze lingering on the meals on the table, "It feels like the time in this space is not fixed,

the bloodstains on the floor have dried for who knows how long, but the food in the bowls doesn’t show signs of severe decay, just cold without any warmth."

Li Ang tilted his head, pondering, "Is it possible that the Hiratsuka Family’s chef had a personal grudge, and put super strong laxatives in the meals,

making everyone have diarrhea after dinner and rush to the toilets."

"And these bloodstains are the result of fighting over the toilets?"

Wang Congshan squinted her eyes and teased, "Where’s such an efficient and precise laxative that can make hundreds of people with varying physiques have diarrhea simultaneously? You said the Hiratsuka Family inherited the Sharingan and got wiped out by the villagers from Fate Carving Village due to power struggles, I’d almost believe that more."

"Why wouldn’t high-efficient laxatives exist, Hua○shi,"

Li Ang said matter-of-factly, "When I’m feeling down, I eat at Hua○shi and then ponder life for a few hours on the toilet."

Hua○shi Burgers had multiple outlets in Li Ang’s residential area, often ran promotions, offered large portions at cheap prices, sometimes even cheaper than home cooking,

but because they were franchise stores, the hygiene standards varied considerably between outlets, with some having poor sanitation management, occasionally causing diarrhea after eating.

"You know eating at Hua○shi might cause diarrhea but still eat there often."

Wang Congshan teased, "And sitting on the toilet for hours, aren’t you afraid of getting hemorrhoids?"

"Who said I’m sitting."

Li Ang said innocently, "Does the toilet have to be used sitting? Sitting cross-legged on top, or supporting with both hands like a gymnast, or even doing a handstand, are all good ways to exercise while thinking deeply.

No risk of getting hemorrhoids at all.

By the way, the Ma Yinglong brand hemorrhoid cream is very good, clears heat and reduces dryness, activate blood circulation and reduce swelling, has good skin affinity,

can even be used as eye cream to remove under-eye circles,

lip balm for chapped lips,

ointment for treating nasal inflammation.

A friend of mine, Old Zhang from Room 4, Bed 7, Third floor, Second Building of the East University Anorectal Hospital’s inpatient department told me he even cured his oral ulcers with it."

"...No, why do you know so much about hemorrhoid cream, and who is this Old Zhang, is he a paid DLC new character? I feel like you’ve mentioned him to me before?"

Wang Congshan rubbed her brow helplessly as she teased, but started seriously recalling, wondering if Li Ang had given her strange medicines to treat her oral ulcers as a child.

"Nobody knows medical and health knowledge better than me."

Li Ang’s expression was serious as he spread his hands together, gesturing as if playing the accordion.

The two chatted intermittently, soon approaching the courtyard.

"Phew... Why does it feel colder and colder."

Li Ang rubbed his palms together, exhaling a visible breath,

he felt his recovery rate of Spiritual Energy in his Ocean of Consciousness, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not use the Secondary Creation Technique to create clothes for himself.

"Indeed it’s getting colder, the air temperature has already dropped below zero."

Wang Congshan scratched her hair at the back of her head, hesitated, "These rooms’ doors are open, should I find some clothes for you to wear?"

"No need, the Hiratsuka Family probably met misfortune, rashly using their belongings might bring other consequences."

Li Ang said seriously, "Besides, clothes from the Japan Islands are bad,

Yin City’s clothes are good!

If it’s not clothes from Yin City, I won’t wear them."

"You decide."

Wang Congshan pouted and scratched her hair at the back of her head again.

"Wait,"

Li Ang seemed to notice something, suddenly stopped, his left hand on Wang Congshan’s shoulder, "Don’t turn around."

Wang Congshan was startled, standing still facing forward, and away from Li Ang, "Hmm? What’s wrong?"

Li Ang didn’t answer, taking a deep breath, he slowly reached out and parted the hair on the back of Wang Congshan’s head,

behind the black strands,

he saw five purplish-pink oval-shaped pieces, like clothing adornments.

They were not pieces, but rather belonged to a woman’s fingernails.