Chapter 174: The Curse of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (1)

Thus, Rise was able to get a good night's sleep after a long time and resolve all her accumulated fatigue.

Was it thanks to that?

Rise moved passionately to gather information immediately after waking up, and was able to collect various valuable pieces of information through the rich and politicians connected to Shigen-ryu by networks, including the president of the security company.

"I'm satisfied."

Fortunately, the information Rise had diligently gathered was exactly to Jinseong's taste.

"I'm particularly satisfied with the information you brought about the training places of Shigen-ryu and Yatate Garou-ryu martial artists."

Jinseong praised Rise, who was kneeling in front of him and handing over papers with information written on them. Rise expressed her joy by twitching her fox ears, which she had transformed into a material state.

"Yes. Martial artists often train in nature."

Jinseong turned his gaze to the paper in his hand.

The paper was densely filled with characters, and at the very top, three Chinese characters were written in bold.

黑劍峰

In Japanese pronunciation, Kurotsurugamine.

In Korean pronunciation, Heukgeombong.

"The Mountain of the Black Sword."

『 A mountain straddling Kagoshima and Nansatsu. Height is 1,760m, with a sharp peak resembling a sword protruding, and below it is a gentle slope densely filled with trees. According to records, it was originally a non-existent mountain but suddenly appeared around the 3rd year of Shōan (1301). 』

『 According to legend, it was created when a giant dragon swimming across the sea from the continent struck its tail, or it's said to be a result of earth piling up and trees growing on top of a giant sea monster, capable of easily swallowing an entire island, that came ashore and died. 』

『 Local people called it Kurotsurugamine (黑劍峰) because the sharp black rock peak looked like a sword, and considered it ominous because the sharpness (銳氣) created by the peak seemed like raising a sword towards the sky. They say it's because it looks like the disrespectful act of raising a sword against one's lord. Therefore, living inside Kurotsurugamine was seen as having the intention of turning a sword against one's lord by receiving the spirit of the mountain. 』

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『 Only when the Empire of Japan came to rule the world were people officially allowed to live there. However, not long after the village was created, the Empire was defeated by the U.S., and believing that the village built inside Kurotsurugamine allowed the sharpness to reach the Emperor, the village was abandoned and the residents scattered to Kagoshima and Nansatsu. 』

『 Inside Kurotsurugamine, which became deserted again, Buddha statues were erected everywhere to suppress the sharpness, and trees were densely planted and utility poles shaped like trees were erected to suppress the earth energy. 』

『 Currently, it is managed by Shigen-ryu and its branch martial artists, and is also used as a training ground. One can be legally punished for entering without permission or attempting to collect forest products inside. 』

『 Because it's densely forested, it's close to a primeval forest, and it's said to be easy to get lost inside due to difficulty in maintaining a sense of direction. Also, there might be dangerous animals like wild boars inside, so entering is not recommended. In fact, people who enter to prove their courage consistently end up getting lost, and there are cases where even the bodies couldn't be found... 』

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"A mountain used as a training ground."

Jinseong quietly looked at the photo of Kurotsurugamine printed on the paper Rise had given him.

The shape of the mountain was quite strange.

Should it be described as if someone had roughly piled up a hill and stuck a large sword-shaped rock into it to meet the standard of a mountain?

The part where trees were growing had quite a gentle slope, but a peak made of black rock was protruding sharply in between. In a way, it looked eerie like a sword stuck in a grave, and in another way, it looked ridiculous like a pointed stick stuck into a hill made by gathering sand.

But unlike its seemingly bizarre exterior, the inside was truly a primeval forest itself.

The ground, where sunlight barely reached due to the abundance of trees, was full of things growing in the shade, and in a photo that looked as if the ground had been turned over with a shovel, it was full of centipedes and unknown insects. Moreover, mushrooms were growing densely on trees that seemed to have rotted due to humidity, and in photos that looked like they had captured the shade, sparks that looked like animal eyes could be seen.

And turning to the next page of the paper, it was full of photos of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvas, which must have been made with great care at one time, had an incredibly gloomy appearance, perhaps due to lack of proper management. Some were covered in mold, some were full of moss, and some were half-broken.

And turning the paper again, a place that looked like a training ground could be seen.

It was a concrete building that looked like it might have been built in the early 1900s, and its appearance was shabby as if it had properly weathered the passage of time. But unlike the exterior of the building, the facilities inside for martial artists to use for training looked quite clean, as if they had been well-maintained.

And turning the paper again...

"Solar power facilities?"

One side of the mountain full of solar panels could be seen.

As if it had developed baldness, panels were densely occupying the middle of a forest full of trees.

"The largest solar power generation facility in East Asia at the time... Hmm."

A brief explanation was written below the photo.

Japan was very interested in the environment at the time, and riding on that issue, they attracted solar power generation facilities. And despite the opposition of local residents, they pushed ahead with the construction and filled one side of the mountain with panels.

"They couldn't recoup the investment costs, but somehow complaints were resolved, it says."

Jinseong chuckled and asked Rise.

"Since it was already built, an atmosphere of 'don't stir things up unnecessarily' must have been created, right?"

"Yes."

Rise nodded at his words.

"In fact, not everyone was against it when the construction was being done. There were clearly opinions like 'the environment will be destroyed' and 'if we carelessly touch the mountain, disaster will come down to the village'... But on the other hand, many people were happy saying they could use electricity cheaply. Moreover, Shigen-ryu directly intervened to prevent violent protests."

"Hmm."

"There were clearly attempts at violent struggle. Some people tried to make and throw Molotov cocktails, some tried to bring heavy equipment to block construction, and citizens gathered to make barricades and block the roads. But the government learned lessons from the Narita struggle that blocked the construction of Narita International Airport. With the help of Shigen-ryu, who owned the mountain, they suppressed residents trying to engage in violent struggle, and moved the mass media to denounce those opposing the construction as un-Japanese."

Rise said with a bitter smile.

"Thanks to that, the construction was safely completed, and the people who were at the center of the protests became targets of murahachibu (village ostracism) and were bullied into leaving for other regions."

Jinseong continued to turn the pages while listening to Rise's words.

On the back pages of the stack of papers, there were articles exposing that Chinese-made solar panels were used, and articles saying that politicians and construction companies involved in the construction had an enormous embezzlement festival.

Jinseong smiled at Rise's words.

"Yes. A good method has come to mind. Good, you've given me very good material. Excellent."

Jinseong praised Rise highly and then stood up from his seat.

Then he walked out of the shrine with light steps.

*                     *                     *

"It's quite ugly."

Jinseong raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at the solar power generation facility.

The solar facility was the same as in the photo.

But there was something different from the photo, and that was the soil.

In the photo it was captured as brown, but in reality, it was a dull, yellowish soil that one might see in a wasteland. It was so dry and crumbly that when lightly picked up with a hand, not a drop of moisture could be felt, and when slightly pressed, it crumbled and fell to the ground. Moreover, the ground was easily dug even without Jinseong exerting much strength, and whether because it didn't hold moisture or for some other reason, the soil felt lighter each time he dug compared to other places.

Good, very good.

Jinseong smiled as if satisfied. Then, as if there was nothing more to see, he turned his body around and moved his steps towards the forest.

As he stepped into the forest, the beating sun was blocked by the shade created by the trees, and air full of damp and settled moisture, the opposite of the bone-dry air of the solar power facility, welcomed him.

The smell of mold.

The smell of rotting fallen leaves.

The smell of mushrooms.

The smell emitted by insects.

The smell of decaying wood.

The pungent smell of animal excrement.

All sorts of smells.

And the dampness of the shade that hides the things emitting those smells.

The moisture created by everything rotting.

Welcomed him.

Jinseong took a deep breath as if welcoming that damp air, and continued to move his steps towards the shade, towards the inside of the forest, walking unhesitatingly on land where no path had been made.