Chapter 182
An appearance that looked not just young, but almost childlike.
A young man and woman who could not have been older than their early twenties at most, slowly walked up to the master.
The man was wearing a well-fitted suit, and the woman, dressed in a shaman's outfit, followed a few steps behind him.
"You've come from the shrine?"
"Yes. We heard there was a matter that needed our attention, so we rushed here."
"Given the distance, you must have set out before dawn..."
"Haha. Don't worry about it. When the Jigen-ryu is in trouble, how could I not drop everything and come? Ah, forgive my late introduction. I hold the perhaps undeserved position of next Chief Priest at the shrine."
"Next Chief Priest? Then perhaps the shaman behind you is...?"
"Yes. She is to be my wife."
"I heard the Saigo shrine only had daughters...?"
"Indeed. I am to be adopted as a son-in-law and carry on the family name. So, you may address me as Saigo."
The master smiled at the fact that someone who was to be the next Chief Priest had rushed here so quickly.
"We have some distinguished guests, it seems."
"Not at all. How could one who serves the gods be called distinguished?"
The master seemed to appreciate the humble attitude of the future Chief Priest and showed a friendly demeanor.
A harmless-looking impression.
A body that, while not obviously trained, seemed well-maintained.
A voice that was not unpleasant to hear, and speech peppered with culture and humility.
And an air of dignity that permeated his every action.
The first impression was very good.
* * *
Was the good first impression a good omen?
Despite his youthful appearance, the man showed considerable skill.
"Hmm. According to the experts who visited earlier, this dark substance is mold, correct? The face of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva drawn with mold... Well, there's no special meaning to this face itself."
"No special meaning to the face?"
"I mean that the face itself doesn't contain any power. Yes, to put it simply... you won't be cursed just by looking at or touching this face."
Unlike the seemingly fraudulent experts called before, the man had extensive knowledge and the ability to explain it in an easy-to-understand manner. His eloquence was enough to instill confidence in the master.
"Would you look at this? You're probably familiar with it."
"This is... a warding doll, isn't it?"
"Yes. If this were a curse, there should have been a reaction in this warding doll. And even if there wasn't a reaction, there should have been traces of sorcery, but there weren't any. In other words, this face of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is just a creepy phenomenon. It's no different from mischievous children coming to an abandoned house or ruins and making strange graffiti with paint."
"So it's not related to sorcery?"
"Hmm. Well, shall we experiment?"
The man smiled with his eyes and moved the master and the shaman back.
Then, he slowly brought his hands together as if in prayer, curled his index finger inward and gently placed his thumb on the first joint. He formed the rest of his fingers into a loose interlocking position, and slightly bowed his upper body as if making a prayer gesture.
"Om pra mani dani svaha (ॐ प्रमर्दने स्वाहा)."
The master looked surprised when words typically heard in a temple came from the mouth of the man who said he was from a shrine.
But the man ignored the piercing gaze from behind him and chanted the mantra again.
"Om pra mani dani svaha (ॐ प्रमर्दने स्वाहा)."
The future Chief Priest chanted the tongue-twisting mantra a total of three times before releasing his hand gesture and straightening up.
Then he looked at the wood imprinted with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's face and nodded as if understanding.
"As I thought, there's no connection."
"What you just did was...?"
"What I just did was a mantra."
"A mantra?"
"Yes. The mantra I just recited is called the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Extinction of Fixed Karma Mantra. I thought it might be related to sorcery involving Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, but there was no change. Fortunately, it seems it's not."
The future Chief Priest even let out a sigh of relief as if truly glad.
He looked as if he was relieved that nothing serious had happened.
And at this sight, the master's face couldn't help but turn pale.
"Wait, wait, wait. Future Chief Priest? If it had been related to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sorcery, what terrible thing could have happened?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
"What... what do you mean? Can you explain?"
"Hmm. Where should I start explaining...?"
The man seemed to ponder the master's question for a moment, staring into space before speaking.
"First, how much do you know about Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?"
"The bodhisattva who saves beings in hell?"
"Ah, you know correctly. That's right. It appears in the Jijang Sutra, or rather the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Pranidhana Sutra. He's the one who doesn't hesitate to undergo austerities to save suffering beings who have committed sins, and who vows to attain enlightenment only after all beings have become enlightened."
He continued his explanation to the master in a voice that was easy to understand.
"In Sanskrit, it's called Ksitigarbha (क्षितिगर्भ). But you see, here 'ksiti' means earth, and 'garbha' means womb. In other words, it can be seen as an extension of the worship of the Earth Mother Goddess, or it could be seen as an extension of the idols worshipped in agricultural times. Also, from ancient times, the earth has been closely associated with the afterlife. This is because the underground, the dark space beneath the earth where we don't know what's inside, was easily associated with the terrible space to be reached after death."
"The afterlife..."
"Right away, the place where Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva wanders to save beings is hell (地獄). A prison in the ground... Hahaha. Isn't that somewhat significant?"
The future Chief Priest's voice was filled with excitement.
As if he couldn't contain his enjoyment just from explaining.
"Moreover, this Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is quite intriguing. While Gwan-eum Bosal is in charge of the visible world and reality, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is in charge of the invisible world and the afterlife. The invisible world and the afterlife... that is, the spiritual world. If you think about the attributes of earth and womb that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva possesses... it's truly significant. Don't you think?"
The future Chief Priest said with curving eye corners.
"This is why sorcery is so interesting. Even if gods, religions, and symbols have been distorted, their traces always remain. Like the smell of a corpse that lingers long after the body has been removed, or like bloodstains that don't wash away easily. Some trace always remains, making us think about history. This is why archaeology and folklore are so fascinating."
A faint madness that seemed about to shatter was evident in his words.
"Sorcery using Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva exists on top of these traces of history. Based on the symbols and anecdotes that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva embodies, or used to embody."
"Symbols and anecdotes...?"
"Hmm. Yes. As I mentioned earlier, since it embodies the meaning of earth and womb, it could be used for purposes like praying for a good harvest, or purifying land filled with misfortune... And then."
"And then?"
The future Chief Priest lowered his voice.
"It could also be used for sorcery related to hell."
Hell?
The master couldn't help but be startled by the word that came from his mouth.
"Hell?!"
"Hahaha. Yes. Since the most famous anecdote related to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is about hell, naturally, the most vicious sorcery that can be performed using Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva must be related to hell."
"No, if you mean hell..."
"Yes. It's exactly what you're thinking. Tongues being cut out, bodies being torn apart by wind, people killing each other, being boiled in hot water... That hell."
"Good heavens."
The master's face turned pale upon hearing his words.
"You're saying hell-related sorcery was about to be activated...?"
"Huh? Ah. That's not it. I'm just saying that if this had been a precursor to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva-related sorcery, there could have been such a possibility. But fortunately, this isn't related to sorcery, so you can put aside such worries."
The future Chief Priest calmed the master with a gentle voice.
"Besides, while we say hell-related sorcery, without performing a proper ritual, it can't exert much power. Without a ritual, hmm. Even if used by a somewhat skilled sorcerer, it might at most freeze or burn one person? Or perhaps change the shape of some soft iron into something like thorns. Ah, as a price, they might suffer some pain and injuries."
"What if a ritual had been performed?"
"If a ritual had been performed, it might have become a bit troublesome... But if a ritual had been in progress, wouldn't you have noticed? So there was no chance of a problem occurring."
"That's true. Given how noisy sorcery rituals are..."
He smiled brightly.
"Indeed. Sorcery rituals are quite difficult to perform secretly."