Chapter 183
The man's words were significant.
At first glance, they seemed to mean, "With Jigen-ryu's abilities, they could easily detect any sorcery ritual," or "Sorcery rituals are unnecessarily noisy and leave so many traces that they're bound to be discovered."
But was it due to his peculiar tone?
It seemed to be more than just that.
"Let's see. So if it's not a curse, it must be another problem... I believe the experts who visited earlier all said there was a high possibility of an evil spirit or demon, right?"
"That's correct."
"My thoughts are similar. If it's not sorcery, there's no need to create such faces on each tree... Only an evil spirit or demon would do something so inefficient. Ah, of course."
The man said with a smile in his eyes.
"There's also a possibility that some mentally ill person did it. But for someone to sneak into a place full of Jigen-ryu martial artists and do this... Hahaha. I think it's unlikely unless they were incredibly brave."
"Is that so?"
He spoke words that seemed to praise Jigen-ryu. Too sincere to be mere flattery, yet slightly embarrassing to take at face value, but not unpleasant to hear if asked.
Each word felt sweet to hear, and because they praised Jigen-ryu as a group rather than individuals, they were expressions of praise and admiration without causing discomfort.
In other words, they were words that "saved face."
For martial artists obsessed with face, sincere expressions highly praising Jigen-ryu as a school were incredibly sweet, and the master, who had been inwardly disgusted by the stiff and cold attitudes of the seemingly fraudulent experts he had met earlier, could feel his heart moving at the expressions coming from the man's mouth.
The master felt himself growing fond of the man, and amidst his mental exhaustion, the irritation that had been building up began to subside as he watched the man diligently investigate while speaking kindly to him.
Moreover, there was another factor that made him likeable: his abundance of professional knowledge.
"I see why the previous visitors struggled. It's clearly the work of a ghost, but there are no traces of a ghost, and yet it's too similar to what a ghost would do to definitively say it's not a ghost."
"Then what do you plan to do?"
"In these cases, it's best to use the process of elimination. When there are too many options to distinguish, it's important to narrow down the possibilities by reducing the numbers one by one. After narrowing it down, the truth usually becomes visible. Let's see, the previous experts didn't find any physical traces, and the Jigen-ryu martial artists who have been training in these mountains for a long time also couldn't find traces of anyone else, right? Then it's best to exclude demons that can exert physical power."
"Then, should we exclude humans as well?"
"The possibility of it being human... can't be completely ruled out, but let's exclude it for now. There are too few clues to consider that possibility. Then what's left isn't much... Hmm. It seems a bit difficult to consider this the work of an evil spirit as well."
"You're saying it's not the work of an evil spirit?"
"Yes. It seems that way."
"Why do you think so?"
In response to the master's question, the man pulled out a triangular necklace from his chest.
The shiny necklace, seemingly made of silver, was in the shape of an inverted triangle, oddly resembling a funnel. And on its surface were curvy alphabets as if written in cursive.
A B R A C A D A B R A
A B R A C A D A B R
A B R A C A D A B
A B R A C A D A
A B R A C A D
A B R A C A
A B R A C
A B R A
A B R
A B
A
The word ABRACADABRA, written in strange, squirming cursive, descended downwards, getting cut off at the end. This strange appearance, combined with the funnel-shaped body, created a mysterious atmosphere, as if the spell was spinning down with storm-like power. Or it could be seen as a storm starting from the single letter 'A' and finally completing the spell.
"Abraca? Dab, ra. Ah! Abracadabra! Isn't that a famous spell?"
"Yes. It's a mystical spell used by Western magicians in the past, and also a spell used when making talismans."
"What does that talisman have to do with the absence of evil spirits?"
"This talisman basically contains the power of healing and blessing. Moreover, it's made of silver that fully reflects light, amplifying its power."
The man smiled as he looked at the necklace shimmering in the sunlight.
"Healing and blessing. It's the opposite of the undeniably negative power possessed by evil spirits. Most mediocre entities that can't even become evil spirits can be driven away just by having this talisman, and for evil spirits... While it can't drive them away, it can certainly act as an alarm. It protects the user from the undeniably negative energy of evil spirits, and in return, it changes its appearance to warn of danger."
"Hmm. The necklace remains unchanged, so does that mean there are no evil spirits?"
"That's right. This is certain. If there were evil spirits or their traces remained, this necklace wouldn't be in such a perfect form. It would turn black, the letters would be erased, the surface would be scratched, or the necklace itself would be deformed. But look. Isn't it intact?"
"Hmm."
"It seems the outline is becoming clearer. It's not an evil spirit, but something similar to what an evil spirit would do..."
The man looked around sharply while still holding the necklace.
Then, as if thinking about something, he leaned against a tree and stroked his chin for a while, and finally asked the master a question.
"Master. Is it possible to know how many trees are in this mountain?"
"Trees? I don't know that either."
"Hmm. Even an approximate number would be fine."
"Even if you ask like that..."
The master's expression seemed perplexed at the question.
It was understandable.
Mountains are mountains, water is water, and trees are trees....
Trees were just roughly planted from long ago, no different from everyday scenery.
There was no particular thought of managing them, not even the will to manage them.
So how could one answer when suddenly asked how many there were?
The future Chief Priest changed his question upon seeing the master's troubled expression.
"Then, Master. Are there more than 10,000 trees on this mountain?"
"Well, I suppose there would be more than that?"
The master recalled the trees densely filling the mountain at that question.
Trees that create shade by taking up space so densely that sunlight doesn't even reach the ground. And not just near the training grounds, but throughout the entire mountain.
Of course, wouldn't it easily exceed 10,000?
"Hmm. 10,000?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"It's somewhat related to the sorcerous significance. The number 10,000 has been used in the East since ancient times to express 'uncountable' things."
"What's the problem with that?"
The master asked, seemingly unable to understand the reason.
But instead of answering that question, the man abruptly said:
"I think I've figured out the cause of the problem."
"Really?!"
Words thrown out as if they were nothing.
But they were also the words the martial artist most wanted to hear.
The man smiled at the master who rushed towards him, his face brightening as if he had found salvation.
He smiled broadly as if he was happy that the problem that had been troubling him was solved, and his expression was full of relief that comes from solving a difficult problem.
He pointed to the ground with his finger and said:
"Do you know about feng shui and the Five Elements?"
"I don't know about feng shui, but I know a bit about the Five Elements."
"Then the explanation will be easy. In my opinion, this strange phenomenon happening now seems to be a combination of feng shui, the Five Elements, and spirits that couldn't become evil spirits."
The man began his explanation.
"Sometimes, you know, nature creates places with sorcerous power without human interference. Naturally formed battle formations can trap people like a maze, starving them to death, or negative energy can accumulate without dissipating, bringing terrible disasters, or it can manifest in a way that creates an environment favorable for certain insects and empowers them."
"Hmm."
"Chinese battle formation experts say this is because the balance of the Five Elements has been broken. They believe these things happen because the balance is extremely tilted to one side, or in an attempt to maintain that balance somehow."
Tilting means extreme phenomena occur.
"In Venezuela's Catatumbo River, an enormous amount of lightning strikes due to excessive yang and fire energy, and in Oklahoma, USA, tornadoes frequently occur due to excessive wood energy. This is what happens when the Five Elements are destroyed and tilted to one side. It's an extreme example, but it leads to natural disasters."
And deficiency means it needs to be filled.
"And when it's moderately destroyed, it falls into a state of deficiency, and the environment is naturally created to fill it."
The man spoke decisively like an expert.
"Just like here, for instance."