Chapter 184
"The balance of the Five Elements has collapsed, and the feng shui has gone awry?"
The master slightly frowned at the man's words.
It felt as if they were staying in a vicious land that they wouldn't take even if given.
"That's what I think."
"Hmm."
The master silently urged him to continue speaking.
"As you well know, Master, the Five Elements are meant to influence each other. The same goes for Earth, Wood, and Metal."
"Hmm."
The man began to explain about the Five Elements.
"They say 'Earth gives birth to Metal.' Just as metal is formed in the earth, Earth (土) helps generate the energy of Metal (金). And 'Wood conquers Earth, Metal conquers Wood!' Just as trees dig into the ground with their roots, wood suppresses the energy of earth, and just as metal cuts wood, its sharp energy interferes with wood gathering energy and growing. This is the cycle of generation (相生) and conquest (相剋)!"
"So what does that have to do with this place?"
"It has everything to do with it."
The man smiled brightly as he pointed to the ground and the trees.
"Here we have the earth, and over there are more than 10,000 trees, an 'uncountable' number of trees."
"Then isn't it just Earth and Wood?"
"No. There's Metal too. This mountain itself is full of Metal energy."
"This mountain?"
The future Chief Priest pointed his finger at a distant peak.
A black peak that stood sharp and pointed.
"Isn't this mountain called Kurotsurugimine (黑劍峰)? The name itself contains a sword, so it's Metal, the mountain's shape resembles a sharp sword, so it's also Metal, it stands in a formation piercing the sky, so it's also Metal, and its location in the west also embodies the attributes of Metal. Moreover, there are Jigen-ryu martial artists training with swords inside. It's no exaggeration to say that this is perfectly the embodiment of Metal itself."
"That makes sense."
The master nodded as if understanding the man's explanation.
"This mountain, despite being full of the attributes of Metal, Wood, and Earth, must have maintained a balance without going astray. Well, with such strong Metal energy, it would have helped Water (水), which is in a generative relationship, to stay, and with so many trees, Fire (火) energy would have also remained in an appropriate amount. We could say it was precarious but not bad."
But being precarious means that the balance can be broken by even the slightest thing.
"But due to some event, this balance must have been broken. And the precarious balance shattered, with everything rushing towards catastrophe. Only mutual growth (相乘) and mutual insult (相侮) would remain!"
Mutual growth.
In a conquering relationship, the suppressing side became excessively large.
Mutual insult.
In a conquering relationship, proper suppression became impossible.
"With countless trees taking root, the soil's nutrients are depleted, so Wood grows over Earth. The trees have grown too strong to be cut by ordinary metal, so Wood insults Metal. The trees' shade grows to block the sun and Yang energy, monopolizing it, so Yin energy would overflow inside, and amidst all this, Metal energy remains, emitting a deceptive glimmer... Truly, a perfect environment for ghosts to enjoy."
His explanation was detailed and easy to understand.
But paradoxically, because it was so easy to understand, the master couldn't say anything.
"And in such an environment, even spirits that couldn't become evil spirits could exert power. Of course, they couldn't use as much power as evil spirits, but they could probably imitate something close to evil spirits."
"Spirits, huh."
"If we think of it this way, everything fits perfectly. The security measures not detecting it properly? Of course. How could they catch spirits that couldn't become evil spirits when they're meant to catch evil spirits? Playing tricks with mold? In an environment so full of Yin energy and favorable for mold growth, they could easily play such tricks. No human traces left? Of course, since it wasn't done by humans, right?"
"...Indeed."
"You said one martial artist was entranced, right? That's also natural. Even if they couldn't become evil spirits, wouldn't they still retain that nature? They probably tried to frighten and entrance someone with their limited power. Not knowing how brave Jigen-ryu martial artists are."
"That's right. Our school's martial artists would never be frightened by such trivial things."
"And not being entranced actually became a disadvantage. If they had been entranced, traces would have remained, making it easy to identify, but because they weren't, it became difficult to find the cause of the problem. If we think of it this way, everything... everything fits together."
The master smiled gladly at the man's words that seemed to pierce through his core.
"Hahaha! This is amazing. To solve something that has troubled people so much in such a short time after arriving!"
"You flatter me. Anyone could do this much."
"Tsk, you're completely different from those who visited earlier. Your skills are remarkable."
"The previous visitors could have figured this out too. If they had looked from a slightly different perspective, they could have easily noticed."
"Hahaha. That's what's amazing. Not everyone can possess such creativity!"
The master looked at the future Chief Priest with eyes full of goodwill.
"It's not certain yet. To definitively prove my hypothesis... Ah, right. Could I possibly speak with the martial artist who witnessed the strange event?"
"A conversation, of course... Ah! That's right! That guy said he heard a ghost story from a college student who trespassed on the day of the incident, and I had a composite sketch made of that student. I forgot about it in the confusion, but I'll bring it right away."
Saying this, the master used his lightness skill to run to the training hall, and soon returned to Jinseong with a rolled-up bundle of papers.
"This is the composite sketch of that college student. I haven't checked it yet, how about we look at it together?"
"A college student who told ghost stories. I'm curious."
The future Chief Priest took the paper with an expectant look and slowly unfolded it.
As soon as he opened the paper, he smiled as if finding it interesting.
"This is surprising."
The person drawn on the paper had no face.
Like an egg ghost, the face part was cleanly empty without any features.
"Why is the face like this?"
The master muttered as if dumbfounded and turned to the next page.
The next page showed a face with only a mouth drawn.
A mouth.
A face with only a single mouth attached.
It was an incredibly bizarre face with lips that looked like they were drawn crookedly by a child holding a pencil in their fist, attached to the center of the face.
"This..."
The master quickly turned to the next page.
The next page had a face covered in eyes curved as if smiling.
Flip
He turned to the next page.
There was a face with eyes, nose, and mouth attached randomly like in fukuwarai (福笑い).
Flip
There was a drawing of just a mouth floating above the neck without a face.
Flip
There was a face with multiple mouths attached as if it had so much to say.
Flip
There was a face that barely retained a human head shape, as if it had been roughly smudged with charcoal.
Flip
Flip
Flip
There were eyes.
Smiling eyes with curved corners.
Eyes full of mockery, lacking intelligence.
Eyes with pupils made so black by repeatedly coloring with a pencil that the paper was deeply indented.
There were mouths.
Crooked and disheveled.
Their shapes impossible to properly discern.
Numerous mouths, some greatly elongated or enlarged as if they only needed to speak.
There was a nose that couldn't find its place.
Ears that were attached to the forehead and then to the face.
Clothes and colors that changed with each drawing.
Every sheet of paper had a composite sketch that was hard to believe was meant to depict a person.
"They weren't un-entranced. They were half-entranced. Neither fully entranced nor completely un-entranced, so no traces were left, it seems."
"This is really..."
Was this the work of spirits?
The master swallowed the question that was about to leave his mouth.
Instead, he looked at the man as if asking if he could solve this, and the man nodded confidently with a self-assured smile, as if saying to trust only him.
"Don't worry. Our shrine can easily exorcise even evil spirits. And these are spirits that couldn't even become evil spirits? This is no problem at all."
"Will it be alright?"
"The problem wasn't solved before because the cause wasn't understood. But now that we've realized the cause, and know that it's not that significant, what could be the problem? However... Yes. The main spirit-controlling work will probably take place at night, and I'd like you to attend and confirm with your own eyes that the problem has been solved."
"I'd be glad to do so."
The future Chief Priest, with a confident expression, held out his hand to the shaman behind him. The shaman then handed over a bundle of papers and a thin spool of thread from her wide sleeve.
"Are those talismans?"
"Yes. Just in case, I'm planning to create a temporary shrine using talismans and sacred ropes, and fill it with divine power. Even if they're just spirits, we should be cautious, just in case."
"Excellent."
The master nodded with a smile, seemingly pleased with the thorough approach.
Thud
Thud
The man attached the received talismans to various parts of the trees, and strung sacred ropes so long they almost touched the ground. He then folded talismans and hung them at various points on the sacred ropes, and very quietly muttered words as if praying to the gods with his hands clasped.
After repeating this process several times, a rather impressive area was created.
"This is quite splendid. Being inside here gives me a feeling of being protected by the gods."
"Hahaha. As expected of a martial artist. Your senses are excellent. This place has become a temporary shrine, and because of that, the gaze of the gods reaches here."
"Oh. That's good. Ah, but."
The master tilted his head.
"It seems there's a bit of a musty smell...?"
At those words, the man cleared his throat embarrassedly.
"They were stored in the shrine's storehouse for a long time, so... there's a bit of a moldy smell. But it doesn't affect their efficacy at all."
"Ah, I see..."
The master looked at the future Chief Priest and the shaman with a slightly pitying expression.
"Well, the smell will probably disappear with time. Ahem. Yes. So... Should I come back here at dawn?"
"Yes. If possible, I'd like you to come before the Hour of the Rat (子時)."
"Understood. Ah. If you're going to stay here, you might get hungry. Should I bring you some food?"
"It's alright. Before performing the spirit-controlling ritual, we need to keep our bodies pure. We plan to fast until the ritual, and eat a bit after it's done."
"Hmm. I understand. Then I'll prepare some food in advance for you to eat after the ritual is over."
"Ah, thank you for your kindness."
The future Chief Priest thanked him and saw off the master as he returned to the training hall.
The master's steps seemed very light.
As if he had just put down a great burden.
As if he had relieved himself of a huge worry.
The future Chief Priest and the shaman watched him for a long time, then set up the pop-up tent they had brought and went inside. As soon as they entered, they zipped it closed, and settled in the silence created by the bison ring dangling from the tent's ceiling.
And in that silence, the shaman spoke.
"What are you going to do?"
With the power of the bison ring, the sound didn't escape the tent but swirled in the silence before dissolving into the air and disappearing, and Jinseong answered Rise's question.
"Abra ke-dabra (אברא כדברא), as spoken, so shall it be. The Five Elements will break, nature will shatter, and disaster will occur."
He smiled.
"Someone else will be blamed as the culprit and face hostility, and we will defeat the enemy to the south without shedding a drop of blood, breaking their power and making them pay the price."
Jinseong's eyes sparkled as if in anticipation.
Mana, Mana. How truly exciting.