A special ritual track...
Li Ang squinted his eyes and imdiately thought of the nurous Ksitigarbha stone statues in Yuanke Village, and asked, "Parricide?"
The Shinto and Buddhism of the Japan Islands are deeply intertwined,
In ancient tis, the rural areas of the Japan Islands had harsh living conditions, and the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was regarded as the guardian deity of children who died prematurely or were miscarried. It was believed that he would collect the souls of these children with his sleeve, protecting them from evil spirits, while allowing them to listen to Buddhist scriptures and accumulate rit in hopes of reincarnation.
"...Not exactly parricide."
Ogashira Masashi said hoarsely, "Mother and child, siblings, husband and wife, lovers...
The ancestors of Yuanke Village believed that,
as long as the intense and inseparable emotional bonds between two people were severed, imnse power could be released.
It is not limited to family relations."
"I see."
Li Ang nodded, "Then what was the purpose of the Hiratsuka Family opening the entrance to the Netherworld."
"For the seal."
Ogashira Masashi said, "The ancestors of Yuanke Village believed that the Netherworld was the realm of malevolent gods and the dead,
and all the hatred and resentnt in the human world would surge into the Netherworld.
The existence of the Netherworld is beyond human comprehension,
Yet they knew that if the dense resentnt from the Netherworld spilled over into the human realm,
it would cause imnse destruction to the world of mortals, leading to the extinction of life, with ghosts roaming the night.
Thus, the ancestors of Yuanke Village devised a solution,
every four years,
to sever the bonds between people, releasing power,
to fight against and dispel the resentnt in the Netherworld.
This solution is the Yuanke Festival."
Ogashira Masashi paused, speaking hoarsely, "For ordinary villagers and outsiders, the Yuanke Festival, as publicly advertised,
is rely about hanging lanterns, setting off fireworks, singing, dancing, rry-making.
However, in reality, the most important aspects of the Yuanke Festival are the shrine dance and the Hiratsuka Family’s Destiny Rite.
Yuanke Village is remote,
the Hiratsuka Family are the builders and owners of the village,
and also the managers of the shrine, setters of the rules.
When the Yuanke Festival begins, villagers and tourists will gather at the shrine, drink Guiquan Liquor, and watch the dance.
Guiquan Liquor is brewed using the water from Guiquan Well, with special effects,
and after drinking it, one will fall into a narcotic delusion, oblivious to the world.
When both the Noh Drama Perforrs and the audience are imrsed in the performance,
mbers of the Hiratsuka Family will appear, having their Hidden Eye select two people suitable for the Destiny Rite."
"Hidden Eye."
Wang Congshan frowned, imdiately recalling the woman with gouged eyes seen in the earlier hallucination.
"In other words, those who are blind but rely on a Spiritual Sense to perceive the outside world."
Ogashira Masashi explained, "The Hiratsuka Family has a special bloodline, and their Spiritual Sense is inherently higher than that of ordinary people.
To select the one with the highest Spiritual Sense,
in every generation, they will put all of the eligible children in the family into a dark, soundproof room to play hide and seek.
The one who can find everyone,
or is the last to be found,
will be selected as the Hidden Eye, having their eyes gouged,
from then on residing in the secluded chambers of the Hiratsuka Family, without contact with outsiders, to maintain their purity."
He slowly said, "A Hidden Eye selected in this way can see the destinies between people with their invisible sight.
Once the Hidden Eye finds people who et the conditions for the Destiny Rite,
the rest of the Hiratsuka Family will take these two back to the Hiratsuka residence, to the Guiquan Well.
They give one of them a pair of scissors, so that in their bewildered state, they can kill the other with the scissors,
then throw the body pieces into the Guiquan Well, where the well water will corrode and dissolve them.
This step corresponds to the myth where a samurai offers a leech child to the God of Destiny,
primarily for opening the entrance to the Netherworld."
Click.
Li Ang clicked his tongue, recalling how they had just seen pieces like eyes, fingers, hair mixed in the well water when they ca down from the Guiquan Well — truly disgusting upon reflection.
It was like having a bath in a hodgepodge soup with questionable sanitary conditions.
Wang Congshan’s mouth moved slightly; the Guiquan Liquor Yuanke Village used to entertain outsiders was actually made from that hodgepodge soup, and she had drunk it too.
Ogashira Masashi did not know the psychological activities of the two, and continued, "The Guiquan Well connects to the Netherworld, and under years of influence, the well water is tainted with abnormal properties, capable of dissolving deceased’s body parts.
Liquor made from the well water induces people into an imrsive delusion.
My teacher, also a folklorist, visited Yuanke Village long ago and was even hosted by the Hiratsuka Family.
This teacher ntioned that mbers of the Hiratsuka Family don’t usually consu the water from Guiquan Well, but use another well.
The reason being, on one hand, the Guiquan Well’s water is ominous,
on the other, the Hiratsuka Family’s ancestors are also rged into the Guiquan Well water — being chosen for the Destiny Rite is not limited to outsiders; as long as they et the conditions, internal mbers of the Hiratsuka Family could also be chosen."
Ogashira Masashi rasped, "After the first step is completed, the entrance to the Netherworld is briefly opened,
and the Hiratsuka Family,
will lead the remaining person from the Destiny Rite into this space.
They will be placed into a coffin-like tal box, the Guiquan Well water poured in, then the entire box, through rails, transported to the edge of a cliff,
at the cliff’s edge, where it is tied with hemp ropes and slowly lowered into The Abyss.
As the effects of the Guiquan Liquor wear off,
the person in the box will gradually regain consciousness, realizing what they had done before,
and then be consud by an overwhelming regret and tornt.
During this process, the intense emotions released from severing destinies suppress the resentnt in the Netherworld, calming it down.
As ti passes, the person in the box succumbs to despair and calm, ultimately becoming one with the Guiquan water,
box and person together sink into The Abyss once more, to suppress resentnt.
Thus, a complete Destiny Rite is finally fulfilled,
until the sealing power diminishes four years later, and the cycle begins anew."
Ogashira Masashi slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his gaze fixed on the cliff below, on the dim tal box.
"Inside this box should be your mother, who is also Fujimura Xiuping’s wife, Fujimura Masumi, right?"
Li Ang said, "Since the box is still hanging now, it’s evident that sothing went wrong with the last Destiny Rite, leading to a failure in suppression and causing the resentnt to surge, wiping out Yuanke Village."
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