I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 274 For Whom the Bell Tolls
"Look, we're almost there."

"Phew, thankfully we haven't encountered any evil spirits along the way."

The family car drove along the winding mountain road. Suddenly, the road opened up, revealing a mountain basin and a small town that stretched as far as the eye could see. All three people in the car breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this place is theoretically still part of Takashima City, it is separated by several mountains, making it feel like another world.

In the past, it would have been just a few minutes by tram or a ten-minute drive, but now it feels like traversing a dangerous and treacherous land.

Fortunately, the family of three was "lucky" and did not encounter any evil spirits.

"Ten years have passed, and almost nothing has changed."

The bearded middle-aged man driving remarked...
As the car began to descend the slope, what came into view for the three of them were buildings scattered along several streets, sparrows on utility poles, and trees and small plots of land surrounding the buildings, all exuding a leisurely and peaceful atmosphere reminiscent of the last century.

"Let's rest in the parking lot first."

The end of the winding mountain road is a parking lot, which, according to the sign, also serves as a bus stop.

However, both the plaza and the buildings bear the marks of time and are clearly rarely used. The reason, of course, is that:
"The tram platform is quite new,"

The boy who got out of the car looked up at the other side.

Across from the parking lot is the town's tram stop.

In addition to the winding mountain road, there is also a tram that passes through a mountain tunnel, connecting this small town to the outside world.

"Yongren, shall we go get some local food from our hometown?"

"No, you can eat."

As his parents walked towards the restaurant in the parking lot, preparing to eat some 'hometown food', the boy named 'Yasuto' had already stepped out into the town.

As he walked, he waved back, but more than any "hometown delicacies," Yongren wanted to see "friends from his hometown."

"Ten years have passed, and almost nothing has changed."

Walking down the streets of the small town, the boy was filled with emotion.

The familiar scenery before my eyes gradually overlapped with my childhood memories:

The abandoned school bus on the vacant lot next to the street was Saki and I'd have a secret base when we were kids; the river that runs through the town not far away was where Saki and I used to catch small fish and crabs together; and the big tree behind that house, which Saki often climbed; oh yeah, and the backyard of the hospital, where I remember the four of us.
Following the little girl's figure,

As they walked, the boy named Yuto stopped.

"What a deserted town."

Compared to Kyoto, it's more than just 'deserted'.
The sun was setting, but there wasn't a soul in sight on the streets; at first glance, it looked like a scene from a horror movie!

"Yes,"

"This was originally a quiet little town."

Coming back to his senses, the boy shook his head with a wry smile.

In my memory, it was only because of Saki's presence that it seemed so 'lively'.

"Saki's house is just ahead. I wonder if I'll get beaten up if we meet again after more than ten years?"

Girls generally develop faster than boys, so when they were little, although he was a little embarrassed, Yuuto mostly watched Saki accomplish various "feats" and was so envious that he immediately recognized her as his "big brother".

He had thought about going back to his hometown before, but his parents always refused.

Does this place hold some unpleasant memories?

"Hey?"

Yuuto walked along the familiar street to the place where his childhood friend's "house" was located, but when he looked up, all he saw was a three-story apartment building!
"I remember this place, isn't it a wooden courtyard?"

I checked the surrounding buildings repeatedly, and this was definitely the place I remembered. Hmm?
As Yuto's gaze swept across the surrounding buildings, he noticed that someone was spying on him from behind some of the windows!
The scrutinizing gazes made him very uncomfortable.

What's wrong with the people here?

but--

Looking up at the setting sun, Yuto turned and walked out of town.

It's getting late, let's meet up with our parents first.

In a corner he hadn't noticed, a grayish-brown snake silently crawled across the eaves of a house.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Hey? Where's the car?!"

When he returned to the station, he found the parking lot empty. Yuuto reluctantly took out his phone.

'Mom and Dad went to see my older brother first to discuss work matters.'

'Yongren will join us at our new home.'

'Love you, Mom~~'

They also sent a location.

"Oh, I forgot to turn on notifications on my phone."

Yuuto slapped his forehead in frustration, but it didn't matter, as long as he followed the location—

"who are you?"

A crisp sound came from the restaurant in the parking lot next door.

"Feel sorry.?!"

When he turned his head, Yuto was stunned.

She was a young girl with her hair tied in a side ponytail, wearing a simple tank top, jacket, and sweatpants, looking youthful and beautiful.

Of course, that's not the point. The point is that the other person's face is starting to match the one in my memory.

"Tourists?"

"Or is he a relative of someone in our town?"

The girl locked the restaurant door and walked straight toward Yuto.

"But we can talk about that later. It's getting late, let's go home."

"Are you even listening to me, young man?"

"Ahem, Saki."

As the other person stopped in confusion, Yuto coughed and extended his right hand.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

The girl was first puzzled, then her expression changed, turning from joy to anger to sadness, and finally to a cold, stern face.

"who are you?"

"Ah, I'm Yuuto!"

"Tatsuki Yuuto, when we were kids..."

"I don't know him."

After a curt response, the girl turned to leave.

However, before leaving, I added one more thing:
"Go home, stranger."

???

"and many more!"

Seeing that the other person was about to leave, Yongren, after a moment of stunned silence, quickly caught up with them, took out his phone and opened his photo album.

"You're Saki, right? Look at your expression just now, look at this photo—"

Holding up his phone, Yuto eagerly pressed for answers.

“This is evidence of the games we used to play,”

Am I the only fool who cherishes these memories and considers us friends?

"friend?"

The girl with the side ponytail turned her head, and her feigned coldness could no longer be maintained.

"I also used to have a good friend,"

"We climbed trees together, caught fish, and played house in our secret hideout."

As she spoke, the girl clenched her fists tightly and asked excitedly,

"But one day, he disappeared."

"He didn't leave any words, and when I went to his house again, he had even sold it!"

"What kind of friend is this?!"

???

"Wait, something's not right."

"I left a letter and asked Ryuji to give it to you."

"you're lying!"

"Ryuji never existed."

clang!
Just as the two were arguing, a melodious bell rang out, causing Yuto to instinctively turn his head to look.

It came from the town school, but at this time, school should have been over long ago, right?
"Oops!"

The girl, who had just been angrily rebuking the hero, was startled.
"Hurry up, it's time." With that, he grabbed Yuto's wrist and pulled him forward.

"Ah, ah?"

"Saki, why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?"

As the other person pulled him along, Yuuto instinctively started to jog and couldn't help but ask; at the same time, he confirmed one thing: the other person was indeed Saki, whom he hadn't seen for ten years.

Clang, clang, clang
Amidst the melodious tolling of bells, the girl pulled Yuuto along as they ran, explaining:
"This is our local custom,"

"If you don't return home after the seven bells have rung, you will be eaten by the 'underworld slaves'."

?

If it were a year ago,

Yongren would definitely scoff and say: "What kind of old-fashioned superstition is this?"

But this extraordinary era is:

"Some kind of evil spirit?"

But evil spirits won't escape just because they hide in your home.

"No, stop talking nonsense, let's go to my house first!"

Before they could even get angry, the two raced through the deserted streets at a speed that was by no means slow, but:
clang!
As the last bell rang,
The entire town fell silent, save for the footsteps of the boys and girls running and their rapid breathing.

"Trouble,"

"There's not enough time."

The girl with the side ponytail complained as she ran.
"It's all your fault. I should have just stayed overnight at the restaurant."

"Sorry, sorry."

Yuto had no excuse for delaying the other person.

However, he was curious about what this so-called 'underworld slave' was. If it was an evil spirit, wouldn't it be more dangerous to be alone in the restaurant?
? !
As the two ran,
A figure staggered out from the alleyway ahead.

The figure appeared to be an old man, but was dressed in white mourning clothes and had a triangular scarf on his head—the standard attire for a dead person in an island nation.

"Evil spirit?"

Yuuto raised an eyebrow and deliberately shook off the girl's hand beside him.

"let me!"

As he spoke, he accelerated and charged towards the 'evil spirit'.

"Ho~~~"

The leisurely 'evil spirit' had just turned around when it saw the boy charging sideways, using his elbow as a weapon.

Head-on!
Thump,

There was a muffled sound,
The 'evil spirit' dressed in mourning clothes was immediately thrown back and flung away by the force of the impact.

On the face of the mummified corpse, there was even a hint of 'astonishment'; if he could speak, he would surely clutch his chest and angrily rebuke: "Young man, you have no martial ethics, coming to ambush me, a man hundreds of years old."
"Ok?"

With a standard "heart-piercing elbow," he sent his opponent flying, leaving high school student Yuuto equally stunned.

The feel of this entity... it's not an evil spirit!
I didn't hit the old man.
Will die!
"Run! What are you standing there for?"

A girl with a side ponytail ran past him and grabbed the stunned Yuuto, then ran off.

The 'old man' who had been sent flying had already gotten up and reached out his hands to grab the two of them; however, the two young men were already far away in the blink of an eye.

"Roar~~"

brush,

Just as this 'old man in mourning clothes' stood there blankly, seemingly pondering what to do next...

From the alleyway next door, several long, dark figures flew out, grabbed the old man in mourning clothes, and dragged him into the alley.

"What was that just now?"

“That’s a ‘Netherworld Slave’. Just think of it as a ‘specialty’ evil spirit here.”

They ran all the way to a three-story apartment building, the same one that Yuuto had seen earlier. The girl reached in, opened the metal gate from the inside, and locked it from the inside after the two of them went in.

"Phew, it's safe."

"You 'evil spirits' are too much."

Some of the brave men, still unsettled, looked towards the metal gate.

That was indeed a 'physical entity,' not the illusory body of a normal 'evil spirit.' Also, evil spirits are not afraid of sunlight and do not have the habit of only coming out at night.

"I already said they are 'Netherworld Slaves'!"

The girl with the side ponytail emphasized it again, and then stepped onto the stairs to go upstairs.

"follow me,"

"Come to my place for the night, and go home tomorrow."

"Honestly, now that you're back, shouldn't you at least check out the changes in your hometown?"

"Feel sorry."

As Yuuto apologized, his gaze swept across the town:
? ?
In the small town as the sun sets, figures are everywhere!
"Those are all."

Yongren couldn't help but ask in a low voice,
"Yes, they are all underworld slaves."

"Ignore them, they can't be killed."

"They'll disappear after daybreak and have almost no impact on the town: we don't really have any nightlife here anyway."

The girl with the side ponytail, Saki, casually replied that compared to these "ghost slaves," the "evil spirits" in other parts of the island nation were more terrifying: at least the "ghost slaves" wouldn't randomly enter other people's homes, and as long as the doors and windows were closed, one could sleep peacefully.

Of course, with so many 'weird' things wandering the streets, whether ordinary people can sleep is another question entirely.

Click,

Just as the two arrived on the second floor,

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening came from the hallway.

"Hero?"

Behind a slightly ajar security door next door, a housewife holding a kitchen knife carefully checks the situation.

"Mother?"

"Why are you here?"

The housewife, relieved, opened the door to the surprised Yuto.

"Don't talk nonsense, this is our home."

"Hey, is this... Saki?"

Upon noticing the young girl next to her son, the housewife became even more enthusiastic.

"Long time no see, you've grown into a beautiful young woman."

"Come in and sit down, don't be shy~~"

While warmly welcoming the girl into the house, he gave Yuuto a look that said, "You've got guts, kid."

No, Mom.

"Then I'll have to bother you, Aunt Chenyue."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the alley,
wriggle, struggle
The 'mourning old man' who lost his limbs could only lie on the ground like a caterpillar, like a 'cocooning worm'.

"There was no blood at the cut, only corpses and dirt?"

The 'old man in mourning clothes' had his two legs and one hand coiled up by several venomous snakes, some distance away from him; although he struggled constantly, seemingly wanting to return to his 'original body', he couldn't.

The sight of these broken limbs still struggling might frighten ordinary people, but to Jiu Kong Yao Ai, it was nothing more than a boring charade.

In the extraordinary world, anything is possible.

The so-called 'immortality' is only relative:

A pool of liquid corroded by snake venom lay beside him, which was one of the hands of this 'old man in mourning clothes'.

"His entire body is free of vital organs,"

Looking at the 'mourning old man' whose spine she had broken but who was still struggling, Jiu Kong Yao Ai gave a cold analysis.

"Even detached limbs can be reattached,"

"If a part is destroyed, then—"

My gaze fell on the arm of the 'old man in mourning clothes': the arm that had been torn off from the shoulder by a venomous snake had somehow 'grown' back up, as if soil was constantly filling in the missing part.

"I think I understand,"

Jiu Kong Yao Ai seemed lost in thought.
It is the power of the 'Yamata no Kami's Remains' that has been used by someone!

Interesting, in this remote mountain town, someone actually dares to touch 'her' power?

Let's see who's so bold.

(End of this chapter)