As Jingji had guessed before, this village, which barely communicates with the outside world, must have some ulterior motive for welcoming outsiders so warmly.
Sakai Etoshi was panicked when he first realized that he might be in danger, but the people of the Kawai family kept a close eye on him and couldn't escape at all.
Slowly, Etoshi Sakai devoted his time to the books and materials in the Kawai family's study room.
To be honest, the vast amount of precious information here is too tempting for a conscientious folklorist.
His desire for knowledge is infinitely amplified here, and it is difficult to suppress it. So much so that after being immersed in it, Sakai Eri will subconsciously ignore that he is still in danger.
In a sense, he is really a pure scholar.
"The priest is waiting for you in the reception room of my house." Mr. Kawai said.
"The priest... Mr. Yasifuku Tsuchimikado?" Sakai Toshiya's eyes twitched slightly, but in the end he just said, "I understand, let's get over there."
The folklorist knew that Tsuchimikado Village had intentions for him.
Now Tsuchimikado Yasifuku finally shows up again, probably to try and get a chance to see him.
Thinking like this, Sakai felt a strange sense of relief despite being frightened. At least he could know what these people were going to do to him.
The reception room of the Kawai family.
Tsuchimikado Yasifuku, wearing hunting clothes, is already waiting here.
After Toshiya Sakai entered, Mr. Kawai who came with him did not come in. He just retreated to the corridor and closed the door of the reception room.
"Mr. Sakai, please sit down."
Tsuchimikado Yasifuku made a cup of tea and pushed it to the corner of the table in front of him.
But Sakai Etoshiya hesitated and didn't move.
The head of the Tsuchimikado family did not have any emotional changes because of this. He just smiled and talked to himself. He seemed to be a kind-hearted old man: "Mr. Sakai, during your time at the Kawai family, you have seen a lot of things."
Books? Well, I think you already have a rough idea of ​​what’s going on in the village.”
"Hmm." The folklorist finally sat down, "Are the contents in those books and the Tendo Shaman Festival...all true?"
"Nature, including night time, is also real."
Tsuchimikado Yasifuku nodded, as if it were natural.
"But, what do you want me to do? You have something you want me to do, right?"
"Well..." Tsuchimikado Yasifuku pondered slightly, picked up an ancient book from his side, and placed it next to the tea cup, "Mr. Sakai, you are very interested in things in Tsuchimikado Village, right? This book
It was originally in the study room of the Hehe family, but I took it away early. Now that you have learned about the shaman festival, I think it is time for you to take a look at this."
Sakai Eri didn't hesitate much, so he picked up the book and read it.
His doubts may be answered in the book.
For a scholar, answering questions is a very important thing.
What is recorded in this ancient book is a supplement to the Tendo Shaman Festival.
About the "Human Pillar".
As a folklorist, Etoshi Sakai naturally knows what this word means.
One who is sacrificed, one who is sacrificed.
And usually refers to the type of people who are sacrificed to the gods.
To put it simply, the nature of the "human pillar" is similar to that of the shrine maiden selected for the Amado Shaman Festival.
In Japanese, the quantifier for gods is "Hashira", "one pillar god", which may also be related to the human pillar sacrifice.
While Toshiya Sakai was looking through the books, the head of the Tsuchimikado family spoke calmly:
"Mr. Sakai, you have read the information about the Tendo Shaman Festival. But the information you saw did not mention that it is possible for the Shaman Festival to fail. If the Shaman Festival fails after five years, then the power of the night will be
The situation became even more violent, and another witchcraft festival had to be held on the same day in the second year. Different from the previous one, an additional human pillar was sacrificed in this witchcraft festival.”
"In fact, because the originally selected shrine maiden died young, last year's shrine maiden was not held smoothly because of the loss of candidates. This year, the daughter of the Takehara family had to be the substitute."
At this time, folklorists also saw content related to human pillars in the ancient books they opened——
[When performing a human pillar sacrifice, the person selected is the same as the shaman priestess, and must be willing to die for the ceremony to a certain extent. The person selected for the human pillar must be an outsider, must not be of the Tsuchimikado family's blood, and must not live near the Amado stone gate.
.]
Snapped.
Sakai Toshiya's hand shook, and the ancient book fell to the ground, and the tea on the table was also knocked over.
Does the human pillar need outsiders to do it?
Am I not an outsider?
Sakai Etoshiya finally understood why the people of the Tsuchimikado family treated him and Shizuji so warmly.
On the opposite side, Tsuchimikado Yasifuku just stared at him quietly, like a late wolf staring at its prey, making people shudder: "Mr. Sakai, you have been living in Kanto before."
"How do you know that you...you want me to be a human pillar!?"
"Yes."
Tsuchimikado Yasifuku's tone was still calm.
Then, the old man of the Onmyoji family slowly bowed his waist and took his seat towards Sakai Eriya. Under such a heavy courtesy, the old man's voice was old and clear, as if he could not deny it:
Chapter completed!