Tsuchimikado Village.
Following the psychic traces of Toshiya Sakai, Onizuka Kirihotari entered a low-rise house that didn't look like anything special.
"This seems to have been a warehouse."
The little witch observed the environment. The former warehouse now only contained some rotten and smelly straw that turned into gray-black straw.
Then, she saw Eri Sakai getting lower step by step towards the ground until he disappeared.
Onizuka moved to the location where the traces of Sakai Toshiya's psychic presence disappeared.
Behind the rotting pile of straw, there seems to be an entrance to the ground blocked by debris.
The smell of dampness and decay came from below.
When this warehouse was still intact, the entrance to the passage was probably covered by wooden boards or the like, but now that it is abandoned, the entrance to the underground is exposed.
After quickly clearing away the debris accumulated at the underground entrance, Onizuka clicked on the talisman and threw it into the dark passage.
Under the light of Yanling, you can see the slippery steps winding downwards.
After feeling for a while and confirming that there was no undead aura below that could threaten her, Onizuka walked down.
Walk through the stone steps and enter the underground space.
The surrounding stone walls were moist and cold, with a thin layer of greasy moss attached to them.
Occasionally, water drops would drip from the cracks in the rocks and smash on the ground, making a small, dull sound.
The air was filled with the smell of musty and rust, and the faint light emitted by the talisman clung precariously to the surrounding stone walls. The light seemed thick and heavy in the humid air, barely illuminating the place.
Farther away, there are several iron fences looming in the shadows.
"This seems to be the dungeon of Tsuchimikado Village."
He took a few more steps forward.
The little miko found traces of Sakai Toshiya's psychic, a blurry white figure standing behind a cell.
And on the pile of rotten straw in that cell, a familiar faint light could still be seen.
"It seems that another fragment of the Tianhu bronze mirror has been found."
Onizuka stepped forward.
Probably because the environment in the dungeon is too humid, the iron railings here are rusty, and the iron lock hanging on the cell door has also rusted with the railings, and it is obvious that it can no longer be opened with a key.
But now that it's like this, there's no need to use the key anymore.
Onizuka Kiriho tugged at the leg of his Hakama pants and kicked his leg directly towards the iron lock hanging on the cell door.
There was a loud "clang" sound.
The white footbag on the little witch's right foot was already covered in mud, and new red rust stains were added to the sole of the foot.
The rotten railings and iron doors smashed into the cell and broke into two pieces.
"Um."
Onizuka hummed in satisfaction and stepped into the cell.
The fragment of the Tianhu bronze mirror was lying quietly in the corner of the prison. It was similar to the one found before, and it was probably in the shape of a fan with an angle of 60 degrees.
Carefully putting away the fragments of the bronze mirror, Onitsuka Kiriho watched around.
There are still a lot of books piled up inside the cell, but they have rotted into a pile and can no longer be consulted.
The manuscript of Toshiya Sakai is not visible here. There may have been some manuscript paper left here, but it is as bad as those books and cannot be identified.
"This dungeon was probably the last place where Sakai Eriya stayed for a long time. I wonder if he was made into a adult pillar by Tsuchimikado's people..."
Onizuka held the black-and-white photo and the previously collected manuscripts in his hands, and once again channeled Sakai Etoshiya.
Here, you should still be able to see some of the folklorists’ lifetime experiences...
…
In a dark dungeon.
The light of the kerosene lamp faintly illuminated a corner of the cell.
Etoshi Sakai was sitting cross-legged in the cell, flipping through books and writing down something seriously with a pen.
Looking at him, he didn't look like he was about to die, even though he was being sacrificed as a "human pillar".
Anyway, he looks like a scholar who is passionate about learning.
No, I shouldn’t say “like”, Sakai Eri is a serious scholar.
He was just doing what a scholar should do.
However, to be able to concentrate on research in such an environment, Mr. Sakai is definitely not an ordinary person in a sense.
After writing for a while, the folklorist slowly put down his pen and sighed: "It's a pity that after my death, no one can take these manuscripts out of Tsuchimikado Village."
After being transferred from the Kawai family, Sakai Eri has been imprisoned in the dungeon.
And he was strictly guarded by people from the Tsuchimikado family.
I have been here for I don’t know how many days.
As Tsuchimikado Yasifuku said before, the Tsuchimikado family brought the Amado bronze mirror into the dungeon, and it has been hanging outside the cell for the past few days.
Sakai Etoshi was also fascinated by the bronze mirror that was said to be an artifact of the gods. Before that, he would often sit behind the iron fence and stare at the bronze mirror in a daze.
Gradually, he was able to get some strange feelings from that mirror.
The breath of the gods? The power of the gods? The call of the gods?
have no idea.
Can't tell.
Anyway, it's amazing.
In addition to placing the Amado Bronze Mirror in the dungeon, the Tsuchimikado family also responded to Sakai E Toshiya's request and put a large number of ancient books and materials into the cell for the folklorist to browse at will.
The paper and pen required to record the summary are also provided.
About two days after Sakai Etoni was imprisoned in the dungeon, his original fear was completely replaced by his thirst for knowledge, and he fell into those ancient books and materials.
So much so that he is a little confused now——
It was the people of the Tsuchimikado family who used some method to amplify their desire for knowledge.
Or is it that he himself is a madman who is so crazy that he can forget about his own life for the sake of folklore research?
Don't know, don't know.
"At the very least, Shizuji is gone." Sakai Eri also thought this way.
His student Shizuji Kanemaru left Tsuchimikado Village yesterday.
During the time when Etoshi Sakai was under house arrest at the Kawai family, Kanemaru Shizuji's movements in the village were also restricted.
However, the people from Tsuchimikado arranged a meeting for the master and apprentice yesterday morning.
The master and apprentice were alone for a long time.
Then at noon, Toshiya Sakai and the Tsuchimikado family watched Shizuji leave the village.
Sakai Eri didn't know what would happen to his students after they left the village.
We can only hope that the Tsuchimikado family will truly keep their word, not harm Shizuji, and really let him go.
"Tsuchimikado Yasifuku said that if Shizuji cannot leave safely, I will not be willing to become a human pillar."
Sakai Eri didn't know whether the words of the head of the Tsuchimikado family were really credible.
But now that he is in jail, he can no longer do anything for his students.
Neither he nor Shizuji were ordinary people, and there was no way they could compete with such a powerful behemoth as Tsuchimikado.
I hope the student is really safe, and I hope he won't do anything stupid in vain after he leaves.
With a heavy sigh, Sakai Etoshiya picked up the pen again and wrote on the manuscript paper:
[human pillar]
To be continued...