Volume 2 Rashomon of Yomi Hirasaka Chapter 18 Puppet Ballad
What if people have no heart?
If a person has no heart, he will die.
"Get up the sedan chair."
The drawn-out sound was like a dream whispering in the water. The shrine that the girl was in was slowly lifted up by dozens of strong men.
Countless lights were connected in a row, dotted along the mountains and paths, and lit up together. The floating lights slowly rose into the sky, decorating the clouds like a starry night.
It was like a dream, as the bride of the ghost marriage ceremony, I felt my soul floating out of the shrine, looking at the intoxicating and colorful scenery from high in the sky. I saw those people who were full of superstition and practice wearing masks around the shrine, constantly scattering red petals around.
"Ah~ Son of Innocence~ Like Light~"
The witches standing around the sedan chair gradually stretched out their voices and sang a strange tune.
The witch wearing a long mask danced around the sedan chair, and her long sleeves and the stone statues on the roadside seemed to cast overlapping shadows under the light. Countless people wearing smiling masks and various clothes stood on the roadside, quietly watching this ancient performance.
The shrine slowly moved forward among the crowd that seemed real or fake. Many sensitive old dogs raised their heads and barked at the shrine. The round eyes reflected a world that was obviously different from that of humans. A hazy mist that came from nowhere enveloped the entire Hirasaka. Along with the dull drumbeats by the lake and the lingering flower language around, a hazy and intoxicating weird atmosphere gradually spread in the town.
A slightly peculiar fragrance began to make everyone's eyes become bright and hazy. Everything in front of them seemed to become like a dream. Countless shadows overlapped together, and bursts of giggles and whispers could be heard between the figures.
If this is a dream, then it is a dream. If this is the realm of the dead, then it is the realm of the dead.
Feeling all of this from the air, he seemed to be able to see the gorgeous and beautiful faces of the Mansa Zhuhua flowers blooming on the roadside.
"Offer it~offer it~resign the magatama~heal it~heal it~curse before the gods~"
"Offer it~offer it~resign the magatama~heal it~heal it~curse before the gods~"
The ethereal sound of bells rang out, and the witches took out the golden bells from their arms and shook them gently. The rain of flowers and smoke in the sky also trembled, overlapping with the dull drum sounds in the distance, pushing the soul of He to a higher level.
The sound of someone watching the movement became clearer and clearer, and pale blue butterflies flapped their wings and flew out from every corner, dancing around the sedan. The dreamlike scene made countless onlookers exclaim in amazement, pointing at the dreamlike butterflies flying around, whispering to each other in amazement, and then subconsciously lowered their voices, as if they were afraid of disturbing the gods.
"A child is innocent by nature, what can he do? He is entrusted with a fate that he will not be able to escape from, and he walks alone."
"It is difficult to avoid disaster when young, break the cause and effect, the light of sincerity shines on me, and the poem shakes the sky..."
The sound of chanting could be heard clearly all around, and the omnipresent chanting made people's hearts feel more ethereal.
Whether it was fear or terror, it was all so boring in this hazy and dreamy scenery. In the bright lights and mist, He felt as if she was already a bride getting married, and in front of her was the wedding procession spreading flowers and rain, purifying the road for her arrival.
The sedan's journey was not long, it only needed to reach the flower boat by the lake. Many guests, along with the strong man carrying the sedan and the singing and dancing witch, arrived at the lakeside with countless flowers and butterflies. The dark red flower boat and the grand decorations around it made people feel that the journey just now was as illusory as a mist.
The girl turned her head subconsciously and saw that the village of Hirasaka was shrouded in thick fog. The bright lights in the sky and the flowers dancing around gradually became brighter, and the fragrance in the air became fresher. The lake was like another world, reflecting the colorful ceremony scene, and together with the surrounding stone statues, it formed a part of the entire ceremony. Amid the chanting and bell sounds of the witches and the gods, the individual's will became more and more illusory, and she subconsciously played the role of the bride of the underworld.
It was as if some inexplicable existence was guiding her. She stretched out her hand gracefully to brush the veil, gently put her toes on the ground, and looked at the people around her, as if they were a whole world apart.
As the girl watched her demeanor, the sound of the human-skin drum on the platform grew louder and louder, and the gods and witches sang and sprinkled smoke and flowers.
"Please get on the flower boat."
"Please get on the flower boat."
"Please get on the flower boat."
“…”
The sturdy men carrying the sedan chair knelt in a circle around it, and the sound was like muffled thunder.
The two small seats on the sedan chair were empty, and there was only an even smaller sedan chair in front of it. As long as you walked into the small sedan chair and were carried into the flower boat, it would be a ghost marriage.
I subconsciously raised my head and took a look at the flower boat that seemed to have been waiting for decades by the lake. As if specially for the wedding, all the window screens and decorations were changed to a festive red. A huge red candle was lit on the bow of the boat, and the surrounding was full of hazy and brilliant candlelight. The mist lingered on the lakeside and merged with the flower boat, turning it into a prop to another world in a trance.
“…”
Is this my destiny? My husband is marrying me?
Looking at the luxurious flower boat, and sighing slightly in my heart, my obsession with the devil also faded a little.
What else is there to be dissatisfied about? Isn't this what every girl wants? Isn't it great to marry a great or handsome man in such a grand environment?
Maybe this is not bad...
Looking at the small sedan chair carried by two people, the girl subconsciously stretched out her hand.
However, at this moment, a cold voice like a sharp blade pierced through the girl's fog and directly into her heart and lungs, pulling her out of the confused illusion.
"The ritual is quite good, and there is something about it... Can you hear me? And? If you can, hold the pendant and answer me."
"……"
"Can't hear you? Or have you given up? Then I'll do it on my own."
'I am here, my Lord.'
Holding the pendant that seemed to be the only truth in the countless mists, he lowered his head, covered his veil with his head, and folded his hands as if praying, holding the stone pendant.
"I'm still here. I'm...right here."
