Volume 2 Rashomon of Yomi Hirasaka Chapter 6: Five Miles of Mist
What happened next was a bit boring. After all, his sister was still inside, and they had just had a fight, so it was impossible for Li Lin and the others to live in a house where a crying girl was staying. So they could only lead them to another house in the bamboo forest with regret.
But to be honest, Li Lin thought it was pretty good. After all, he could get a better house for free, so why not? After asking where the nearest library and bookstore were, Li Lin put Sally in the room and went out to find books and do tasks. It's not that he has some prejudice against Sally, but simply because Sally, as a great demon, can easily cause the surrounding scene to be alienated.
For example, if she simply fell into the water, ordinary people would just fall into the water, but Sallys might have been trapped in the boundary between life and death because of the incompatibility between her spirit and her body, and she would suffocate to death in the water. Although it is said that resurrection after death is just like that, it is not a very good feeling. This kind of inexplicable sealing effect caused by the huge soul essence is everywhere in the records of Kuwait University. Li Lin didn't want to spend a lot of effort to take the little girl off the barrier at that time.
After all, no matter from which world perspective, bookstores, bookshops, and libraries are the places with the most barriers and prohibitions.
"Besides, this place is really full of idol cages..."
Wrapped in a cloak that turned into a shirt, Li Lin walked on the cool stone path, constantly looking at the buildings around Hirasaka.
Hirasaka is a beautiful . Countless wooden buildings are built in an orderly manner along the valley or stream, bringing some coolness. Walking along the path, more or less stone statues always appear in every corner.
They all lowered their heads, or held some utensils, with red shimenawa ropes hanging from their bodies, and held yellow paper umbrellas, standing quietly around the path, talking to each other and moving in a staggered manner like living people. Although there was no one on the road, the statues on both sides alone gave the illusion of a bustling crowd.
Perhaps because of the long years of worship, each stone statue does not look ferocious, but kind and smooth. From time to time, there is a small incense burner under some statues, with a few sticks of incense and fruits lit on it. Sometimes you can see monks in white or gods in gorgeous clothes coming out from the small path, talking to each other in a friendly manner, and then cleaning their respective statues, replacing the oil umbrellas and ropes on them, and taking up the offerings and replacing them, and then selling the replaced offerings on the spot, or simply eating them.
This attitude of making the best use of things really makes people feel close. Along the way in Hirasaka, Li Lin had already met several friendly monks and shrines. Seeing Li Lin alone, they greeted him warmly and shared fruits and amulets.
By the time Li Lin had walked across the brick path, he had seven or eight amulets hanging on his body, and his stomach was half full.
The children along the way looked at the fruits and vegetables in Li Lin's hands with envy, and the bolder ones would come up to ask questions. The players were naturally not stingy with these gifts, and soon became friends with these little kids. In the end, the gifts that the children could give back were nothing special, but various amulets and strange-looking blessing items.
In the end, even some locals who didn't know what was going on thought that Li Lin was a new god master, looking at the players covered in ornaments. They approached him enthusiastically and made gestures, and then asked him what school he belonged to and whether they could become fellow disciples . Li Lin could only stuff the amulet into the player space with a smile on his face, saying that he did not belong to any school, and then he broke away from the enthusiastic embrace of the locals and walked towards the bookstore halfway up the mountain.
"Lingfang Bookstore, even though the name is a bit problematic, it is indeed a good place."
The monk who had shaved his head bald carried a shoulder pole, touched his shiny head, pointed to the buildings in the mist on the hillside, and said proudly:
"I heard that it used to be called Lingtai Fangcunwu, but the owner a few hundred years ago thought the name sounded too complicated, so it was changed to Lingfang Bookstore. If you want any records, that should be the most complete one."
"Oh? Why?"
"Because the owner was once the largest landowner in the area. After donating his land, he only asked for a copy of all the records and books. And the owners of all generations were very good and principled. So over time, Reikata Bookstore became so big. It contains all the records of Hirasaka from its establishment to the present. If it's not recorded in it, it's probably not recorded anywhere else."
"Even your Zen Buddhism doesn't have it?"
"Don't make fun of me, benefactor. In Hirasaka, all religions are free to spread. Whether it's the belief that all living things are Buddhas, that all things have spirits, or that one practices Taoism, they are all pursuing immortality and a human heart. The abbot treats us with sincerity, and we must treat him with sincerity as well."
The vicious thoughts of the outside world do not suit us.
The bald monk quickly shook his head, as if to say, "You are a poisonous creature from the outside world, I won't talk to you," and ran away in a hurry carrying two buckets of water.
But Li Lin frowned in a strange way when he looked at the monk. Then he looked at the palace-like bookstore built on the hillside. An inexplicable weird feeling began to gradually spread in his heart.
Religion will never be peaceful without a huge external force. Because the basis of religion is exclusivity and self-recognition. If the enemy pagans also have the same self-recognition, then what difference does it make to believe in religion? Isn't it better to simply be a good person? But religion means that the exclusion between them still exists.
So what led to the Hirasaka incident? What led to the custom of ghost marriages and the numerous idols we see today?
"…I'm writing a paper, so it's okay if I put in a little effort, right?"
It’s not good to do archaeology without first-hand information…
After taking a look at Lingfang Bookstore deep in the clouds, Li Lin lowered his head, wrapped his clothes, and gradually stepped into the mountain fog.
The rolling mist gradually swallowed up his figure like some kind of living thing, and soon returned to its calm state amidst the surging air waves, as if no one had ever been there.
