This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame

Beichuan Si was indeed very curious.

If suppressing the Yellow Springs was the mission of the Mouchi family, then they should have exhausted all means to deceive Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai into going to the Yellow Springs, yet why was Mouchi Mashi eager for them to leave Kagoshima Prefecture?

The puzzles were truly multiplying.

"..." Mouchi Mashi.

Indeed... The young man in front reacted swiftly, instantly detecting the unnatural part of her words.

Thinking about this, Mouchi Mashi hesitated no more, pulling down the sleeves of her kimono.

Her snow-white, tender arm was thus displayed before Beichuan Si.

But Beichuan Si had no interest in admiring her arm... for his gaze had already been drawn to the crimson mark on her wrist.

Rather than calling it a totem... it was more of an imprint.

This imprint was irregularly tattooed around her wrist, like flowing red lines that outlined a ghostly image, appearing human yet distinct from humanity upon closer examination.

"Something resembling a human yet not human..." Beichuan Si's dark eyes flashed with a hint of realization.

Wasn't this exactly the imprint that Shen Gu Mirai spoke of?

Originally thought only the Mouchi Witch would have such an imprint, yet Mouchi Mashi also bore it?

Mouchi Mashi didn't care about Beichuan Si's changing gaze; she looked at the imprint on her wrist with a somewhat numb gaze, her voice steady:

"This imprint is called the 'Scarlet Imprint', a mark inherited through generations of the Mouchi Main Family. As long as the blood of the Mouchi Main Family flows within one's veins and one reaches the age of twenty... this imprint will naturally appear."

"People with such imprints essentially possess benevolence without training and have stronger abilities to decipher the traces and lingering sentiments of vengeful spirits compared to ordinary people. This is the origin of the 'Scarlet Imprint' and the reason why the Mouchi family can maintain the balance between the present and hidden worlds."

Beichuan Si did not rush to comment, for judging by Mouchi Mashi's demeanor, there should be more twists ahead.

As expected, under Beichuan Si's gaze, Mouchi Mashi said the following:

"I think Mr. Beichuan has already noticed... that behind this seemingly free ability, there lies a significant problem."

Mouchi Mashi glanced at Beichuan Si:

"That is... a person's life force will gradually be absorbed by this scarlet imprint, each time a bit of life force is absorbed, the benevolence grows stronger... until the body completely loses life force... the body will gradually turn gray, decay, deform... eventually becoming nothing but a corpse... at that point, even the strongest benevolence is rendered useless."

Mouchi Mashi looked at the scarlet imprint on her wrist.

"At first, it was just a simple small red spot, but as each day passes, it spreads... and another day passes... until the entire arm is covered by this cursed scarlet imprint..."

"If according to Miss Mouchi's explanation, the Mouchi Main Family wouldn't have lasted this long. There should be some means to alleviate it."

Magong Yongshi appropriately spoke up.

As she said, the Mouchi family must have some method to suppress the growth of the 'Scarlet Imprint', or the Mouchi Main Family would have been extinct by now.

"This young lady reacts quickly."

Mouchi Mashi nodded, having no intention to hide the truth:

"The method to suppress the Scarlet Imprint is hidden within the Mouchi Main Family, but as mentioned earlier, the ritual has failed, and the now completely soul-bound Mouchi Main Family is no longer a place we can tread."

"Soul-bound place?" Beichuan Si tapped the table and asked: "Is this soul-bound place the 'spiritual realm'?"

He had heard Mouchi Mashi mention the term two or three times; could it be a higher version of the term 'spiritual realm'?

"A meaning similar to the spiritual realm, but the avenging spirits inside are more fierce and more difficult to handle, and until now, the miasma leaked from the Yellow Springs flows within, making it impossible for ordinary people to survive in such an environment."

Mouchi Mashi took a deep breath:

"Our Main Family once organized many to venture into the Mouchi Main Family, but actually, very few managed to exit. This search for the Mouchi Witch is due to this reason... we want to use the strength of the Mouchi Witch to explore the Mouchi Main Family."

This was Mouchi Mashi's helplessness.

Whether entering or leaving the Mouchi Main Family, ultimately the outcome was death... in this situation, many of the Mouchi Main Family naturally chose to die in the branch family rather than take risks.

And now, finally...

"In the entire Mouchi Main Family... besides me, only Aunt Qingluo remains. The remaining members of the Mouchi Main Family... it's just the two of us."

Upon reaching this point, Mouchi Mashi's face changed instantly.

She seemed somewhat sad, yet somewhat indignant.

Why did she, at just over twenty years old, serve as the head of the Mouchi family?

Why was she, a woman, chosen as the head of the Mouchi family?

Because... in the entire Mouchi Main Family, besides her and Mouchi Qingluo, there was no one else!

Just looking at her expression, Beichuan Si actually already knew.

Mouchi Mashi's parents probably also died seeking solutions for the Scarlet Imprint in the Mouchi Main Family.

Yet even so... Beichuan Si still has questions.

Because the words Mouchi Mashi just said... contain the most crucial loophole.

"Sorry to interrupt Miss Mouchi at such a time, but there's something I don't quite understand."

Beichuan Si looked at Mouchi Mashi, then said: "You just said that you were taken away from the Mouchi family when you were young, correct?"

"Correct." Mouchi Mashi nodded.

"When you were young, the family held some ritual related to the Yellow Springs and failed, leading to the collapse of the Mouchi Main Family... is that right?"

"...It is." Mouchi Mashi did not deny.

Seeing Mouchi Mashi did not deny, Beichuan Si continued to ask:

"Then after the collapse of the Mouchi Main Family... you, and your aunt Mouchi Qingluo naturally lost the means to suppress the Scarlet Imprint, right?"

"Yes."

Mouchi Mashi seemed to understand what Beichuan Si wanted to ask.

Beichuan Si glanced at the imprint on her wrist, then continued:

"Your wrist's Scarlet Imprint forms and appears at age twenty and absorbs life force... if we consider Miss Mouchi as healthy and resilient enough to provide excess life force for absorption, that's understandable. But your aunt Mouchi Qingluo is already over thirty, even if the absorption rate is slow, it shouldn't take over ten years, right?"

Indeed.

This was the biggest flaw in Mouchi Mashi's recent speech.

Her wrist's Scarlet Imprint could easily be explained at her young, healthy age; enduring its life force absorption was plausible.

But what about Mouchi Qingluo?

She is over thirty now! By the standard of twenty, she has had life force absorbed by the Scarlet Imprint for over ten years.

Why hasn't she died yet?

Forget about dying, when Beichuan Si saw her, she was still able to run, jump, talk, and eat, showing no signs of weakness.

Moreover, there's the most important point.

Why did Mouchi Mashi wish for Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai to leave the Mouchi Main Family... this was the most important.

What was this black kimono woman thinking?

What connection did the Mouchi family have with the hidden world?

No matter what, these were things Beichuan Si wanted to know.

"...' Mouchi Mashi.

Facing Beichuan Si's questioning, Mouchi Mashi's eyes shone with admiration.

This Beichuan Si... indeed handled situations with astuteness.

No wonder he had survived so many encounters with the Yellow Springs.