Chapter 928 Chapter 7: Six Paths of Ksitigarbha
The group slowly stepped into the territory of Danye Mountain. The air around them seemed to freeze, and a dead silence enveloped this mysterious land.
The mountains are undulating, but there is no sign of life. The branches of the trees are as black as ink, as if they were burned by an unknown disaster, leaving traces of time.
"I heard there is a Black Spring Village in this mountain, and there are still residents there?" Leia asked with a smile, looking at the old policeman who was leading them.
"Ha...ah, yes, yes, ma'am." The old police officer obviously lacked exercise, of course, it might also be because of his old age.
He answered while panting.
"There is indeed a Black Spring Village in this mountain, but it is not the Black Spring Village in the legend. It can only be regarded as a small village rebuilt in the mountains by the descendants of Black Spring Village."
"How often does the police come to the village?" Sherlock asked.
"That village has a small population, only about a hundred households. Every six months, the police come into the village to conduct a census. I was there when they last went into the mountains, six months ago. There were a total of 107 people in the village then. Alas, I'm afraid the number is getting smaller and smaller now."
The sunlight shines through the thin clouds, but it cannot dispel the haze here.
The light reflected a dim luster on the black tree trunks, making the entire forest look even more eerie.
The leaves are no longer green, but a dead black. They no longer sway in the wind, as if even the most basic vitality has been swallowed up by the land.
Sherlock squatted under a tree and scooped up some black soil in her hands. She tried to analyze the composition of the soil, but was told that it was impossible to analyze.
She frowned.
In other words, the composition of these black soils is not among any known components.
There was a depressing atmosphere in the air. There were no birds singing, no insects chirping, and even the wind was unwilling to stay here.
Every step seemed heavy, as if the ground beneath our feet was resisting the entry of the living. People couldn't help but slow down their pace, and their eyes were filled with vigilance and uneasiness.
"Alas, this mountain looks like it's dead."
The old police officer also stopped and waited for Sherlock and the others to investigate.
He was fanning himself with his police cap, looking extremely tired.
"This damned mountain doesn't even have a road to drive on. It's so frustrating."
He couldn't help but start complaining about the mountain.
The young female police officer looked at the old police officer with some fear and said, "Captain Futian, it's better not to say such things. This mountain is very evil."
"Alas, little girl, that's what I believe. There's nothing scary in this mountain."
Yagyu was standing with the woman from the Foreign Affairs Department of the East Special Bureau, and the two seemed to be whispering something.
But these words were heard by Sherlock and Rhea, and were also transmitted to Li Muhan at the same time.
"Ms. Fang Chun, this mountain is very abnormal. I have already reported this to the Tokyo Metropolitan Special Management Bureau. What we need to do now is not to investigate, but to send more aliens to hunt down those evil spirits."
"Mr. Yagyu, you're also an alien. Don't you know that the relationship between the East Special Bureau and aliens is very delicate? We must be extremely cautious when dealing with alien cases. The East Special Bureau's attitude is very clear. If we can understand the whole story, we will try to use gentle means to investigate first."
[That is to put the lives of these people, including you, Ms. Fang Chun, in danger.]
[For Fuso, my personal safety is not a concern]
【How stupid! 】
Yagyu's voice was a little loud, and Fang Haruriko gave him a wink.
Yagyu groaned, holding the hilt of the sword at his waist and walked to the other side to be on guard.
The relationship between the East Special Bureau and the aliens is indeed very tense. Currently, there are cases of aliens causing trouble all over Fuso, and the Special Bureau is having a hard time dealing with them due to the lack of alien members.
Li Muhan said as he retrieved the archival materials from the Intelligence Department of the Huaxia Special Management Bureau.
[I can understand their caution in this matter, but I always feel that the woman is not telling the truth]
Neither Rhea nor Sherlock responded to Li Muhan, but just nodded slightly.
"Let's keep going." Sherlock put a handful of soil into a small test tube, and then the few of them continued to move forward.
They went deeper along the winding path, and the scenery around them was like a still painting, without a single change.
Black trees stood on both sides, their branches twisted and in various shapes, but all exuding an ominous aura.
Occasionally, a weak breeze blew by, carrying a few dead leaves spinning in the air, but soon returned to silence.
At this moment, the female police officer suddenly screamed as if she saw something terrible.
Yagyu immediately grasped the hilt of the knife and walked quickly to him and asked.
"What happened!?"
"That...over there."
The female police officer pointed tremblingly at a place not far ahead.
Several people looked in the direction she pointed and saw an open space in the dark woods.
Six Buddha statues stood prominently on the open space.
But what is terrifying is that these six Buddha statues all have no heads.
"The little girl has never seen the world. It's just a few stones, but you're so scared."
The old police officer said with a smile.
Rhea and Sherlock came to the open space and carefully observed the stone Buddha statues.
"I don't know when these stone Buddhas were placed here. Thirty years ago, when I first came here with Director Yang Yi, these Buddha statues still had heads."
The old policeman, holding his waist, walked to the Buddha statue and introduced it to several people.
"These six are the famous Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statues. Look, from left to right, they correspond to the six realms of existence."
"The Bodhisattva of the Hell Realm, the Bodhisattva of the Hungry Ghost Realm, the Bodhisattva of the Ratna Seal in the Animal Realm, the Bodhisattva of the Asura Realm, the Bodhisattva of the Earthly Deity in the Human Realm, and the Bodhisattva of the Sunlight Ksitigarbha."
Sherlock smiled at the old police officer and said, "You know quite a lot about Buddhism."
The old police officer smiled and waved his hand: "I don't believe in these things, but for some reason, Director Yang is a big believer in Buddhism. He tells me about these things every day, and I've been influenced by them."
"When were these stone Buddhas beheaded?"
"It was not long after I first came here, about a year later. Yes, it was around 1994. Yes, it was 1994."
"How do you remember it so clearly?" Leia asked with a smile.
The old police officer thought for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer, so Sherlock spoke directly.
"Because in 1994, another big thing happened in Tannoyama, right?"
The old policeman came to his senses immediately after this reminder.
"Yes, yes, yes! It was a day in 1994. I remember it very clearly. Suddenly one day, I heard Director Yang Yi summon all of us to go into the mountains. I heard that several university students had disappeared. Alas, after searching for a whole month, they only found four headless corpses and a crazy female university student."
"Then I saw the heads of the six stone Buddhas had been chopped off. When Director Yang Yi saw this, he knelt down on the spot. I don't know if he was scared or angry, but his body kept shaking and he kept muttering something like... Amitabha Amitabha."
In 1955, a folklore professor was murdered in Danye Mountain. In 1993, Director Yang Yi claimed to have encountered a female university student who had escaped from the mountain. In 1994, five university students disappeared in Danye Mountain, four of whom died and one went insane.
Li Muhan said on the other side of the screen.
Suddenly, he thought of something.
[Leya, check the current situation of the crazy female college student. Sherlock, please use Director Yang Yi's diary to see if there is any female college student who went missing in 1993 and happened to be traveling to Tanye Mountain.]
Rhea and Sherlock remained calm, but were already doing what Li Muhan had instructed them to do.
Soon the two looked at each other and gave Li Muhan a report.
In 1993, a female college student from Kagoshima University did disappear in Isehara, and her parents reported the case, but the child returned to school a month later.
She claimed that she eloped with her boyfriend, but ran back in shame after being abandoned.
So the police dropped the case.
The student's name is Suzuna Haru.
What really made Li Muhan shudder was that the only female college student who survived from Mount Tanno in 1994 was Suzuna Haru.
The day after being rescued, she died at Isehara City Hospital from biting off a blood vessel in her wrist.
[Somewhat interesting...]
"That's interesting..."
Li Muhan and Sherlock said this almost at the same time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com