Soon, based on what they saw in the flashback, the two arrived at the site of the underground ceremony beneath the Himuro residence.
“It is this door.”
Looking at the tall stone gate in front of her, Hinasaki Shinku seemed both nervous and excited. Of course, she still remembered that in the flashback she clearly saw that Sokata Ryozo seemed to have discovered the secret of the Himuro residence, and then came here. The moment Sokata Ryozo opened the stone gate, countless white hands stretched out from inside, grabbed him, and pulled him in.
This also means that...
"Ms. Shizuku, that female ghost is in here too!"
Looking at Hinasaki Shinku holding a camera and staring at the stone gate fiercely, those who knew her would think she was exorcising a ghost, while those who didn't would think that it was a wife bringing people to catch her husband and his mistress having sex.
Although for Shizuku, it's almost the same.
"I'm not sure. I don't sense any spiritual power... Anyway, let's go in and take a look first."
"But how do we open this door?"
Faced with the heavy stone door in front of her, Hinasaki Shinko couldn't help but feel a little at a loss. This stone door was about five meters high and was made entirely of stone. It was extremely heavy. Hinasaki Shinko had tried to push it, but couldn't push it at all.
"There seems to be a device next to it. Do we need to find something and put it on it to open the stone door?"
“That’s not necessary.”
Hearing Hinasaki's deep red words, Shizuku shook her head, then she tightly grasped Frostmourne and looked towards the stone gate.
Then there was a flash of sword light.
"boom!!!"
The next moment, accompanied by the flashing sword light, the solid and heavy stone door was scattered all over the ground like tofu that had been cut, and Shizuku also retracted the sword and breathed a sigh of relief.
It feels so comfortable...
Although I don’t know who created this star seed, at least the other party doesn’t have the same hobby of puzzles as the Goddess of the Sky, otherwise I would have to find the key to open the door, which would be really annoying!
"Miss Shizuku is really amazing..."
Seeing this, Hinasaki Shinku could not help but sigh, although she already knew that Shizuku was very powerful. But watching a petite girl easily chop the huge five-meter-high stone door into pieces, this shock was much stronger than Shizuku wielding a big sword to slay demons before.
"let's go."
Shizuku swung the greatsword and walked in with Hinasaki Shinkuro.
Behind the stone gate was a deep passage. Not long after they walked, they saw a skinny corpse in a kimono at the edge of the passage. Needless to say, this was the person they saw in the flashback, the one who was caught in the stone gate. When the two arrived, the corpse seemed to have some kind of reaction, and a strange and twisted aura emerged from it and gradually took shape.
"Ryozo Munakata, wake up."
Just like before, Shizuku stretched out her finger and flicked the sword tip. There was a crisp sound, and then the distorted spiritual energy began to become clearer. Then, the shadow of a man appeared in front of the two of them.
"I never thought that I could still wake up..."
The man muttered to himself as he looked around, then at the two men.
"I don't know who you are, but since you are able to come here, I think you already know something about what's going on here..."
"No, we're just stopping by."
Shizuku answered the man's question silently.
"But we know that you have been studying the secrets of Himuro Residence. I think you should know about the evil spirits in this place and the woman in white."
"Oh, of course, of course..."
Perhaps because they were talking about the topic of folklore, which he loved, Sokata Ryozo suddenly became excited.
"Yes, I have investigated it thoroughly! What exactly happened in the tragedy that happened in Himuro Residence that year, and what is the secret of Himuro Residence!!"
Next, under the chattering of Sokata Ryozo's ghost, Shizuku and Hinasaki Shinku also learned the deepest secret hidden in this mansion.
According to Sohō Ryōzō, there is a gate to the underworld below the Himuro residence. Once this gate is opened, miasma will cover everything, eliminating the boundary between life and death, and turning the entire world into hell. The Himuro family is the guardian of this gate. In order to avoid the disaster of miasma pouring in when the gate is opened, they have been guarding this gate and sealing it.
This sealing ceremony requires several steps.
The first is the "Mekakushi no Oni". The Himuro family will choose a girl and put a mask with spikes covering the eyes on her face, blinding her eyes and making her a "Mekakushi no Oni".
Next, the Mekakushi Demon will play a "ghost tour" or hide-and-seek with all the seven-year-old girls in the Himuro family in a room. The demon is played by a blinded girl, and the other girls need to escape from the Mekakushi Demon.
According to records, this is not an ordinary game, but a ceremony to select the Rope Maiden.
In the game, the first girl caught by the Mekakushi oni will become the next Mekakushi oni, and the last girl caught will become the rope maiden - because according to the records of the Himuro family, the last girl caught by the Mekakushi oni possesses the most powerful spiritual power, which can be used to seal the gate to the underworld.
After that, the chosen Rope Maiden will never be allowed to step out of the Himuro family's door, and will be locked in the room like under house arrest. Ten years later, when the Rope Maiden is seventeen years old, the rope-breaking ceremony to seal the gate to the underworld will begin.
The rope-breaking ceremony itself is very simple. In fact, it is similar to the chariot-breaking ceremony, except that horses and chariots are not used. The people of the Himuro family will tie special ropes around the hands, feet and neck of the rope maiden, and then wrap the other side of the rope around a mechanism, and then rotate and pull it hard to tear the body of the rope maiden apart. The ropes used to pull the rope maiden are then used as props to seal the gate to the underworld.
The Rope Maiden was required not to have any attachment to the human world - this was also the reason why they placed the Rope Maiden under house arrest. When a person had been locked up in a small dark room for ten years, she probably wouldn't have any particular hope for life or death.
“That’s too much…”
Listening to Sohō Ryozo's story, Hinasaki Shinkuen covered her mouth with her hands and showed a disgusted expression.
"Why, why do you have to do such a cruel thing? Is there no other way?"
"In theory, the Himuro clan's approach is indeed valid."
Shizuku thought for a moment and gave an answer.
"Extreme pain can cause a person to burst out with strength far beyond normal, and this is especially true for children with higher spiritual power. Although I don't know where the Himuro clan learned this method from, at least it is indeed effective."
"But, but they can find someone to help."
Hinasaki Shinkuen obviously still didn't understand.
"There should be many exorcists like you in the world, Miss Shizuku. Can't they go find a miko or a monk and ask them to help seal the gate to the underworld? In this way, wouldn't they not have to sacrifice those girls so cruelly?"
"Ancient Japan was quite closed, and they probably never thought about it..."
Shizuku spread her hands helplessly. What a joke! There is only one exorcist like her in the entire history of the earth... where can you find one more?
After learning the secret of the Himuro family, the tragedy of the Himuro residence becomes understandable.
Obviously, the rope-breaking ritual failed, the Yellow Spring Gate opened, and the miasma poured out. According to the following records, in order to seal the Yellow Spring Gate, the patriarch of the Himuro family killed everyone in the family and used their wronged souls to suppress the miasma of the Yellow Spring Gate.
Ultimately, this approach was successful, but because of it, all the members of the Himuro family turned into underworld evil spirits and were bound here forever.
"Although what he did is not worthy of praise, I have to say that this Himuro clan leader is really awesome."
Hearing this, Shizuku couldn't help but praise it. Indeed, those rituals were barbaric and bloody, but the Himuro clan really cared about the world. Even when the ritual failed in the end, they did not choose to give up, but used the lives of their entire clan to protect the world from being eroded by the Yellow Springs miasma... To be honest, you really can't simply judge this approach by right or wrong.
The same is true in modern society. For example, if a virus is leaked, the entire laboratory must be closed and no one is allowed to leave. Although it is unfair to the people in the laboratory, it is at least better than the virus being completely leaked and spread to the whole world.
Of course, if it were the United States, they would definitely only care about saving their own lives, and would not care about the life and death of others.
After all, freedom is the most important thing in the world. If you don't have freedom, you would rather die. It is only natural even if you have to drag the whole world with you to be buried with you.
Although Japan is almost the same, there are still some stubborn people. They are not ashamed of it but proud of it, thinking that they have done nothing wrong for freedom... just like those guys who escaped from the quarantine zone in the zombie movie.
If there is also a Gate to the Underworld in the United States, then Shizuku wouldn't mind using the entire United States to suppress it.
"So, is that female ghost in white also the Rope Maiden?"
Hinasaki Shinkuro still remembers that the female ghost in white seemed to have ropes tied on her hands and feet.
"Yes, she should be the last Rope Priestess Himuro Kirie..."
"Why?"
听到宗方良藏的回答，雏咲深红顿时惊叫起来。
“可冰室雾绘不是一个小女孩吗？”
“……”
然而宗方良藏并没有回答雏咲深红的问题，他在把自己的研究全部告知之后，似乎也是心愿已了，渐渐消失在了空气之中。
“走吧。”
雏咲深红跟着雫继续前进，一路上她们也遇到了不少冰室家的冤魂。正如宗方良藏所说，当时仪式失败，冰室家很多人都死在了这里，眼下他们都变成了冤魂，无差别的攻击着任何一个敢于踏入冰室家禁地的人。
但是对于雫来说，这自然不是问题。
只见她举起霜之哀伤，下一刻女妖们就哀嚎着冲了过去，把眼前的冤魂给撕成了碎片。毕竟双方的等级摆在那里，女妖可是等于全副武装的正规军，而这些冤魂撑死了也就是民兵组织，还没有什么武器装备，双方正面交锋，自然是一边倒的直接被打翻在地了。
然而，当两人走到尽头的时候，却是傻了眼。
只见通道的另外一头已经彻底坍塌，被碎石掩埋了起来，这条路明显是被彻底堵住了。
然而就在这个时候，雏咲深红却是看见了一个熟悉的身影。
“哥哥！！！”
一面大喊着，雏咲深红一面扑到碎石堆前，透过上面的小洞向着对面望去，只见在小孔的对面，雏咲真冬默默的站在那里，一言不发的背对着雏咲深红。
“哥哥！哥哥！你能听到我说话吗？哥哥！回答我啊！！”
然而雏咲真冬像是完全没听到雏咲深红的呼叫一般，径直向前走去，然后消失在了雏咲深红的视线之中。
“……哥哥……”
看着哥哥离开，雏咲深红顿时瘫倒在地，给人的感觉就好像是被男友抛弃的前女友一样……
好像有什么不对？
算了，也没什么不对的。
“他不在我们的空间，我们走！追上去！”
雫一把抓住雏咲深红，接着右手握紧霜之哀伤，对着眼前塌方的石堆用力一刺，很快，眼前的碎石堆瞬间爆裂，化为了一个黑暗的洞穴，随后两人迅速跳入其中。接着雏咲深红眼前光辉一闪，下一刻她就离开了狭窄的洞窟，来到了一个环境幽雅的庭院。
“这里……”
雏咲深红向着四周望去，可以看见四周的竹林，假山和池塘。不管怎么说冰室家族也是大户人家，别的不说，这庭院肯定不会太落魄。
但是和之前一样，这里依旧是漆黑一片，像是陷入了无底的黑夜之中。
不过雏咲深红也发现，眼前的冰室邸和之前又有些不一样了。
最开始她们来到的冰室邸，看起来像是濒临坍塌，年久失修的危房。
接下来雫带着雏咲深红穿越到宗方良藏的那个冰室邸，虽然有些破旧，但依旧还维持着房子的功能。
而现在这个冰室邸——除去没有人之外，其他地方简直就和普通的住宅没有什么区别。
“深红小姐。”
“我明白。”
有了两次经验，雏咲深红当然也不会再犹豫，她点了点头，然后伸出手去按住旁边的墙壁，随后一只手握住了雫的手。事实上，这个时候的雏咲深红内心深处甚至还浮现出了几抹期望，当雫握住自己的手，贴住自己的额头，感受着那温暖的力量进入自己身体时的感觉，让雏咲深红感到无比的亲切和渴望。
很快，当那股舒服的感觉再次出现时，雏咲深红眼前的场景又一次改变。
这一次，她们看到了冰室家族的历史。
按照雫的说法，只有最激烈的情感和记忆，才能够存留在物品之中，因此她们倒是不需要看冰室家族成员的吃喝拉撒。很快，她们就找到了仪式的现场，看到了仪式——她们看着穿着白色和服的女子被压进房间，为首戴着鬼面具的男子高高举起目隐之鬼的面具，对着眼前的少女用力按下，伴随着一声惨叫，少女的脸上就被戴上了面具，而插在面具眼部的两把尖刀，也刺穿了她的眼睛。
“好残忍……”
虽然之前已经宗方良藏说过，但是亲眼目睹这个仪式，还是让雏咲深红感到难受。
而在这之后的，就是捉鬼游戏了。
一个少女带着一群小女孩在房间里捉迷藏，虽然看起来很其乐融融的样子，但是想想这也是仪式的一部分，就显然不那么让人感到愉快了。
而最终，目隐之鬼抓住了最后一个女孩，也是之前雫和雏咲深红所见过的——冰室雾绘。
接下来，等待这个七岁女孩的，就是长达十年的囚禁。
“……为什么他们要这么做？”
看着眼前被关在房间里的冰室雾绘，看着这个原本活泼可爱的小女孩逐渐变成了一个沉默寡言的少女，雏咲深红忍不住开口询问道，而雫则摇了摇头。
“简单来说，这算是他们对牺牲者的最后一丝怜悯？”
“怜悯？这是怜悯吗？”
“当然。”
雫点了点头。
“我们都知道，绳之巫女是必然要死的，但是死亡对任何一个人来说都不是一件美丽的事情。如果她知道了这个世界的美好，那么必然会对这个世界产生留恋，这样一来她肯定不愿意去死。所以他们要麻醉这个女孩的精神，让她对于死亡无所畏惧。说白了，这其实就和做手术前要打麻药，让你没有感觉，这样才能够进行手术。”
雫对着雏咲深红解释了一句，再次望向眼前。
“只不过，对于这个女孩来说，这是长达十年的麻醉期罢了。”
很快，时间一晃而过，马上就到冰室雾绘十七岁的时候。
而这一年，也是她要成为绳之巫女，牺牲自己进行仪式的时候。
如果一切正常的话，那么就不会有任何问题。
然而，命运却在这时改变了。
一个异乡人来到了冰室邸做客，他在庭院中散步时，无意中与透过窗户看着外面世界的冰室雾绘对视，而看到异乡人的冰室雾绘吓的急忙缩回身体，不敢乱动。
与此同时，雫和雏咲深红也看清了那个异乡人的模样。
那正是……
“哥哥？！！”
看着窗外穿着和服，一副时代剧里出场人物打扮的雏咲真冬，雏咲深红目瞪口呆，说不出话。
在这之后，展现在两人面前的，是一场恋爱时代剧。
第一次看到异乡人，让冰室雾绘紧张不已，脸红心跳。
第二次两人见面，是冰室雾绘出外散步的时候，与异乡人再次见面，两人聊了起来。这是冰室雾绘第一次和外面的人聊天，相当的高兴。
接下又一天，异乡人来到了冰室雾绘所在的房间，把她放了出来，两人谈天说地，寻花问柳（字面意义），好不快活。
而在这之后，神官也发现了这件事，冰室雾绘被要求不准再出去，而那个异乡人则再次出现，来到她的房间里和她聊天。
随后两人一起在庭院中漫步，欣赏着樱花……
看着眼前发生的这一切，雏咲深红的面色是及其复杂，虽然她也知道，这个人肯定不是自己的哥哥。但是长着和哥哥一样的脸的男人，在和一个自己不认识的女人这么兴高采烈的打情骂俏，你侬我侬……雏咲深红现在真的感觉自己头上有点儿绿色了。
这自然引起了冰室家族成员的不安，要知道他们之所以要把绳之巫女囚禁十年，就是为了断绝她对外界和生存的思念。但是看她现在这个红光满面，一脸幸福的样子，哪儿像是个要去死的人？
这样一来，仪式可能就会失败啊！
于是为了永绝后患，冰室家的人悄悄杀死了异乡人，把他的尸体扔进了水池里，接着告诉冰室雾绘异乡人已经离开了。
然而冰室雾绘又不是傻瓜，她可是拥有相当强大灵力的，她也察觉到了神官们的谎言，为异乡人的死伤心落泪。显然，冰室雾绘也知道，如果不是自己的话，那么异乡人也就不会死了。
于是，仪式理所当然的失败了。
冰室雾绘内心深处的仇恨，对现世的不舍与悲伤玷污了仪式，黄泉之门的封印失败，绳子断裂，随后，打开的黄泉之门内的瘴气飞快涌出，吞噬了一切，不但在仪式上用来封印的神镜破碎，而整个冰室邸也全部变成了死地。
接下来，就是侥幸生还的冰室族长知道大势已去，但是他依旧拿起武器，杀死了其余的族人，用他们的灵魂与鲜血镇压住了瘴气的扩散，最后他在大厅里自杀身亡。
“真是太残忍了。”
来到仪式现场，看着眼前摆放着的，血迹斑斑的圆形石台，以及四周那五个机关，雏咲深红还是忍不住低声说道。在这里用绳子绑上少女的手脚和脖颈，转动机关将其活生生扯断……这么残忍的事情，雏咲深红可完全无法想象。
“现在我们总算明白，为什么她对你哥哥恋恋不舍了，看来不仅仅是脸好。”
Shizuku complained silently beside her, and Hinasaki's deep red face became even weirder.
“Ugh… even though I say that…”
"Don't you feel sorry for her?"
"Of course I feel sorry for her, but...but these are two different things!"
In response to Shizuku's question, Hinasaki Shinku hesitated for a moment, but finally gave an answer.
"No matter what, she's dead, but my brother is still alive. Besides, even if they look alike, they're still different people! In short, this is absolutely not possible!"
Well, there is no cure for brother complex.
Soon, the two of them crossed the ritual platform and came to the innermost gate of the underworld. There, they saw Hinasaki Mafuyu standing in front of the gate of the underworld.
"elder brother!!"
Seeing Hinasaki Mafuyu, Hinasaki Shinku hurriedly shouted and ran over. However, at this moment, the female ghost in white appeared behind Hinasaki Mafuyu again and hugged him tightly in her arms.
"Let my brother go!"
"Deep red..."
Hearing Hinasaki Shinhong's voice, Hinasaki Mafuyu slowly raised his hand, but this time, the female ghost suddenly grabbed him and stuffed him forcefully into her body.
"From now on, we will always be together..."
"Let him go, he is my brother, not your lover!!"
As she spoke, Hinasaki Shinku also raised her camera and pressed the shutter button hard at the white-clothed female ghost. Soon, a white light flashed, and then the female ghost screamed, but even so, she did not give up on Hinasaki Mafuyu. On the contrary, dozens of arms suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed Hinasaki Shinku!
"Ah, I knew this family ethics drama would end in a fight."
At the same time, with a sigh, Shizuku swung the Frostmourne in her hand downwards, easily cutting off the arm of the white-clothed female ghost that was reaching out to Hinasaki Shinku. The white-clothed female ghost screamed and stepped back after being severely injured. Then she raised her head fiercely and glared at Shizuku and Hinasaki Shinku in front of her.
"I say, you should return your brother to him. After all, you are not Nie Xiaoqian, and this is not Lanruo Temple. If you are willing to give up, then I can still give you a quick death."
"No……"
However, in the face of Shizuku's advice, the white-clothed female ghost obviously did not intend to listen.
"He's mine...mine...! We'll be together forever!!!"
Along with the screams of the female ghost in white, countless ghosts from all directions soon flew towards the two of them. They were all people who died in the tragedy at Himuro residence, and now, they have all become part of Himuro Kirie's wronged soul.
"That can't be helped."
Looking at the scene in front of her, Shizuku sighed helplessly, then she raised Frostmourne in her hand high.
The cold wind is howling.
With Frostmourne as the center, the bone-chilling cold wind swirled and exploded, spreading out like a huge whirlpool. Soon, all the evil spirits were sucked into the whirlpool, and with unwilling screams, they were sucked into the sword of Frostmourne. Even the white arms on Himuro Kirie's body were torn apart. The invisible force pulled those arms and directly separated them from Himuro Kirie's body - then tore them into pieces and disappeared into the sword of Frostmourne.
When everything disappeared again, the female ghost in white in front of him had turned back into the appearance of Himuro Kirie, while Hinasaki Mafuyu was standing behind her with a pale face.
"elder brother!!!"
This time, seeing her brother, Hinasaki Shinku hurried to his side and looked at him anxiously. Hinasaki Mafuyu opened her eyes and smiled at Hinasaki Shinku.
At the same time, in front of Himuro Kirie who collapsed on the ground, the girl in kimono appeared again - it was Himuro Kirie when she was a child.
She stretched out her hand and pointed at the dark doorway behind her.
"Remember your mission."
After saying this, the girl slowly disappeared, and after hearing the girl's words, Himuro Kirie's eyes gradually regained clarity. She stood up, walked to the black tunnel, turned her head, looked at everyone, and finally, she cast her gaze on Shizuku.
"Please, help me seal the gate to the underworld completely."
"You mean...you want to close the door and let me destroy it completely?"
Hearing Himuro Kirie's request, Shizuku raised her eyebrows, and hearing what they said, Hinasaki Mafuyu and Hinasaki Shinku showed puzzled expressions.
"What's going on? Miss Shizuku? What are you talking about?"
“It’s very simple.”
Looking at the brother and sister, Shizuku decided to explain to them.
"Originally, this ritual was only a temporary seal. Otherwise, there would be no need to offer sacrifices every few decades. But now all the members of the Himuro family are dead. Even if we continue the ritual now, it will only seal the door for a few more decades at most. Then it will open due to the weakening of the seal. This time, no one will be able to seal the door to the underworld."
"Then, what should we do?"
After hearing Shizuku's explanation, the brother and sister turned pale. They only now realized that this was indeed a problem.
"The way to make a door useless is to destroy it forever. When it is no longer a door, it no longer has the ability to be 'opened'."
Having said this, Shizuku looked at Himuro Kirie again.
"So, Himuro Kirie will close the door from the inside, and then I will completely smash it from the outside. In this way, this will no longer be the entrance to the underworld, and there will be no need to worry about any problems."
"Yes."
Himuro Kirie also nodded at this moment.
"It is my mission to close this door."
As she spoke, Himuro Kirie raised her hands, and with her movements, the half-open gate to the underworld slowly closed. Then, the ropes that were originally tied to the stones suddenly sprang up, tied up Himuro Kirie's hands, and hung her in front of the gate to the underworld.
Having said that, Himuro Kirie looked at Hinasaki Mafuyu and smiled at him.
"Thank you, it's enough for us to have this memory."
After saying this, Himuro Kirie looked at Shizuku and nodded slightly to her.
"I'll leave it to you."
"I see."
After hearing what Himuro Kirie said, Shizuku raised Frostmourne in her hand again.
Soon, the runes on the pitch-black sword lit up one by one and turned into a dazzling blue light. Then Shizuku grasped the sword tightly with both hands and swung it hard at Himuro Kirie in front of her and the Gate of Hell behind her!
“Shua——!!!”
The sword flashed.
The next moment, the gate to the underworld behind Himuro Kirie suddenly broke into two halves, and then was sucked into the endless dark void behind her. At the same time, Himuro Kirie, who was tied to a rope, was also sucked into the deep underworld along with the broken door.
But at this moment... Hinasaki Mafuyu, who was originally standing next to him, suddenly ran forward, then he suddenly leaped up, and rushed into the dark and deep tunnel along with the cold howling wind, and hugged Himuro Kirie who was tied to the door panel tightly.
"elder brother?!"
This scene shocked Hinasaki Shinku and she screamed in a hurry, while Hinasaki Mafuyu turned her head and looked at her sister.
"I'm sorry, Crimson, I still can't let her go."
"What are you talking about? Come back soon, brother!!!"
Hinasaki Shinku hurried forward, but at this moment the swirling rubble had begun to gradually fill up the entire tunnel, and she had no way of getting close.
“This is something only I can do.”
Holding Himuro Kirie tightly, Hinasaki Mafuyu looked at her sister and then at Shizuku.
"I'm sorry, sister, I'll...please."
Along with these words, Hinasaki Mafuyu's figure disappeared at the end of the Yellow Spring. At the same time, the last stone directly blocked the passage to the Yellow Spring and turned into an extremely solid stone wall.
"elder brother……!!!"
At this time, Hinasaki Shinku threw herself against the stone wall and burst into tears.
Shizuku, who had put down Frostmourne, was also stunned when she saw this scene.
Forget about your sister when you see a beautiful woman? Don't care about your sister when you have a girlfriend?
Is there such an operation?!
At this moment, looking at Hinasaki Shinhong crying bitterly, Shizuku was completely speechless.