After that, Shizuku drove back to the office, and seeing her come back, Hinasaki Shinku, Shizumi Hisahisa and others came to greet her.

"Welcome back."

"I'm back...what's up?"

"Yes."

Hearing Shizuku's question, Hinasaki nodded deeply, and then she brought over a cardboard box.

"This is a letter that was just sent by Ms. Aso Misaki."

"oh……?"

Shizuku curiously took the letter and opened it, then looked at the contents. Inside was a photo and several pieces of letter paper, the main content of which was Aso Misaki telling about their life after returning and their next plans, and also attached a photo - Aso Misaki, Tsukimori Sonaka and Mizunoe Ryuka all had smiling faces, and it was obvious that the things they experienced on Oborozuki Island did not have much impact on them.

As for the cardboard box...

"I found this when I was sorting out the branch family's warehouse. It's something left behind by our ancestor Kunihiko Aso. I don't think we will need it anymore, so I'll leave it to you, Miss Kasugano."

I see.

"Is it Mr. Aso Kunihiko's legacy?"

After listening to Shizuku read the letter, Hinasaki Shinku was also quite surprised. Although she knew nothing about this person before, after learning that Aso Kunihiko was the inventor of the projector, she also became interested in him. But she didn't expect that Aso Misaki would actually send her ancestors' things here... Obviously, she didn't intend to have anything to do with this kind of thing again.

Out of curiosity, everyone opened the cardboard box and found that most of the items inside were records and photos, as well as some diagrams and parts of the projector. Obviously, Dr. Kunihiko Aso was an inventor - of course, if he were in modern times, he would be just a folk scientist.

According to the above records, Shizuku did find some clues... Kunihiko Aso himself had never been to Minamigami Village, but he mentioned in the records that his good friend Seijiro Makabe planned to go to Minamigami Village to investigate the mysterious ritual, so he asked him to borrow a camera.

As for the Himuro residence, Kunihiko Aso went there after learning about the Himuro tragedy. He originally wanted to find five pieces of the divine mirror and piece them together into a lens to seal the undead, but unfortunately he was unlucky and his skills were not good. He only found one piece and was beaten out by Himuro Kirie.

As for the matter of the Sleeping House, it was not mentioned above, but it was indeed written later that he went to Longyue Island to get married and have children there...

"Ding Ling Ling..."

Just at this moment, the phone rang. Shizuku put down the record at hand and picked up the phone. Soon, Kurosawa Rei's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hello, this is Kurosawa. Is Miss Kasugano here?"

"I'm here, what's the matter, Miss Lian?"

"Ah, Miss Shizuku!"

Hearing Shizuku's voice, Kurosawa Rei's voice suddenly became excited.

"Listen to me, the photos I took earlier have already been confirmed to be published in the magazine!"

"Oh, you mean the one from Longyue Island..."

After hearing what Kurosawa Rei said, Shizuku remembered that Kurosawa Rei's main job was a freelance photographer who specialized in photographing things related to urban legends. The previous Sleeping House was the result of her seeking death after hearing the rumors. According to Kurosawa Rei, she had connections with several supernatural magazines, and every time she took a photo, she would show it to them, and if there were any good ones, they would be published.

"Yes, the editor-in-chief praised the photos highly, saying that they were taken very well, as if the evil spirits in the photos were about to attack the readers..."

This is not nonsense, because it is the fact.

"So, that... after the editor-in-chief learned about the incident on Longyue Island, he planned to use the photos I took as material to publish an album about Longyue Island... You see..."

"I don't mind, but you should discuss it with Aso Misaki and Mizunoe Ryuka. I don't think they would like this experience to be published in an entertainment magazine and treated as anecdotes."

"Okay, I understand."

Hearing this, Kurosawa Rei suddenly became serious.

"I will discuss this issue with Ms. Aso and the others. By the way, Ms. Shizuku, if something similar happens again, don't forget to call me."

"That's good."

In response to Kurosawa Rei's words, Shizuku smiled slightly and glanced at the information bag next to her.

"I just received a commission and need to go to Rishang Mountain to deal with some matters there. Do you want to come with me?"

"Hey? Rijouyama? The suicide shrine?!"

However, to Shizuku's surprise, after hearing the name of this place, Kurosawa Rei screamed.

"You know? Well... considering your profession, it's not surprising that you know."

"Of course, Miss Shizuku, she's quite famous in our circle... Wahhhh, please wait for me. I remember that I have a distant relative who should live there. I will contact her and ask her to take us up the mountain. Please wait for me!!"

All along, Kurosawa Rei gave Shizuku the impression of being a very stable adult. It was no wonder that compared to Hinasaki Shinku, who was still a high school student, and the Amakura sisters, who were still junior high school students, Kurosawa Rei was already a working person in society, and usually behaved very calmly. But just now, she looked like a fan who heard that Jackson was going to have a concert...

After Kurosawa Rei hung up the phone, Shizuku also called the Amakura sisters and said that she would be going out soon. However, what she didn't expect was that after hearing the name of Hikariyama, Amakura became excited - according to her, when she was possessed by Kurosawa Yae in Minamigami Village, she read Kurosawa Yae's memory, and the name Hikariyama was also in that memory!

Oh, could it be that this Jieshen Village has some connection with Rishang Mountain?

Hearing this, Shizuku immediately became interested. Considering that letting one sheep go is also driving a flock of sheep, she also agreed to take the Amakura sisters to Mt. Hijo.

Since Shizuku's car can only seat four people, she plans to take Hinasaki Shinku and the Amagura sisters to Mt. Hijo, and Shizuku leaves the three monsters to look after the house. Setsuna is not very familiar with the situation in the human world, and Kagami no Kirie is unwilling to deal with troublesome things. Fortunately, Shizuku is sensible and obedient, so it shouldn't be a problem to let her take charge.

"Well, Crimson, please pack up the things in this box and put them in the warehouse. We'll sort out the rest when we get back from Rishang Mountain."

"Okay, Shizuku-nee... Eh? What is this?"

At this moment, Hinasaki Shinku seemed to have found something in the paper box. She reached out curiously, took out a small cloth bag from it, opened it, and then... took out a handful of white hair from the pocket.

"Is this... hair?"

Looking at the white hair tied up in front of her, Hinasaki's face turned red with surprise.

“Could it be Mr. Aso Kunihiko’s hair?”

"Is it true? You can tell by just taking a look."

As she spoke, Shizuku reached out her hand and placed it on Hinasaki's deep red white hair.

Then the next moment, the picture changes.

This happened in the very distant past.

A long time ago, in a village, a girl was born with white hair and red eyes, as if she was cursed. In fact, since the white-haired girl was old enough to understand, the children in the village were unwilling to play with her, saying that she was a cursed monster.

However, among these people, there was only one boy who was not afraid of the girl with white hair and red eyes.

They played together and had a happy time together.

However, happy times are always short-lived.

Finally, the people of that village decided to offer the white-haired girl as a sacrifice. She would be locked in a dark box and sunk to the bottom of the water, used as a human pillar to suppress the resentment and ghosts in the mountains.

This has been done for generations in this area.

But that was not the end of the story for the girls who were locked in the box and sunk into the water.

In the dark water, their time will stop, and they will remain in their original appearance forever. In return for their sacrifice of life, they can marry the man they love in a ghost marriage. Even if it is only for one night, it is a comfort to the girls who have suppressed their wronged souls.

The white-haired girl also decided that she would only have one partner in her secret marriage.

He is the boy who is not afraid of rumors and is willing to be with me... Only he is the prince charming in my mind.

The final moment has arrived.

The girl turned her back to the boy and asked him to cut off a lock of her hair. When he went up the mountain again with the lock of hair, the two would hold a secret marriage and become husband and wife. Then, with the hope for the future, the white-haired girl fell into the wooden box and was completely swallowed by the black water...

“——!”

Hinasaki Shinku and Shizuku opened their eyes and let go of the white hair at the same time.

“Is this the girl’s hair?”

Hinasaki stared at the white hair in front of her with a complicated expression, but she was not stupid. According to what she had seen before, the girl and the boy agreed that the boy would take the hair up the mountain and complete the secret marriage ceremony with her.

However, now this strand of hair is here, which means... the boy did not fulfill his promise.

"That boy must be Kunihiko Aso, right? I didn't expect that a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes would actually be a scumbag...tsk tsk tsk tsk."

At this point, Shizuku couldn't help but shook her head, and Hinasaki's red face didn't look very good. After all, according to their previous experiences, whether it was Sohō Ryōzō who married Kurosawa Yae, or the folklorist who was in love with Kuze Reika, they were all infatuated and deeply in love.

As a result, as their predecessor, Kunihiko Aso is actually a scumbag who takes advantage of everything and refuses to admit his mistakes?

"Now...what should we do, Shizuku-nee?"

Looking at the white hair, Hinasaki's deep red expression was quite complicated. After all, according to the memories they had just read, the place where the white-haired girl was sunk into the water as a human pillar was not somewhere else, but the Hijo Mountain where they were about to go. In other words, the white-haired girl was very likely still waiting for the boy to appear in front of her for so many years.

"Anyway, let's go first and talk about it later."

Shizuku took the strand of white hair and looked at it, then sighed and put it back into her pocket.

"…I really want to call Aso Misaki over now. It would be more appropriate for her to repay the debt of love owed to her ancestors…"

After learning the truth behind this, and thinking about the fact that Kunihiko Aso actually got married and had children on Oborozuki Island... wow, he is such a scumbag.

I never thought that you, Kunihiko Aso, would be such a Chen Shimei!