Chapter 488 I Naturally Have My Reasons
Near the Kenji Shrine, there is a stretch of mountains.
The mountain is not very wide or high, and it is a place where children from Suizhi Town can go up and play when they have nothing to do.
It is not difficult to enter the mountain. You only need to take a simple walk to reach the path leading to the mountain. There are rivers, clear springs, wild vegetables, wild rabbits and pheasants, and even wild boars deep in the mountain. Therefore, as long as you don’t go too deep, even adults will not stop children from going up the mountain to play.
When he was young, Aize went up the mountain with Ma Ting Luhua, Kurama Rentaro, Kurama Koharu and others, where they picked wild fruits and vegetables, chased pheasants and rabbits, played in the river, fished, and dug bamboo shoots and mushrooms. So that place is one of the childhood memories of Aize and others.
The only danger Aize had ever encountered in the mountains was when he went deep into the mountains to test his own strength and encountered a ferocious wild boar.
But under normal circumstances, wild boars will not come outside and be encountered by people, so for the people of Suiori, going into the mountains is not a big deal.
However, at this moment, when Aize proposed to go into the mountains, Cong Yu's reaction was very intense.
"No! Master, you can't go up the mountain at this time!"
Cong Yu was frightened out of her wits.
It was a look of panic that Aize had never seen before.
"Why?" Aize seemed to have seen through something, and said to Cong Yu calmly: "When I was a child, I often went up the mountain with Lian Tailang and others."
The implication is that this is not worth Cong Yu making a fuss about.
However, Cong Yu said anxiously: "It's okay during the day, but it's very dangerous to go up the mountain after dark. Absolutely not!"
That's true.
Going up the mountain after dark is strictly prohibited even by the adults in Suizhi Town, let alone children. Aize and others were often warned by adults when they were young and were ordered not to go up the mountain after dark.
But it was precisely because of this that Aize was so sure.
"Something should appear on the mountain after dark, right?" Aize pointed out calmly, "That should be the secret of Hoori that you have been hiding, right?"
"...Why can the master be so sure?" Cong Yu seemed to be hesitant to speak, and then said: "We didn't say anything, why did you know there was something in the mountain and insisted on going up the mountain?"
The answer to this question is actually very simple.
"Although you haven't said too many details yet, based on your conversation so far, it is certain that Hoori's secret must be hiding some danger, so you... or Miss Asatake is so reluctant to involve me."
Aize expressed his thoughts so far.
"I don't know what the danger is, but since you all said that I might be sucked in after I pulled out Cong Yu Wan, it means that it is a danger that requires Cong Yu Wan's power to eliminate."
"And what other dangers can we eliminate with a sword, other than powerful enemies?"
"Perhaps it's the curse of the dog spirit mentioned in the rumors? Is it the vengeful spirit of the monster that was killed by Murasamemaru?"
Aize looked at Cong Yu and laughed.
"No matter what it is, as long as we are sure that there is something in Hoori that needs to be killed by Souma Maru, then the only thing left is to find that thing. For this reason, I ran several laps in Hoori today, running in the morning and at night, going to one place after another, combining my childhood memories, intending to identify the place where that dangerous enemy might exist."
Cong Yu was shocked when Aize said this.
"So the master went out today not just to exercise and hang out?"
Cong Yu didn't expect that Aize would have such thoughts.
"I can't help it. I haven't been back for several years. Suizhi has changed so much. There are tourists everywhere. I need to take a good look around to find out where I am looking for." Aize said calmly, "But after a day of investigation today, I am sure that the dangerous existence is not in Suizhi, at least not in the town."
Because the town is full of tourists and Hoori has become a well-known tourist destination, if there were unavoidable dangers in that place, tourists would definitely not be allowed to go there.
After confirmation, Aize found that there was no place in Suizhi that was absolutely prohibited for others to enter.
"In this case, my sight naturally turned to the mountain." Aize looked at Cong Yu and said word by word: "Although the mountain does not prohibit others from entering, every household has warned others not to go up the mountain at night."
"That is to say, the mountain at night becomes a restricted area that no one else has ever set foot on."
Thinking of this, Aize decided to use this as a breakthrough to explore the secret of Suizhi.
"Now seeing your reaction, I am even more certain that there must be something on the mountain, and it is related to what you have been hiding."
Aize said this with a half-smile on his face.
"Then I have to go up the mountain at night no matter what."
Having said that, Aize walked past Cong Yu and headed out the door.
Cong Yu, who was shocked by Aize's reasoning, finally reacted and hurriedly grabbed Aize's clothes.
"No! Master! We really can't go up the mountain at night!"
Cong Yu tried his best to stop it.
Unfortunately, she was not a human, but just a spirit. She felt light all over, and even if she wanted to stop Aize, she couldn't do it. Even if she hung on Aize's body, it was not as heavy as the weight of a backpack on Aize.
So, Aize ignored Cong Yu's obstruction and walked straight outside.
At this time, Asatake Yasuharu was cleaning up the mess at the shrine and closing the doors. Hitachi Mako had already gone home and was no longer at the shrine. Only Asatake Yoshino was still at home.
As luck would have it, Aize met Yoshino Asatake who had just come out of the room and seemed to be preparing to take a shower.
"Mr. Aize? Lord Cong Yu? What are you doing?"
Asatake Yoshinori couldn't help but stand there in a daze as she watched Cong Yu trying desperately to stop Aize, and Aize walking out steadily with a sword in his hand.
"Quick, quick, stop him! Fangnai!" Cong Yu saw Chaowu Fangnai and shouted, "The master is planning to go up the mountain!"
Upon hearing this, Asatake Yoshino's expression suddenly changed.
"Please, please wait a moment! Mr. Aize!"
Asatake Yoshinori didn't care about the clothes in her hands, she ran up in a hurry, stretched out her hands, blocked Aize's way and prevented him from passing.
"It's too dangerous to go up the mountain at night! Please don't do it!"
Asatake Yoshino looked at Aize holding the Cong Yuwan and felt uneasy for no reason, and warned him with a serious face.
Aize had to stop.
"Okay, get out of the way." Aize said calmly, "The Chaowu family can't even restrict the freedom of entry and exit of the people they invited in, right?"
"This, this is not restricting personal freedom!" Asatake Yoshino said quickly: "It's just stopping you from doing dangerous things!"
"By the way, why do you want to go up the mountain at this time?"
"If there is a reason why you must go up the mountain, why not wait until daybreak?"
Yoshino Asatake still had a serious look on her face, as if she was trying to scare Aize away with this look.
The famous shrine maiden put on such a serious look. If it were anyone else in Hoori, they might really feel terrified and obeyed meekly.
Unfortunately, although Aize is half a weaver, he is not afraid of the witch.
"Of course I have my reasons. Could you please move aside, Miss Chao Wu?"
Aize said so.
"No!" Without even a second thought, Asatake Yoshino continued to open her hands to block the way and said, "This kind of self-righteous talk is too selfish. I can't accept it."
Hearing this, Aize couldn't help but laugh.
"If that's the case, Miss Asatake, you are also a selfish person, right?" Aize looked at Yoshino Asatake deeply and said, "Aren't you just talking to yourself all the time, rejecting me with your own reasons, and forbidding me to explore any secrets about Hoori and Kurasamemaru?"
"This..." Chao Wu Fangnai was suddenly speechless.
"Of course, I'm not blaming you. After all, this is a secret that you hold. It's your right to tell anyone you want. I have no right to interfere or object." Aize said very calmly: "But if I want to act in my own way, you have no right to stop me, let alone interfere or object."
"You can't just allow Miss Chaowu to act based on your own reasons, but prevent others from acting based on their own reasons, right?"
“Double standards are not like this.”
Aize's words left Asatake Yoshino speechless for a moment, and she couldn't utter a single word.
"Please move aside."
Aize no longer spoke at length, but just made a unilateral declaration.
"no!"
Although Asatake Yoshino could not refute Aize's words, she could not just watch Aize go up the mountain.
Aize didn't waste any words and walked around Asatake Yoshino with nimble steps and went outside.
"Wait! Mr. Aize! We really can't go up the mountain at this time...!"
Asatake Yoshinori became anxious and didn't care about maintaining her indifferent image. She turned around and hugged Aize's arm.
Aize suddenly felt clearly that something very soft and elastic was pressing on his arm.
Based on this touch alone, Aize was certain that Asatake Yoshinori was a hidden master.
This model is definitely larger than most of her peers, and Aize was reluctant to break away from her for a moment.
Fortunately, Aize is not someone who changes his mind easily. Since he has made up his mind, he will stick to it.
"Mr. An Qing."
Aize suddenly shouted in another direction.
"Father? Come on--"
Asao Takeno Yoshinori thought that it was her father who had come. Even Cong Yu, who was hanging on Aize, thought the same thing. She subconsciously turned in the direction where Aize was shouting.
As a result, that direction was empty, there was no one at all.
Aize took the opportunity to break free from Chaowu Yoshino and Cong Yu, and rushed out like a gust of wind.
"Owner!"
Cong Yu was shocked and flew out quickly.
"No! Mr. Aize!"
Chao Wu Fangnai hurriedly ran out, but she couldn't even see Aize's back. She could only see Cong Yu's figure disappearing into the darkness.
“What should I do…what should I do…”
Asatake Yoshino was panicked, the previous indifference was no longer visible on her face, instead there was only endless worry and even a little self-blame.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so obviously resisting, Mr. Aize wouldn't have done something so radical..."
Asatake Yoshino regretted it.
If I had known this earlier, I should have told him at least some basic things, at least explaining how dangerous it is on the mountain at night.
If something happens to Mr. Aize because of this, then...
Thinking of this, Asatake Yoshino became extremely panicked.
"no!"
At that moment, Asatake Yoshino gritted her teeth and ran back, changed into the shrine maiden's clothes as quickly as possible, picked up the equipment for the dance of offering, and ran towards the mountain.
"Yono...?!"
Chao Wu Anqing, who had just returned, happened to see this scene and cried out in shock.
In this way, Aize, Cong Yu and Chao Wu Fangnai entered the mountain one after another.
This night is destined to be restless.
…………
In Suizhi Town, on the mountain.
After several years, Aize once again came to the mountain near Suizhi, walked into the mountain along the path he remembered, and entered the darkness.
Although this was not the first time that Aize entered the mountain in Suizhi Town, it was the first time he entered the mountain at night.
Therefore, he did not expect that the mountain would be like this after nightfall.
"It's harder to walk than I thought..."
The difficult walking here does not refer to the mountain road, but the limited vision caused by insufficient light.
There were no lights or light in the mountains, of course. Only the faint moonlight shone through the dense trees, illuminating a section of the mountain road so that Aize would not deviate from the direction.
But even so, Aize could still only see things a few meters away, and nothing further away. It was not much different from the situation where he couldn't see his hand in front of him.
"So this is what the mountain looks like at night. Even if there is no hidden danger, if you get lost by accident, you might lose your life here, right?"
Aize has slowed down his pace and is no longer running forward quickly. Instead, he is walking carefully along the mountain path, following the faint moonlight all the way up the mountain.
"rustle--"
The sound of wind blowing through large leaves could be heard all around, bringing a cool breeze that made people unconsciously get goose bumps.
To be honest, if a timid person were to walk this mountain road, he would not be able to hold on for long and would have to turn back.
As Aize walked, he felt that the road ahead began to narrow. If he went any further, the people in Hoori would not be willing to continue walking. Therefore, there were no repaired or trampled roads, only small paths that seemed to be walked by wild beasts.
In the past, Aize had only once experienced moving forward, and that was when he went deep into the mountains to hunt wild boars.
But that time it was daytime, this time it was night, and what they were facing were no longer wild beasts, but unknown dangerous beings.
“It’s really exciting to think about it.”
Aize did not back down, but smiled suddenly.
The next second, he stepped in resolutely and entered the danger zone.
(End of this chapter)
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