tokyo creator

Chapter 284 Kobayashi of Fuku Shrine

Priest Kobayashi was unable to react for a moment after being insulted and commented by the straight ball, and was a little sluggish.

And "Guanxu" continued to fire: "You have all forgotten that the ultimate purpose of the Shenzhi Festival is not to offer sacrifices to the Lord Feng Guo... but to select the King of Sai."

"Even if it's a fight, killing itself is not the purpose. The purpose lies in the meaning of killing."

Then he paused.

Priest Xiaolin and Qingxing continued to look confused.

"Guanxu" clicked his tongue again: "I knew..."

After taking two more puffs of cigarette leisurely, he continued: "To help you understand, I have prepared a story outside of Japan."

"——The name of the story is called 'Golden Bough'.

"In ancient Roman times, in a certain area on the shores of Lake Nemi, there was a temple of Diana that was revered and worshiped by the locals. The most noble priest in the temple was called the "King of the Forest." "

"And the way this 'King of the Forest', the spokesperson of God, the most noble person in the local area, was selected... is very strange."

"——Anyone who can break off the cinnamon branches on the sacred tree in front of the temple can have a fair duel with the King of the Forest... No matter what the challenger's original identity is, even if he is a slave, as long as he If he can kill the original 'King of the Forest' in a duel, then he will naturally replace him and take the most honorable position."

"And the nineteenth-century anthropologist James George Fraser... devoted his work to studying the origins of this folklore."

"He cut this folklore into its elements...and found that each element has meaning and is related to other elements."

"In Fraser's research, there is one most core element in the Golden Bough ritual, and that is..." He slowed down and looked at Priest Xiaolin and Qingxing, "——Why, the challenger must Do you have to kill the old king with your own hands to become the new king?"

"Can't we just banish the old king and drive him away?"

"Isn't it okay for someone else to kill the old king?"

"Can't we just wait for the old king to die of old age?"

"Guanxu" threw out a series of questions like a storm, and finally shook off the non-existent black kimono sleeves, asking and answering himself: "The answer is - the challenger kills the old king with his own hands, this is a necessity The process of 'Witch Spirit Transfer'... Only after the Witch Spirit transfers can he become the new king."

"—The so-called 'Witch Spirit' is actually the soul. But the ancient people's perception of the soul is different from that of the modern people, and they are not completely the same. Their perception of the soul is full of the characteristics of witchcraft... Therefore, To avoid misunderstanding, let’s call it the Witch Spirit for the time being.”

"And what are the characteristics of witchcraft?" The man raised two fingers one after another.
"The first is the 'law of similarity'. The same cause can produce the same effect, and similar things can produce the same effect."

"The second is the 'law of contact'. Once objects come into contact, they still interact at a long distance after they move away and cut off the actual connection."

"Almost all witchcraft is composed of these two principles and their variants.

"For example - before the nineteenth century, there was a curse practice among the Malays, which was to collect the body exfoliation of the cursed object - such as nails, hair, saliva, etc. - and mix them with beeswax It is practiced by making a human-shaped wax figure. They believe that if such a wax figure is slowly roasted on the flame for seven consecutive nights, the cursed object can be killed. This spell is obviously the combination of the two principles. The human form The wax figure of the human body is similar to that of the human body, so the damage suffered by the wax figure of the human body will be reflected on the human body, which is the law of similarity. After the nails of the cursed object are separated from the original owner, the damage can still be transmitted to the original owner. This is the law of contact.”

"...So, if we understand the soul from the perspective of witchcraft characteristics, we can conclude that it is a 'witch spirit'. What exists in the human body is not the 'soul' that represents the self, but the 'soul' that represents the natural world. 'Witch Spirit'."

"Remember the Malay curse spell I just mentioned? Here, the wizard is the role of the beeswax doll. However, the wizard is not someone's beeswax doll, but a certain force of nature. 's beeswax doll."

"That's why wizards can call the wind and rain. Because wind, rain, thunder and lightning...or the wizard spirits corresponding to other powerful natural forces are manipulated by them like beeswax dolls. Wizards use the 'Law of Similarity' to deceive the human beings in the body. Witch spirits, and witch spirits affect nature because of the 'Law of Contact'."

"——In an era before religion appeared, people who were in the stage of primitive worship of nature understood the relationship between 'shamans', 'human beings' and 'nature'... and then, It’s a long history.”

"Guanxu" knocked on the invisible pipe and took several puffs in silence, as if to represent the changes of the times.

Then he continued: "In the long historical period that followed, as the era of witchcraft transitioned to the era of primitive religion, this set of ideas also slowly evolved."

"First of all, the biggest change is that the incarnation of natural power, the witch spirit, has received a name...or, in other words, a personalized description. And the personified witch spirit has finally become the kind of existence we are familiar with - -'god'."

"For example, in ancient Rome... the wizard who controlled the sky, thunder and lightning, and justice received the name 'Jupiter'."

"The witch spirit, which represents wisdom, crafts, medicine and war, received the name 'Minerva'."

"The witch spirit that blesses hunting, forests, and fertility got the name 'Diana'... and so on."

"…What about the wizard?"

"The wizards have also changed. People with the same role in the tribe have changed from wizards to priests, or 'kings'... Yes, in that period, priests and kings were often one and the same. The priests of the gods were also members of the tribe. ruler of worldly affairs.”

"This change is also related to the transformation of witch spirits into gods. Because people's views on the relationship between people and power are also changing. In the era of witchcraft, wizards were regarded as 'people who can communicate with witch spirits'. In the primitive religious era, the priest king was regarded as the 'vessel of God'."

"If the power of the wizard comes from his 'deception' of the wizard...then the power of the priest comes from the 'gift of God'. After all, God already has a personality, doesn't he? A person has emotions, anger, sorrow and joy. Yes, but a being with powerful power will stand above human beings and rule them."

"So, because the priest of God has become the vessel of God, and the existence of half-human and half-god, he has naturally become the 'King of Humanity'."

"The status of such a priest king is extremely noble, because his power is the power of a god, and his body is the body of a god. In essence, he is the incarnation of a god who descended to the world... Naturally, his own integrity Whether it does or not will also affect whether all things in the world prosper."

"So, the Priest King is always best protected...except for one thing."

"——When the Priest King's body shows signs of weakness... he must be killed."

"Because the Priest King is God's vessel. If the vessel weakens, wouldn't it hinder God's power and prevent Him from protecting his own domain?"

“So——it is necessary to help God move it to a new container while the function of the container is still relatively intact.”

"The god died and was resurrected? No, this statement is not rigorous. Because life and death are actually just a matter of container. And the true spirit of the god is just reincarnation."

"You see... the life and death of the container of God are just like the alternation of withering and prosperity of plants, aren't they? The cycle of vitality is endless. Even if it withers in autumn and winter, it will definitely flourish again in the spring of the next season. …”

"Yes, that's why in the Golden Bough Ceremony, the new king must kill the old king. Because this is exactly a 'God Changing Container' - 'breaking the sealed old earthen jar so that the gems can be taken out, The process of sealing it into a new earthen jar."

"Guanxu" sneered, turned the cigarette rod in his hand, and looked at Priest Lin and Qingxing: "Okay, now that we are here, the story about Golden Branch is over, no doubt about it?"

Then he crossed his shoulders and slowed down his speech: "...The next step is about Shinto."

"When Glazer was doing research, he actually believed that witchcraft was false and invalid."

"However, this does not actually affect his research itself, because the starting point of his research does not care about the existence of witchcraft and gods, but proceeds based on the fact that they are 'just like this'..."

"So, unfortunately, his theory is still correct - because we know that gods, spirits... whatever they are called, they exist."

He was silent for a moment, and finally said those two words one by one: "—Zaiou."

Unknowingly, I heard carefully that Priest Lin had always had a thinking expression on his face just now, but at this moment, his body suddenly shook, as if he suddenly lifted his spirits.

And "Guan Xu" continued.

"Saio is a kind of 'priest king'.

"Saio is the vessel of the Lord of Toyokuni and the vessel of the land god.

"But the container will age. An old container will hinder the protection of the country by Lord Toyo. Therefore, Saio must die every once in a while." - Come and replace the container.

"Death is a ritual, a ritual to transfer the true divine body."

Priest Lin began to tremble.

As for "Guanxu", he spoke more slowly and carefully: "The Lord Fengguo will not care about the vitality of the sacrifice. It's just a few people, what is it compared to the huge country? Shenzhi Sacrifice The fight...is because she wants the best container.

"Use fighting to show Lord Fengguo the vitality of the candidate vessel and its compatibility with the ritual.

"So how can it be possible to satisfy Lord Feng if we kill people in a sneak attack?

"Actually, if you fight your opponent openly in a face-to-face battle... even if you lose, Lord Feng Guo will probably be satisfied, right?

"But just relying on backstabbing and sneak attacks, even if you kill a hundred people, it is completely unable to prove that you are stronger than your opponent - no, on the other hand, this kind of cheating behavior also hinders other players?
"So—you want to go home, so you murdered your companion? What a fool who can only play tricks." Finally, 'Guan Xu' raised his chin, looked at Priest Lin with pity, took a puff of cigarette, and He showed a gloating expression, "If I were the lord of Fengguo, I would probably hate you as a shit-stirring stick the most. You ruined my good branch sacrifice? ... The place of the living soul will be reserved for you. Just one."

Priest Lin finally couldn't hold it any longer.

"Guanxu", on the other hand, disappeared with satisfaction after hurling insults to his heart's content.

The boy once again revealed his ordinary personality named "Huiyuanchu".

"But, I think you actually still have a chance now?" he said kindly.

Priest Lin raised his head blankly.

Hui Yuanchu spread his hands casually and said, "Now, there happens to be another shrine here."

Then, he looked back at Qing Xing with a smile.

Priest Lin soon showed a look of enlightenment and looked at Qing Xing with a hungry wolf-like look.

Under the gazes of the two people, Qingxing shrank back and said fearfully: "No, no... I don't want to kill, nor do I want to be killed!"

But as soon as he took two steps back, someone suddenly held his shoulders from behind.

Qingxing was startled, and when he looked back, he breathed a sigh of relief - it was Laixiang's smiling face.At some point, Ibuki Rika also went up to the second floor and appeared behind him.

"That's it..." At this time, Hui Yuanchu showed a somewhat regretful expression.

He nodded towards Laixiang, turned to Priest Lin and said, "Then I have no choice but to come. Come, face to face with me, fight openly and honestly...can this be your atonement to Lord Feng?"

When Qing Xing refused, Priest Lin couldn't help but show a regretful expression.He then turned to look at Haiyuanchu for a few times, warily, and then looked at Haiyuanchu with a suspicious expression and said: "...By the way, I have always wanted to ask, which shrine do you belong to? Why, I have never heard of it There are people like you everywhere in Kyoto..."

"Laixiang Shrine."

"Laixiang Shrine..." Priest Lin muttered, "I've never heard of it."

"It doesn't matter whether you heard it or not. Anyway, I am a contestant recognized by the shrine - you see, I have a sacred branch." As he said that, Hui Yuanchu took out a handful of rice ears from his pocket.

Qing Xing's pupils narrowed when he saw the ears of rice clearly.

On the sacred branch of the ear of rice, a dazzling light that is ten times more dazzling than Seimei Shrine or Fuku Shrine is flowing. Five, six... or seven or eight small comet-shaped lights are slowly rotating around the sacred branch like a planet. Flying.

Similarly, Priest Lin next to him also trembled when he saw the handful of rice ears clearly.

He said with a trembling voice, "With this brightness... how many people have you killed already?"

Hui Yuanchu shrugged.

"None of these are important... What's important is, come on, offer everything you have to Lord Feng Guo." He held the rice ears, spread his hands, and casually recited the edict to start the ceremony, "Far away Ancestor God Hui, the Lord of Feng Country."

At that moment, Priest Lin's expression also underwent a series of changes.

From shock to despair, and then to desperate ferocity, he grabbed the silver blade and rushed towards Hui Yuanchu, while simultaneously shouting the ecstasy: "The distant ancestor Shenhui!!!! Lord Fengguo!!!" "

In the blink of an eye, he had already rushed across the short distance of a few meters between the two, and thrust the silver blade towards Hui Yuanchu.

"Sacrifice--"

The poem ends abruptly at the last word.

——In an instant, Hui Yuanchu grabbed his wrist, cracked his entire arm bone with an inhuman twist, and reversed the direction of the blade and pushed it into his own heart.

Priest Lin had a blank expression on his face, and his body fell down weakly.

Lying on the ground with the knife still stuck in his chest, his eyes once again looked at the glorious rice ear held in Hui Yuanchu's hand.

Hui Yuanchu glanced at him and asked: "It's the last time, don't you need to leave something to say? I can convey it to you after you get out."

Priest Lin still stared at the sacred branch, and finally said in a weak voice: "This is the sacred branch of Inari Taisha Shrine. I have seen it. So... you are the Fox Saigu Palace?"

"I'm not, you misunderstood. I said, I came to Xiang Shrine." Hui Yuanchu explained calmly, "As for this sacred branch, I just borrowed it from Huzhai Palace for temporary use... ...Do you really just need to ask about this as your last words? No need to send a message to your family?"

Priest Lin stared at the divine branch for another moment and murmured to himself, "...it doesn't matter anymore."

"No, there is no difference.

"Anyway, the only one who can defeat Zhai Gong is another Zhai Gong...

"You and we are not the same kind..."

His voice trailed off.

Hui Yuanchu's expression did not change at all, as if he had no emotion at all.

He just squatted down, reached out and grasped the sharp blade at Priest Lin's heart, and pulled it out neatly - then, he turned around and stabbed the still unconscious miko Noko into the heart without hesitation.

Then, Ibuki Rika came over.

With unconcealed joy on her face, she took the divine branch from Hui Yuanchu's hand and inserted it into the wound on Priest Lin's heart. As the Kagura played by Hui Yuanchu, between the two corpses, The kagura dance began.

Qing Xing's eyes were involuntarily attracted.

The girl is gorgeous, the dance is charming, and the expression on her face is also radiant with true joy.

Qingxing suddenly had a thought, and felt shuddered for a moment.

Ibuki Rika's kagura dance is not to please the gods.Just to express...her own joy at being pleased.

(End of this chapter)