Chapter 115: The Truth Of The Chi, The Only Way To Leave Kisaragi Station
A piercing, bone-chilling cold spread with the wind, quickly crawling over Shangshan Che’s entire body.
Three-Star!
Undoubtedly, the Snow Woman’s rank was at least Three-Star or higher!
The woman also stood on the snow in tall wooden clogs, her black hair cascading like a waterfall. Even the extremely wide furisode kimono could not conceal the allure of her figure.
The thin paper lantern swayed, emitting faint starlight that illuminated her indifferent face devoid of joy or sorrow.
The Snow Woman stared at Shangshan Che with unwavering eyes for a while, scanning his attire before speaking faintly,
“What is the purpose of the Shrine Priest Your Excellency’s visit?”
Her voice, clean like a clear spring, fell, and the surrounding chill instantly dissipated.
The sensation of being spied upon also vanished accordingly.
Shangshan Che tried to maintain a calm state of mind and replied: “I heard there is a Mountain Inn here. I am a homeless outsider; may I stay here?”
The Snow Woman glanced faintly at Two-Foot Adult hiding behind Shangshan Che and nodded slightly to him: “There is no issue.”
“I welcome all who harbor no malice.”
She walked with graceful steps past Shangshan Che’s side, lightly flipping the plaque at the Mountain Inn’s doorway to show【Open for Business】.
Then, she extended her fingers, smoother and whiter than white jade, to push open the heavy wooden door, allowing dim yellow warm light to spill out from the spacious Mountain Inn lobby.
To the left of the entrance hall was a small shishi-odoshi decoration, with clear water flowing from a bamboo tube into a water basin, causing the deep green bamboo tube to emit soft thumping sounds in a repeating cycle.
The lobby was spacious with sufficient depth, and a wooden staircase spiraling upward led to the upper floors of the Mountain Inn.
Of course, what drew the eye most was the front desk near the right side of the entrance hall.
——A girl dressed in a light blue sailor uniform with a large bow and mid-calf socks, in full JK style, stood at the front desk. Upon seeing Shangshan Che enter the entrance hall, she smiled and waved a greeting.
Shangshan Che examined the sailor uniform and noticed it even bore an unfamiliar school badge.
Thus, he instantly realized that the era when this girl had stumbled here must have been a decade or even decades ago.
Because high schools and junior highs nowadays rarely use sailor uniforms as school uniforms; they have mostly changed to Western-style school uniforms, and JKs mostly wear short skirts rather than long skirts reaching about the knees.
Shangshan Che recalled the attire of Ogawa Kei and the other two he had seen earlier, realizing their clothing styles were also outdated.
“In other words, these people all come from the millennium era like Ye Chun at least.”
Similarly, this smiling front desk JK’s soul was also partially missing, though the damage was not as obvious as in Ogawa Kei and the others.
This proved that soul damage was a common phenomenon among the living souls at Kisaragi Station, while Ye Chun with her complete soul was the anomaly.
The Snow Woman walked forward, glanced back at Two-Foot Adult who had appeared at some point, and said faintly to her: “Check them in.”
The JK nodded and handled the procedures with utmost proficiency.
Only when picking up the steel pen did she hesitate and ask: “How should I address the two of you?”
“Che.” Shangshan Che pointed to Two-Foot Adult, who was not yet as tall as the wooden cabinet: “She is Two-Foot.”
The JK nodded, bowing and presenting two keys with small wooden tags inscribed with their names: “Wishing you a pleasant stay.”
Shangshan Che took the keys and found they were ordinary brass keys, with no panel prompt appearing.
The JK continued: “Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily; the timetable is posted on the doorframe to the second floor. No service after the time. After ten o’clock is the Mountain Inn’s curfew; please try not to go out and avoid making loud noises in your rooms.”
Shangshan Che nodded, indicating he understood.
For now, this Mountain Inn seemed to have no eerie aspects.
——Living souls who stumbled into Kisaragi Station paid for rooms with labor, and the Snow Woman provided them safe lodging; this was reasonable logic.
As Shangshan Che thought this, a series of prompts suddenly popped up before his eyes——
【Since you have successfully checked into the Mountain Inn, Side Quest Two progress calculation has begun. The following tasks are now issued.】
【Task One: Check in（Completed）】
【Task Two: Explore the Mountain Inn at least 20%, current exploration progress: 3%.】
【Task Three: Uncover the Snow Woman’s true purpose, current progress: 0%.】
These tasks… the first two were practically giveaways.
A mere 20% exploration progress could likely be completed by Shangshan Che casually wandering a few floors of the Mountain Inn, and visiting more rooms would overfulfill it.
So the key lay in Task Three——on the Snow Woman.
Shangshan Che breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, he hadn’t rashly attacked the driver or the Snow Woman——this Side Quest Two was not an exorcism-type task.
It made sense; Kisaragi Station was just a Two-Star map. Issuing a task to directly confront a Three-Star or higher Snow Woman would be overly difficult.
Moreover, the Snow Woman could communicate normally; unless necessary, Shangshan Che didn’t want to face a Three-Star demon unskilled in close combat with unknown abilities.
——Fighting close-combat demons like White Bone or wax figures could greatly boost proficiency.
But what use was antagonizing the Snow Woman?
Onmyōdō proficiency wasn’t gained through fighting.
If he wanted soul ash, farming Two-Star demons in Edo Castle was the way; Lili Zi would cover the proficiency.
“Then Isanuki Tunnel should also be a similar exploration-type task, not too difficult.”
Shangshan Che nodded inwardly; now all other tasks just needed time, except the mystery around Ye Chun remained unsolved.
And Ye Chun was probably staying in this Mountain Inn.
The Snow Woman’s cold voice interrupted Shangshan Che’s thoughts: “How will you two pay for your rooms?”
Ogawa Kei had mentioned earlier that Mountain Inn fees were usually paid with labor or knowledge; only if neither was available would body heat or even souls be forcibly taken.
So Shangshan Che pointed to Two-Foot Adult: “Two-Foot is a Supernatural Phenomenon who has survived for centuries. Can she pay our room fees with stories?”
Upon hearing “centuries,” a trace of surprise finally appeared in the Snow Woman’s indifferent eyes.
She nodded slowly without speaking.
“Also, please allow me to stay by her side.” Shangshan Che picked up Two-Foot Adult; he wasn’t comfortable leaving his shikigami alone with a Three-Star Snow Woman. “If I’m not with her, she gets nervous and can’t speak.”
The Snow Woman lowered her gaze indifferently and nodded.
Shangshan Che was slightly stunned; this Mountain Inn hostess was unexpectedly accommodating.
This differed from the Snow Woman described by Ogawa Kei and the others; aside from her similarly cold personality, she was even easier to communicate with than the legendary Snow Woman who married a human man.
It seemed Ogawa Kei and the others had limited perspectives, and their information wasn’t entirely accurate.
“Since stories are the payment, I will escort you both upstairs.”
The Snow Woman waved her hand and walked toward the staircase at the deepest part of the lobby, swaying her hips.
But before she took two steps, hurried footsteps and shoving sounds came from the stairs, revealing two terrified faces and familiar attire.
Shangshan Che’s eyes narrowed slightly.
It was the man and woman named Nagashima and Takada, whom he had killed not long ago, and as expected, their souls were even more damaged than before.
Shangshan Che’s earlier guess was confirmed by these two.
——In Kisaragi Station, living souls who stumbled here could indeed resurrect after death, but at the cost of losing a piece of their soul.
As for what happened in the Eternal World without a soul, Shangshan Che didn’t know much, and it wasn’t important.
But without a soul, even killing them yielded no soul ash…
Shangshan Che’s breath hitched; numerous clues flashed through his mind like lightning.
Souls could be converted to soul ash, lost after death, while slaying chi…
Yielded no soul ash.
——Chi were living souls transformed after too many deaths.
Shangshan Che’s scalp tingled——by this logic, how many people had stumbled into Kisaragi Station, dying repeatedly in endless cycles?
But why could high-star chi drop soul ash… Before Shangshan Che could think further, he felt a cold gaze upon him.
He reacted and explained immediately: “These two seemed to encounter me on their way out, but they mistakenly took me for a demon dragging them back to the Mountain Inn and attacked me.”
Shangshan Che spread his hands: “Helplessly, I had to counterattack.”
At the same time, he appropriately showed curiosity: “But I remember clearly killing them both.”
“Death is not the true end——that’s the unique rule here.”
After a simple explanation, the Snow Woman softly asked them: “Don’t you know noise is forbidden in the lobby?”
As her words fell, Shangshan Che saw them clamp their mouths shut like cicadas in winter, suppressing all sounds.
At the same time, a prompt popped up——
【Uncover the Snow Woman’s true purpose, current progress: 10%.】
Shangshan Che could feel their gazes toward him like toward a stranger; they had clearly lost memories, yet reacted strongly to the Snow Woman.
Why was that?
Temporarily suppressing his doubts, Shangshan Che followed the Snow Woman upstairs, passing four full floors before entering a carpeted hallway.
Each floor of the Mountain Inn was spacious but had few rooms, at most seven or eight.
Shangshan Che stopped before the room marked “606”——the Mountain Inn was odd; its architecture was traditional Japanese, but the room numbers and doors had a strong modern style.
After watching Two-Foot Adult hand the key to the Snow Woman to unlock the door, Shangshan Che was about to enter when he sensed a gaze faintly watching him from behind.
He whipped around and clearly spotted half a familiar face at the nearby corner.
——Ye Chun!
The latter’s half-exposed head trembled, seemingly not expecting to be spotted, and quickly retracted, followed by hurried footsteps echoing in the hallway.
Without thinking, Shangshan Che rushed after, covering dozens of meters in two or three seconds, rounding the corner to where Ye Chun had been peeking.
But all that remained was the just-closed room door.
“605…”
Shangshan Che said no more, memorized the room number, and turned back.
Returning to the room, Shangshan Che saw Two-Foot Adult and the Snow Woman had removed their shoes and wooden clogs, sitting on the tatami mat.
The Snow Woman was even brewing tea for him.
Ice-cold tea arced into the cup, arriving with her words: “I hope Lord Che harbors no unnecessary thoughts.”
Shangshan Che sat indifferently, drained the teacup: “Just ran into an acquaintance.”
A deep chill instantly rose within him, making Shangshan Che shiver.
He glanced at the other two cups still steaming hot, paused silently, and thumbs-upped: “Very good.”
The Snow Woman acknowledged noncommittally, turning to Two-Foot Adult: “Your Excellency Two-Foot, please tell your story.”
“Oh! Okay.”
Pulling a few good stories from over a hundred years of experiences was effortless for Two-Foot Adult; soon, she recounted past events eloquently.
The Snow Woman sat still, listening quietly without a word, occasionally showing a faint elegant smile.
Shangshan Che sat at a distance watching them, sneakily cultivating his breathing technique in the gaps.
“A Three-Star Snow Woman with ample strength… perhaps a good shikigami candidate after my two incarnations promote.” Shangshan Che thought silently. “More importantly, her quiet personality complements Two-Foot Adult perfectly.”
He happened to have one universal familiar left unused.
But it was just a thought.
With this Snow Woman’s personality, even defeating her might not make her a shikigami; at most, an extra option.
Glancing at the Mountain Inn exploration progress now at 30%, Shangshan Che focused on “Uncover the Snow Woman’s true purpose.”
“I’ll ask Ogawa Kei later.”
Shangshan Che closed his eyes, entering a semi-cultivation state amid Two-Foot Adult’s storytelling.
Soon, the night passed.
——After the First Wave, the time flow ratio between the Mortal Realm and Eternal World changed again.
Not widening the gap, but approaching 1:1; this applied to both Arakawa Village and Edo Castle.
Unfortunately, Kisaragi Station had some anomaly, widening its time flow gap with the Mortal Realm further.
Sadly, cultivating breathing technique or Onmyōdō in Kisaragi Station yielded half the results, ruthlessly killing Shangshan Che’s idea to exploit this for proficiency grinding.
The next morning, nearly half an hour after the Snow Woman left satisfied with the stories.
Shangshan Che tugged the soul thread, summoning Ogawa Kei to the door of 606.
Knock knock knock.
Soon, the knocking sounded.
Shangshan Che opened the door to see Ogawa Kei standing straight at attention in the doorway.
“Good morning! Lord Che!”
He gave Shangshan Che a clumsy military salute.
Shangshan Che’s mouth twitched, fearing he’d spout words like “gratitude” or “loyalty.”
Though useful, the soul seal could control at most three or four dozen ordinary people long-term; for average demons, the number would drop several times.
Shangshan Che nodded,
“Take me to your room to have a look.”
“Yes!”
Following Ogawa Kei to the room marked “403,” Ogawa opened the door for him and gestured inside: “Please enter, Lord Che.”
This room…
Shangshan Che hadn’t even entered when he noticed something off.
Ogawa Kei’s room was covered in densely carved tiny characters everywhere, like “No noise in the lobby” or “Do not contact demons.”
These phrases appeared repeatedly, as if to remind someone.
Entering the entrance hall, he even saw deeply carved words on the table: “Escape the Mountain Inn, find Kisaragi Station.”
Shangshan Che casually picked up a teacup and found tiny words on the bottom: “My name is Ogawa Kei.”
——Undoubtedly, Ogawa Kei was compensating for memory loss by carving in the room, instructing his next self on dos and don’ts.
As for how the “next self” appeared… the two in the lobby earlier were prime examples.
It seemed soul loss caused severe memory impairment—not just post-Kisaragi Station, but even pre-entry life memories.
Otherwise, Ogawa Kei had no need to carve his own name like a fool.
This also explained why chi were mindless.
——Once all memories were lost, they naturally became like that.
Realizing this, Shangshan Che saw the “Uncover the Snow Woman’s true purpose” progress bar rise another 5%.
Next, Shangshan Che had Ogawa bring all inscribed items in the room, copying the rest onto paper.
Soon, Shangshan Che pieced together Ogawa Kei’s mental journey.
From initial terror at stumbling into Kisaragi Station, relief at being brought to the Mountain Inn by the driver, to despair at failing to leave the Mountain Inn or this Another World.
Death, resurrection, death, resurrection… Ogawa Kei had likely repeated this over a dozen times.
Shangshan Che set down the last rice spoon and asked: “But you successfully escaped the Mountain Inn twice, yet still woke up here?”
“It seems so.”
Ogawa Kei’s face darkened.
Unlike other Eternal World areas, ordinary demons and living souls couldn’t leave Kisaragi Station by normal means.
And abnormal means…
Consider how they stumbled in.
——Riding a roaring train, unknowingly through a tunnel, arriving at Kisaragi Station and trapped forever.
Shangshan Che narrowed his eyes.
The correct answer was obvious.
——Ride any vehicle through Isanuki Tunnel to escape this special area.
But how would ordinary people know that.
Even the train that brought Ye Chun first passed through the tunnel to reach Kisaragi Station; boarding it wouldn’t reverse through the tunnel.
The only possibility was the SUV driven by the Supernatural Phenomenon driver.
“I’m leaving; no need to look more.”
Shangshan Che left the room, freeing Ogawa Kei to move about; he would wander the Mountain Inn in spare time to max exploration progress.
“Still remember that driver’s location?”
Hearing the question, Two-Foot Adult nodded: “It’s far from here, but the position is precise.”
Passing an utterly ordinary corner, a hooded black shadow suddenly rushed out, slamming hard into Shangshan Che’s side.
Immediately, Shangshan Che felt a crumpled paper ball stuffed into his palm.
Without thinking, he grabbed the shadow’s back collar, hoisting them into the air, preventing escape.
The hood fell back.
“Eh?!”
The shadow… no, now Ye Chun hadn’t expected that even colliding full-force and dashing around the corner so quickly, she’d still be caught.
Shangshan Che stared at the girl whose demeanor differed starkly from the Ye Chun he’d seen before, smiling: “Got you.”
Face-to-face up close with Shangshan Che, even realizing he was a demon and a stranger, Ye Chun couldn’t help but blush.
She turned her head away, stammering: “C-can you put me down?”
“Of course.”
Shangshan Che smiled and nodded; the earlier reactions from the inn’s three and the Snow Woman had nearly made him think his 15-point charm was useless.
Now it seemed its lethality and affinity were substantial.
He effortlessly held the girl in hand: “Provided you tell me what you want.”
“It’s all written on the note…” Ye Chun muttered softly. “If I’d known I’d get caught, I’d have left the paper ball at the door earlier.”
Shangshan Che unfolded the paper ball one-handed, his words stunning Ye Chun: “Then I’d hear footsteps and come grab you.”
Th-this is a demon.
Others were right; demon power isn’t something ordinary people can match.
Ye Chun thought dejectedly, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the White Hannya’s Mask at Shangshan Che’s waist.
This evil spirit mask is so cool.
She couldn’t help thinking.
At the same time, Shangshan Che unfolded the note——
【Go to the basement at dawn; there might be what you want there.】
Fine, playing riddle-master again.
But this time, no issue; the riddle-master herself is caught.
Shangshan Che waved the note before Ye Chun’s eyes: “Explain; what does it mean?”
Ye Chun opened her mouth——she’d observed Shangshan Che differed from ordinary guests, so wanted to disrupt the Mountain Inn’s order through this variable, creating her escape chance.
Ye Chun had heard from many guests that returning to Kisaragi Station and boarding the train there would take them back.
This wasn’t one person’s word but verified by multiple people at different places and times.
And she remembered the route clearly when the driver brought her.
But now the situation was against her.
Ye Chun had no doubt that pretending dumb now would get her killed or eaten by this fox demon.
No matter how handsome.
Because demons were demons, prone to killing easily.
This too was confirmed by multiple guests.
Thus, the girl reluctantly spoke: “Someone saw the hostess often going alone to the basement at dawn. Since you’re looking for something, I thought you’d go there…”
Without hiding, Ye Chun spilled her true intent by intuition: “While you distract the hostess and disrupt order, I can sneak out.”
Hearing this, Shangshan Che set her down, nodding pleasantly: “Glad to see such honesty, Ye Chun.”
He clearly saw Ye Chun’s face stiffen; she hadn’t expected her real name revealed.
Shangshan Che eyed Ye Chun again, confirming her soul was completely intact, and her reason for leaving was obvious.
Home.
So… the Snow Woman wouldn’t let them leave the Mountain Inn.
He glanced again at【basement】 on the note——whatever Ye Chun’s intent, her assist was real.
Thus, Shangshan Che pocketed the note and said to the anxious Ye Chun: “If you trust me, don’t try alone for now; I’ll take you back.”
With that, riddle-master Shangshan Che turned and left, leaving stunned Ye Chun in place.
Staring at the four-tailed fox’s back swaying with its tail, Ye Chun fell into deep confusion,
“Should I… trust him?”
Though reason said not to trust a demon met once, a subtle intuition kept repeating in her heart——
He is trustworthy.
……
In the following time, Shangshan Che and Two-Foot Adult casually toured the Mountain Inn, sampling traditional dishes at mealtimes, like sightseeing tourists.
Other guests kept their distance upon seeing them, eyes filled with suppressed unease and fear.
Shangshan Che knew it stemmed from those repeatedly carved phrases.
And those words weren’t wrong——demons and Supernatural Phenomena outside like Horse-Brained Music, Taiko Bell, High-Speed Grandpa, which didn’t kill without blinking?
With sufficient info gathered, Shangshan Che had no intent to chat; after pushing Mountain Inn exploration to 60%, he returned to the room with Two-Foot Adult to await dawn.
Though unable to know exact Eternal World time, the room clock allowed judgment.
Tick, tock.
As the hour, minute, and second hands ticked past midnight, Shangshan Che—who’d grinded more breathing technique proficiency—opened his eyes in the darkness.
It was curfew, so outside was naturally silent.
From prior wandering, Shangshan Che had mapped the entire Mountain Inn in his mind.
He’d found the basement entrance too—a nondescript floor concealed by Onmyōdō.
Ordinary people wouldn’t notice, but this subtle spiritual power fluctuation couldn’t fool his eyes.
After tossing Two-Foot Adult—who’d used his tail as a soft bed—back into the Ksitigarbha Statue, Shangshan Che silently opened the door.
He’d jammed the hinge with thin vines earlier, so no creak.
Shangshan Che omitted noisy wooden clogs, transforming into a smaller shota form in tabi socks, tiptoeing out.
Circulating Jade Heart Incantation to retract overflowing spirit, energy, and vitality, halting breathing technique cultivation, and suppressing spiritual power fluctuation.
Now, time to uncover the Snow Woman’s hidden secret.
Silently descending to the empty first floor, Shangshan Che exhaled inwardly, wiping sweat from his temple.
That short span was the peak of his stealth technique.
Even a bit more force might creak the wooden stairs, alerting the Snow Woman.
“Just like playing a horror game…”
Shangshan Che held his breath and soon found the Onmyōdō-concealed floor.
If he was right, it was mere illusion; one could step right in—Shangshan Che had seen similar Onmyōdō in《Common Onmyōdō Compendium》.
Shangshan Che tested with his foot, then sank into it.
Gulp gulp gulp…
Boiling bubbling sounds echoed in the cramped space.
Upon entering, Shangshan Che frowned deeply—the grudge here was overwhelmingly thick, nearly forming a phenomenon to erode his mind.
Descending a few steps, Shangshan Che landed silently, peering around the corner.
——Ethereal blue flames burned slowly; in the massive cauldron, unidentified purple liquid bubbled, continuously emanating dense grudge and unwillingness.
Under the eerie purple glow, the Snow Woman in her snow-white kimono expressionlessly stirred a huge ladle, tossing in severely damaged living souls from beside her, brewing them into soul broth.
Thus, grudge erupted.
Shangshan Che hadn’t expected the Snow Woman to actually do something so witch-like from novels, forgetting to shift his gaze.
The Snow Woman’s stirring paused slightly.
But moments later, she resumed, saying coldly: “Lord Che, peeping is not polite, nor is it fitting for a Shrine Priest.”
Brewing others into soul broth isn’t fitting either…
Shangshan Che knew his mistake had exposed him.
But “Uncover the Snow Woman’s true purpose” progress had jumped to 40%; this trip was worth it.
He stepped out, dropping Thousand Faces disguise, and before he could speak, the Snow Woman continued: “I suppose you’re curious, right.”
Her indifferent voice came: “Those who stumble here occasionally wonder what happened here, what I’m doing.
“That’s normal; curiosity is a trait of intelligent beings.”
Shangshan Che looked up warily—the Snow Woman was talking more, buying time with words.
But Shangshan Che was happy with that.
His goal wasn’t combat, just understanding her intent; this played to his advantage.
The Snow Woman adroitly controlled the flames, infusing spiritual power into the soul broth, saying,
“I built the Mountain Inn to shelter these humans… these living souls, not from noble intent, nor for evil purposes.”
Her indifferent voice continued,
“To be precise, it’s like raising small animals.”
Shangshan Che fanned himself with his folding fan, staring at the suffering grudges in the cauldron: “So, what are you doing now?”
