NIP #587 - Hualu and Wang Lina's Shura Field
#587 - Hualu and Wang Lina's Shura Field
The setting sun cast its last rays on the square of Kirigakure, bathing the silent world in a warm, orange-red glow. Tang Yin stood before the small cafeteria, gazing thoughtfully at the distant mountains, when a clear, crisp voice suddenly called out to him.
"Tang Yin-nii!" Little Me's childish voice broke the evening's tranquility. She came bounding towards him, her two small braids drawing cheerful arcs in the air with her movements.
Not far behind her, Flower Dew followed at a leisurely pace. The girl wore an elegant kimono dress, its hem swaying gently in the breeze, her entire being enveloped in the soft light of the setting sun, as if gilded with gold. She lowered her head slightly, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on her face.
"Ah... Tang Yin, thank you for your hard work," Flower Dew said softly, her voice gentle and reserved.
"I'm full of energy," Tang Yin replied with a smile, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across the girl's slightly pale face.
Flower Dew raised her head, a hint of hesitation flashing in her clear eyes. "You're so reliable... I was thinking of going down to the meadow before dinner."
This sentence reminded Tang Yin of something. Last time he was repairing a car in the square, he didn't notice them going to the meadow. This detail flashed through his mind at this moment.
"There's still a meadow down there?" Tang Yin couldn't help but ask curiously.
"...Yes, though it should really be called a graveyard," Flower Dew's voice suddenly became even softer, as if speaking of a topic she didn't want to touch.
"Graveyard... is there anything there?" Tang Yin observed the changes in the girl's expression.
Flower Dew was silent, her slender fingers unconsciously clutching the corner of her kimono.
"...Ah, now that you mention it, Flower Dew, your clothes have a bit of a Buddhist style, are you going to make an offering?" Tang Yin shifted the focus of the conversation in a timely manner.
"...Yes, the Flower Dew family is also a family of undertakers, so there may be Buddhist elements in the funeral rites," the girl said slowly, her tone tinged with an indescribable sense of loneliness.
Xia Hui's interpretation surfaced in Tang Yin's mind—the maid of the chamber, guarding dreams. This identity seemed to imply the profound meaning of eternal slumber and guarding the dreams of the dead.
"The Flower Dew family has declined and cannot undertake all the obligations, so many tasks have been transferred to the Zhao family," Flower Dew continued, her voice tinged with helplessness.
"Since moving to Kirigakure, have you been offering to that graveyard all along?" Tang Yin asked tentatively.
"This is my own will. It's just that, now..." Flower Dew's words stopped abruptly, a trace of unease flashing in her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Something's bothering me." She turned her head to look in the direction of the Godhead River Valley, her frail figure appearing particularly thin in the setting sun.
Tang Yin's heart stirred. Could she sense the signs of the fog rising? It was said that some sensitive people could indeed predict changes in the weather through changes in air pressure and humidity.
"Is something going to happen?" he asked softly.
"...Nothing, it must be my imagination," Flower Dew shook her head and leaned gently against the pillar of the well. It seemed she had changed her mind this time and wasn't planning to go to the meadow.
Little Me seemed uninterested in the adults' conversation, squatting at Flower Dew's feet, focused on playing with a small stone she had picked up from somewhere. The afterglow of the setting sun painted her innocent smile with a warm color, but it made Flower Dew's profile even colder.
In the distance, the outlines of the mountains began to blur in the twilight-dyed horizon. A cool evening breeze swept across the square, bringing a faint chill.
In the square, Little Me was happily chasing her own shadow, her skirt fluttering with her light steps. Tang Yin couldn't help but smile warmly at this scene. "That child is really energetic."
Flower Dew's gaze also softened a little, and she said softly, "Yes, she got lost in the Godhead River Valley. Everyone is afraid of her, but it's good that she can be so cheerful." Her tone carried a hint of imperceptible pity.
"...How did she get lost on the mountain road alone?" Tang Yin frowned, his intuition telling him that things weren't so simple.
Flower Dew's voice suddenly became extremely soft, as if speaking of a truth she couldn't bear to touch. "Probably her parents brought her to the mountains to commit suicide, and then she escaped alone."
This answer shocked Tang Yin. He remembered that Zhao Gang had mentioned that many people chose to end their lives here. The gloomy valley seemed to be a huge altar, devouring one desperate soul after another.
"But, why you—" Tang Yin was about to ask why she took her in, but the words suddenly stopped at his lips. A thought flashed through his mind like lightning—purification of pollution.
Was this the duty she had been given? This thought filled Tang Yin's heart with an uncontrollable anger. But who could he vent this anger to? The people of Kirigakure who regarded Little Me as pollution? Or these deeply rooted customs and superstitions? Or those who were Little Me's guardians?
Just then, Little Me's clear childish voice suddenly rang out, "Spin and spin~ Shine and shine~ Until the weather clears!" She sang as she spun around, her voice innocent and pure, but inexplicably making people feel a little uneasy.
"That's quite a novel tune. I also heard it when playing the radio in Baifeng Village," Tang Yin said, recalling that he had first heard this song the last time he was standing here.
Flower Dew's eyes became deep. "This folk song praises the mountain that raised us... The incarnation of the Thousand Bright Gods is an ancient ballad about the teachings left by the Thousand Bright Gods."
Tang Yin was silent, waiting for her to continue.
"The guardian beasts of the Thousand Bright Gods, one snake, two monkeys, three crows, four spiders." Flower Dew began to sing softly, her voice clear and melodious, but with a hint of unspeakable sadness.
"When the evening mist rises, the wild feast will begin, the raccoon carries beast meat, looking east and west." The song floated in the air above the square, carried by the rising evening breeze, and spread into the distance.
Tang Yin listened intently, feeling every note clearly strike his heart.
"The unclean return from the Yellow Springs," Flower Dew continued to sing, her voice suddenly turning low.
"This world does not tolerate those from the Yellow Springs." The song became increasingly gloomy, like a whisper from the depths of hell.
"One person a day, the punishment of hanging." Flower Dew's voice was tinged with a trace of sorrow, as if telling an ancient and bloody prophecy.
Just then, a gloomy female voice suddenly rang out in Tang Yin's ear, making him tremble all over—
"Until the weather clears."
The moment he looked in the direction of the voice, Tang Yin felt his heart almost stop beating. The afterglow of the setting sun spread a blood-red color across the sky, and Wang Lina, standing behind him, was completely immersed in this scarlet color.
But it wasn't just the reflection of the setting sun—she was covered in shocking bloodstains from head to toe, from her collar to her trouser legs, and even on her usually clean little hands. Dark red bloodstains spread on her white top, like enchanting flowers.
"...Thank you for your hard work," Flower Dew's voice was still calm, as if the scene before her was perfectly normal.
Wang Lina raised her hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead, but accidentally smeared more blood on it. "I'm exhausted..." Her voice was tired.
Tang Yin opened his mouth, unsure what to say for a moment. His brain was racing, trying to understand this surreal scene. "...Wang Lina, what's going on?" He finally found his voice, trying to make it sound steady.
"...Ah, sorry, did I scare you?" Wang Lina tilted her head, revealing an innocent smile. This smile formed a stark contrast with the blood all over her, making people shudder.
Flower Dew's gaze swept over Wang Lina, her eyes filled with understanding. "You dissected a wild beast?"
"That's right, old man Gao Zhijie caught a big guy this morning, and the beast tendons and bones are very difficult to deal with," Wang Lina replied casually, as if talking about the weather today. Tang Yin then remembered that Zhao Gang had indeed mentioned asking Wang Lina to help Gao Zhijie.
"That's amazing, Wang Lina, you can dissect wild beasts?" Tang Yin tried to make the conversation sound natural, even though his voice still trembled a little.
Wang Lina scratched her head embarrassedly. "Well, ha, practice makes perfect." Her movements caused a few drops of blood to fall from her hair.
"Speaking of which, your clothes are covered in blood," Tang Yin couldn't help but point out the obvious fact.
"...I didn't expect it either, but I just slipped up this time." Wang Lina looked down at her clothes, her tone tinged with annoyance.
"Luckily, I brought the same clothes, so it doesn't matter." She smiled as she said this, but in the reflection of the bloodstains, this smile seemed extraordinarily strange, making people's backs chill.
"By the way, just call me Wang Lina, don't be so reserved," she suddenly suggested, her tone light.
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!" Flower Dew suddenly let out a series of strange noises, startling the other two.
"Eh!? Wha, what was that just now, Flower Dew!?" Wang Lina widened her eyes, looking at Flower Dew in disbelief.
"It wasn't me." Flower Dew denied it expressionlessly, a reaction that made Tang Yin secretly complain—she actually said no.
"Then Wang Lina, you can call me Tang Yin too, no need for everyone to be so polite," Tang Yin decided to follow the topic.
Wang Lina's eyes lit up. "Ah, really? Then Tang Yin, let's talk about your story when we eat later." Her tone was full of expectation, as if she had completely forgotten her current bloody appearance.
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!" Flower Dew burst out with strange noises again.
Tang Yin and Wang Lina looked at each other, speechless for a moment. The setting sun gradually sank in the west, twilight fell, and the air was filled with an indescribable and strange atmosphere. The cries of crows came from the distant mountains, adding to the gloom. The bloodstains had already congealed on Wang Lina's clothes, reflecting a dull light in the twilight, like a distorted abstract painting.
"...By the way, is tonight's dinner also beast meat?" Tang Yin suddenly asked as if thinking of something, his gaze involuntarily glancing at the congealed bloodstains on Wang Lina's body. In the twilight, those dark red marks seemed to be wriggling, making people shudder.
Wang Lina's eyes lit up, like stars suddenly blooming in the night sky. "Of course! Tonight we're having a feast~" Her tone was filled with unconcealed excitement, and she gently clapped her hands in front of her chest.
"That's great, I'm looking forward to it, Flower Dew!" Tang Yin turned to look at Flower Dew, who was standing aside and staring at him with an inscrutable look.
Flower Dew lowered her head slightly, her long bangs covering half of her face. "Tang Yin-sensei, please call me Little Flower?" Her voice was as light as a feather, with a slight tremor, as if she had made a great determination to say this.
After stammering Tang Yin's name, Flower Dew seemed to have used all her strength and fell into a strange silence. In the twilight, her slender figure seemed particularly lonely.
Wang Lina pursed her lips, hesitant to speak. Her gaze lingered on Tang Yin for a moment, as if she was thinking about something. Suddenly, a sly light flashed in her eyes. "...Tang Yin, would you like to see the dissecting of a wild beast? Slicing the beast's meat into pieces with a large hunting knife?" Her tone was tempting, but in this bloody twilight, it gave people an indescribable sense of strangeness.
Flower Dew suddenly raised her head. "...Tang Yin-sensei." Her voice was tinged with urgency.
"Yes," Tang Yin responded, looking at her.
"Would you like to go there and take a look?" Flower Dew pointed to a shadow in the distance.
"Where?" Tang Yin followed her finger.
"...The graveyard..." Flower Dew's suggestion was like a cold wind blowing past, seeming to lower the temperature around them by several degrees.
Wang Lina frowned. "Hey, Flower Dew, what are you taking him to that meadow for?" Her tone was tinged with vigilance.
"...Wang Lina, it's you, isn't it? Making such strange invitations to a blood feast, even if it's Kirigakure's work, don't forget that blood and pollution are connected," Flower Dew said a long string of words, her voice filled with worry.
Wang Lina suddenly gave a sly smile. "Flower Dew, the things you're thinking about for sex are also dirty, aren't they?" Her words made Flower Dew's face turn red instantly.
"Y-You, y-you, what nonsense are you talking about, I don't have, those kinds of thoughts," Flower Dew waved her hands in a panic, her usual composure gone.
"Don't be shy, Flower Dew, you're just a pervert, right?" Wang Lina continued to tease, her eyes flashing with mischievous light.
"How could that be!" Flower Dew's voice rose an octave.
"Don't worry, men like sexy ladies the most!" Wang Lina's words made Flower Dew scream.
"Yaaah..." Flower Dew covered her face, as if trying to hide herself.
"Too bad! Even when it comes to sex, I'm far superior to you, Flower Dew!" Wang Lina announced triumphantly.
"How could this be, so cunning," Flower Dew muttered softly.
Tang Yin looked at the two girls' interaction with a blank expression. "What are you talking about?"
Just then, a childish voice suddenly interrupted the conversation. "Tang Yin-nii, are you popular?" Little Me appeared in the square at some point, her innocent eyes suddenly lightening the strange atmosphere.
"What did you say?" Tang Yin was stunned by this sudden question.
"Little Me, what are you saying?" Flower Dew hurriedly interrupted.
"Ah, Flower Dew, have you retired from the competition? Then I won't be polite." Wang Lina seized the opportunity and gave Tang Yin a meaningful look.
"Is there really such a good thing?" Tang Yin said, unable to hide his excitement.
Wang Lina took a step forward, her blood-stained skirt swaying gently in the breeze. "You're quite to my liking, Tang Yin. If you lived here, I'd have something to look forward to when I go back home, wouldn't I?" Her voice was as soft as honey sprinkled in the sunset.
"...Ah... Wang Lina, anyway, when you're not here... there are opportunities everywhere..." Hua Lu suddenly said something profound.
"No way!? That's not good!" Wang Lina exclaimed dramatically.
Seeing the atmosphere becoming increasingly delicate, Tang Yin decisively changed the subject, "Xiao Mie, let's play a racing game, okay?"
"Wow!" Xiao Mie cheered in response.
They chased and frolicked in the square, their joyful laughter echoing in the empty space. A hint of sweetness arose in Tang Yin's heart; this feeling of being favored by girls was indeed intoxicating.
However, amidst this joyous atmosphere, a strange, dense fog silently rose from the ground, like ghostly fingers, slowly creeping into every corner of the square. The fog seemed to conceal some unknown secrets, quietly brewing.