The person who is crawling on the ground, judging from his age and current state, is probably not going to survive, but this situation is closely related to the environment he is in now and what he is encountering...... If he hadn't done some outdoor extreme sports in the middle of the night on a cold day, rested honestly at home, rested in bed, and been carefully cared for by his family, then he would definitely not have died now.

Well, for an elderly person of this age, climbing is also considered an extreme sport.

And a group of people just looked at him in silence, which made people feel that the atmosphere around them was full of indifference and weirdness, was this what kind of ritual was being done? Obviously, it is hard to believe that all this is happening in an enlightened and modern society.

Fu Ji Xianli and Shinaka Aoi, who blended into the crowd, were just watching this scene, of course they wouldn't come out to stop or do something else when they were full.

The old man on the ground continued to crawl, and after about half an hour, he finally stopped...... Not only did his movements stop, but his life also stopped.

The deceased lay on the ground with his hands and feet outstretched, his shriveled limbs visible through his exposed wrists and ankles.

The crowd remained silent, and after a while, someone finally stepped forward, only to see him check on the deceased, then turn and shake his head at everyone.

Just when Fu Jixian thought that this person was regretting the death of the other party, he only heard that person sigh, and then continued, "It's a pity that Mr. Gu Shan didn't hold on, obviously he could reach the cemetery in one or two hundred meters......

Taniyama? This surname sounds familiar.

The man's words sounded a little strange, he was not lamenting the fact of the deceased's death, but seemed to regret that the old man did not reach a certain position before he died—this man would die, it was already a given, and it seemed unknown how long he would be able to climb before he died.

But when the man announced his death in a very regretful tone, the people who were waiting here all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief—they seemed to be rejoicing in the outcome.

Fu Ji Xianli and Zhenzhong Aoi glanced at each other, and said in their hearts, Are the people in this village perverted, why do you want to watch people crawl and expect each other to die in the process?

What is the purpose of a person who is already suffering a great deal of pain and suffering before he dies, and now artificially exacerbating the degree of this torture?

"Hmph, don't say these things in a pretentious way, isn't my father's death like this the result you expected?" Someone in the crowd ripped off the hood over his head, and the outline of his face was revealed.

There was a hint of crying in the voice, but more of an emotion was anger...... Fu Ji Xianli and Manaka Aoi can still hear a sense of familiarity from it.

If correct, this man must have been the one who had taken them to hunt in the afternoon, and now the man who died was his father...... My father was dying, and he was still able to go out to work in the afternoon, and he didn't bring the slightest emotion into his work, should he be praised for his dedication?

Or is it more likely that it is not the father...... Well, that's a joke, it seems that in Japanese society, this kind of behavior is not such an exaggerated thing.

"The boy of the Gushan family, how are you talking, each of us will experience this kind of thing, Gushan is just not very lucky, he has just become seriously ill during this time period, this is the will of God."

Gu Shan's words were not very good, and someone in the crowd immediately reprimanded him, but this rebuttal seemed to have a little annoyance and anger after being poked in the center.

"What do you think, ask yourselves, you know best."

After saying this angrily, Gu Shanchuan left and turned around and left here, completely ignoring that his father's body was still exposed.

"You ...... guy"

"Okay, okay, after all, the Gushan kid is still young, there are some things he doesn't understand, and it was his father who died, so it is inevitable that he will be a little out of control emotionally...... When he's older, he'll understand what we're doing. "The person at the front helped round the field.

"It's also ......"

"Okay, okay, I still have to prepare for Gu Shan's funeral, and his kid will go with him first."

"Let's do me a favor and bring Gu Shan's body back."

"Well, that's why we've gathered ......."

This is definitely not Fu Jixianli's illusion, compared to when the old man of Gushan was crawling with difficulty just now, now after his death, this group of people is really relaxed and even cheerful.

It's a really weird atmosphere.

The people standing here must have been prepared, as if they had indeed come here to help carry the body back, and then they took out a stretcher and began to pack the body.

Fu Ji Xianli and Shinaka Aoi took the opportunity to leave here quietly.

"Sister Aoi, what do you think is going on?" When he went back, Fu Ji Xianli asked Shinaka Aoi like this.

"I don't know, it's just ...... The purpose of the deceased should be to climb to the cemetery before he dies, and the others do not want him to achieve that goal.

The person at the front of the charge, if I'm not mistaken, should be the priest of the shrine in the village, and he is dressed very much like that kind of person. ”

Through the conversation between those people just now, Aoi Manaka made some simple speculations.

Fu Jixian lowered his head and thought, and only after a while did he react, "That is to say, ......"

"In other words, Rio-kun, do you think that 'stone hunting festival' is really over?"

The important festival of the locals has long since ended on the surface, but in fact? It's hard to say, but in light of what happened tonight, it seems that this kind of speculation is relatively easy to come up with.

"Oh, is that really the case?"

"It's just speculation, but what exactly is going on...... Let's continue to inquire tomorrow, and I'll start with that Mr. Taniyama. ”

“ok。”

Before Mr. Morishita returned, Fu Ji Kenri and Manaka Aoi went back to their guest room first, and after checking that the room had not been opened, they also lay down to rest.

…………

The next morning, Fu Ji Xianli and Manaka Aoi went downstairs.

"Good morning, two guests, did you sleep well last night?" Mrs. Morishita, who was busy downstairs, greeted them.

"It's good, anyway, my waist is not sore, my legs are not painful." Fu Jixian vaguely said something about some and not.

"Hehe, that's good...... By the way, guest, we are really sorry that the meal we were able to serve today was relatively simple.

Someone in the village passed away suddenly last night, and now my husband has gone there to help, so I can only serve the food today...... I'm really sorry. Mrs. Morishita continued.

Sure enough, downstairs you can only see Mrs. Morishita and Tomoko Morishita, but not Mr. Morishita.

"It's okay, but ...... Has someone passed away, but unfortunately, the world is really impermanent. Fu Jixian pretended not to know, and then sighed painlessly about this matter.

"Thank you for your understanding, according to the custom on our side, the funeral can be completed in one day, and our side will be able to recover the next day."

"One day is enough? What about things like monks and chanting? Burial? Cremate? Fu Jixian asked with some curiosity, this funeral is quite efficient.

"Whether it's a burial or cremation, it's done in a day. Because the place is so remote and there is no temple in the village, if we want to hold a funeral here, the priest of the shrine will preside over the funeral. Mrs. Morishita explained.

Fu Ji Xianli: "......"

How to say it.,The shrine robbed the temple work.,This thing sounds a little familiar.,It seems like I've seen it somewhere.。

"Guest, I originally made an appointment to visit the shrine in the village today, but because of the funeral, it may be a little busy today, so ......"

At breakfast, Tomoko Morishita said to Fu Ji Xianli and the two of them apologetically.

"It doesn't matter, we have plenty of time anyway." Fu Jixian said that it didn't matter, although he wanted to go there now, but if there were no locals to lead him, it would be very problematic for him to go to the funeral site alone.

"Yesterday afternoon after running outside all afternoon, it was actually quite tiring, so this morning we decided to rest in the room and maybe go out for a walk around by ourselves in the afternoon...... Is this okay? Aoi Manaka said to Tomoko Morishita.

"I was quite tired last night, but I didn't get much rest." Fu Jixian Li followed up and added. Well, what he said must be the truth, he got up in the middle of the night to watch a big scene, so neither of them had enough sleep.

But talking like this must be easy to cause misunderstanding, Manaka Aoi glanced at Fu Ji Kenri with a cold look in his eyes, and Morishita Tomoko on the side could only purse his lips and smile...... This person probably took the opportunity to be in the relationship she had imagined to build.

"It's okay, of course, guests are free to visit the village, as long as they don't get lost in the forest." Of course, it is impossible and there is no reason for Tomoko Morishita to stop the free activities of Fu Ji Xianli and the others.

After holding back in the room all morning, after eating lunch for a while, Fu Ji Xianli and Manaka Aoi said hello to Morishita, and then slowly went out for a "walk".

"Anyway, it still feels like it's too fast."

"You don't have to worry about this kind of thing, the key is what the content of the funeral is, is it a real and simple funeral?"

Fu Ji Kenri and Manaka Aoi have been wandering around the village, and everything around here seems to be extremely normal...... If it weren't for the scene I saw last night, everyone would have thought that this is a peaceful and peaceful village with a lovely natural atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

After turning around, the two of them finally quietly approached the cemetery, which was located outside the village, slightly away from the settlement.

Then they saw a lone man standing in front of a newly erected tombstone, which was the Gushan descending...... At this time, the guests attending the funeral seemed to have retreated, and only he, as a son of man, could not bear to leave.

Fu Ji Xianli and Zhenzhong Aoi glanced at each other, and took advantage of the fact that the other party was alone, and the opportunity was rare, so they immediately leaned over.

"Mr. Taniyama, we have heard about it, please pay your respects."

At this time, in addition to this kind of polite words, it seems that Fu Jixian can only speak like this...... Not kidding, the joys and sorrows of people are indeed not connected.

"Oh, it turned out to be yesterday's two guests, you are ...... Walk? ”

"yes, I turned this way unconsciously."

After Fu Jixianli walked near this person, he faintly smelled a smell of alcohol.

"Is the funeral over, and Mr. Taniyama has nothing to do at night? Don't have to accompany today's guests or help the neighbors? ”

"I'm done with them, and now they're still drinking below, so I found a chance to escape." Gu Shan shook his head, and then put a sarcastic smile on his face, "The atmosphere over there is quite lively, just like a banquet, I don't know what good things happened in the village...... No, or rather, it's a good thing for them. ”

This man was more or less drunk, partly because he had drunk a little wine, and partly because he was in a resentful mood...... Funerals, for most people who don't care about themselves, are indeed over with a smile.

However, this state of the other party seemed to be more beneficial to them, Zhenzhong Aoi nodded silently, so Fu Jixian straightened out the other party's words and asked, "Good thing...... No, how do you say that? ”

Gu Shanxia glanced at Fu Ji Xianli, and then sat down little by little against his father's tombstone, and the scene became very silent for a while.

Just when Fu Ji Xianli thought that his question was a little too hasty, Gu Shanzhen finally spoke, "Two guests, you asked Zhizi about the Hunting Stone Sacrifice yesterday, and you seem to be interested in it. ”

Well, sometimes that's the way things are, and it's easier for an outsider like Fu Jixianli to be a pure outsider who has nothing to do with this place than a familiar person.

"Yes, a little interested." Fu Ji Xianli said.

"The festival is often held at the end of autumn, which many tourists know, and the scene is still very grand at that time, but what people don't know is that after the festival is over, although all the ritual props are withdrawn, the festival is not really completed.

In other words, the real festival has just begun. ”

As it got dark, the half-drunk man sat down in the cemetery and began to tell the story.

"The sacrifices that were put into the well on the day of the festival were not really sacrifices, and the ritual was just a disguise, and the real time to offer sacrifices to the mountain gods was the period between the end of the stone hunting festival and the beginning of the New Year's Day.

The village is relatively closed, and the rules and traditions of the village are rigid and must be adhered to.

Guests, you may not know that not everyone who dies at this time of year is entitled to the treatment of burial...... Only those who can reach the tomb by themselves before death are eligible to use it, otherwise they will have other 'duties' that they must undertake.

In this village, if you want to avoid this, you can only pray that you die before autumn......

It's kind of ridiculous, right? ”

As he spoke, Gu Shanchuan reached out and patted the tombstone behind him.

Although his words were vague, combined with what happened last night, Fu Jixianli could certainly understand what this person was talking about - the reason why Gu Shan lacked reverence for the tomb behind him was because this tomb should be empty.

The so-called "duty" of those who cannot reach the tomb by their own strength is probably to take on the actual sacrifice.

Although it is not a "living sacrifice", it is indeed a "human sacrifice".

Fu Jixian was a little skeptical, could it be that this village only lived in modern society on the surface, but in his bones he was actually living in the era when Ru Mao drank blood?

Or conversely, if everyone's IQ and sanity are normal, but some objective circumstances force them to hold a stone hunting sacrifice, then this objective situation must exist, can be recognized, and ......

Very scary, irresistible.

So what exactly is it?