Chapter 28: Begging for Death

Jing Huang noticed Jing Long's eyes looking towards the window, her complexion shifted and she immediately took a look towards the back! However, outside the window behind her, there was only the unceasing torrential rain, other than that, there was nothing. Now the rain still didn't have any momentum to stop not to mention, obviously it was now broad daylight, but the rising sun was completely blocked by layers and layers of thick overcast clouds, it looked like there was no difference between it and the night. Kitayama Jinghuang didn't like the darkness of the night. This was exactly the opposite of her older brother Jing Long who had a bit of a literary temperament. She remembered that her brother's favorite book of poems by Miyazawa Kenji was in her grandfather's study when she was a child, and the fact that he would later choose to write might also have something to do with the experience he had at that time. "Jing Huang ……" At this time, Jing Long walked up, grabbed Jing Huang's hand and said, "Hurry up and go …… " "I still want to continue here for a while." "Just follow me!" Jing Huang realized that Jing Long's expression had become quite urgent, and before he could think about anything more, he was forcibly pulled out of the room by his brother and walked to the door. Jing Huang's impression rarely remembered his brother Jing Long being in such a mood. He was a very mild-mannered person, and this was also a result of his literate temperament. Ever since he was young, he loved books by authors like Yasunari Kawabata, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, and Yukio Mishima. Jing Huang, on the other hand, was the opposite, she grew up only enjoying reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West, and was mostly unimpressed with books by local Japanese authors. The only Japanese writer she admires, Haruki Murakami, is one of the most un-Japanese writers in terms of style, and her favorite work is still Murakami's recent work, Assassination of a Knight Commander. It is well known …… that Yasunari Kawabata, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, and Yukio Mishima, these three have in common that …… all of them committed suicide. In Japan, a country where suicide is often viewed as an aesthetic monstrosity art, to this day, Japan remains a country with a high suicide rate. She once went to learn about the lives of writers who committed suicide because of her brother's influence, but was never able to understand their reasons for doing so. Especially Kawabata Yasunari, he himself was against the suicide behavior of Akutagawa and Mishima, even before he committed suicide has won the Nobel Prize. Later …… as her age increased a little, she gradually realized one thing. It seems that the people in this family have inherited this yearning for the aesthetics of death in their bones, and that also includes Aunt Yukie. And Aunt Yukie's favorite writer during her lifetime was Mishima Yukio. To this day, Jing Huang still remembers the book "Kinkakuji" that was always placed on the bedside in Aunt Yukie's bedroom. Kitayama Yukie, this woman, had always yearned for death. She only realized this fact after Aunt Yukie's death. Or rather, everyone in this family had this yearning for death in their bones. For Kitayama Yukie, death had never been a question of survival or destruction, but a question of when and how. However, while raising herself, perhaps she began to change her mind. To this day, she still doesn't understand where this suicide complex ingrained in Japan came from. Just as she turned down a corridor, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Kagehō?" Kitayama Jinglong turned back to look at his sister Jinghuang in puzzlement. Corner of a corridor ahead, roughly ten meters away, there was a door that led to the back door. "I'll come over later." There happened to be a restroom on one side of this corridor, and Jing Long thought that his sister was going to the restroom, so he said, "Then come over a little faster." "Uh-huh." Kitayama Jinghuang walked into this corridor. This corridor …… she couldn't do without being impressed. The memories from back then began to sting her a little bit. "Jing Huang, I've already made arrangements. Tonight you wait for me under the persimmon tree over by the back door, I've already gotten you a passport and visa, and I'll take you out of this country. I will never be a witch again." That night, Aunt Yukie died. It was only afterward that she learned that her aunt had always wanted to commit suicide. She had always sought a perfect suicide, and in this, she particularly favored Yukio Mishima. Back then, before Yukio Mishima's death, he had spent months in advance working out his suicide plan and performed a very traditional Japanese harakiri ceremony, with a mesmerizing mediator in advance. Aunt Yukie intended to follow the example of Yukio Mishima, who, at a young age, had detailed several specific suicide plans that she had also put into action, only to fail in the end. Ironically, when she finally died, it wasn't because of suicide. Instead, it was when she developed a strong desire to survive. She died when she wanted to live the most. She walked a little bit towards the back door of the hallway. At that time, she had a premonition that if she opened the back door, she might see Aunt Yukie's figure under that persimmon tree. This kind of thing sounded absurd. If she told it to others, they might think she was crazy. However, she remembered it clearly. Yesterday, the feeling of being touched on her shoulder that she felt while hiding under the grass. She came to the door of the back entrance, reached out her hand, turned the doorknob, and then slowly pushed it open …… …… "Who is your favorite Sengoku era character?" "Chirikyuu …… I think." "Huh?" Akatsuhiko, who asked the question, only felt a little stunned. The one who answered his question was Qin Ziyuan. This place was in a room with a rather classical Japanese character, while in front of him was a screen painted with Ukiyo-e. Frankly speaking, if one were to see a few samurai swords here, or armor from the Warring States era, it wouldn't make Mo Yuan feel strange. Looking at the ukiyo-e in front of him, it also reminded Ming Chenyan of some of the history of Japan's Warring States period that his teacher had mentioned to him when he was studying Japanese. As for the average Chinese, most of the knowledge about the history of Japan's Warring States originated from games and otari dramas. "Who is Chirikyu?" Situ Wenxuan froze, having no impression of this name. The only thing he knew about the Japanese Warring States was also Oda Nobunaga. Qin Ziyuan replied, "A tea ceremony master during the Azuchi-Momoyama era, called one of the three great craftsmen of the world. But unfortunately offended Sekibai Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and was asked to commit harakiri." Situ Wenxuan smacked his lips and said, "That ……" But it was too late to ask anything more, a sliding door suddenly opened behind the screen, and then they saw a figure walking behind the screen. "I like Lihue a lot too. By the way, Li Xiu is not only one of the three great smiths, but also the number one smith in the world. The name Rikyuu was bestowed by the Emperor himself." Across the screen, a gentle female voice came from the opposite side of the screen, and what came out of her mouth was actually well-phrased Mandarin. "May I ask ……" Akatsuhiko immediately said in Japanese, "Mrs. Himura Kara?" "Actually, Rikyuu could have stayed alive." However, the woman behind the screen was answering. "Perhaps you Chinese are not very understanding. To Guan Bai, who was powerful in the world at that time, a seventy-year-old man who cooked tea was not half a threat to his power. However, as a great master of the tea ceremony with a supreme reputation in the world, his pride touched Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who came from a humble background. If he had been willing to submit to Seki Hakubai, he would not have been in a position where he would have had to die. Yet for him, life was never above his aesthetic pursuits. Therefore, Li Xiu could also be said to have committed suicide." Qin Ziyuan froze. Although the topic had started because of them, he had a vague feeling that these words could be part of the clues to the path to life. "I appreciate Li Huo for the same reason." Qin Ziyuan murmured, "But in a different place, I would never make the same choices as him. How could a powerless Tea Ceremony Patriarch possibly stand up to the world's number one man, Sekubai Toyotomi Hideyoshi." "Then why do you still admire him so much?" "It is precisely because he can do it and I cannot that I appreciate it." Qin Ziyuan thought in his mind, the same way I had that admiration and longing for Fang Han. "Do you appreciate Li Huo's choice to kill himself as a result?" Qin Ziyuan continued to pursue the question. The person behind the screen …… was none other than Himura Kara. When she heard those words, she was reminded of Kitayama Yukie, the previous generation of witches that she had been serving in the beginning. She knew very well that for a long time, Yukie had longed for death. To die within this shrine. And after that, to reside here permanently. At this time, Kitayama Jinghuang opened the back door. Outside, under the persimmon tree …… No one was there. She revealed a bitter expression and was about to close the door when, suddenly, she looked at the bottom of the door. There was a book placed there that was soaked in rainwater, but it was stained with crimson blood. The book was clearly – Yukio Mishima's Kinkakuji!