Chapter 767 - The Non-Existent Island, Part One
Panda Novel
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Mo Fan was unaware that his actual self would be repeating the same words he said in the dream. Not only was he scolded as a pervert, he even took a slap to the face!
Mo Fan did not dare to make a sound after receiving the slap; not because it was heavy, but he was feeling awkward after exposing his true nature.
“Are you trying to tell us to look for places with Chinese mugwort? If yes, ask Jiang Shaoxu to move her boobs… er, let me smell Jiang Shaoxu’s fragrance,” said Mo Fan, looking at the sky.
As he thought, the faint rose fragrance appeared again. It implied that the people on the outside could actually hear them talking, thus they had responded using smell.
The situation was clearer with the clues provided. Since Xixiong City was located by the sea, they would only find Chinese mugwort in certain places.
—
Not long afterwards, they found an herb garden less than two kilometers away from the temple.
The herb garden looked quite ordinary, with a short fence surrounding it. There were a few white sheds nurturing a few plants that were not suitable for planting outside due to the moisture in the air.
“Everything is clearer and more specific here. I think we’ve found the right place.” Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu immediately felt everything was more realistic when they arrived at the herb garden.
It was a sign that the creator of the illusion was more familiar with this place than anywhere else. Even the island to the south looked clearer than other places.
The two entered the herb garden and saw an old man looking after the place. The old man was surprised to see them, since it was rare for their garden to have customers.
Mo Fan asked the old man if there was a girl called Miyata in English.
The old man could only speak Japanese, yet he did understand the name Miyata. He replied in Japanese, telling Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu that the girl had gone to the rock by the sea.
The two walked south from the herb garden. They passed a barren area, and reached a giant rock at the end. The rock was like a little cliff because of the height of the area, and they could see a part of Xixiong City and the sea in the distance.
Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu walked straight to the cliff and saw a teenage girl in ordinary clothing. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail with an orchid hairpin. Her face was pale white. She was wearing a dress that reached her knees, and a pair of sandals. Her legs were like lotus roots, making her look very petite!
“Is that her?” asked Ai Jiangtu.
Mo Fan nodded. He directly approached Miyata.
Mo Fan saw her crouching on the rock. She was holding a little carving knife with her back toward them.
It looked like she was carving some words on the rock. She was extremely caught up in the process. Her lonely figure facing the ocean was somehow pitiful.
Mo Fan walked up and stood beside Miyata.
Miyata was totally unaware of his presence. She continued to carve the words on the rock. Mo Fan realized that her hand had already been cut by the carving knife. Fresh blood was dripping onto the rock, filling the gaps of the carved words, like they were written in blood!
Mo Fan could not read Japanese, but some of the letters were the same as Chinese letters. He could clearly tell that Miyata was carving the young monk’s name!
She kept bleeding while carving the words, tears rolling down her cheeks. The sorrow displayed on her face felt extremely real!
“Why didn’t they believe me? Why did none of them believe me… we didn’t do anything…” Miyata finished carving the last word in tears.
Before Mo Fan could chat with Miyata, she suddenly rose to her feet and ran to the edge.
She had her eyes closed. Her sandals fell off as she ran. Mo Fan subconsciously tried to stop Miyata, yet discovered that she was only an illusion. He could not stop her. She ran to the edge and fell off the cliff.
Mo Fan stood on the edge, watching her dress drifting in the wind and her sad expression as she fell in the air, before landing in a pool of blood, splattering on the rocks under the cliff…
Ai Jiangtu was stunned by the sequence too. The whole thing looked so real, like a girl overwhelmed with despair committing suicide. Even her corpse was extremely shocking!
“Does….does this mean she killed herself many years ago?” said Ai Jiangtu after calming down.
“It does look that way… So, she turned into a harmful demon spirit?” wondered Mo Fan.
The two stood on the edge. Someone soon discovered Miyata’s corpse. More people crowded around her corpse. The police quickly sealed the area off.
—
“What do we do now?” Ai Jiangtu asked helplessly.
“No idea, I don’t think that’s the demon spirit. It’s like a memory fragment,” said Mo Fan.
“It smells like sandalwood…” said Ai Jiangtu, all of a sudden.
Mo Fan took a deep breath and indeed smelled sandalwood.
“Are they asking us to go to the temple?” speculated Mo Fan.
“Most likely!”
They hurriedly made their way back to the temple.
The temple was no longer crowded with people. It seemed like news about Miyata’s death had reached the temple.
The door was tightly shut. Xin Yu, the old monk in charge of the temple who had allowed Mo Fan and the others to stay at the temple, was gathering the monks. He had asked them to attend a meeting in the rear hall.
It was obvious that they all knew who Miyata was. They were exchanging glances with one another after they heard the news. Mo Fan could see the shock and helplessness in their eyes!
“She left a suicide note. Even though she has died, we’re responsible for her death for pressuring her. The police are already asking us questions, should we cover it up?” asked the old monk, Xin Yu.
“We can’t let anyone know the truth. If the incident is reported, no one will ever come to our temple,” responded the plump monk in charge of the kitchen.
“That’s right, our temple is famous for blessing people’s relationships and marriages. Her death is surely going to affect us. (sigh) She was nothing but trouble!”
“How can you say that? Even though what happened between Nara Orisora and Miyata is unpleasant, Miyata has already used her death to prove that she didn’t have an affair with him. We should be held responsible for her death!”
“Orisora, we never thought Miyata would do something like this. My condolences,” said Xin Yu.
Nara Orisora was sitting on a futon with his head lowered. It was impossible to tell if he was listening.
However, from his dark expression and his occasionally-twitching face, he was clearly feeling a great rage in his heart!
“Everyone knows Qi Hai was the one who was spotted meeting a girl privately, but somehow Miyata and I were accused instead! How dumb are you all? Look what you’ve done, you’ve forced Miyata to kill herself to prove that we were innocent!” Nara Orisora rose to his feet and snapped furiously, pointing at another young monk.
The monk called Qi Hai tried to hide from Nara Orisora’s gaze, but he soon spoke with a firm tone, “I didn’t do it. You weren’t at the temple, and when they asked where Miyata was, she said she had spent the whole night on a little island, but there’s no island around here at all. She must have come up with the lie in a panic when we discovered your secret. How absurd, she even took us to the cliff to show us the island, but there was nothing there. She was clearly lying, she must have had a secret date with you. You’ve ruined the temple’s reputation, and you even tried to frame me!”
