Chapter 310: The Studious Trio

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Kimura Kazuki did not hike up the mountain again. Owing to the reason that the search and rescue team was looking for Daisuke Kojima on the mountain, even in the middle of the night, needless to say they would be doing so in the morning as well.

If someone were to find out that he went up Kanayama again, he would probably be arrested and taken to the police station. Even though Honda looked like an easy going man, Kimura Kazuki could tell that he was actually a serious and stern man after having a short chat with him.

Thus, Kimura Kazuki made no mention about his intention to go up the mountain for the entire day. Besides, Ikioi Ito would not stop annoying him as that bloke had nothing to do, which added to his frustration.

“Do you not enjoy the scenery, or do you think the food at Kobayashi Village is not up to standard anymore?” Kimura Kazuki grabbed the spoon that was meant for the shaved ice and took a scoop. He was smiling with his eyes closed, enjoying the food.

It was a rare peaceful moment for Kimura Kazuki and he never wanted to spend the day with three boys.

As for the girls, Harunaka, Mizuki and Yayoi had gone shopping. Besides, there were plenty of other fun attractions in Kobayashi Village where they could either go hunting or take a summer sauna. The village even built a swimming area near the mountain springs.

In the end, all the girls went to have some fun while Ikioi Ito and the others gathered around him. Kimura Kazuki was totally speechless at the situation.

He seldom came to a scenic spot. Now that he was here, he really wanted to spend his time alone and relax without having a single thought about practicing.

However, Ikioi Ito laughed cheekily and said, “Boss Kimura, this shaved ice is on me. I kept pondering about the Enchanted Talisman you gave us yesterday. I drew it on a sheet of white paper, but I was unable to draw any patterns similar to the one on the Enchanted Talisman. Could you teach me how to draw the pattern?”

Immediately, he felt a knock on his head. He snapped his head and glared furiously at Mizuki and Tomoya. Then, he saw the both of them moving their lips without making a sound, mouthing the word “us” to him.

Seeing that, Ikioi Ito pursed his lips and simply added, “And the two idiots behind me want to learn how to draw talismans too, but they are dumber. Boss Kimura, you can teach me first and I will teach them how to do it later, so that you won’t get pissed off at their low intelligence.”

Both Mizuki Sugawara and Tomoya Saito wanted to kick Ikioi Ito’s ass. However, considering the fact that Kimura Kazuki was just right here and that Ikioi Ito got to know Kimura Kazuki before them, they decided to suppress their anger.

Most importantly, the Enchanted Talisman was a specialty of Onmyojis and shrine maidens, so nobody would teach them about it as they were Swordsmen. There was no one in their family who knew how to draw talismans, which was why many Kendo families decided to work together with Onmyojis.

If it were not for that reason, who would go and polish the Onmyojis and shrine maidens’ apples? It was nothing but a method to boost their survival.

Most of the time, the Onmyojis and shrine maidens could cause them chaos by using a single Enchanted Talisman. Above all, it was said that those Onmyojis who owned shrines in their families could even activate the consanguinity of Swordsmen to control shikigami. Many Kendo families yearned for that, but unfortunately specific things were required to activate consanguinity. It was an esoteric secret that the Kendo families would never know of.

Obviously, Ikioi Ito and the others did not know that Harunaka had already activated her consanguinity to control shikigami and her combative power had skyrocketed. They would probably become green eyed monsters if they were to know about it.

Harunaka did not mention about it, not because she was down to earth but due to the fact that she did not really understand the situation. She thought everyone would know about activating consanguinity. After all, she was just a newbie to the practice of Kendo. People like Ikioi Ito and the others were seniors to her.

Isn’t it a universal fact that seniors should have more knowledge than juniors?

Kimura Kazuki made no mention about it as well. It was mainly because one must have a family member who passed away and became a specter before one could activate consanguinity. It was unlikely that Ikioi Ito would have a family member who fulfilled the requirement. On the other hand, Yagyu Kenichiro had an opportunity as his father was already dead but still existed. Even though he had become a wraith, there were many more miraculous things in this world. Perhaps some Onmyoji families would own something that was able to cleanse the soul by removing the negative knowledge from the wraith and turn the wraith into a specter.

Kimura Kazuki suddenly froze as he pondered about it. Something that could cleanse the soul? He has one of it, doesn’t he? The Jade of Four Souls has the power to cleanse souls…

With that in mind, Kimura Kazuki went into deep thought. The power of the Jade of Four Souls is far too pure for wraiths. The cleansing power is so strong that it resembles the strongest poison, and will cause the wraith to die from a mere touch. The reason why Otome Sakagami did not perish when she was being suppressed, is because she was not a wraith, but a Tsukumogami. A difference in species will naturally lead to a different outcome. Will it work if the Jade of Four Souls was to be used to cleanse a wraith and turn it into a specter?

As a researcher, Kimura Kazuki was suddenly intrigued. If there really is such an effect, the Jade of Four Souls will be a priceless possession. Wraiths must be killed, but specters, on the other hand, can play a significant role.

“Boss… Boss…” His thoughts were interrupted abruptly by the noise, but Kimura Kazuki did not get angry. Instead, he looked at Ikioi Ito with a faint smile and asked, “Do you want to know why tracing doesn’t work?”

Ikioi Ito nodded profusely like a woodpecker. Behind him, Mizuki and Tomoya were looking at him with eagerness written all over their faces.

“It is actually very simple. By way of analogy, these patterns are like a type of written language. You guys haven’t even learnt the basic strokes, it is impossible for you to draw a complete Enchanted Talisman.” Kimura Kazuki did not sugarcoat anything as there was nothing to hide from them as well. He dared to give them the Lightning Attracting Talisman as a remuneration at Fukuda Shrine because he was confident that these Onmyojis did not really know how to draw a Lightning Attracting Talisman.

The Enchanted Talismans from the Dharma Ending Age and the era of recuperation of reiki were different in nature, especially in terms of the patterns and usage of recuperation of reiki.

During the Dharma Ending Age where the reiki in the air was thin, regardless of whether they were from Huaxia or Japan, every practitioner would take reiki into their body and use it as their own before they start to draw the talisman. Then, they would use their talisman pens as a guide to complete an Enchanted Talisman.

It sounded similar to what he heard when he was first traveling through time to this place. It was actually the same since he was living in the Dharma Ending Age now. However, after he enhanced his strength to gain a better control of the reiki, he never drew a talisman like that anymore.

When he drew talismans now, he would mainly use the reiki between heaven and earth. He would focus mainly on using his red reiki if he needed to draw the Lightning Attracting Talisman, which was a talisman that could only be drawn by those in the Metamorphosis Stage.

Apart from this, the patterns that were drawn on the talismans were different too.

During the recuperation of reiki, the Enchanted Talismans were simplified. For that reason, the patterns on the Enchanted Talismans started to unify.

The Basics of Patterns had recorded the usage of each pattern. Thus, if one wanted to draw talismans, one had to memorize 20,000 patterns. It was insufficient if they merely memorized the pattern as one had to group them together as well. It was only possible for them to successfully draw a talisman if the patterns did not contradict each other.

In addition, the patterns had to be tidy. It was just like written language. If the patterns one drew looked like chicken scratch, then the success rate of one’s talisman would be greatly reduced. If the patterns were neat and tidy, then the success rate of one’s talisman would be greatly increased.

Ikioi Ito and the others were dumbfounded upon hearing that.

“How long will it take to master the patterns?” Ikioi Ito gulped and said. He was still determined to learn it.

“Probably seven to ten years.”

A fit of dizziness came over Ikioi Ito’s trio as they heard Kimura Kazuki’s gentle reply.

Ten years meant one-eighth of their entire lives would be gone just like that.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep