Truth is everywhere within range

"In the beginning, I was just a seed."

"It was brought by a bird from nowhere, fell to the ground, took root, and sprouted."

"At that time, dignitaries still lived in the castle next door. On the streets, warriors came and went, saying things I didn't understand."

"Later, there were fewer and fewer people riding horses, and more and more people sat in cars made of steel."

"For monsters like me, who had not really awakened their spiritual consciousness at that time, it is difficult to perceive the passage of time. Only by looking at humans can we recall time."

"It was at this time that I met the gentleman."

"He looks different from the others, like a guest from a foreign land."

"At that time, Songjiang City had been occupied by another group of people, and all the dignitaries in the past were missing. Outside Songjiang City, all kinds of people came and went, but no one stopped to look up at my flowers."

"Only he would stop and look up at my branches when he passed by occasionally, and speak words that I didn't understand."

"Sometimes, he is seen with some monsters and spirits."

"But apart from his wife, I have never seen him walking with anyone else."

"Later, I found out that he was a spiritual exterminator, and his name in Japan was Koizumi Yakumo."

"Every spring, Mr. Koizumi comes here to enjoy the flowers blooming. Even if he is not in this city for a while, I can still see him walking slowly and stopping on a sunny day. , looking in my direction."

"Until one year, the winter of that year was very long. Mr. Koizumi returned to the city in the autumn and stayed until early spring."

"I was about to transform into a monster at that time. One early spring afternoon, Mr. Koizumi suddenly came to this alley. He didn't just watch as usual."

"Mr. Koizumi came to my side, gently placed his hand on the tree trunk, and said."

"'After staying with me for so long, it's time for you to have your own life. It's such a pity. I'm going to Tokyo tomorrow and won't be able to see you in full bloom. They say that when the cherry blossom demon truly awakens, the blooming Flowers are the most beautiful, but it’s a pity that I won’t be able to witness them with my own eyes.'”

"'But it doesn't matter. I will draw a painting to record your blooming appearance in my memory. Let it be a souvenir of this time.'"

"'After saying so much, you may not understand it. Anyway, thank you for your company during this time.'"

"He said that and left."

"At that time, what I thought was to wait until he came back to really bloom."

"Unexpectedly, every year passed, until I had the power to transform into a human form, but I never saw Mr. Koizumi again. Even his residence has changed."

"Now it seems that he just said it casually at that time. After all, I am just a little monster whose spiritual consciousness is ambiguous, but he is a world-famous spiritual exterminator."

After the old woman finished speaking, she sighed.

Qiao Qiao looked over the old woman's shoulder and behind her.

The withered cherry blossom tree.

There is not a single green leaf on the branches, which looks out of place with the surrounding trees.

In front of the tree, a sign was hung with information about the tree.

The cherry blossom tree, which is more than a hundred years old, has never bloomed in the past hundred years and is now on the verge of death. Although botanists have tried various efforts, they still cannot slow down the death process.

"This is so unfortunate."

Sayoko said.

Tears flowed from Qiao Qiao's eyes.

His cell phone rang at this time, the ringtone of Kagura bell, peaceful and far-reaching.

Qiao Qiao picked up the phone while sucking his nose with a tissue.

"Hello, President Jing Yi? Huh? It's okay. I didn't cry. There's no problem. Huh? Is there any result? Okay."

While crying, he put down his phone and opened Line.

In Line, there are several pictures sent by Ii Masaharu.

[The only designated ghost]: These are the paintings related to Koizumi Yakumo recorded by Todai and Minejo Dai. I have sent them all to you.

Qiao Qiao looked at it and saw that there were not many, only six.

The first two pictures are landscape paintings that decorate Koizumi Yakumo's office.

Starting from the fourth picture, Qiao Qiao felt a little enlightened.

Because the fourth picture is an oil painting.

Yes, Koizumi Yakumo lived in Europe when he was young. Naturally, what he studied since childhood could not be Eastern painting techniques, but oil painting.

When he saw the sixth picture, Qiao Qiao's hand stopped.

The theme of the sixth painting is cherry blossoms.

Cherry blossoms bloom in the warm spring light.

Although it is an oil painting with heavy inks and colors, under the painter's pen, it shows a fresh and elegant tone.

It can be seen how much effort the artist put into the painting.

However, this painting is not finished yet.

Except for the cherry blossoms, no other parts have been painted.

Even the cherry blossoms are not completely finished, giving people a feeling of being in bud.

[The only designated ghost]: This painting was found in the dormitory of Teacher Yakumo Koizumi. He died of a heart attack in the autumn of the year he came to Minejo University. This painting should be regarded as his last work. It has been kept by the school and hung in Koizumi Yakumo's laboratory at the end of Cherry Blossom Road.

Faced with Qiao Qiao's inquiry, Ii Masaharu replied.

Qiao Qiao looked at the painting again.

Enlarge it and you can see an English comment in one corner.

Translated, it roughly means to commemorate those days under the cherry blossom trees and the birth of a friend.

Perhaps, at that time, Koizumi Yakumo really wanted to complete the painting, so that one day he could return here and see Sakura Demon again, who had fully possessed spiritual awareness.

However, things are unpredictable, disease took away his life, and no one knew about the agreement. To this day, if it were not for the help of Qiao Qiao and Sayoko, perhaps when the cherry blossom tree died completely, no one would remember that period of time. .

Qiao Qiao handed the phone to the old woman.

The moment I saw that painting.

Sayoko seemed to see a woman wearing a cherry-colored kimono smiling at her.

"Mr. Koizumi, you have indeed kept your promise."

The woman smiled slightly.

"well?"

Sayoko saw a petal falling on her shoulder.

One piece, two pieces, countless pink petals, falling leisurely.

When I raised my head, I saw that the old tree, which was already withered, actually bloomed with cherry blossoms in this autumn day.

When the cherry blossom demon truly awakens, the blooming flowers are the most beautiful.

Sayoko remembered what she had just heard.

"So beautiful."

Passers-by who happened to pass by could not help but stop.

"But it's autumn now, why are the cherry blossoms blooming?"

There are more and more people, and this secluded alley may have never had so many visitors.

Everyone stopped and looked up to admire the miraculous cherry blossoms blooming in late autumn.

In the crowd, Qiao Qiao took Sayoko's hand and said softly.

"One of Koizumi Yakumo's "Ghost Stories" is called "The Sixteen Cherry Blossoms."

"The story tells that in the Edo period, a samurai had a cherry blossom tree in his home. Every spring, when the cherry blossoms bloomed, the samurai and his friends would gather under the cherry blossom tree to celebrate."

"As time goes by, the samurai gets older, and his family and friends leave him one by one. When he is old, he is alone, but he still enjoys cherry blossoms in spring. It seems that this cherry blossom tree has become his only one. friend."

"Unexpectedly, one day, the cherry blossom tree withered and died. The samurai was very sad, feeling that life had lost its meaning, and fell ill in bed."

"In the winter of the second year, on January 16, the samurai felt deeply that his life was coming to an end. He came to the withered cherry blossom tree and said that he was about to die. He begged the gods to let him see it again before he died. Take a look at this cherry blossom tree in bloom.”

"So, the cherry blossom tree bloomed with beautiful flowers in the heavy snow in winter, and after seeing the flowers, the samurai also passed away under the tree with a smile."

"Since then, this sixteen-year-old cherry tree has only bloomed on January 16th when the snow is falling."

Qiao Qiao saw what happened later in the newspaper.

A cherry blossom tree outside the Koizumi Yakumo Memorial Hall that had not bloomed for a century suddenly bloomed.

In just one night, the cherry blossoms on the entire street were in full bloom.

But the next day, when people went here again, they found that the cherry blossom tree was dead.

In distant Tokyo, at Minejo University, the originally unfinished cherry blossom painting hanging on the wall of Koizumi Yakumo's laboratory seemed to have been completed by someone overnight.

The cherry blossoms in the painting are in full bloom in the spring light, showing a touching vitality, as if they are truly alive.

Not even time can erase it.