Chapter 129: The Tree of Binding

Ryoko Kitagawa was equally stunned by the scene before her.

More than Qiao Qiao, she was shocked by the fact that they were in the Tadasu no Mori. This was a sacred place, home to both the Shimogamo Shrine and the Kawai Shrine. That such a severe incident could unfold here without them noticing was unthinkable. Had the Shimogamo Shrine really become so incompetent? Though, it seemed rather fitting for Ryoko Kitagawa to be the one asking that question.

In the distance, the sounds of voices drifted toward them. Tourists were strolling through the Tadasu no Mori. By day, the forest was serene and peaceful. By night, however, it was adorned with neon lights, and candle stands lined the clear, flowing stream. Young women in kimonos, their bare feet cooling in the water, transformed their prayers into candlelight, placing them on the stands in hopes of finding true love. Qiao Qiao could see tiny wisps of spiritual energy gathering from these prayers, flowing along the candlelight toward the Marriage Tree.

"Hmm?"

Something felt strange. Qiao Qiao looked at Seikichi.

"Mr. Seikichi, has this Marriage Tree become a yokai?"

With seven hundred years of history and the daily offerings of incense from countless people, it was more than enough for the tree to manifest as a supernatural entity, perhaps even a spirit or a deity.

"That is correct," Seikichi nodded. "However, Lord Marriage Tree has not spoken for a very long time."

Countless tourists moved through the illuminated forest, pressing their palms together in prayer before the tree.

"It’s been about twenty years. Or rather, in the records of our clan, Lord Marriage Tree has only ever spoken three sentences in total."

"What were those three sentences?" Arisu Asano asked curiously.

"Indeed."
"It makes sense."
"To be fair."

"?"

*Is this Lord Marriage Tree secretly watching livestreams lately?* Arisu Asano tilted her head, clearly confused.

As one group of tourists departed and the next had yet to arrive, Qiao Qiao decided to get closer to the tree to investigate. A *shimenawa* rope circled the tree, enclosing it like a barrier. Qiao Qiao reached the tree and extended his hand.

As he touched it, a surge of intense yin energy flooded through the point of contact.

"Pardon the intrusion," Qiao Qiao whispered.

He activated his Psychometry. Originally, he had intended for Ryoko Kitagawa to handle this incident, but it was clear now that the situation had exceeded the bounds of the ordinary. She would have to settle for observing.

Images flooded his mind. Qiao Qiao had become quite adept at Psychometry; he could accurately pinpoint the time, location, and angle he needed to see. He never looked at what he shouldn't.

Because of this, Qiao Qiao had realized a truth. It wasn't that Psychometry had its limits, but rather that one should not become too reliant on it. If one sought to solve every problem through Psychometry, their critical thinking would decline, their reaction speed to sudden events would suffer, and if they ever encountered someone skilled in the art themselves, they might find their own power turned against them.

Well, Qiao Qiao didn't need to worry about that.

He opened his eyes again. Just as he was about to speak, the Marriage Tree emitted a faint glow.

A voice resonated within the minds of the three humans and Seikichi the tanuki: "Please... please grant me release."

It was a voice old and lonely, as if echoing from the dawn of time.

"?" Ryoko Kitagawa’s head was filled with question marks.

"I see. I never imagined it had reached this point, and right next to a shrine—this is highly concerning," Arisu Asano noted, nodding as if she had reached an understanding.

"I understand. Please, go in peace," Qiao Qiao replied.

"Is there really no other way, Exorcist?" Seikichi asked, his face filled with sorrow.

Only Ryoko Kitagawa remained lost. *Who am I? Where am I? What are they talking about? What is happening?* Did she miss a chapter of the story? She was completely bewildered.

"Well, to put it simply, the Marriage Tree isn't just one yokai," Qiao Qiao said, noticing Ryoko’s confusion. "It’s two."

"Huh?" Ryoko was even more lost.

"Two paulownia trees, having weathered seven hundred years of wind and frost, transformed into two yokai. They existed together, supporting one another," Qiao Qiao explained, looking at the tree. "But about twenty years ago, one of them died."

Died. A simple description. Even for yokai, there were limits to life. Seven hundred years was simply too long for a paulownia spirit. After its companion perished, the remaining tree continued to support the entangled mass of the Marriage Tree on its own.

But within its heart, it held a lingering obsession. It was an emotion anyone would feel after the passing of a close friend, a companion, or a loved one. The tree had buried this grief deep within, never expecting that over a month ago, the emotion would be ignited.

As for the cause of that ignition, Qiao Qiao shone his phone’s flashlight onto the tree’s roots. Ryoko saw it then: a carving. It was an extremely complex geometric shape, difficult to describe with simple mathematical terms; on the flat surface, it seemed to project a three-dimensional, even extra-dimensional, image. Just looking at it made Ryoko’s entire body ache, a wave of nausea washing over her.

"Don't look," Qiao Qiao said, drawing his revolver. "Excuse me."

With a single shot, he shattered the carving. The malevolent sensation vanished instantly, but Ryoko noticed that the yin energy radiating from the tree showed no signs of diminishing or dispersing.

"If the Tadasu no Mori were still in its original state, the other trees with spiritual power would gradually restore the Marriage Tree and purify the yin energy," Qiao Qiao said, putting away his revolver. Regardless of the situation, firing a gun in the forest at night was troublesome; one shot might be mistaken for nearby fireworks, but any more would be hard to explain to the tourists. "But for some reason, the trees that could have stopped this have vanished."

If the tanuki ignored it and the Shimogamo Shrine failed to notice, the Marriage Tree would turn into a tree of curses, eventually destroying the entire Tadasu no Mori and the two shrines within it.

"But, what if we infused the Marriage Tree with spiritual energy...?" Ryoko asked. Qiao Qiao had mentioned before that he could infuse spiritual energy into things like bullets, so couldn't they do the same for the tree?

"It's too late," Qiao Qiao said bluntly.

If this had been a month ago—no, there was no point in such assumptions. By the time the Marriage Tree showed signs of abnormality, it was already too late. Even if he were to infuse it with spiritual energy now, it would only serve to purify the tree along with its very existence. And there was no guarantee it would be a complete purification.

A tree’s existence is not independent. A tree is often an entire ecosystem—the soil, the groundwater, the various creatures living within its roots. It was just like the semi-yokai cherry tree he had encountered in Tokyo’s Wadabori Park. If the Marriage Tree didn't possess seven hundred years of accumulated spiritual power, it would have already turned into a bloodthirsty monster, devouring the tanuki in the forest and converting the surrounding spirits into malice to nourish itself.

"B-but, even if we were to destroy the Marriage Tree, that... that wouldn't be easy to do, would it?" Ryoko couldn't begin to imagine how one would destroy a seven-hundred-year-old yokai tree. It wasn't that her lack of power limited her imagination; it was that common sense shackled her reasoning. A yokai of this magnitude was certainly not something meant for a novice shrine maiden like her to handle. Would a person who had just received their driver's license dream of racing on a Formula 1 track?

Facing Ryoko’s doubt, Qiao Qiao remained unfazed.

"It can be done," he said.