Pathway to Japanese Literature

“Hohohohohohoho...” “But isn’t it absurd?” “……As for me…” “They claim I tried to kill myself repeatedly—that some failed romance made me disillusioned with the world.”

“No.” “I don’t know anything about that.” “I haven’t the faintest memory of doing anything like that.” “I haven’t had any heartbreak from the very start.” “To begin with, I don’t even know who this supposed partner is… do I?” “Isn’t that absurd?” “Ho ho ho ho ho...” “That’s what’s so strange, you know.” “Ever since graduating from girls’ school, I had been confined day after day in that prison-like second floor of the storehouse, forbidden to set even a single foot outside.” “Though I couldn’t quite understand why… on top of that, with my kimono and everything taken away, I felt truly mortified.” “They said it was because I’d tear my kimono to hang myself.” “I felt so wretched... so wretched……….”

The only one who brought me meals was my wet nurse. My father had passed away before I was even born, and my mother too—she had passed away shortly after giving birth to me, or so I’d been told……. Therefore, I—unmarried until then—had been taken in by my uncle, who was a moneylender, and raised on that wet nurse’s milk. That dear wet nurse… she was so kind… How overjoyed I was when that wet nurse brought me the dear little unclothed doll I’d had as a child…….

……Oh… “Where have you been hiding all this time?” “You were off in some distant place with Mother.” “You came back safe and sound after all…” I said through tears, pressing my cheek against hers. And so from then on, day after day, every single day, I did nothing but talk with that doll. I’d talk about Mother, and friends, and teachers… That dear doll was so gentle, so adorable, so clever.

And then, you see. Then, one evening...

The rats in the storehouse chewed through that dear doll's stomach. Then they pulled out a small square scrap of newspaper from inside. Even though I'd been holding her tight... Yes... That's exactly how it happened. The damaged part of her stomach had been patched with newspaper and firmly covered over with sturdy Japanese paper. It had come loose and slipped out. The rats must have pulled it out trying to eat the paste. Oh poor dear.

There’s no telling how much I wept then. And then—feeling so sorry for her—I thought to patch her back up using leftover rice grains from my meal. As I did this, I casually read that torn scrap of newspaper and was shocked to my core. I still have it memorized... it was so mortifying...

That’s how it was…

...she finally went mad and was confined to the second floor of her uncle’s storehouse. At this point, Mr. Blue Tie—the renowned detective who had loved her—rose indignantly to investigate the hidden aspects of this matter, whereupon an astonishing truth came to light. To elaborate: Her avaricious uncle had secretly murdered her mother and concealed the body within the basement walls in order to embezzle her fortune. Subsequently, evidence emerged proving he had schemed to illegally confine her—the rightful heir—and drive her to madness, thereby rendering her legally unfit to inherit. Once her sanity was confirmed, she inherited vast wealth while simultaneously marrying Mr. Blue Tie. At the same time, her despicable uncle received a death sentence...

...that's how they tell it. Isn't that so? That doll was an angel who came to reveal the truth to me. You see... That's how it was. I slipped out of the storehouse that very night, right after sunset...

No. Escaping the storehouse was nothing at all. Because I was so furious—those iron bars set into the second-floor window of that storehouse. When I grabbed them with both hands and pulled with all my strength, they bent like taffy and crumbled away along with the window frame. It couldn’t have been iron—must have been lead or something. Only then did I realize everything had been one great deception from start to finish. Sobbing with bitter rage, I leapt from that window.

Then, to avoid being seen by anyone, I crawled up from the veranda, wedged myself between the long chest in the back closet and the wall, and stayed perfectly still. It was quite painful… but Uncle was cautious, you see. If they closed the storm shutters, there’d be no way to crawl back in at all, you see. After much waiting, when the night finally deepened and I had clearly counted all twelve chimes from the kitchen clock, I stealthily left the closet and carefully pulled out just the blade from the white-sheathed sword hidden beneath Uncle’s futon… for he always slept that way, you see. And then I mercilessly slashed the face of that detestable Uncle as he lay there drunk and naked… declaring him Mother’s sworn enemy… you see.

......That was terrifying. The blood-drenched naked Uncle came lunging at me in a deathly frenzy—you see. I managed to cut him down after much dodging this way and that. Then hordes of hired hands came pouring out, yelling "Madwoman! She's mad!" and raising a clamor about me. Mortified beyond measure, I threw myself into a violent frenzy. Though I slashed and stabbed at the burly men charging with various weapons, their numbers overwhelmed me...for they'd summoned policemen skilled in swordsmanship to aid them. Driven before the alcove, I desperately swung my blade until finally it was struck from my grasp. To crown it all, I tripped over Uncle's corpse and fell hard on my rear with a thud—missing my chance to flee as that policeman pinned me down. Yet how amusing it was. Hohohohohoho....

After that, when I was brought to this hospital by car, the Hospital Director here turned out to be an unexpectedly kind and exceptionally intelligent person, you know. He treated me to many, many cups of delicious cold water, listened to my entire story, and told me all sorts of things. "...It would be best for you to keep pretending to be mad and stay in this hospital a while longer," he said. "...Your uncle is still alive and claims he’ll fight Mr. Blue Tie in court, so once your uncle’s charges are finalized and he’s sent to prison, I’ll release you from the hospital then." "He’ll even have you marry Mr. Blue Tie." "If you don’t endure and wait until then, there’s no telling what evil scheme Uncle might hatch next to come take your life." "But since he said that if I hid in this reinforced concrete room no one could approach... Well, I’ve been hiding here feeling completely at ease just as he told me." "I thought Mr. Blue Tie would surely come to visit me before long, you know… and so I eagerly waited…"

Then something amusing happened… Oh, do listen… I’ve only just realized it recently…

The Hospital Director here was none other than the famous detective Mr. Blue Tie... There, you see? Anyone would have been shocked, I tell you. I was no different myself, you know. With him being that bald, I hadn't noticed a single thing, you see.

But lately, whenever he passed by the window, he would be wearing a blue tie, you know. A new... flashy, irregularly striped... one, you know. So I thought, "Could it be?" and kept careful watch—until I finally realized it, you know. I felt so grateful, you know. To think he went to such lengths to protect me...

Why, because that bald head is a disguise, you know. It's a wig, you know. Ohohohohoho. Isn't it ridiculous? I know full well, but I'm pretending not to, you know. But sometimes it's so absurd I can't help myself, you know.

I thought I was going to marry such a bald-headed person, you know. Hohohohohoho. Hahahahaha….

Kunlun Tea

“Head Nurse… Head Nurse.” “I have a small request.” “Please come here for a moment.” “It’s extremely urgent…” “Listen… you must hear this.” “I apologize but…”

...I've discovered the cause of my insomnia. The reason I couldn't sleep at all since being admitted here... "I'm under an absurd curse, I tell you!" "No!" "It's not imaginary!" "It's not some trivial curse from a graduation paper that gave me neurasthenia!" "There's a concrete reason behind this!" "The proof is right here before your eyes!"

As for me... You mustn't be startled. As for me... The Chinese foreign student sleeping in the bed right next to me— "That guy has cursed me, I tell you." "That guy has cursed me and is trying to kill me!" "So if I stay in this room, there's no way I'll survive—I tell you."

“Huh? Which Chinese person are you talking about…?” “Look… he’s right there sleeping, isn’t he?” “In the bed behind you… Huh? You can’t see him…?” “Your eyes aren’t working properly, are they? …Don’t you think?” “You understand now, don’t you?” “That guy.” “He just had an injection from the doctor moments ago.” “See? He’s snoring away soundly, isn’t he?”

“What did you say…? Are you saying... that Chinese man is a delusion born from my obsessive thoughts...?” “Th-that’s... how could such a thing be possible?” “I’m telling you because it’s a legitimate fact. You see?” “Look here.” “With sunken cheeks like a corpse, half-open white eyes and white lips... sleeping with skin the color of unglazed yellow pottery—you see?” It was only when I saw that complexion that I finally realized. “This foreign student must undoubtedly have been born in the remote hinterlands of China.” “He must undoubtedly be a famous tea addict from those parts….”

“No.” “You couldn’t possibly know.” The skin color of those who become addicted to tea all changes into a cold yellowish hue reminiscent of dusk. The luster completely vanishes. And thus they fall victim to cruel insomnia, ending up like complete invalids.

“No.” “It’s different from ordinary tea.”

“If it were ordinary tea, I could drink a ton of it and wouldn’t even flinch, you know.” “The stuff that foreign student has isn’t some mild thing like that, you know.” “It's called Kunlun Tea—like an essence refined from a type of tea containing a special tannin.” “Therefore, with an utterly indescribable, peerless terrifying allure that can’t be captured through mere words or brushstrokes, it addicts anyone who drinks it just once—I tell you.” “It’s utterly terrifying—the tea among teas, you might say—the number one among all teas—I tell you.”

“That foreign student has hidden this thing called ‘tea essence’—a white powder made from Kunlun Tea extract—somewhere.” “I don’t know where he’s keeping it, but… there are plenty of wizard-like men among the Chinese, you know. …He’s been slipping bits of that stuff into the sedatives by my pillow each time.” “And that’s how he’s trying to take my life without anyone noticing… You see, I sometimes pull the futon over my head.” “I think he slips it in during those moments… The sedatives I take are terribly bitter, you realize.” “And they have this pungent smell too, don’t they?” “That’s why you can’t detect the ‘tea essence’ mixed into them.”

“Huh? What reason would he have to play such a prank?” “Isn’t that perfectly clear? You’ve never suffered from insomnia before, have you?” “That’s right.” “I’m always so sleepy it’s a problem… Ahaha… That’s why you don’t understand how insomnia patients feel.” “…It’s like this. When that guy sees me snoring away soundly thanks to the doctor’s injection, he gets oddly irritated and worked up. And in the end, he becomes so hateful that he wants to kill me.”

“No.” “That’s exactly it.” “This is a hallmark of insomnia patients.” “In other words, they become extreme egotists.” “No matter how much I try to will myself to sleep—the more I try, the more I realize I can’t sleep at all—and gradually I start feeling like I’m going mad… If every last person in the world were suffering from insomnia, groaning and thrashing about while I alone could sleep soundly—how delightful that would be! But right when I’m obsessively fixating on such thoughts, if gentle snores start drifting over from beside me… it becomes utterly unbearable.” “My nerves sharpen all at once until I’m boiling over with rage.” “Even when I try not to listen, each one of those snores seeps deep into my ears with serene persistence.” “Each time, my irritation seethes and mounts twofold.” “In the end, each snore feels like some form of cruel torture until cold sweat drenches my entire body.” “Then—driven to utter desperation where I must either kill that snoring bastard or take my own life—I start tossing this way and that in bed.” “That guy makes me endure this every night on my account.” “Moreover, since I have hypertrophic rhinitis, I snore all night when asleep.” “On top of that, him being a dyed-in-the-wool individualist—and Chinese besides—it must make it all the more unbearable.”

“Therefore, he’s using that tea essence to ensure I don’t sleep a wink—I tell you. And so he’s scheming to gradually weaken me and finish me off—I tell you.”

No. "That’s exactly what it is, I tell you." "I’m not agitated or anything." "That’s precisely how it is." "No good. No good." "It’s not some fantasy of mine." “……If I stay in this room, he’ll surely kill me.” “……Please help move me to another room… What? You say they’re all full?” "Then outdoors—I don’t care!" "I beg you—by all that’s holy—move me elsewhere…!"

“……What is it?” “The origin of Kunlun Tea?” “…You don’t know about it?”

“Hmm.” “If we can determine what Kunlun Tea actually is, counteracting its toxicity would be simple enough… I see.” “There are numerous plant-based stimulants—without hearing a full account of your symptoms first, we can’t make any determinations.” “…Is that so?… Then it should be straightforward.” “If we confiscate and analyze that ‘tea essence’ from the foreign student, everything will become clear at once.” “…I see.” “Not knowing where it’s hidden does complicate matters… Yes, quite right.” “He must be some sort of wizard-like character after all.” “…That’s not all.” “Waking someone mid-injection sleep would let residual drugs damage their system… Is that how it works?” “Hmm…”

“To be honest, I don’t actually know anything about Kunlun Tea’s composition either.” “No.” “This isn’t some tall tale.” “If we’re talking about that extraordinary legend surrounding the tea—why yes, I did read about it in some book ages ago… You see, I’ve always enjoyed researching matters related to China.” “China has been an utterly mysterious nation since antiquity, after all.” “One might even call it my land of ardent longing.” “In fact, I even cited documents regarding China’s spirit-summoning rituals in my latest graduation thesis…”

“Hmm.” “Do you enjoy stories about China too?” “Since your grandfather was a Chinese scholar… Ah, I see.” “Then I’ll tell you all about it.” “Though for any other tale you might’ve heard it from your grandfather long ago—being such a famous story… Hmm.” “You truly know nothing of it?” “How curious.” “Then let’s see if talking helps you recall.”

"But what if that Chinese student were to wake up?" "Hmm." "You’ll be safe until tomorrow morning." "Is that so?"

“Then I’ll tell you about it.” “Now do take a seat.”

“Aren’t you aware that in Sichuan Province and its vicinity, many people have lost their entire fortunes to tea?” “Huh?” “You don’t even know that?!” “Since it’s strictly confined to that area, it’s actually a rather well-known fact…” “Yes, that’s right.” “It’s quite an outlandish story.” “If someone ruins their fortune with liquor and women, that’s expected—but wrecking their health and going bankrupt over a tea hobby? That goes beyond absurdity, don’t you think?” “It’s a tale you’d only ever hear in China.”

"As you know—though I doubt you're listening—when it comes to notions like nation or society, those Chinese might as well be called utterly lacking, such individualistic animals they are. But in exchange, regarding private life's pleasures? We can assert they've developed those means to be the world's finest." "Whether it's clothing, housing, cuisine, alcohol, or perfumes... well... you must know... even in erotic matters or anything else—when it comes to personal institutions of pleasure, backed by four thousand years of history, they've developed them to an astonishingly sophisticated pinnacle."

“Therefore, even regarding a matter as seemingly simple as tea alone, you can immediately imagine there must have been extraordinary research conducted.” “That is exactly correct.” “Moreover, they achieved such bizarrely advanced development that no Japanese person could ever hope to match it through mere imagination—and among these marvels, this Kunlun Tea incident stands as a specially tailored, peerless tale.” “First, let us suppose there exists among the great magnates residing deep within China’s interior—from Sichuan Province through Yunnan and Guizhou—a man who thoroughly understands tea’s nuances, utterly obsessed with accoutrements like tea utensils and tearooms.” “Or perhaps let us suppose there exists a man with a strong penchant for indulgence—one who has exhausted all luxuries through wine, women, opium, gambling—who now resolves to plunge deep into tea connoisseurship.” “Are you following?” “So they spare no expense in their limitless pursuit of rare teas—acquiring them, boasting at gatherings, attempting tea-themed picnics—until their fervor inevitably escalates to craving Kunlun Tea itself.” “Of course, Kunlun Tea stands as the very center of reputation among tea circles—recognized as their most bewitching ace. The tea shops frequented by those Chinamen then tempt patrons with a torrent of first-rate adjectives… proclaiming things like ‘One who hasn’t tasted Kunlun Tea isn’t fit to discuss tea at all!’ With such lavish enticements, those with the right predisposition find it utterly unbearable.” “And so, under such circumstances, one ends up handing over an exorbitant sum to the tea shop and entrusting them with arrangements.”

Now, those who went to drink Kunlun Tea generally gathered in full force across cities in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces and set out from after the New Year until around February. In other words, the timing of departure—whether early or late—was determined by the distance to the Kunlun Mountains, but that procession too was said to be a spectacular sight. First, two or three guides bearing yellow flags rode forth on horseback, followed by monkeys tied to the horses’ backs—two or three per horse—totaling twenty or thirty, or even forty or fifty in all. Amidst them mingled twenty or thirty figures—tea pickers in green half-coats and tea masters clad in yellow robes—as they proceeded, though the purpose of these monkeys would become clear later. Following them came three or four—or as many as seven or eight up to ten—magnificently decorated two-horse carriages, in which the tycoons and nobles heading to drink Kunlun rode while each cradled their prized tea utensils. Yet on this occasion alone, not a single mistress typically accompanying Chinese tycoons joined the procession. It was said to be a procession consisting entirely of men, but the reason for this would become clear in due course.

Following them came two plum-pickling urns adorned with gold-and-silver phoenix ornaments and butterfly decorations at their forefront, then carts laden with provisions like small trunks, large trunks, and tents. Behind these rode guards armed to resemble mounted bandits, forming such an imposing cavalry column that any unknowing observer would struggle to discern whether this was a military campaign or tea excursion. "It's precisely like a caravan traversing the Arabian Desert," he remarked. "In any case, to stage such commotion merely to taste new tea—the depths of Chinese hedonism defy all comprehension, wouldn't you agree?"

They then crossed treacherous mountain paths, traversed wilderness plains inhabited by highwaymen and wild beasts, and braved sub-zero deserts of the highlands guided solely by their guides’ bearings—until at last they arrived near Lake Yūshin, a secret realm deep within the Kunlun Mountains. They say the seasons arrive late there, making that time as warm as early spring—but as for the scenery’s beauty, it truly defies all description.

Though the details remained unclear, it was said that around this Lake Yūshin there had once existed—in prehistoric times—a splendidly advanced civilization known as the Kingdom of Kunlun. However, as a result of cherishing excessively pacifist pursuits, the people became so overindulged in Kunlun Tea’s flavor that they completely lost their vigor and were ultimately destroyed by barbarians—or so the tale went. Even now, those ruins were said to protrude here and there from mountain hollows and lakebeds. All around them sprawled primeval forests and alpine flower fields where rare birds and unfamiliar butterflies fluttered and sang in tranquil ease. Between the crystal-clear azure sky stretching to its deepest depths and the lake below, a fresh sun glittered and spun... Scenes beyond the reach of brush or canvas unfolded everywhere. "In the very best spot with the finest view, merchants gathered from every region would compete to erect their tents first. Clutching incense and talismans in their hands, they’d burn offerings while praying for the Kunlun Mountain Deity’s protection—all while holding grand tea ceremonies to console the myriad spirits of the fallen Kunlun Kingdom. But in truth, this was merely superstitious Chinese comfort-seeking and idle distraction while waiting for the tea to brew."

Meanwhile, the tea-picking men who had dismounted from their horses set out to harvest tea without a moment’s rest, each carrying a monkey tethered with an exceptionally long rope upon their shoulders. After passing through the dense forest region, they climbed up the Kunlun Mountains—jagged crags towering into the heavens—and searched for tea trees. However, the tea trees growing in clusters across the Kunlun Mountains appeared to differ in variety from ordinary tea trees. They were all magnificently large trees growing along sheer cliffs that looked as though cleaved by an axe—wedging themselves into rock crevices mid-slope—making it far too perilous for anyone to approach without employing monkeys. Now these monkeys proved exceptionally well-trained creatures indeed—when they nimbly plucked only the newest sprouts just beginning to bud at the very tips of those massive tea trees, they returned directly to their handlers without so much as a backward glance, or so it was said.

So, after such adventurous efforts, ten or fourteen to fifteen tea-picking men—each having obtained a handful or two of tea buds—hurried back to the tented encampment. “Then the waiting tea masters—that is, the tea ceremony masters—” “They would reverently receive those Kunlun Tea buds and process them into green tea through characteristically Chinese meticulous methods.” Then they scooped clear spring water from nearby into silver pots, placed them upon hand-molded stoves called Kunro, and brought lukewarm water to a boil. They poured that hot water into an exquisitely crafted tea bowl, placed a white paper lid over it, and scattered atop that lid a pinch of Kunlun green tea resembling black needles. Then, once they judged the white paper lid to have tinged a faint yellow, they removed the tea dregs from its surface, entered the tent, and before the tycoons and nobles reclining upon their armchairs—prostrated themselves three times and bowed nine times as they reverently offered it forth.

There, the tycoons and nobles would remove the white paper lid from their tea vessels and take a faint, tiny sip of lukewarm water. Of course, when first tasted, it supposedly differed not at all from ordinary hot water—but if they refrained from swallowing that water and kept it still in their mouth, the flavor of Kunlun Tea would imperceptibly make itself known. "In other words," he explained, "the essence of the green tea placed atop the paper—steamed by vapor permeating through—seeps into the hot water…"

“—How about that?” “A splendid tale, don’t you think?” “An indescribably secretive and noble fragrance—winding its way around each and every tooth root—faintly, ever so faintly being breathed in.” Gradually, all delusions and distractions would solidify with crystal-like clarity, their divine energy clearing like azure skies—until before they knew it, they’d achieve meditative union with a sage’s state of mind, ecstatically forgetting all notions of right and wrong—or so it’s said. That divine comfort, once tasted, is said to be something absolutely and utterly unforgettable.

“Yes.” “Of course it is.” “That they cannot sleep even at night goes without saying; yet those tycoons felt no fatigue whatsoever.” “Through Kunlun Tea’s miraculous efficacy—endlessly brought by yellow-robed tea masters who shadowed their every step—they became utterly fused with divine immortals through night and day.” “Gods concentrated their essence, demons sank dormant; they conversed with constellations and clasped the earth’s contours, never knowing weariness.” “They prepared the first cup to greet the Sun Deity, then held the second cup between their lips to behold the Moon Deity.” “‘With spirits majestic they overleapt mountains and rivers; all phenomena crystalline-clear, refreshment boundless’—so the ancient texts record.”

However, during this period, they did not consume food to enhance the tea's flavor. Since they consumed only one salt-pickled plum and one sugar-preserved plum three times a day, it went without saying that the tycoons’ bodies rapidly wasted away. "The sight of them lying stretched out in their armchairs, their complexions turned the color of deathly ash with only their eyes glittering brightly, was said to resemble a mummy exhibition—something neither eerie nor terrifying could quite describe."

However, in the end, the light in their eyes faded dully away until they entered a psychological state like vacant dolls—utterly devoid of anything. “Since they couldn’t move a muscle, they had their caregivers make them drink the tea.” They said the tea tasted especially exquisite then, leaving them enraptured as if their entire bodies were wrapped in its fragrance—though this was no doubt due to their nerves being utterly worn out. In exchange, they soiled themselves with uncontrolled waste, and when mental exhaustion peaked, every last one began experiencing nocturnal emissions—all matters said to be disposed of by the tea masters with truly thorough efficiency.

In this way, over the course of two or three weeks, the new tea buds—which had initially been near the foothills—gradually shifted to higher and higher regions of the Kunlun Mountains. As harvesting grew increasingly difficult with this progression, once the new tea became completely unharvestable, the tea pickers and tea masters joined forces to carry those tycoons and nobles—now weakened like corpses barely clinging to life—into their respective carriages. While administering premium nutrients like butter and bone broth, they returned them to their homeland at a pace even slower, ever so gradual, than their journey out. In short, they avoided daytime travel, making the horses walk only during mornings and evenings—because if they drove the horses too briskly or exposed them to the approaching summer sunlight, the animals might well have staggered and collapsed with rolling eyes.

Now, it’s said that even after returning to their hometowns with great difficulty in this manner after seven or eight months away, there are those who remain like half-dead invalids—but in any case, once someone has tasted this Kunlun Tea, they’re beyond saving. “Since they’ve become full-fledged tea addicts, by the time next New Year passes, they’ll be unbearably compelled to go drink it again… Though really, this is only natural.” “Given that these tycoons have already glutted themselves to their heart’s content on garish Chinese-style eroticism, gambling, and New Year’s revelries of wine-and-meat extravagance, this urge for such transcendent picnic moods might well be a physiological necessity.”

So they went again. The next year too, they went again. As this repetition piled up, they came to be not only envied by fellow tea enthusiasts but received supreme reverence as members of the Tea Knighthood. "They say these tycoons would be granted special titles like 'Kunlun Immortal Scholar' or 'Daoist Master,' treated like celestial beings—but considering each trip devoured an entire fortune, how they turned into useless invalids with neither functioning minds nor bodies, how their wealth was drained from every direction... Unless they were extraordinary magnates, their coffers would be emptied completely within four or five Kunlun Tea pilgrimages." "Now you must have grasped how this Kunlun Tea holds a peerless, life-risking allure unmatched through all ages."

“How about that, Head Nurse? A fantastic story, wouldn’t you agree?” “Even Yankee-style extravagance doesn’t go this far, I bet.” “Hahaha…”

However, there remained one troublesome problem here. "That would be Mr. Kunlun Immortal Scholar—the addict who had squandered his entire fortune." Of course, he no longer had the means to go drink Kunlun Tea again—but its flavor had seeped into him to the core, making it utterly impossible to abandon. And so, having no other choice, he would purchase something called “tea essence” from an old familiar tea shop, all in hopes of tasting even just that sublime state where gods gather and demons subside—that splendidly transcendent mood. This white powder—produced from the discarded green tea leaves those tycoons had left at the foot of Kunlun Mountains—was apparently quite expensive. Yet if one endured and mixed it into regular tea to drink, though it lacked any special aroma or flavor, being pure essence it remarkably sharpened divine energy. They could not sleep a moment’s rest day or night. And in the end, many ended up unable to tell day from night, becoming little more than skin and bones in a half-dreaming, half-awake state until they died. “Moreover, being in China, regulating it was absolutely impossible—just like opium.” “There were even youths who withered away their prime without ever knowing Kunlun Tea’s true taste—indulging solely in imitations of ‘tea essence’ through half-baked mimicry—or so it went. That Chinese foreign student sleeping there now was undoubtedly one of them.” “Ever since I was admitted to this hospital, the reason I can’t sleep without injections is undoubtedly because of that guy.”

—Right?

“Head Nurse.” “Therefore I must apologize, but please change my room.” “No, no.” “This isn’t an excuse.” “I don’t want to become one of those dreadful tea addicts and let my youth wither away.” “Please... I implore you... quickly... before that fellow wakes up...”

“Wh-... What did you say...?” “China’s magic…?...” “Hmm... Within the Chinese magic you learned from your grandfather lay something called the Vanishing Ritual.” “Hmm…” “What sort of magic is that?”

“No.” “This is the first I’ve heard of it.” “I have absolutely no idea.”

“Vanishing Ritual or whatever… Hmm…” “If that magic were applied, my distress would be effortlessly resolved.” “Is that true…? Hmm.” “Since it can only be performed in a locked room like this, it’s perfect.” “Hmm…” “You wouldn’t lie about this, would you?” “Please tell me.” “Please try it.” “And this Vanishing Ritual… how does one perform it?” “Close your eyes... That’s good.” “They are closed.” “…Then count from one to ten... using China’s counting method... yes.” “Of course I know.” “In a loud voice... Good.” “Understood.” “Alright? I’ll start counting.”

......Oooone... Twooo...... Threeee... Foooour... Fiiiive... Sixxx... Sevenn... Eighttt... Niiine... Teeen...... and... "Alright?" "I'll open my eyes now."

……Well now…… This is strange…….

The foreign student was gone. The bed had vanished along with him. It had turned into a concrete wall… It was unmistakably a wall. It had become a cramped room that could barely fit a single bed. This was strange… Ever since earlier, I’d been fixated on that Chinese student… but this was odd… "What’s wrong, Head Nurse…?"

……Huh… The Head Nurse is gone too.

When did she leave? Under the bed… she isn’t there. This keeps getting stranger and stranger. I wonder if I’ve been talking to myself all along. Let me try tasting this medicine... …It isn’t bitter at all. It tastes salty… Just baking soda. This is strange... So strange... ……Ah hah hah hah! I finally figured it out. This must be the Vanishing Ritual. The room and medicine had been switched during that time.

......That Head Nurse's magic was something else...... just like Tenshou. How grateful I was, how grateful. Thanks to her, I could finally sleep in peace. ......Ah...... I was shocked......

What an interesting country China is...

Ha ha ha ha ha ha...