21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 271 - 268: The True Form of Faith

In Japanese customs, December 31st is known as New Year’s Eve, and the evening of that day is also called "Ōmisoka," where people pray for the deities to bestow blessings, sending off the troubles of the old year and welcoming a beautiful new one.

At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, temples in cities and countryside alike strike the bell 108 times to expel evil; Japanese people sit quietly and listen to the "New Year’s Eve Bell," with the final toll signifying the arrival of the New Year.

After listening to the New Year’s Eve Bell, going to bed and having a good dream is known as "hatsuyume," symbolizing the fortune for the coming year.

However, for Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi, all these were indeed just customs. As transcendents, they did not fear so-called evil or ghosts and monsters, and as for misfortune... fate is the most unpredictable thing; rather than praying to gods and Buddha, it was better to rely on oneself.

Of course, for Hiromi Jounouchi, who had just become a transcendent a few days ago, she still had the mentality of an ordinary person, and the habits developed over many years made her particularly devout during the New Year bell-ringing ceremony.

This is not to say that she revered gods and Buddha that much, but rather than believing that such ceremonies would earn their protection, it was more an expectation and longing for a wonderful life and happiness, simply placing her hopes in the faith of gods, Buddha, and the rituals themselves.

"Gong~ Gong~ Gong~…" With the coming of the New Year, the distant and resonant sound of the bell tolled, and the crowd erupted in cheers; each toll accompanied by a cheer, carrying the people’s hopes for a wonderful new year along with the sound of the bell, spreading in all directions.

Standing among the crowd, Yu Chen watched the cheering people around him and found himself cheering along involuntarily.

Pure emotions are easily infectious. When everyone around is cheering, even if one doesn’t know why, they will easily join in the cheer.

In fact, to this day, there might still be very devout believers, but for the vast majority participating in such ceremonies, it is more about wishing for a wonderful new year than focusing on the rituals themselves, offering not necessarily protection from gods and Buddha but more of a psychological comfort and hope, making people feel that their New Year will be better.

Perhaps this is the true nature of faith, not the belief that such rituals would bring the protection of gods and Buddha, but the belief that after such ceremonies, the bad aspects of the old year would be taken away with the sound of the bell, and the new year would be more splendid.

Hence, the faith that our ancient ancestors sought was not the protection and blessing of gods and Buddha, but rather a simple wish for a better life.

They prayed for favorable winds and timely rain, so that the fields would yield a good harvest, thus gods and deities came to possess powers over weather and abundance...

They prayed for many children and grandchildren, for the continuation and prosperity of their lineage, thus gods and deities came to possess the power of granting offspring and safe childbirth...

No wonder it’s said that faith is a poison. For the deities, they are just harvesting faith to gain power, to become greater, not to be tools for their followers, providing services, because that would cause these deities to lose themselves.

A naturally developed faith for these high and mighty deities thus turns into a poison that hinders them.

Yet, for these deities, they cannot escape faith. Relying on faith to exist, they must respond to their followers’ faith to harvest more of it.

But they are unwilling to respond to the prayers of the faithful, so over time, people stop believing in these deities, leading to their fall, further proving the notion that faith is a poison.

In fact, for ordinary mortals, what they desire is neither the protection of gods and Buddha nor power to rival ghosts and monsters; they just hope for an ordinary and wonderful life, and as long as faith makes their lives better, they are willing to believe in and adhere to it.

Perhaps this is why, from ancient times to the present, on the Central Plains of China, those once-luminous ghosts and monsters have long been forgotten, but those who made contributions to ordinary people are still remembered.

The ancient Dragon Kings and Water Gods have turned into mud sculptures, but the people of the Shu region still remember the Governor of Qin State who managed the water calamities for them two thousand years ago; gods in charge of heavenly laws and disciplines are seldom remembered, but the righteous officials who were clear-eyed and just in their judgments are worshipped as King Yama even thousands of years after their deaths...

And those leaders who, in the darkest times, led the people to overthrow oppression and exploitation, and established a new country and a better life, did not believe in any gods or Buddha.

They believed only in their own hands, declaring "to dare to ask the sun and moon to change the sky," and indeed, they changed the destiny of the ancient land of China and even became a new faith in the hearts of the people...

Perhaps this is the original essence of faith? Upon realizing this, Yu Chen suddenly had a new understanding of the relationship between deities and faith, giving him a clearer vision of the path he would take in the future.

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When the final toll of the 108th bell rang out, the New Year’s blessing ceremony came to an end amidst the cheers of the crowd.

Most people chose to go home to sleep, but Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi stayed because they wanted to see the first sunrise of the New Year.

"Mr. Chen Yu, there are still several hours until sunrise, what shall we do?" Hiromi Jounouchi asked, looking at the gradually dispersing crowd.

"How about we go back to the castle to rest a bit, and come back when it’s about to get light?" Yu Chen estimated the time, as there was still a long way to go before sunrise, and deemed there was indeed no need to wait here. As for finding a place to pass the time... in the middle of the night on New Year’s Eve, even the pubs that were usually open all night were closed.

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There was nowhere to kill time.

Upon hearing Yu Chen’s suggestion, Hiromi Jounouchi pouted a bit. Although spending time with Yu Chen in the castle was a good option, she thought it was somewhat boring and wanted to do something more enjoyable.

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After thinking for a moment, she suggested to Yu Chen, "Mr. Chen Yu, it’s night now, and no one will see us. What if I call Xiao Lan over, and let it take us to fly to the mountaintop to wait for the sunrise? After all, this weather doesn’t really affect us."

As Yu Chen considered her idea and was about to speak, the voice of an old monk suddenly came from nearby, "Amitabha, I wonder if the two donors would like to listen to the old monk’s scriptures and enjoy some tea?"