The Traveling Bog (旅をする沼, Tabi wo Suru Numa?) is the fifth and final chapter of Mushishi's first volume. Its story was adapted into Episode 5 of the anime series.
Synopsis[]
As Ginko makes his way to a village near the sea, he keeps seeing the same swamp and the same mysterious girl.
Plot[]
Ginko visits his friend Adashino in a seaside village and brings him rare, Mushi-related objects from his journeys to sell, in particular the drinking bowl drawn to life by Shinra Ioroi and Maho's horns. He asks for Adashino's help with a strange swamp that seemed to be traveling along with him on his trek through the mountains and the young girl who follows it.
When Ginko spoke with the girl, his suspicions that the water wasn't just any old bog were confirmed. She was surprised to find someone who believed her when she called it a traveling swamp, but strange phenomena often appear in his line of work. Ginko, on the other hand, was surprised she didn't seem to be frightened of the water's unnatural ability to travel. She explained that she never found it frightening. The first time she'd seen it, she was being pulled down by the current of a raging river, when it had calmly risen up from the riverbed and brought her to shore. When she awoke, she noticed her hair had turned a blue-green color. She felt as if the swamp had told her it's okay to live, so she decided it was the only place where she belonged and followed it ever since.
Later, while Ginko napped nearby, the girl found the kimono that had been given to her by her mother. She remembered her mother telling her to pretend she was to be the water god's bride and that her sacrifice would save the entire village. Then, she had been pushed off a cliff and sacrificed to the raging waters below.
With her feet dipped in the swamp water, she watched as it receded and knew it was leaving again. It was then that Ginko woke up and saw the swamp sinking into the ground. He yelled at the girl to tell the swamp to wait so he could investigate it, but she only thanked him and said she was going to become part of the swamp. His calls went unheard by her as she submerged herself in the rushing water. As he watched on helplessly, he cursed himself for not realizing the water was a Suiko going towards its death. If he didn't find a way to stop her, the girl would die too.
After telling all of this to Adashino, Ginko asks him if he knows anything that might help.