Kamiyagawa was wandering around the small town next to the mine with [Thousand Silver Needles] in his pocket.
"Bie Tongzi Mountain was closed in 1973. This town seems to be a gathering place for former miners and miners' families. If you look for the older people in the town, they might be former miners. From them, you should be able to get first-hand information about Bie Tongzi Mountain. .”
Kamiya did the same thing on Ouri Island back then.
He calls himself a folklorist and talks to local middle-aged or elderly people with a small silver stick.
good results.
The town is not large, and the streets are far from spacious. After walking for a while, I didn't see any suitable targets.
"Hiss...huh?"
At the corner of a certain street, Kamiyakawa's eyes were attracted by a person walking towards him.
It was a woman in her early twenties, who looked like a female college student.
She looks so pretty.
Kamiya's eyes stayed on the other person's body for a while.
The girl also noticed Kamiya and kept watching.
The two met their eyes.
"puff."
After a moment, the strange girl opposite chuckled lightly and turned her head to the side.
He seemed to be gesturing for Kamiya to follow.
Kamiyakawa didn't have any scruples and followed directly.
The two of them walked into a deserted alley one after another.
"This is the first time we meet. My name is Ai Saotome." The girl turned around and bowed gently towards Kamiya to introduce herself, "I didn't expect to meet my colleagues here."
That's right, this is the opening statement.
This man is a spiritualist.
Real exorcists are always attracted to each other in the crowd.
After all, they can feel each other's aura more or less differently than ordinary people.
"Miss Saotome, right?" Kamiyagawa called the other party by her last name, "Hello, my name is Kamiyagawa."
"Kamiya...Kawa? I think I've heard of this name." Saotome was fond of reminiscing, and after a moment she suddenly realized, "Wait a minute, are you a spirit exterminator from Tokyo? You rescued many living people of Kamigakure from Kisaragi Station, and you also The one who solved the Wakayama whale disaster?"
Kamiyakawa noticed that the other party did not mention the treatment of the Pink Fairy, the Plague God, and Meng Nan.
Perhaps these three things were related to the time of sealing the demon, and involved the secrets of the countermeasures room, and Saotome Ai did not know about it.
If this is the case, this Miss Saotome should not be an official spirit slayer.
Or even if they join the official list, they have not yet entered the inner circle.
"Let's leave it at that."
Kamiyakawa nodded, thought for a moment, and took out the countermeasures room ID from his pocket.
"Eh——? It's really true!" Ai Saotome looked at the seal and certificate on the certificate, "So you are so young!?"
"Um……"
Kamiya didn't expect that his reputation would spread so widely.
Anyone who encounters an exorcist will have heard his story.
"Offended!" Ai Saotome bowed again, this bow much deeper than before. She kept her head lowered and said, "Let me introduce myself again. My name is Ai Saotome. My family is Shinto. I am not yet qualified to join the countermeasures room. , but I have been working hard, please give me your advice!”
"No need to be so formal."
"Yes, you are a senior in the countermeasures room!" Saotome Ai raised her head, "Senior, did you come to Iyo to remove spirits?"
"So be it."
It felt weird to be called "senpai" by someone who was obviously older than me.
"Ah... is it also for the Headless Horseman?" Ai Saotome said slightly embarrassed, "Then it seems like I came here in vain?"
"What is the Headless Horseman?"
"Eh? Isn't that why you're here? It's a commission I finally received a few days ago."
Kamiyakawa thought for a while and said, "I plan to go to Bie Tongzi Mountain. What level of ghost story are you talking about about the headless horseman?"
"I guess it's around E level." Saotome Ai relaxed a little and raised her hand to touch her chin, "That's right. It seems that such a level of weird stories is far from worthy of a big shot like you coming all the way from Tokyo."
"I'm not a big shot." Kamiya shrugged his shoulders. E-level weird stories were also commissioned by others, so Kamiya wouldn't snatch them away. "By the way, where are you from?"
"He is a native of Ehime. He lives in Ikata Town. Senior can come as a guest at any time!"
"That's not necessary. Can I ask you something?"
The exorcist who lives in Ikata Town is a complete local.
Maybe you can get the information you want from this Miss Saotome.
"You say."
"How much do you know about Bie Tongzi Mountain? Are there any weird stories in the Bie Tongzi Mountain area? For example, Shikijiro and the like?" Kamiyagawa did not directly conceal his purpose of looking for Shikijiro. Anyway, normal people would definitely not be able to think of it. He was looking for Shikijiro was brought to the other world to mine.
"Shikijiro? Why are you talking to such a lowly wandering spirit, senior?"
"I have some shikigami monsters under my command, and one of them needs the materials that Shikijiro may produce to cultivate."
The reason Kamiyagawa gave is reasonable.
Like last year, before the little old man was promoted to F level, the [Shadow Mass] he absorbed was a Kaidan relic produced from a very low-level Kaitan Shadow Ghost.
"Shikigami... I seem to have heard about this matter of yours." Saotome Ai nodded without raising any questions, "Besides Tongzishan, let me think about it, it seems that Shikijiro exists all the time, but Ehime’s spiritual slayers don’t tend to go there.”
"Why?"
"Ah, because it has always been peaceful there. There is also a Betsuko Theme Park with a lot of tourists, and there have been no supernatural incidents at all in the past ten years. If senior wants to find Shikijiro, he may have to go into the deep mountain area to look for abandoned or dusty Let’s try our luck in the mines. Normally, spiritualists won’t go to great lengths to find such low-level ghost stories that have no record of harming anyone.”
"Um."
All right.
Asking is almost the same as not asking.
It's quite different from the information I judged before.
"Oh, regarding Bie Tongzi Mountain, there's one more thing I thought of, senior." I don't know if she wanted to show off in front of Kamiyagawa, the "senior" in the countermeasures room, but Ai Saotome looked very positive:
"It's a story I heard from my grandfather when I was a child. It's said that during the Meiji Era, a strange thing happened in Beetongzi Mountain for a while. A whip wind suddenly blew in the mountain, and many miners suffered from it."
"Whip wind?"
This term sounds familiar.
"Yes, it is said that when this kind of wind blows, it will make the sound of whips and billowing sand. People and animals who encounter this kind of strange wind will get sick."
"Then what?"
"Then what happened is a bit unclear. Anyway, after a certain time, the whipping wind in Bie Tongzi Mountain stopped inexplicably and never appeared again. However, this is just a story told by my grandfather. The truth or falsehood is very different. It’s hard to verify. It may just be a pure country legend.”
"Okay, I understand, thank you." Kamiyagawa thanked Miss Saotome who knew everything.
Whip wind...
A piece of information that I don’t know if it’s useful.
However, after listening to Ms. Saotome's description, Kamiya belatedly remembered that when he was supplementing his knowledge on various ghost stories, he had read a record similar to Whip Wind in a book.
In Kagami Village in Tosa County, Kochi Prefecture, there seems to be a legend of whip wind. It is said that this strange wind can cling to cows and horses. When leading cattle and horses on a night walk, if you are unlucky, you will encounter a whipping wind with a loud noise. If you don't cover the eyes of the cattle and horses at this time, they will die in the whipping wind.
There are also places where the whip wind is called "butch". When it hits, it will make a sharp "whoosh" sound in the mountains and fields. The sand and dust carried in the wind can cut people's skin like a knife and injure people.
The two chatted casually for a while, and Saotome handed Kamiya a business card.
Kamiyakawa accepted it and said: "It's getting late, I plan to go to Bie Tongzi Mountain tonight to have a look."
"Then I wish you success in finding Shikijiro, senior."
"I also wish you good luck in removing the spirit."
The two people who met by chance parted.
…
Around 10pm.
Kamiyakawa arrived at Beetongzi Mountain in a ghost car.
On the way, you can see the Minetopia theme park in the distance. The park is very busy during the day, but it is very quiet at night. There are only a few scattered lights on. It is estimated that there are staff staying inside to keep vigil.
However, this is not the final destination of Kamiya.
Saotome, the local spirit exorcist, said that the years since Betsuko Park was built have been peaceful, and the Kamiya River needs to go deeper into the mountains.
The ghost car drove on the winding mountain road in the mountainous area for a while.
At the end of the road, there was only a winding mud path ahead, and no one knew where it led.
The Ghost Mazda stops here.
The terrain was not one that the ghost car was good at, so Kamiyagawa planned to explore it directly on foot, going straight into the hinterland of the mountains and forests.
After getting off the car, he called out the little old man.
Let his scouts separate a second body and stay in the ghost car with Dashi and the others. I took the little old man's body and set off.
Dashi and the others are old partners with Little Old Man.
The combination of scout and ghost car has super strong perception and extremely fast speed. There is no danger at all when they spread out.
If he really encounters something difficult to deal with, the little old man will warn him in advance, so Dashi can just step on the accelerator and run away.
"You guys wait for me around here. I'm not sure how long I will be active in the mountains. If anything happens, let the little old man inform me." Kamiyagawa explained.
The remaining ghost stories nodded.
With the help of the skill of slashing the hair, Kamiyakawa narrowed his pupils slightly, his eyes were as bright as a torch, and he understood everything.
The dark road ahead suddenly became clear.
Ability to move as freely as during the day.
Taking the little old man with him, he started exploring tonight.
…
The little old man led the way.
The master and the servant walked for a long time on the muddy path, and then went down the slope and entered the dense forest.
The air in the mountain forest is humid, especially at night, and only the faint chirping of unknown spring insects can be heard everywhere.
After walking for who knows how long, there are no roads around at all. They are all dense shrubs and branches. The waning moon above the head is completely obscured by the branches high up.
While going around in circles, Kamiyakawa could no longer tell where he was now.
But with the little old man here, there is no need to worry about getting lost.
"Abba."
The little old man in the front dressed as a void monk stepped on the rotting branches and leaves with his straw shoes, and suddenly shouted in a low voice with a slight excitement.
"What? Did you find anything?"
"Aba whined."
The master and servant communicated for a while, and Kamiyakawa confirmed that the little old man was indeed somewhere nearby and felt the presence of a subtle strange atmosphere.
But it cannot be confirmed that it is Shikijiro.
After being promoted, the little old man's hiding ability is super strong, and his perception ability has also become stronger.
Stronger than his master.
Anyway, Kamiyagawa stood in his current position and couldn't feel the presence of ghost stories around him.
Continue to let the little old man lead the way.
The master and the servant came to a mountain col and found a covered mine in a lower position.
The reason why this is a mine is because some wood remains can be seen at the entrance. When these things are in good condition, they should be used to support the entrance of the mine.
However, the mine passage in front of me has been completely blocked by rocks.
Kamiyakawa stood at the closed entrance of the cave and felt it carefully. Behind the stones, there seemed to be some vague and ghostly atmosphere.
"Then let's explore here first."
He made up his mind and took out his mobile phone. Because he was in the deep forest, his mobile phone had no signal, but he could still check the time. It was one o'clock in the morning.
Shengu has been groping in Bie Tongzi Mountain for a long time, and only people like him dare to stay in the deep mountains and forests at this time.
However, thanks to his higher physical fitness points and the coordination of the Ah-Hum breathing method, he still has plenty of physical energy.
"Mary." "Inugami."
Kamiyagawa called out his two shikigami.
The stones blocking the entrance of the cave require the help of powerful ghosts like them to clear them.
"Ouch——"
Like a werewolf, the Inugami stood up half upright, thrust its sharp claws into the crevices of the stone, and easily lifted out a large stone.
Mary didn't need to do it herself. She used the red mist to pour into the gap and expand, causing the rocks and soil to loosen. The nine red spirits pulled and pulled, destroying most of the originally solid stone wall at the entrance of the cave.
While the two shikigami were working, the little old man next to him reported a situation to Kamiya.
About the hearse group left on the road.
Dashi and the others encountered something unexpected.
"Are they in danger?" Kamiya asked.
"Whew."
The little old man shook his head firmly.
No danger.
It's just an unexpected event.
The scouts under Kamiya have a very strong sense of danger.
Be cautious and be the first to run away.
Since he said there was no danger, then it really was nothing.
After being together for so long, Kamiyagawa still has some confidence.
"Then let Dashi and the others handle it on their own." He explained, and then returned to focusing on the excavation work at the mine entrance.
Through the efforts of Mary and Inugami, the mine that had been blocked was finally revealed. It was dark inside and exuded a stale smell.
In addition, the strange atmosphere that I sensed earlier seems to be a little stronger.
"Is there any air movement in here?"
Kamiyakawa glanced inside, then took out the [Mirage Bag] and took out an ordinary candle.
This candle was specially brought by him to explore the mines on the other side of Tongzi Mountain.
Kamiya did not enter the mine immediately. He waited outside for a while, and then used [Kabuki Puppet] to summon a Kabuki puppet.
Light the candle and let the puppet enter holding the candle.
Although his body in reality has become much stronger, it is still made of flesh and blood.
It is currently unknown whether this rashly dug mine will cause suffocation if it goes deep into it, and whether there is any danger of landslides inside. It would be safer to put the puppet in first to check the situation.
(End of chapter)
