After Kamiyagawa arrived at Nagasaki Airport, he was directly picked up by local police officers. After a short rest, he went straight to Tsushima Island's Jika Hotel.
Sitting in a police car, as he approached the villages and towns in the Wumao Mountains, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket——
[Special event mission, [When Encountering the Demon·4] has been opened! ]
[The core requirements of this mission are as follows: Defeat the members of the "Feng Mo Shi Organization", Xu Shi. ]
Kamiya, who was sitting alone in the back seat, was dozing against the car window, but his sleep was very light and he woke up easily. He took out his phone and glanced at it, a fleeting look of confusion on his face.
Currently, there are two special event missions given by "Kaitan Monogatari" that are still in progress.
One is [The Time of the Encounter·2], which has only been half completed since last year, and requires the defeat of the Noontime Breeder.
The other one is the newly spawned one near Jixiang Su, [Time of Encountering Demons·4], which requires defeating Xu Shi.
Kamiya touched his chin and remained silent, just thinking in his mind:
"I originally thought that something strange happened here at Tsushima Tsushima, and the appearance of the Naraku Curse of Homizu was related to the breeder. But now it seems that a new member of the Demon Toki has appeared... Xu Toki?"
The development of things seems to be different from what was expected at the beginning.
"Did Xu Shi do the thing about the people here turning into trees at Jixiangsu? And this Xu Shi happens to know the Huangquan Naraku Curse?"
Without investigation, Kamiyagawa still couldn't figure out the reason.
But his intuition told him that things in Jixiangsu might not be too simple.
"It's right to entrust Bachi Xiang to come and help."
The Ksitigarbha statue of Hachisaku-onna will now be placed in Kamiya’s [Mirage Bag].
The small cloth bag is a very convenient prop.
It is very easy to carry, and it can hold so many miscellaneous items without feeling heavy when you carry it on your body.
More importantly, when the airport security machine scans the [Mirage Bag], it will show that there is nothing inside. Mixed into the backpack, no staff will ask to open this inconspicuous small bag for inspection.
Saved a lot of trouble.
…
By the time we arrived at Ji Xiang Su, it was already ten o'clock in the morning.
Kamiyagawa met Yuki and Nagatomo who arrived here yesterday.
We haven't seen each other for a while, and the two of them don't seem to have changed much.
"Kamiya-kun, long time no see."
Nagatomo scratched the back of his head and greeted Kamiya.
"Boy, you came very quickly." Facing Kamiya's arrival, Uncle Yuki looked very happy. After all, he had a very reliable elite combat force. "I have reported the matter here to the headquarters truthfully. The higher-ups are allocating as many people as possible, and there are already people on the way."
There are more and more supernatural incidents happening in various places, and they are becoming more and more frequent.
The available manpower in the Countermeasures Room is already stretched thin, but matters related to encounters with demons are a matter of great importance. The organization has begun to mobilize all official ghost exterminators who are free and on vacation, and has also hired and dispatched some additional private ghost exterminators.
But it's hard to say how many elites will be dispatched to Tsushima in the end.
"Do you have any clues about what's going on here?"
After just a few brief greetings, Kamiya quickly got to the point.
Although he has not had a full sleep since last night and only took a brief rest on the plane and in the car, his mental state is very good, and he is even vaguely excited.
"There is only a little clue. It is still unclear what the direct cause of people turning into trees is. It is only certain that it is related to the Huangquan Naraku Curse, but we don't know exactly how it happened..."
Yuki briefly talked about yesterday's investigation and details, and at the same time took Kamiya to Kusakabe's old man's house for an additional inspection.
Kamiyakawa summoned the little old man, but the master and servant didn't see much information there.
The general discovery was the same as what Yuuki Makiyu had made yesterday.
"Old man Kusakabe was probably the first victim to be transformed from a human into a tree in Seka-juku. The spiritual exterminator who came to investigate at first could not confirm that the strange tree was transformed by the old man. Until later, a man named Akashi Kurano Abnormalities also occurred in the young people introduced."
"Akashi Kuranosuke grew up here in Sekojuku. After graduating from college, he went to work in a small club in Tsushima City. He was killed in a car accident not long ago. According to the custom here in Sekojuku, Kuranosuke's The body was transported back for burial, and everything was normal at first. But later, someone saw with their own eyes that blood-red twigs were pulled out from Kuranosuke's grave."
"The tree buds grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, and soon grew into a shape similar to the strange tree in Kusakabe's old man's house."
"What happened after that became even weirder. Living people began to mutate in Jixiang Su. One second they were fine, and the next second they suddenly sprouted tree buds. By the time the people around them reacted, the victim had turned into a tree. Strange tree.”
"I also checked the condition of the other trees yesterday, and they are in the same condition as the one at Kusakabe's house."
"In addition, according to my observation, there are a few more ghosts in the town this morning. There should be new victims."
The group of people walked out of Kusakabe's old man's house and walked on the deserted streets of Jixiangjuku. During this period, Yuki continued to add to yesterday's findings.
"Um."
Kamiya just listened and didn't express any opinions.
Along the way, the body of the little old man dressed as a void monk, holding a shakuhachi in his hand, was always sitting on his shoulder.
Things in Jixiangsu are indeed strange.
At first, the dead people turned into trees, but later this change began to happen in the living people as well.
The source of the strange things must be related to the Huangquan Naraku Curse, but it is not yet known whether someone cast a curse on these people, or whether these people were exposed to something else that led to their death.
The group of people continued walking and finally stopped in front of a very elegant and unique courtyard in the center of the town.
The name of the owner's family, Inuzhu, is engraved on the tablet on the courtyard door.
"Abba."
The little old man leaning on Kamigawa's shoulder gave a reminder and pointed at this family.
At the reminder of the scout, Kamiyakawa narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the Inuzhu family.
He found that the entire Inuzhu family was shrouded in a hazy blue smoke.
"what are these?"
Not like a sneaky scent, but something else.
But since Kamiyagawa can see it directly with the help of [Autumn Hair Cut] technique, it means that these hazy smoke must involve extraordinary power.
"Abba...Abba."
The little old man continued to speak.
At his reminder, Kamiya smelled a very thin fragrance coming from Inuzake's house.
It seems to be the smell of incense, but I'm not sure.
Kamiya had no research or involvement in the way of incense.
"Are these hazy blue smokes aromas? Visible aromas?"
Kamiyagawa reacted and quickly realized something. This Inuzake family was probably not ordinary people.
"Amazing, huh?"
Yuuki Makensuke came over and spoke softly:
"When I first discovered it, I was also surprised. The incense of the Inuzake family seemed to carry extraordinary power. Yesterday, through Police Officer Hanai, I contacted Tsushima City to check the details of this family. It should be a private person. They are strangers. However, this family has not established any contact with the countermeasures room. They are relatively indifferent by nature, and their ancestors have been squires who accumulated incense. The incense ritual passed down in their family should be part of the folk Shinto skills. kind."
It seems that Uncle Yuki must have done a lot of investigation and work after arriving here yesterday.
As for the abnormality in the Inuzake family, among all the people present, only he and Kamiya can directly see the abnormality.
"I entrusted Officer Hanai to contact Mr. Inuzake of this family. You can visit now. You can come in with us when you arrive." Yuuki added.
Bang bang.
A local police officer stepped forward and knocked on the door: "Is Mr. Inuzake here? I am Hirakawa."
The door was not opened quickly and there was no response within a short period of time.
While waiting, Kamiyagawa heard the remaining two local police officers behind him talking in low voices——
"Since my last condolences, I haven't been to Mr. Inuzake's house for a long time."
"Yes, speaking of it this way, time flies so fast. I still remember clearly what happened when the Shuise child passed away, but how long has it been in a flash? Four months, or five months?"
"Oh...that child is very well-behaved."
"it's a pity."
"It seems someone has answered the door. Don't say anything like this after you get in."
Squeak.
The antique wooden door was opened, and an old woman with silver hair stood inside.
"Ah, Granny Hideko. These are the people sent from above. I will take them to learn some information from Mr. Inuzake." The local police officer named Hirakawa said.
This Hideko's mother-in-law is not a relative of the Inuzake family.
However, he has always worked at Inuzhu's house, responsible for cleaning and cooking, and he also lives in his daily life.
"Sir is inside, come in."
Grandma Xiuzi looked at the strange group of people outside, bowed slightly, and then turned around to lead the way.
Inuzhu's house is a self-built house in the countryside with a very good layout.
The house is built in an old architectural style with a porch surrounding the main entrance leading to all rooms.
The courtyard outside is very large, with paths paved with gravel. The courtyard is also designed with elegant and exquisite Zen statues, bonsai trees, many flowers, and even a small stone pavilion.
Officers Kamiya, Yuuki, Hanai, and two local police officers followed Hideko's mother-in-law through the porch, changed into slippers, and went to the reception room of this big house.
Tsushima City's exorcists and others, including Nagatomo, gathered together and stayed in the courtyard.
Reception room.
The cotton curtains are open, and the large floor-to-ceiling windows can see the scene in the courtyard. The light beige walls and slightly dark wooden floors complement each other, and are matched with a low log coffee table.
This room is quite elegant.
In addition, the room is decorated with flower arrangements and a cage of incense.
White smoke is rising from the brass-colored metal incense cover, and the fragrance of incense is quiet and elegant.
Kamiya didn't pay too much attention to this kind of fragrance. He narrowed his eyes slightly, but he could see visible blue smoke rising from the incense burner.
Sitting next to the coffee table in the center of the room was a meticulous middle-aged man who looked quite cultivated, which matched well with the atmosphere here.
This should be Mr. Inuzake.
Inuzake Sosuke.
"excuse me."
Several people as guests sat down in the room. Granny Hideko exited and closed the door of the reception room.
Police Officer Hirakawa: "Mr. Inuzake, this police officer Hanai is from Tsushima. Mr. Yuuki and Mr. Kamiya here are from Tokyo. They are all here to deal with the strange things at Jika-juku. Came here."
"Um."
Inuzake Sosuke nodded, and then made tea for everyone silently.
"Mr. Inuzake, we want to ask you something. It's about Jixiang Yuren turning into a tree. Do you have any clues?" Officer Hanai asked bravely.
"What clue can I have?" Inuzake asked, "Mr. Kusakabe should be the first one to turn into a tree, followed by Akashi Kuranosuke, and then the others..."
He briefly talked about some contents, but they were all things Yuuki had known before.
After Inuzake finished speaking, Yuuki Makensuke picked up the tea cup and spoke slowly: "Mr. Inuzake, have you noticed anything unusual? You have been staying in Jixiangsu, and you are different from ordinary people."
"No."
When he heard Yuuki say, "You are different from ordinary people," Inuzake didn't react much. He just raised his head, his eyes swept over Yuuki and Kamiya, and his nose wrinkled slightly.
He seemed to smell something from these two gentlemen from Tokyo.
"Isn't this what you want to do?" Inuzhu continued to speak. He seemed to be dissatisfied with the guests in front of him. "Solve it. You said you want to solve the problem here? But, all roads are blocked and no one is allowed to Anyone who enters, locks the people in Jixiangsu together and allows weird things to continue to happen, is this your solution?"
"I'm really sorry. We are already working hard and trying our best to find a solution. This takes time." Officer Huajing apologized skillfully.
However, Inuzake Sosuke didn't express much, he just sighed, and then silently added tea to his cup.
At this time, Kamiyagawa lowered his voice and said something to Yuuki.
The latter thought briefly and nodded.
Kamiyagawa: "Mr. Inuzake, we now suspect that what happened here is related to an evil organization called Enma no Toki. The members of this organization, codenamed Twelve Hours, commit crimes in various places and commit numerous crimes. At present, there may be members such as Zi Shi, Chen Shi, Chou Shi, Xu Shi, Hai Shi, etc., hiding everywhere and ready to move. Have you noticed any strange people appearing in Jixiang Su recently?"
Just now, Kamiya told Yuuki that he wanted to directly mention the encounter with the demon, and let’s see Inuzake Sosuke’s reaction.
Although there were three police officers waiting around at the scene, Yuki thought briefly and nodded in agreement.
Anyway, if what happened in Jixiang Sui is really related to Encountering Demon Time, these three police officers will know about it sooner or later.
As Kamiya spoke, he observed Inuzake Sosuke's movements and expressions, especially when he said the word "戌时".
The little old man beside him sat cross-legged and stared at each other with his master.
However, Inuzake Sosuke just raised his teacup indifferently and took a sip: "I have never heard of encountering a demon, nor have I seen any strange people."
