The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 336: The Bizarre Adventures of Shichijo Masato (9)

In the dazzling light, Nanajo Masato felt like a soul floating up to heaven, solemn and dignified. He even looked forward to what kind of glorious scene would appear above the light.

But when the golden powder around him dissipated, Shichijo Masato felt the existence of gravity again, and the light around him disappeared completely. In a short time, it became extremely dark and he could not see his surroundings clearly.

"Hey, where are you?" The ink line on Qi Tiao Zhengren's waist was gone, and the raccoon cat on his head was also gone. He groped in the dark alone, and then a cold hand grabbed his wrist.

"Ah!" Nanajo Masato was startled. Before he could break free, he felt his limbs being tightly grasped by more and more hands. Just when he was about to scream in fear, a golden light flew over from a distance and stuck to his body.

It was a glowing talisman, and instantly, the darkness around them was dispelled, and the hands that were holding onto the seven upright men no longer exerted force.

At this time, with the light emitted by the talisman, he could see clearly what were the things that were grabbing him.

——A bunch of broken puppet models surrounded him. They looked like the plastic models that can be seen everywhere in shopping malls, but the models here were pitifully shabby, with either broken hands or broken feet, and some even had no heads. They just stood next to Shichijo Masato and stretched out their hands as if they wanted to grab him.

"You are really popular." Qian Xiaoyi and Inuyama Heita walked into the area where the light was shining. They pushed away the motionless model, came to Shichijo Masato, and rescued him.

Nanajo Masato looked at the dolls and asked with lingering fear: "What are these?"

"They are the remnants that have been completely devoured by this place." Qian Xiaoyi looked at the models and said, "I think from the shapes of those raccoon cats, you should have discovered that this place is obviously related to the Starlight Agency. These dolls are projections of the agency's artists. Not only do they fight for the interests of the agency in the real world, but even here, they can't rest. It seems that someone has performed some kind of ritual on them in reality, causing their projections to appear in this place."

Nanajo Masato looked at the dolls with a gloomy expression: "So, these are projections of artists and idols who have lost their popularity in reality?"

"Yes, that should be the case." Qian Xiaoyi said, "Because of the constraints of various treaties, they will be used until they lose their value and are finally abandoned. If they retreat bravely after losing their popularity and return to a peaceful life, they may be able to live a happy life, but at least the puppets that appear here are not like that."

Nanajo Masato sighed and said, "When I was investigating the information of those artists before, I also knew that this kind of thing happened. Many artists or idols who were squeezed dry by the agency would be recommended for some unconventional jobs, such as going to a PR club, or simply going to shoot that kind of thing... But I didn't expect there would be so many."

Under the illumination of the golden talisman, wherever they looked, they saw puppets reaching out their hands towards Shichijo Masato, densely packed and motionless.

"So, you are really popular." Qian Xiaoyi said, "Perhaps it is the aura of a superior being on you that attracts them, so you are pulled here, because they all want to get your attention and favor, and then escape from the sea of ​​suffering and gain salvation."

"I was... pulled here?" asked Nanajo Masato. "So where are we going in the end?"

Qian Xiaoyi said, "I don't know, but thanks to you, we came to this unexpected place. This may be an abandoned layer in the structure, equivalent to a place for garbage disposal. If there is still garbage thrown down, maybe we can trace it back through the track... Hmm? Wait, there seems to be a sound."

"What?" Nanajo Masato was stunned. Ken's head suddenly appeared from Inuyama Heita's pocket. He pointed in a direction in the darkness and said, "I feel it's in that direction."

Nanajo Masato looked at Inuyama Heita: "Did you hear that? Why didn't I hear anything?"

Inuyama Heita shook his head: "No, but if it was Mr. Ken, he should be able to hear it. He has a strong sense of perception."

"Hey, stop chatting." Qian Xiaoyi said, "Let's go. The longer we stay here, the greater the chance that we will be discovered. This is a domain designed by experts, so it is impossible that there are no defense measures at all."

Qian Xiaoyi took out a talisman, muttered something, and made a hand gesture. A small flame appeared at his fingertips. Qian Xiaoyi lit the talisman and threw it forward. After the talisman was lit, the flame burning on it instantly turned pale. Now the talisman was like a ghost fire, floating quietly in the air in front.

"Okay, let's go." Qian Xiaoyi flicked his hand, extinguished the flame on his fingertips, and said, "Follow closely this time. This place is very strange. The talisman on you can't protect you for too long."

When Qijiao Zhengren looked down, he found that the light of the talisman stuck to his chest had begun to gradually weaken. Now it could only illuminate an area less than one meter around it, as if it was suppressed by the darkness. So he hurriedly walked behind Qian Xiaoyi. No matter what he said, he didn't want to get lost this time.

"Lead the way." Qian Xiaoyi said softly to the will-o'-the-wisp in front. The will-o'-the-wisp moved slightly up and down, as if nodding. Then, it swayed with pale flames and floated towards a certain direction in the darkness.

After walking for a while, Nanajo Masato suddenly realized that the will-o'-the-wisp seemed unreliable. It moved left and right, and sometimes even led them back. Nanajo Masato couldn't help but ask, "Is that guy lost? Why can't he even walk in a straight line? Does he know where to take us?"

Qian Xiaoyi said, "It's not as simple as you think. Do you know about formations? The entire space here is like a formation, which can confuse the perception of people coming in. All directions are chaotic. So because you think it is taking a detour and going in circles, it is actually leading the way at the shortest distance."

After getting the explanation, Nanajo Masato wanted to talk about something else. The dead silence around him was almost driving him crazy. Only chatting could make him feel safe. He was afraid that as they walked, the companion in front of them would no longer be their original self, but something else, just like in a horror movie.

But Qian Xiaoyi and Inuyama Heita ignored him, which made him helpless and he could only shut up.

Suddenly, Qian Xiaoyi stopped and Qijo Zhengren almost bumped into him. Just when he thought Qian Xiaoyi was replaced by a ghost and would reveal a terrifying face if he turned his head, Qian Xiaoyi said, "We're here."

"Are we there yet?" Shichijo Masato looked ahead. The ghostly fire drifted farther and farther away, and finally reached the end. A mountain of garbage taller than two people appeared in front of them. This mountain was made up of the remains of one puppet after another.

Boom! Another puppet fell from the darkness and landed on the hill. It broke into several pieces. The head without facial features rolled to the feet of Shichijo Masato, then stopped, facing upwards.

——It was like looking up to him.

(End of this chapter)