The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 371 Shadow of Truth (18)

Looking at the various shabby dolls with broken limbs and arms around him under the illumination of the will-o'-the-wisp fire, Inuyama Heita couldn't help but feel a little scalp tingling. He was a little afraid that these dolls would suddenly move and attack him, but fortunately, these dolls would not move at all, like dead objects without souls.

"The next thing is... this, the soul-guiding bell." Inuyama Heita took out an antique copper bell from his pocket. This was the prop that Qian Xiaoyi gave him before he came in. Its function was to guide those lost souls and let them follow the person who rang the bell.

"Dingling bell~"

He rang the simple copper bell, but did not notice any changes around him. Inuyama Heita looked at the bell and murmured, "Strange... Do I have to activate it first? But Brother O said that I only need to ring the bell..."

When he raised his head and was about to try again, he was shocked by the scene around him. Although the broken dolls of various shapes around him still maintained their original postures, their heads all turned and stared at Inuyama Heita.

"Huh... What a chilling scene..." Inuyama Heita sighed. Since this thing is useful, there is no time to delay. He must quickly complete what Brother O said!

He said to the will-o'-the-wisp in front of him, "Please lead the way! Take me to Brother Yi!"

The will-o'-the-wisp flickered for a moment, as if nodding, and then floated off in a certain direction in the darkness.

Inuyama Heita walked behind the will-o'-the-wisp, ringing the copper bell every once in a while. Sometimes he looked back curiously and saw that the puppets were motionless, but their postures and distances changed, as if they were playing the game of one, two, three, statues. The weird scene made Inuyama Heita feel a little nervous, but he had no choice but to keep going.

And on the other side, on the theater stage.

"...Do you think there is such a place here? A back door left behind during construction?"

The King of Civet Cats frowned at Qian Xiaoyi's words and said, "Backdoor? What are you talking about? I am the absolute master here. I am very familiar with this place. There is absolutely no backdoor! Are you trying to be mysterious and do something while I'm not paying attention? What a pointless struggle!"

"It seems that you really don't know." Qian Xiaoyi said with a smile: "Think about it yourself, where did those puppets that you controlled and discarded after using them go in the end?"

The King of Civet Cats was stunned by the question. He recalled carefully, but found that he didn't know the answer to this question. Those dolls that he broke were usually thrown into the trash can in the room, and would disappear after a while. He always thought that they were processed and swallowed up by this place.

"Nonsense!" The King of Civet Cats was a little uneasy. He roared, "Are you trying to be mysterious and delay time? Do you really think you can fool me? Just die like this. I don't want to listen to your nonsense anymore!"

He lowered more puppets holding sharp blades from the high above the stage and attacked Qian Xiaoyi. It seemed that Qian Xiaoyi's defensive barrier was already shaky and was about to be breached.

At this moment, a subtle but clear voice reached their ears.

"There seems to be some sound?" Ling Na pricked up her ears and said hesitantly: "It seems to be... the sound of a bell?"

Qian Xiaoyi's mouth curled up and he said, "It's coming, counterattack."

"What are you doing again?" The King of Civet Cats was stunned and asked involuntarily.

"Didn't you say that those who stood out with knives in hand were actually your slaves, and only those who remained silent were the ones who really wanted to resist you?" Qian Xiaoyi said, "Now, those silent people are coming." "What..."

"Brother Otari!!!!" Inuyama Heita suddenly screamed and fell from the light above the stage. He still had the soul-calling bell in his hand, which kept ringing. He fell directly onto the stage, crushing a puppet as a cushion.

The next second, countless broken puppets fell from the light like a rainstorm, and the broken limbs rolled everywhere. They pressed down the bright and beautiful puppets controlled by the Civet Cat King, making them unable to launch effective attacks.

Looking at the broken puppets that appeared out of nowhere on the stage, the Civet Cat King was shocked: "There really is that place he said! He is not lying."

He wanted to stop the puppets from landing, but he had no idea where they came from, so he couldn't prevent this outcome.

These broken dolls had all their value squeezed out by him, or were destroyed by him after resisting to the end. Because they were too worn out, even he could no longer control them with those silk threads.

"But, so what?" The King of Civet Cats roared, "They don't dare! These things have long lost their souls. They are just a pile of garbage, without any use value. No one will care about them! They are already dead!"

"Is that really the case?" Qian Xiaoyi stared at the King of Tanuki and said, "Maybe, they are not dead, but they just became like this in order to stop you from controlling them. Now, I want to bring them back to life, let them stand up, and take revenge on you... Suzuna!"

"Is it finally my turn?" Suzuna took out the Kagura bell hanging on her waist and said, "I've been ready for a long time."

Before accepting the commission, Qian Xiaoyi told her that in the commission, she did not have to fight any evil spirits. She only needed to perform a prayer ceremony at a specific time to appease some unique beings.

The commission was so easy and the commission fee was so high. In addition, she had received benefits when Qian Xiaoyi asked her for help several times before, so she agreed directly this time.

Although the previous experience made her terrified, Qian Xiaoyi did not let her participate in the battle, and now it was finally her time to perform.

chah~
Suzuna stepped out of the barrier and waved the Kagura bell in her hand, making it emit a solemn and ethereal sound. At the same time, Suzuna seemed like a different person, no longer carrying that worldly temperament. She began to dance solemnly like a goddess.

"Damn it! Damn it! What the hell are you going to do!" The Civet Cat King squirmed the silk thread in his hand in frustration, trying to control his puppets to disrupt their actions, but those broken puppets tightly grasped the puppets controlled by the Civet Cat King, preventing them from moving.

"Do you remember how many puppets you have abandoned?" Qian Xiaoyi looked at the King of Civet Cats and said, "Indeed, some puppets cannot give up their own interests and status, so even if they are oppressed and exploited by you, they still serve you as accomplices, turning into ghosts to protect you and help you attack others.

But, you forgot… In addition to these people, there are even more people who have lost their value and have been ruthlessly abandoned by you. In order to become a star or an idol, how many people would rather endure torture and continue on? But how can this road be so easy to walk? Only a few people have truly become famous and benefited from it. This is a true saying that one general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of people. And those losers will be squeezed dry and thrown into the abyss. Now, these people who have nothing have stood on the stage from the abyss and come to take revenge on you."

chah~
As Suzuna danced, the Kagura bell in her hand rang again.

The fingers of the broken dolls seemed to move because of the sound.

(End of this chapter)