The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 676: The Journey to the Mountain of Osorrow (29)

In the temple courtyard, the monks and mediums of Osorezan were performing a ceremony different from that during the day.

If the daytime festival is a performance for tourists, then for the psychics here, the night festival is the real deal. It is a ceremony to worship the mountain god. As one of the three major sacred places in Japan, Mount Osore integrates Japan's native shamanism, Shintoism and foreign Buddhism to form a peculiar sacrificial culture. It is the most bizarre place in the minds of the Japanese.

From ancient times to the present, countless people believe that this is the entrance to hell, so the psychics who come out of here are also believed to be able to summon the souls of the dead from the underworld.

In the past, the ceremony of worshiping the mountain god was usually presided over by Granny Tao, who held a very important position. However, because her health is not as good as before and she had a problem yesterday, this time the ceremony was handed over to her eldest disciple Wei Bo.

Although she was already in her forties, she was still considered a youngster among the ancient medium schools in Osorezan, so when she came on stage, she caused a lot of discussion with ulterior motives.

"Ah... you're really young."

"She's Taozi's disciple, right? I wonder if she can do it?"

"Logically, after the head of the Naraku family fell ill, it should have been handed over to our school to preside over the ceremony. This young man is really ignorant."

"There's nothing we can do about it. Granny Tao fell ill so suddenly. The steps for the ritual have already been prepared, so we can only hand it over to her disciple for the time being."

"Humph, you're talking as if everyone knows the steps of the ritual... Hehe, I hope this young man doesn't cause any trouble. I admit that Naraku Momoko is capable, but as for the others..."

Although Wei Bo did not hear the whispers of the audience below the stage, the scrutinizing looks could not be faked. As a member of the younger generation, she had to bear a lot of pressure, but there was no way. This time she had to get the position of the chief priest, not because of the glory of the dojo or anything like that. That kind of thing was not important in the dojo at all, and Granny Tao had never promoted that kind of thing.

There is only one reason why Wei Bo did this, and that is that this matter has always been presided over by Granny Momo, and it has lasted for more than 20 years. So if she really did something in [Hell], then the annual Osorizan Festival is the most appropriate time. She must find out what Granny Momo did through this ceremony.

In the courtyard, in addition to the invited mediums, exorcists, and monks from the temple, there were also some outsiders, some of whom were related people, some of whom had good relations with the temple and were invited to observe. Others were believers who came to Mount Osorezan for the sake of faith. They paid a sum of money and were qualified to stand here and watch the ceremony as honored guests.

Among them, several high school students gathered in a corner, somewhat out of place with the surrounding atmosphere.

Kawasaki looked around curiously and said, "All the exorcists in the dojo are here. It looks like a very solemn ceremony... Wait, why don't we see Teacher Qian? And Suzuna-chan, the tall one, they didn't come. They didn't show up for such an important occasion, and they weren't in the hotel either. Could it be that they are doing something more important? Like exorcism or something... Otherwise, let's go look for them."

When Inuyama Heita heard this, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Although Senior Kawasaki was a rash person and acted on impulse with wild imagination, sometimes his intuition was really accurate, otherwise he wouldn't have caused so much trouble.

Thinking of his mission to prevent him from doing anything stupid, Inuyama Heita said quickly, "Exorcism? Senior, are you overthinking it? We are now at the Osorazan Festival. There are so many exorcists and mediums here, and the locals haven't taken action yet. Why would they bother Brother Otoko and the others? I think it's possible that they are not interested in this kind of thing and are resting at the dojo?"

"Hmm?" Kawasaki looked at Inuyama Heita suspiciously and said, "Inuyama, you are not usually so talkative. Are you hiding something? Do you know where Teacher Qian went? I saw you secretly going to see Teacher Qian in the hotel a few days ago."

Inuyama Heita's hair stood on end. Is this guy a detective? So sharp!
"How is that possible? I just went there to say hello, not secretly." Inuyama Ping explained a little panicked: "Besides, haven't I been with everyone these days? Brother O and the others haven't returned to the hotel, so they must be at the dojo. There is no signal there, how can I contact them... Besides, why should I contact them?"

In fact, there was still contact. Qian Xiaoyi told him the landline number of the dojo, so Inuyama Heita would find opportunities to report Kawasaki's whereabouts every day, just like an agent.

"Eh~~~~~" Kawasaki still looked at him with suspicion and dragged out his words: "That's what you said, but I always feel that you are very suspicious. Are you really not hiding anything from us..."

Suzuki adjusted his glasses in the back and thought, "This idiot, explaining too much makes him even more suspicious. What can I do..."

"But where should we look for it?" Suzuki suddenly asked, "We are not familiar with this place, or do you want to travel at night to the dojo?" Upon hearing this, the other people in the Supernatural Department also objected.

"Eh? No way, we're already tired from climbing the mountain during the day."

"That's what I'm saying, Buchou, you should take a good rest after attending the festival today."

"Were we not supposed to visit the inner festival? What's the point of leaving now?"

Facing opposition from everyone, Kawasaki thought for a moment and said, "That's right, forget it then."

Inuyama Heita secretly breathed a sigh of relief and gave Suzuki a grateful look.

"But..." Inuyama Heita felt a little worried: Brother O seems to be facing a terrible enemy. I wonder what the situation is now...

He knocked on the jade pendant in his pocket, and Ah Jian's voice immediately rang out: "Don't knock. I haven't sensed anything going on over there yet. I'll let you know when I sense something."

Because there were many exorcists at the scene, Ajian did not dare to show up and could only hide in the jade pendant.

After hearing what Ken said, Inuyama Heita temporarily put his mind at ease and began to watch the internal ceremonies of the Osorezan Festival with the others.

On the altar, Miba, wearing the haori inherited from her school, stood on the main seat, while the other mediums were just her foils. But Miba did not dare to be complacent at this moment. Instead, she carefully repeated each step in her mind to prevent any mistakes.

She knelt on the mat, murmuring prayers, and in silence, she reported to the mountain god the situation around Mount Osore this year and sought his instructions. Almost all festivals dedicated to the gods followed this routine, reporting to the gods and then praying, and this place was no exception.

As the successor of Granny Tao, whether Wei Bo can connect with the mountain god is the most important part as the main priest, and it is also an important basis for whether she can win the support of the people.

Just when the psychics were getting impatient and thought that Wei Bo had not been recognized by the mountain god, Wei Bo suddenly opened his eyes and a look of horror appeared on his face.

The next moment, the ground began to tremble slightly, causing everyone to panic.

"What happened? An earthquake?"

"This aura... is it the mountain god? Is the mountain god angry? Wei Bo, what on earth did you do!?"

"Oh no! This is God's punishment! God's punishment! Wait, what's going on over there?!"

Ken's panicked voice rang in Inuyama Heita's ears: "Inuyama clan! Over there! Something's wrong over there! A very scary aura has appeared!"

"Mr. Ken...you don't need to say this, everyone can feel it." Inuyama Heita looked at the black gas rising into the sky, and a drop of cold sweat flowed from his forehead.

Something came out.

(End of this chapter)