The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 703 Hope and Despair (6)

"Are you finally here?" Qian Xiaoyi's lazy expression became serious. If he just wanted to report on the training progress of his students, he didn't have to come at all. After all, he only had a few poor people under his command, and he didn't need to report to others specifically.

His purpose in coming here was to learn about the enemy's intelligence.

Although Yoshisuke Ashiya is not a local, as a senior exorcist who has been working in Tokyo for decades, he can be regarded as a local overlord in terms of both strength and connections. Using words like local tyrant to describe him is an insult to him.

Therefore, in terms of intelligence capabilities, there are very few exorcists who can compare to Yoshisuke Ashiya. His network of contacts is so wide and at such a high level that it is very easy for him to find information about a cult of considerable size.

Ashiya Yoshisuke said: "Regarding our current enemy, the Hope Cult, this religious group is legal and reasonable in theory, but we are all insiders, so I will explain it more bluntly. Yes, this is a cult, a complete cult."

Qian Xiaoyi had a strange expression on his face. It was really ironic that even a great exorcist like Ashiya Yoshisuke considered it a cult organization, but it could still exist in Japan and was extremely prosperous.

Ashiya Jisuke continued, "Generally speaking, we exorcists usually keep our distance from them, but this time, we may have to break this rule."

This is also true. Exorcists often represent an ancient sect, and once it involves things related to gods and ghosts, it must be deeply connected with religion. The same goes for cults. Many modern religious groups are actually transformed from traditional sects. So it is reasonable that exorcists will not have obvious conflicts with those sects.

Not to mention... many religious groups have government officials behind them, so you have to look at the owner before you can beat the dog.

There is a mix of good and bad people, and it is difficult to distinguish between good and evil. This is the current situation of religious groups in Japan.

"First of all, I have to tell you why I call it a cult..." Yoshisuke Ashiya took out a bottle that looked ordinary.

Xingchang took a look and said, "Isn't this the bottle that those Aquarians used before? Wait... this bottle is different from the one you showed us before, old man."

Wei Bo also said: "I can feel that there is a deep resentment hidden in it."

Everyone knows that the Hope Church sells bottles to believers at high prices. Many religious groups in Japan use similar methods to make money, which is the same as the model of pyramid schemes. But this bottle is obviously problematic.

"That's right." Ashiya Yoshisuke said, "This is a bottle in the hands of a fanatic..."

He gently touched the bottle, and just like a snake emerging from a container after a Central Asian snake charmer blew a flute, a twisted middle-aged ghost rose from the bottle. He looked at the people around him in despair and shouted, "Dad, Mom, it hurts... Why do you want to kill me? I don't want to go to work... Go out and make money!"

Wei Bo showed disgust on her face: "It's really...disgusting."

"Namo San..." Liuliyuan Hongming said with a sad face: "Because of its behavior like that of a termite, parasitizing in the family and constantly sucking blood, it was killed by the parents who could not bear it? How sad and lamentable..." As he said that, he subconsciously recited the mantra of rebirth, wanting to liberate this pitiful vengeful spirit. Unexpectedly, the vengeful spirit was frightened and shrank back into the bottle, isolating itself from the scriptures of salvation.

"This bottle..." Xingchang Rang touched his chin and said, "It has changed from an ordinary bottle to a cursed object. Is this the origin of those Aquarius users?"

"That's right." Ashiya Jisuke said, "This is also why I classified the Church of Hope as a cult. This sect will search for families that have fallen into despair for various reasons, and then instigate them to do some cruel things, turning this twisted despair into power, so that they can become so-called Aquarians and then be used by them."

Qian Xiaoyi shook his head imperceptibly. In Japan, those sects that specialize in defrauding people are collectively referred to as "religious groups". They are not even considered cults because they pay taxes. Only sects that have obviously caused major criminal cases can be called cults... It's really a loose range of judgment.

Qian Xiaoyi said: "If that's the case, can we start from this aspect and expose the fact that they instigated the crime? These Aquarians were originally ordinary people, without any professional knowledge. The fact that they were not discovered probably has something to do with the Hope Cult helping to plan behind the scenes, right?"

Ashiya Jisuke looked at Qian Xiaoyi with admiration: "I think so too. Perhaps this is our chance to defeat the Hope Cult. However, they are doing it very covertly. I am afraid that only believers who have escaped legal sanctions will be recruited by them as Aquarius Envoys."

Xingchang Rang sneered: "These guys may have someone up there who can help them cover up these things, so it's not that easy to defeat them. Don't forget the big raccoon cat we dealt with before, he is immortal. I hope this side may be similar."

"That's right, so we have to attack from multiple aspects at the same time." Ashiya Yoshisuke said: "I believe that in order to completely defeat the enemy, three conditions must be met..."

"One, find the location of their lair and destroy it like we did before so they can no longer use the power of youkai."

"Second, expose their crimes, let everyone know what they have done, and make sure this evil cult has no chance of recovery."

"Third, cut off their network of interests and make their secular protectors retreat voluntarily, or be defeated together with their protectors."

Ashiya Yoshisuke said: "The second and third points are based on the conditions achieved in the first point. Because they have the power of the nest and the monsters, they can continue to expand their power and stand out from other religious groups. Once they lose this power, they will be abandoned. Whether their nest can be destroyed requires the cooperation of all exorcists."

Qian Xiaoyi asked: "So, old man, you already have a plan?"

"Of course~" Ashiya Yoshisuke smiled: "As I said, I have found some information about them. The enemy attacked us before, now it is time for us to reciprocate and give them a token of our respect..."

Ashiya Yoshisuke said with bright eyes: "Although the nest is not so easy to find, I have found many bases that hope to teach senior members to hold rituals... It's time to let those evil demons see our wrath!"

(End of this chapter)