The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 80 Speed ​​of Life and Death (3)

"Eh?! Are we going to meet that biker gang?"

After hearing Qian Xiaoyi's words, Inuyama Heita was shocked.

Ah Jian also said with emotion: "The bikers are very fierce. When I was still in school, I often heard about them fighting over territory. There were even many casualties. At that time, everyone said that the bikers were the reserve forces of the underworld."

Although Inuyama Heita had never actually seen a bosozoku group, as a Japanese, how could he not have heard of their legends? So he asked with some concern: "Is it really okay?"

Qian Xiaoyi was also a little uncertain: "I haven't dealt with the bikers, but I haven't heard of any big news about them. Maybe... there won't be any problems, right? As long as we communicate well, it should be fine."

Inuyama Heita said speechlessly: "Your tone is too hesitant, isn't it? Do you really have to deal with them?"

"Yes." Qian Xiaoyi nodded. "This commission may require entering the ghost realm to find Kuroda's consciousness, so we must make all preparations. When I was doing the soul-calling ceremony in the ward before, I found that in addition to him not wanting to come back, there was also a force restricting his return. Maybe he was involved in some trouble and didn't want to implicate his family, so he didn't come back. This possibility is also possible. Don't forget the matter of the slit-mouthed woman. If we don't make any preparations, we can't decide what we will encounter in the ghost realm."

Thinking of the exaggerated depressing aura of the slit-mouthed woman that day, Inuyama Heita could only agree with Qian Xiaoyi's reason and prepared to go talk to the bikers.

"Then let's go back to the office first." Qian Xiaoyi said, "According to the information given by the daughter of the Kuroda family, the bikers only go out late at night. If there is no train, we can only ride bicycles."

They returned to the office, and there was still some time before departure, so Qian Xiaoyi asked Inuyama Heita to go to the convenience store across the street to buy some food and heat it up in the microwave to get by, while he began to prepare various props that might be used.

While eating rice balls, Inuyama Heita saw Qian Xiaoyi carefully refilling his iron cigarette box with new cigarettes, so he asked, "Hey, Brother Yi, I've always wanted to ask you, where did those cigarettes come from? I don't think I've ever seen you smoke them."

Inuyama Heita recalled that, except for the first time they met, Qian Xiaoyi would only smoke when doing things related to supernatural events.

"Haha, let me tell you a secret..." Qian Xiaoyi smiled mysteriously and replied, "I don't smoke."

"Don't smoke? Then what are these things?" Ajian popped his head out and asked curiously.

Inuyama Heita was also very confused. He stared at Qian Xiaoyi, waiting for his answer.

"It's incense." Qian Xiaoyi said as he checked the cigarettes in the box, "Each stick of incense made into the shape of a cigarette has a different effect. Incense occupies a very important position in the folk customs of East Asia. It is used in religious ceremonies and exorcism. But ordinary incense is not easy to carry, and stick incense is too conspicuous, so it is easy for others to look at it with strange eyes. So my master's master made incense that looks like a cigarette. It can be regarded as a secret of my lineage. I heard that it was also forced by the environment at the time. Later, it was found that this kind of incense is quite useful, so it was passed down."

Ah Jian suddenly realized: "Indeed, in this case, even if I light these incense sticks, others will just think I'm smoking."

"So smoking is not a good habit." Qian Xiaoyi teased to Inuyama Heita, "Good kids shouldn't learn this." "Yeah." Inuyama Heita agreed vaguely with a rice ball in his mouth. He didn't smoke anyway.

After resting for a while in the office, Qian Xiaoyi woke up Inuyama Heita who was taking a nap on the sofa. The two of them rode out on a motorcycle and it took them a long time to reach their destination.

Before they reached the road, they heard the roar of motorcycle engines and various excited shouts. This sound reminded Inuyama Heita of the mohawk-haired, weird-looking soldiers in the apocalypse in Fist of the North Star. The legend of the biker gang kept flashing through his mind, making him feel uneasy. What if Qian Xiaoyi got beaten up later? Should he call an ambulance or the police first?
But even though they were mentally prepared, they were still shocked when they saw this group of biker gangs.

It's not because of anything else, but because these people are a little different from the biker gang they imagined. They don't have exaggerated hairstyles like crew cuts or Mohawks, nor do they have crazy gang coats with all kinds of non-mainstream Chinese characters. Most of them look like office workers and wage earners. There are both men and women, with an average age of over 30 years old, and the oldest is estimated to be 50 years old. Except for wearing cycling leather jackets in summer, there is nothing special about these people in appearance, but the various modified motorcycles around them prove their identity as biker gang.

Qian Xiaoyi and Inuyama Heita rode their scooters slowly to the side of the road where people were resting. They instantly became the most attractive two people in the crowd. Compared with the large-displacement modified motorcycles, the 50cc scooters they rode were very conspicuous, like a chicken standing out from a crowd of cranes. The style was completely different. A group of people immediately gathered around them, looking at them curiously.

"Hey, little brother, are you here to race too?" A middle-aged man in the crowd said with a smile, "I'm not looking down on you, but riding a small thing like this is not fun at all."

"Hey, are you kidding? This is the type of bike I rode when I was in middle school. I really miss it~"

"Haha~ You are still too young. I started riding a heavy motorcycle when I was in middle school. Youth..."

"My mom used to love riding this when she was at work. They say two people are not allowed to ride on this thing, right?"

"I haven't ridden a scooter like this before, but it looks pretty cute."

Their motorcycles were viewed as a spectacle by the crowd. Qian Xiaoyi saw that these people did not seem to be evil, so he took off his helmet and said, "Sorry, everyone, we are not here to race, but we have some questions to ask."

"Ah? Are you here to look for someone?" The uncle who seemed to be the leader of the crowd turned around and asked, "Who came out without telling their family before? I told them to explain clearly and not to cause trouble for their family."

"It's not wrong to say that I'm looking for someone, but it may be a little different from what you think." Qian Xiaoyi shook his head and asked, "Excuse me, does anyone among you know Kuroda Nobunaga?"

As soon as the name was uttered, the crowd fell silent.

"Ah, was it his family who sent you here?" The middle-aged man in the lead scratched his sparse head, then took off his leather riding jacket and put it on the motorcycle, revealing the sweat-soaked vest underneath. He fanned himself and said, "I know about him. We've known each other for many years. Let's talk over there. I'll tell you everything you want to know."

(End of this chapter)