The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 806: Enemy in Honnoji Part 25 ()

The monster in the urban legend has actually existed since ancient times, but it did not have this name before. It had an older name - [Legend].

If a traveling peddler goes to a new place and tells a novel horror story, then the monster in the story is likely to become a real thing passed down by word of mouth. Then, the story spreads from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. The image of the monster is modified, and the logic of the story is enhanced, until it eventually evolves into the image of a terrifying monster.

There were also scholars and painters who were interested in collecting these folk customs and legends, painting them into volumes and compiling them into books, so that they could be circulated more widely and imprinted in people's hearts.

Thus, a traditional image of ghosts emerged. As they were passed down from generation to generation, they became classic images in people's minds and also became the enemies of exorcists.

The emergence of this classic image often requires decades, hundreds of years, or even thousands of years of evolution before it slowly takes shape and becomes a monster in the ghost realm.

However, the advent of the information age has accelerated the spread of this image. Newspapers, news, TV programs, entertainment works, the Internet... The ubiquitous influence of these media has made these images that can make people feel frightened or curious spread at an extremely exaggerated speed.

Monsters that used to take hundreds of years to form can now appear before exorcists in just a few years thanks to modern information technology.

"As top practitioners in this field, of course we noticed the information about those urban legend monsters." Ashiya Yoshisuke said, "At first, none of us took it seriously. After all, in that era, exorcists were basically inherited from family, and the rules were strict, so everyone was a bit old-fashioned and afraid of losing face for the family, so they would not deliberately cater to the trend."

Qian Xiaoyi said: "As a result, you found that those monsters that you had thought of as jokes actually appeared before your eyes, even though there was no record of them in ancient books."

"Yeah..." Ashiya Kichisuke said, "In those years, I even saw evil spirits that could hide on the Internet, [Non-Existent Forum] and the like... Those new monsters opened the eyes of us top exorcists. We realized that the world seemed to have changed. So in order to investigate the intelligence of these new ghosts, we abandoned our sectarian prejudices and started to explore and research together with a few people who recognized each other's strength."

"The top five people of the era." Qian Xiaoyi showed great interest and asked, "Why did it turn out like that? What did you find?"

Ashiya Kichisuke said: "Next, we started to specialize in investigating commissions related to urban legends. It was not for money, but just because of interest and love for the career. We came together because of our common aspirations. Just when we had noticed the difference between urban legends and ancient monsters, that person appeared."

"Jingde." Qian Xiaoyi sneered.

Ashiya Yoshisuke glanced at Qian Xiaoyi and said, "You really do know him... But at that time, he used a fake name. At first, he was just an ordinary Chinese businessman. He invited us over because he encountered a difficult situation. He introduced a lot of business to us, so we just regarded him as a high-quality customer."

"Of course you have to bait when fishing." Qian Xiaoyi said, "Actually, he wants to observe you and see how far you have progressed in your research."

"Now that I think about it, it is true." Ashiya Yoshisuke took a bite of the side dish and said, "We didn't realize at the time that the monster called [Cognitive School] had already appeared on the other side of the sea, and the theory was already mature, so none of us realized the danger was coming. After all, we are just a group of exorcists who specialize in helping people solve problems. How could we have provoked any enemies?"

"Then you encountered the most terrifying enemy." Qian Xiaoyi asked: "So, at this time, you have discovered something in urban legends, something that can change the entire country and religion."

"That's just a guess." Ashiya Yoshisuke said, "We really want to catch a ghost from an urban legend to study, but as you know, urban legends require specific conditions to appear. Our research was not complete at the time, so we didn't know where to look. Then, the opportunity came. Mr. Li Jianguo gave us a commission." "To defeat the slit-mouthed woman." Qian Xiaoyi said.

"That's right." Ashiya Yoshisuke said, "The five of us have united together, confident that no enemy can defeat us. The Slit-mouthed Woman is indeed very powerful, and we have finally seen the essence of those urban legends in her. Ryoudo and Ruriin are preparing to seal her, Terao Keiko and Hoshiba are responsible for suppression, and I am the main attacker. The five of us work together to subdue the Slit-mouthed Woman, and even when Ruriin has successfully sealed part of her, that man appears."

"He attacked you? He attacked you by surprise?" Qian Xiaoyi asked, "So that's why four of you died?"

Ashiya Jisuke shook his head: "No, he appeared in front of us and congratulated us on successfully seeing the truth of the world."

"Congratulations?" Qian Xiaoyi frowned.

"Yes." Ashiya Jisuke recalled: "When we had already started to seal the Slit-mouthed Woman, he came out from the side and congratulated us. He told us directly about epistemology, and then invited us to join him."

"What's next?" Qian Xiaoyi asked.

Ashiya Kichisuke gave a bitter smile: "We...rejected it."

"You really didn't betray me?" Qian Xiaoyi looked at him strangely.

"I am Ashiya Yoshisuke, the descendant of Ashiya Doman." Ashiya Yoshisuke shook his head: "I have my own pride. If an unidentified person suddenly appears and asks us to submit to him, do you think I will agree?"

"That's true." Qian Xiaoyi nodded: "What did that guy say?"

Ashiya Yoshisuke said: "He first congratulated us on our discovery of the outrageous fact of cognitive theory, and then described to us how to use this theory to rule the country, how to use this power, and even achieve true immortality... Although we were very surprised, the five of us were all like-minded companions who came together. At that time, we were all very idealistic, so of course we rejected his proposal, and then... he made a move on us."

"Five of you fighting against one, and you lost?" Qian Xiaoyi asked.

Ashiya Yoshisuke said, "You should know what will happen after a classical school knows and agrees with cognitive theory, right? Although we vaguely touched the edge of cognitive theory, we are not ready to accept this theory. When that man appeared, he directly broke this window paper. In addition, we have already fought with the slit-mouthed woman..."

"So, you still lost." Qian Xiaoyi said.

(End of this chapter)