I'm a thankful fox in Tokyo

Chapter 291 The Crane Returns
After obtaining permission from Higashino Yu, Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami carefully dressed Hanako's body, covering the shocking remains underneath the clothes.

Kaori Shiori remained silent.

Hanako stood aside, looking somewhat helpless. The scene of watching her own corpse being collected by others had a great impact on her mind.

"Ms. Jinguji!"

The demon hunters who had just approached found this place, climbed up from the bottom of the shrine, and saw a huge white fox at first sight.

What a strong breath.

The leading demon hunter was none other than Jinguji Nobuyoshi. He frowned, stopped immediately, and subconsciously reached for the hilt of his sword, showing a wary attitude.

But then he saw that Hiiragi Kagami, Kaori Shiori and others were safe and sound, and the shikigami Mu Ling was standing by the side with his hands hanging down, and there seemed to be no tense atmosphere.

I also remembered that in the previous news about Higashino Yu, there was indeed a white fox shikigami.

He asked tentatively: "What is this?"

"It's Higashino-kun's shikigami. The demons and fallen angels have been killed by him." Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami explained calmly.

Dong Yeyu stood beside her, pretending to be cool, with a dignified look and silent.

Nobuyoshi Jinguji's expression was slightly stagnant.

The demon hunters behind him looked at each other in bewilderment, remembering the two charred demon corpses they had seen on the road, and the corpse of a crane that seemed to have been bitten in half by some ferocious beast.
If it is this white fox, then there is really no problem.

Jinguji Nobuyoshi looked at the white fox for a moment, then walked closer and stared at Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami: "Don't you have anything to explain to me?"

When Jinguji Nobuyoshi found out that she had taken the initiative to bring her two younger sisters and the family's shikigami up the mountain, he almost died of anxiety.

Because the people from other demon hunter families had not arrived yet, he selected some good fighters from his own family to go up the mountain to rescue his daughter.

As a result, when I looked up, I saw a strange scene on the top of the mountain, with lightning, thunder and strong winds - even the night winds in other places were very gentle at that time.

It was obvious that a god was involved in this matter. Jinguji Nobuyoshi was terrified and was ready to collect his daughter's body.

When they reached halfway up the mountain, a forest fire suddenly broke out, and at the same time countless demons poured down from the mountain. Jinguji Nobuyoshi led the demon hunters to repel these panicked demons while climbing to the top of the mountain with trepidation.

He was a bit stunned when he passed by the corpses of three powerful demons, not to mention that one of them was a local god.

Even the gods had fallen. He felt that the situation was out of control and his pace became faster. When he reached the top of the mountain, he saw a post-war scene. His daughter and two nieces were not even scratched.

Of course, although the ending was relatively good, such behavior is unforgivable.

Facing his father's rather stressful gaze, Jinguji Hiiragi lowered his brows and said, "I'm sorry."

Nobuyoshi Jinguji was stunned for a moment.

Although she looks aloof from the world on weekdays, no one knows better than Nobuyoshi Jinguji how proud his daughter is. She will definitely think about whether what she does is right or wrong before doing it.

She always makes the right choices, so from childhood to adulthood, I have never heard the word of apology come out of her mouth.

Jinguji Nobuyoshi looked at her with a complicated expression, and his anger disappeared for the most part, and he even began to worry for some reason.

As far as he knows, Sanae from the Asumimi family is also very close to Higashino Yu. Although she is a little weird, she is also outgoing and thoughtful. Can a taciturn person like Jing really win?

Moreover, can she convince herself to compete with her best friend for his affection?
Jinguji Xinyi felt a headache and rubbed his forehead. "Let's talk about it when we get back."

Then he looked around the shrine and asked, "Where's that kid?"

"Going to put out the fire."

Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami explained softly, then carried Hanako's body and walked out of the shrine.

Fighting a fire? Alone?

Nobuyoshi Jinguji felt something was wrong, and then noticed what his daughter was holding in her arms. Upon closer inspection, he found it was a corpse that had been gnawed by a demon.

"It's a child from the nearby Hinode Town who was eaten by a demon. Please notify the local police station and let her family claim the body." Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami said.

Jinguji Nobuyoshi nodded and glanced at the ghost of the girl hiding beside the white fox. "Didn't you have time to save her soul?"

"She still has obsessions. Dongye-kun wants to help her fulfill her wish before sending her to the underworld."

"This boy"

Jinguji Nobuyoshi shook his head and complained in his heart that it was too soft-hearted of a woman. How could the ghosts have the final say in salvation?

If she doesn't want to leave, won't you recite the sutras for salvation a few more times?

There are not many demon exorcists. If they all fulfilled the wishes of every dead ghost like he did, then there would be no need to exorcise demons and there would be no need to practice. They would be better called a handyman instead of a demon exorcist.

However, this is someone else's private matter. Although Higashino Yu is nominally his junior, he is more of a benefactor of the Jinguji family.

Speaking of which, Jinguji Nobuyoshi was also a little helpless. He rescued his daughter and niece, and the next thing he did, he took them all into another fire pit.

Dongye, you are really amazing.

After learning that his daughter was not in danger, Jinguji Nobuyoshi began to calm down and gave orders.

The demon hunters who followed him began to carry out their work in an orderly manner. Some checked to see if there were any remaining demons, while others used walkie-talkies to report the situation on the mountain to the people down the mountain.

"Evacuate first. The wildfire will soon spread. Have you called the fire department?"

A demon hunter replied: "We have contacted the nearest town, but the fire spread too quickly and is difficult to control. Now some shikigami who can use water magic and demon hunters are preparing isolation zones. We can only hope that the fire does not spread to the surrounding mountains."

A group of people stood at the foot of the shrine and looked down. The raging fire almost illuminated the surroundings as bright as day. The air was dry and hot, and the orange-red flames danced on everyone's face.

"Why did that Crane God get entangled with demons?"

A demon hunter said with emotion.

"It must have been forgotten. Although the legend of the crane is very old, there are not many people who visit this shrine now. Only some villagers at the foot of the mountain come to worship occasionally. When the power weakened to the point of being in danger of disappearing, they desperately sought medical treatment. Even gods are afraid of death."

"Hegui Mountain is probably going to be burned down."

"The gods perished, the mountain was burned to ashes, and the legend of the crane returning home can probably only be seen occasionally in books in the future."

There were many demon hunters gathered at the foot of the mountain. The cars parked on the road were lined up in a long line, and everyone was busy.

The shikigami and demon hunters who knew water magic were trying their best to build a quarantine zone, while the demon hunters and shikigami who didn't know how to put out fires were looking for the demon that had just escaped all over Hegui Mountain. Originally, they were going to form a team to fight the demon dungeon, but they didn't encounter many powerful demons, and they did work as firefighters.

Many demon hunters were speechless. Who would come to this corner in the middle of the night to put out a fire?

By the time Dong Yeyu and others were going down the mountain, the image of the white fox was so eye-catching - mainly because of its size. A white fox as big as a tourist bus was really hard to ignore.

Therefore, it attracted the attention of many people.

Some of the demon hunters had inquiring looks in their eyes, while others seemed to be deep in thought.

After reaching the foot of the mountain, Jinguji Nobuyoshi looked around and said, "Higashino-kun hasn't come down yet? Is he in any danger?"

The fire on the mountain has reached an uncontrollable level, which can be called a disaster level. In this situation, isn't it seeking death to stay on the mountain?

Jinguji Hiiragi took out his cell phone, typed a few words, and then replied: "He is almost down the mountain."

Doesn't Sister Hiiragi Kagami feel embarrassed when she lies? Knowing the inside story, Kaori Shiori glanced at the big white fox beside her and smiled in her heart.

"Really? Tell him to come down quickly. We'll have to close the mountain and put out the fire soon."

As Jinguji Nobuyoshi was speaking, some demon exorcists came over to greet him. These demon exorcists arrived later.

"A Jing, you take your sisters here and wait for Dong Ye-kun. I have to go take care of some things. Mu Ling, please protect them."

As one of the leaders of this operation, there were many things to do, so Jinguji Nobuyoshi gave a few simple instructions and left in a hurry.

Considering that the fox form is both inconvenient and conspicuous in human society, Higashino Yu talked with Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami, then found an opportunity to sneak into the forest on the other side with the clothes in his mouth, changed back into human form and walked back.

But without a shirt, he had to remain shirtless.

This action did not attract anyone's attention, and some demon hunters were just wondering where the white fox had gone.

"Tono Ni-san, I'm so glad you're okay."

Shiori Kaori narrowed her eyes like a crescent moon and bowed slightly. Her acting skills were quite good. Jinguji Nobuyoshi, who was not far away, saw this and nodded to Higashino Yu.

Dong Ye Yu bowed slightly in return - he just made a phone call and so many people called. Although the demons were the enemies of the demon hunters, he had to accept the favor.

Come to think of it, the Jinguji family also owes me a lot of favors, so with this going on, the feeling is becoming more and more complicated.

However, favors are such a vague yet specific thing. If we measure them precisely, they are no longer called favors, but debts.

The well-behaved Hanako stood quietly there waiting, her eyes fell on Higashino Yu's face and looked him up. Her eyes suddenly lit up and there was a hint of surprise on her pale little face. She wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Don't you recognize me now?" Dong Yeyu leaned close to the girl's ghost's ear and whispered, "I'm the white fox from before, Hanako."

Eh!
Hanako opened her mouth slightly. Can the fox Nissan transform into a human?

She recalled a heartwarming movie about monsters she had watched before, and felt complicated. She never expected that one day she would encounter the same thing as the protagonist in the movie.

Unfortunately, the first monster he formed a bond with was not a good monster like Higashino Nissan, but a man-eating monster.

For a moment, even the surprise of recognizing Higashino Yu as the waiter at the western restaurant that Reina wanted to go to faded a lot.

"Put it on. It's my father's spare clothes. Since it's a haori, you don't have to worry about it not fitting."

Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami took a haori and lowered her brows, not looking at his body.

Dong Ye Yu thanked him and put it on. Not long after, the alarm of a fire truck was heard in the distance.

After the firefighters arrived, the demon hunters sent their shikigami to help in secret. They worked like this for most of the night, and by four or five in the morning they were able to barely control the fire to this part of Hegui Mountain, preventing it from spreading.

But Hegui Mountain could only end up in flames with the ground covered in ashes. There was no other way. Human power was limited. Even with such advanced modern science and technology, it was impossible to extinguish such a forest fire.

Higashino Yu and others took Hanako's body to the Hinode Town Police Station. Jinguji Nobuyoshi had informed them in advance, so there was no misunderstanding. The cause of death of the child was written as being attacked by a wild beast.

Her parents have been contacted and will probably come to claim the body soon.

The police station in the countryside did not have central air conditioning installed, so even though the lights in the police station were cool white, people would still sweat just by sitting there.

The middle-aged policeman on duty in the hall was studying a chess manual, taking a sip of scented tea from time to time, with a frown on his face, as if he was engaging in a battle of wits with some existence. Occasionally he looked up at a few people in the hall, then glanced outside the police station, and when he found nothing unusual, he gathered his attention and continued to fight the enemy.

Shiori Kaori, who had been clamoring to come and help Hanako fulfill her wish, fell asleep leaning on the terrace seat.

Hanako sat next to them. Her slightly ethereal body was wearing clothes a few sizes too large. Her legs were swaying slightly. She was staring at the potted plants in the hall in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking.

Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami sat opposite them, meditating with his eyes closed, with Kunimitsu Nyudo Isshin lying across his legs.

Xiuji was like a guard, alert to every movement around him.

"Coffee?"

Higashino Yu handed over a bottle of iced canned coffee. Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami opened his eyes and was about to say something when two figures ran in from outside the police station.

They came in a hurry, as if they had been running, and their breathing was rapid. They were a man and a woman, about 30 or 40 years old.

"Dad, mom."

Hanako, who was sitting on the chair, stood up immediately. She wanted to go over, but when she looked at her illusory body, she couldn't move her legs.

After the two men arrived at the hall, they looked around in a daze, passing by Dong Yeyu and others who were sitting in the hall, and looked at the policeman on duty.

The man took a deep breath, his breath trembling. He walked to the policeman on duty, bent down, and asked in a hoarse voice.

"I'm sorry to bother you. My name is Yasuo Okita. May I ask if you called me to come? Come on,"

He seemed to be stuck here and couldn't utter those words.

The police officer on duty put down the chess manual, looked up at the visitor, and asked for his identity information. After confirming it, he sighed and said, "My condolences. The body is temporarily placed here. Come with me."

He picked up a bunch of keys, stood up and walked a few steps. After thinking for a while, he said to the man, "Let your wife wait here. Come with me to claim the body. Because it was attacked by a wild beast, the visual impact may be quite large."

It doesn't have to be Hanako, don't be Hanako.

At this time, Yasuo Okita kept praying in his heart, and even forgot to ask the reason for the incident. He numbly followed the police on duty to the lounge.

Dong Ye Yu looked at the two figures and did not follow them. After they entered, there were some conversations at first, but later there was only dead silence.

(End of this chapter)