Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 150, Section 148: Who Goes to Hell

last night.

The main hall of Honmyoji Temple.

Riyan knelt before the Buddha, chanting sutras. The candlelight flickered, and incense smoke curled. Miaofa Village was inserted into the ashes of a large, ancient-style incense burner, without any sharpness, like a dilapidated long knife that had been neglected for many years.

"Namo Myoho Renge Kyo. The Buddha said: I see with my Buddha-eye."

The continuous chanting had gone on for an unknown amount of time, almost without stopping.

But Riyan's expression, with his eyes tightly closed, grew increasingly solemn, showing no sign of relief.

“...able to break through all demon armies... Alas.” Riyan slowly opened his eyes, looked up at the Buddha statue in front of him, and sighed, “Dharma Banner, do you know that turning back is the shore, and ahead lies an abyss of ten thousand feet?”

Behind Riyan, Fazhuang, who had been silently approaching with a fruit knife, stopped in his tracks. His expression shifted from struggle to ferocity.

"I can't see the abyss, I only see the Buddha."

"Fazhuang, let go of your obsessions, or you will be unaffected by the demonic sword."

“No! I have not been influenced by anything, this is my true nature!” Fazhuang shouted, his voice hoarse and quickening as he continued.

"Master, why do you value Senior Brother Richeng so much! What exactly makes me inferior to him?"

"In terms of seniority, he was ordained only half a month earlier; in terms of piety, I have never dared to slacken in my morning and evening prayers; in terms of conduct, the dining hall is spotless, and the welcoming and sending off of monks at Dharma assemblies is flawless; in terms of scriptures—"

Riyan shook his head slowly and deliberately: "You don't have his 'faith'."

Fazhuang was taken aback: "Faith? What is faith? Does it mean I am not devout enough to the Buddha?!"

“It’s not about the Buddha, but about faith in the predecessors.” Riyan sighed. “You’ve read the ‘Record of the Wonderful Dharma Subduing Demons,’ but you’ve never taken it to heart.”

Fazhuang's face flushed red as he exclaimed excitedly, "Who would believe that book is like a novel! Other temples don't even keep this book in their collections. Only our Benmiao Temple requires every disciple to read it. Master, you are too foolish. People in the past also boasted!"

"There is no demon sword at all, and there may not even be a person named Fa Cheng! We've all been deceived!"

"This knife is the evidence. It's just an ordinary knife. If you insist on believing it, then I can only be offended!"

Riyan slowly stood up, turned around and looked directly at his disciple: "Have you really decided to turn your back on Buddhism?"

"No, I just can't bear to see you make one mistake after another, Master." Fazhuang said with a gloomy face, gripping his knife tightly and pressing forward step by step. "As long as you don't stop me from drawing my knife, Master, I won't do anything rebellious."

Riyan's eyes were filled with sorrow; it seemed that everything was beyond repair.

In this era, will there still be figures like Master Facheng who would stand up for the sake of all living beings?
“Fazhuang, since the Buddha’s teachings cannot save you, then your master also knows a little about spear fighting.”

He pulled out a pistol that he had prepared beforehand and aimed it at the banner.

But Fazhuang ignored everything and rushed forward without fear.

"Ahhh!"

boom!
Fazhuang paused, his face still contorted in a ferocious expression, and lunged into Riyan's arms.

The knife in his hand pierced Riyan's arm at the same time.

In Riyan's arms, slowly, Fazhuang's eyes regained their clarity. Looking at the bloodstains on his chest and the knife on his master's arm, he moved his lips and struggled to raise his finger to point at the Myoho Muramasa sword in front of the Buddha.

"Master, the demonic sword is not my true self."

"I believe it, I believe it."

Riyan patted his back and said softly, just like always.

With a sense of relief, Fazhuang slowly closed his eyes.

"Ugh"

Gently lowering the Dharma banner, Riyan gazed at the seven disciples surrounding him in the center of the hall, their eyes fixed longingly on the demon sword.

They were originally chanting scriptures outside like Fa Chuang, but now their eyes were filled with ferocity, they had lost their original intentions, and they were holding various crude weapons in their hands, as if they were about to swarm forward at any moment.

"Namo Myoho Renge Sūtra".

The Buddha said: I will not go to hell.

He reached out, grasped the hilt of Myōhō Muramasa's sword, and pulled it out of the ashes.

"Who will go to hell?"

Riyan took out the blood plasma from his pocket and drank it all in one gulp.

"I know you have all done your best for humanity."

"Let me, your teacher, see you off on your final journey."

The demonic sword, having shed its mottled appearance, now radiates a chilling light that captivates the soul.

Blood splattered onto the Buddha statue's face.

Click.

After taking a picture of the blood-stained Buddha statue, Kurosaki Chimei looked around the scene and pondered deeply.

In the afternoon, half an hour after Ri Cheng and his team discovered the body.

Honmyoji Temple was now surrounded by police and an investigation team, and an investigation was underway.

Apart from the corpse, the main hall was undamaged; not a single candlestick was overturned, indicating that the person who used the knife cherished the place.

"The Muramasa Demon Sword, huh?" He pondered this legend he'd heard so many times before, and slowly walked out of the main hall.

Avoiding the staff collecting evidence, Kurosaki peered out, searching for Ping Shenglong.

At this point, the situation had spiraled out of control for Ri Cheng. In fact, after seeing so many of his fellow disciples' corpses, his mind was in turmoil, especially since his master had also disappeared.

Combined with the phone call made not long ago, everything is self-evident.

He didn't hide anything and told the police everything.

Since they failed to suppress the demon sword, the only hope for the future, however slim, lies with the authorities.

Based on the statements of Nichijo and Muramasa Takii, combined with the preliminary investigation, the investigation team was basically able to confirm that the perpetrator was Nichigen Shonin, the abbot of Honmyoji Temple.

A high-ranking monk in his sixties.

The fact that most of the corpses died from knife wounds indicates that the Myōhō Muramasa sword that Honmyōji Temple intended to suppress at the time indeed possessed extraordinary power.

At least the two points of inciting people's hearts and minds and strengthening their power are undeniable. It turns out that extraordinary beings have been right under their noses all along.

It goes without saying that after today, the investigation headquarters will inevitably conduct a comprehensive survey of antiquities across the country.

I really hope we can find some magical artifacts with positive significance so they can better fight against the uncontrollable supernatural beings.

"You actually have time to read a book here?" Kurosaki finally found Taira no Ryu, who was sitting outside a house, flipping through an old book.

“It’s useful,” Ping Shenglong replied. The book cover read “The Record of Subduing Demons with Wonderful Methods.” “It describes the origin of the demon sword and the details of the two times the demon sword caused trouble.”

Hearing this, Kurosaki looked at the book with some longing: "Isn't there a copy?"

“No.” Heisei Ryu handed over a tablet. “But Nissei has an electronic version.”

"."

Kurosaki silently accepted it and sat down with him to carefully peruse it.

At this point, the other members of the fifth investigation team were still questioning the monk and Muramasa Takii.

After obtaining the more important information, they began to ask some other questions.

"Isn't the Muramasa sword currently in the hands of a collector?"

"That was just a shadow weapon without any special markings; the real weapon has always been in the hands of our Muramasa family."

"As far as I know, there are also descendants of the Muramasa family active in the Ise region. Are they also descendants of the Muramasa family?"

"That's one way to put it, but only those who accepted Myōhō Muramasa's teachings can be considered direct descendants."

"Hisashi said you are the ninth Muramasa. Have you sensed any unusual power?"

"There will be a special feeling."

"Can you sense where it is right now?"

"I can't do it. I don't know why."

"."

Although the title of the ninth Muramasa sounds quite impressive.

In reality, Muramasa Takii's performance was that of an ordinary high school girl, and she did not demonstrate any extraordinary abilities.

However, one point worth noting is that she and "Knight" are in the same class, although the two have never met.

However, the Muramasa family and that cursed sword can be traced back further; they didn't just appear out of nowhere like the knights.

Of course, those legends do sound like stories, but they lack sufficient evidence.

The questioning ended temporarily. Takagi organized the documents and handed them to Taira no Ryu. Muramasa Taki stayed in her room and could not go out for the time being.

A short while later, Kurosaki and Hiramori walked in.

After staring at her for a few seconds, Ping Shenglong suddenly asked, "Where are you in the game?"

Takii frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled: "What...game?"

"Have you finished the subway game?" Ping Shenglong added.

Taki said with a slight sigh, "I was just chosen by the demon sword to become the ninth Muramasa. I don't know anything about games, but I do sometimes play some, mainly action games. Which one would you like to know about?"

Kurosaki moved the tablet in his hand in front of Heisei Ryu.

Heisei Ryu nodded and looked at Takii again: "When I mentioned games just now, your heart rate increased. Did you think of something?"

"Because I didn't know how to answer your question; it was very different from what I had expected."

"Oh, what are you thinking about?"

"I want you to know how terrifying the Demon Blade is, so take action as soon as possible."

"."

"You don't believe in the existence of the Demon Blade?"

“No, we naturally believe it. Please remember we are the investigation team from the Extraordinary Measures Division,” Kurosaki began. “But before that, I’d like to ask, Ms. Muramasa, are you aware of the experiences of the third and fourth Muramasa?”

“I know, but it’s only through the Nichiren sect’s records. Our clan’s records about them are very vague.” Taki nodded.

Kurosaki gave a soft hum: "Why did the third and fourth generations lose control, while you, as the ninth generation, didn't lose control at the beginning? Was it all thanks to the methods left behind by Master Hosei?"

“In an emergency, my blood can calm the demon sword down temporarily, and I can also get rid of its influence for a while. Most importantly, I don’t have the hatred my ancestors had for the Tokugawa Shogunate.”

"Hmm, I heard from Richeng that you come here to have your blood drawn every now and then?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever seen where Riyan uses his blood?"

".No."

“There are no records of other people using the demon sword in the book. It seems that only those with the chosen Muramasa bloodline can unleash its power. Is there a possibility that…” Kurosaki pondered, “Higan has temporarily gained control of the demon sword through your blood? Is that why you lost your sense of it?”

Taki's mouth opened slightly: "This..."

"If this guess is correct, what do you think he wants to do?"

"I don't know." Taki shook her head. "I don't know."

“But Master Yan is a good person.”

Kurosaki sighed and nodded: "We also hope he is a good person, but the evidence shows that he killed all the disciples in the main hall. Ri Cheng said that Ri Yan was very affectionate towards each of them."

"But even so, he still made a move."

“No.” Takii looked at him. “If it was Master Riyan who was chasing them, they couldn’t all have died in the main hall. It must have been that they wanted to kill Master Riyan, and Master Riyan had no choice but to retaliate with his demon sword.”

Kurosaki was surprised that this girl had maintained a clear mind and hadn't been led astray by them.

He looked at Pyeong Sung-ryong, who then spoke.

"You are currently in a dangerous situation. We will be providing you with strict protection as part of the Extraordinary Measures Department. Please understand."

"I understand, I will cooperate."

(End of this chapter)