Japanese Terrorist: What? I'll fight Hellstar!

"I don't understand business matters, but the Changxi family has its own way of surviving to this day."

Seeing Amamiya Rin's noncommittal attitude, Toki Maaya couldn't help but feel unhappy, and her mood became slightly depressed.

"I apologize, my words were abrupt."

Amamiya Rin stopped and turned to face her. He raised his hand and brushed away a fallen petal from her shoulder with his fingertips, his voice carrying just the right amount of apology.

"No, it's not Mr. Amamiya's fault, I was just being too serious."

A faint blush rose on Toki Maaya's cheeks, and the unpleasantness that had been building up earlier dissipated like cherry blossom mist blown away by the wind.

"Speaking of the protection of Kuzunomiya, it must be because the Tsuneki family has many miraculous stories that they have achieved their current glory."

Amamiya Rin smiled slightly, and her calm smile made Toki Maaya's shoulder line relax.

"Miraculous events...glory...the Changxi family is no longer as glorious as it once was."

She tilted her head back, her beautiful face covered with an indescribable melancholy, and the turbulent emotions in her eyes were not hidden from Yu Gonglin.

Following her lead, Amamiya Rin calmly replied, "Is that so? I think that being able to establish a foothold in Tokyo and gathering so many distinguished guests at a single wedding banquet, how could the Tsuneki family not be considered magnificent?"

"Those guests, those who can be associated with prestigious families are only from collateral branches or subordinates, delivering a congratulatory gift on behalf of the main family. Moreover, if they truly still possess the glory of yesteryear, the position of young master should not belong to..."

At the very end of her sentence, Toki Maaya suddenly stopped, biting her lower lip hard to swallow back the outrageous words.

No matter how dissatisfied she was, she was the eldest daughter of the Chang family, and family scandals should not be aired in public.

She turned her face away, looking at the eaves of the distant worship hall, her voice lowered, tinged with self-mockery.

"I'm sorry, I misspoke. I actually said such nonsense in front of the guests."

"No, I don't mind. It's a sign of your trust in me that you're telling me these things, and I'm very happy about that."

Amamiya Rin leaned slightly forward, looking directly at Toki Maaya.

In the twilight, his peaceful and calm eyes, now filled with the warm light of lanterns under the eaves and mixed with the moonlight spreading through the cherry blossom grove, were so gentle that they could drown one's heart.

In an instant, the falling cherry blossoms, the sound of the wind, and the distant clamor all became blurry shadows; in his eyes, only she was reflected.

Tsuneki Maaya's heart skipped a beat, her cheeks flushed even more, and even the tips of her ears felt burning hot. Her tightly pursed lower lip loosened, and her breathing became a little erratic.

The pent-up frustration and outward rationality he had just suppressed were completely lost in his eyes.

"Today's groom, Tokiyuki Choki, the young master of the Choki family and the future head of the family, is not a legitimate heir of the Choki family at all. He is the illegitimate son of my father and a lowly maid in the family."

The words she had swallowed back earlier could no longer be suppressed, and they burst out of her mouth, carrying with them more than a decade of resentment and grievance.

"That maid seduced my father, wanting to elope with him. My grandfather discovered this and separated them in time, sending the maid to the countryside. But unexpectedly, the maid was already pregnant with my father's child, and that illegitimate child has now become the heir of the Changxi family."

"Then..." Amamiya Rin paused, then asked doubtfully, "Doesn't the Tsuneki family have any other heirs?"

These words were like a key, unlocking the nightmare that Tsuneki Maaya had kept buried for many years. Amamiya Rin's voice drew out the memories she didn't want to recall from the depths of her heart.

Tsuneki Maaya's face paled, and she even paused for a moment. A hint of unease flashed in her eyes, as if she had returned to that dark and gloomy summer.

"Originally, I had an older brother, three years older than me, who was the clan's designated heir. However, when I was young, my brother, sister, father, mother, and I all contracted a strange disease. My father, mother, and brother died from patches of ulcerated skin all over their bodies. My sister and I were also on our deathbeds. But on the very night my father, mother, and brother died, their condition suddenly improved, and the ulcers on their bodies healed overnight."

Her fingertips dug deeply into her palms, leaving several deep red marks, her voice carrying an unyielding chill.

"At that time, my grandfather did not allow the doctor to perform a pathological autopsy, and he did not even allow a funeral to be held. After my father, mother and brother died, my grandfather took it upon himself to cremate them. Afterwards, because he lost his heir, my grandfather brought back that illegitimate son."

"You suspect that this matter is related to Tokihisa?"

A sharp, cold glint flashed deep within Yu Gonglin's eyes.

A strange illness caused the sudden death of the parents and eldest son, but the two girls miraculously survived. Soon after, they brought back the illegitimate child from outside the family.

Is this really a natural disaster?

It was less of an accident and more of a curse caused by a mysterious force.

"It's too much of a coincidence. It's like he's eliminating any obstacles that would prevent him from taking power. Grandpa... is probably in the know as well."

Bewitched by Amamiya Rin, Toki Maaya's face darkened, her eyes filled with anger, and she uttered blasphemous words.

If anyone else in Changxi's household heard this, they would probably be so frightened that they would go deaf.

Yu Gonglin didn't reply. His gaze fell on the brightly lit worship hall in the distance. His brows furrowed slightly as he rapidly pieced together all the clues in his mind.

First, there is an 80% chance that the Kuzunomiya-no-Mikoto worshipped by the Toki clan is real.

While it's uncertain whether it's the legendary white fox Kuzunoha, judging from the name alone, its true form must be a fox, perhaps even the famous nine-tailed fox—after all, Japanese manga and games often follow this pattern, and when it comes to foxes, the nine-tailed fox is always mentioned.

Amamiya Rin speculated that Toki Hisayuki must have some connection with the nine-tailed fox. In order to seek revenge or to ascend to the throne of the family head, he cursed his parents and brothers. The head of the Toki family, as a believer of Kuzunomiya Mikoto, tacitly approved of this.

Of course, this is just speculation. It's not necessarily Tokiyuki himself who is using the Nine-Tailed Fox's power, and it's not necessarily him using the Nine-Tailed Fox's power. It's more likely that the Nine-Tailed Fox is using him.

After all, according to Toki Maaya, her parents and brother died when she was young. Toki Hisayuki shouldn't have been very old at that time. How could a child use a thousand-year-old fox demon? It would be more normal if it were the other way around, and this is a very common trope.

"Miss Maaya, besides that, have any other strange things happened at the Tsuneki family's house?"

After a moment's thought, Amamiya Rin pressed Tsuneki Maaya for an answer.

Tsuneki Maaya's body stiffened slightly, and a hint of hesitation appeared on her face. She bit her lower lip, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, clearly knowing something but not daring to tell outsiders due to family taboos.

But when she looked up and met Yu Gonglin's gentle yet encouraging eyes, the defense she had built around herself, called discipline, crumbled once again.

"Strange... If I had to call it strange, our family has a tradition: every eight years, we will marry a pure and dignified young woman. However, the bride will soon mysteriously disappear. According to the family tradition, the bride was ordered by Kuzunomiya to be hidden away in our clan's sacred domain."

Tsuneki Maaya moved closer to Amamiya Rin and whispered.

"Disappeared without a trace?"

Amamiya Rin's eyes sharpened.

To put it nicely, it's called disappearing into the shadows, but isn't this practice a form of sacrifice?

A sacrifice is performed every eight years, and the ceremony is a wedding. This time, the sacrifice is Ms. Hinako Fukami.

Yu Gonglin immediately sorted out his thoughts, and his expression turned serious.

Human sacrifice, an evil god named Kuzunomiya no Mikoto, the Toki family who made their fortune in the chaos of war... The fortune teller's tarot cards were indeed correct; tonight, he would send some non-human beings to hell.

"Disappearance? Isn't that a sacrifice! A sacrifice to a fox?"

Just as Tsuneki Maaya finished speaking with a slight hesitation, a clear, cold, and hard female voice came from the shadows of the cherry tree.

Looking in the direction of the sound, one could see a young girl walking slowly out, her feet treading on fallen cherry blossoms.

She wore a light blue dress, had long, smooth black hair, and neat bangs that fell just above her eyebrows. Her hair was tied into low pigtails on both sides and secured with burgundy hairbands, giving her a refreshing and sleek look.

However, it was clear that her eyes revealed undisguised resentment and coldness.

Tsuneki Maaya's expression changed slightly because she recognized the person's identity.

"You are... Igarashi Sakiko? I remember you, you are the woman, a close friend of Fukami Hinako."

Tsuneki Maaya's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, and her gaze revealed a hint of coldness.

This is bad! Someone overheard what we were saying.

Despite her cold exterior, Toki Maaya was inwardly extremely anxious.

She reviewed what she had just said.

The family was in decline, so the guests who came were not important figures—if word got out, it would offend the guests and make other families look down on them.

Young Master Tokihisa is an illegitimate child, and he himself is dissatisfied with this illegitimate child—others would only treat it as a joke, but the family would not allow such disrespect for the young master and questioning of the family's authority to happen.

Worst of all, she bluntly stated that Tokiyuki killed her father, mother, and brother with the support of some force, and that her grandfather tacitly approved of this behavior—which also slandered the current and next head of the family. Being expelled from the family and having ties severed would be the best of luck amidst misfortune.

Calming down and realizing what she had said and what the consequences would be, Toki Maaya felt a sense of dizziness.

She now wishes she could actually faint.

For a moment, Toki Maaya felt incredulous. What had gotten into her just now that she had blurted out those things?

"When did you start eavesdropping?"

Tsuneki Maaya pressed her temples, took a deep breath, and asked Igarashi Sakiko.

"Your family members died from a strange illness."

Igarashi Sakiko said bluntly.

"That's not a strange illness, it's a curse, a curse cast upon the Changxi family by the fox that seized the throne of the god of agriculture."

This girl, who appeared suddenly and whose identity was unknown, only known to be a relative of the bride, uttered such shocking and inexplicable words without any prior warning.

"What...what are you talking about?"

Tsuneki Maaya was completely stunned. The coldness on her face was replaced by astonishment. She opened her mouth, looked at the indignant girl in front of her, and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Ms. Igarashi? What do you know?"

Amamiya Rin, however, remained unfazed. He had sensed someone approaching and hiding nearby while he was talking to Toki Maaya earlier, but he hadn't spoken up to expose them.

Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise.

"Of course, I come from Ebisugaoka, I am a shrine maiden of the Igarashi Shrine, the future head priest of the Igarashi Shrine, and Hinako's good friend. I know a little about the Toki family and Hinako."

Sakiko Igarashi raised her head and proudly introduced herself.

"A psychic?"

Amamiya Rin was somewhat surprised.

Aside from Inudou Ranko and the two Twilight Kintoki, this was the first time he had ever met a psychic, especially one from the orthodox faction of a shrine.

"That's right! I am a psychic."

Upon hearing Amamiya Rin's question, Igarashi Sakiko's voice rose slightly, as if she had become excited.

This attitude seems a bit strange.

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Toki Maaya, however, was not interested in Igarashi Sakiko's identity at all. Speaking of shrine maidens, she was half a shrine maiden, but what about psychic abilities? Aren't they all just charlatans who swindle people?

"Ms. Igarashi, I don't care how much you've heard or what you know, I hope you can keep your mouth shut, not talk nonsense outside, and not do anything that will affect this wedding banquet."

Tsuneki Maaya's voice was unusually cold, and she stared at Igarashi Sakiko with a chilling gaze, as if she were putting pressure on her.

If Amamiya Rin hadn't been there watching, she would have already called her servants to arrest and lock up Igarashi Sakiko.

After all, this wedding banquet is a big event. If Igarashi Sakiko were to cause trouble with her reckless words, the Toki family would definitely lose face, and she would be punished by the head of the family.

"Ms. Igarashi, from this moment on, please forget what you just heard. Then, go back to the wedding banquet, stay with Ms. Fukami's parents, and quietly attend the banquet. This is for your own good, and also for Ms. Fukami's good."

Tsuneki Maaya took two steps closer to Igarashi Sakiko, her calm face and cold words making no attempt to conceal the threat.

"For my own good, and for Hinako's good, I will not compromise!"

However, the girl named Sakiko Igarashi showed no fear; instead, she seemed excited and eager to try, as if she were going to fight against something, which made her look somewhat euphoric.

"Please calm down, Ms. Maaya."

Tsuneki Maaya's expression grew increasingly grim, even somewhat cold. Just as she was about to erupt, Amamiya Rin stepped forward and stood between her and Igarashi Sakiko.

Seeing Amamiya Rin blocking her way, Toki Maaya paused, the anger and anxiety surging in her chest dissipated, and even her tense body relaxed, her mood becoming more peaceful.