The story begins with an eight-foot-tall lady surrounded by ghost story ladies.

"My family hasn't been able to get in for the past three days."

"None of the people who went in before have come out again."

Rin Jinguji's voice remained cool and aloof, but her heart was clearly far from calm.

Natsume Fanyu picked up the photo and turned it over to look at the back.

An address was written in red pen on the back:

Minato Ward, Jinguji Main House.

He had already made his judgment:

"The one on your body must have been something you encountered near this mansion."

"But it's not the entity itself, it's just a beacon."

"The real source is inside the mansion."

"and..."

"You must have known about this already, Miss Jinguji, right?"

This is not a question.

Rin Jinguji did not deny it.

Natsume Fanyu continued:

"And that evil spirit from your Jinguji family has been haunting you since you were very young."

"However, it has never been able to truly harm you, probably because your Jinguji family has something that has been suppressing it."

"But now, something must have gone wrong with that talisman."

"Am I right, Miss Jinguji?"

Rin Jinguji remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, but only said one sentence:

"Name your price."

"As expected of the eldest daughter of the Jinguji family, she is truly magnanimous."

Natsume Fanyu said no more, immediately put away the photos, and walked towards the door.

As I passed by that group of thugs in suits, they stood neatly on both sides of the entrance, looking like a flock of penguins waiting for orders.

Natsume Fanyu casually patted one of them on the shoulder.

A wisp of black energy silently dissipated from the man's shoulder, dissolving completely in the sunlight.

"ha?"

The man shuddered and looked around blankly.

"What's wrong?" someone next to me asked.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly feel a lightness in my shoulders."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know, never mind."

Natsume Fanyu had already reached the door.

"Let's go."

"Where to?" Jinguji Rin asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Natsume Fanyu turned around and smiled.

"Of course we'll go take a look..."

"What kind of incredible thing did you seal up in your house?"

Rin Jinguji watched his retreating figure, remained silent for a moment, and then followed him.

She suddenly stopped when she reached the door.

"Your name".

"Natsume Fanyu."

......

Apartment entrance.

A black Lexus sedan had been waiting for some time.

Just as Natsume Fanyu was about to get into the car, he suddenly felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes.

Look back.

The landlady, Ayano Matsushita, stood at the door, her eyes slightly red.

"Fanyu-kun..."

"About the rent..."

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

Natsume Fanyu interrupted her, his voice unusually serious.

"Don't go into that room until I get back."

Matsushita Ayano was taken aback.

"Why...why?"

Natsume Fanyu opened the car door and got in.

The car window rolled down, revealing half of his face.

"because..."

His gaze passed over Matsushita Ayano and landed on the window of the apartment on the second floor.

The gap in the curtains only revealed a portion of the eight-foot-tall lady's three-meter-tall body, but that portion was enough to make any normal man forget to breathe.

She stood behind the window, her body wrapped in white mourning clothes. The thin, almost transparent fabric was stretched into an exaggerated curve, so full that it seemed as if it might burst at any moment.

However, her waist was incredibly slender, forming a teardrop-shaped curve that made one's throat dry, together with her broad shoulders, full hips, and amazingly long legs.

At that moment, Madam Bachi was staring at him intently.

Those eyes were fixed on the skin near the collar of his shirt.

His gaze seemed to be confirming whether the marks left from last night were still there.

She wasn't in a good mood.

The car window rolled up.

The car drove away.

Only Matsushita Ayano was left standing at the apartment entrance, her back chilled by the three o'clock afternoon sun.

And behind that window on the second floor...

The eight-foot-tall lady withdrew her gaze.

She looked down at her hands.

The hand that just tore the evil spirit apart.

The scent of Natsume Fanyu's shirt collar still lingered on my fingertips.

She brought her finger close to her lips, then gently extended her tongue and touched the tip of her finger.

Then, the corners of his mouth slowly curved into an arc.

But that curve doesn't look like the "expression a shikigami should have towards its master" at all.

Outside the window, the faint hum of a Lexus engine could be heard in the distance.

Her gaze followed the car until it disappeared around the street corner.

Then, he uttered two words in a low voice.

"mine."

The curtains fell.

The shadows obscured the expression on Madam Ba-chi's face.

But vaguely, something was moving in the shadows.

She leaned against the wall and tilted her head back slightly.

The three-meter-tall body stretched out in the darkness as a white arc, like a lazy snake that had just had a full meal.

......

The black Lexus smoothly drove into the heart of the port area.

inside the car.

Natsume Bonyu sat in the back row on the right, while Jinguji Rin sat on the left.

The two were separated by an armrest.

The driver and bodyguard in the front row kept their eyes straight ahead.

There was silence for about three minutes.

Natsume Fanyu spoke.

"You've been able to see it since you were a child."

It's not a question.

Rin Jinguji looked out the window at the receding street scene without turning her head.

Two years old.

"And my mother can see it too."

"But seven years ago, she was possessed by an evil spirit..."

She didn't finish speaking.

The carriage was quiet for a few seconds.

"And you?"

"Your first one."

Natsume Fanyu remained silent for a while.

Then, he looked up and gazed at a location outside the window that did not exist in physical space.

"My family's..."

"cough."

A soft cough, which only he could hear, came from the void.

With a warning.

Natsume Fanyu swallowed back the words "Okusan" that were on the tip of his tongue.

"The first one is still with me."

Rin Jinguji finally turned around and glanced at him.

The meaning in those eyes was...

Is it the one from earlier?

Natsume Fanyu nodded slightly.

Rin Jinguji withdrew her gaze and looked out the window again.

A few seconds passed.

"It's quite pretty."

The words fell.

Natsume Fanyu clearly felt that the temperature inside the car had dropped by two degrees.

"It is quite beautiful."

He subconsciously echoed the sentiment.

The temperature dropped another degree.

He quickly changed his tune:

"No, it's very beautiful."

Temperatures are rising.

A barely audible "humph" came from the void.

With satisfaction.

But then...

Something soft and cool brushed gently across the back of his neck.

Natsume Fanyu's back stiffened for a moment, but he did not stop her.

Rin Jinguji seemed to have noticed, and her lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

It's not a laugh.

But it's not that I don't smile.

The car turned a corner and entered a private road lined with cherry trees on both sides.

At the end of the road stood a huge Japanese-style mansion.

Black tiles and white walls, ancient trees reaching the sky.

It looks exactly like the photo.

The only difference is...

The talismans that covered the doors and windows were now falling off one by one without any wind.

The talisman fell to the ground, making a rustling sound, as if something was breathing out from deep within the mansion.