Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Under the giant green torii, Aoi Jinguji stood there prettily, waving her hand gracefully.

"Sorry, the subway was too crowded and I was a little late."

Xia Fan, wearing a white T-shirt and sports jacket, jogged forward.

"No, I came a little early. After all, I asked you to come over to help, so I can't be rude."

Today, Jinguji Aoi seemed to have dressed up carefully. Her delicate facial features were lightly made up, and the tight white dress outlined her moving curves, giving her a more modern beauty than her usual shrine maiden look.

"So, how can I help you? Regarding the matter of summoning the 'Samurai Aragami'..."

After a brief greeting, Xia Fan got straight to the point.

Today, he came to Kanda Shrine again after receiving a call from Jinguji Aoi asking for assistance in the investigation.

"Please come sit here and we'll talk in detail."

Aoi Jinguji led him into a "Japanese confectionery" shop on the roadside, and the two sat down side by side on a bench under the eaves.

"My two guests, please enjoy your meal."

The boss brought out tea and three-color dumplings from the store and placed them next to the two of them.

This dumpling is a traditional dessert in District 11. It is made from flour, glutinous rice flour, tapioca flour, lard and fine sugar, and is topped with brown sugar before being eaten.

Xia Fan took a glance and discovered that the "boss" dressed in a kimono and a hairband was actually Detective Higurashi whom he had met several times.

"..."

He picked up the skewer of dumplings pretending to be natural, but just as it reached his mouth, the dumplings disappeared one by one out of thin air.

"Tsk..."

Xia Fan could only smack his lips helplessly.

This Tianyu God has reached the point where he is openly competing with me for food without any warning from the oracle.

"It seems that the investigation has encountered difficulties?"

Putting down the empty stick, Xia Fan looked at Jinguji Aoi curiously.

Since Detective Higurashi is lurking in this store, the Kanda Shrine is probably under the surveillance of Section 9 at this moment, which is a state of "loose on the outside but tight on the inside".

"Mr. Xia Fan, do you like to eat dumplings? That's just right, I hate sweets the most..."

Aoi Jinguji placed her string of dumplings in front of Xia Fan, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"Based on the clues you provided, our investigation went smoothly at the beginning..."

"Archaeological experts have confirmed that the warrior's armor is of the standard type used by the Tokugawa Eastern Army at the end of the Warring States Period."

"The IT staff has repeatedly analyzed the video footage of Lord Xia Fan channeling into the play. The sword move that was touching the ground should be a lost secret sword move, and we have not found any conclusive evidence. But the sword-holding posture you used at that time was called 'Dragon's Mouth', and the standing posture with your heels touching the ground is consistent with the 'Okuyama-ryu' kendo movement characteristics popular in the Tokugawa army."

"After basically confirming the era, organization, and swordsmanship style, the name 'Xiangsui' became the final breakthrough..."

"Because, at the end of the Warring States period, the head shrine maiden of Kanda Shrine was named Hayami Kaho..."

The girl's long legs were stretched lazily in front of the bench, swaying playfully as she recounted the results of her investigation.

To outsiders who didn't know the inside story, they were just a young couple who came to Kanda Shrine to have a date, pray, drink tea and eat fruit.

Chapter 56: Visiting the Shrine (Happy New Year)

2024-07-13

"According to Hayami Kaho's notes, she had secretly agreed to marry a samurai named 'Tokugawa Kagekatsu' after she retired."

"Later, the samurai participated in the famous Battle of Sekigahara. On the day of the decisive battle, Hayami Kaho personally presided over the 'Kanda Festival' to pray for the battle. Although the battle was won as she wished, what she waited for back was only her lover's blood-stained armor and broken sword."

"The shrine maiden built a tomb for him in the shrine. From then on, he served the gods and never married."

Having said that, Aoi Jinguji let out a long sigh.

The Battle of Sekigahara was a series of battles that broke out between the Tokugawa clan and the Toyotomi clan after the death of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It is known as the battle that "determined the fate of the world" and "dominated the direction of history in the eleven districts."

"That Tokugawa Kagekatsu, he must have tried very hard, very hard, very hard to come back alive."

Recalling the incomplete memories he sensed during "spiritual communication", Xia Fan secretly clenched his fists.

"We believe that the remaining soul of Tokugawa Kagekatsu attached to his armor and sword, and was tainted by the power of faith for hundreds of years in the shrine, and eventually became the wild god. This also explains why the faith shelter in the shrine does not obviously reject him."

"However, we followed the location recorded in the notebook, but we couldn't find Tokugawa Kagekatsu's 'Cenotaph'."

"Someone moved the armor and the sword before us, which caused the seal to loosen. Tokugawa Kagekatsu awakened as a wild god and caused trouble in the shrine."

Recalling the scene where she led Lesson 9 to dig up the cenotaph, but found only an empty grave, Jinguji Aoi frowned.

"If he was taken away on purpose, how can we find him in District 11 which is so big? Hiss..."

Xia Fan picked up the dumpling that the witch didn't eat, opened his mouth quickly and bit it without warning, but only hit the empty wooden stick.

The ninth lesson is about surveillance in casual clothes, probably because we don't want to arouse the suspicion of the person, so we wait in secret.

"From the situation that day when Tokugawa Kagekatsu fled after being seriously injured by you, even if that person moved the cenotaph, he did not leave the area of ​​Kanda Shrine."

"You have communicated with Tokugawa Kagekatsu before, and you have some kind of 'connection' with him. Perhaps you can sense him if you are close to him."

Jinguji Aoi stood up and walked forward gracefully. Suddenly, she turned her head to Xia Fan and smiled sweetly: "I wonder if I would be lucky enough to invite you to visit Kanda Shrine with me?"

"With great pleasure."

Xia Fan drank the matcha in the cup and followed the witch.

……

Three hours later.

"How about it?"

"No, there is no 'psychic' feeling at all."

Xia Fan sat on the stairs of the side hall of Kanda Shrine with a tired look on his face, with Jinguji Aoi standing beside him.

It took the two of them three full hours to measure the entire land of Kanda Shrine with their feet.

No matter how hard Xia Fan concentrated, he could not feel the resonance he had when he had "spiritual communication" with Tokugawa Kagekatsu that day.

"Perhaps, it is because Tokugawa Kagekatsu was injured too badly by you and fell into a 'deep sleep'."

Jinguji Aoi sighed.

Tokugawa Kagekatsu's cenotaph was moved away, and there must be an unknown conspiracy behind it.

If we don't find it in one day, it's like there's a time bomb hidden in Kanda Shrine.

"What was it like to communicate with Tokugawa Kagekatsu for the first time?"

Xia Fan held his chin with his left hand, looked up at the slowly flowing clouds in the sky, and began to think hard.

"In this place that's like a blood-reaper, if you're not careful, you'll become a corpse on the ground, and you won't be able to go back and see your lover again..."

Before the first "spiritual communication", Director Nakano's lines from the play quietly rang in my ears.

"I understand. Tokugawa Kagekatsu's obsession is to 'go back'..."

"That's why I, dressed as a samurai, was able to communicate with Director Nakano when he was talking about the scene!"

"If we can recreate the scene that he has been obsessed with for hundreds of years, perhaps we can strengthen the resonance of his obsession and wake him up from his slumber!"

Xia Fan suddenly caught the inspiration and looked at Jinguji Aoi excitedly.

"Evil spirits are born out of obsession and are also trapped by obsession. Most of the time, they are reincarnating their experiences before death. This method may be feasible."

"But how should we arrange the scene that Tokugawa Kagekatsu is obsessed with?"

Jinguji Aoi tilted her head in confusion.

"Professional matters should of course be left to professionals. Besides, aren't there all the ready-made ones..."

Xia Fan looked towards a corner of the shrine with certainty.

There, the side hall that was once used as the location for advertising shooting is still sealed off by cordon tape.

……

At 11 o'clock that night, Kanda Shrine rarely announced that it would close its doors to visitors.

The staff, dressed in black uniforms and with serious faces, politely but firmly asked the lingering guests to leave the shrine on the pretext of "gas inspection" and "site cleaning."

"Mr. Xia, the scenes have all been set up, and dozens of fixed camera positions have also been arranged."

In front of the shrine's green torii gate, Director Nakano, sweating profusely, was carefully reviewing the script in his hand.

"Well, thank you for your hard work, Director Nakano."

In front of him was Xia Fan, wearing a samurai robe covered in blood and cuts, with his topknot shining in the moonlight.

"What's the point of working so hard? If you hadn't rescued me in time and called 120, I would have died from the gas."

Director Nakano shook his head and glanced cautiously at the man in black who was on high alert in the shrine.

"Damn it. It's not our fault that the filming was postponed due to force majeure. Not only did they force people to come for the filming, but they also generously contracted the entire shrine. Does the brand have a background in the underworld?"

"Moreover, they also forced us to use 'reality show shooting techniques' to shoot the rest of the film, which is not scientific at all. The workload for post-production editing is huge."

He complained to Xia Fan in a constant stream.

"It doesn't matter. There are only three scenes left. From now on, let us actors perform..."

Xia Fan patted his shoulder soothingly.

In order to create a scene similar to the one in Tokugawa Kagekatsu's obsession, he asked Lesson 9 to invite the advertising shooting crew who had just been discharged from the hospital in the name of "brand".

The entire Kanda Shrine was generously contracted as a filming location, and the actors' makeup and hair were all completed with the most realistic standards.

However, in order to ensure the safety of the personnel, the filming crew will evacuate after preparation is completed, and the agents of Section 9 can only wait outside the shrine.

Inside the shrine, only the "actors" were left, and dozens of cameras monitored the situation in real time.

"But Ms. Tanaka, who is in charge of playing the shrine maiden, has not been discharged from the hospital due to 'sequelae of gas poisoning'. What should the actress who plays the shrine maiden do?"

Although the brand has forcibly taken over, Nakano still asked with some concern out of his sense of responsibility as a director.

"Don't worry, we have the most suitable actress for the role of the witch..."

Xia Fan waved to him and watched him leave the shrine under the "escort" of two black-clad agents.

"No, it's not so much an 'actor' as it is, playing myself."

He turned his head and looked along the gravel path, past the torii gate, across the red walls and green tiles, and landed above the main hall of the shrine...

There, under the eaves with red lanterns hanging, a red and white figure was standing gracefully.

Chapter 57 Return

2024-07-13

"call……"

Xia Fan looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.

"Well, let's begin. Imagine that I am Tokugawa Kagekatsu..."

He closed his eyes, recalling the feeling he had during his last "spiritual communication" and the emotions he resonated with from Tokugawa Kagekatsu.

"My goal is to survive the tragic battlefield... to meet... to meet the Kaho Miko..."

When he opened his eyes again, Xia Fan's eyes were completely out of focus and his expression was blank.

Holding a sword and covered with wounds, he found himself again in the plain that was like a sea of ​​blood and corpses.

"Vile mortals..."

A voice with a childish tone and mature intonation came from the front.

"Last time, I used the life of a mortal to threaten the great gods and consume precious faith. This was an act of overstepping."

"Do you think you can get what you want this time?"

The petite Tian Yushen had crossed his legs and was sitting on top of the hill of corpses with his chin in one hand. There was a bloody red liquid swaying in the skull wine glass in his hand. He was looking down at Xia Fan from above.

It was as if what lay beneath her was not the remains of human beings, but her throne.

"Ami-sama...are you trying to stop me?"