We agreed to be in a band for life, what the heck is Dragon Raja?

Nan Yun Yu Yue Xin Dao.

Now... he can finally rest easy.

Nan Yun Yuyue returned to the living room.

He hadn't been in Toyokawa Shoko's room for very long, only a few minutes. Wakaba Mutsu was still sitting on the sofa, silently lowering his eyes.

Nan Yun Yuyue sat down beside her.

Wakaba Mutsu remained silent.

Nan Yunyu Yue suddenly sighed, reached for the remote control beside him, and turned on the television.

To attract guests, apartments are now often equipped with a full set of home appliances.

However, in the wave of the Internet, most people tend to be more addicted to their mobile phones, and the television, which used to dominate people's attention, has gradually declined. Except for some important holidays when it is turned on occasionally, it usually lies in the living room gathering dust.

Nan Yun Yuyue hadn't watched TV in a long time, since most things are done through mobile phones nowadays, so... when he suddenly turned on the TV, even Ruoye Mu was taken aback.

Nanon Ugetsu, however, remained calm and unhurried.

He quickly pressed a few buttons on the remote control, and the opening scene of "Princess Mononoke" appeared on the screen.

As the familiar opening theme played, Wakaba Mutsuki suddenly recalled the scene of his first movie-watching session with Nagumo Ugetsu in the basement.

My thoughts continued to extend along this line of thought... Our first meeting, sitting together reading the same textbook, teaching guitar, band performances...

Ashitaka's image reappeared on the screen, and Wakaba Mutsumi looked up at the boy beside him.

She rested her head gently on Nan Yun Yuyue's shoulder without saying a word.

…………

…………

at the same time,

the other side,

Kobe,

Just yesterday, a heavy rainstorm hit Osaka, a city not far from Kobe. Today, as the older folks say, "rain clouds have drifted over here," so the sky over Kobe is currently shrouded in mist.

Heavy, leaden-gray clouds hung in the sky, and mist enveloped the streets, treetops, and distant train station, even blurring the outlines of buildings into a hazy gray shadow.

As Yuan Zhisheng stepped off the train, a gust of wind carrying moisture lashed his face, bringing with it the unique coolness of the period before the rain.

Although the 'ZONE' who posted on the Hunter website said 'twenty days later',

But he deliberately returned to Shikato Town a day early, without telling anyone, avoiding all the agents of the Executive Bureau, and alone.

Besides being wary of potential internal traitors, Genjiro's actions were also aimed at avoiding pressure from various aspects of the family.

He was, after all, the head of the Minamoto clan and the current Amaterasu-no-Mikoto of the Snake-Headed Eight Families, a man of high status and prestige. If he were attacked, the entire landscape of mixed-race power in Japan would be rewritten.

Faced with the provocation on the Hunter website, his family would certainly not allow him to go alone, so... he could only act secretly on his own.

call--

The wind is getting stronger.

The air was thick with a stifling dampness, yet the raindrops were nowhere to be seen.

Yuan Zhisheng took a deep breath, walked against the wind, and hurried towards the familiar place.

He came by train, not by car.

Because of the devastating earthquake, the town of Kagori was severely damaged, and there were no direct trains from Japan to Kagori. So, Genji had to take the train to Kobe first, and then rent a car to get there.

Each head of the Snake Clan has the right to sign bearer checks.

They usually carry a checkbook with them, which they can fill in as needed. Moreover, these checks can be used worldwide and can be exchanged for any country's currency at any exchange rate.

As the head of the Minamoto family and the director of the executive bureau, Minamoto Chisei also enjoys this benefit bestowed upon him by his family.

However... he rarely used these kinds of checks before, and had only used them a few times in total. Moreover, the amount each time made the boss think, 'Does such a distinguished guest live such a simple life?'

Determined not to waste a single moment, Yuan Zhisheng found a car rental company he was certain would be reliable and rented a Hummer H2 in the shortest possible time.

Logically, if you want to rent an off-road vehicle like a Hummer H2, you must book in advance, and some new users may even need to prove they have the ability to cover damages.

But Genjiro wasn't stingy with money at all; the price he paid to rent this SUV was almost enough to buy another Hummer.

The car rental shop owner had never seen such a generous customer before. His eyes lit up when he saw the amount Yuan Zhisheng casually wrote down. In the shortest possible time, Yuan Zhisheng got the keys to the SUV.

Starting the engine, depressing the clutch, shifting gears… all in one smooth motion, Yuan Zhisheng drove the Hummer H2 at breakneck speed along the highway.

We were already very close to Shikatri Town when, just then, the dark clouds could no longer hold back, and raindrops began to fall in a 'pitter-patter'.

His vision was instantly clouded by a white mist.

Genji's speed did not decrease at all; in fact, it increased slightly.

The windshield wipers were already on their fastest setting, the windshield was bright and then dark, then bright again, the halo of the streetlights was blurred into clumps of light by the sky, the SUV pierced through the rain like a sharpened sword, speeding towards that place he would never forget.

Swah——

There were fewer and fewer vehicles on the highway. With such heavy rain, most drivers had stopped at temporary service stations to rest for the night and set off again the next morning.

Meanwhile, Genjiro remained tense inside.

"We should be there soon."

Following the road he remembered, he steered the Hummer off the highway and onto an inconspicuous side road.

Although it's called a secondary road, the road conditions are actually more like a mountain road.

The once well-paved road surface is now broken and fragmented, with large stone slabs warped and gaps filled with weeds and dead leaves.

Fortunately, the Hummer is powerful enough that these curves are not its limit, and it can still travel smoothly on such roads.

Swah——

"The rain is getting heavier."

Yuan Zhisheng thought.

The torrential rain pounded on the mountain road like countless silver threads, and the muddy water meandered down the ravines.

Ordinary luxury cars would never dare to recklessly roam the mountain roads at this time. Even if their owners don't cherish them, they would still be unable to handle such a difficult task due to their performance limitations.

But a Hummer can.

"It's only been a few years... and the whole town has already fallen into this state?"

Yuan Zhisheng felt a little sad.

Japan's urban siphon effect is so pronounced that many peripheral towns are on the verge of becoming ghost towns. Young people are unwilling to stay in these places without industry or hope, leaving only the elderly behind.

Day after day, year after year, as the older generation gradually passed away, the entire village and town disappeared.

The town of Shikatri had actually been sliding towards this abyss for a while.

The Shikatori Shrine was already struggling financially, with fewer and fewer visitors each year. Even the once-grand "Miko Festival" was gradually losing its appeal to the younger generation.

When the chief priest of the shrine passed away, the most suitable successor to become the chief priest transformed into a 'demon', which completely led to the shrine's decline.

The residents of Shikatori Shrine originally relied on the shrine for their main source of income, but as the shrine declined, they gradually moved away.

Later... a major earthquake swept through the area, and most of the remaining residents moved into resettlement housing south of Kobe.

So now... this town called 'Shikatori' actually only lives on in the memories of a few people.

Pat pat pat——

Raindrops fell on the treetops, tumbled a few times, then slid off the fallen leaves and dripped onto the roof of the Hummer that was moving forward.

Genjiro kept his eyes fixed on the surrounding scenery as he traversed the rugged mountain path and crossed the streams of rainwater...

Finally, the Hummer arrived in front of the buildings in the town of Shikatori.

Most buildings collapsed in the earthquake, and although much of the collapsed area has been cleared to rescue those buried, some building debris remains in place.

Those collapsed buildings looked like dead giants, devoid of life, a scene of utter desolation.

Yuan Zhisheng got out of the car, opened an umbrella, and took out a shovel and a headlamp from the trunk.

These were all prepared by the car rental company owner for customers who enjoy outdoor survival activities, and unexpectedly they came in handy tonight.

With a spider-cutting knife tucked into his waistband, holding an umbrella in one hand and a shovel in the other, he headed straight for the school.

As he approached the school gate, through the rain, the only somewhat modern-looking building in this ancient town came into view.

"Walk one hundred and twenty steps to the west..."

"Walk thirty-five steps south..."

"This is it."

Yuan Zhisheng gritted his teeth and swung the shovel down fiercely.

Thanks to the rain soaking the soil, his digging became much easier.

There were no lights on this rainy night, only the occasional flash of lightning across the sky.

Yuan Zhisheng dug, shovel by shovel.

It was indeed inconvenient without anyone's help. He had intended to hold the umbrella in one hand and dig with the other, but he could only use so little strength. In the end, he simply let himself be exposed to the rain and sped up his digging.

A few minutes later, a round manhole cover was revealed, with a cross formed by intersecting chains on it and an iron padlock hanging in the middle, like a prison imprisoning a devil.

"It's finally cleaned up."

The source of childishness is the way of the heart.

At that moment, his mind was filled with the words written in that post:

'Shikari Town, skeletons in the well'

He took a deep breath, tossed the shovel aside, drew his spider-cutter from his waist, and aimed it at the rusty padlock.

Then, he swung his sword and slashed down!

Chapter 193 Arrival in Kobe, Kazama Ruri: I'm here.

clang!

The padlock snapped in two.

The Spider Cutter is a rare and renowned sword. With the alchemical patterns on it, it can even slice through a dragon-blooded deadpool with a single strike, let alone this rusty iron block.

Yuan Zhisheng's heart was beating faster and faster.

He felt as if he was about to open Pandora's box, or as if he were gazing into an abyss.

Since joining the Executive Bureau and becoming its director, Genjiro has lost count of how many "demons" he has personally slain.

He is Amaterasu, the strongest demon slayer in the Snake Clan, but he has never been as nervous as he is now when facing any mission before.

He had no idea what he would be facing when he lifted the manhole cover.

Is it a skeleton... or is there nothing at all?

Yuan Zhisheng suddenly couldn't distinguish between the two possibilities, and which one made him feel more at ease.

He hoped his younger brother and daughter were still alive, yet he feared that what was alive now was merely a ghost... He also feared that a truly decomposed corpse lay silently at the bottom of the well, perhaps still staring blankly at him...

He took another deep breath, suppressing the unease and anxiety churning within him.

There was no time to hesitate any longer. Genjiro sheathed his longsword, stretched out his hands, grasped the chain, and the power of the 'Royal Blood' allowed him to pull the chain out of the hole without any resistance.

He tossed the chains aside and lifted the heavy manhole cover.

Yuan Zhisheng looked down, and the overhead light shone directly onto the bottom of the well.

He turned the light up to the highest brightness, but even then, it could only barely illuminate the surface of the water at the bottom of the well.

There are no bodies.

The well contained only half a pool of stagnant water, and this stagnant water, which had no flowing water, had almost dried up. Genji could already see the water level warning line marked in red, and it was even lower than that.

At that depth, let alone a corpse, even if you threw in a freshly used shovel, half of it would be exposed.

"Child...you're back?"

"Yuan Zhisheng murmured."