Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

"Wait, I still have a question. The ceremony had already begun, so why were you able to stop it on your own initiative? And why is nothing happening after you stopped it!"

The sorcerer who had previously been called "Old Pervert" asked reluctantly. Of course, he didn't ask this entirely to satisfy his curiosity; he was more trying to buy time. While he was asking the question, he and the other two sorcerers kept searching for loopholes in the barrier, trying to break it and hoping to escape.

The old witch seemed oblivious to their subtle movements, and said with a smile, "Once the ritual of transmitting spiritual power begins, it cannot be stopped. This is common knowledge for you, but it is not mine. Your understanding of spiritual power is really terrible, like this!"

With a casual wave of her hand, the old witch made the surrounding barrier even more solid, causing the three sorcerers who were painstakingly searching for a flaw in the barrier to shudder and vomit blood—the old witch had actually changed the nature of the barrier in an instant, rendering their spells ineffective and even backfiring on them.

Just as Ghost King Da told Li Xin before, as long as you find the right method, even a seven-year-old child can break those powerful supernatural arts. And in battles between supernatural arts practitioners, vision is the most powerful weapon to win, without exception.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. All three of you can die now!"

The old witch opened her eyes, which had been half-closed. Her gaze was now clear and bright, radiating a piercing light. In that instant, the three sorcerers were reminded of the terror they had felt when they were controlled by the old witch…

Two minutes, or a minute, or even less, and three notorious sorcerers from the world of Japanese magic vanished into thin air. The old witch clapped her hands, brushing away imaginary dust, and murmured, "Sigh, I can't deny getting old. Dealing with these fools took me so much time. I really envy those who can stay young forever..."

Chapter Seventy-Nine: For Your Own Good

Inside the hall, Li Xin finished regulating his breathing and opened his eyes. He noticed that Isayama Huangquan and Gui Zhoulan looked solemn. He immediately looked behind him and saw that the young priestess was still sitting quietly with her eyes closed in the magic circle he had been guarding, but the old priestess was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't help but ask, "Where is the old priestess?"

"She left."

Gui Zhoulan sighed.

Feeling that Kijuu Arashi's explanation might cause misunderstanding, Isayama Yomi explained, "The priestess just ended the ritual and left on her own. She told us to wait here, and she will be back in a while."

Li Xinwang said to Gui Zhoulan, "Didn't you say that once this ritual starts, it can't be stopped, otherwise it will cause serious danger? Why...?"

Gui Zhoulan paused for a moment, then said, "Common sense dictates that this is indeed the case..."

However, the old witch has now ended the ritual without any abnormalities, and the young witch does not seem to be in any danger. In other words, this common sense does not apply to the old witch.

Looking at the unharmed young witch, Li Xin thought to himself, "I guess I've completed my mission?"

After all, Saeko Nogami's request was for him to protect the young shrine maiden from harm, but it didn't mention whether he needed to ensure she could successfully complete the ritual.

"Xiao Li!"

Just as Li Xin was pondering whether the commission could be considered complete, a small, thin figure darted into the main hall and rushed towards the young priestess who was sitting with her eyes closed.

Li Xin reacted quickly and grabbed the thin figure. The thin figure revealed its true form, which was the same thin old man from before.

"Let me go, what are you doing! Let me go!"

The skinny old man was being grabbed by the collar by Li Xin, struggling incessantly, looking utterly comical.

At this moment, the young witch, who had kept her eyes tightly closed, finally opened them slowly. Her eyes were bright and clear, and when she saw the thin old man in Li Xin's hand, she exclaimed, "Grandpa?"

Upon seeing the young witch awaken, the thin old man immediately teared up and said, "Little Li, you're awake! Are you alright? Grandpa was so worried about you!"

The young priestess stood up, but it seemed that her legs had gone numb from kneeling for too long. She suddenly stood up and stumbled, almost falling.

Li Xin reached out to help the young witch up, and at the same time put down the thin old man he was carrying—the young witch called him grandfather, so he wasn't an enemy, and Li Xin didn't need to be so wary of him.

The young priestess was helped up and couldn't help but look at Li Xin who had helped her. Her pretty face blushed slightly, but she quickly straightened up and kept her distance from Li Xin. Then she bowed slightly to Li Xin and said, "Thank you."

After thanking Li Xin, the young witch looked at the thin old man and asked, "Grandpa, this place is so dangerous, what are you doing here?"

The thin old man is the young shrine maiden's grandfather, and also the old shrine maiden's younger brother. He runs another shrine in downtown Tokyo.

In the young priestess's mind, her grandfather had no talent for spiritual cultivation, was not a sorcerer, and was old. Now that he had come to such a dangerous place, how could the young priestess not be worried?

The skinny old man said pitifully, "But Grandpa is worried about Xiaoli. If anything happens to Xiaoli, Grandpa doesn't want to live anymore!"

The young priestess looked at the frail old man and felt both worried and touched. However, she soon realized that a crucial person was missing and asked, "Where is Grandma Yui?"

"My sister has gone to hunt down those evil sorcerers who disrupted the inheritance ceremony. Don't worry, she'll be back soon."

The thin old man said to the young witch.

"But didn't Grandma Yuyi already lose all her spiritual power?"

The young witch was shocked.

"No, there's still half left. That's enough to deal with those bastards."

The skinny old man laughed, showing utter disdain for the three sorcerers who were renowned in the evil path.

The young priestess was taken aback: "Isn't the ritual supposed to be unstoppable? How could this be..."

“That’s someone else. If it were my sister, she could stop it anytime she wanted.”

The thin old man said casually.

The young priestess was taken aback again.

So-called spiritual power, in layman's terms, is the power of the soul. However, the soul is much more fragile than the body, so the transmission of spiritual power is a thousand times more dangerous than the transmission of skills. Even in a normal transmission, the slightest carelessness can cause irreversible damage to both the transmitter and receiver. It is because the transmission of spiritual power is too dangerous that sorcerers do not actually practice the transmission of spiritual power, as it is easy to end up with nothing.

It was also because the old shrine maiden's spiritual power was too strong. She was known as the most powerful shrine maiden in Japan in the last hundred years. Her use and understanding of spiritual power had reached a level that was beyond the reach of others. Only the spiritual power of such a powerful sorcerer was worth passing down, which is why it attracted the covetousness of Meiji Shrine. For this, they did not hesitate to ruin their own reputation. Of course, Meiji Shrine did not have much of a good reputation to begin with.

In short, in the minds of sorcerers, the transmission of spiritual power is extremely dangerous, and once it begins, it must continue until it ends. This is why those sorcerers rushed out as soon as they saw the old witch begin the transmission. Their understanding tells them that the old witch at that time is no longer able to resist. Even someone as powerful as the old witch cannot stop the ritual without paying any price. Once she forcibly stops the ritual, their goal will be achieved, and they can escape.

It was only because they assessed that there was no danger in this matter that those sorcerers dared to do it. However, their knowledge was ultimately limited. They did not expect that the old witch's understanding of spiritual power had exceeded their imagination, and they were completely defeated here.

It can only be said that for practitioners of supernatural arts, ignorance is the greatest original sin.

As the two were talking, the old witch slowly entered the main hall. At this moment, she was just like when she first met Li Xin and the others, with a kind smile and benevolent eyes. Her clothes were also spotless, as if she had never left the main hall.

As the old witch approached, she said to Li Xin, Isayama Yomi, and Gui Zhoulan, "I'm grateful to the three of you for protecting me. I have nothing of value to offer but my thanks."

Gui Zhoulan immediately bowed and said, "It is my honor to be the Great Priestess's protector."

She now fully understands that her role as protector is completely ineffective, the old witch is not in any danger, and she can terminate the ritual at any time. She might even be able to maintain the ritual while fighting.

Isayama Yomi also felt that she hadn't been of much help and felt ashamed of the old priestess's gratitude. She lowered her head and said, "Shrine Priestess, Yomi dares not take credit."

When it was Li Xin's turn, he was very calm and said lightly, "No need to be polite, I'm just doing my job for money."

The old witch chuckled and looked at Li Xin, smiling as she said, "By the way, I wrote down some things I saw and heard in my younger days. If you're interested, you can take my notes; they should be of some use."

Li Xin was also very interested in the old witch's notes of observations, since it's always good to learn more. He nodded slightly and said, "Thank you."

The old witch smiled and reached out to the young witch. The young witch took out a scroll from her sleeve, and the old witch took it and handed it to Li Xin with a smile: "There is only one copy. My granddaughter usually reads it. Now I'll give it to you first. Remember to return it to my granddaughter after you've finished reading it. From now on, she will be here to cultivate with me. If you want to return it, come here to return it."

Looking at the scroll in the old shrine maiden's hand, both Isayama Yomi and Kijuu Arashi's eyes flashed with envy.

For sorcerers, experience is always the strongest weapon. The old shrine maiden, known as the strongest shrine maiden in Japan, kept a notebook recording her experiences, which is absolutely priceless to sorcerers.

Li Xin took the scroll, but a question arose in his mind. He asked, "Aren't you already running out of time?"

The whole thing started because the old witch was dying and wanted to pass on her spiritual power to her granddaughter. But judging from the old witch's words, her granddaughter was going to cultivate with her, which made it seem like she wouldn't die anytime soon.

The old witch smiled and said, "Indeed, my days are numbered. I can only live for another ten years or so."

Li Xin: "..."

Isayama Yomi and Oniju Arashi: "..."

A feeling of being fooled arose in the hearts of the three.

"Grandma Yuyi..."

Even the young priestess was very surprised. The information she had received beforehand was the same as everyone else's, who all thought that her grandmother was about to die.

She asked the old witch, "Since you, Grandma Feather Robe, still have so much time, why did you transfer your spiritual power to me...?"

She thought the old witch was about to die and didn't want to disappoint her, so she agreed to inherit the old witch's spiritual power. Who would have thought that the old witch would live so long!

Of course, it would be a great thing for the young priestess to have her family spend more time with her, but she still felt a little confused.

"Too much spiritual energy is too much of a burden to keep on my body, so I'm transferring some to you so you can help me share the load."

The old witch said calmly.

"..."

Isayama Yomi and Oniju Ran, two juniors who diligently cultivated their spiritual power every day, felt a pang of sadness.

Isayama Yomi summons spirit beasts, and Oniju Ran controls the sword within her body; both require a great deal of spiritual power, so they always feel that their spiritual power is insufficient. Now, the old priestess is actually saying that she has too much spiritual power, which is too much of a burden—this is truly…

The old shrine maiden said to Isayama Yomi and Oniju Arashi, "There is only one copy of the notebook, but my mind is still clear and I'm not senile. I remember everything in it. If you two have time, come to me anytime and I can tell you about it in person."

"Thank you, senior!"

Isayama Yomi and Kijuu Arashi immediately became excited.

The opportunity to learn from the strongest shrine maiden in Japan was a tremendous one for these two sorcerers who cultivated spiritual power.

They had been wondering why the old witch gave the scroll to Li Xin instead of them; it turned out she wanted to teach them herself!

Come to think of it, this is a shrine, and only the old and young shrine maidens live here. It wouldn't be appropriate for a man to visit so frequently, so they gave him a scroll to study on his own. That makes sense.

After receiving the scroll, Li Xin bid farewell to the old witch. The old witch thought for a moment and said to the young witch, "Xiao Li, see him off."

The young shrine maiden nodded, politely gestured for Li Xin to enter, and then escorted him to the torii gate of the shrine.

“Mr. X, thank you for your previous protection.”

Before Li Xin left, the young priestess bowed to him.

She had entered a meditative state earlier, and although her eyes were closed, her senses were enhanced to an unprecedented degree. Therefore, she was very clear about what was happening around her while she was in a meditative state. It was this man who called himself "X" who had been protecting her from disturbance during the inheritance ceremony.

Li Xin said calmly, "I was also hired by someone. If you want to thank someone, thank the person who hired me."

The young shrine maiden smiled slightly and said, "I know, it must be Saeko-neechan. Saeko-neechan visited Hagoromo-na-sama before, I know her. What is the relationship between Mr. 'X' and Saeko-neechan?"

"A purely monetary relationship."

Li Xin answered decisively.

"?"

What kind of relationship is this?

The young shrine maiden was naive and didn't quite understand Li Xin's description, but it didn't matter. She bowed to Li Xin and said, "Anyway, thank you very much. By the way, my name is Hino Rei. Mr. 'X' can just call me Rei-chan."

Li Xin nodded slightly and said to Hino Rei, "Okay, Rei, I will return the scroll to you after I have finished reading it."

Hino Rei hesitated, wanting to say that she had actually read and memorized the contents of the scroll, and that Li Xin didn't need to return it. However, since the scroll ultimately belonged to Hagoromo-sama, Hino Rei couldn't make the decision for Hagoromo-sama. So she said, "'Mr. X', there's no need to rush. You can take your time reading it."

After seeing Li Xin off, Hino Rei returned to the main shrine. The old shrine maiden, Isayama Yomi, and Oniju Arashi finished their conversation, and the two girls bid farewell to Hino Rei and also left the main shrine. Soon, the shrine, which had just been fraught with danger and peril, became incredibly quiet.

The old priestess said to Hino Rei, "Rei, you must be tired. Go back and rest early. Tomorrow morning, clean up for me."

The previous battle left this place in a mess. Although the old shrine maiden could easily restore it to its original state with a wave of her hand, true cultivation requires starting from small things and persevering. So let Hino Rei put in some effort.

Hino Rei said to the old shrine maiden, "Grandma Hagoromo, you know perfectly well that I've already read that scroll, and it doesn't matter if I give it to Mr. X. Why do you insist that Mr. X send it back?"

The old witch looked at her innocent-looking grandniece and sighed, "Of course it's for your own good."

"For my own good?"

Hino Rei looked completely confused.

The old shrine maiden patted Hino Rei's head and smiled, saying, "You don't understand now, but you will in the future."

Although Hino Rei was still puzzled, since her most respected grandmother, Hagoromo, had said so, she didn't ask any more questions. She said goodnight to the old shrine maiden and then went to rest.

After Hino Rei left, the old shrine maiden coughed a few times, spitting out a few drops of blood, then sighed, "Well, I hope this body can last until Rei grows up, and I also hope that everything I did tonight will have some effect..."

Chapter 80 The All-Powerful Little Love

The next day, Li Xin arrived at Athena Asamiya's house. Athena Asamiya and Kensou Shii had both gone to school, so only Chin Gentsai was at home.

It doesn't matter, Li Xin is looking for Zhen Yuanzhai.

"Master Yuanzhai, could you take a look at this for me?"

Li Xin handed over the scroll that the old witch had lent him to Zhen Yuanzhai.

Although Li Xin felt that the old witch would not harm him and had no reason to harm him, he still felt that he should let Zhen Yuanzhai take a look at this first.

Zhen Yuanzhai, unusually, didn't drink today. When Li Xin handed him the scroll, he didn't waste any time and immediately opened it to read. After glancing at it for a few moments, he exclaimed in surprise, "Is this something from the Hino Shrine's priestess? How did it end up in your hands?"

Li Xin was somewhat surprised, not expecting that Zhen Yuanzhai also knew the old witch. But upon closer inspection, it made sense. The old witch was powerful, and both she and Zhen Yuanzhai were grandmasters in their respective fields, so it was normal for them to know each other.

So Li Xin told Zhen Yuanzhai what had happened the night before. After listening, Zhen Yuanzhai couldn't help but laugh and said, "Hey, that old woman, she's so old, but her temper hasn't calmed down at all!"

"Master Yuanzhai, can the contents of this notebook be trusted?"

Li Xin asked Zhen Yuanzhai about the Dao.

"Of course you can. The Hino Shrine Maiden is impeccable in both knowledge and character. She's lending you the scroll, so feel free to read it without worry."

Zhen Yuanzhai seemed to trust the old witch, and after rolling up the scroll, he threw it back to Li Xin.