From Earthbound Spirit to Tokyo Evil

Chapter 225: Crow-faced Witch (2)

The three Nomiya sisters welcomed these apprentice shrine maidens. As a senior, Nomiya Wakana was solemn for once, but this attitude did not last long. When the apprentice shrine maidens chattered and asked them about the Skeleton Shrine, she immediately revealed her true colors, excitedly took them around, and introduced the rat gods to them.

Boji was also very interested in the sparrow gods of these shrine maidens, and the two sides soon had a competition secretly out of the sight of their masters to determine the strength of each other and the hierarchy of the shikigami.

At this time, Nomiya Wakana had already become very familiar with the apprentice shrine maidens.

"Are you the shrine maidens of Lord Mukutani? Is there a shrine like this in the place where you stayed before? The shrine maiden who taught you was very strict, wasn't she? Was she an old maiden with a weird temper?"

Such a question is actually a bit sensitive, but the girls don’t quite understand the relationship between Xia Chuan’s many aliases, nor can they think of such a profound angle.

Nomiya Wakana was purely curious and wanted to know what was different between herself and others, but the girl she asked had no sense of keeping a secret at all.

Since she is the junior senior who will be guiding them for the next period of time, there should be nothing to hide from her, right?

"Well... it's indeed Master Kaitani, but we all studied at the sect's headquarters before... Wakana-chan, you should know about the Kasumigawa Society, right?"

Fortunately, they did not directly mention "Natsukawa Daimyojin", but the so-called sect immediately aroused Nomiya Wakana's 200% interest.

Lord Haizhi also has a secret sect?

Xiachuan Club?

If that’s the case, then why doesn’t Lord Hailin allow us to recruit believers?

"As for the person who taught us... he was strict, sure, but, that girl..." The girls quickly began to make fun of Kawaguchi Rena and even started telling all kinds of jokes about her. Nomiya Wakana laughed along with them heartlessly for a long time, and suddenly realized that the girl they were talking about was about the same age as her, and even shorter than her.

"Every day he would hold a thin wooden stick and hit wherever it hurts. He is so evil!"

"That's right. My ankle is still bruised. She walks like that too, but she always finds fault with us!"

"She likes to hit the ankles so much, maybe because she can't reach higher?"

"Hahahaha~"

The trainee shrine maidens were talking and laughing. At this time, Nomiya Misa came over from the community office carrying tea sets and snacks. One of them noticed her shadow and immediately reminded the others.

The laughter stopped immediately.

"Second-ranking shrine maiden..." When she came up to them, the apprentice shrine maidens immediately saluted her using very standard etiquette, at least the standard etiquette designed by Kawaguchi Rena.

"Are you tired? Come and have some snacks!" said Nomiya Misa with a smile.

"Thank you very much." The trainee priestesses collectively bowed to her.

Compared to her two younger sisters, these witches were really well-trained. Although she could hear the sounds of laughter from afar, they were still very young after all, and it was inevitable that they had some minor problems.

She looked at the trainee shrine maidens who were sitting upright with tea cups in their hands, and then looked at Wakana who was not behaving properly at all, and suddenly she became very angry.

"Wakana! Come with me! Kana wants to see you about something!"

"Eh?" Nomiya Wakana had no idea that she had encountered another unexpected disaster. She had to put down the cup, grabbed a piece of dessert and stuffed it into her mouth, and followed her elder sister. "Let's talk when I come back!"

"Yes! Please take care!" The apprentice priestesses watched them leave meticulously.

Seeing how polite and orderly they were, and then looking at her sister beside her, Nomiya Misa could only sigh.

The one who trained them to be like this must be a highly respected and capable witch, right?

"They don't look like they're difficult to get along with..." The apprentice miko whispered behind them. "Wow, the snacks here are so high-end!"

"Who knows? When Moriyama Miko first came, didn't you guys also say that she didn't look like Kawaguchi? Yeah, it's really delicious!"

"Anyway, just be careful! Leave one piece for me!"

"Right!" One of the apprentice priestesses quickly began to summon her own sparrow god. While feeding it the high-end snacks brought by Nomiya Misa, she asked it, "Nana, what did they look like behind us after we left?"

"I don't know..." The ten sisters, who had just been beaten up by Inaba Rika's Crow God Sefer, quickly finished the snacks given by their master and began to comb their feathers with their beaks. "Anyway, their shikigami are all very fierce! The boss here is the rat god Boji of Nomiya's third seat, but the one with the worst personality and who commands the crows is the Crow God of Inaba's fourth seat..."

"Nomiya's three seats?" The trainee shrine maidens didn't listen to the rest of the words. "The first seat is Kana, the second seat is Misa, and the third seat is..."

"It's over, it's over. So she is the strongest one?"

"Is this the so-called playing dumb to eat the tiger? Was she pretending to be stupid just now to get some information from us?"

"We just said so many bad things about Kawaguchi..."

"They shouldn't know each other, right?"

The trainee shrine maidens were in a state of confusion, while the three Nomiya sisters were confirming the next arrangements with Inaba.

"Wakana, you are a proper shrine maiden after all, you should behave like one!"

"Oh..." Nomiya Wakana had her ears pulled on the way, and now she could only pretend to be dead.

Posture? What is that? Can I eat it? Is it delicious?

Alas, she is still nagging even before she turns 30. What will she do when she reaches menopause? It is really worrying!

I don't know at what age the maidens of Lord Hailin can retire and get married. The situation of the elder sister is obviously what people call sexual dissatisfaction leading to endocrine disorders, personality distortion and bad temper. The only solution is probably to find someone to marry her off as soon as possible!

While she was daydreaming about things that had nothing to do with her, Kana Nomiya and Rika Inaba were seriously considering how to better complete the tasks assigned by the God.

"It's fine to split into two groups, but is it necessary to send out the entire group every time? Besides, we all know the situation on the scene. The more people there are, the harder it will be to take care of them all, not to mention the people over at Akasaka?"

"So what do you mean, Kana?" asked Rika Inaba.

"Each group will send two trainees each time, and the remaining two will stay at the shrine to help and practice. After all, although exorcism and summoning spirits are important, rituals, treatment, receiving visitors, and cleaning are also very important parts of a shrine maiden's work. This way, it's equivalent to each of us taking turns to supervise two newcomers, and the pressure on all sides will be much less."

"I didn't think it through." said Rika Inaba.

The relationship between the two is a bit subtle. Inaba Rika is considered a senior, and she was also the chief priestess of the Skeleton Shrine, but her strength is far inferior to that of Nomiya Wakana, let alone the three Nomiya sisters combined.

However, due to the special nature of the Skeleton Shrine, there are really gods watching them all the time, and they also pay attention to each other's emotions, and their relationship is pretty good. In general, Inaba Rika manages the external affairs of the Skeleton Organization, and Nomiya Kana manages the internal affairs of the Skeleton Shrine. Inaba Rika plays the good cop to show friendship when facing Akasaka, while Nomiya Kana is mainly responsible for playing the good cop to keep the bottom line. The cooperation between the two is pretty good.

"Do we need to give them a grade or something?" asked Kana Nomiya.

"Misa, Wakana, what do you think?"

"This..." Misa Nomiya thought that this was a good idea, but before she could open her mouth, Wakana Nomiya had already begun to express her strong opposition.

"It's not a school, do we still have to rank and test them? That's too inhumane! Besides, the gods should be able to tell at a glance whether they are working hard and making progress. Do we still need to judge them?"

The first half of the sentence almost earned her a slap on the face, but fortunately, the second half made the priestesses nod their heads.

With the gods watching, what qualifications do they have to judge the effectiveness of the apprentice priestesses?

"Then let's not do it?" Nomiya Kana nodded, and then she remembered something. "Wakana, when you go on a mission, don't just do it yourself! Don't forget that your mission is to act as a mentor and protector!"

"Hey, second sister, are you also going to enter menopause early?"

"Looking for death!" Nomiya Misa finally couldn't bear it anymore.

The two apprentice shrine maidens brought back the tea set and dishes, but they heard Nomiya Wakana's screams and pleas for mercy, which made their faces change with fear.

Although I don't know what kind of punishment is being carried out in this palace, but this is the case for my own sisters, and for these newcomers from outside... It seems that in this place, I must be very careful and behave myself, and never offend the chief and second in command!

#####

The first mission has yet to arrive.

The Styx Society, which had been causing trouble everywhere, had not shown its face since it suffered a strong blow from the Skeleton Society. It was unknown whether it was licking its wounds and preparing for revenge, or had left Tokyo under such pressure.

Another main force causing trouble is the Skeleton Society itself, and the Watchers should still be considering how to deal with the Skeleton Society instead of using such petty fights to create meaningless hostilities.

The Tefu Office has no special presence. The only organization that could cause trouble, the Cheka, has not made any moves yet, because the potential destabilizing factors have actually been detonated in advance by the Styx. The only thing that may need to be dealt with is the newly born vengeful spirits. The unusual events in the Tokyo area have suddenly and unnaturally entered a vacuum period.

It was so peaceful that even Akasaka couldn't get used to it.

The main job of the apprentice shrine maidens thus became welcoming guests to the auction and assisting in the conduct of the auction, which made Xia Chuan somewhat helpless.

What he wanted them to practice was not something that anyone could do! How could such a money-making thing have any effect on improving the strength of the Skeleton Society?

Does he have to take the initiative to create vengeful spirits for the priestesses to destroy?

Since Tokyo had in fact become his temporary territory, this kind of thing inevitably made him feel as if he had taken off his pants to fart.

"The opportunity seems to be somewhere medium distance to the west, at a very high altitude." The psychic Vera said a little unconfidently.

Xia Chuan tested various suspicious items obtained from the members of the Styx Society he killed, but was unable to find the known members of the Styx Society such as Chizo Osoryama.

As a result, the psychic seemed to have temporarily lost his usefulness, but at this time, because he had access to more inside information about the Skeleton Society, the psychic, who was eager to prove himself, took the initiative to reveal his other uses.

prophecy.

It is not a peeping with the help of prophetic props or some kind of medium, but a real prediction of something or the possibility of its development.

Similar to snooping, the object of the question and the way of asking the question are very important. Smart questions can get clearer and more accurate results at a lower cost, while stupid questions will cost a huge price but gain nothing.

"The more specific the question, the more specific the answer. The simpler and weaker the object, the smaller the price to pay."

"But this kind of thing can't give any very specific answers, right?" Xia Chuan asked, looking at the tarot cards in front of the psychic.

"With the correct interpretation, it can actually give a fairly accurate answer," the medium replied. "However, this requires not only a lot of practice, but also inspiration in many cases."

Xia Chuan found that using the identity of "Mukuyama" not only made him feel most relaxed, but also made the people around him feel most natural. This was probably because Kamiya Hiroshi's image was relatively young and civilian, and he was also handsome and sunny. Therefore, he began to use this identity more often.

He felt that the psychic used Tarot cards mostly because it brought her the least backlash. However, since there was no urgent need for her to find the object, he did not object to her trying a lot to find answers to some vague questions.

For example, there may be items hidden in certain places that can provide him with unexpected help, such as the Onimusan and the Demon Sword Chang Zeng Ya Kotetsu, or there may be a stone tablet or scroll forgotten somewhere that records some kind of spell.

The reason given was the same one used to deal with Yanagihara Hayato a long time ago, in order to rebuild Taoyuan Township. Unexpectedly, the psychic also showed a strong yearning for this.

After all, she still couldn't believe that the skeletons could survive for a long time in front of the Watchers and the Cheka. Perhaps only a place hidden somewhere, where they could only enter and exit through specific rituals or props, could allow them to avoid all dangers of the mortal world and live truly freely, and this was the only place that could truly make them feel safe?

"West? Medium distance? High terrain?" This level of prompts is even more torturous than no prompts at all.

"I will try harder." The psychic said uneasily. "According to the map, it should be to the west of the lake."

West of Lake Biwa?

That should be Kyoto?

Speaking of which, it was indeed once a paradise for monsters and an important stronghold of Buddhism. Although all of this has been destroyed, in terms of probability, the possibility of something being left behind is indeed the greatest.

However, this kind of vague information is not enough.

"Come on," he said to the medium. "We won't treat you unfairly."

"If I succeed, can you let me become that...witch?" Vera asked hesitantly.

Xia Chuan couldn't help but look at her body.

“As long as you get clues that actually make sense.”

Chapter 226 God's Chosen Group

"Um...Mr. Hailong, a new batch of believers have arrived." Sato Kentaro said a little uneasily.

"Yeah." Kiryu Ichiryu, with a ghost mask on his face that was completely unrecognizable from its original appearance, immediately stood up and walked out with a knife in hand.

"Huh~" The temperature in the room seemed to suddenly return to normal the moment he left, which made Kentaro Sato finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Although he knew that this guy was his own and they had worked together for several days, for some reason, when facing him, Kentaro Sato still felt an instinctive fear like a mouse being stared at by a cat. This fear did not even occur when facing Natsukawa Daimyojin, which really puzzled him.

"The fourth in the second row, the ninth in the fifth row, the fifteenth in the eighth row..." Kiryu Kazuyu has already begun observing the believers who are participating in the ceremony, and at the same time, he is selecting those who may have talents among them according to his intuition.

They may not be the most devout believers, and there may even be some with dark or even twisted minds among the believers, but this is not a problem for Kiryu Ichiryū, because the task assigned to him by Natsukawa is only to select more members who can enrich the Demon Sword Group - now called the God's Selection Group - and then let them undergo the tests of fake ghost masks and fake demon swords as soon as possible, and finally gather those who pass the selection for training.

This was also the adjustment that Xiachuan made to Kiryu Ichiryu's plan to expand his subordinates after he realized in the previous battle that the people selected from the yakuza and the homeless were unreliable.

The advantage of using the Yakuza and the homeless is that it is not troublesome, and even if it fails, it can only be dealt with with a single blow, but the effect is not ideal. Therefore, Xia Chuan decided to select candidates from his 30,000 believers.

According to Kamio Hitomi, this is actually the method used by major shrines, sects, and monks in the past to select Onimusha. However, the method they use seems to be more complicated. Instead of directly selecting adult believers, they select a large number of teenagers from a young age for strict training and gradually eliminate them, so the success rate must be much higher.

If time permits and there is the right method, Xia Chuan certainly does not reject this obviously more scientific and systematic approach, but the problem is that he has no choice now.

After the meeting, the believers who are initially selected by Kiryu Ichiryu will be notified individually by the leaders of the relevant groups to go to a specific place for testing. Those who are lucky enough to pass the fake ghost mask and fake demon sword tests will receive training from Kiryu Ichiryu to improve their willpower and combat effectiveness. At the same time, Sato Kentaro will strengthen their faith education so that they can become reliable personnel who can be used even in critical moments.

Of course, the ghost masks that Xia Chuan made are completely different from the previous ones. They are crow masks and rat masks that are more in line with the public image of the Skeleton Shrine. In addition, the Demon Sword Group has been renamed the God-chosen Group. The believers who are selected and pass the test will be told that they have been chosen by the gods to become the chosen warriors to defend the safety of the sect. From this day on, their fate will be completely changed. Not only can they gain the favor of the only god in Tokyo and become the chosen ones, they will immediately receive a large amount of money, status, and even various supporting benefits including real estate, vehicles, and service personnel. Their families will also be able to receive all-round care from the sect, not to mention food and clothing, but also epidemics, education, safety, and other aspects will be effectively guaranteed.

What they have to pay is more effort, responsibility, more devout faith, and the courage and determination to fight to the death for the gods.

Here, Xiachuan completely referred to the salary and welfare benefits that Akasaka provided to the front-line backbone personnel. Of course, the foundation of Xiachuankai cannot support the comprehensive service like Akasaka, which is enough to allow the front-line personnel to have no worries and die at any time, but the Skeleton Shrine has nothing else. After many auctions, it has plenty of money.

Besides, if he didn't have any, he could just use Akasaka's resources.

As long as the skeleton doesn't fall down, Akasaka won't dare to do anything wrong.

This process is certainly not without risks, but Xia Chuan personally participates in the tests, and when the subjects show signs of failure, he immediately takes action to interrupt the process of them being controlled and transformed by the ghost mask. Sometimes he even has to destroy the ghost mask directly, or cause injuries to the subjects.

But the power of religion is surprisingly useful in this situation.