From Earthbound Spirit to Tokyo Evil

"If it were me, I wouldn't kill her so easily. At least I would capture her and interrogate her to see if I could get any useful information. Moreover, for an organization like the Styx, the treatment of traitors must be more ceremonial, so that more members can see it, right?"

"So, she was sealed away?"

"It's very likely." Hitomi Kamio nodded.

"Do you think she can still clear herself?" Xia Chuan asked.

"How should I know? But I hope she can get through this. Otherwise, wouldn't it be meaningless for you to let her go on purpose?"

"You don't want me to let her go any further, do you?" Xia Chuan couldn't help but ask.

"I'm just suggesting it. But don't you think it would be interesting?" Kamio Hitomi laughed, her eyes glowing. "I really want to join the Styx Club to watch this show!"

"You'd better give up." Xia Chuan was slightly frightened by her attitude.

"I'm just saying that." Kamio Hitomi rolled her eyes at him, as if she was dissatisfied with his lack of understanding of her, and then said, "Anyway, congratulations on successfully wiping out a group of the Styx Society. This way, my safety should be guaranteed."

"The Corpse Agency hasn't lifted the alarm yet." Xia Chuan sighed and shook his head.

"But the secrets you really care about should be kept, right?"

Huh? How did she know that?

"Is that so?" Kamio Hitomi also sighed. "I thought you did this for me, ah..."

This monster...

Chapter 248 Email

Xia Chuan actually wanted to know what the people inside the Styx were thinking right now. Unfortunately, finding their place of residence was something that could only be encountered by chance and it all depended on luck.

Next, we can only guess what the Styx Society will do.

Can Luo Shan clear himself?

The Skeleton Society dealt a heavy blow to the Styx Society twice, and she was an eyewitness to both incidents, and she survived both times.

The key point is, just as Shen Chi said when they had an argument before, she had studied the knowledge related to gods with "Hailin" for a long time.

At that time, she was certainly someone sent by the Styx to supervise the Skeleton Society, but looking back, it might be possible that this was the opportunity for her to be convinced by the Skeleton Society. Even if Shen Chi had not said this speculation before, the monster who survived and ran errands for Luo Shan would have most likely said it. After all, that could be considered one of Luo Shan's motives.

Of course, there are still flaws. For example, if Luoshan was really a spy sent by the Skeleton Society, it would be impossible for him to do such a conspicuous thing and kill all the people in his group.

However, there is always a way to argue about anything. If the monsters really think Luoshan is a traitor, then they can also understand this as a deliberate act to clear themselves.

It is precisely because it is illogical for a traitor to do so that he does this. Isn't it very logical?

For Xiachuan, what is more important is the action that Luoshan has been advocating, which is to gather the main forces of monsters to attack "Crow Face".

If she is a traitor, then there must be a conspiracy behind this proposal that is detrimental to the Styx. But in order to prove her innocence, she will definitely work harder to push this plan into action. And the more she spares no effort to encourage the Styx to do this, the more suspicious she becomes.

Perfectly trapped in a logical dead loop.

It's really a paradox that makes people eager to know the outcome. No wonder Kamio Hitomi said that she can't wait to join the Styx Society to see how this drama will play out.

Unfortunately, the opportunity to infiltrate the Styx Society as an undercover agent like before probably no longer exists, and the way the Styx Society operates in groups also means that even if there is a chance to find another group, they may not know anything about Luoshan.

Natsukawa could only put his attention back on the protection and improvement of the Corpse Organization. What made him happy was that, perhaps inspired by Kiyokawa Yuriko, a few days later, Nomiya Wakana's pet Boji finally fell into a ten-hour sleep. After it woke up, it lived up to everyone's expectations and became a Shikigami.

According to the raccoons, it should now be called the "Rat God".

It is about 20 centimeters tall, and has completely abandoned the way of movement of rats. It has started to walk upright on two legs, and is very flexible whether running or jumping. After wearing the clothes specially made for it by Nomiya Wakana, it is like a smaller version of a rat-headed man. And its personality is obviously influenced by Nomiya Wakana. It can be said that it is a bit too lively. Except for being a little honest in front of Natsukawa, it runs around all the time. It even started to bully other spirit rats in the shrine for fun, and tried to run to the office of the Corpse Organization downstairs to cause trouble.

"It has nothing to do with me, really!" Nomiya Wakana immediately clarified herself, but the expression on her face made people know that even if it was not her direct instigation, it was definitely the result of her secret instigation.

But its pranks are not too extreme. It just hides somewhere and suddenly jumps out to scare you, hides your things, or puts salt in your coffee.

Except for Sugishita who hated its appearance, others tolerated its little pranks because they knew its function.

Daisuke Sasaki became very interested in it and even adopted a few spirit rats as pets, hoping that one day he would also have a rat god.

These spiritual rats specially bred by the shrine look completely different from ordinary rats at first glance. Because of this, even Baimu does not have any aversion to them, but of course he can't say that he likes them very much either.

The "Crow Masks" still put on masks and go out to investigate cases when supernatural incidents occur nearby, maintaining peace and stability in the area with cleaner and more efficient methods than Akasaka.

The people of Akasaka have gradually become accustomed to these guys wearing crow masks. Of course, they may still have all kinds of thoughts in their minds, but they rarely show them on their faces, and they rarely say them when the "crow masks" are investigating cases.

Xia Chuan had been carefully guarding against the attacks of the Styx Society, but strangely, they seemed to have given up on revenge against the Corpse Organization.

Although there are still various traps used to trap people at the scene, they are not so much used to target the Corpse Agency as to harm the police and Akasaka personnel.

"Given the temper of the Styx Society, they can't just sit there and do nothing." Kamio Hitomi warned Natsukawa more than once. "The more peaceful they are, the more violent their revenge will be."

"Of course I know this truth." Xia Chuan sighed. "But... besides waiting, what else can I do?"

"Don't talk like you've suffered a huge loss. Compared to you, the Styx is really unlucky to have offended you, right? So far, they've been the ones who've suffered, right?"

"I don't want to either." Xia Chuan sighed again. "Actually, I'm a very low-key and peace-loving person."

Time continued to pass slowly day by day, and with the help of Kiyokawa Yuriko, Yui Aoki finally turned her pet into a Shikigami. But the strange thing was that although she also chose a crow as her pet, her Shikigami did not turn into a Crow Tengu like Kiyokawa Yuriko's Shikigami. Instead, it still maintained the appearance of a crow, but became larger in size, and a few white feathers grew on its forehead.

Later, Kawaguchi Rena finally obtained her own Shikigami.

Her Shiba Inu also did not transform into a human form, but continued to maintain the shape of a dog. However, after accepting her power, it was able to quickly transform into a dog-like warrior holding a long sword, guarding her.

The birth of shikigami is indeed closely related to their master. In a sense, they can probably be regarded as a projection and embodiment of their master's will.

The battle against the evil spirits released by the Styx immediately became easy. Even Nomiya Wakana's rat god "Boji" could easily kill ordinary evil spirits, and Nomiya Wakana didn't need to do anything at all.

Of course, the most powerful of all the shikigami is still the shikigami "Nachi" of Yuriko Kiyokawa. After all, she has devoured a lot of spiritual power given by Natsukawa, and has actually become a powerful monster. If it weren't for Takahata and Yoshiyama, who also have power, they are too weak, in fact, this raccoon cat combination should have enough power to directly fight against the monsters of the Styx Society without the help of Natsukawa.

If there were other trustworthy monsters joining in... Xiachuan couldn't help but think so.

To his surprise, shortly after he had this idea, the secret mailbox that had been silent for a long time and was specifically for monsters asking him for help suddenly received a long-awaited email.

Chapter 249 Curse

"Akagi Mitsuharu?"

To be honest, Xia Chuan felt a little guilty after receiving his email.

The transaction agreed upon by the two has not been completed yet. Before, Mitsuharu Akai kept sending emails, but Natsukawa did not reply.

He didn't contact Xia Chuan for several months. If it weren't for this new email, Xia Chuan would have almost forgotten about it.

Speaking of which, the six hundred million that he used to buy four thousand strands of spiritual energy had already been spent by Xia Chuan, but Xia Chuan had only delivered him two thousand strands of spiritual energy so far.

Compared to the spiritual energy Xiachuan spent on the crows and rats, on the amulets, and even on the three raccoon cats, this number can be said to be very small.

At first, he had been delaying the completion of the transaction because he was worried that Akai Mitsuharu would join the Styx Society and that his power would be out of his control. However, at this point, it seems that there is no need to do so anymore.

Probably for the sake of confidentiality, the content of the email was very brief, only expressing an urgent desire to get in touch with Xia Chuan.

“Can you find his IP address?”

Asakawa Manabu immediately gave the exact address. Looking at the map, which showed a landscape far more desolate than Tokyo and with large tracts of farmland nearby, Natsukawa felt a little sad.

"Email him back and ask what's up. Tell him that if it's convenient, I can close the rest of the deal soon."

"Yes." Asakawa Manabu immediately began typing on the keyboard. After a moment, he raised his head again. "He replied, saying that he hopes you can come to his place as soon as possible. It's at the place where you met before."

"Okay." Xia Chuan thought about it for a moment. The crow that was sent to complete the deal with Akai Mitsuharu had already flown back to Tokyo, but it wouldn't take long to fly there now. "Ask him to meet at that place at 12 noon tomorrow."

A single crow could not carry so much spiritual power, so Xia Chuan simply commanded another flock of crows to head northwest of Tokyo.

He was not worried about a sudden attack from the Styx. The tools' ability to protect themselves was much stronger than before. Moreover, as long as they called through the amulet, he could rush back immediately, and it would only take a few seconds at most.

The crows soon left Tokyo and entered the mountains. As they had plenty of time, Xiachuan even hunted a deer on the way to provide a snack for the crows and let them rest on the branches.

He arrived at the place where he had previously traded with Akai Mitsuharu around ten in the morning, and he showed up just after eleven.

"Sorry, Mr. Haizhai, I'm late." He looked a little listless.

"No, I came too early." Xia Chuan replied. "Then let's complete the transaction first."

"Is it possible?" Akai Mitsuharu looked a little overjoyed. "Thank you very much!"

Eh? Wasn't the purpose of his meeting to collect the debt?

Natsukawa calmly gave the spiritual energy to Akai Mitsuharu in several batches, watching him swallow those balls of spiritual energy again and again, absorbing and assimilating them into his own strength.

Akai Mitsuharu's complexion improved slightly, and his attitude towards Natsukawa became more respectful.

"Actually, I invited Mr. Haizhai here this time because I have another important matter to ask of you."

"Really? Tell me."

"In fact, I rebuilt the Clear Sky Society in Toyama," said Akai Mitsuharu. "Of course, the members are no longer the same as before, but are monsters from the vicinity of Toyama. Life here is a bit more remote, but because of this, the monsters living here are more indifferent, without such strong desires and ambitions, and they get along better than the previous Clear Sky Society."

"Congratulations." Xia Chuan waited for his next words.

"Thanks to you." Akai Mitsuharu nodded repeatedly. "It's just that something happened recently that made us very embarrassed, so I had to ask for help from you, Mr. Mukuro. I have asked the members to sort out some of their own experiences and spells, and also prepared some cash. Although it's hard to say, please help us!"

This made Xia Chuan a little curious. What kind of problem could cause these monsters to bring it to him?

"You tell me first," he then said.

It turns out that one of Akai Mitsuharu's new subordinates is ostensibly a so-called folklorist, and he often uses this identity to search for ancient sites in the nearby mountains.

On the one hand, of course, it is to obtain things like antiques, but the more important purpose is to obtain relics or inherited items that are beneficial to one's own practice and to enhance one's own strength.

About two weeks ago, he disappeared in the mountains west of Toyama. Mitsuharu Akai then led members of the Clear Sky Society to search the area where he was last active, and following the marks he left behind, they found the remains of a cave that was almost completely covered by mud, trees and bushes.

They confirmed that this member had not come out after entering the cave. After making some preparations, Mitsuharu Akai led two members and carefully followed the traces he left into the cave, but they were soon attacked by some powerful force. One member disappeared, while Mitsuharu Akai escaped from the cave in a panic with another member.

"You want me to save them?" Xia Chuan felt a little strange. If it was to save people, then wouldn't it be too late to ask him for help two weeks after the incident?

"No, it's probably too late to save them now." Akai Mitsuharu looked a little embarrassed. "The problem now is that we seem to be cursed by some kind of power."

He stretched out his hand for Xia Chuan to see, and saw a strange dark red tattoo-like pattern on his arm, extending all the way up his arm.

"At first, it only reached here. But every day it extends upwards. At this rate, it will reach the heart or brain in seven days at most."

"What will happen?" Xia Chuan asked.

"It's because we don't know what will happen that we are getting more and more panicked." Akai Mitsuharu sighed. "Originally, only I and the companion who also entered the cave had this, but since last week, the same pattern has appeared on the same position of the arms of the two companions who were waiting and meeting us outside the cave..."

Xia Chuan used his spiritual power to examine the pattern, but did not find anything unusual. It seemed to be just an ordinary tattoo drawn on the surface of the skin.

"What was it that attacked you in the cave?"

"It looks like an evil spirit, but its power is extremely strong, far exceeding any evil spirit I have ever seen." Akai Mitsuharu's face became slightly uneasy again. "There are some broken Ikko sect stone Buddha statues outside the cave. Maybe it is related to the Ikko sect that occupied Kaga during the Warring States Period."

"I'm so sorry!" He suddenly knelt down. "But please, Lord Haizhai, please ask the Skeleton Society to save us!"

Chapter 250 Am I the kind of person who would watch someone in need without helping?

"Even if you beg me like this, I have no obligation to help you." Facing Akai Mitsuharu's plea, Natsukawa said slowly.

Among the monsters he knew, Mitsuharu Akai was relatively powerful, and probably the most capable and ambitious one, but in the final analysis, the relationship between the two was nothing more than a naked transaction.

If Akai Mitsuharu had confiscated the spiritual energy he gave her before and begged him for this reason, he would probably feel a little guilty.

But Akai Mitsuharu herself cannot control her desires, and now that they have settled the matter financially, what reason does he have to take risks for Akai Mitsuharu?

Moreover, although in the eyes of Akai Mitsuharu, the Skeleton Society is probably a powerful monster group that is no less powerful than the Styx Society, Xiachuan himself knows it very well. He really has no idea about the curse.

Even if he is willing to help, he must have the ability to do so.

"Please take a look at the spells and knowledge we have compiled first!" Akai Mitsuharu completely lost face. If Natsukawa had not had a body, he would have jumped over and hugged his legs. "We have raised nearly 400 million in cash. With just one word from you, we will find a way to raise more even if it costs our lives! Also, from now on, we will completely obey the orders of the Skeleton Society! Please, Mr. Skeleton, please help us!"

These things actually have no great significance to Xia Chuan. He cannot use except a few of the spells and experiences obtained from the previous trade. The spells are useless to the priestesses because as priestesses, the only power they can use is the power from the gods.

As for money, although this kind of thing will always be useful, with the existence of the Kiryu Group and the Natsukawa Sect, Natsukawa is not actually short of money now.

There's absolutely no reason to get in trouble for something like this.

"I'm sorry, but..." Xia Chuan said.

At this time, he thought of a possibility. If he rejected Akai Mitsuharu, would he and his companions go to the Styx for help?

If they were really desperate, it wouldn't be surprising for them to do this, but Xia Chuan felt that the Styx Society probably wouldn't get into such trouble for a few monsters from the countryside.

"That cave may contain secrets passed down by the Ikko sect!" Akai Mitsuharu suddenly said. "We were not attacked when we first entered the cave, and we walked a long way inside before we encountered the evil spirit. There are many stone tablets with inscriptions in the place that looks like a hall. Mr. Kaisui, I swear to you on my life that there must be what you want in there!"

"Stone tablet?" Xia Chuan immediately thought of the rubbings of inscriptions that Minghe had given him to study before.