Chapter 1405 Deep in the Mountains (It’s been raining every day lately)


    ?Yogami Town, Aomori Prefecture, is located in the mountains on the east side of Honshu Island. The permanent population is 10,000. The local economy is dominated by apples, with a large number of orchards and processing plants. It''s just an obscure little place, remote, isolated, typical of the countryside.


    This is also Duanmuhuai’s destination.


    “Boom, boom…!”


    ?Duanmuhuai parked the car on the side of the road, opened the door and walked out, staring at the rural-style building in front of him without saying a word. At this moment, another voice came from beside him.


    "Huh? Is this right here...? It looks so boring..."


    ?Mianmu Saotori got down from the passenger seat and looked around boredly.


    “If you know it’s boring, don’t follow me.”


    Duanmuhuai glanced at Mianmu Zuoniao silently. He had no intention of bringing him with him, but Mianmu Zuoniao somehow managed to hide in his trunk...


    "Don''t you have anything else to do? Shajiuye and the others have gone to the beach. Don''t you go home during Golden Week?"


    “Huh? But Satori thinks it would be more interesting to be with the teacher~~~ And... there’s nothing fun even if we go back, my father and mother are too bored~~~”


    Obviously they were parents, but there was no emotion in what Satori said, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him. Hmm... But this is within Duanmu Huai''s expectation. After all, generally speaking, the SAN value is 0, either because he has seen something indescribable, or because he has encountered many things since childhood. Satori doesn''t seem to be the former, so it''s probably because of family issues.


    ?But he didn’t intend to go into it.


    “Forget it, it doesn’t matter, just get your things.”


    “I got it~~~”


    As he spoke, Mianmu Saotiao took out an urn from the trunk—that was the ashes of Matsushita Shizuko.


    Originally, according to the procedure, family members should be allowed to handle posthumous affairs. However, according to police investigations, Matsushita Shizuko has no relatives and is not married, and her friendships were not made clear accidentally. Although notices were posted, no one came. So in the end, the police handed over the responsibility of handling the aftermath to the principal, and after the latter cremated Matsushita Shizuko, he entrusted Duanmu Huai to take his ashes back to his hometown.


    For Duanmu Huai, this is naturally the best excuse.


    So, he came here.


    "...Well, that child can actually..."


    The mayor looked at the urn in Duanmuhuai''s hand, his expression seemed a little lonely.


    “Everything in the world is unpredictable. I still remember that she came back last year. At that time, she seemed to be in pretty good condition. I didn’t expect that she would..."


    The old man in front of him said this, sighed again, and then stood up.


    “Thank you both for sending her ashes back. I think Jingzi will feel at ease when she can return to her hometown.”


    “If possible, could you tell me about Ms. Matsushita?”


    Duanmu Huai handed over the ashes, then stared at the old man and asked, and the latter nodded.


    "Of course...that child...she is a good child, but also a child with a hard life. When she was very young, her parents died due to an accident in the mountains."


    "Accident?"


    "Yes, it is very dangerous in the mountains in winter. Even the residents here will die if they are careless."


    The old man also seemed quite sorry.


    "When the child came back last year, he went to the mountain to worship his parents. Unexpectedly... Hey, maybe burying them together can be considered a kind of reunion."


    “On the mountain?”


    "Yes, our cemetery here is built on the mountain, and there is a shrine there..."


    After that, the old man talked about some useless topics. Duanmuhuai didn''t ask any more questions. He put down the ashes and left straight away.


    “Where are we going next? Teacher?”


    Mian Mu ZuoNiao, who was following Duanmu Huai, also asked out of curiosity. She had not spoken just now and was just sitting next to Duanmu Huai. It''s just that unlike the two people who talked about death seriously, Museme Satori always smiled, as if he was watching some interesting scene.


    Fortunately, the old mayor didn''t pay attention.


    “Go and see that shrine.”


    ?According to experience, there will usually be something left in places like this, and the old mayor also said that after Shizuko Matsushita came back, she went to the shrine to worship. Based on Duanmu Huai''s experience in investigating such incidents, there is a high probability that she found the book at the shrine and took it away secretly. After all, it would be bad if the things enshrined in the shrine were discovered stolen, so Shizuko Matsushita would leave directly after that.


    In short, just go and have a look and you will know.


    ?The shrine is located halfway up the mountain not far from Yoshen Town. According to the old mayor, no one is responsible for taking care of the shrine. It is more like an abandoned shrine. But the dead in this place are buried in the cemetery behind the shrine. After hearing this, Duanmuhuai immediately became interested in this shrine. After all, for most people, being buried in an abandoned shrine that no one manages after death sounds very weird, and to do such a thing in such an isolated place, then... it is naturally even weirder.


    ?It is not easy to get to the shrine. The winding mountain path looks very difficult to walk. Because no one is taking care of it, there are no handrails here. The torii gates erected on both sides of the road were twisted and twisted, looking like they were about to collapse. To be honest, it has to be strange. After all, this is a cemetery. Even if the shrine itself is not taken care of for some reason, someone should be responsible for taking care of it.


    The shrine itself is also very dilapidated. The dust on the money box and the worn paper door have proved that no one is taking care of or cleaning the place. The floor was also overgrown. As the old mayor said, this is an abandoned place.


    "ah……………"


    Mename Satori''s eyes widened and he stared at the shrine blankly, as if he was looking at the shrine. But Duanmu Huai ignored her. He walked through the shrine and came to the back - as the old man said, there was a large cemetery behind the shrine with tombstones everywhere, and it seemed that these tombstones were not well taken care of.


    It is more like a mass grave than a cemetery.


    Duanmuhuai stood there and felt it silently - unfortunately, even if he penetrated the shadow into the corner of the shrine, he did not notice any aura related to it.


    As expected, do you still want to bring Yotsuya Miko? But it''s a holiday now, and if an extermination order is to be issued, Yotsugamiko is obviously not suitable to participate. Duanmu Huai thought for a moment, then retracted his thoughts. Turning around and walking out of the cemetery, when he came to the gate of the shrine again, he saw Mianme Saotori still standing there motionless, playing a staring game with the shrine.


    “Have had enough fun? Let’s go.”


    “Okay~~~~”


    Hearing Duanmuhuai’s greeting, Mianmu Zuotiao came back to his senses, raised his hand high in response, then turned around and followed Duanmuhuai out of the shrine and walked down the mountain.


    However, when the two of them reached the foot of the mountain, an accident happened.


    "Excuse me."


    Duanmu Huai stopped and looked at nearly ten burly men in suits walking out from both sides of the street, blocking the path between him and Mianmu Saotiao from both sides.


    ?They have fierce faces, badges on their chests, and daggers and short sticks in their hands that look completely incompatible with their attire. But to Duanmu Huai, these guys in front of him are not even mice.


    "What''s up?"


    “Our boss wants to talk to you.”


    ?One of the men in a suit weighed the short knife in his hand and stared at Duanmuhuai and said.


    “I advise you to be obedient.”


    Hearing this, Duanmu Huai sneered.


    “Oh? What if I don’t listen?”


    “Then don’t blame us for being rude.”


    As he spoke, the man in the suit waved his hand. Following his movements, others gathered around and blocked the two of them.


    “Heh.”


    Duanmuhuai stood there with his arms folded, staring at these men disdainfully.


    “Leave it to you, Mianmu, you are very free anyway.”


    “Okay~~~~~”


    ?Hearing Duanmuhuai''s words, Mianmu Zuoniao smiled and pulled out the white wooden knife from his waist.


    “It just so happens that Satori is feeling a little bored, so it’s a good time to pass the time...”


    "snort!"


    Facing the two people who didn''t take them seriously at all, the man in the suit suddenly looked down and then raised his hand.


    "superior!"


    From the perspective of the men in suits, dealing with just two people is not a problem at all for them. After all, the other party is just an outsider, and they are local snakes. Although that man may be good at fighting, the girl next to him is just a high school student. As long as he catches her, it can be done.


    However...many times, there is a gap between reality and ideals.


    Just like now.


    “Ahhhhhhhhhh!”


    “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”


    ?What kind of monster is that?


    Lying on the ground, listening to the wails of his companions, the man in the suit stared with a pale face at the girl who was walking leisurely with a long sword. All the younger brothers she had brought with her had been chopped to the ground by her. Although they are not dead, for them at this moment, perhaps death would be better.


    ?Mianmu Saotori raised the sharp blade in his hand, and then mercilessly stabbed the shoulder of the man at his feet, immediately piercing him. At the same time, the man howled in pain.


    “Oh oh oh oh oh!”


    “Auntie, I love you……”


    As if he was satisfied with the screams of the man in front of him, Mianmu Saotiao pulled out the knife and then changed the direction.


    “Everyone’s screams are pretty nice, so who will be the next one to make a nice sound?”


    …………”


    monster!


    ??The man in the suit trembled and looked at the other person slowly walking towards him in fear. It was indeed a girl, but now in the eyes of the man in the suit, she was more like a monster in a girl''s skin than a girl! Her weirdness is no worse than that man who looks extremely vicious!


    The thing that scares the man in the suit the most is naturally the look in Mianmu Saotiao''s eyes. During the fight just now, she seemed to have been in a daze, obviously not looking here, but the sword in her hand penetrated the enemy in front of her without mercy at all. And the smile as bright as the spring breeze on the girl''s face after cutting someone else, made him feel cold in his heart.


    "monster……!"


    ?At this moment, Mianmu Saotori has walked up to the man in the suit. The latter looked at her in horror and whispered.


    “What the **** are you!”


    “Huh? What are you talking about? Satori can’t understand.”


    Hearing what the man in the suit said, Mianmu Saotiao tilted his head curiously.


    “Why, why are you still laughing?! Is killing people so fun?”


    "interesting?"


    ?Mianme Saotori repeated the word doubtfully.


    “Satori doesn’t know either. Actually, Satori doesn’t know what kind of expression he should show at this time. Human beings are really complicated... so..."


    As he spoke, Mianmu Zuotiao raised the sword in his hand.


    “Satori thinks all he needs to do is laugh..."


    Then, the sword was swung down.


    “Stop!”


    At this moment, suddenly, a roar sounded. Duanmuhuai raised his head and saw a man standing not far away, staring at him with a serious face.


    “Which group are you from? How dare you cause trouble on the Yingyue Group’s territory! Do you want to start a war with the Yingyue Group?!”


    "Group?"


    ?Hearing the other party''s inquiry, Duanmu Huai''s face also darkened.


    “I am a law-abiding citizen!”