Miko of Yotsuya Suga Shrine

Police Station, Arakawa City, Tokyo

Before he got to see Nishimura's corpse, Baishi Shū bumped into Mrs. Nishimura first.

Mrs. Nishimura's face was worn and haggard. She seemed to be in a daze and still had not come to terms with the sad news of the death of her husband. When Investigator Ueno introduced Baishi Shū to her and told her that he was here to recite the sutra unto her husband, she just gave an emotionless nod and then continued to sob into her palms. 

Shaking his head, Investigator Ueno left her alone and then led Baishi Shū into the mortuary. 

Inside of the mortuary, even though Nishimura's corpse was covered in a white blanket, it did not hinder Baishi Shū from observing him with the help of his Divine Eye.

A surge of sadness shot through him. It was difficult for him to see the middle-aged man; to whom he had talked last night, now lying lifelessly on the mortuary bed. His body had turned cold and his soul had dissipated, leaving only his mortal body behind. 

Closing his eyes, Baishi Shū took the prayer beads from his wrist. He put his palms together and began chanting the sutra. 

After he finished chanting the Rebirth Mantra 21 times, he opened his eyes and turned to Investigator Ueno standing next to him. He asked, "Inspector Ueno, can you lead me to the place where Mr. Nishimura was murdered?" 

Inspector Ueno gave a slight start when he heard what Baishi Shū had said. It took him several seconds to regain his composure and replied, "That isn't a problem, but why do you want to go there though?" 

It was only now that he realized the expression on Baishi Shū's face had changed. His countenance was cold and hard as ice while his voice, though still gentle, was grim. 

"I believe you've seen Mr. Nishimura's corpse already, haven't you? Do you really think those abrasions were caused by a human? Besides, even though there are many wounds, none of them were lethal, so this can only mean one thing." 

Baishi Shū paused for a moment and took a breath before continuing, "It wasn't humans that killed Mr. Nishimura, Investigator Ueno. It was something more sinister, probably an evil spirit."

Baishi Shū's suspicion was not wholly unfounded. If anyone saw Nishimura's corpse, he or she would be so frightened and suffer from nightmares for a month. 

The scars on Nishimura's corpse were none other than teeth marks. Those teeth marks lined up neatly and extended all over his body from head to toe, covering every inch of surface they could find. Even though those marks were deep, they did not pierce through his skin or puncture his veins. Apparently, regardless of whoever had done this to Nishimura, ending his life was not the main objective but torture. Amongst the teeth marks, Nishimura's face was distorted and grotesque with a violent expression of agony and fear. It was not hard to imagine how painful it had been during the last moments of his life. 

It was only now that Baishi Shū understood why Mrs. Nishimura looked so pale and languid. Even someone like him—who had no connection to Mr. Nishimura whatsoever—could not bear the sight of his corpse, let alone Mrs. Nishimura, who was his wife. To see her husband suffer from such kind of distress before dying must be extra hard for her. 

"We suspected that as well, so we have informed the shrine and asked them to send somebody here to help us with the investigation… Hold on a second." Investigator Ueno paused midway through his sentence as he realized something. His eyes widened as his voice went up by a notch, "How did you know that Nishimura's body is full of abrasions?"

Nishimura's corpse was covered under a white sheet. Even though the sheet was thin, it perfectly veiled his body from sight. Under the circumstances whereby he did not lose a single limb, there was no way Baishi Shū could have identified the "scars"... 

"Heh, don't make a fuss over a storm in a teacup, Investigator Ueno. There's nothing to be so surprised about. He must have used the Buddhist's Divine Eye to check Mr. Nishimura's corpse. Am I right, Baishi-san?" a silvery voice chimed in before Baishi Shū could reply. 

Hearing the voice, both Baishi Shū and Investigator Ueno turned their heads to find a miko standing by the door. She wore a red hakama and a hakui with a pair of white tabi socks and red waraji sandals. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail behind her with a takenaga, a ribbon made from Japanese washi paper. 

"You are so young, yet you have already mastered the Divine Eye. I suppose your spiritual power must be great," the miko continued. 

The girl had a sweet, pretty face, and she looked youthful. Baishi Shū reckoned that she must be around the same age as him. Obviously, she was the miko the shrine sent to assist Arakawa Police Station in the investigation of Mr. Nishimura's death. 

The miko stepped into the mortuary and greeted Baishi Shū, "Nice to meet you. My name is Asada Senna. I'm a miko from the Yotsuya Suga Shrine." 

'Yotsuya Suga Shrine? Isn't that the famous shrine around here in Arakawa City? So, they are working with the Arakawa Police Station as well. By the way, is she greeting me? Why do I have a feeling that she's telling me that this area is covered by the Yotsuya Suga Shrine and I should watch my step?'

The moment Senna walked to him, countless thoughts flitted across Baishi Shū's mind. Despite that, after some hesitation, he decided to respond to Senna's pleasantries to show his decency. After all, this was the first time that he was coming across a clergy from another shrine. Perhaps it was compulsory to introduce each other. 

"My name is Baishi Shū, and I'm a novitiate from Reimei Temple. It's my honor and privilege to meet you here." 

Asada Senna was slightly bewildered when she heard what Baishi Shū said. 

'Reimei Temple? What kind of temple is that, and why have I never heard of it before? Besides, he's just a novitiate? But how? Usually, only those eminent monks who have practiced and cultivated for many years can achieve the Divine Eye. I have never heard of a monk activating at such a young age. He must have gone through a lot of training and ordeal. How pitiful.'

Despite having a lot of things going on inside her head, she allowed none of them to escape to her face. Forcing herself out of her thought, she covered her mouth and stifled a laugh as she said, "Pfft. Did anybody tell you that you talk like an old man? Come on, relax. Don't be so uptight."

Baishi Shū frowned as he felt a little offended. He responded, "For all intent and purposes, I'll only address myself in this way to uphold my professionalism. I don't usually talk like this." 

Baishi Shū's dream was to become a monk—not an ordinary monk, but a highly esteemed monk. He had been working very hard towards that dream, and he had been imagining how regal he would look like in the future when he addressed himself in his pure white robe with his handsome face and soothing voice. 

'My name is Shinsei. I'm a monk and I'm here to help.'

Baishi Shū's heart trembled just at the thought of it. 

Asada Senna rolled her eyes heavenward and did not continue the topic. She said, "Well, I just came back from the scene. I tried to communicate with Mr. Nishimura's soul, but unfortunately, my spell failed because Mr. Nishimura's soul is gone. Perhaps it has been consumed by the evil spirits. However, on the bright side, I found some clues and I already know who is the culprit. I plan to exorcise the evil spirit tonight, do you want to tag along?" 

She had gone through Baishi Shū's profile before she came here, so she knew that he had been hired by Mr. Nishimura to get rid of the evil spirit in his house.

Initially, she was skeptical about Baishi Shū's ability and she thought that he was just another monk who could do nothing more than just recite some sutras such as the Diamond Sutra and the Rebirth Mantra, so she did not care about him much. Little did she expect that Baishi Shū had already activated his Divine Eye. To her knowledge, having activated the Divine Eye was the metaphor of having great spiritual power.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons in her head, she decided to invite Baishi Shū to exorcise the evil spirit together. 

In this way, she did not have to ask help from her shrine elder and she could get Baishi Shū to back her up if something went sideways. She could share half of the remuneration with him, but she would get all the credit. 

This was a pretty good deal. Of course, Baishi Shū did not know about Asada Senna's plan. After a moment of thinking, he accepted her invitation. 

Truth to be told, with the people from the shrine partaking in this incident, there was no need for Baishi Shū to be a part of this anymore. The reason he took up Asada Senna's invitation was that he had never seen other people combating evil spirits before, so he was interested in what kind of method a miko from a shrine would use. 

Buddha said that everything was fundamentally one. Perhaps by looking at her from the sidelines, he might be able to learn something. Even if he could not, increasing his knowledge was never a bad thing. 

As such, even though both of them represented different religions, they fit in easily. Asada Senna decided to begin their work at midnight. Baishi Shū had no objection to it since he had cycled here today, so he did not have to rush for the last train. 

Why did he not want to flag a cab? Cabs in Japan were too expensive and he could not afford them. 

While they were discussing the exorcism, Investigator Ueno kept himself out. He had no comment on their allegiance, as, at the end of the day, the police department only worked in partnership with the shrine. Neither of them was superior to another. They couldn't care less about how the shrine got rid of the evil spirit since all they wanted was results. 

Once he saw that they had finally finished their discussion, only then did he begin to ask the question in his heart, "Y-young shifu, there's something that has been bothering me for quite some time. You said that you have the Divine Eye, didn't you? It gives people the ability to see through physical objects, so does that mean you can see through Miko Asada..." 

Asada Senna instantly understood what Investigator Ueno was trying to say. She chuckled again and said, "Don't worry, Ueno-san. We mikos put a spell on our hakama, so there is no way he can see through my clothes."

At the same time, Baishi Shū replied sternly, "Investigator Ueno, I won't use the Divine Eye to examine other people, especially women. That is wrong and immoral." 

He felt insulted. If he took advantage of the ability to see through a woman's clothes, then he was no different from a pervert. He was the merit student of Hibiya High School, and there was no way he would do something like that. 

'By the way, the mikos put a spell on their hakamas?' The thought flashed across Baishi Shū's mind. 

Piqued by his curiosity, he instinctively lowered his head and peeked at Asada Senna's clothes. He circulated his power to activate his Divine Eye, and then... 

'Oh, it seems like Senna's spell isn't strong enough to block my Divine Eye,' Baishi Shū thought inwardly and stopped circulating his power.