Chapter 39: Ghost Encounter

Chapter 39: Ghost Encounter

They arrived safely at Yaga Shrine. This shrine was a local family-run establishment passed down for two generations. It wasn't large, and the deity enshrined was an unnamed god from local legends.

Nowadays, it functions more as a tourist attraction, drawing many nature enthusiasts with its pristine environment. The shrine even occasionally offers accommodation to distant guests.

Kamihara Hajime walked with the seven men and women to the shrine's torii gate. Under the gentle moonlight, the ancient torii stood in the middle of the path. Its vermilion paint had peeled off significantly, revealing some dry cracks. It must have stood there year after year, dutifully reminding everyone about to pass through it that the area ahead was a divine domain, and one should be pious and reverent when embarking on the path to meet the gods.

Many among the seven believed in this custom and offered sincere prayers before the torii. Through some conversations on the road, Kamihara Hajime gained a preliminary understanding of the three men and four women. They were colleagues from the same company, seemingly a small internet-related firm, and the man named Shujun was their boss.

They had originally planned to visit this well-known scenic spot to escape the mundane team-building dinners in the bustling city, but an unexpected incident on the way caused a significant delay, forcing them to arrive at night.

They hadn't expected to encounter Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro on the road. Fortunately, seeing them dispelled their fear; two handsome, young men were far more reassuring than encountering some fierce, burly men at that moment, even if the two were a bit strange.

They just assumed they were young people out exploring, like those who had gone missing and made news after exploring here before, which ironically attracted even more people.

In their eyes, Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro were probably just like that. After passing through the torii, they hadn't walked far before they saw lights in the distance.

"It's so late, will they refuse to host us?"

One of the seven women raised this concern. Shrines or temples usually have specific visiting hours. Although some allow night visits, it was already 9:37 PM. In the city, nightlife might not have even started, but in a place removed from the concrete jungle, it was quite late.

However, they were almost at their destination, so they couldn't just discourage themselves. Her companions also chimed in, reassuring her that it wouldn't happen. Their situation was an emergency, and there were no other accommodations nearby, so the shrine would definitely take them in.

Fortunately, they didn't encounter the worst-case scenario. Upon seeing the flashlight beams from a distance, the people from Yaga Shrine came to greet them.

It was a warm middle-aged man who introduced himself as Akashi Nohiko, the chief priest of Yaga Shrine. He said his son had spotted lights on the mountain road from afar and alerted him, so he came to check if any tourists had arrived late at night, and indeed they had.

After warmly escorting everyone into the shrine, his wife prepared hot tea and some snacks to ward off the winter night's chill. Everyone, already shivering slightly, gladly took their seats, expressing their gratitude to Akashi Nohiko and his wife.

"Please, both of you, sit as well."

Akashi Nohiko smiled and gestured to Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro. These two youths, dressed lightly yet seemingly unaffected by the cold, caught his attention, especially the swords they carried. Being well-traveled, he could discern that these were genuine, real swords, though whether they were sharpened was unknown.

Had it not been for their youthful appearance and the other seven people clearly being a separate group, he might not have been willing to host them. Seeing the two youths thank him and sit down to drink tea, and the large dog also being docile and quiet—his wife seemed quite fond of the dog—he then sat opposite them and chatted amiably with everyone.

He was subtly inquiring about their origins and the reason for their late-night arrival. After receiving satisfactory answers, Akashi Nohiko felt much more at ease. He was naturally a warm and sociable person, and soon everyone was chatting happily.

He also expressed gratitude for their arrival, stating that ever since a nearby forest vaguely began to gain a reputation as a suicide spot, the shrine's popularity had dwindled. After he once reported a missing explorer to the police, fewer people came once the news broke.

"Those people online are saying there are serial killers or ghosts harming people. Their irresponsible mouths have brought me undeserved misfortune. This place was originally attracting tourists because of its tranquil environment, far from the city, but now that it's shrouded in a terrifying aura, fewer and fewer people are coming. It's really worrying me to death."

Akashi Nohiko complained, though occasionally some tourists who didn't care for such rumors still came, like now. After everyone finished their hot tea and thanked him again for the delicious snacks, Akashi Nohiko led them to the guest rooms.

He also mentioned that it was getting late and he would show them around the shrine and its surroundings the next day. There were many empty rooms; Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro came together, so they naturally shared a room, while the seven others were left to arrange themselves.

Upon entering the room, it was quite tidy, indicating regular cleaning. The toiletries were also disposable and replaceable. Megumi Fushiguro looked at Kamihara Hajime, who showed no intention of sleeping, and asked, "Do you have a plan next?"

Kamihara Hajime casually replied, "I'm going to check out that suicide spot. On the way here, none of us were attacked by any potential Curses, and neither White Wolf nor I found any traces of Curses before. Your Jade Hounds didn't find anything either, right? So I want to check the scene of the incident."

Megumi Fushiguro nodded. Earlier, he had sent out his Jade Hounds to scout the surroundings on the road, but they hadn't found any traces of Curses. Hearing Kamihara Hajime's plan, he asked, "Then I'll go with you."

But Kamihara Hajime refused, "No need. I'll be quick. According to the information, it's probably not where the Curse is located anyway. I'm just going to take a quick look."

Then he took Totsuka-no-Tsurugi and Spider Cutter, left the room, and disappeared into the night. Megumi Fushiguro looked at White Wolf, who was lying on the ground, said "Goodnight" to him, and prepared to say a few words to his sister before going to sleep.

Like a ghost, he arrived at a dense forest on the east side of the shrine. The numerous warning signs and placards urging people to cherish life, stuck and hung outside, told Kamihara Hajime he hadn't come to the wrong place.

The dim forest posed no obstacle to his sight. As Kamihara Hajime proceeded deeper into the woods, he didn't forget to carefully sense for any Cursed Spirit aura. Most of these trees, with their withered and fallen leaves, stretched their limbs towards the sky in the faint moonlight, like skeletal hands reaching out from the ground.

After going deep for more than half the way, Kamihara Hajime stopped at a certain spot, squatted down, and examined the traces around him. His initial judgment was that this was a place where those who committed suicide had ended their lives. The police must have already been here and processed the area.

But what attracted Kamihara Hajime was not these, but the extremely faint Curse aura here, and also traces of other people having been active here very recently. Kamihara Hajime then slightly raised his guard and continued forward.

"Wuwuwu"

A faint, mournful sobbing sound suddenly drifted through the dim forest, making one's hair stand on end. Yet, Kamihara Hajime, hearing the sound, showed no panic. Instead, he immediately activated his Technique and rushed in that direction. Drawing Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, Kamihara Hajime saw a scene that made his expression unreadable once his vision cleared.

There were no female ghosts or Cursed Spirits. Kamihara Hajime only saw three men in an open space. One of them was kneeling on the ground, seemingly muttering something, with salt, bells, and talismans placed in front of him. But these weren't the key; the most conspicuous thing was the stand erected on the ground in front of the man and the phone on it.

One of the other two men was carrying a camera, filming the scene. Kamihara Hajime's astonishing eyesight even allowed him to see the screen on the phone. If he wasn't mistaken… he was live streaming?

The ghost-hunting streamer Kamihara Hajime sighed, putting away Totsuka-no-Tsurugi. He had thought he caught a Curse, but it turned out to be just a ghost-hunting streamer cashing in on the location's popularity, and a team at that. They were even faking it.

Because Kamihara Hajime found the mournful crying sound not far away—it was a recorder buried in fallen leaves. Ghost-hunting and similar content are actually strictly controlled online, but it's impossible to explicitly legislate against them, as most people consider tales of ghosts and gods to be baseless.

If they were to make a big fuss about it, it might have a negative effect. The authorities can only implicitly control such things, but sometimes the more they are forbidden, the more popular they become. Mr. Matsuki is a streamer who has achieved some success in this field.

Because of his exquisite acting and the ingenious conception of his scripts, even if his fans might know that most of the ghost-hunting is scripted and performed, the thrill it sometimes provides makes them addicted, bringing Mr. Matsuki a lot of traffic.

Just recently, this place, which had made news, entered his sights. After some preparation, he came here with a tragic love story between him and a female ghost and began live streaming. The moment just now was a small climax; his companions had set up the crying sound to complement his performance, directly elevating the atmosphere in the live stream to a new height.

"Is there a figure behind him?"

"Streamer, streamer! Look back quickly, Yoshiko has appeared!"

"Oh my god, are there really ghosts?"

"It must be the streamer hiring someone or using props, you guys, where are the ghosts?"

Mr. Matsuki glanced at the bullet comments on the screen, his brows furrowing. It wasn't time for "Yoshiko's appearance" yet. Could something have gone wrong? He definitely needed to dock their pay! He inadvertently looked up, ready to warn his assistant, but saw the terrified expressions of his two assistants opposite him. The one responsible for prop placement had his eyes wide open, staring behind him, mouth agape but unable to utter a sound.

Mr. Matsuki could even see his trembling legs causing his body to sway slightly, which might have been why he didn't bolt. The assistant filming wasn't much better, nearly dropping the camera in his hands.

"When did their acting get so good?"

A layer of cold sweat had already crept up his back as he tried hard to steer his thoughts in another direction, but his mind inevitably slipped towards that abyss. He stiffened his neck and stared intently at the bullet comments on the screen. In the image, in the dim forest behind his kneeling figure, a shadowy figure seemed to be standing.

Read 20+ Advanced Chapters At PA Treon

patreon.com/FictionOP