Surveying the headless corpse before him and the large pool of blood staining the floorboards, Ye Xing pulled two tissues from the table and wiped the bloodstained Onimaru Kunitsuna, his expression remaining completely unchanged throughout.
Witnessing this, the Guardian Deity of Itomori Town immediately launched into its classic flattery routine.
[As expected of the mighty Lord Ye Xing! Such petty villains are no match for you at all!]
"Enough, save the praise for later."
Ye Xing studied the corpse on the floor, lost in thought as he mused.
"What should we do about these traces, though... If Granny Hitoha sees this, she'll probably have a heart attack."
"Can't you use spiritual flames to burn away both the corpse and blood without damaging the building? Such matters shouldn't be difficult for someone of your calibre."
"It's not that simple."
Ye Xing crouched down, examining the corpse's clothing while searching through its personal belongings for anything of value. Ultimately, aside from a wallet containing banknotes, he found nothing useful - no driver's licence, bank cards, phone, or any other items that could provide information.
"I'm trying to minimise spiritual power fluctuations. That's why I lured her inside - to make her let her guard down and close the distance, ensuring I could eliminate her instantly before she could use her own spiritual power."
[You mean...]
The Guardian Deity of Itomori Town immediately grasped Ye Xing's implication, tentatively forming the thought into words.
[Among that group, there might be types who can sense spiritual power fluctuations?]
"Hard to say, but possibly."
Ye Xing spoke slowly.
"The ones here in Itomori Town are just pawns. Judging by that mastermind's modus operandi, their true self wouldn't come here personally. If a battle between psychics breaks out, even if I appear in my Mask form, my identity would still be too easily exposed."
"After all, there are records of my train journey from Kyoto to Itomori Town, plus all the townspeople who've seen me today. While I could erase these traces, the act of erasing traces itself leaves traces behind."
"Moreover, to achieve a perfect clearance, I can't let a single innocent person in Itomori Town die."
After hearing Ye Xing's explanation, the Guardian Deity of Itomori Town pondered carefully before making a suggestion.
[Hmm... Actually, if what you say is true and the mastermind isn't in Itomori Town, I could attempt to create a blockade barrier. Though I can't maintain it for long, I can prevent spiritual entities from entering or leaving the town. This would sever the connection between those people and the mastermind you mentioned.]
"That's a reasonable suggestion."
Ye Xing nodded first, then glanced at the red threads floating in the air before remarking with clear exasperation.
"Is it possible they don't need spiritual connections? Since you seem unaware, let me mention - there's something called a mobile phone. Though I doubt these pawns would have direct contact methods with their mastermind, we should still be cautious."
[Oh, right, mobile phones. I'd forgotten.]
The guardian deity of Itomori Town first formed these words, then continued to compose a new passage.
[Please forgive me. Since the shrine fire over two hundred years ago, my power has been declining day by day. To be perfectly honest with you, I had only just awakened from my slumber on the day we met.]
Seeing these words from Itomori's deity, Ye Xing showed no surprise, merely nodding.
"I'd pretty much guessed as much."
Based on the gods encountered by Supernatural Society members so far, a pattern could be observed.
Though the gods weren't products of the Reverse World, they shared similarities with evil spirits.
In that battle with the Weather God, Ye Xing had severed his nearly limitless source of spiritual power through Natsumi Suga's news reports and the footage Soichiro Yagami had broadcast on television, ultimately destroying him.
This proved one thing.
The so-called power of gods comes, to a certain extent... no, mostly, from human emotions.
For example, the deity representing the weather derived its power from people's longing for sunny days and their weariness of continuous heavy rain.
Then there's that Mountain God who occupied the mountains, causing Menma's death and countless other innocent victims - its power came from human fear of the 'Mountain God' legend itself, possibly mixed with some fear of the mountain forests themselves.
After all, dark mountain forests are truly terrifying, and the Mountain God's occasional movements, along with various accidental death incidents, only intensified such emotions, making it stronger.
The problem is, Itomori Town's guardian deity is different from these two gods.
According to Ye Xing's speculation, its birth was triggered by human fear and panic over the meteorite fall twelve hundred years ago, but it wasn't born of such emotions. Rather, it emerged from people's prayers for a deity who could protect them from such disaster and save everyone.
This hope was strong enough to give birth to a god.
But since the shrine fire over two hundred years ago burned all related documents and ancient texts, even the Miyamizu family - the shrine maiden lineage - had gradually forgotten the significance of Itomori's guardian deity and the reasons behind related rituals.
Judging from the Miyamizu family's annual worship ceremonies, the townspeople's attitudes, and the fact that even this generation's shrine maiden, Mitsuha Miyamizu, has begun questioning her family's duties, it was predictable that Itomori's guardian deity, gradually losing faith, would grow increasingly weak.
[I simply don't understand why these people are inquiring about the shrine's location? Does this relate to the disaster they wish to unleash?]
Seeing the question raised by Itomori's guardian deity, Ye Xing replied dismissively.
"Of course they're looking for you. You don't think they're after me, do you?"
[Looking for me...? What would they want with me?]
"Of course it's eating you, did you think it would eat me?"
[E...eat me!?]
Seeing the red threads formed by Itomori Town's guardian deity trembling incessantly, Ye Xing chuckled softly as he spoke.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you - aside from me, most psychics can enhance their spiritual power by having their soul's true form devour spiritual entities. Whether it's evil spirits or so-called deities, as long as they're devoured, one's spiritual power increases."
Upon hearing this, Itomori Town's guardian deity's red threads flickered with afterimages, paused for a second, then quickly formed a sentence.
[Lord Ye Xing! You can't let those people eat me! You must protect me! I don't want to be eaten! Wuwuwu.]
"No need for the pitiful act, I definitely won't let you be eaten."
Hearing Ye Xing's agreement, Itomori Town's guardian deity finally calmed down, adopting a pitiful tone.
[Lord Ye Xing is still the best, completely different from those others. Having one's soul's true form eat spiritual entities to become stronger - such things truly go against human... no, spiritual ethics!]
"Of course."
Ye Xing nodded with a smile, black flames emerging from his palm as he suppressed the fluctuations from his spiritual power, burning the blood and corpses on the ground into nothingness, murmuring softly.
"I don't need my soul's true form to eat - I can eat them directly myself."
Itomori Town's guardian deity: [...You won't eat me, right?]
"Of course not, what kind of monster do you think I am?"
[Then I'm relieved.]
After cleaning up the scene, Ye Xing walked to the bedroom door and knocked.
"Grandmother, you can come out now."
Hitoha Miyamizu emerged from the bedroom, looking at the living room, which appeared exactly the same as before, and asked, puzzled.
"Eh? Where's the person who was knocking earlier?"
Ye Xing smiled as he replied.
"She had some urgent business and left in a hurry - so hurried she even forgot her own head. Fortunately, I'm a kind person and delivered the head to her body. Now that head and body are reunited, she has ascended to eternal bliss."
Hitoha Miyamizu shook her head and sighed.
"The things you young people say - I really understand less and less."
"Grandmother."
Ye Xing asked as if casually.
"Your Miyamizu family shrine - I mean the place where the kuchikamizake is stored - about how far is it from here?"
"Hmm... that's quite far actually. It would take over an hour to walk there. It's near the meteor crater area. Are you planning to go?"
"Not for now."
Ye Xing shook his head and inquired softly.
"Let me confirm something - after each shrine ritual, how long does it usually take for you to deliver the prepared kuchikamizake to that place?"
The exact location of the sacred offering place wasn't something to be casually revealed to outsiders.
However, Hitoha Miyamizu thought that since her family's deity had given a revelation that this young man was trustworthy, there was no need for her to be secretive.
"That's hard to say - generally whenever we have time."
"I see..."
Ye Xing responded noncommittally, then followed up with another question.
"When is the next shrine ritual then?"
"Eh, didn't Mitsuha tell you?"
Hitoha Miyamizu said with a smile.
"You've come at just the right time - it's tonight."
...
That afternoon, after school ended.
"You must be classmate Ye Xing, right? Hello, hello."
Seeing Ye Xing standing at the school gate, Mitsuha Miyamizu hadn't even had time to approach and greet him when her friend Sayaka Natori quickly ran forward with a smile.
"I'm Sayaka Natori. You can call me Natori-san, or Sayaka... Actually, just call me Natori-san, otherwise someone might get jealous."
"Sayaka, are you still teasing me?"
Mitsuha Miyamizu interrupted hastily with a flushed face, walking up to Ye Xing and speaking softly.
"Um... I'm finished with school. Shall we go?"
"Aren't you supposed to be presiding over the shrine's ritual ceremony tonight?"
Hearing Ye Xing's words, Mitsuha Miyamizu first froze momentarily, then seemed to suddenly remember.
"That's right, I completely forgot!"
It wasn't really Mitsuha's fault for having poor memory - she had originally remembered.
But after suddenly seeing Ye Xing this morning and learning from him that Itomori Town would face catastrophic disasters - not just one, but three - she had spent the whole day thinking about how to save Itomori's residents and where to begin the investigation, completely forgetting about tonight's arrangements.
"But..."
Mitsuha Miyamizu glanced at Sayaka Natori not far away, then leaned closer to Ye Xing and whispered hesitantly.
"We need to investigate... Would it be alright to cancel the ceremony just this once...? That deity-sama should understand, right?"
"No need to cancel."
Ye Xing reached out and ruffled Mitsuha Miyamizu's hair. This intimate gesture made Sayaka Natori, who was standing there watching, break into a knowing smile, as if she were seeing her favourite ship finally have a sweet moment.
"I have a plan. We can just follow the original procedure."
"Well... alright then."
Mitsuha Miyamizu and Ye Xing walked side by side into the distance, with Sayaka Natori following beside them. Unable to contain her burning curiosity, she asked eagerly.
"Ye Xing-san, are you a high school student? Or are you already working?"
"Same as you, first year high school student at Sobu High School in Kyoto."
"Oh, Kyoto - a big city."
Although there's a saying that everywhere outside Tokyo in Japan is countryside, for Mitsuha Miyamizu and Sayaka Natori, who lived in Itomori Town, Kyoto was indeed undeniably a big city.
"Won't it be difficult for you and Mitsuha to be in a long-distance relationship?"
Listening to Sayaka Natori's continuous questions, Mitsuha Miyamizu tugged at her sleeve and gave her a look.
"Stop asking so many questions, you sound like a police officer interrogating a suspect."
"Eh, what's wrong with asking to understand a bit? Really now."
...
At the same time, in a room at an Itomori Town inn.
Several men and women of varying ages, all dressed in ordinary clothing, were sitting inside.
"She still hasn't returned."
"If she doesn't come back, so be it."
Hearing this, a young man with a long scar on his face spoke in a flat tone.
"To actually believe there's some so-called deity in this remote town, and to insist on acting alone - who knows where she's wandered off to. If she disrupts Lady Izanami's plans, I'll kill her myself."
"Hmph, you're truly devout."
A middle-aged man with several wrinkles on his face and a somewhat burly build snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with icy killing intent.
"Whether this so-called Izanami is a true deity or someone's incarnation remains unknown. I don't want to be treated as a disposable pawn, manipulated at will."
"Then you're free to act on your own, just like Haka-no-Hi."
The young man's reference to Haka-no-Hi clearly pointed to Tasuke Tamura, who had recently set an entire building ablaze and infiltrated Kyoto City alone.
"And then your fate will become the same as his. That's the consequence of defying Lady Izanami's will."
At this point, the young man changed the subject.
"However, to carry out Lady Izanami's plans, it is indeed necessary to verify whether the deity worshipped by the Miyamizu family for generations truly exists. If it does, we must eliminate it first."
Another young woman dressed in black with short hair frowned slightly.
"Then why not just ask that Miyamizu family shrine maiden? The place where offerings are made, or the shrine - if it exists, it's most likely in one of those two locations."
"Are you stupid?"
The scarred man glanced at the woman who had spoken and slowly said,
"Since we haven't been able to learn the specific location from the residents, it means the Miyamizu family shrine maiden won't easily reveal this matter."
"Hmph, won't talk? Then we'll kill them one by one. Especially that cute little girl, what was her name? Ah yes... Yotsuha Miyamizu. What I enjoy most is killing children."
"Are you insane?"
The young man narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If something goes wrong and they learn the Miyamizu shrine maiden is dead, can you guarantee that Kira or Mask won't come here? If those two show up, will you deal with them?"
Hearing the names Mask and Kira, the atmosphere in the room noticeably shifted.
Aside from madmen like Tasuke Tamura, most psychics transformed by Izanami greatly feared these two.
Kira was manageable - his so-called deeds were merely punishing human criminals.
But Mask... was an existence far beyond their level.
"Then what do you suggest we do, hmm? Tenjō-sagari?"
The young man who used the codename from the Hyakki Yagyō, who liked to hide in dark places and feed on human vitality, slowly spoke up.
"Tonight there's a public shrine festival. The deity worshipped by the Miyamizu family might appear then. Even if it doesn't, if the shrine maiden goes to offer kuchikamizake tomorrow, we just need to follow her to find the hidden location."
...
An hour and a half later, outside the Miyamizu family shrine.
"Ye Xing, Mitsuha looks really beautiful in her Miko outfit, you know."
Hearing Sayaka Natori's words, Katsuhiko Teshigawara, the bald son of the local construction company owner standing nearby, snorted lightly and spoke with clear displeasure.
"Well of course, unlike some people who don't act like girls at all."
"Hey, who are you talking about?"
"Heh, obviously you, unless you think I'm referring to Ye Xing here?"
"You...!"
As this bickering couple exchanged barbs, a clear, crisp bell sound suddenly rang out.
Ding ling ling.
Everyone gathered outside the shrine instantly fell silent.
The next moment, Mitsuha Miyamizu slowly emerged alongside her younger sister, Yotsuha. She wore the red-and-white Miko outfit, her hair was tied up with golden hair accessories, and she held a bell-like musical instrument.
When she noticed Ye Xing standing not far away, watching her with a smile, her face flushed slightly. Nevertheless, she maintained her usual composure and began the ritual procedures, shaking the instrument in her hands as she performed a slow, elegant dance with her sister Yotsuha - its meaning unclear to observers.