chsdbacks Chapter 29 The Shadow Remains
Chapter 29 The Shadow Remains
Inside the tea room.
Xuan Yi took out a small bag wrapped in cloth from his pocket, placed it on the table, and slowly pushed it open.
"Mr. Nishimiya, have you seen these things before?"
Nishimiya Sousuke looked down and froze.
A dozen or so fragments of varying sizes were scattered on the table—there were rusty copper coins, blackened porcelain shards, a piece of yellowed wooden comb, and a metal object whose original shape was no longer discernible.
Each piece exudes an indescribable eeriness, as if someone had deliberately polished something unclean into a work of art.
"Where did you get this?" Nishimiya Sousuke frowned.
Xuan Yi recalled what had happened a few hours earlier.
Shortly after he, Panda, and Dog Roll left the college, a miniature communicator was suddenly placed on his ear.
"Don't be nervous, Nishio-kun, it's me, Gaki-maru."
"Mechanical Pill? What are you doing..." Xuan Yi's voice was very soft, afraid that the panda in front of him would hear it.
"Although the academy confiscated all my puppets, some of the communicators I set up outside the academy are still usable." Mechanical Maru's voice was deep. "To make a long story short—if you're going to visit the Nishimiya family, there are a few things I'd like you to help me have them appraised."
"I've tampered with something under the second table in the cake shop. Find a chance to open the hidden compartment and take what's inside out."
Xuan Yi did as instructed.
Hidden in that secret compartment were these odds and ends, along with a sealed tube.
Now, these strangely shaped objects are placed in front of Nishimiya Sousuke.
"...Funerary items?"
Xuan Yi felt a little uneasy.
"These things are of dubious origin." Nishimiya Sousuke gently fiddled with the wooden comb with his fingertips, his expression not very good. "There's an aura about it... It's very strange, an inexplicable sense of familiarity."
"It's been nurtured by the 'Tsukumogami Technique,' right?" Xuan Yi prompted.
Nishimiya Sousuke remained silent for a few seconds, a bead of cold sweat involuntarily forming on his forehead.
He stood up.
"I'll go get someone."
Ten minutes later.
Nishimiya Munemasa gently picked up a shard of porcelain, his movements as casual as if he were holding a piece of candy.
"no."
Two seconds later, she denied Xuan Yi's guess.
"Rather than being nurtured by cursed power, it's more accurate to say that these objects themselves were refined into cursed artifacts."
"A curse?"
Just as Xuan Yi was about to ask for clarification, he saw Xi Gong Zongzheng's expression gradually turn cold. She tossed the porcelain shard into the air and gently shook the pipe in her hand.
"May all obstacles be averted!"
The power of the incantation flowed into the porcelain shard along with the incantation. The next second, a wisp of black energy slowly seeped out from the shard, gradually condensing into a blurry humanoid outline.
"Huh? Where am I? Did you just revive me like that?"
The voice came from the black mist, carrying a hint of languor and confusion. The wisp of mist writhed in the air, as if adapting to its current state.
"A barrier?" The black mist chuckled mockingly. "Can modern sorcerers achieve this level of skill?"
Xuan Yi's heart tightened.
Resurrection? The sorcerer of today?
This tone of voice...
Could the guy in front of me be an ancient sorcerer?
A thought immediately flashed through his mind—
Could it be that because he couldn't seize the ability of "transformation through non-action," Lu Suo has given up on the body he previously chose and started to recycle the ancient sorcerer who made a pact with him hundreds of years ago and turn it into a cursed object?
"Find me a suitable body right now," the black aura commanded imperiously. "If this drags on or the restraints are broken, it will bring a curse."
However, Nishimiya Zongzheng paid no attention to the instructions given by the black mist.
"Who are you?"
"Huh? You don't know my identity, yet you can awaken my soul?" The black aura became puzzled. "What's going on?"
"Didn't anyone teach you not to answer questions with questions?" Nishimiya Munemasa's tone turned cold.
The white smoke gradually tightened, and only then did the black mist realize that something was wrong.
"You wretched woman!" The black aura's voice suddenly turned shrill. "How dare you treat me like this! When I get out, I'll slaughter you all!"
The white smoke suddenly tightened, and the black mist immediately let out a shrill scream.
"No! Wait a minute! We can talk this over—ah!!"
The screams abruptly stopped.
The black aura completely dissipated, leaving not a trace behind.
Xuan Yi involuntarily swallowed.
"Master, you...killed it?"
"It's an exorcism, isn't it?" Nishimiya Munemasa elegantly put away his pipe, his expression as natural as if he had just crushed an ant. "A man of this caliber isn't even worth asking me a few more questions."
She then turned her gaze to Xuan Yi.
"What do you know?"
Xuan Yi shook his head: "No, this is the first time I've seen this situation."
Although it was truly the first time he had ever seen it, Xuan Yi already had a general idea of what it was.
Nishimiya Munemasa played with the porcelain shard in his hand, lost in thought: "Sealing the soul of the deceased within an object—this secret technique disappeared hundreds of years ago. The user needs to have a very high level of barrier-sealing skills. If these things really only appeared in recent times, then I really want to meet that person."
Xuan Yi remained silent.
The lost secret technique from hundreds of years ago, the extremely high level of barrier magic... it can basically be confirmed that it is Lu Suo.
"Where did you find these things?" Nishimiya Munemasa's eyes lit up slightly, as if he had suddenly become interested in the "source of goods." "If you put them on the black market, they should fetch a good price."
"My senior told me... it was taken from the enemy."
"enemy?"
"It's the Panxing Cult."
Xuan Yi's words caused everyone present to freeze in shock.
Nishimiya Zongzheng raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Is that so? I haven't heard that name much since the Hyakki Yagyō incident last year. I thought they were all killed by Gojo Satoru."
Xuan Yi did not deny it.
The Panxing Cult gradually disbanded after Xia Youjie's death. Those who are still active under the guise of the cult are just desperate people who have been bewitched by Lu Suo.
"Do you still need these things, Xiao Xuanyi?"
Nishimiya Munemasa took a step forward, his gaze fixed intently on Genichi, his bright eyes gleaming with an indescribable expectation.
Feeling a little uncomfortable with this title, Xuan Yi frowned slightly and subconsciously scratched the back of his head.
"It's probably... not very useful anymore, right?"
Before he finished speaking, Nishimiya Zongzheng had already neatly and efficiently put all those items into his pocket.
"We will investigate this matter thoroughly for you, and Sosuke will contact you later."
Her tone became more serious, and the casualness in her eyes disappeared.
"Besides, I won't take these things from you for nothing." She paused, her gaze sweeping over the items in her hands. "If you see anything you like at the noodle shop, feel free to pick it."
But... those things are completely useless to me...
Before Xuan Yi could speak, Xi Gong Zongzheng had already gracefully stood up.
She yawned lazily, a cryptic smile playing on her lips.
"It's getting late."
She yawned lazily, a cryptic smile playing on her lips, and then casually waved her hand.
"Tao, let's see the guests out."