Start with a core cabin

Chapter 1405 Deep Mountains (It’s been raining every day recently)

Yoshin Town, Aomori Prefecture, is located in the mountains on the east side of Honshu Island. It has a permanent population of 10,000. Apples are the main economic product of the area, with a large number of orchards and processing plants. It is just an unknown little place, remote, isolated, and a typical countryside.

This is also Duanmu Huai’s destination.

“Boom boom boom…!”

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

“Hey? Is this the place…? It looks so boring…”

Nemu Satori got out of the passenger seat and looked around boredly.

"If you knew it was boring, you shouldn't have come with me."

Duanmu Huai silently glanced at Mianmu Sanatori. He had not originally planned to bring him along, but Mianmu Sanatori somehow managed to hide in his trunk...

"What do you have to do? Sakuya and the others are all at the beach. Aren't you going home during the Golden Week?"

"Eh? But Satori thinks it would be more fun to be with the teacher~~~ And... there's nothing fun to do even if we go back. Dad and Mom are too boring~~~"

They were obviously his parents, but there was no emotion when Satori said it, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him. Hmm… But this was also within Duanmu Huai's expectations. After all, generally speaking, people with a SAN value of 0 either saw something indescribable or had experienced a lot of things since childhood. Satori didn't seem to be the former, so it was probably because of family reasons.

But he didn't plan to go any deeper.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter, just take the things."

"Got it~~~"

As he spoke, Neme-Satori took out an urn from the trunk - it was the ashes of Matsushita Shizuko.

Originally, according to the process, the family should be allowed to handle the aftermath. However, according to the police investigation, Matsushita Shizuko had no relatives, was not married, and her social relationships were not clear. Although a notice was issued, no one came. So in the end, the police handed the responsibility of handling the aftermath to the principal, and after the latter cremated Matsushita Shizuko, he entrusted Duanmu Huai to take her ashes back to her hometown.

For Duanmu Huai, this was naturally the best excuse.

So he came here.

“……………Really? That child can actually…”

The mayor stared at the urn next to Duanmu Huai, looking a little lonely.

"You never know what will happen. I still remember she came back last year and she seemed to be doing well. I never thought 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 Shizuko will feel at ease now that she is back in 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 was a good child, but also a child with a miserable life. When she was very young, her parents died in an accident in the mountains."

"Accident?"

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

The old man also looked quite regretful.

"When the child came back last year, he went to the mountain to pay homage to his parents. Unexpectedly... Well, maybe burying them together can be considered a reunion."

"On the mountain?"

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

After that, the old man talked about some meaningless topics. Duanmu Huai didn't ask any more questions. He put the ashes down and left.

"Where are we going next, Sensei?"

Mianmu Satori, who was following Duanmu Huai, also asked curiously. She had not spoken a word just now, just sitting next to Duanmu Huai. However, unlike the two who were serious about talking about death, Mianmu Satori had a smile on her face, as if she was watching some interesting scene.

Fortunately, the old mayor didn't notice.

"Go check out that shrine."

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

All in all, go and see for yourself.

The shrine is located halfway up a mountain not far from Yangchen Town. According to the old mayor, no one is responsible for the shrine, and it is more like an abandoned shrine. However, the dead in this place are buried in the cemetery behind the shrine. Hearing this, Duanmu Huai 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 strange, and doing such a thing in such an isolated place, then... naturally it is even more strange.

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

The shrine itself was also shabby, with dust on the money box and worn-out paper doors proving that no one had taken care of it or cleaned it. The floor was also overgrown with weeds. As the old mayor had said, this was an abandoned place.

"ah………………………"

Mianmu Sanatori stared at the shrine with wide eyes, as if looking into the shrine's eyes. However, Duanmu Huai ignored her and walked through the shrine to the back. As the old man said, there was a large cemetery behind the shrine, with tombstones everywhere, and these tombstones did not seem to be well taken care of.

It is more like a mass grave than a cemetery.

Duanmu Huai stood there and felt it silently - unfortunately, even though he infiltrated his shadow into the corner of the shrine, he did not detect any breath related to it.

Do we really need to bring Yotsuya Miko with us? But we are on holiday now, and if we want to issue an extermination order, Yotsuya Miko is obviously not suitable to participate. Duanmu Huai thought about it for a while, and then retracted his thoughts. He turned and walked out of the cemetery. When he came to the gate of the shrine again, he saw that Nemu Satori was still standing there motionless, playing the staring game with the shrine.

"Have you had enough fun? Let's go."

"Okay~~~~"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's greeting, Menmu Sanatori came back to his senses, raised his hand high and responded, then turned around and followed Duanmu Huai out of the shrine and walked down the mountain.

However, just as the two reached the foot of the mountain, an accident happened.

"Excuse me."

Duanmu Huai stopped and looked at nearly ten burly men in suits who came out from both sides of the street and blocked his and Mianme Satori's way from both sides.

They had ferocious faces, badges on their chests, and held daggers and short sticks in their hands, which looked completely out of place with their attire. But to Duanmu Huai, these guys in front of him were not even rats.

"what's up?"

"Our boss wants to talk to you."

One of the men in suits weighed the dagger in his hand and stared at Duanmu Huai and spoke.

"I advise you to be obedient."

Upon 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. As he did so, other people gathered around and blocked the two of them.

"Ah."

Duanmu Huai stood there, with his arms folded, staring at the men with disdain.

"I'll leave it to you, Mianmu. You have plenty of free time anyway."

"Okay~~~~~"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Mianmu Sanatori smiled and drew out the white wooden sword from his waist.

"Satori is feeling a bit bored, so this is perfect for killing time..."

"Humph!"

Faced with the two people who totally ignored them, the man in the suit suddenly looked gloomy and then raised his hand.

"superior!!"

In the eyes of the man in the suit, dealing with just two people is not a problem for them. After all, the other party is just an outsider, and they are the local snakes. Although the man may be a good fighter, the girl next to him is just a high school student. As long as they catch her, they can deal with it.

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

Just like now.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!”

“Ah…Ahhhhhh!!”

What kind of monster is that?

Lying on the ground, listening to his companions' wailing, the man in the suit stared at the girl who was walking leisurely with a long sword in hand with a pale face. All the brothers he brought with him had been chopped to the ground by her. Although they were not dead, for them at this moment, perhaps it would be better for them to die.

Mianmu Sanatori raised the sharp blade in his hand and stabbed the man's shoulder mercilessly, piercing through him instantly. At the same time, the man also let out a painful howl.

“Oh oh oh oh oh!!”

"Auntie, my love......"

As if satisfied with the screams of the man in front of him, Nemu-satori drew his knife and then changed direction.

"Everyone's voices are pretty nice, so who will be the next one to make a pleasant sound?"

"………………………"

monster!

The man in the suit trembled, looking at the other person in fear as he slowly walked towards him. It was indeed a girl, but in the eyes of the man in the suit, it was more like a monster in a girl's skin than a girl! Her weirdness was no less than that of the man who looked extremely vicious!

What frightened the man in suits the most was, of course, the look in Mime-satori's eyes. During the fight just now, she seemed to be in a daze. She was not looking at this side, but the sword in her hand pierced through the enemy in front of her without mercy. And after she chopped someone down, the girl's face showed a bright smile like a spring breeze, which made him feel cold in his heart.

"monster…………!"

At this moment, Mianme Satori had already walked in front of the man in the suit, who looked at her in horror and whispered.

"What the hell are you!"

"Hmm? What are you talking about? Satori doesn't understand."

Hearing the suit man's words, Mianme Satori tilted his head curiously.

"Why, why are you still laughing?! Is it so fun to chop people?"

"interesting?"

Nemu-satori repeated the word in confusion.

"Satori doesn't know either. Actually, Satori doesn't know what kind of expression to show at a time like this. Humans are really complicated... So..."

As he spoke, Nemu-satori raised the sword in his hand.

"Satori thinks that all you need to do is smile... "

Then, he swung the sword down.

"stop!!"

At this moment, suddenly, a roar was heard. Duanmu Huai raised his head and saw a man standing not far away, staring at him with a serious expression.

"Which group are you from? How dare you cause trouble on the Eagle Moon Group's territory! Do you want to start a war with the Eagle Moon Group?!"

"Group?"

Hearing the other party's question, Duanmu Huai's face darkened.

"I'm a law-abiding citizen!"