pertwk Page 147
Page 147
"The investigation has been completed; these organizations are connected to monsters."
Xingyi on the other end of the phone gasped, then asked hesitantly, "So... what do we do next?"
Clearly, due to Kuroki Keisaki's overwhelming fighting power, Hoshigi developed an abnormal perception of yokai, possibly believing that all yokai were that powerful.
“It’s alright. Their subordinates are all ordinary people. I will send you the intelligence I’ve gathered later. You just need to keep an eye on those locations for me. We need to eliminate the Juu-no-Shou-no-Tsuru organization as soon as possible.”
"I'm sure you don't want your neighborhood to be taken over by these slackers who sell everything, right?"
Xingyi was silent for a moment, then said fiercely, "Fine, the sooner those guys are eliminated, the better. Give me the information, and this time... I will act based on your information."
Then he smiled and said, "It's really strange. I thought we would never cross paths again. After all... exorcism seems too far removed from normal life."
Dou Tang scoffed, "Are those who follow the extreme path considered normal people?"
“At least it’s more normal than evil spirits!” Xingyi retorted with a laugh.
After sending the information about the headless strongholds to the Star People, Dou Tang continued walking down the street with Mikazuki. Mikazuki sat obediently on Dou Tang's shoulder, and after thinking for a while, whispered, "Hey, Dou Tang, if I had really been killed just now, would you really have given me a proper burial?"
“You are my companion, of course, and... I will kill all the monsters, including Nurarihyon, and then kill Taira no Masakado,” Toudou replied slowly.
"Uh... that's fierce." Mikazuki muttered, sticking out his tongue.
"But let's make this clear first, we can only be companions. Don't think that a cat demon like me would willingly become a pet."
Dou Tang glanced at the collar around its neck and pursed his lips.
"Your personality is really quite endearing."
"Hey, you finally realize how good I am as a cat?"
Chapter 41 This is Hope
Nozaki Sou paced back and forth in the room, somewhat at a loss.
Gana Hikaru lay asleep in bed, tears streaming down his face.
"Click."
Suddenly, a sound came from the security door. Nozaki So quickly grabbed the baseball bat next to him and looked warily toward the door.
Kuroki Keisaki walked into the house carrying two large plastic bags. Seeing his appearance, she smiled and said, "It's me, little brother."
"Ah... Sister Kuroki."
Nozaki So breathed a sigh of relief and put down his weapon.
Kuroki Keisaki sniffed the air and then looked at Nozaki Sou with a strange smile.
Nozaki Sou blushed immediately and became somewhat flustered.
"Ah, I'm used to this kind of thing, but young people should be more moderate," Kuroki Keisaki said with a smile as she put the food into the refrigerator little by little.
"However, it is also good to be able to express your feelings honestly."
Nozaki Sou, blushing, rubbed his bald head and sat uneasily on the sofa.
Seeing his youthful appearance, Kuroki Keisaki couldn't help but smile even more happily. After quietly closing the door to Kano Hikaru's room, she said, "Speaking of which, Nozaki-kun, how did you and Kiryu-kun meet?"
"Ah, you mean Kiryu-nii-san..." Nozaki So suddenly puffed out his chest, seemingly getting excited: "Kiryu-nii-san..."
He suddenly scratched his bald head sheepishly and said, "I joined the Bald Guys after Kiryu beat me up."
Kuroki Keisaki burst out laughing.
"But, but I didn't mean to be annoyed with Kiryu-nii!" Nozaki So said loudly and with unusual seriousness, "On the contrary, it was only after Yohei-nii shaved my head and brought me into the Bald Guys that I felt... like I was really alive again!"
He stood with his legs neatly together and his fingers twisting together. It was strangely cute that such a bald delinquent with a band-aid on his face was making such an obedient gesture.
"Kuroki-nee probably doesn't understand that for delinquents like us, living a good life is a very... very luxurious feeling."
“In the past, I hung out with other delinquents, and every day, besides having fun, I would do pranks like a child.”
"Extorting classmates, fighting, gathering together to chat about all sorts of vulgar and low-class topics... repeating this every day, showing contempt for elders and teachers, feeling that in this way... I can find my own part of myself."
"But in the end, it's just a bunch of delinquents who are willing to degenerate and drag others down with them, a group of bad people sticking together for warmth."
He smiled somewhat apologetically, not daring to look at Kuroki Keisaki, and said, "But Kiryu-nii didn't say that. Kiryu-nii said that even if you don't like studying, or don't like your teachers and elders, you can still choose to live a good life."
"If you can't continue studying, become a worker, learn what workers need to do, you don't need to..."
"Study those daunting math or Chinese languages."
"If you have conflicts with your family, then create some distance, find a way to become independent first, experience what life requires, and then look back at your family and see what the conflicts are about."
“I was born into a single-parent family, Kuroki-nee.”
Nozaki So took a deep breath and looked at the sunset outside the window: "I am an ill-mannered person. No one taught me how to live a disciplined life. I rarely have time to see my family when I go home. My father had to work several jobs to raise me."
Kuroki Keisaki slowly sat down on the sofa, looking at him thoughtfully.
"So I don't know what's right and what's wrong, and I've become a bad person. When I wanted to change, I found that my personality was fixed, and no matter what, I couldn't study normally like other people. Maybe this is what they call bad habits are hard to break."
"But at least now I have my brothers in the Bald Heads Group. If I encounter something, I can discuss it with my friends instead of telling them and being laughed at. You know, in my old bad circle, if you said you wanted to get along with your elders, you would be looked down upon."
"Kiryu-nii said that's called moral blackmail, but the Bald Group is different. The Bald Group is a place where moral blackmail doesn't exist. When people hear about other people's affairs, they will give their opinions honestly instead of laughing."
"I felt...respected in the bald group."
After listening to Nozaki Sou's words, Kuroki Keisaki nodded silently, feeling somewhat emotional.
Kiryu Toudou... perhaps he has a plan.
He possesses both a tough approach and the thoughtfulness to analyze others' situations and help them. Perhaps this is the kindness he brings to Fall Guys.
Kuroki Keisaki didn't know, but she still felt a certain longing for it.
In Japan's social system, conformity and moral coercion are unavoidable elements. You have to say what you are in, depending on the environment you are in; this is an unspoken rule.
For example, if you are a delinquent teenager, you can't say things like you want to get along well with your teachers or improve your relationship with your elders. If you do, people will think you're "not delinquent enough."
It sounds ridiculous, but these invisible rules are actually everywhere.
Everyone else is working overtime, why aren't you working overtime?
Everyone around you is getting married, why aren't you?
Keisaki Kuroki sighed.
"One thing Kiryu-nii said really stuck with me." Nozaki Sou looked out the window, his eyes full of longing.
He said that this era is tolerant, and anyone can live the way they want, even if you suffer a lot because of it, but if you persevere, at least you won't starve to death.
"This era is so much better than before. In this city, you won't encounter famine, you'll always have a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and even if you have to scavenge, you can survive."
"At least when you're young, at this age, you can do what you want, you can do whatever you want without restraint, but... you also have to think about the future."
"Thinking about the future isn't necessary, but it's good for you. You can choose to be a bad person and continue to numb yourself with a life of debauchery, or you can grit your teeth and live a happy life."
Nozaki Sou turned his head and looked at Kano Hikaru's room.
"Hikari, she is my light, my future. I want to live with her, even if I am a delinquent teenager with no one to care for me, even if she is a delinquent girl with millions in debt, I want to have a future with her that I will not regret."
Kuroki Keisaki slumped onto the sofa and smiled silently.
It is precisely because of things like this that she is so attached to this world.
"Don't worry, with your sister here, you'll all be safe and sound," she said softly.
"Kuroki-nee, don't make a promise you can't keep!" Nozaki Sou suddenly widened his eyes.
"You brat! Are you cursing me?!"
Chapter 42 Mr. Ren's New Legend
"I heard that recently a Mr. Ren has declared war on Taira no Masakado."
Inside the monk's bar, exorcists who came to relax were discussing the recent situation in Tokyo.
Aida Gaku stood behind the bar. He was an old acquaintance of the owner of the Monk Bar. He was temporarily helping out here after arriving in Tokyo, but his main job was to gather intelligence on the current situation in Tokyo.
Upon hearing the name Mr. Ren, he became interested and listened attentively.
The exorcists in the bar continued their discussion, after all, the matter of Taira no Masakado had become the focus of Tokyo's attention.
"Yes, I've also heard that Taira no Masakado has an organization called the 'Kyuon-no-Kuboku-no-Machi,' where even ordinary people have the strength of a regular exorcist. It's hard to imagine how Taira no Masakado managed to do that."
A nearby exorcist retorted, "How could that be? If everyone were this strong, we might as well quit being exorcists and become monsters instead. If you ask me, that's just a rumor!"
"And that Mr. Ren, I know a little about him. He's just an ordinary person who wiped out the stronghold of the Juu-in clan. I heard he's quite young. That guy probably doesn't even know who Taira no Masakado is!"
Aida Gaku touched his bald head and chuckled.
So that's how it is. That guy is really low-key. Such a strong person, yet he didn't leave any legends in Tokyo?
He hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind.
"Click."
The lights in the bar suddenly dimmed, switching to a gloomy and mysterious atmosphere, and the mood became somber.
With prayer beads in one hand and a wine glass in the other, Aida Gaku approached the group, sat down, and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, I overheard you talking about Mr. Ren?"
"Ah, you must be a master from Kamogawa City. Is there... anything I can help you with?"
Aida Yue chuckled inwardly, slammed his wine glass on the table, and said mysteriously, "I just overheard you all talking about... Mr. Ren?"
The exorcists sitting around immediately became interested, and one of them said, "Master, do you know anything about Mr. Ren?"
"Ah, I know, of course I know, he's an exceptionally powerful... exorcist!"
"What? He's not an ordinary person?"
"No, no, that's a formidable opponent that even I, a humble monk, cannot match... I am not yet thirty years old and have already single-handedly supported the prosperity of the temple, yet I could not withstand three moves from that Mr. Ren!"
The atmosphere in the bar suddenly froze, and many of the exorcists became somewhat serious.
In Japan, those who can establish their own sect are revered as masters, but those who can ensure the continuation of a sect's exorcism techniques are also formidable.
In other words, most exorcists who go to Tokyo to make a living are not as able to establish themselves in their hometowns as Aida Gaku.
Aida Yue smiled slightly, knowing that he had successfully attracted the attention of these people.
He had no doubt about Dou Tang's strength, so he wanted to use this method to win over more hidden allies for him.
Even if there were one more person who believed that Todo could defeat Taira no Masakado, it would be a good thing for the whole of Tokyo. Todo was unwilling to do so, but Aida Gaku could help him.
"Fellow colleagues, there's a lot to say about my relationship with Mr. Ren... If you hear it all, you'll understand that to be an enemy of Taira no Masakado, you need Mr. Ren."
"...I'm all ears! I hope you'll explain in detail, Master!"
………………
"Mr. Shinzen, didn't you say you were going to retire?"
Ryuu Shinzen walked into a coffee shop where exorcists gathered and was greeted by an old man.
The old man was none other than the exorcist with a knife who had clashed with Dou Tang during the Bone Tengu incident.
Upon hearing the old man's words, Shenqian Longyong responded with a cold laugh.
“Now, a great demon like Taira no Masakado is slowly infiltrating the entire Tokyo. As an exorcist, I can’t just sit here any longer, or I’ll probably not even be worthy of being called a human being.”
Such sarcasm was clearly aimed at all the exorcists who were still observing.
The old man was immediately annoyed and sneered, "Is that so? You think you can fight Taira no Masakado?"
A few snickers came from the coffee shop. The exorcists present had gathered today for this very reason, but after discussing it for a long time until dark, no one dared to take the lead.
After all, here, only those of high moral standing and great prestige can make such a call to action.
Ryuuichi Shinzen simply raised his head.
"You all know about the previous incident involving the Bone Tengu, right? That incident of the evil spirit descending and disturbing the heavens is regarded by you as one of the signs of the beginning of a new era."
The surrounding noise suddenly subsided. Anyone present who was in Tokyo at that time knew about this incident.
Some people suddenly remembered that both the old man and Ryuichi Kamizen were eyewitnesses to that incident.
"Mr. Shinzen, you're not suggesting that the Bone Tengu might want to start a war with Taira no Masakado, are you?" someone whispered from the shadows.
Ryuichi Kamiyama shook his head.
"Do not."
Some people's hopes, which had just been rekindled, were extinguished again, and Ryuuichi Shinzen could clearly sense this.
But then he changed the subject: "However, you must have all heard of Mr. Ren."