Seki Naoya and Ikegami Kazuki shuddered.
They inexplicably felt the air around them grow colder.
A chilly atmosphere spread all around.
Beichuan Si finally aligned completely with the mirror.
Within the mirror—
Beichuan Si was coldly watching the outside of himself.
The air seed to return to silence, and the eerie atmosphere receded like the tide.
Beichuan Si’s eyes were shrouded with a deathly aura, he saw no resentnts.
It seed as though the apartnt was just an ordinary abandoned apartnt.
"Having been burnt once, are you unwilling to be fooled again?"
Beichuan Si stood up from the ground, feeling little surprise.
The contrast was striking.
Although they failed to enter the spiritual realm this ti, it indirectly indicated that whatever dwelled within was still afraid of him, otherwise it wouldn’t have avoided him.
Plus, there might be a limit to how many living beings the spiritual realm could accommodate at one ti.
Beichuan Si silently pondered various possibilities, ignoring Seki Naoya and Ikegami Kazuki for the mont.
On the other side, Seki Naoya and Ikegami Kazuki huddled together for warmth.
...
Their entry into the spiritual realm had failed.
This was not beyond Beichuan Si’s expectation.
After all, not everything could go smoothly.
Such minor interruptions during investigations were quite normal.
But how could he investigate what had happened in Nakanojou Town if he couldn’t enter the spiritual realm?
Beichuan Si thought of a person.
That person... could certainly provide so answers or inspiration.
Thinking this, Beichuan Si stopped in his tracks, looking at the building in front of him.
It was an izakaya with dark blue cloth curtains, spirited with little red lanterns hanging outside, giving off a lively vibe.
Without a word, Beichuan Si slipped through the curtains and entered the izakaya.
The izakaya was not much different from most others.
Starting from Beichuan Si, a paulownia wood hallway stretched forward, with a middle-aged chef in black cookwear busy at the counter.
On both sides of the paulownia wood hallway were well-arranged tatami mats. Small tables were placed on the tatami mats, and guests sat on mats divided by low partitions.
Colorful papers and nu items were also posted on these walls.
Several servers dressed in dark blue work clothes were bustling about delivering dishes and clearing plates, extrely busy at the mont.
At 8 or 9 PM, it was the peak period of custor flow.
Living in the big city of Tokyo, people accumulated various kinds of stress, so naturally, many chose to drink to relieve their pressure.
This was not Beichuan Si’s first ti at an izakaya, but he had never seen it as bustling as it was now.
The person he was looking for—
"Beichuan."
Gangye Yoshiko, sitting in a corner, waved him over.
Truth be told, it was rare for a single woman like her to co to an izakaya, and being a beauty, Gangye Yoshiko probably received a lot of attempts at conversation on such evenings.
In front of Gangye Yoshiko was a small round table with a bottle of sake and small sake cups beside it.
Aside from drinking, there were so grilled chicken skewers in front of her, presumably as snacks to accompany the drinks.
Beichuan Si sat down, setting his backpack aside.
"Just spit it out already," Gangye Yoshiko said as she picked up a chicken skewer, eating while talking, "don’t interrupt my drinking."
For this woman, it seed impossible for her to quit smoking and drinking.
Beichuan Si didn’t try to criticize her hobbies; he asked directly,
"I wanted to ask, Liangzi, has there been any strange cases happening in Nakanojou Town?"
"Nakanojou Town...? Gunma Prefecture’s Nakanojou Town, huh..."
Gangye Yoshiko took a sip of her drink, and though the sake didn’t make her tipsy, her eyes sparkled more intensely. "If you’re asking about that, I can only tell you I don’t know. After all, Gunma Prefecture’s Nakanojou Town isn’t under my jurisdiction..."
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Beichuan Si stood up and picked up his backpack. "Then I’ll take my leave."
Huh?!!!
Gangye Yoshiko’s mouth fell open, then she cursed both annoyed and amused, "You damn rabbit-hunter! I wasn’t done talking!"
"You said it wasn’t under your jurisdiction, and you’re not clear about the specifics there."
Beichuan Si logically retorted.
"That’s what I said." Gangye Yoshiko pursed her lips, finished her drink in one last gulp, and still feeling a bit miffed, continued, "Although I’m not very clear, I do have a senior acquaintance in Gunma! And even if I didn’t have a senior, I could still check the archives. Does that answer satisfy you?"
Beichuan Si sat back down.
His attitude made Gangye Yoshiko grind her teeth, wanting to fire back at him, but rembering his usual kindness, she swallowed her complaints.
"Anyway, let ask for you first. Does that ’strange case’ you ntioned have any specific details?" Gangye Yoshiko threw a couple of breath mints into her mouth, chewing as she asked.
"It’s a family annihilation that happened in an apartnt," Beichuan Si said.
"A family annihilation in an apartnt..." Gangye Yoshiko took out her phone and scrolled to a contact.
"Hello? Is this Asuka-senpai? Ah...yeah...haha, it’s been a while since I called to check in."
Gangye Yoshiko started her chit-chat smoothly, and when the conversation was ripe, she finally asked, "So, were there any strange cases in Nakanojou Town? Uh... specifically, a family annihilation that happened in an apartnt."
"Uh-huh, thank you so much—haha, next ti I’ll co have a drink with you."
After a couple more laughs, Gangye Yoshiko ended the call.
She spat the gum into a napkin, grabbed another chicken skewer and said, "I’ve taken care of the matter for you, but Beichuan, why are you suddenly interested in these kinds of things?"
Gangye Yoshiko knew exactly how Beichuan Si was. If it wasn’t sothing involving a supernatural event, he generally wouldn’t co to her on his own.
"There’s a popular supernatural horror ga recently, it’s called ’Mirror Apartnt’..."
Facing Gangye Yoshiko, Beichuan Si had no intention of hiding anything, after all, she was in the sa boat as him. Hiding things from her wasn’t beneficial.
"Furthermore, as of yesterday, four people have disappeared mysteriously, and I fear the number of missing persons will only increase."
"...Did sothing like that actually happen?"
Gangye Yoshiko was taken aback. She swiftly finished her skewers and made another phone call.
The gist was to block the channels through which the ghost story ga ’Mirror Apartnt’ was spreading online and clean up all the posts on the internet.
After hanging up the call, Beichuan Si asked with concern, "Is that okay?"
"What do you an ’is that okay’?" Gangye Yoshiko wiped her mouth.
"To mobilize resources just like this, is that okay?"
"Hmph! This is trusting you!"
Gangye Yoshiko pouted, "You might co off as arrogant and not listen to your elders but having worked together so many tis, I’ve figured out your style."
Indeed, although Beichuan Si could be difficult, deep down he was a pretty decent young man. Gangye Yoshiko liked his quiet, action-oriented nature though she wouldn’t say it out loud. Her indirect way of expressing it was set just right.
"Alright." Beichuan Si adjusted his backpack’s strap, "If there’s any news tomorrow, I’ll still co to you."
"... Fine, you high schooler better hurry ho and sleep; I’ll notify you when there’s news."
Gangye Yoshiko waved her hand, amused.
The understanding between the two—
Needed no words.
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