Becoming A Monk In Tokyo - Chapter 59

Baishi Shū did not feel relieved after eliminating the four-faced yokai’s organization.

The reason was simple. The tiger yokai was not the true perpetrator but rather just another chess piece on the chessboard. The king was still on the run, ready to jeopardize the living and turning people into the soul orb. Just like the old abbot suspected, there was something fishy behind the series of unfortunate events that had befallen Reimei Temple. According to the old abbot’s speculation, he felt it was impossible for Tong Ling to turn into a yokai and find a way to craft the soul orb in one night. Somebody must have triggered the transformation, and it was that person who gave Tong Ling the formula to craft the soul orb.

After he finished chanting the Rebirth Sutra onto the souls and the yokais, he lingered around. Although he wished to return to the temple right now and make up for the morning service that he had missed today, his job had not yet finished.

The fact that the tiger yokai and its organization was audacious enough to set up their base in a residential area proved that they must have cast an illusion spell on the residents and the police, causing them to think that it was a normal family living in this house. There was also the chance that they owned the title deed for this house as well, so legally, the house belonged to them.

Even though Baishi Shū had a good reason to barge into this house, the police and the residents in Setagaya City did not know that. All they knew was that a commotion broke out in this house and then all the residents in the house were gone.

As such, the last thing he wanted was to become a murderer and a wanted criminal on the tv by the time he returned to Reimei Temple. Fortunately, he had just got acquainted with an inspector recently. Otherwise, there was no way he could explain himself.

Since he did not bring along his phone, he found a telephone booth and made a call to Inspector Aoki.

Although he did not have the address book with him, it was a piece of cake for him to recall a series of digits.

…

Seven O’clock in the morning, Setagaya City Police Station.

A monk holding a staff and a yawning man with two black circles around his eyes walked out of the entrance. As they paced down the stairs, Baishi Shū thanked Inspector Aoki sincerely, “Thank you for your help, Inspector Aoki.”

“That is not necessary, Master Baishi. You went around Tokyo at midnight to vanquish the source of evil. We are the ones who should be thankful for what you did,” Inspector Aoki replied with a smile.

“Don’t worry, Master Baishi, the video footage of the surveillance camera we found in the computer, as well as the heap of human bones in the underground basement, are more than enough to prove your innocence. It’s just that we might need you to come over here again to give a statement…”

“Alright. Just give me a call when you guys need me,” Baishi Shū nodded.

Truth be told, he did not expect that the yokai would install surveillance cameras inside the house.

‘Who are they monitoring, though? The tiger yokai?’

In any case, the yokai’s actions had saved him the time it would have taken to explain himself. With that thought in mind, he turned and looked at Inspector Aoki. It was four am and Inspector Aoki seemed to be seriously lacking sleep. He was yawning all the time and there were two black circles around his eyes. Suddenly, a thought surfaced in Baishi Shu’s mind and he said, “Inspector Aoki, are you not sleeping well lately?”

“Ah? Yeah… Master Baishi, you still remember the clairvoyance talisman that you gave to me last time? The effect is still strong, so I have been seeing yin energy lately. I can’t sleep well due to this, and even if I sleep for a long time, I still feel very tired…”

Inspector Aoki smiled bitterly, then waved his hand, “Don’t get me wrong, Master Baishi, I am not blaming you at all. In fact, I have to thank you instead! If it wasn’t for this clairvoyance talisman, I would have been pulled into the wall by that yokai along with my coworkers when I was working at Nakano City police station yesterday morning. Then, everything would be over!”

“…”

‘The clairvoyance talisman?’

Baishi Shū fell silent.

Right now, he finally saw the light as to why his Clairvoyance Talisman would last for so long. In the past, he had used the Divine Eye to observe Asada Senna’s talismans. He had realized that her talismans did not contain much spiritual power and he thought it was because she had a low reserve of spiritual power. Looking at her consumption rate, she needed to craft a lot of talisman papers in one go, which was why her talisman papers were lower in quality and their effects were not as great.

However, it was only now that he realized he had blamed the miko wrongly.

“Anyway, it is my fault. How about this? Please drop by Reimei Temple whenever you’re free. I have something for you. It is a pillow,” Baishi Shū said, offering Inspector Aoki a warm grin.

“A pillow? For me?” Inspector Aoki parroted.

‘Why does Master Baishi want to give me a pillow? Will a monk’s pillow help me sleep better?’

Although his heart was filled with many questions, the respect he had for Baishi Shū compelled him to nod.

After all, Master Baishi was a true holy monk.

In fact, all the policemen were dumbstruck when they watched the video footage from the surveillance camera.

They had never seen such a huge tiger before, let alone a tiger yokai. It was enveloped in a dark cloud of yokai power and its entire body was covered in rippling muscles. Its tail was long, thick, and destructive. With one mighty sweep, it caused serious damage and left nothing but wreckage in its wake.

None of the police officers would have had the confidence to take down such a massive creature, even if they were armed. However, the powerful creature was reduced to smithereens by Master Baishi in just one hit.

‘What the hell is that skill?’

Only Inspector Aoki knew what had happened, while the other police officers could only watch in awe. None of them could see what Baishi Shū had done since the surveillance camera was not able to record his Buddha Blessing Palm. All they knew was that Master Baishi had defeated the tiger monster in one shot. As such, they treated Baishi Shū respectfully when he came into the police station.

After that, Baishi Shū bade Inspector Aoki goodbye and boarded the monorail to rush to Hoshino Riho’s house.

Even though Hoshino Riho was a good yokai, she was still a yokai artificially transformed through the use of the soul orb. Baishi Shū didn’t dare to let her stay in her house for too long, for he feared that she might get overwhelmed by her hatred and resentment and kill all her family members. At that time, there would be nothing he could do other than exorcise her on the spot.

The reason he asked her to say goodbye to her family was that he planned to bring her back to Reimei Temple. He wanted to cleanse her of her hatred and calm her heart with the help of Buddhist scripture. It would be easier to experiment with her as well.

His worries were uncalled for. Hoshino Riho did not run away, squatting obediently outside of her house. She used her yokai power and hid as she walked near the passing pedestrians.

The moment he saw her, a smile broke across his face.

“I am back.”

As if she had heard something scary, Hoshino Riho trembled.

“Erm… Master Shinsei, I have a small request…”

“Hmm? Fire it off,” Baishi Shū replied warmly.

“Can you be gentle when you are experimenting on me? I am afraid of pain…”