Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 244 The Curse of the Evil Spirit

The car was driving through the mountains and forests, its high beams breaking through the darkness, and the road was so quiet that only the sound of the wheels could be heard.

"Well, I heard... there are rumors that Princess Kiko's residence is a haunted house..."

Yuan Yuzi felt a little embarrassed to speak. It seemed that the independent investigation of a case by a criminal police was different from the on-the-spot patrol by a patrol policeman, and the questions asked were rather sharp and harsh.

Ono Xuan was a little surprised. She tilted her head to look at Yuan Yuzi and asked, "Aren't you a detective from the Chiyoda District Police Station?"

Yuan Yuzi waved her hands repeatedly: "I am not, I am a detective in Toshima District."

"Eh...why do the detectives from Toshima Ward come here to investigate the case?" Ono Ken frowned, his expression becoming vaguely tense.

"I'm either here to investigate a case, or... or..."

Yuan Yuzi didn't know what to say, she was not good at lying. Yazaki Momo participated in the spiritual ceremony in the name of tracking the report, she couldn't sell Yazaki Momo out, could she?
After a long pause, Yuan Yuzi could only bite the bullet and come up with a ridiculous excuse: "It's just that I personally... prefer supernatural legends and the like..."

"Oh!" Ono Ken suddenly realized: "Are you a fan of Mrs. Onoue?"

"Yes, it is."

Gen Tamako would blush when she lied, but the light in the car was dim and Ono Ken probably couldn't see clearly.

"I see," Ono Ken said without a doubt, steering the wheel, "I didn't expect that the bad reputation of Wulin'an has spread to Toshima District."

"Wulinan?" Yuan Yuzi captured the key information.

“That’s the name of this villa.”

Ono Ken paused and explained, "It's a century-old house. Prince Akishino liked the quietness of this place, so he spent a lot of money to buy it."

Yuan Yuzi quickly took out a small notebook, leaned over and carefully recorded the questions, and asked repeatedly: "Well, is this really a haunted house? Are the rumors about the earthbound spirits true? Did Akishino Mako really die from an evil spirit?"

She really acts like a paranormal enthusiast.

Xiao Yexuan didn't think much about it and asked, "What kind of rumors did you hear?"

"I, I didn't actually find out anything specific..." Yuan Yuzi felt a little guilty.

"Hey, the locals have already spread the news! Just ask any old man and you'll get a rough idea."

Ono Xuan thought that being young was a good thing, because he was so impulsive that he dared to knock on the door of the haunted house, even disregarding the identity of the owner.

Seeing Yuan Yuzi's bewildered face, she patiently explained, "Legend has it that Wulin Temple was once a hermitage for monks. Some say he was a monk, and some say he was an onmyoji, but no one is sure. No one knows the name and identity of the first owner."

"Long ago, the elders of Chiyoda often said that there was a small house in the mountains, where yin and yang met. When lost travelers entered the house, they would see their dead friends... The deeper the bond, the stronger the feelings, the clearer the appearance of the ghost."

"If a traveler becomes obsessed with talking to the ghost, he will be trapped in the hut forever, unable to leave."

"Later, somehow, this legend was inexplicably attributed to Wulin Temple, and people began to spread the word that Wulin Temple was the hidden hut of the gods in the mountains..."

"They also said that it is home to the lost souls of travelers and evil spirits trying to return to the living world." "Those souls and evil spirits will haunt the living and leave a special mark on them, which is the 'Curse of the God'... In this way, no matter where the cursed person hides, they will eventually return to Wulinan and die in Wulinan."

Yuan Yuzi wrote quickly, recording the whole thing. After hearing this, she had some guesses in her mind and couldn't help asking, "What does the 'cursed mark' look like?"

Logically, such a specious rumor would not have any specific image. But Ono Xuan could describe it accurately. She said, "It's black, like a ghost's claw, about the size of an adult's palm."

Gen Yuzi frowned and asked, "Could it be that... Miss Akishino has a 'cursed mark' on her body, so others think she was killed by an evil spirit?"

Ono no Xuan nodded, said "hmm", and sighed, looking like he had been touched on something sad.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "The police said that the scar was not a curse, but a scratch and bruise from when Miss Akishino fell from the building... But I think this explanation is too far-fetched."

"Why do you think so?" asked Yuan Yuzi.

"If you saw the mark, you would also think it was no coincidence. The mark is really... I don't know how to describe it."

Ono Ken sighed again: "Because of this incident, the locals think it is unlucky, and even doctors are unwilling to visit. You may not know that the people in Chiyoda are conservative and superstitious... It has been a long time since the locals took the initiative to visit."

Yuan Yuzi quickly said a few words of comfort, and then asked: "Can I ask you to help me copy the curse mark later?"

Ono Ken agreed immediately.

The two chatted about some things about Akishino Mako. Gen Tamako mentioned the rumors that Miss Akishino was delirious and saw ghosts, and wanted to know whether this was true.

"It's true." Ono Xuan said with certainty.

She once caught Miss Akishino mumbling to herself in an empty room. Afterwards, she asked who she was talking to, and she insisted that it was her deceased father who was talking to her.

From then on, Miss Akishino frequently saw ghosts and screamed in fear from time to time. Her body became increasingly weak, and she often caught colds, had fevers, and suddenly fainted.

Princess Kiko loved her daughter dearly and stayed by her side all the time, and hired a private doctor to treat her daughter...but Miss Akishino's condition did not improve.

Minamoto Tamako also knew what happened afterwards - Akishino Mako committed suicide by jumping off a building in the middle of the night, and a curse mark appeared on her body; Princess Kiko wanted to see her daughter again, so she spent a large sum of money to hire a psychic, Onoue Sumire, to try to hold a spiritual ceremony at home.

As they chatted, the car drove to the foot of the mountain and Yuan Yuzi got off near the tram station. She bowed to express her gratitude to Ono Ken and took out a small notebook to ask Ono Ken to help her copy.

"Hmm... maybe that's the case. My drawing skills may not be that good..."

Ono Ken sat in the driver's seat, scribbling on the paper with a water-based pen. Yuan Yuzi leaned over to watch, and saw a twisted claw mark gradually appearing on the paper, dark, messy, and hideous.

Just as Ono Ken said, it didn't look like a naturally formed scratch or bruise, but rather like some kind of strange totem, with an evil connotation.

This was a key clue, and Yuan Yuzi carefully kept it. Ono Xuan waved goodbye, rolled up the window, and drove to the mall to make some purchases.

"Strange, why does this brand look familiar..."

Yuan Yuzi bought a ticket and took the tram. On the way home, she kept staring at the picture and wondering where this strange brand came from.

(End of this chapter)