Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 340, Winter Test of Courage?
The mountains of Gunma Prefecture appeared particularly oppressive under the leaden sky. The coniferous forests, weighed down by snow, displayed a heavy, dark green and pale white. The dead deciduous trees were reduced to bare, twisted black branches, like countless ghostly claws reaching towards the sky. A deathly cold permeated the forest, and even the sound of the wind seemed frozen.

Passing through a sparse, withered forest, the entrance to Kurosawa Shrine suddenly appeared before me—or rather, I could barely make it out. The massive torii gate, which should have been vermilion, was now only a mottled dark red and the natural color of the decaying wood. Large patches of paint had peeled off, revealing the grayish-black wood beneath. Snow piled up on the beams and pillars of the torii gate, like a dirty shroud covering them. At the base of the torii gate's pillars, the snow melted and then froze, forming a murky shell of ice.

There should have been no one here, but Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai saw an SUV parked not far from the torii gate.

This was a very strange situation. Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai exchanged a glance and immediately dropped their relaxed and playful expressions.

It's an entrenching tool.

Uesugi Muneyuki frowned and gestured to Mai-senpai to pay attention to the entrenching tool hanging on the back of the off-road vehicle. Naturally, the entrenching tool could be used for many tasks and could be very effective during field activities.

However, entrenching tools are not only used for civil engineering work; they can sometimes also be used to shovel... people.

Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai both appeared very patient. Their main purpose in coming here was to retrieve the Vajra Dharma lineage from Kurosawa Shrine. Although neither Vajra Abstinence nor Vajra Severance was a suitable method for Uesugi Muneyuki to practice, something was better than nothing. Moreover, the content that Kurosawa had previously inherited was incomplete, so there might be other lineages.

Mai Shirakawa also wanted to see what was inside the Kurosawa Shrine. Because the previous generation of fighting in the Kanto underworld was similar to the fighting between the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect of Mount Hua, most of the strong people in the underworld died. Mai-senpai also killed her master. Therefore, she herself did not know everything about the underworld. Perhaps Kurosawa's master left something behind in the shrine.

But why are people here now?
Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai were still observing when two men and two women suddenly appeared nearby. All four of them were probably under thirty years old, but Gunma in January was very cold, and all four of them were dressed in thick clothes and wearing masks, so it was not easy to judge their exact age.

"Huh? We actually run into people in a place like this!" The leader was enthusiastic, his voice strong and reliable. He approached Uesugi Muneyuki eagerly, wanting to greet him: "Who are you? Why are you back in a place like this?... Wait, wait, wait?! Isn't this Uesugi Forensic Officer and Mai-sama?! ...

When Uesugi Muneyuki realized that the other person had recognized him, he narrowed his eyes slightly and exchanged a glance with Mai-senpai, deciding to go with the flow: "May I ask who you are?"

"Ah, I'm sorry I didn't introduce ourselves. We are students from Toyo University. My name is Kenta Takahashi, this is Misaki Nakamura, Kosuke Sato, and Ayako Kobayashi. We are all students who stayed on campus far from home, so we didn't go home for the New Year. We heard there were abandoned villages here, so we came here to play a test of courage!"

The university student leader tried to smile despite the freezing weather, and it was clear he was shivering.

Uesugi Muneyuki then looked at the remaining three people.

The woman named Misaki Nakamura was tall and slender, wrapped in a fashionable but obviously not warm down jacket, and complained about the cold.

Kosuke Sato, wearing a thick windbreaker, looked like a small mountain, carrying most of the shared equipment, and grinned with a seemingly honest expression.

Ayako Kobayashi is petite, just like Mikoto, probably less than 155cm tall. She has sweet eyes and wears fluffy earmuffs, making her look very harmless.

"Why would Toyo University come to Gunma?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked half-jokingly. "And why test your courage in winter? Aren't they all summer courage contests?"

"You idiot, Uesugi! Toyo University has a campus here in Gunma Prefecture!" Mai-senpai slapped Uesugi Muneyuki on the shoulder and then gestured, "So how did you guys even know about this place?"

Toyo University is one of the better private universities in Japan, and some of its campuses are indeed located in Gunma Prefecture, a fact that Uesugi Muneyuki was unaware of.

“Yes, Mai-sama is right. We are undergraduates from the Department of Life Sciences at Toyo University. Because we live far from home, we didn’t go back for the New Year. So we decided to come out for a test of courage. We found out that there used to be a village here, but it was abandoned. We wanted to see what the village looked like in the early 1970s and 1980s.”

The two male college students also saw Mai-senpai, the national goddess. At that moment, Mai-senpai was enveloped in a halo of light reflected from the snow, truly a muse descended from the mountains, so radiant that it was impossible to look directly at her. They subconsciously looked away, their faces flushed. Takahashi, who was in the lead, scratched his head awkwardly and asked, "Um, may I ask why Uesugi-san and Mai-sama are together?"

“Oh, I came here with Mai-sama for an inspection. Did you forget? Mai-sama is the head of the Kanto Shrine Alliance, but nowadays, many famous shrines have been abandoned. She is currently reconsidering whether to rebuild a part of them, so we came here today to inspect the Kurosawa Shrine. It really looks like it has been abandoned for a long time!” Uesugi Muneyuki nodded and said.

"As expected of Uesugi-san and Mai-sama, famous people really do think differently from us," Takahashi said in a low voice.

"Uesugi-san, I really like you, I've always been your fan!" The female college student Nakamura suddenly said, "Could you give me your autograph later?"

"Me too~" "Me too!" The other two, Sato and Kobayashi, chimed in, their eyes shining with excitement. One of them was scrutinizing Shirakawa Mai's down jacket and Uesugi Muneyuki's pants, while the other was scanning the surroundings, seemingly trying to figure out how they got there.

"Well... let's forget about it for now. This is a private event for us," Uesugi Muneyuki declined.

"Then, shall we take a tour together?" Kenta Takahashi asked. Muneyuki Uesugi thought for a moment and nodded, "Sure."

Thus, the group of six was formed, and under Takahashi's leadership, they officially entered Kurosawa Shrine.

Passing through the dilapidated torii gates, standing on the snow-covered, muddy, and desolate approach, facing the main building of Kurosawa Shrine, which resembles a haunted house in the twilight. A cold wind whistles through, carrying the remaining snow.

Looking at the gloomy and dilapidated shrine in front of me, all I could hear was the howling of the cold wind and the sound of dripping water; the atmosphere plummeted to below freezing.

The dripping sound inside the shrine was particularly unusual. Gunma Prefecture is below freezing in January, so where did the dripping sound come from?

Takahashi rubbed his hands together, his smile a little stiff: "Wow... the photos online are amazing enough, but the real thing is even more... uh... stunning! Right, Uesugi-san? You're of Chinese descent, this place... from a professional perspective, isn't it ancient enough?"

Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "Hmm... Judging from the style of the torii gate and the remaining carvings on the brackets, it does belong to the style of the mid-to-late Edo period. However, Takahashi-san, the word 'shocking'... is very apt. This level of decay and... 'unrestored' is also... um... a very rare case academically."

Misaki Nakamura stomped her feet dramatically and said in a shrill voice, "It's so cold! It's freezing! This place is a hundred times worse than it looks in the photos! Kenta, are you sure this place is 'testing our courage'? I think we'll freeze into ice sculptures even without ghosts appearing! Ah, Mai-sama, is your shrine this cold in winter too?"

Mai Shirakawa flinched slightly, taking a half-step closer to Muneyuki Uesugi, her voice trembling with a forced bravery: "My shrine is... in Tokyo, it's not... not this tall... and not this... old. This place... feels... different, it seems... unusually quiet?"

"The dripping sound seems to be coming from here. Let's go take a look," Sato said in a low voice from behind. He was carrying a lot of things and quietly lagged behind at the back.

Finally, the petite Kobayashi chuckled softly, her voice as gentle as a feather, but her eyes never left Mai-senpai: "Kosuke-kun, really, you're always so strong. Mai-sama, don't be afraid, it's better to be quiet. By the way, Mai-san, as the head shrine maiden, where do you think we should start 'testing our courage'? Should we... do a simple exorcism ritual first? I'm really interested in these traditional things!"

"An exorcism ritual?" Shirakawa Mai seemed a little confused.

"It's the one you did for Fuji TV!" Takahashi asked casually, "The one that suppressed former news anchor Mariko Hironaka! Mai-sama, didn't you do that?"

"Oh dear, that stuff is all a hoax. Surely no one really believes that an exorcism ritual can subdue a vengeful spirit? Besides, what era are we living in? Who still believes in ghosts and monsters these days?" Uesugi Muneyuki answered the question for Mai-senpai, casually saying, "It's just for peace of mind."

"It's just a matter of sprinkling water, chanting incantations, and drawing some talismans to stick on," Senior Mai chimed in. "What's so strange about that?"

"I see, that's good, that's good." Takahashi nodded. "Then shall we go... to see the Lord?"

"The dripping sound seems to be coming from there."

Tick ​​tock~tick tock~
An eerie dripping sound emanated from somewhere deep within the main hall, drawing attention.

Uesugi Muneyuki had a vague sense of unease.

Because his diatomite shone.

But the light emanating from the Azure Stone this time was different from all the previous lights. In the past, the Soul Contract would have shone with a blue light, but this time, the Azure Stone shone with a blood-red light.

What's inside? Why is the light different this time?
So neither Uesugi Muneyuki nor Shirakawa Mai stepped into the main hall first. Instead, they stood at the entrance of the main hall, hesitant and unsure whether they should go in.

Upon seeing this, Takahashi made a decisive move and pulled down the shimenawa rope in the shrine!
Space is distorted, and the other world descends!

The moment the shimenawa rope was pulled down, a torrential downpour began!

This is the source of the sound of water!

(End of this chapter)