Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 595 Prisoner
The other person looked completely bewildered.

Zhou You didn't intend to explain anything to him. Following that vague feeling, he found a direction and slowly walked towards it.

After hesitating for a long time, looking at the corpses scattered all around and then at the surrounding mist, he gritted his teeth and finally followed.

Zhou You ignored him, and the two walked one after the other through the gray and misty Yellow Springs.

The surroundings remained unchanged, the whole world seemed gray and hazy, and as far as the eye could see, there was only the same unchanging scenery—pavilions and towers in Han lands, but here they had become shrines and torii gates.

In the end, however, they are all just ruins.

In this oppressive atmosphere, one could easily become lost in it if one wasn't careful. After walking for a long time, Shinichi Domoto finally couldn't help but ask.

"that."

Zhou You continued on his way without stopping, and casually replied.

"what happened?"

Shinichi Domoto hesitated for a long time before answering.

"Um... Miss Aida Maki, and the head monk of Ryoan-ji Temple, you really didn't kill them?"

Zhou You answered with great confidence and conviction.

"I already told you I was framed. If I had killed him, do you think I would still be letting you stand there unharmed?"

"Then why are you there?"

"I'm too lazy to explain anything too complicated. Just think of me as someone who went to the wrong place and ended up there by accident."

"."

Shinichi Domoto fell silent.

This sounded like he was trying to fool people, but he couldn't produce any evidence, so he could only ask again.

"In that case, may I ask what your name is?"

"Moori Kogoro."

".What?"

"Moori Kogoro."

Shinichi Domoto fell silent once again.

However, he has one redeeming quality: he is exceptionally persistent, or perhaps even stubborn. So, unwilling to admit defeat, he continued.

"I know you don't want to reveal your real name, but if the department wants to clear your name, we need your identification information. To clear up the misunderstanding, we hope you can cooperate."

Zhou You rolled his eyes dramatically in front of him.

I can run away anytime I want. Right now, I'm just unable to swallow this anger and I'm being asked by Hu Shuang. After I take down this cult, I'll go straight back to my hometown. You guys have the guts to hunt me down across borders.

But as mentioned earlier, he found even arguing too troublesome, so when faced with Shinichi Domoto's incessant questioning, he could only sigh and give a vague answer.

"If Kogoro Mouri doesn't work, how about Kindaichi? Still no good? Then how about Edward James Kenway? You probably can't accept that either. So... never mind, just call me Tai Xuan Fu Mo Xian Sheng Zhen Jun."

Domoto Shinichi was stunned for a moment, then his face instantly turned bright red.

"Sir, I'm not joking with you. I'm sincerely advising you. This so-called 'Tai Xuan Fu Mo Xian Sheng Zhen Jun' (太玄伏魔显圣真君)... Let me tell you, I studied in China after all. This is clearly a divine name, not something a mortal should adopt—"

But before he could finish speaking, the man suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The movement was so sudden that Domoto Shin kept bumping his back and almost fell backward.

"Sir, what is this?"

Zhou You didn't speak; he simply closed his eyes and listened intently to the increasingly intense whispers.

Then, he took a deep breath, squatted down, and assumed a boxing stance.

His demeanor was somewhat awkward, yet for some reason, the usually talkative Shinichi Domoto felt a strange pressure from it and involuntarily shut his mouth.

Then, Zhou You uttered two words.

“Chen Yuan”.

Before the fist was even thrown, the hazy mist seemed to bear an immense weight, instantly being suppressed and then dissipating.

Upon closer inspection, a similarly dilapidated but barely intact building appeared out of nowhere.

Shinichi Domoto just watched, then murmured in disbelief.

"The shrine's main hall at Fushimi Inari Shrine? Wasn't that place destroyed by evil spirits centuries ago? I've only ever seen it mentioned in the records of the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin and Yang), how did it end up here?"

Zhou You, also gazing up at the vermilion building, casually replied.

"The Yin Road. Oh no, according to you, it should be the Place of Eternal Demise—this place was originally the place of the extinction and reincarnation of all existence. Now that the reincarnation function is incomplete, extinction has taken the lead in some of the destroyed and ruined things in the present world. You can always see reflections of the original here—by the way, according to the records you know, what is this place used for?"

"Offering sacrifices to the ancestral spirits... etc., could it be..."

As if suddenly remembering something, Shinichi Domoto's face suddenly showed a look of horror.

Instead, Zhou You nodded knowingly.

"I see. It seems that after this place sank into the Yin Road, it was seized by the Yellow Springs Cult and turned into their own territory."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing his explanation, Shinichi Domoto not only did not feel relieved, but his expression of shock intensified.

"The department has never paid much attention to this sect because they don't have their own place of worship, so no matter how much trouble they cause, they can't really make a fuss. But, but..."

He stammered for a long time before finally piecing together a complete sentence.

"Who would have thought they would actually occupy this place and then use the incense from the Inari god to worship their own shrine? It's over, it's really over, this is a huge problem—I have to notify the higher-ups immediately and have them bring people to suppress them."

"—You don't need to inform them anymore. If I'm not mistaken, it's too late for anything you say now."

After saying something casually, Zhou You walked forward and placed his hand on the gate of the shrine.

Seeing his actions, Shinichi Domoto recovered somewhat from his shock and quickly called out.

"Your Excellency, this door clearly bears the personal blessing of their deity. To pass through safely, several high-ranking monks must chant scriptures together for several days and nights to break the curse. Your reckless actions will only..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou You had already taken a step back.

He assumed a boxing stance again, and this time, his fist finally came out.

With a loud 'boom,' the door that emitted an eerie and malevolent light shattered into a pile of trash.

Only then did he turn his head and ask.

"Excuse me, I didn't hear you clearly. What did you just say?"

Domoto Shinichi stared dumbfounded at the shards scattered all over the ground, and after a long while, he finally uttered a few words.

"No, it's nothing, please feel free to do as you please."

Zhou You shook his head, then slowly walked inside.

At first glance, this place is very similar to the second floor of the governor's house, with those faceless statues placed everywhere, densely occupying most of the space. Combined with the dim candlelight, it makes people feel scared from the bottom of their hearts.

Shinichi Domoto followed cautiously behind, his fingers forming a hand seal, seemingly ready to act at any moment—but when they actually entered the room, he was taken aback.

"Wait a minute, this is clearly his family's shrine, but why can't we see a single person here?"

Zhou You squatted on the ground, picked up some black dust with his fingers, and sniffed it. Then he shook his head and said...

"It was there not long ago, but it's gone now."

"Gone? I remember this cult had quite a few members, where did all of them go?"

"Zhouyou" refers to the ground.

Shinichi Domoto looked over as well—but all he could see was black ash covering the ground.

At first, he looked quite confused—but soon he realized what Zhou You meant and suddenly looked up.

Zhou You then offered his explanation.

"Most of the followers you mentioned—at least the core followers—are here now."

Who did it?

"Who else could it be? The God of the Underworld, of course."

The conversation paused for a few seconds, and then Shinichi Domoto suddenly raised his voice.

"--Why!!!!"

"Why? Naturally, it's unnecessary." Zhou You looked at the statues of gods slicing noodles around him, his expression meaningful. "The preliminary work has been done, what's the point of keeping this little bit of hard labor? We might as well eat it; it'll replenish our strength a bit."

Shinichi Domoto clearly didn't understand what was going on, so he shook his head and continued walking inside.

The laws of reality do not apply in the underworld. This space is significantly larger than the outside. As the two went deeper, the view inside gradually became darker. However, unlike the rotten smell of the main room, the air became fresher the further they went in, and there was even the fragrance of plants.

When you finally reach the end, another large door blocks your way.

This time, Zhou You didn't even throw a punch; he simply cleaved the evil blade in two.

Then, a dimly lit dungeon appeared before them.

Zhou You was fine, but Domoto Makoto, who was standing next to him, was momentarily stunned.

It's not that there were any cruel scenes in the dungeon; on the contrary, the place was very spacious, with no torture instruments or iron cages in the huge rooms—what stunned him was something else.

Several thick iron chains hung down from the ceiling, suspending a young girl in mid-air.

The girl was dressed in a simple red and white shrine maiden robe, which could not conceal her beautiful figure. Her black hair reached her waist, and her exposed skin was as white as snow. She wore a fox mask on her face. Although her face could not be seen, for some reason, she gave people a feeling that came from nowhere.

This girl must be an absolute beauty.

Upon seeing the two enter, the girl who was suspended in mid-air suddenly raised her fair neck and cast her gaze over—she merely glanced at Shinichi Domoto before fixing her gaze on Zhou You's face.

"You came?"

Her voice was clear and melodious, like a mountain spring flowing.

Zhou You picked at his ear and said casually.

"You've been whispering in my ear the whole time, haven't you? By the way, who are you, and how did you end up being imprisoned here?"

The girl didn't rush to answer, but instead looked Zhou You up and down, and then suddenly laughed.

—Although she was wearing a fox mask, everyone could tell that she was clearly smiling.

"Indeed, they hid this place far too well. Without someone pointing it out, it would be very difficult to find. As for my identity..."

"You can call me Masaki Asakura. I was once a shrine maiden who served the gods at a grand shrine, but now I am nothing more than a pathetic prisoner."

The scene fell silent immediately.

Two or three minutes later, Shinichi Domoto murmured in disbelief.

"Masaki Asakura? You're the head of the Asakura family?!"

Seeing his surprised expression, Zhou You, who was standing next to him, nudged him curiously.

"I've never heard of it. Could you tell me about it?"

Unexpectedly, Shinichi Domoto was even more astonished than he was.

"That's the Asakura family, you haven't heard of them??"

"I've never heard of it before, why?"

Domoto Shinichi nearly choked on his saliva. After a while, he finally spoke in a low voice.

"That's one of the three great families of Japanese divine lineage, each said to have the blood of the Takamagahara Okami, and this Miss Masaki is the head of the Asakura family. But wait, she should be recuperating at the headquarters right now, how did she end up here?"

"—Why don't you just ask her about that?"

After saying that, ignoring Shinichi Domoto's pulling, Zhou You raised his head and looked at the girl hanging in mid-air.

"Hey, can I ask you something? How did you end up hanging here?"

"Sir! Be careful! With this person's status, even the Yin-Yang Master has to treat him with utmost respect."

Otherwise.

Despite Zhou You's blunt question, the girl remained gentle, seemingly not taking the rudeness to heart at all.

She just smiled and said it.

"It's very simple, we were just tricked – but we can talk about the details later, there's another urgent matter to attend to right now."

The girl, named Masaki Asakura, gestured to the chains binding her.

"Could you two please help me by putting me down?"

This was very simple for Zhou You.

He infused the evil energy into Duan Xie, then swung his sword twice, easily slicing the wrist-thick iron chain into four pieces as easily as tofu.

Seeing the girl about to fall into freefall, Domoto Shinichi screamed and was about to use his own body as a cushion—but Zhou You glanced at him, flicked out two talismans, and easily caught the soft body.

On the contrary, Domoto Makoto was unable to stop his strength in time and fell face-first into the mud on the ground.

Even so, Masaki Asakura still didn't look at him.

Or perhaps it should be said that—to the young girl, Shinichi Domoto was like a pebble on the roadside, or a falling leaf; there was no contempt or arrogance in his presence, and she simply ignored him without even realizing it.

Then, Masaki Asakura looked at Zhou You, and the eyes behind the mask suddenly curved into crescent shapes.

"What should I call you, Mr. Mori, Mr. Kaneda, or the True Lord Tai Xuan Subduing Demons and Manifesting Saints?"

Zhou You can joke around with others, but he feels a little uncomfortable when faced with such serious and earnest words.

After a few seconds of pause, he said.

"Just call me Taoist Master. Anyway, the work I do every day is pretty much the same as that of a Taoist priest."

The person on the other end said with a smile.

"Alright then, Taoist Master."

Zhou You had the ability to automatically translate everything, and Domoto Shinichi was so apprehensive that he didn't dare to look at it at all.

So no one noticed.
The girl used Chinese to pronounce the words "Taoist Master".

(End of this chapter)