Tokyo, My Childhood Friend is a Ghost Story

Chapter 17 Exorcism Must Also Keep Up with the Times
At the Suminoe Police Station in Osaka, Toshifuku Asahi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

“Give Akutagawa and Tano Toru a month of administrative leave each, and tell everyone to watch their mouths.”

"Hi!"

After issuing the order, Asahi Toshifuku sighed heavily, then got up, put on his coat, and drove the police car to the intersection that had caused Akutagawa and Tano Toru's mental breakdown.

The intersection had already been cordoned off, and the arrival of Tomorrow Junbok was greeted by the surrounding police officers.

"Director."

"Um"

Nodding absentmindedly, Asahi Junboku walked to the very center of the alert point, staring at the ground where a human face was faintly visible.

Although he had already seen the photos and mentally prepared himself, seeing it in person still made the old policeman's eyelids twitch.

"Have you contacted Tennoji yet?"

"I've made contact; the abbot of Tennoji Temple is already on his way."

Asahi Junfu nodded, had his men disperse the office workers and students who were watching the commotion, and then went to the nearby coffee shop alone.

Evil ghost?

A word that was both strange and familiar came to mind. As a policeman, in his early years, Asahi Junfu naturally scoffed at this word.

However, as he grew older and gained more experience, and through certain events he encountered, Asahi Toshifuku gradually stopped firmly denying the existence of ghosts and spirits.

Instead, it became a question that was not confirmed again.

Asahi Junfu wanted to tell the world with righteous indignation that there were no ghosts or gods in this world, but there were some things that simply could not be explained by existing means.

Toshifuku Asahi never told anyone that he himself had encountered a paranormal event.

That was when he was a police inspector, and he came across an extremely gruesome dismemberment murder case. The crime scene made these young police officers vomit.

Asahi Junfu was one of them, especially when the forensic doctor found the hearts of the female homeowner and her daughter in the stomach of the murderer, the male homeowner, it had a huge impact on him.

However, what made Asahi Toshifuku remember this case so vividly was not the horrific crime scene, but rather the bedroom inside the room.

The head of the woman, whose head had been chopped off but whose face bore a strange smile, lay quietly in the center of the eerie array.

During the investigation, a senior colleague suggested that the group go to Tennoji Temple to ward off bad luck. Everyone else went, but he didn't.

He felt it was extremely shameful for a police officer to believe in such superstitious things, and he even offended his senior colleague because of it.

After that, Toshifuku Asahi encountered all sorts of strange things.

It was as if someone was hiding there, but when the curtains were drawn back, there was nothing there. For a long time, there were inexplicable noises and the sound of porcelain bowls being broken coming from the living room.

At first, Asahi Junfu thought it was just a mouse in his house, until his ex-girlfriend tried to strangle him, and he couldn't open the door even after kicking it down.

Especially when, not long after, his ex-girlfriend, laughing just like that eerie head, slit her own throat in her own home.

It was only then that Toshifuku Asahi learned about another side of the world that science could not explain.

"Director tomorrow."

"Ah? Abbot Chongming, please have a seat."

Awakened from his reverie by the abbot of Chongming Temple, Asahi Junfu quickly invited the serious-looking abbot of Tennoji Temple to sit down.

The abbot of Chongming did not sit down, but instead shook his head slightly and looked out the window at the intersection separated by police tape.

"Things are complicated. Let's go take a look."

Upon hearing this, Tomorrow Junfu got up and led the Chongming abbot to the side of the scene.

Looking at the strange human face on the ground, Abbot Chongming's brows furrowed tightly, and his eyes, which were usually narrowed due to his age, widened slightly.

Asahi Junfu noticed the change in the abbot's expression and felt a surge of tension. He knew that the terrifying supernatural event he had experienced was, in the abbot's eyes, nothing more than a simple ritual to resolve. "Is it troublesome?"

The abbot of Chongming did not answer immediately. Instead, he took off the Buddhist prayer beads from his wrist, took out a jade disc from his inner pocket, held it in his hand, and then began to chant a spell to ward off evil.

"I respectfully invite you to descend, all the gods and immortals! Bind the ghosts and subdue the evil! Eliminate all the demons! Hurry and obey the command!"

Click.

As soon as the incantation was finished, the sound of jade shattering came from the abbot of Chongming. Tomorrow Junfu subconsciously turned his head to look.

The abbot of Chongming, looking pained, barely managed to hold on for a while before trembling as he released the jade disc from his hand.

Asahi Junfu's gaze involuntarily turned toward the direction where the jade disc had fallen. He saw that where the jade disc should have been pure white and flawless had broken, a layer of pitch blackness that seemed capable of swallowing everything surged up.

"The abbot of Chongming!?"

The abbot of Chongming raised his hand to indicate that he was alright, and looked solemnly at the face on the ground that had become increasingly evil and clear as the exorcism incantation was recited, its features soon becoming visible.

The abbot of Chongming took a deep breath, then turned to look at his assistant behind him.

"Nagasaki, bring the things over here."

"Hi!"

Upon hearing this, the assistant quickly turned around and went to the car, where he retrieved a bag of items used for exorcising evil spirits.

The abbot of Chongming changed his previous stiff and formal manner, and his movements became serious and earnest as he took out the shimenawa (sacred rope) and the miniature torii gate that had been blessed and worshipped, and held them in his hands.

"Junfu, have the police keep an eye on the area and contact the nearest construction team."

Tomorrow Junfu was taken aback when he heard this.

"Construction team?"

The abbot of Chongming and his assistant pulled open the sash rope while explaining.

“Sometimes, we are unable to expel evil spirits, and can only imprison them here to prevent them from entering the mortal world. But the imprisonment will eventually be broken, so we can only keep up with the times and have the engineering team build a sculpture on it to prevent it from being contaminated by others.”

"But I don't have the authority to interfere with the Roads Bureau."

"It's alright, I'll explain it to the Metropolitan Police Department and the Roads Department."

Upon hearing this, Toshifuku nodded. Realizing the seriousness of the matter, he immediately began to make arrangements.

In less than half an hour, the construction team arrived at the scene and, under the guidance of Chongming, began to cast three monkey statues in the middle of the road to suppress the evil spirits.

Just as things were proceeding smoothly, his subordinates suddenly approached Asahi Toshifu with a panicked expression.

"Chief, something terrible has happened at White Stone Mountain!"

Then his subordinates told Mingri Junfu about the situation at Baishi Mountain. Upon hearing this, Chongming Abbot's expression changed drastically.

"lead the way!"

When Tomorrow Junfu saw that his men were unmoved, he immediately shouted.

"Didn't you hear me?!"

A dozen minutes later, Asahi Junfu and his group arrived at Baishi Mountain, the site of the Inmp race held by the Qingshi Group the previous night.

The moment they arrived, Abbot Chongming saw the darkness surrounding the van, which even an ordinary person could clearly see, and hair that was like lichen spread all over the place.

With just one glance, the abbot of Chongming froze, and even his voice trembled slightly.

"Call Kyoto."

(End of this chapter)