Tokyoites don't have martial virtue

"Goodbye, Ms. Hoshino!" Kyushu Makoto snapped out of his sadness at parting and quickly waved goodbye to her—since it was a long separation, it was better to address her formally.

"Just call me Momiji-nee!" Suzumiya Momiji shouted as she turned around, "I'll get angry if you call me Hoshino-san again!"

"Oh!" Kyushu Makoto smiled his most genuine smile and waved in response, "Goodbye, Momiji-nee!"

"We'll definitely meet again, Chunchuan!"

Suzumiya Kasumi waved lively at him and disappeared into the crowd at the station.

138. Those in the same profession meet those in the same profession.

After seeing Suzumiya Momiji off, Kyushu Makoto prepared to return home.

He turned around and took a few steps, only to see a familiar figure setting up a stall in the station.

A fortune teller dressed in a long black robe sat by the roadside, neither shouting nor hawking her wares, but quietly sitting at her stall, observing passersby with great interest, waiting for customers to take the bait.

"Miss Night Wanderer, what brings you to the subway station to set up a stall today?" Kyushu Makoto took the initiative to greet her.

Since joining the Onmyodo, Kyushu Makoto's impression of these charlatans has improved somewhat; at least he's no longer so resistant to them.

The reason is simple: Kyushu Makoto himself is now a "real charlatan." If the other party is a fraudster, he won't be able to fool them at all.

"Oh my, it's Brother Hongzhong~" Night Wanderer Tianyin smiled when she saw him arrive:

"You actually took the initiative to talk to me today, and you seemed quite confident. Does that mean you're not so resistant to divination anymore?"

It must be said that this fortune teller has a very keen eye for observation; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to fool his customers.

"How's business today?" Kyushu Makoto asked, propping himself up on his knees and sitting cross-legged in front of her fortune-telling stall.

"I'm a fortune teller just a hobby; I don't care about the income." Ye You Tianyin smiled as she sized up the young man before her, then suddenly her expression turned wary as she sighed:

"Incredible, guest! Your destiny has taken another major turn! It's unbelievable!"

Night Wanderer Tianyin couldn't wait to take out a tarot deck, quickly shuffled it, and then drew five cards in succession, arranging them in a circle on the ground.

"I see that the [Dharma King] has completed his mission." Night Wanderer Heavenly Sound flips over the first card:

"For him, this may be a small act of atonement in his life, although he will not let go of the past because of it. He believes that one day you will be able to spread your wings and fly higher than the Tokyo Tower."

"The next two cards are 'The Tower' and 'The Lovers.' By the way, this 'The Lovers' card is a different tarot card from the previous 'Romance' card...it should be an isomorph." She then turned over two more cards:

"They have all been conquered by your courage and are willing to become your servants and sharp blades, adding strength to your life."

“Then comes the Star.” She turned over the fourth card:

"Hmm, it seems that [Star] has overcome the greatest tribulation in its life and is once again heading towards the brilliant universe. However, this does not mean goodbye forever. As long as the feelings of missing each other remain, you will meet again one day."

"The last one... is [The Magician]~" she said, flipping over the last card as expected.

"I see. It seems you and the Magician are getting along quite well. The Magician means 'guide,' and she is guiding you to understand the truth of the world. However, there is a barrier between you, and it could explode if you're not careful. Please be mindful at all times."

"A barrier."

Kyushu Makoto pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin, and realized that there were indeed significant differences in their views between him and Elizabeth.

Eliza prioritizes points above all else, while Kyushu Makoto tries to follow his heart as much as possible. Unless their interests are consistently aligned, conflict is highly likely to erupt.

Especially when dealing with the case of the "Scissors Woman," the two disagreed on whether or not Ogiwara Yuya should apologize.

If Ogiwara Yuya hadn't taken the initiative to apologize, the two of them probably would have had a huge argument in the interrogation room.

"Huh?" Kyushu Makoto suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and stared blankly at the fortune teller in front of him.

When he heard Ye You Tianyin use the word "magician" just now, he couldn't help but think of Qing Gong Yilisha, and then he thought of the potential conflict between the two.

This fortune teller always spoke vaguely, like a charlatan. But one has to admit, Kyushu Makoto could always connect her words to his own experiences, as if she had truly predicted his life.

In the past, Makoto Kyushu would have insisted that she was using the "Barnam effect" and other psychological tricks to deceive him. But this time, Makoto decided to test her a little to see if she really had superpowers.

After the divination, Ye You Tianyin put away the tarot cards. As always, she did not charge any money this time.

Kyushu Makoto watched her silently without getting up to leave.

"Guest, is there anything you wish to say?" Night Wanderer Tianyin seemed to see through his hesitant look and asked.

"Miss Night Wanderer, I have a question I'd like to ask you." Kyushu Makoto braced himself on his knees and asked meaningfully:

"You've heard of it."

"Jingle Bell--"

Halfway through his sentence, Kyushu Makoto's phone rang in his pocket. This phone was the Onmyoji Bureau's work phone; the only people who could contact him were the Onmyoji Bureau's official staff and that Ms. [Megisin].

"Excuse me, please wait a moment." Kyushu Makoto quickly got up, took out his phone, and ran to a quiet corner.

"Hongzhong, have you finished your exams?"

Sure enough, it was the voice of Qing Palace Eliza on the other end of the phone.

"I just finished my exam today, how about you?" Kyushu Makoto asked.

"I've finished my exams too. I'm in the Onmyoji Guild right now, and I just saw a great quest. Can you come over quickly?"

"So, you're starting work already?" Kyushu Makoto sighed wearily.

It has to be said that Eliza is a true workaholic. She immediately started working on commissions right after finishing her exams, without giving herself any time to rest.

However, Makoto Kyushu didn't really care. Summer vacation had only just begun, his passport hadn't been issued yet, and his friends at school probably wouldn't ask him to go out for another two weeks. With nothing else to do during this time, he figured he might as well continue to contribute to "maintaining world peace."

“No problem, I’ll be right there.” Kyushu Makoto agreed.

"Then you need to hurry, or someone else will snatch the commission! Don't take the tram, just take a taxi, I'll reimburse you!"

"Okay, then you have to keep your word." Kyushu Makoto chuckled and hung up the phone.

Taxis in Tokyo are not cheap; taking a taxi from here would definitely be a huge expense.

But anyway, that young lady will definitely say with ease, "Don't worry about it, I'm using my dad's card anyway."

Kyushu Makoto returned to Yoru Tenon's stall and said goodbye—since he had urgent business to attend to, he would test the fortune teller again next time.

For some reason, Ye Youtianyin looked at his work phone with a smile, as if she had something to say.

"What's wrong, Miss Night Wanderer?" Kyushu Makoto asked, somewhat puzzled.

"This must be a work phone issued by the Onmyoji Bureau. It's the same model." Miss Night Wanderer sighed softly for no apparent reason.

"What did you just say?" Kyushu Makoto frowned, as if he had heard a word that shouldn't have come out of her mouth.

"So that's what the so-called 'truth of the world' means~" Night Wanderer Heavenly Sound wiped the tip of her nose with her finger and said meaningfully:

"So you've entered this industry too, Brother Hongzhong."

Kyushu Makoto quickly sat down in front of her and asked in surprise, "You also work at the Onmyōryō?"

"I used to be an exorcist too, but I retired a year ago after being injured in a mission." Ye You Tianyin raised her head, a faint sadness, like water, welling up in her slightly narrowed gray eyes:

“The Yin-Yang Bureau gives me a monthly pension and arranges an office job for me. But I’d rather be a fortune teller, it’s just a personal interest of mine.”

“My codename is [Pure Witch], you should be able to find it.” She held up her finger and gestured in front of Kyushu Makoto, as if drawing a winding line:

"I possess a spiritual technique that allows me to see the threads of other people's destinies. Although it's not particularly accurate, I can still roughly discern the general direction of their fates."

Kyushu Makoto took out his work phone and searched for a while. Sure enough, he found the code name, and it was a Class B exorcist, which seemed to be quite famous.

According to a post, if she hadn't been injured and retired, she could have been promoted to the top division in another year, with a very bright future ahead of her.

Kyushu Makoto has found another photo of [Junwu], who is none other than Night Wanderer of Heavenly Sound—

—However, her complexion in the photo is slightly rosier, making her look more cheerful.

"So, your divination wasn't just a charade?" Now, Kyushu Makoto had no reason not to trust her.

“That’s right, these are all the results I’ve deciphered through your Thread of Fate.” Night Wanderer Heavenly Sound nodded gently:

"However, you should also know about the confidentiality agreement. I cannot explain the principles of divination to ordinary people."

"So that's how it is," Kyushu Makoto sighed softly. "It seems I misunderstood you. I always thought you were a charlatan."

"It's alright, you're not the first guest to misunderstand me like this." Night Wanderer Heavenly Sound shook her head magnanimously, showing no annoyance whatsoever.

"And being mistaken for a charlatan is also part of a 'fortune teller's' job, which is quite interesting~"

Her words made Kyushu Makoto feel somewhat guilty.

Of course, Kyushu Makoto didn't think he was wrong to have suspected her before. After all, one can never be too careful, and a kind-hearted person like him needed to be even more vigilant, otherwise he would have been swindled out of everything long ago.

"Sorry, I have something urgent to attend to. Let's meet again next time." Kyushu Makoto wanted to chat with her a little longer, but Eliza was pressing him for time, so he had to say goodbye for now.

"Okay, see you next time." Night Wanderer Heavenly Sound smiled and waved to him.

"Please come to me anytime. I'm very curious about how your fate will unfold, guest."

140. Ghouls, Undead

On the highway, an escort truck is traveling at a steady speed, surrounded by four police cars.

Makoto Kyushu and Eliza were in the same police car, while two other people were in other police cars.

"Are the ghouls we're escorting really that powerful? They've mobilized such a large force." Kyushu Makoto asked casually, looking out the window with boredom.

He had initially thought the so-called "ghoul" would be a two-meter-tall monster with a mouthful of fangs, otherwise there wouldn't be so many guards escorting it.