Tokyoites don't have martial virtue

"I'd like to ask you a question first. What are your views on spiritual beings?"

Kyushu Makoto stroked his chin and frowned, saying, "They're not human, so they should be considered animal-like beings, right?"

"Animals? What a naive idea!"

As if hearing the expected answer, Qing Gong Yilisha slowly flipped through the PowerPoint slides and began to read the text aloud in a monotone voice:

"Most of the bodies of spiritual beings are made of 'spiritual energy,' and they have something in common with humans: both have 'souls.' According to Taoism, the soul is composed of 'hun' and 'po,' with 'hun' being the origin of the soul and 'po' being emotions and reason."

"The 'spirit' of humans is humanity, while the 'spirit' of spiritual beings is demonic nature. Although the souls of the two are different, many spiritual beings possess thinking abilities and thought patterns similar to humans, and can even blend perfectly into human society."

Elizabeth's finger stopped swiping the screen.

"Suppose a spirit or other supernatural being becomes your friend by chance, or begs for mercy on its knees when you are about to kill it, can you still bring yourself to kill it? Can you still treat it as an ordinary animal?"

"..." Kyushu Makoto did not answer immediately, but stared at the girl for a moment.

She seemed to be using this question to examine her conscience, or perhaps it was part of the new employee training.

Kyushu Makoto thought for a moment, then answered without hesitation:

“I read the supplementary criminal law you gave me, and there isn’t a single clause in it that grants ‘human rights’ to spiritual beings, is there?”

“That’s right. The law considers spirit beings to be devoid of human rights.” Eliza Kiyomiya raised her delicate eyebrows. “Even spirit beings that have made contracts with humans can only be considered the ‘property’ of the contracting party.”

“Then let’s treat them like dogs. Dogs are very intelligent animals, but among them, there are loyal companions who are devoted to humans, and there are also vicious dogs that attack people. Killing the latter will not incur legal consequences.” Kyushu Makoto breathed a sigh of relief and calmly replied:

"I am willing to accept spirit species that are friendly to humans, but I am essentially human, so I will not be ruthless to any spirit species that tries to harm humans."

"Treat them like dogs?... Pfft." Qinggong Eliza's gaze faltered for a moment, then she couldn't help but laugh out loud, before quickly suppressing it:

"What an arrogant answer! You're such a presumptuous newcomer."

She paused, then her tone softened considerably: "You're right. Just treat them like dogs; there's no need to have any extra feelings for them."

"Humanity and the demonic nature of spiritual beings are mutually exclusive and averse to each other. In other words, spiritual beings are inherently averse to humans and are unwilling to befriend them in most cases."

When Elizabeth from the Qing Dynasty turned to the next page of the PowerPoint presentation, she was surprised to find a photo of a corpse with its image blurred out.

"Many newcomers have mistakenly believed they could befriend spirit beings, so they deliberately let their guard down and spared their lives in battle."

The human in the photo has limbs twisted, head turned 180 degrees, and body frozen in the snow. Even with the mosaic, it is still quite horrifying.

“In rare cases, these monsters are moved by the magnanimity of humans and reconcile with them.” Eliza Qinggong’s gaze was calm, even tinged with a hint of mockery.

"But in most cases, trying to 'befriend' spirit creatures ends up like the one in the photo. This person was lured and tricked by the 'Snow Woman' on his third mission, and by the time we found him, he had already been dead in this miserable way for several days."

Kyushu Makoto frowned, feeling a wave of nausea, but it was still within a barely tolerable range.

"So I'm very glad to hear your answer," said Elizabeth Qing, feigning nonchalance in her praise.

"The so-called 'exorcism' means to eliminate harmful spirits without reservation, even if it means killing them directly, and there will be no punishment."

"..." Kyushu Makoto pondered for a moment and said:

"It's a little scary to hear you say that."

"Next, we'll discuss the combat methods of us Spirit Masters." Qinggong Eliza ignored the assessment and continued turning the slide:

“Spiritual beings are difficult to destroy by physical means; spiritual power is required to effectively harm them. Spiritual masters generally fight in two ways: one is by using spiritual arts, which you can think of as spells; the other is by relying on spiritual items and weapons.”

"However, since you're a stone man, we won't discuss the first method."

"Can't I use magic?" Kyushu Makoto asked, puzzled.

“I’ve already told you you’re a stone person; you have no talent for manipulating spiritual power or using spiritual arts. You’re like a stone, only able to passively absorb and leak spiritual power,” Qinggong Eliza explained with slight impatience.

“There are all sorts of spiritual items and weapons, and our Qing Palace family’s talismans are one type. Their main function is to provide you with spiritual power, temporarily enhancing your ability to fight against the supernatural. Most of the items and weapons can be purchased at the Yin-Yang Bureau, and you can explore them on your own later.”

Kyushu Makoto instinctively asked, "Are there any guns?"

"Theoretically, yes, but exorcising firearms are also included in the scope of the 'Firearms Control Law'." Qinggong Eliza nodded in agreement.

"The law stipulates that only citizens aged 20 and above can own guns, and they must also undergo training and take an exam. You are not qualified to use them now."

"That's too much trouble, isn't it?" Kyushu Makoto sighed helplessly. "Can't exorcists have the privilege of carrying guns?"

"The basic principle of exorcising firearms is to fire bullets imbued with spiritual energy, so they can also harm ordinary people." Eliza Kiyomiya raised an eyebrow slightly.

"If an exorcist... especially a minor like you, were to fire at civilians, who do you think would end up taking the blame and cleaning up the mess?"

"Metropolitan Police Department?" Kyushu asked.

"Pfft...cough, that's right~ Anyway, those tax-paying good-for-nothings can only be used as scapegoats." Qinggong Eliza could hardly contain her schadenfreude.

"What a pity, I thought I could use a gun..." Kyushu Makoto sighed, then asked, "But I don't have any spiritual energy items right now, what should I do?"

"Oh, I'll give you some." Qinggong Eliza reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a few paper talismans.

"These five 'Enhancement Talismans' can be used to strengthen your body or weapons, temporarily imbuing them with spiritual power. There's also a 'Spirit Protection Talisman,' which can stabilize your soul when you're near death, slowing your demise and allowing you to hold on until the ambulance takes you to the hospital." Without further ado, the girl shoved the talismans into Kyushu Makoto's hand, explaining:

"With your skills, all you need to do is stick the talisman on your body and then use your martial arts to fight the monster."

Kyushu Makoto held the talismans in his hand and indeed felt a faint energy fluctuation flowing into his palm.

Having already experienced the power of this talisman yesterday, he naturally didn't want to harbor any further doubts. However, out of caution, he still planned to find an opportunity to test the talisman's abilities first, to ensure he could use it flexibly in battle.

"How much does this kind of talisman cost at the Yin-Yang Bureau?" Kyushu Makoto was still a little uneasy: "Is it really okay for you to just give it to me?"

“One should cost around 5,000 yen. The Onmyoji Guild will give you ten as supplies every month. A newbie like you should use three to five in a battle of the same level.” Kiyomiya Eliza nonchalantly waved her hand.

"But don't forget what my family does. This kind of thing is just the lowest grade of products from the Qing Dynasty. I can just take a stack of these out of the warehouse and nobody will care. They're just like waste paper."

Kyushu Makoto couldn't help but chuckle: "Thank you, I'll use it properly."

"The onboarding training is now over. You're the fastest new employee I've ever mentored, saving me a lot of time." Eliza Qinggong closed the PowerPoint presentation and switched to the next file.

"Let's begin the strategy meeting. I plan to launch the [Hunter Blade] subjugation operation tonight."

115. A 90% or even 100% chance of winning.

"The [Hunter's Blade] is classified as a tsukumogami (spirit spirit), its fighting style primarily based on swordsmanship of an unknown school, and it harbors extreme hostility towards humans." Kiyomiya Eliza swiped the screen with her thin, bony fingers, displaying a photograph:

"It usually appears as a samurai from the late Edo period, less than 1.6 meters tall, wearing a white Hannya mask and carrying a katana. It moves randomly in various areas of Tokyo, its movements are unknown, and it only appears at night."

"It specifically hunts women who work in the sex industry, hence the code name 'Hunter's Knife'."

Kyushu Makoto leaned closer to examine the photo. It was taken at night, and the screen was shaking so badly that only a masked figure holding a knife could be barely made out.

However, he was quite certain that the person in the photo was the murderer who attacked Suzumiya Momiji.

"Does it have any weaknesses?" Kyushu Makoto asked. "Although I don't know much about exorcism, the most efficient way to defeat an enemy is to attack its weaknesses."

When Kyushu Makoto was learning martial arts from a young age, his master taught him the principle of "strike the snake at its vital point, kick the man in the groin first." In a true life-or-death battle, only by striking the vital points first can one be considered a master.

He already knew all of humanity's "weaknesses," but he knew nothing about the weaknesses of monsters.

"Hmph, your idea is good, worthy of praise." Eliza Qinggong nodded inconspicuously, then pointed to her forehead.

"The human soul is stored in the brain, so if the brain is destroyed, the person will die immediately. The same is true for spiritual species; their greatest weakness is the location where the soul is stored."

"Are their souls also in their brains?" Kyushu asked.

“No, theoretically, they don’t even have a ‘brain’ at all.” Elizabeth Kiyomiya then pulled three more talismans from her pocket and stuffed them into Kyushu Makoto’s hand.

"Each spirit species stores its soul in a different location, making it difficult to find directly. The most common method is to first exhaust its physical strength, and then, when it is completely exhausted, attach this 'Spirit Vision Talisman' to its body. This way, you can see the spiritual energy channels within its body and find the source of its soul."

As she spoke, Qing Palace Princess Elizabeth made a chopping gesture with her hand, as if it were a knife:

"Then, you just need to use enough spiritual power to destroy its soul, and the spirit species will die—it's very simple."

Kyushu Makoto took the talisman with some skepticism: "Do all exorcists do this?"

"Although the techniques and tools differ, the basic steps are the same," said Eliza Qinggong.

"After you've dealt with the monster, find the Public Security Demon Hunting Division's contact number in your work phone's memo app and have them send someone to handle the aftermath and conduct an assessment. That will conclude the mission."

“I think I understand.” Kyushu Makoto nodded.

It seems that fighting "spirit species" is much more difficult than fighting humans, and Kyushu Cheng humbly reminds himself that he still has much to learn.

Then, Kyushu Makoto asked, "Since the whereabouts of the [Hunter's Blade] are unknown, how do we find it?"

"Use this." Eliza Qinggong pulled a silver briefcase from under her seat, quickly unfastened the clasp, and opened it.

Inside the suitcase lay a severed arm with purple skin. No blood was flowing from the severed area; instead, it was emitting a faint black aura.

Strangely, the severed hand started moving the instant the box was opened. Its fingers and wrist twitched violently, making a sticky and eerie sound, like a fish jumping and struggling on a cutting board.

Several red talismans were pasted on the severed arm, as if sealing it in place.

“Isn’t this the arm I tore off?” Makoto Kyushu recognized it immediately.

“That’s right, I got it from the Metropolitan Police Department. Thanks to your performance last night, I was able to catch the [Hunter's Blade].” Kiyomiya Eliza nodded, slammed the box shut, locked it again, and stuck a talisman on it.

“Part of the body of a spirit species is made of spiritual energy. In other words, this arm is a part of its power.” She looked up and asked:

"For example, if you lost your wallet, what would be your first reaction?"

"Of course, we want to get it back," Kyushu Makoto replied immediately, then suddenly realized, "Could it be that the monster also wants to get this arm back?"

“I’ve now placed a special talisman on this ghostly hand to shield it from its spiritual energy fluctuations,” Qinggong Eliza explained.

"If I tear off all the talismans, the [Hunter's Blade] will quickly sense the location of my arm and try to take it back."

"So we'll use this severed hand as bait to lure it out?" Kyushu Makoto confirmed.