The Japanese-fear sorcerer who started by taking in Tomie

Judging from Kongmu's current state, Shin Hengyuan can conclude that he has definitely been possessed by some evil spirit.

Otherwise, such a drastic change could not have occurred in just one day. According to Xin Hengyuan's observation, Master Kongmu's vital energy is being depleted in large quantities.

However, it has only been a day or two, so it should not have caused any fundamental damage and should be able to recover.

Xin Hengyuan has noted down Kongmu's address and plans to go there tonight. If he can resolve the issue, he will do so for Kongmu; if not, he will have done his best.

It wasn't that Xin Hengyuan wanted to be a Good Samaritan. The main reason was that this life-draining evil spirit was like a walking experience booster for him. He was just a tiny bit more experience away from leveling up, so he couldn't let it slip by.

Besides, Mr. Kongmu was his homeroom teacher and had treated him well. He couldn't possibly be ungrateful.

Let's ask Tomie later and see if she knows anything.

Xin Hengyuan made a decision in his heart, and then quickened his pace toward...the supermarket.

Now that things have come to this, let's eat first.

Anyway, Kūki-sensei shouldn't die anytime soon... probably.

Tomie lay on the table, swinging her legs listlessly.

The shiny black leather shoes encased her slender ankles, and the hem of her dark school skirt swayed gently with her movements, revealing a section of her calves encased in black over-the-knee socks, with a faint mark left by the sock tops.

Tomie pouted and buried her chin in her crossed arms in a sullen voice.

"Shinheng-kun... why isn't he back yet?"

The tip of the shoe kicked the table leg, making a dull thud.

"Damn it! Has he been harassed by some shameless woman?!"

Tomie's face puffed up with anger at the thought, and she buried her face in her arms, revealing a section of her snow-white neck behind her back, and snorted defiantly.

"What? Missed me?"

Shin Hengyuan's wicked laughter suddenly appeared in Tomie's ears, and Tomie instantly blushed and raised her head to retort.

"I...no way! Don't flatter yourself! I'm Tomie Kawakami! The people who like me could stretch from Japan to France, or even circle the Earth three times!"

Xin Hengyuan straightened up, raised an eyebrow, and replied with only a few words.

"Oh, really?"

Shin Hengyuan slowly pulled a loaf of bread and a can of coffee from his pocket and waved them in front of Tomie.

"In that case, it looks like I'll have to eat this bread myself."

Xinhengyuan pretended to tear open the packaging.

"No!"

Tomie jumped to her feet, her chair sliding backward with a screeching sound. She leaned over the table, her small hand reaching straight for the bread, her fingertips almost touching the edge of the packaging.

"That's what you bought for me!"

Seeing Tomie's expression, Shin Hengyuan stopped teasing her and placed the bread and coffee in her hands.

"Here you go, let's go eat on the rooftop."

Xin Hengyuan tilted his head towards the door, then shrugged. His gaze swept over the faces in the classroom that seemed to be spitting fire, especially the male students, who were all gritting their teeth, their eyes filled with a desire to devour him alive and take his place.

"If we stay here any longer, I'm afraid I'll be torn to shreds by your admirers."

"Hmph!" Tomie snorted, but still obediently followed behind Shin Hengyuan.

At this moment, on the rooftop.

The spring sunshine felt warm on people, but the gentle spring breeze made it feel cool.

"I'm telling you, if you bully me again, I'll get a whole bunch of people to beat you up."

Tomie waved her little fist, threatening him with a fierce expression, her delicate face trying to project a menacing look, like a cat with its fur standing on end.

"Um?"

Xin Hengyuan simply raised an eyebrow and gently clenched his fist.

Tomie's body reacted before her brain did; she instinctively covered her head with both hands and squatted down with practiced ease, a skill that tugged at the heartstrings.

The rooftop fell silent for a moment.

New Hengyuan: "..."

Oh no, it's become a conditioned reflex.

After a long pause without the fist landing, Tomie awkwardly stood up, dusted off her skirt, and acted as if nothing had happened.

The air was unusually quiet.

"...Ahem." Shin Hengyuan finally broke the silence, "Tomie, do you know any ghost stories or monsters that drain people's life force?"

Tomie crossed her arms, slightly raised her chin, and spoke with a hint of smugness, as if to say, "You've finally asked about my area of ​​expertise."

"There are many, Jorogumo, Nikumi, Rokurokubi, Hienma... the list goes on and on. Most yokai absorb human essence to some extent; it's one of the ways they cultivate and maintain their form."

She gave a serious explanation, looking every bit like a professor of monster studies.

"However—" she changed the subject, her brows furrowing slightly, "Under normal circumstances, yokai hide deep in the mountains and forests and rarely venture into populated areas. In a metropolis like Tokyo, the population density is like a pot of boiling water, which is not comfortable for yokai, so they rarely appear in modern cities."

Tomie tilted her head, and the beauty mark under her left eye glittered in the sunlight.

"But why are you asking this?"

"This morning..." Xin Hengyuan didn't hide anything, nor was there anything to hide, and briefly recounted what he had seen and heard in the office.

"That's strange. That shouldn't be the case."

Tomie's voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself.

"What did you say?" Shin Hengyuan frowned.

"Logically speaking, even if a monster enters a city to absorb human energy for cultivation, it shouldn't be like this."

Tomie raised her head and looked at the birds flying not far away.

"To give an analogy: absorbing a person's vital energy is like fishing in a river. A smart person will cast their nets in different sections of the river, taking only the fattest fish from each section and releasing the rest back to continue growing. This way, the river will never be short of fish, and the fisherman will never go hungry."

She turned her gaze away and looked at Xinhengyuan.

"But Professor Kuki's situation doesn't seem like that of an experienced fisherman fishing; it's more like..."

Tomie paused, seemingly considering her words.

"It's like someone draining the entire river and catching all the fish, big and small. That's not foraging; that's plunder!"

Shin Heng Yuan also realized the seriousness of the matter.

"What situation would require such a large amount of vital energy to be absorbed?" Tomie frowned and muttered to herself.

"Go home by yourself after school," Shingen said to Tomie. "I'll go check it out tonight. Whatever it is, I'll have to see it for myself."

"Okay." Tomie agreed readily, without the slightest hesitation.

She knew perfectly well that with her limited abilities, she would just be a free meal for the evil spirits if she went, so she shouldn't go and hold them back.

After a brief silence.

"Speaking of which, you've lived for over a hundred years, how come you haven't improved your strength at all? You're still just like an ordinary person."

Xin Hengyuan finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.

Tomie has been around for a hundred years now. In all that time, she has seen so many monsters. Why doesn't she try to find a way to cultivate herself?

Tomie's expression froze instantly, and she squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, clearly annoyed.

"...I cannot cultivate."

Do you think I want to be a punching bag forever?

The heavens bestowed upon Tomie an endless charm and an inexhaustible ability to split and regenerate, but the consequence was that she could not sense any magic power at all, and therefore could not cultivate.