Why is my anime art style so weird?

Xu Ming looked at her with some surprise.

Kato Megumi is actually drinking Kung Fu tea!?

Drinking this kind of tea ceremony is something that only middle-aged men in China, over forty or fifty years old, would patiently study and master.

Xu Ming picked up the teacup with some curiosity, felt the temperature, and then drank it all in one gulp.

A hint of a smile seemed to flash in Kato Megumi's eyes.

Xu Ming coughed lightly twice, knowing that his actions just now were somewhat presumptuous.

To cover up his embarrassment, Xu Ming took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Kato-kun invited me here, is there something you need?"

"Xu Ming went to office building number 4 of the Totsuki Tea House last night, right?"

Although it was a question, Kato Megumi's tone was very confident.

Xu Ming's expression changed.

"You've been following me!?"

“No…” Hearing her denial, Xu Ming revealed a cold smile, but unexpectedly Kato Megumi said frankly, “I had someone follow you.”

Xu Ming's smile froze instantly.

Isn't this the same thing?!

And... you're too blunt! At least try to cover it up, come up with an excuse!

Xu Ming was initially very angry, but suddenly felt as if he had punched a piece of soft cotton, and felt like he was about to suffer internal injuries.

"...What's the reason?"

"Because I wasn't sure if you were the person I was looking for, I had Hong follow you last night."

"Is it confirmed now?"

Xu Ming said irritably.

"It's confirmed, you're the one I've been looking for."

Faced with Xu Ming's aggressive attitude, Kato Megumi showed no change in expression and simply nodded.

Then Kato Megumi suddenly changed the subject.

"Xu Ming, you must have already witnessed some 'strange' things, so what do you think ordinary people would do when faced with 'strange' things?"

Xu Ming couldn't help but recall the several 'strange' encounters he had experienced, frowned, and replied in a deep voice:

"It's very dangerous."

"That's right. Ordinary people are unable to resist the invasion of 'weirdness,' which is why someone is needed to eliminate the out-of-control 'weirdness' and maintain the stability of the normal world."

"Xu Ming, I've called you here to invite you to join the Exorcist Association and work with us to eliminate the 'mysteries'."

After all that buildup, Kato Megumi finally revealed her true intentions.

Chapter Fifty-Two: Soul Jade

Thank you for your outstanding contributions to maintaining world peace...

Xu Ming was about to speak when he directly refused.

Unexpectedly, Kato Megumi spoke first.

“Xu Ming, please let me finish speaking before you refuse.”

As she spoke, Kato Megumi took out a bamboo tube with a yellow paper talisman on the lid from under the table and placed it between the two of them.

"This is the trash that Xu Ming didn't clean up yesterday."

Meeting Xu Ming's questioning gaze, Kato Megumi offered a brief explanation.

Then she casually peeled off the paper talisman on the lid and opened it.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! I'm going to kill you all!"

A white phantom tinged with black suddenly burst out of the bamboo tube.

The white figure hovered in mid-air for a moment before charging towards Xu Ming's head.

The incident happened so suddenly that Xu Ming was quite startled.

Just as he was about to dodge to the side, a golden flash flew over, arriving faster than expected, and directly hit the white figure in mid-air.

The golden light was actually a paper talisman radiating a golden glow like the sun.

In an instant, the talisman transformed into golden chains, firmly locking the white figure in mid-air.

Xu Ming finally saw clearly that the white figure was a human head phantom formed from white mist. Xu Ming had seen this face last night; it was none other than Eizan Etsuya!?

Xu Ming was about to ask a question.

Suddenly, Kato Megumi across from him was seen moving her fingers nimbly, creating a series of mysterious hand seals towards the white figure.

A golden magic circle appeared out of thin air, enveloping the white figure. The magic circle was covered with countless mysterious golden characters that Xu Ming could not understand at all.

As Kato Megumi continued to make various hand seals, the magic circle began to rotate faster and compress continuously...

Ding!

With a soft sound, a golden 'glass bead' fell onto the table.

"What exactly is going on?"

Xu Ming was completely baffled by this, and even temporarily put aside Kato Megumi's previous invitation.

“After the ‘weird’ body is shattered, their souls will be exposed. Under normal circumstances, these souls, having shed their negative energy, will reincarnate on their own.”

However, some special souls are strong enough to withstand the erosion of nature, or they have unfulfilled obsessions and are unwilling to leave.

If left unattended, these souls will absorb enough negative energy and eventually degenerate into 'monsters,' just like him.

Kato Megumi pointed to the 'glass beads' on the table.

Although the 'glass bead' is only the size of a ping-pong ball, you can clearly see Eizan Etsuya's distorted face frozen within it.

"what should I do?"

Xu Ming couldn't help but frown.

As a seasoned gamer, he deeply understands the importance of last-hitting.

"You can temporarily seal your soul and refine it into a 'Soul Jade,' or you can shatter your soul and let it return to nature completely."

I personally recommend that you train your 'Soul Jade'.

"Soul Jade has many uses, such as training shikigami, crafting magical artifacts... Even if you don't use it yourself, you can sell it to other onmyoji to exchange for what you need."

Kato Megumi explained.

"So, does this mean that 'Soul Jade' is a currency unique to the Onmyoji community?"

Xu Ming stared at the 'Soul Jade' on the table with a curious expression.

Kato Megumi pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"You can understand it that way. This Soul Jade, which is at level 2, is worth about ten million yen on the market."

"How many?"

Xu Ming suddenly looked up and stared at Kato Megumi in surprise.

"Ten million yen, and there's no market for it. If it were put up for auction, the price would increase by about 20 to 30%."

Kato Megumi said calmly, while casually pushing the 'Soul Jade' in front of Xu Ming, indicating that he should accept it.

Her nonchalant attitude almost made Xu Ming think that what she was pushing over wasn't a 'soul jade' worth ten million yen, but a worthless glass bead for children to play with.

If level 2 items can sell for this much, what about level 3, level 4 items... wouldn't they become incredibly expensive?

Xu Ming couldn't help but swallow hard; he couldn't help but start seriously considering Kato Megumi's invitation.

"Furthermore, the Exorcist Association is not a mandatory organization, but rather a loose mercenary group."

Exorcists can accept missions from the guild and receive commissions and rewards upon completion. Joining the guild also grants access to limited intelligence, and the guild periodically hosts auctions and exchange meetings.

If you become a core member, you can also receive services such as seeking assistance from the association and converting 'Soul Jade' for free.

By the way, the cost of converting 'Soul Jade' is 20% of the average market price of 'Soul Jade'. However, this time, consider it a gift for Xu Ming, and I won't charge extra.

Kato Megumi seemed to have accurately grasped his psychology, and Xu Ming was now becoming increasingly interested in this so-called exorcism association.

Are there any mandatory tasks for joining the association?

"If you are not a core member of the association, you will not receive any special treatment, but you will also be unable to enjoy the special privileges of core members."

Xu Ming nodded.

"Rights equal obligations, it's fair."

"So, what's your opinion on my suggestion, Xu Ming?"

Just as Xu Ming was about to speak, Kato Megumi suddenly added another sentence.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell Xu Ming. Destroying the evil ritual taking place inside the Totsuki Tea House is also one of the association's missions~ The total reward for completing the mission is 10 billion yen..."

"I'll join!"

Xu Mingcai only heard half of it before he immediately spoke with absolute certainty.

Kato Megumi opened her mouth, but immediately felt a sense of emptiness. After a pause, she continued:

"...In addition, you can receive a magical artifact of soul level 3 or below as a reward from the association."

After that, Kato Megumi stopped talking nonsense and directly took out a form for Xu Ming to fill out.

After Xu Ming finished filling it out, he asked with some curiosity:

"Is that all? Aren't you going to give me any tokens or certificates?"

Kato Megumi put away the form and gave him a strange look.

"Of course, that's all. Xu Ming is currently just an external member of the association. The association has very loose requirements for external members; basically, all you need to do is leave a valid contact method."

"..."