The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

“I want them both,” said Takano Sato.

"First of all, let me clarify that there is no Buddhist cemetery within our temple, so we cannot bring your brother here for burial," Ishihara Akira reminded him.

“I know,” Sato Takano said with a wry smile.

Their family isn't some privileged one. It's already quite kind of them to ask a monk to perform a ritual for their elder brother's soul. Do they really expect him to be placed in a Buddhist cemetery?

Does that mean they can't continue living like this?

"When do you plan to begin, benefactor?" Nodding, Ishihara Akira asked about the specific time.

"It will be in the evening. I will come to pick you up, Master."

"can."

Afterwards, the two briefly discussed some details about the religious ceremony, and then Sato Takano took her leave of the temple to go back and prepare for the ceremony.

Seeing this, Ishihara Sho remained silent for a while before taking out his phone and sending a message to his friend A that he wouldn't be going there for the next few days. He also asked his aunt Fujiwara Tsubaki to look after the temple. Then he closed his eyes again and focused on training his mental strength.

He doesn't have much time to begin with, and now he's going to waste several more days. He can't afford not to make the most of his time to improve himself.

……

Then, around dusk, Mr. Sato Takano, whom he had met before, reappeared in front of Ishihara Sho.

"master."

"Let's go."

After leaving the temple with the two, they got into a car that Sato Takano had either rented or borrowed from a friend, and headed towards the residence of the older brother he had mentioned.

It wasn't far, only a three- to five-minute drive, when the car stopped in front of a slightly dilapidated detached house.

Then, Ishihara Akira followed Mr. Sato Takano out of the car and entered a detached house—

Suddenly, a group of men and women dressed in black formal attire with sorrowful faces came into Ishihara Yu's view!

A coffin lay horizontally in the middle of the room, with a black and white portrait of the deceased behind it. White curtains and candles surrounded the room, transforming it into a funeral hall.

Several men and women, who appeared to be relatives, knelt on one side of the coffin, ignoring the outsiders.

“This is my elder brother’s daughter, Sato Sumire. Sumire, this is Master Xingzhi from the Arako Kannon Temple. He will be in charge of performing the rituals for your father’s soul for the next few days,” Sato Takano introduced softly to a woman in the relatives’ area as she led Ishihara Sho to her.

"Hello, Master Xingzhi, I am Sato Sumire. I entrust my father's affairs to you." The woman first looked up at Ishihara Akira, who was standing in front of her, and then bowed deeply.

“Amitabha, please accept my condolences.” Ishihara Sho replied in a formulaic manner.

"Master, is there anything else we need to prepare?" Sato Takano asked again from the side.

"No need, I will handle the rest," Ishihara Akira said, looking around and shaking his head.

Chapter 11 Salvation

Next, Ishihara Yu took the prayer mat out of his pouch and placed it next to the coffin on the living room floor, facing the portrait. He then took out an incense burner, placed it beside the coffin, lit incense sticks, and inserted them into the burner. Only then did he step back to the prayer mat, sit cross-legged, take out the wooden fish drum and place it in front of him, put the bell beside him, and finally picked up his prayer beads and tugged at the bell—

"Ding-dong..."

After a crisp sound, the whole room seemed to fall silent.

Ignoring all of this, Ishihara Sho picked up a mallet and rhythmically struck the wooden fish in front of him while twirling the prayer beads in his hand and softly chanting the most famous Buddhist classic—the Rebirth Mantra.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, Tathagata, Tadyatha, Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha..."

The sound of chanting filled the air, and the room, which was originally a little eerie, seemed to be affected, becoming somewhat otherworldly.

The surrounding relatives dared not disturb them, weeping softly as they tossed paper money into the brazier in front of them, hoping the deceased's spirit could live happily even in the afterlife, adding a touch of warmth and humanity to the room...

“…Vikaranta, Amrita, Vikaranta, Gamini, Gagana, Kritakari, Svaha…”

But gradually, as Ishihara Sho was chanting the Rebirth Mantra, he felt that the temperature in the room seemed to drop, as if it had returned from early summer to early spring, making him feel a chill and his skin tighten.

Given this, coupled with the current environment, it's impossible for Ishihara Shou, who watched Uncle Ying's movies in his previous life, not to connect it to something.

Especially considering that he is currently a living demon.

"No way, this is my first time performing a ritual and I've already encountered a paranormal event?"

Thinking of this, Ishihara Sho opened his eyes slightly and looked towards the coffin—

Sure enough, a layer of grayish-black substance appeared on the otherwise normal coffin, slowly wriggling like mist, eventually gathering and growing like a mountain peak pushed up by the movement of continental plates.

In a short while, it transformed into a half-transparent humanoid being that looked almost exactly like the man in the portrait.

Upon seeing this, Ishihara Sho's expression changed. Regardless of whether it would be useful or not, he immediately stopped the fish-tapping motion he was making and the prayer beads he was turning. He formed the Rebirth Mantra Mudra with his hands—or rather, the Amitabha Meditation Mudra—and visualized the shape of the mudra in his hands. In this unified manner of the three secrets, he recited the Rebirth Mantra again.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, Tathagata, Tadyatha, Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha..."

It's unclear whether it was because Ishihara Akira had recently absorbed enough of the power of the seven emotions and six desires from his friend A, resulting in a genuine improvement in his spiritual strength, or whether his meditation practice had been effective. In any case, when he recited the Rebirth Mantra again in the manner of the unity of the three secrets, a warm and gentle feeling, like the warmth of the sun, rose from the bottom of his heart and spread, dispelling the not-so-obvious signs of cooling in the room. Like a spreading golden shockwave, it struck the spirit that appeared on the coffin without anyone else noticing.

Without a sound, large plumes of black smoke were blasted out of the spirit's body.

But before they could dissipate, as if drawn by something, they rapidly converged upon Ishihara Sho, flooding into his mind through his senses...

Ishihara was startled, but he quickly realized that the black smoke not only did not have any effect on him, but it was as if he had taken a great tonic, or as if he had absorbed the power of his friend A's seven emotions and six desires, making him more and more invigorated.

"What? There's an unexpected bonus from performing a ritual to help the dead pass on?" Ishihara Akira asked in surprise.

However, because his mind was relaxed, the state of unity of the three secrets collapsed, and the originally powerful Rebirth Mantra became ordinary again.

Seeing this, Ishihara Akira dared not hesitate. He immediately focused his mind and entered a state of perfect harmony, continuing to use the Rebirth Mantra to guide Mr. Sato's spirit...

……

Perhaps it was due to his cultivation level, but it wasn't until seven or eight minutes later that the spirit in front of him was completely converted by Ishihara Sho using the Rebirth Mantra. The residue turned into some kind of substance that he didn't know, which he then absorbed, making his spirit and body feel invigorated.

"So, besides entering dreams to absorb people's emotions and desires, converting the dead is also one of my cultivation methods?" After killing Mr. Sato's spirit, Ishihara Sho became thoughtful after seeing that no further abnormalities appeared.

"But... is this a coincidence or an inevitable phenomenon?"

Of course, I'm not referring to the personal advancement one gains after converting the dead, but rather the birth of the dead. If it's accidental, then obviously such things depend on luck; it's not like you'll definitely get the benefits you're seeing today just by taking on a job.

But if it's inevitable, then Ishihara Sho needs to think carefully about whether the environment of this world is truly a normal materialistic society.

Are you sure there are no demons or monsters in those dark corners he doesn't know about?

At the same time, I also need to seriously consider my safety as a demon hiding in the Guanyin Temple.

As described in Buddhist scriptures, Guanyin Bodhisattva possesses power greater than that of an ordinary Buddha, and even has the ability to transform herself into the heavens. Ishihara Shou does not believe that his disguise can deceive His divine eyes!

If you're not careful, you might not even know how you died.

"Right now, making money is the most important thing." Ishihara Akira shook his head secretly, shaking off these random thoughts and resolving to focus on his work.

After all, only by performing the rituals well can he earn money, continue to invite his friend A to take leave from work and become his resource mine for the seven emotions and six desires, accept his invisible exploitation and extraction, effectively improve his own abilities, make himself stronger, break free from dependence on his friend A, and even become a true high monk, strengthening himself by performing rituals to deliver the souls of the dead.

So ultimately, money is the most important thing right now; everything else is just external trouble that disturbs the mind and there's no need to consider it.

……

Three days later, the vigil ended, and Ishihara Akira followed the hearse carrying the coffin to the crematorium. He helped Mr. Sato recite the Seven Buddhas' Mantra of Repentance, one of the Ten Small Mantras that is required for morning prayers in Buddhism, along with the Rebirth Mantra. This was to help Mr. Sato eliminate the various sins that had accumulated in his body in the past, so that he could go to the underworld in a clean state to be judged by the gods and demons of hell.

Afterwards, Ishihara Akira followed Sato's family, who had received Sato's ashes, to the public cemetery in Nagoya to help with the burial of Mr. Sato by reciting the "Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Wheel King Dharani" mantra, so that he could see Amitabha Buddha and Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and have the opportunity to go to the Pure Land.

After that, Ishihara Akira's work was finished. He received his due revenge from Sato Takano—70 yen—and left the cemetery, heading back to the temple.

Chapter 12 Qualitative Change

It's unclear whether it was the items he obtained from performing rituals to help the deceased that brought his mental strength to a certain level of qualitative change. In any case, when Ishihara Akira met his friend A again, he discovered that the ability he could only achieve in the dream world—the ability to probe the inner thoughts of a target by touching the emotional aura around them—had been brought into reality.

In other words, as long as Ishihara Shou and Friend A have physical contact, he can hear some of the thoughts contained in her inner emotions—

"He's a really nice person, but unfortunately, it's only for this one month. If I had enough money, I wouldn't mind leaving the civil service and staying home to do his laundry and cook for him..."

"That bastard upstairs, doesn't he know his place? Trying to take advantage of me?"

"That bitch Ryoko, so what if she hooked up with a rich guy? What's she so smug about?"

"Ugh, so boring."

Although this was a pleasant surprise for Ishihara Sho, the uncontrollable sound drilling into his head was enough to make him feel very upset. If he couldn't find a way to block it, he would be even more afraid to have contact with people in the future.

"So, what exactly do you do?" During the meal, friend A couldn't contain his curiosity and asked Ishihara Sho.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Ishihara Akira asked with a smile.

"Could it be some kind of shameful profession?" Friend A asked in surprise.

"No, it's just that it might be a little different from what you imagine."

"What kind of profession is that?" Friend A asked curiously.

“The funeral service industry,” Ishihara Akira said with a smile.

"A mortician?" Sure enough, friend A's expression changed, as he thought of a profession mentioned in a movie he had seen before.

“No.” Ishihara Akira shook his head.

"That is……"

“The staff who helped with the burial,” Ishihara Sho said vaguely.

Anyway, he wasn't going to tell his friend A too much of his true information until he was ready to completely make her his woman.

So apart from the name, he makes up whatever else he can, and if he can't make it up, he just lies, like he is now.

"So you've been busy with this these past few days?"

"Yes." Ishihara Akira nodded.

Friend A fell silent, unsure of what to say for a moment...

In short, the two ate dinner in silence, then washed up, watched TV together for a while, and then, amidst the almost daily commotion upstairs, began a new round of marital intimacy...

Afterwards, friend A fell asleep from exhaustion, while Ishihara Akira leaned against the headboard and looked at friend A beside him, pondering matters related to information blocking.

"If I can see into emotions and eavesdrop on the information contained within them, then logically I should also be able to block them. After all, they are my abilities, and as the master of these abilities, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to control them. I'm not a real demon..."

"Is it because I was corrupted and transformed by the Demon King Mara, becoming a so-called Heavenly Demon? Therefore, my soul has not fully adapted to the current changes, which is why these supernatural powers have become less controllable..."

"Looks like I still need to keep training."