I have an unlimited number of shikigami

At that moment, footsteps suddenly came from in front of the worship hall. He went forward and saw a group of Section 9 agents dressed in black combat uniforms and armed with guns.

Chapter 27. The 100 Million Yen Case

Lesson Nine.

Officially known as the Metropolitan Police Department's Special Crime Investigation Division 9, it is an elite unit specializing in handling paranormal events.

The team of Section 9 agents who entered the worship hall walked quickly and had serious expressions.

A customer has come to the door... Fujiwara Izaya had an idea and quickly went to greet him.

People who come to the shrine can be roughly divided into two types.

One type is the regular worshippers who come to pay their respects. Although they visit often, they give very little money, and some even just wander around, getting a free ride from the gods. The other type is people who have encountered a major problem and are eager to seek help from the gods. Since they have something to ask of the gods, they are naturally much more generous.

The leader, Section 9 agent, was a tall man wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses. Although he had a slightly large belly, his Keanu Reeves-like attire gave him a rather imposing presence.

Fujiwara Izaya knew him.

This soft-shelled fish... oh no, this Mr. Suzuki is a police inspector-level officer in Section 9, responsible for all kinds of paranormal cases in Taito Ward, where Asakusa is located.

He's probably here because he's encountered some difficult case and is seeking outside help.

"Hehe, long time no see," Inspector Suzuki said with a practiced fawning smile as soon as he saw Fujiwara Izaya. "I've missed the little mage so much that I haven't been able to drink lately."

"Don't give me that," Fujiwara Izaya said, putting his hands behind his back and adopting an air of superiority. "You must have run into some tricky case. Otherwise, you could go to Yoshiwara a hundred times and you wouldn't come to my Asakusa Shrine even once."

"Oh, not at all. I was planning to come here to get a fortune slip during Golden Week anyway," Inspector Suzuki said with a cheerful smile. Seeing that Fujiwara Rin was unmoved, he put on a serious expression without any shame and continued, "However, last night, a case of a vengeful spirit committing murder happened in this area."

“No wonder there were so many police officers this morning,” Fujiwara Rinya nodded slightly. “Please tell me more, Inspector.”

“Two people died, this is a big problem,” Inspector Suzuki said, taking off his sunglasses and putting them in his pocket. “They died between 3 and 4 a.m. yesterday. According to surveillance footage along the route, the deceased and his girlfriend left a bar in Yoshiwara and drove to the Asakusa section before having a minor car accident. Judging from the extent of the damage to the vehicles at the scene, the accident was not fatal, but both of their deaths were extremely gruesome. Traces of lingering resentment were also detected at the scene, and Section 9 has determined that it was the work of a vengeful spirit.”

"what?"

Fujiwara Izaya looked somewhat puzzled.

Vengeful spirits are not something you can encounter just anywhere.

Strictly speaking, they belong to a type of earthbound spirit, which can only linger at the place of death to seek revenge. But there is a temple and three shrines near Asakusa, and all vengeful spirits have long been wiped out. How could a vengeful spirit suddenly appear and kill someone on the main street?

“I also find it very strange. How could a vengeful spirit dare to kill someone near the little sorcerer? It’s like Kennedy riding in a convertible, isn’t it?” Inspector Suzuki subtly flattered Fujiwara Izaya and continued, “So, I’d like to ask the little sorcerer to come with me to the scene and find the vengeful spirit to give it a good talking-to.”

“That’s certainly possible.” Fujiwara Izaya nodded, then hesitated slightly, “However, I’ve been quite busy lately, so I’m afraid…”

That's just polite talk.

He was waiting for Inspector Suzuki to offer his price.

Tokyo has 23 wards, each with its own shrines and temples.

Whenever a paranormal crime occurs, Section 9 sets up a special investigation team. When they encounter a difficult case, they will pay a certain fee to seek help from the shrine or temple in the area where the case is located.

“One million yen,” Inspector Suzuki immediately replied.

Having dealt with the junior mage a few times, he naturally knew the market price for junior mages.

Generally speaking, a junior mage charges 10 to 30 yen for a regular ghost.

As for vengeful spirits, the price is 80 to 100 yen.

This price is much higher than the market price, but Inspector Suzuki doesn't seem to care at all when he asks for the price.

after all……

It wasn't him who paid for it.

Using government money to curry favor with the young monk is a win-win situation.

The little mage made money and was happy; he also gained credit and won the little mage's favor, making him doubly happy; after all this, the government may have lost money, but the government's money originally belonged to the citizens, so returning it to the citizens is not wrong, right?

Upon hearing the figure of 100 million, Fujiwara Izaya immediately smiled kindly and nodded: "Let's go, Inspector, take me to the scene."

"The little mage is so cool!"

Inspector Suzuki bowed and scraped, offering a flattering compliment, while simultaneously pulling out sunglasses, putting them on, and turning to walk confidently out the door.

Fujiwara Izaya followed behind and soon arrived at the crime scene.

It's located at a bend in a main road not far from Asakusa Shrine, only 300 meters away as the crow flies, and very close to Kaminarimon Gate of Senso-ji Temple. It can be said to be sandwiched between Asakusa Shrine and Senso-ji Temple.

The scene has been cordoned off, with three police SUVs surrounding the area. Police officers are setting up tents to block the view, and heavily armed detectives from the Ninth Division are on guard nearby, preventing unauthorized personnel from entering.

The area around Senso-ji Temple is a bustling area, and this scene attracted a large number of onlookers. Unable to see what was happening inside, they gathered on the perimeter and discussed the scene in hushed tones.

As Fujiwara Izaya crawled through the police cordon, a horrifying scene came into view.

A Ferrari sports car, leaving long skid marks, crashed into the median barrier. The bumper was detached, and the front of the car was severely dented. But that wasn't the main point. The main point was that the road surface around the sports car was evenly covered with human remains.

Bloodstains, minced meat, broken bones, broken hair, and even fingernails were nowhere to be found intact... Because of the rain in the morning, despite setting up the tents early, rainwater still seeped in along the road, making the whole scene extremely disgusting and sticky, with a mass of meat paste everywhere.

Upon seeing this scene, Fujiwara Rin felt physically disgusted.

"Little mage, here..." Inspector Suzuki, who was prepared, immediately handed over a handkerchief sprayed with deodorizing spray. He had already vomited once that morning, and seeing it now still made his stomach churn.

"Thank you."

Fujiwara Izaya took the handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose.

Several forensic doctors in medical uniforms were still diligently using tweezers to pick up evidence from the ground.

Honestly...

There's no need to examine the body.

Extracting the victim's DNA from this pile of minced flesh and blood to help identify the deceased is the only thing they can do to help right now.

You've worked hard... Fujiwara Izaya silently paid his respects to the forensic pathologist.

After the forensic doctor finished collecting the samples, there were still many uncollectible fragments left on the ground. At this moment, an old monk and a young monk came in from outside the tent.

The old monk had a kind face and gentle eyes, while the young monk had red lips and white teeth; they were both dressed in clean, new white monk robes and held wooden fish ritual implements, making them quite presentable.

Chapter 28. Your son is being trampled under your feet.

Fujiwara Izaya knew them.

The old monk was the abbot of Senso-ji Temple. He possessed great spiritual power and held a prestigious position. His influence in Japanese Buddhism and Taoism ranked among the top three.

The young monk was his disciple.

The two people came to pray for the souls of the dead.

Generally speaking, after a person dies, their soul is detained by the Black and White Ghost Messengers and taken back to the Underworld.

However, if someone dies unjustly, their soul will carry resentment, which can prevent them from being discovered by the black and white ghosts, allowing them to continue wandering in the human world.

The dead have no intelligence and no ability to harm people.

However, if left unattended, they can draw on the resentment they need by frightening people, slowly turning into harmful ghosts. As they accumulate more and more resentment, the ghosts will become more brutal and powerful, with only revenge on their minds.

To prevent the birth of vengeful spirits, priests or monks can be seen performing rituals at most murder scenes.

Fujiwara Rin doesn't know how to perform rituals.

Therefore, he held great respect for those who could perform rituals, priesthood, and monkhood.

"Greetings, Master Hongwen." Fujiwara Izaya clasped his hands together and bowed to the old monk.

When addressing clergy, use "Master" for younger individuals and "Grandmaster" for older or higher-ranking individuals.

"Greetings, Fujiwara-kun."

The Venerable Master Hongwen politely returned the greeting.

How dare you be impolite...?

As a neighbor of several decades, he knew the past of Asakusa Shrine better than anyone else. If this child was indeed a descendant of that shrine maiden, all the monks in Asakusa Temple combined wouldn't be enough to defeat him with one hand.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Fujiwara Izaya, the old monk took off his prayer beads, clasped his hands together, and began to chant the Rebirth Mantra in a low voice. The young monk dared not delay and also began to strike the wooden fish in his hand.

The chanting of sutras, imbued with Buddhist teachings, caused a subtle, imperceptible fluctuation in the air inside the tent.

Two figures slowly materialized.

A man and a woman, two semi-transparent ghosts, floated in the air, their expressions bewildered.

The man, dressed in flamboyant and extravagant clothes, looked left and right as if searching for his way home, while his waving hands seemed to be looking for something to lean on to steady himself; the woman, dressed sexily and with glamorous makeup, seemed to have nowhere to go, squatting down and hugging her legs with both hands, her curled-up body like an unclaimed suitcase on an airport carousel.

Looking at the two dead souls, Fujiwara Izaya sighed with pity and turned to Inspector Suzuki, asking, "Do you know their identities?"

“Hmm, we’ve already compared them,” Inspector Suzuki picked up a tablet from the makeshift desk next to him and swiped through the timeline twice. “The man’s name is Kitahara Hideki. His family owns a construction company. He’s a rich young master. The woman’s name is Momose Sami. She’s been an orphan since she was a child and has no relatives.”

After saying that, he showed the citizen registration information on the tablet to Fujiwara Izaya.

The woman in the photo, Momose Hayami, looks to be around seventeen or eighteen years old. Her eyes are bright and clear, and her expression is innocent and naive. It's hard to connect her with the heavily made-up ghost in front of us.

Fujiwara Izaya looked up at Momose Hayami's ghost.

Even though she was dead and had lost all consciousness, she still vividly remembered the reality that she had nowhere to go, which is quite pitiful when you think about it.

The Rebirth Mantra has been recited.

The old monk opened his eyes, reached out his hand, and gently tapped Momose Hayami's forehead.

Rest in peace.

A soft light emanated from the old monk's fingertips. In this warm light, Momose Hayami's face revealed a relieved smile, and she gradually turned into white light spots that drifted into the air.

Infected by the smile on his face, Fujiwara Rinya smiled as well and bowed slightly to the old monk: "Master, your merits are immeasurable."

This phenomenon is called "becoming a Buddha".

May the departed souls let go of their obsessions, purify their resentment, recall the most beautiful moments of their lives, find liberation in happiness, and depart peacefully.

Every wronged soul has a tragic past.

It can allow them to find relief in happiness, which can be considered a form of compensation.

Fujiwara Izanagi was also unable to do it.

When he performed the ritual for the deceased, he used a different, relatively efficient and simple method.

"Rest in peace on your journey, and do not linger in the mortal world." The old monk chanted the Rebirth Mantra as he walked toward the spirit of Kitahara Hideki, who was floating at the tent entrance searching for his way home.