Chapter 22: Punishing the Evil
【Rental house in the mountains】
The drizzle the day before yesterday covered the world with a veil, and the air was filled with the fresh fragrance of grass after the rain.
Raindrops tapped on the treetops, dancing with the fallen leaves, and eventually covered the courtyard of the mountain with emerald green, like a natural quilt, gently covering the earth.
The mother on the mountain was holding a slightly worn broom, patiently and carefully sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground.
Suddenly a cool breeze blew, and the mother on the mountain felt a little uncomfortable and coughed slightly.
"Lord, please bless me, and may the illness go away soon."
She clasped her hands together, looked up at the sky, closed her eyes and prayed silently to the gods of the Unification Church, as if this simple ritual could take away all the pain.
Not far away, behind the bushes, Shan Shangzhe was hiding among them. Through a small cave, he stared at his mother's slightly hunched figure with mixed feelings.
Although the current situation of the family was partly the mother's responsibility, this situation filled his heart with complex emotions, and thousands of words converged into a silent sigh.
"Why don't you go over and say hello to your family?"
Listening to the questions coming from around him, Yamagami Tetsuya slowly put down his hands that were supporting the cave entrance, letting the leaves return to their original positions naturally, as if no one had ever disturbed the tranquility.
He looked back at the masked man beside him, a look of relief in his eyes.
"That's it."
"By the way, are you sure you don't plan to go see your sister?"
For some reason, Yamagami Tetsuya had a feeling that there seemed to be a hint of teasing in the masked man's voice?
"Forget it, she should concentrate on studying in the house. I won't disturb her. Maybe my sudden appearance will make them feel uneasy."
Zheya replied calmly and then turned and left.
"what ever."
The masked man's words drifted away in the wind, leaving behind a lonely place.
————————
"Um, where am I?"
Shiratori's consciousness gradually returned, and his body felt as if it had been hit by a heavy hammer, with every inch of his skin expressing pain and discomfort.
He stretched out his palms with difficulty, pressed them against the wet grass, and tried to use the strength to support his weak body.
“Hmm!”
Shiratori felt his appetite churning. He raised his head and looked at the surroundings, and suddenly felt a plastic bag of food at hand.
In an instant, a lot of memories flooded into my mind.
Oh no, Tetsuya Yamagami is going to the Unification Church now, we must stop him quickly!
Thinking of this, Shiratori took out his mobile phone from his waist. Fortunately, Yamagami Tetsuya did not take his phone away, allowing him to contact the police station as quickly as possible.
"Minister Ogiso, I'm Shiratori!"
"I have urgent and important information to report to you immediately, regarding Yamagami Tetsuya's movements..."
As night falls, the last rays of light in the sky are about to be swallowed up by the curtain of night.
In the context of ancient Japanese legends, this brief moment from the sunset to the moment when everything is completely silent is endowed with a mysterious hue.
The boundary between yin and yang is at its haziest, and this is the golden time when monsters and gods travel between the human worlds.
It is also called the time when the devil meets you.
Yamagami Tetsuya looked at the dark sky. He couldn't help but think about it. He had a strange feeling about this moment full of humanistic fantasy.
Although it was only a few days since the last time I saw the sunset, it is no exaggeration to say that everything has been turned upside down for both my family and myself.
"Hello, would you like a mask?"
Yamagami Tetsuya heard the question and turned his head, and saw a weathered old man pushing a cart on the road selling his carved masks.
…
Watching the old man pushing the cart away, Yamagami Tetsuya put on the evil spirit mask he had bought.
"The monster is coming!"
…
"We are so miserable. The top brass are enjoying the banquet inside, but we can only stand here alone like guards, without even a bite of comfort food!"
The young people's complaints echoed in the air, sounding particularly harsh.
Listening to the complaints of the young man next to him, a slightly older man frowned in displeasure.
In his opinion, being able to watch over the Unification Church's top brass during such gatherings is the greatest reward for him as a believer!
That guy next to him, does he know what he is talking about!
There's really no hope!
However, out of the unity and fraternity advocated by the church, he suppressed the urge to criticize, his face was livid, and he turned a deaf ear to the young people's complaints.
"Hey, pay attention to me!"
The young man still refused to give in.
"Look, there's a weird man wearing a mask over there, acting mysterious!"
Hearing his companion's warning, the older man followed the other's finger and looked towards the path next to the church.
Sure enough, a staggering man wearing a demon mask was walking towards the church step by step.
"Hey, guy over there, this is a private area, no entering!"
The evil ghost ignored the warning and continued to move forward.
“You bastard!”
The young man couldn't help but step forward.
But in an instant he felt dizzy, followed by a sharp pain in his back. He found that he had been lying on the ground without knowing when, and the evil ghost was stepping on his abdomen.
The evil ghost turned its head towards him.
A hoarse voice came from behind the mask.
"Just leave now and no one will get hurt!"
"What are you doing here?"
Although he was clearly being stepped on by the other party, the young man was inexplicably moved to utter his doubts.
"Punish the evil!"
After saying this, Yamagami Tetsuya looked at the young man at his feet with a thoughtful expression, and then fell silent.
"Is this really what you really want? Staying here and being a watchdog for those evil people?"
After thinking about it, Yamagami Tetsuya took his feet away from the other person.
"Leave here, this place doesn't belong to you!"
"Hey, what are you talking about in front of the abode of the gods?"
The older man next to them heard the conversation clearly, and he pulled out the stick from his waist and swung it hard at Yamagami Tetsuya without any hesitation.
"ah!"
The stick was seized at some point and fell to the ground.
Yamagami Tetsuya grabbed the older man's neck with one hand and lifted him into the air, his tone full of indifference.
"I'll give you a chance. Are you willing to quit the Unification Church?"
"Ugh! You pagans, you shall die!"
Yamagami Tetsuya frowned and exerted force with his hand. With a click, the man's neck broke.
The other's body was thrown on the ground in a boring way.
"What about you?"
The young man lay on the ground looking at the demon mask which looked even more creepy in the moonlight.
What a joke, I'm just here to work, how could I meet this kind of guy?
Feeling the wetness coming from the lower body.
"ah!"
After shouting loudly, the young man mustered up his courage and crawled to the side of the road.
Seeing that the other party chose to leave, Yamagami Zheya did not intend to continue chasing.
Then his eyes turned to the magnificent church...
(End of this chapter)
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