The light rain continued for five days straight, until July 14th, just one night away from the day the gates of hell were to open.
Over the course of five days, the streets and alleys were filled with strangely dressed people, including tourists from various countries. The people of R country seemed to take it for granted and even enthusiastically provided many short-term job opportunities to these strangers who were unlikely to stay for long.
Through observation, it was found that only one in a thousand tourists might be maintenance workers or station chiefs. Compared to the locals who actually came to visit, they were more cautious and would inadvertently reveal a certain superiority complex when dealing with the locals, such as pity, contempt, or arrogance.
And the one in a thousand strangely dressed people are very likely ghosts or monsters hiding in human society. After all, Cheng Shuang had never seen a human who was so badly injured that he was wrapped in bandages still in the mood to travel abroad to visit friends and family.
It is evident that the Great Demon Festival is truly one of the world's greatest celebrations, attracting even demons from afar to participate.
Perhaps due to the influx of foreigners, the Metropolitan Police Department finally put aside its scattered cases and focused on tackling the conflicts between international friends and locals, while also trying to solve the survival and employment problems of those who had little money and wanted to come to R country to freeload (mainly ghosts).
So when Cheng Shuang noticed that the number of people surrounding her had decreased, the girl decisively shaved her head with Sihai's electric clippers. Moreover, she abandoned her low-key style and wore a well-made pair of overalls with a shirt and bow tie, plus retro round-framed sunglasses. To anyone, she looked like a cute little boy with a round head and delicate features.
Du Jun and Si Hai had seen Cheng Shuang with short hair before. Now her cheeks were a bit fuller, making her even cuter than before. Her chubby little face and her red lips and white teeth made her look adorable when she smiled.
Both of them felt that her current image was very different from how she usually looked when she wore R country elementary school uniforms or sportswear, so they were relieved and allowed her to go out for a walk.
On the other hand, Qianli expressed her heartbroken feelings to her 'new' partner, especially regarding the long, dark hair on the ground, which made the boy wish he could pick up each strand and glue it back on for her.
"I don't want brothers! Give me back my cute little sister!"
A thousand miles of naive protests were ignored by everyone.
Of course, to make it even better, Sihai added some equipment for Cheng Shuang, such as colored contact lenses, hair dye, and height-increasing insoles.
Because of the large number of tourists, the empty houses near the Akasaka and Kawakami residences have become temporary rental properties. Due to Saeki's reputation as a haunted house, most of the people living around are not human.
Comparatively, the ghosts acted more recklessly. The once quiet residential area was now filled with stalls selling things with a distinctly modern style. Among them was a peddler carrying a shoulder pole. He wore a rough-made kimono and had a chonmage hairstyle that many modern women would envy in ancient Japan. Fortunately, his handsome features added to his overall image.
The shy peddler was named Zhimu. He sold goods during the day and performed at night, excelling in various musical instruments and singing. Unfortunately, his beautiful eyes were lifeless, and he was blind, which made him very pitiful and cared for by the neighborhood aunties.
Cheng Shuang even saw an older woman from China lead a square dance despite the drizzling rain, and Zhi Mu became their free live accompaniment master, encouraging the neighbors to exercise at night, creating a harmonious and joyful atmosphere...
It's not hard to guess that when the gates of hell are wide open, humans and ghosts are in a true symbiotic state. Humans are like those with a filter on, blind to the strangeness of ghosts, while ghosts are much more tolerant of humans, and the territorial desires among their kind are somewhat weakened.
However, it wasn't that the ghosts were harmless during this time. As Cheng Shuang and Qianli walked down the street, they saw a kind old woman selling soup at a street corner. She scooped a pair of round eyeballs out of the soup and put them into a bowl. The uncle who bought the soup smiled and paid the money, and was about to stand up and drink the soup.
"Dad!" Chisato called out at the right moment. Of course, he didn't see the eyes rolling around in the bowl. He was simply hungry and, upon discovering that it was his father, Akasaka, who was buying the soup, he hurriedly greeted him.
Akasaka's father slowly turned his head, his empty eyes fixed on Chisato. He blinked, as if just coming to his senses, and his fake smile transformed into the most sincere fatherly love. He placed the bowl on the old woman's stall and stretched out his arms to welcome his son who was rushing towards him.
Cheng Shuang witnessed the old woman's momentary gloomy expression, but she didn't insist. She quickly ladled out a new bowl of soup from another pot and replaced the previous one, placing it next to Akasaka's father.
After lifting his son high in the air, Akasaka's father heard his son's stomach rumbling and teased, "You only know to come home when you're hungry! You little rascal, where have you been playing again?"
Despite the serious incident at the private hospital, apart from the medical staff all falling into a deep sleep, the hospital itself suffered minimal damage. In addition, there have been many more police officers patrolling recently, and the Akasaka couple do not restrict their children's activities, sometimes even indulging them.
Yuko is missing, and her own son probably knows the situation best. They also hope that the well-behaved child they raised can return home safely.
No one in the Akasaka family believed that Yuko was the murderer and corpse thief; they only thought that the child had gotten involved in another supernatural incident that was difficult to prove with evidence.
The Kawakami couple did return to Japan, but strangely, they seemed to have forgotten about Tomie and Yuko. The Akasaka couple brought it up several times, but they quickly changed the subject.
Left with no other choice, the Akasaka couple could only keep quiet.
After teasing his son, Akasaka's father turned around and saw the boy walking with his son. The boy was prettier and taller than his son (Cheng Shuang: Height-increasing insoles = treasure!), and he was a foreigner.
Thinking about the recent influx of international friends, Akasaka's father asked, "New friends?"
Qianli scratched his face and nodded hastily. He would only reveal his friend's identity after the crisis was completely over. Well, Uncle Hai said this wasn't deception; it was a white lie for everyone's benefit.
"How about inviting your new friends over for dinner?"
Akasaka's father deliberately said this in English, and Chisato awkwardly broke free from her father's embrace, silently asking while holding Cheng Shuang's hand.
Cheng Shuang silently shook her head slightly at him, also declining Akasaka's father's kindness in English.
Seeing his son's dejected expression, Akasaka's father patted his head. When he inadvertently saw a handsome and tall foreigner approaching from afar, he assumed that the foreigner was an elder of Chisato's new friend.
Akasaka's father gestured for Senri to look over, and then took the initiative to go forward and chat with Yoshimi, who had been protecting Cheng Shuang.
In the end, Shikai Daisuke accepted Akasaka's father's invitation. They were not really tourists; shopping was just another way of collecting information.
All of Cheng Shuang's enemies had been dealt with when he arrived in R country, so it was best for him to accompany her openly. As for Du Jun, whose identity was too conspicuous, he chose to act in secret, using Long Jie's connections to compile a complete record of the events surrounding the Ghost Festival over the past ten years.
By going to the Akasaka family, Ryusuke also had an excuse to meet with them.
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