The Kawakami couple also participated in this casual meal. They had no resemblance to Cheng Shuang and treated her as a guest of the Akasaka family throughout the meal.
Akasaka's mother initially paid close attention to Cheng Shuang, glancing at the boy who looked remarkably like Yuko from time to time. But gradually, her feelings towards Cheng Shuang subtly shifted to those of a mother treating her son's new friend—not overly enthusiastic, but polite and courteous.
Cheng Shuang and the other two exchanged glances. It seemed that the identity of the maintainers was gradually losing its presence. Once the Ghost Festival ended and they left, the natives would probably start to follow their old path again.
After dinner, as night was approaching, Du Jun saw Cheng Shuang and Si Hai off on behalf of the Akasaka family. The Akasaka couple, who remained at home, couldn't help but praise, "Ryusuke's foreign friend is very knowledgeable, speaks and acts very well, and speaks Mandarin fluently!"
The Kawakami couple exclaimed in surprise, "Aren't you friends of Senri?"
The two families looked at each other, and after staring blankly at their friend Qianli for a moment, he scratched his head and asked, "Why am I standing here?" He turned his head and exclaimed, "Mom and Dad, when did you arrive?"
Cheng Shuang and the other two were unaware of what was happening inside the house, but everywhere they could see people hurrying home as if they had encountered an urgent matter.
The day of the Great Demon Festival is a national holiday, and there are few people working overtime the day before. Nowadays, the streets and alleys are full of people going home, and they lock the doors and close the windows as soon as they get home, their actions are extremely uniform.
Now, those still wandering aimlessly in the streets are either ghosts or protectors.
Cheng Shuang slightly curled the corners of her lips, looking at the bewildered protectors surrounded by ghosts and monsters, and a strange sense of schadenfreude welled up inside her. Everyone's starting point now, tsk tsk, let's keep the infighting! Dumbfounded, aren't they!
Du Jun, who was standing to the side, pressed down on the little girl's head to prevent her undisguised smug expression from being attacked by the group.
Perhaps having understood the current predicament, many groups of maintainers who had preserved their strength and successfully infiltrated among the indigenous people gradually emerged. The three of them walked among the ghosts and monsters with much more confidence than those who were scattered one or two people.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that there are still some who are hiding among the indigenous people and do not want to show themselves, but they are very few. After all, no matter what their identity is, they are all strangers to the indigenous people now, so what is there to hide?
Cheng Shuang recalled the marriages of childhood sweethearts, the large numbers of people who fainted from heatstroke in the middle of the year, the ghosts and monsters hidden in human society, and the mysterious and well-known Onmyoji. She began to have a vague understanding of this place of death.
It was as if everything was deliberately arranged.
The young girl couldn't articulate her still-developing analysis; she herself was rather vague. Therefore, as she followed the direction the ghosts were heading towards the memorial plaza, she focused on observation and vigilance, without engaging in much conversation with Du Jun and Si Hai.
Most of the maintainers felt miserable, and it's not hard to guess how many regretted their actions against other maintainers. Compared to the number of ghosts, the number of humans was small, few and far between.
Now, they are truly in a predicament, unable to back down.
Staying away from ghosts and monsters means staying away from the crucial moment when the gates of hell are wide open. But going with the flow is like a drop in the ocean; if you make any unusual moves, you can easily be swallowed up by ghosts and monsters.
Fortunately, at such a grand gathering, the ghosts and monsters seemed oblivious to the hundreds of pounds of meat and vegetables beside them, chatting animatedly about the anecdotes and interesting stories they had experienced throughout the year.
Cheng Shuang noticed that there were more local ghosts than foreign ghosts around her, and she saw an old woman selling soup and a blind peddler among them.
At this moment, the old woman's kind face changed, and her aura became cold and menacing. She kept stuffing small snacks into her mouth. If you looked closely, the snacks looked like human fingers, and she was biting them with a crunchy sound.
The peddler's handsome face was deathly pale, and his eyes were empty. He raised his hand to look at the road, and it turned out that his original pair of eyes had grown onto his palm.
"The old woman who sells soup is kind-faced but cruel-hearted. She feeds on humans and uses her dishes to lure more people to their deaths. I don't know about the other peddler, but they both seem to be ancient monsters from R country," Sihai explained to Cheng Shuang in an extremely soft voice.
They didn't follow closely behind, but trailed at a distance. The ghosts didn't care, quite certain that they wouldn't run away halfway.
“I know the purpose of the hand.” Du Jun simply sketched out the image of the purpose of the hand in a few words.
The Eye of the Hand was a blind musician who played the piano in restaurants every day, living off the charity of his customers. One night, he was murdered by a robber who stole all his money. After death, he was reborn as the Eye of the Hand. His facial eyes remain blind, but two eyes have grown on each of his hands. He wanders around seeking revenge, rushing forward and strangling anyone he suspects is the murderer. However, because he was blind in life, he cannot find the real killer through his "eyes," and those he unfortunately encounters can only accept their bad luck.
Along the way, Cheng Shuang also saw several 'vendors' setting up stalls, and unsurprisingly, they were all ghosts and monsters.
Using the most primitive methods, they devoutly measured the path to the holy land step by step with their own feet. As they walked, Cheng Shuang noticed something was amiss.
In a hospital they passed by, people who had fainted from heatstroke walked out with vacant eyes and slowly joined the ranks of the ghosts.
She spotted Maki in the group.
The little girl silently lowered her eyes and went through the doubts in her mind again.
As night fell, the throng of ghosts arrived at a magnificent shrine that resembled a temple. The shrine had a high platform, countless steps, and was surrounded by lush trees. With the sound of wind chimes, it was hard to tell whether it was a sacred and solitary place for gods and Buddhas or a haven for ghosts and monsters.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
