Chapter 204

The girl's voice sounded just like she was acting spoiled with the person she loved most.

【Ding, Toyama Kazuha has developed an affinity for you; current affinity level is 4.】

Akaso Kaze walked down the corridor, the smile on his face gradually fading.

The situation at the Takeda residence seemed a bit off; Hattori Heiji and Takeda Shinichi were both gone.

Using a divination spell, he found they were actually heading toward the mountain where Akaso Kaze had just been.

Going to such a remote place in the middle of the night was definitely not normal.

Akaso Kaze didn't rush to follow them, but instead went deep into the inner courtyard of the Takeda residence.

Arriving in front of an old house, he knocked on the door.

An aged voice came from inside the room.

"Who is it?"

Akaso Kaze said: "I am an Onmyoji from Tokyo; I have some things I would like to ask you, elder."

There was silence in the room for two seconds before a reply came: "So it is Lord Akaso, please come in."

Akaso Kaze pushed the door open.

The old woman was kneeling on a prayer mat, bowing piously toward the shrine in front of her.

Akaso Kaze looked at the eerie statue in the shrine, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"May I ask if the idol in the shrine is the legendary Spider Immortal?"

Takeda Chie nodded.

Akaso Kaze said: "Elder, could you tell me the legend of the Spider Immortal?"

Takeda Chie glanced at Akaso Kaze, then slowly turned around and began to tell the story.

"Legend has it that in this place called Puppet Ridge, there was once a beautiful woman who looked as fair as a fairy."

"Whenever travelers from all directions passed through this place, she would call out to them and ask things like, 'Do you believe there is a Paradise in this world?' or 'Would you like to go and have some fun?'..."

"At these times, travelers with weak wills would be seduced by the woman's beauty and agree without a second thought, only to disappear into the forest and never return."

"A puppeteer heard about this and thought of a plan."

"He placed a life-sized puppet on the road to attract the beautiful woman."

"Not long after, the beauty indeed appeared and began to ask him the same questions."

"But of course, the puppet wouldn't answer her questions, so the woman tore off her disguise, revealed her true spider form, and began to attack the puppet."

"Seeing this, the puppeteer shot the fire arrows he had brought at the spider, and so the spider, covered in flames, fled in a panic into the forest."

"When the puppeteer followed, he discovered that the large spider and the other small spiders had all been burned to death in their nest."

"Later, the people here were afraid of being cursed by the spider, so they built a shrine and worshipped the 'Spider Immortal' for generations."

"This place has been known as 'Puppet Ridge' ever since."

Takeda Chie finished the story, feeling a bit parched, and took a few sips of water from the ceramic cup beside her.

Akaso Kaze looked at her and asked: "Then where is the legendary spider nest?"

Takeda Chie pondered for a moment and said heavily: "I don't know the exact location, but when I was a child, I heard the elders in the family say it seemed to be on the mountain where Misa was buried."

It was indeed that place, the same place where Akaso Kaze and Toyama Kazuha had just been; perhaps the cave he saw with his Eye of Space was the spider nest.

However, the spiders there didn't look like they had been wiped out.

Akaso Kaze looked at the statue and asked: "I heard there was once a shrine in the Takeda residence dedicated to the Spider Immortal?"

Takeda Chie nodded.

"The puppet warehouse was originally the shrine; Shinichi, that child, wouldn't listen to reason and tore down the shrine six years ago to build this puppet warehouse."

"Three years after the warehouse was built, retribution came; my granddaughter Misa and my daughter-in-law Kinuyo both hanged themselves in that warehouse, and later Negishi died there too..."

Akaso Kaze frowned slightly.

"Since that is the case, why doesn't Mr. Takeda make puppets in another place?"

After a moment of silence, Takeda Chie said in a low voice: "Because in the entire Takeda family, only the puppets made there have a soul."

A soul?

Akaso Kaze's heart stirred.

Spider Immortal, puppets, soul.

It sounded like there was a strong connection.

He used his Eye of Space to look inside the puppet warehouse, but there was nothing unusual even after looking through the walls.

However, when he went more than ten meters deep underground, a hollow space appeared, pitch black and leading to who knows where.

Akaso Kaze narrowed his eyes, feeling he had figured some things out.

He stood up to take his leave and turned to depart.

Takeda Chie watched his back, a look of pleading flashing in her eyes.

"All of this sin was caused by me; I hope to use my life to protect the Takeda family from this disaster."

The old woman's voice echoed in the dim room.

In the village, in another residence, Pous Pous Qinglan was lying on the bed.

A door suddenly opened in the room, and Akaso Kaze walked out from it.

No need to say much; the magic slave had already received the order.

Pous Pous Qinglan got up, took off her clothes, put on a black bodysuit, and equipped her firearms and various weapons.

Then she followed Akaso Kaze into the Gate of Space.

On the hillside where Misa was buried, Hattori Heiji and Takeda Shinichi finally arrived in front of the cave entrance halfway up the mountain.

Hattori Heiji was panting heavily.

He couldn't understand why they had walked such a long distance in the middle of the night.

A young, beautiful woman stood at the cave entrance, and upon seeing the three of them, a look of sadness appeared on her face.

She covered her small mouth and said: "Mother, you... you really brought Father here?"

Kinuyo looked at her daughter, then turned to look at Takeda Shinichi, nodding faintly with a dull expression.

"All of this was caused by him; if it weren't for him, we mother and daughter wouldn't have become like this..."

Hattori Heiji was confused and couldn't help but interrupt their conversation, asking: "Mrs. Kinuyo, isn't your daughter alive and well? Why do you say she is dead?"

Misa looked over curiously, "Mother, who is this?"

"He is a high school detective I invited; his father is the Superintendent of the Osaka Prefectural Police. If he goes missing here, a large number of police will definitely come looking for him."

"Huh?" Hattori Heiji was stunned.

"Mrs. Kinuyo, are you my client? But what do you mean by this? Why would I go missing?"

Kinuyo turned back and smiled at him.

"Detective Hattori, my name is Takeda Kinuyo, and this is my daughter Takeda Misa; do you remember now?"

As she spoke, she twisted her waist.

Hattori Heiji felt something loosen around his neck.

His brain suddenly cleared, and he remembered what he had seen and heard since arriving at the Takeda residence.

"What? You are Takeda Kinuyo, and she is Takeda Misa? Didn't you both die three years ago?"

Hattori Heiji felt something was wrong.

He turned his head to look at Takeda Shinichi beside him.

Takeda Shinichi's eyes were vacant, and he stood there blankly.

By the bright moonlight, one could see a white thread connecting from his neck to under Takeda Kinuyo's kimono.

Hattori Heiji's eyes suddenly widened, filled with terror.

He looked down abruptly.

Sure enough, an identical white thread was wrapped around his own neck, connecting to the same place.

"You, what exactly do you want to do?"

Hattori Heiji's teeth were chattering.

— Author's Notes —

Thanks to sky Xiamuo for the tip.