Chapter 47: The Shrines and Temples Take the Blame, Stunned

Silence.

The entire hall fell utterly silent.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, faces etched with shock.

With so much evidence, this is no longer confirmation—it’s irrefutable proof.

“This is a preliminary summary of the investigation into the Yunhu incident. The full, detailed findings are in the documents distributed to you just now.”

Upon hearing this,

those present immediately picked up the documents handed out by Secretary Saito’s subordinates during his speech.

Opening them, they found the records meticulously detailed—more thorough than what Saito had stated—containing speculative reconstructions of the ancient city’s layout, conclusions matching its architecture to the Heian period, DNA reports, and much more.

Soon, the conference hall buzzed with murmurs, whispers, faces showing shock, gravity, or concern.

Not long after,

a cabinet minister stood up, his eyes flickering.

“If yokai truly exist—and are powerful—how did ancient humans deal with them? Did onmyoji, monks, even gods also exist?”

Japan is a nation with a long history, possessing not only yokai culture but also deep-rooted divine and religious traditions, with countless shrines and temples.

In Japan, wherever you go, you will inevitably find a shrine or temple nearby.

Statistics show Japan has roughly 85,000 shrines alone—not even counting temples—illustrating just how profound its divine and religious culture is.

In Japan, whenever yokai are mentioned, gods and onmyoji inevitably come up—core elements of shrine and temple culture.

“Ahem.”

Director Takahashi gave a slight nod, cleared his throat, and drew everyone’s attention.

“Regarding this point, it is precisely what I intend to elaborate on and discuss with you all.

Since yokai are real and may have interacted with our world in ancient times, and given that the Sakurada Group accidentally entered the yokai world, it is possible the yokai world will reconnect with ours again.

We currently know very little about yokai and can only learn from surviving ancient texts.

Through analysis of the Yunhu scene footage, the destruction caused by yokai is no less than that of modern weapons—some even surpass them.

For the safety of our citizens and Japan’s future, I propose forming a special department dedicated to researching yokai and investigating ancient cultural relics.

Shrines and temples are key targets for investigation.”

After a brief pause,

Director Takahashi spoke in a low tone.

“To be honest, long ago, our country, like others, conducted research and investigations into our own culture—specifically targeting shrines and temples, hoping for unexpected discoveries.

But we found nothing—only cultural traditions passed down over time.

Yet, given the current yokai situation, I personally strongly suspect shrines and temples are hiding secrets from us.

I suspect they possess ancient texts detailing onmyoji techniques or Buddhist methods capable of countering yokai.”

His judgment received support from many senior officials present.

“That’s right—I share this view.”

“Exactly! Shrines and temples must be hiding something. They’re being far too secretive. For the sake of the nation, why won’t they share?”

“Exactly! We even proposed promoting shrine and temple culture, yet they gave no response at all.”

“No! We must confront shrines and temples directly—especially major ones like Asakusa Temple, Atsuta Shrine, and Meiji Shrine.”

At this moment,

the earlier cabinet minister spoke again:

“Speaking of shrines and temples, they’ve been declining for years. As society changes and technology advances, fewer and fewer people believe in them anymore—wait a minute!!”

He seemed to realize something.

With a loud thud, he shot to his feet, eyes wide with shock.

“Do you think… the Yunhu incident—the opening of the yokai portal—could have been orchestrated by shrines and temples?”

In less than a second, every top Japanese official present turned to stare at him.

Huh?

What do you mean?

Could it be…

“Think about it: In recent years, shrines and temples have declined sharply—especially this year, even more so. And right as this decline intensified, the Yunhu incident happened.”

As the cabinet minister’s words spread,

the next moment,

everyone paled.

“This…”

“My god—actually, it’s entirely possible!”

“Whoa! This isn’t impossible at all.”

Shrines and temples had begun declining in recent years, especially accelerating this year—and immediately after that acceleration, the Yunhu incident occurred. The timing was too coincidental.

Most crucially, shrines and temples are most closely tied to yokai. The yokai world had suddenly severed its connection to ours, yet now it has reconnected—indicating the yokai portal must have been sealed before, possibly by onmyoji or monks.

For the sake of the world and its people, ancient onmyoji and monks sealed the yokai portal.

But now, shrines and temples are in decline. To maintain public faith, they might have deliberately reopened the yokai portal to revive their relevance.

Once yokai emerge, people will remember shrines and temples again, return to worship them, seek their protection, and restore their faith—thus bringing shrines and temples back to life.

A conspiracy!

A massive conspiracy!

The high-ranking officials present broke into cold sweat, their backs soaked, shuddering with alarm.

“No! We must investigate—thoroughly investigate shrines and temples!” the cabinet minister declared, stern and resolute.

“Yes!”

“Right! We must investigate!”

After this,

various plans were drafted—some concerning shrines and temples, others yokai, and several previously scheduled research projects were accelerated: the Superhuman Serum Project, Biological Mutation Project, Seed Reserve Project, Human Modification Project…

…

Japan, Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya, deep within an ancient forest.

“Grandpa, how many more days are we staying up here?” Tsuchimikado Xia Mei sighed to her grandfather, Tsuchimikado Kenji.

Tsuchimikado Kenji, dressed in the robes of a shrine chief, looked up at his granddaughter, Xia Mei, sitting on a rock fanning herself.

Sigh.

Tsuchimikado Kenji sighed again, unsure whether to laugh or cry, glancing at the surrounding uninhabited mountain wilderness.

“Stay a few days? Stay until you stop believing the nonsense I used to tell you.”

This scene was surreal: in this remote mountain forest, two shrine priests—one elderly, one young—would appear to outsiders as mysterious, enlightened sages in seclusion.

In truth, they were exactly that.

Whether in attire or status, Tsuchimikado Kenji truly was a master.

He was the current chief priest of Atsuta Shrine—one of Japan’s three great shrines—the highest-ranking shrine official there.

…

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