Chapter 122: Ten Dolls Night Traveler · Three Stars (7k)

Is it merely a coincidence that the names are the same, or...?

Uesugi Toru slowly peeled the transparent tape off the iron box.

But a name like "Yako" isn't used nearly as often as common surnames like "Tanaka" or "Aoyama"; it's extremely rare.

The real Goto Yako had already been tricked by Nishiyama Ryota into the mountain forest and buried alive before she ever saw him, and her resentment had even accumulated and transformed into a Bone Girl to take revenge.

If the two are truly the same person, then what exactly was that "Yako" he saw before?

Uesugi Toru looked back and saw another, slightly shorter small building behind the bathhouse.

Whether Goto Yako is actually that Yako he saw when slaying the Doll Curse—he supposed he could find the answer among them.

But there was no rush.

Uesugi Toru completely tore away the layers of tape wrapping the pink iron box, carefully opened the lid, and saw small yellowed paper slips stacked inside.

The handwriting on them was still somewhat crooked, showing that the writer was young.

He looked at the first slip on top.

【Today I decided to go to school in Yokohama, so I can still go home to see Mom and Dad every week... but before going to school, I'll bury the wish box first, and I don't know what will be fulfilled after I dig it up when I graduate.】

Uesugi Toru fell silent for a moment, then took out all the slips of different colors.

He intended to read them all.

This was also a way to determine whether the two Goto Yako were the same person.

The second one.

【Junior high is about to graduate! Mom asked if I want to go to somewhere close like Yokohama so I can go home easily, or go to the big city Tokyo to go to school with Yumeko. Ugh... sounds like a hard choice.】

The third one.

【Yumeko said she's transferring to a school in Tokyo, don't anime always say childhood friends will always stay together? Sad QWQ. But I think we'll definitely meet again!】

The fourth one.

【I met my first friend at school, her name is Hoshino Yumeko, she said we can be friends for a lifetime. A lifetime... it really feels so long.】

The fifth one.

【Today I played house with the dolls under the sakura tree, Mom scolded me, but I was very happy. I want to play with the dolls together again later too.】

The last one.

【Birthday cake, Mom bought me a doll, I'm happy!】

He probably confirmed it.

Uesugi Toru closed the wish box again.

The "Yako" and "Goto Yako" he had encountered before should be the same person.

"But, life is truly unpredictable."

Placing the small jade box and the wish box together into the pit, Uesugi Toru shoveled the soil back in and tamped it down.

Would that Goto Yako, who once felt a lifetime was so long, have imagined that she would end up buried in the same place as the wish box she buried with her own hands, by a stranger?

Probably not.

Uesugi Toru sighed with a touch of emotion, looking at the prompt that popped up after he buried the jade box.

【You have buried the "Bone Woman's Wish" in the grave the Bone Woman expected, and you have gained the Tomorrow Permanent Buff.】

【Tomorrow: Many things will gradually develop in the direction you expect as time passes.】

【——I firmly believe tomorrow will always be a little better than today, and I practice this belief.】

This buff looked pretty good, although he couldn't perceive it much right now, but in the future where the tides of the era would continue to surge, perhaps it would be a crucial boost.

After all, he had only run an errand for someone; how could he be so greedy as to want a better reward?

But Uesugi Toru stared at the description behind it for a while, feeling it was somewhat ironic.

Forget it.

Closing the prompt, Uesugi Toru decided to go to the small building behind—that is, Goto Yako's home—to take a look.

Although the contents of the wish box suggested they were the same person, there was still no absolute certainty.

The situation in her home would determine whether Uesugi Toru would take action against that "Yako" who went with Huiming Monk.

Uesugi Toru took one last look at the small mound of earth under the withered sakura tree, then withdrew his gaze and walked to the small building, pulling open a door on one side without any obstruction.

A thick cloud of dust rose, making Uesugi Toru frown and wave his hand.

He lowered his head and saw at least a finger's thickness of accumulated dust in the seams of the threshold steps; judging by this degree, this house hadn't been lived in or visited for at least four or five years.

Wearing Kaga Kiyomitsu at his waist, Uesugi Toru opened cabinet after cabinet and door after door with his left hand, while his right hand rested on the sword hilt, ready to deal with any sudden situation at any time.

But everything was ordinary.

It seemed this attic was simply just an abandoned house that no one had lived in for a long time.

"There's one last room."

Uesugi Toru stood before the last room on the third floor, gazing at the plaque labeled "Storage Room," and a premonition that "he would definitely find something" rose in his heart.

Crack-crack—

He pushed aside the shoji screen, its lattice covered in dust, with some difficulty, and looked inside.

"Tsk."

Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes.

The floor of the storage room was not only spotless, but not a single extra item could be seen; it could almost be said to be cleaned and tidied spotlessly.

And in the entire storage room, a tall and exquisite seven-tier hina platform was placed right in the center, facing the doorway.

The so-called seven-tier hina platform was a stepped item used to display the dolls bought for the Girls' Festival, that is, hina dolls.

Apart from the first five tiers which held a total of 15 dolls, the sixth and seventh tiers held marriage furniture and transportation items respectively.

Originally, there was nothing wrong with that.

But on this seven-tier Hina Platform before him, the first five tiers that should have held Hina Dolls were empty, while the items on the sixth and seventh tiers were all present, and just as spotless as ever.

The surfaces of the furniture and palanquins reflected a faint light, looking brand new as if they had just been bought.

So, who was regularly cleaning this seven-tier Hina Platform?

The answer was self-evident.

Uesugi Toru exhaled, took out his mobile phone from his pocket, and dialed Hui Ming's phone number.

That Yazi he had seen before, even if she wasn't a Hina Doll, was definitely some other non-human thing.

And now, that thing had sneaked into the Hongan-ji, where there were only two or three big cats and small cats, with an unknown purpose.

Just that one-and-a-half-star Kan'nyo had almost overturned the entire temple, so this "Yazi" absolutely could not be handled by those masters at the Hongan-ji alone.

But strangely... why didn't a label belonging to Yaoguai pop up above her head when he saw Yazi before?

Beep beep beep.

The busy tone from the mobile phone interrupted Uesugi Toru's thoughts.

"Is there something wrong with this bathhouse?"

Uesugi Toru put away his mobile phone, kicked open the third-floor window and leaped out, and in mid-air he saw two translucent figures appear before that dead sakura tree.

A status window popped up—

【Earth-bound Spirit of Goto Bathhouse (Two-Star Half)】

It was actually an earth-bound spirit.

Perhaps at other times, a mere two-star half yokai would count for nothing.

But at this critical moment when every second counted, an earth-bound spirit with strong vitality in its own territory could definitely delay him for quite a while.

Uesugi Toru first tried to leave through the front door of the bathhouse, but discovered that this place had been wrapped in a kekkai raised at some unknown time.

To leave the bathhouse, he had to first slay the earth-bound spirit that had deployed the kekkai.

"This is a bit troublesome."

Uesugi Toru drew Kaga Kiyomitsu, exhaled a scorching white mist, and with a boom landed not far from the faces of those two translucent figures.

Corona Breathing Technique · Fifth—

"What is your relationship with Yazi?"

A blurred tone entered Uesugi Toru's ears, he was stunned for a moment, and looked at the faces of the earth-bound spirits.

Thus, one male and one female, two faces extremely similar to Yazi's appeared before his eyes.

The earth-bound spirits of Goto Bathhouse were actually Yako's parents?

Was there then a possibility of negotiation?

—If possible, Uesugi Toru also did not want to consume a large amount of spirit power and internal qi before facing that "Yazi" whose strength was unknown.

Today's Awakening Spirit Mist had already been used up, and if too much was consumed, it could not be recovered quickly.

So Uesugi Toru spoke bluntly: "I am Yako's friend. I came this time because Yazi instructed me to bury her ashes under the sakura tree."

The two earth-bound spirits, or rather Yako's parents, trembled, and in unison asked: "Yazi... who killed her?"

"Rest assured, the person who killed her has already been sent underground by me."

Uesugi Toru paused, then added: "Perhaps you still don't know, but the Hina Doll that came back to life seems to have taken Yazi's appearance and is harming people outside, and I am going to stop her."

"—So, let me out."

Uesugi Toru gripped the sword hilt of Kaga Kiyomitsu tightly and said seriously.

This was an ultimatum.

If these two earth-bound spirits that suddenly popped out were still ungrateful, regardless of whether they were Yako's parents or grandparents, Uesugi Toru would cut them down without hesitation.

Faint spiritual power fluctuations came from all directions.

Uesugi Toru understood that this was the phenomenon of the earth-bound spirits actively withdrawing the kekkai, allowing the space here to connect with the external world again.

The two earth-bound spirits bowed deeply to him, their tones filled with apology: "Sorry, our daughter has caused you trouble."

"Mm."

Without saying more, Uesugi Toru resumed his human form, called Hui Ming again, and in three or two steps left the Goto Bathhouse.

After leaving the bathhouse, the phone was soon connected.

But what came from the other end was not Hui Ming speaking, but another voice he was familiar with.

"Uesugi-kun?"

Yazi's timid, somewhat fragile voice came through.

Uesugi Toru's footsteps stagnated for an instant, and he did not answer.

Immediately he heard Yazi continue: "Hui Ming Little Teacher is making evening porridge in the kitchen, so it's inconvenient to answer the phone."

Yazi seemed to have pressed the speakerphone key after saying this, so from the other end of the phone came the distinctive dong dong dong chopping sounds and the sizzle sizzle stir-frying sounds from the kitchen.

Uesugi Toru breathed a sigh of relief in his heart—since even Hui Ming, who was closest to Yazi, was fine, it meant she had not yet started acting, nor had she noticed that her identity had been exposed.

Fortunately, he had made it in time.

"Er... Uesugi-kun, Hui Ming Little Teacher says if you're coming, she'll save you a portion of the evening porridge too."

When she said this, Uesugi Toru keenly discovered that there seemed to be a hint of barely noticeable joy in Yazi's tone.

His eyebrows raised slightly, and then he smiled gently by the phone: "Come, of course I'm coming. I just finished my business, please be sure to save me a portion... By the way, please also clear out a room."

Next, Uesugi Toru happily chatted with Yazi over the phone about some matters regarding the evening porridge ingredients—Hui Ming was afraid he wouldn't get used to it, so she asked a few more questions.

He hung up the phone.

The smile on Uesugi Toru's face vanished in an instant, turning into a bone-chilling coldness.

He called another taxi, and the moment he opened the car door, he said,

"Get to the Hongan-ji as fast as possible."

……

Forty minutes later, at the doorway of Hongan-ji.

The evening sun was almost gone, only a sharp, golden-red tip showing on the horizon.

The stars and moon on the black canopy were faintly visible.

Oumagatoki was passing, and night was about to come.

Boom boom.

Uesugi Toru struck the door knocker hard twice, the crisp sound of metal clashing ringing far through the silent Hongan-ji.

Is anyone there?

Uesugi Toru fell silent, and just as he was about to draw Kaga Kiyomitsu and slash open the gate, the door was opened by someone.

The one who opened the door was Yazi, her glasses askew, her face full of panic.

"Uesugi-kun! Everyone in the temple seems to have suddenly fainted for some reason, what should we do!"

"Fainted?"

Uesugi Toru flared his nostrils, smelling no bloody smell.

There was also no remnant of large-scale spiritual power fluctuation around.

So he maintained the Jade Heart Technique's disguise, gazing at Yazi with concern: "Take me to see."

"Okay!"

Following behind Yazi, Uesugi Toru quickly came before a side hall.

Yazi stopped at the doorway, her face showing fear, gesturing for him to open the door: "Uesugi-kun, everyone was originally here eating evening porridge..."

Glancing at Yazi without a trace, Uesugi Toru pushed open the door without hesitation.

And inside the side hall, it was empty!

Apart from some basic furnishings, not even a bowl of food or a single person was there.

Uesugi Toru looked back at Yazi, thinking she would finally be unable to bear it and show her fangs, but unexpectedly the girl's face showed undisguised astonishment.

"How could... no one at all? They were clearly here just now..."

Yazi muttered blankly.

This scene forcibly pressed back Uesugi Toru's Kaga Kiyomitsu that was about to be drawn from its sheath.

What was going on?

He had originally expected this "Yazi" to ambush him from behind, and then he would transform into Haku and slash out his strongest strike in an instant.

Uesugi Toru stared at the top of Yazi's head for a while, discovering that no label still popped up.

—The real Goto Yako had undoubtedly already died.

—Then what exactly was this thing before his eyes?

Time ticked by, as if seconds had passed twice, and then as if three times... this didn't matter; anyway, the last light of the evening sun vanished completely in a single breath.

Oumagatoki had passed.

Yazi suddenly rolled her eyes and, without any warning, fell to the ground.

The next moment, a bone-chilling yin qi suddenly spread throughout the entire Buddha hall, clinging to Uesugi Toru's skin.

Taiko Drum, big drum, small drum sounds rang out in succession, followed immediately by a deep flute sound weaving the three into a melody.

Seeing this, Uesugi Toru instead breathed a sigh of relief.

He drew Kaga Kiyomitsu: "If truly nothing had happened, I should worry whether I had fallen into a trap."

Accompanied by the echo of a mournful and plaintive song, one after another Hina Dolls slowly flew out from the unconscious Yazi lying on the ground, forming four layers inside and out.

The outermost layer were miscellaneous servants with anger, sorrow, and joy on their faces respectively, each holding a tall hat, a table stand, and a wooden umbrella.

Finally, a prompt popped up before Uesugi Toru's eyes—

【Miscellaneous Servant Doll·Anger (One-Star)】

【Miscellaneous Servant Doll·Weeping (One-Star)】

【Miscellaneous Servant Doll·Smiling (One-Star)】

Inward, on the left stood the Left Minister holding a long tachi, and on the right the Right Minister carrying a quiver and holding a longbow, their eyes sharp, staring fixedly at Uesugi Toru.

【Left Minister Doll (Two-Star)】

【Right Minister Doll (Two-Star)】

Further inside were a five-person band playing various instruments in harmony, and two Kan'nyo holding wine vessels.

The five-person band were only half-star each, but the Kan'nyo dolls were one-star half, same as the one he had slain before.

Uesugi Toru swept a glance and discovered that although there were fourteen Hina Dolls before him, only four posed a threat to him.

The Left and Right Ministers, and the Emperor and Empress wrapped in layers at the very center.

The harmony music weakened, and a haughty question transmitted from the deepest part of the dolls.

"You, are you called Uesugi Toru?"

Uesugi Toru raised his eyes and met those pair of pitch-black eyeballs—

【Empress Doll (Two-Star Half)】

The Empress Doll wore a yellow-dyed imperial robe, wore a jeweled crown, held a hand fan, and stepped on black wooden clogs painted with gold lacquer; her makeup was exquisite yet retained solemnity and dignity.

By her side, the Emperor, similarly dressed in magnificent attire, had half-lowered eyes and remained silent.

At first glance, Uesugi Toru almost mistook her for a real person.

Not responding, Uesugi Toru only asked: "Where are the monks of Hongan-ji?"

The words had just fallen when the Left Minister holding a tachi roared: "Bold! Daring to be disrespectful when speaking to His Majesty! Kneel down!"

His Majesty?

Uesugi Toru extracted useful words from the useless sentences — if the Empress is "His Majesty," then has something already happened to the Emperor beside her?

"Step down!"

The Empress humanoid figure waved her sleeve, making the originally ferocious-faced Left Minister immediately retreat.

This scene made Uesugi Toru laugh — is this playing a court house-playing game?

"Those monks are temporarily unharmed, after all they are the key materials used for the 'Hina Festival Curse' to resurrect Yazi."

The Empress said indifferently: "Uesugi Toru, if you can surrender yourself as the core to be sacrificed by the Hina Festival Curse, then whether it is us, or the resurrected Yazi, we will all remember your contribution."

Uesugi Toru stunned for a moment — he couldn't have misheard, right? This Hina Doll actually wants to use verbal persuasion to make him give up resistance and be sacrificed together with all the monks of Hongan-ji.

Simply insulting his own intelligence.

But these humanoid figures' purpose... is actually to resurrect Goto Yako?

The reason the Hina Dolls possess life, isn't it because they were forgotten by their owner, and then formed new consciousness from accumulated loneliness and resentment over time?

Shouldn't they resent Goto Yako?

Uesugi Toru decided to probe further: "Goto Yako is already dead."

"—That is why we must use the Hina Festival Curse to invoke the power of Naraku Yomi, using her childhood self as a template, to reshape her soul spirit into form."

Mentioning Goto Yako, the Empress humanoid figure's tone contained both dense resentment, yet also infinite gentleness.

She looked at the "Yazi" fallen on the ground: "We will place the reshaped soul into this husk."

"In this way, Yazi will be able to eternally love us, and accompany us by our side."

These words made Uesugi Toru fall silent.

So the Hina Dolls' purpose was this.

—So-called love begets hate, love and hate entangled, nothing more like this, right.

At the same time Uesugi Toru also understood, next either he exorcises all these extreme, obsessive, twisted dolls.

Or he is sacrificed by these Hina Dolls using some Hina Festival Curse, in exchange for a "Goto Yako" soul of unknown essence.

"—Fine, I promise you."

Shocking all the humanoid figures with unexpectedly spoken words, Uesugi Toru continued: "Yazi is a good girl, so if my death as this kind of person can exchange for her life, it couldn't be better."

He smiled at the Empress humanoid figure: "So, what do you need me to do?"

The Empress humanoid figure did not expect this human before her, whose body contained abundant spirit power, would actually agree to her request so easily.

So she froze for a moment, covered her face with a cypress fan and laughed, irrepressible joy appearing in her words: "Quick! Kan'nyo, bathe and change clothes for this Mr. Uesugi..."

But her words had not finished, when a blue-purple lightning bolt thick as a thigh descended from the sky, the thunder essence capable of piercing the atmosphere precisely struck the Emperor humanoid figure beside her.

Dazzling electric arcs scattered, piercing through the Empress humanoid figure's cypress fan, bringing her real, tangible pain.

At this moment, fourteen... no, should say thirteen Hina Dolls before them, that black-haired black-pupiled human youth suddenly vanished, replaced by a four-tailed fox wearing a ferocious white Hannya Mask.

The four-tailed fox lightly shook its folding fan, said indifferently: "Kill one first."

Feeling the spirit power in his body already nearly bottomed out, Uesugi Toru stowed his folding fan, transformed into White Hannya.

Kaga Kiyomitsu left its sheath, a pale white color immediately spreading towards all directions.

The Empress humanoid figure only now reacted that that human just now had tricked them, and had used this opportunity to use a jutsu to completely kill the Emperor humanoid figure.

The Empress humanoid figure violently twisted her head, dead staring at that Hannya Mask with ferocious smile at the corner of its lips, madly shouted,

"You this... you this!"

—Combat aptitude low.

Waving his blade to sever the sharp arrows shot by the Right Minister, one slash forcing back the Left Minister, Uesugi Toru in his heart passed such judgment on the Empress humanoid figure.

—Merely a child who only has power but doesn't know how to exert it.

The Empress humanoid figure whose paper strength reached Two-Star Half, her threat was even less than the Left and Right Ministers, as for the remaining musicians, servants and other humanoid figures, their threat was practically zero.

Whoosh!

The sharp arrow shot by the Right Minister wedged into Uesugi Toru's waist, bringing deep pain.

Yet he disregarded it completely, footsteps not pausing half a step as he advanced toward the Left Minister.

The Left Minister's snow-bright blade prow had already entered Uesugi Toru's pupils, that tall tachi was about to fall, while Kaga Kiyomitsu was still in its initial stance.

But, I am faster.

Uesugi Toru took a deep breath, scorching internal qi surged to the body's four extremities in a flash, overflowing every strand of muscle and nerve.

Slash!

Blade light sufficient to simultaneously sever all humanoid figures swept past the Left Minister's original standing position, but Uesugi Toru's hand felt not the slightest feedback of a hit.

Missed?

The movement in Uesugi Toru's hand stagnated slightly.

But he had no time to think further, alarm bells rang in his heart, bone-chilling cold intent almost instantly climbed from his soles to his crown.

Without the slightest hesitation, Uesugi Toru violently retreated several meters, then saw clearly the culprit that had just brought him the dense death premonition —

An ordinary pink cherry blossom petal.

A cherry blossom petal?

This thing...

Before his thoughts could settle, Uesugi Toru once again subconsciously shifted position, and saw another cherry blossom petal fall on the broad square's stone bricks.

Uesugi Toru raised his head, and saw sparse cherry blossom petals fluttering down from the night sky like rain.

After a moment of staring, a red prompt actually popped up on the cherry blossom petal —

【228】 【Hina Festival Domain: Centered on the Ten Hina Night Parade Lord, surroundings will continuously drop cherry blossom petals. Those touched will gain "Early Withering" mark. When Early Withering marks stack to 10 layers, triggers "Instant Death" effect.】

【Jukusai Ryōiki: Centered on the Ten Flower Night-Walking Master, Flower petals will continuously fall around them; those touched will gain the "Early Withering" mark. When Early Withering marks overlap to 10 layers, the "Instant Death" effect triggers.】

"Ten Hina Night Parade Lord...?"

Uesugi Toru's pupils shrank slightly, glimpsing at the not-far-away position where the Empress humanoid figure originally stood, that tall humanoid figure draped in red-gold-black three-colored kimono, with exaggerated and distorted facial makeup.

"Kill you... complete the Doll Festival! Let Yazi live!"

It waved its six arms holding a knife and bow, drum and flute, screaming madly, as a large red label popped up above its head—

【Ten Dolls Night Traveler (Three-Star) (Defective)】

Uesugi Toru stared at it, thinking of many things in an instant.

Although the Ten Dolls Night Traveler looked terrifying, the effect of the Doll Festival Domain could be called terrifying, able to cause an unprecedented instant-death effect.

But the falling speed of the cherry blossom petals was not fast, and not difficult to dodge.

The aura emanating from the Ten Dolls Night Traveler was far inferior to the Snow Woman and Bone Doll, both also Three-Star Level.

It was even inferior to Ai Wakare, whom Uesugi Toru had caught up with in Ota Ward, who was only Two-Star Half.

Perhaps because he had first killed the Emperor Humanoid Figure, causing the fusion to be incomplete, this Three-Star Level opponent seemed somewhat...

Especially weak.

Dismissing the thought of calling Rituna Minami, Uesugi Toru dodged the cherry blossom petals while facing off against the Ten Dolls Night Traveler, simultaneously taking out his mobile phone and calling Huijue on Line.

Beep.

The call connected.

Uesugi Toru said, "Huijue, something happened at the Hongan-ji here in your hometown."

The originally somewhat noisy environment on the other end instantly quieted down.

After a moment, Huijue's calm voice came,

"This poor monk is coming."

—If he called Rituna Minami, perhaps she could arrive within two or three minutes, and then slay the Ten Dolls Night Traveler with a single strike.

That would contradict Uesugi Toru's desire to slay it alone.

But if he called Huijue, he could come to cover his back after Uesugi Toru was defeated and killed by the Ten Dolls Night Traveler, most likely guaranteeing no trouble for the monks of the Hongan-ji.

Putting away his mobile phone, Uesugi Toru twisted his neck and gripped the constantly trembling Kaga Kiyomitsu.

After his strength significantly increased, opponents like the Doll Curse and Bone Girl were too weak to even withstand two or three of his casual slashes.

While demons like the Snow Woman and Wax Figure, whose strength was above Three-Star Half, were too strong and could still instant-kill him in one move.

This one before him was neither high nor low.

Just right.

White Prajna grinned happily, showing burning battle intent for the first time in a long while.

"Come."

End of Chapter