Chapter 89: Kagome Hall (Part 17)

Fang Jing woke up the unconscious Toriumi Kotaro. As they ran, they moved toward the Back Room.

“That means… the world we are in is not ‘real’, but a memory of the past, or a dream.”

“Pretty much!”

Fang Jing explained while walking. He believed this was not completely real, but not entirely an illusion either.

Under circumstances they did not understand, Kagome Hall had indeed become a closed space. What was happening here was a scene from the past.

“But Kagome Hall hasn’t changed at all? What about those villagers? What about the old man Saeki who was burned?”

“Kagome Hall itself had some things altered. It’s like a game scene. We are the players, the villagers are NPCs. And what burned just now wasn’t the butler Saeki; that corpse was a woman.”

Something was interfering with their group’s perception. However, that thing couldn’t directly kill them. Otherwise, it wouldn’t need to use such troublesome methods.

“The killer is a murderer, not a ghost or something. Most of what happened in Kagome Hall was man-made. I just don’t know who the murderer is. But since Watanabe injured you just now, it seems he has some connection to the mastermind behind this…”

He couldn’t be entirely sure of this either, because “Watanabe” wasn’t a living person but a clay doll. Who knew what his origin really was.

“I’m tired of this deduction game too. Now let’s go find the mastermind and ask what’s really going on.”

He was somewhat annoyed with the current situation. Going around in circles looking for clues wasn’t his style, so he decided to take the initiative to find the mastermind and demand answers.

Since someone was behind this, basically all the survivors were suspicious.

Since Watanabe was connected to the real culprit, Fujimatsuri and Nagakabe Fuyuko were highly suspect.

“Let’s go to the Back Room first. They should still be in that building…”

——————-

The following events weren’t particularly mysterious. They found no one in the house, and the Basement was locked again. Lacking a key, Fang Jing had no choice but to punch the door.

After a series of wild blows, the calluses on both his hands split and bled, but the Basement iron door was also broken open by his punches.

His two fists were streaked with blood, but these were just minor external injuries. He had already covered his fists with the purple membrane formed by his Yuan Armor Fate Grade, protecting his bones.

Fang Jing’s strength was indeed great, but his skill hadn’t yet been trained into his fists. The recoil from hard punching put immense pressure on his knuckles and finger joints. Fortunately, with the protection of Yuan Armor, aside from scraping the outer skin, he was essentially unharmed.

When he jumped into the Basement, he saw Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi and Nagakabe Fuyuko preparing to commit murder.

The Basement was cleared out, revealing a large area of concrete floor. On the ground, something like chalk had been used to draw a large “Hexagram Magic array”.

He couldn’t really recognize it for sure. But at the center of the magic array, an ancient “bronze mirror” was placed.

On the five “points” of the hexagram, bloody organs were placed separately: an eyeball, a left ear, a right ear, a nose, and Fumiko’s tongue.

On the other hand, he also noticed the presence of several corpses, all thrown into the Collection Room compartment in the Basement. It was a bit hard to understand, but clearly some evil Ritual was underway, and it seemed only one step away from success.

“Fujimatsuri, why are you doing this? You clearly shouldn’t be this kind of person…”

Fang Jing’s expression instantly changed, putting on a deeply moved face.

He clenched his fists, opened his mouth, and said with a voice full of grief and indignation, “So you are the real culprit. I never imagined you were the one who killed people.”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to deceive you either.”

Fujimatsuri’s face remained unchanged, but his eyes were signaling to Nagakabe Fuyuko on the other side. One of his hands reached behind his back, intending to pull out a hidden gun.

“I have my reasons too. All of this is to get revenge on the Hirakawa clan. I will never forget how that family treated my mother and father…”

Like all the villains in mystery novels who choose revenge, he seemingly also had a long story.

“But none of these are reasons to choose murder. Since you have become like this, I also…”

After the word “also”, Fang Jing shook the muscles all over his body, producing a series of crackling sounds. His figure erupted, charging forward like a cannonball.

The expressions of everyone in the Basement changed drastically. They only felt something spring and shake, cracking the air around them.

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi, standing opposite Fang Jing, felt a strong wind hit his face as a dark shadow pounced toward him.

“Only.”

He took a flying step sideways, relaxed his neck and back, arched his body like a bow, moved with his body, raised his hand forming an empty fist, and punched out. The force of this punch was like striking a drum. The moment the punch was thrown, the air suddenly transmitted a low, deep howling sound.

“Good.”

Slowing the scene down a bit, at this moment, everyone in the Basement had different reactions.

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi took a frightened step back, but he also knew he couldn’t dodge the suddenly charging Fang Jing. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out the gun in his hand and made a motion to raise it.

Utsumi opened his mouth wide, unable to close it. Saeki Wakae stopped sobbing and lifted her face.

Toriumi Arisu listened carefully as if sensing changes in the air.

On the other side, Nagakabe Fuyuko rushed forward recklessly. She used her own body to block in front of Fang Jing.

“Hit.”

Fang Jing’s punch did not change because of Nagakabe Fuyuko moving closer. His punch was heavy and powerful. As it descended, it was like a muffled thunderclap from the far end of the sky on a gloomy, rainy day. The fist landed squarely on Nagakabe Fuyuko’s face, hammering inch by inch into the woman’s face. Nagakabe Fuyuko’s facial bones collapsed, and her head instantly twisted 180 degrees at a strange angle.

“Die.”

His face was icy cold as he swiftly lifted his foot and kicked out. The movements, rising and falling, were done in one smooth motion. His punch and kick seemed to alternate seamlessly. In the eyes of the others, the changes of his fists and feet were just a blurry illusion. By the time they realized what happened, he had kicked Nagakabe Fuyuko’s corpse away, sending it crashing into Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi, who was raising his gun on the other side.

The latter was sent flying by Nagakabe Fuyuko’s corpse and a huge force. The gun in his hand was also knocked aside.

“You.”

Before the last word “you” could be finished, Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi’s body flew and slammed into the wall.

He pushed Nagakabe Fuyuko’s corpse away. He felt dizzy and couldn’t help shaking his head.

Instantly, five fingers like iron clamps pressed against his face, lifting his entire body up.

“Alright, let’s talk. Now, what do I need to do to go back?”

Fang Jing glanced at Nagakabe Fuyuko’s corpse. Just like Watanabe, her face, body, limbs, and even her clothes gradually turned into a lump of clay. She too was just a clay figure.

“Impossible! You can never leave this place!”

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi coughed up blood. The roots of his teeth felt soft, as if they were loose, but he still gritted his teeth and said, “None of you can leave here.”

“Oh! So you are deliberately making things difficult for me, huh!”