Chapter 220: The Magnetic Field
Chapter 220: The Magnetic Field
Mr. Jinno was one of the earliest independent scholars in the city who devoted himself to local literature, history, and customs.
He and several other scholars of his time spent a lot of effort and provided many valuable materials for the local literature and history work.
His peers were either famous scholars or collectors. For example, the main person in charge of the Literature and History Archives Hall in the Fubian area now was a calligrapher. His name was Yuno, the Third-Generation Leader of the Ikegawa-ryu school of calligraphy—that was an ancient calligraphy school with a long history. The old man Yuno was also the founder of the Literature and History Archives Hall and a well-known cultural figure in the city.
However, Fang Jing did not come to see this “Master Yuno.” He actually had another goal in mind.
“It’s a pity… I just never had the chance to meet that Mr. Jinno.”
This was indeed a regrettable matter because Fang Jing believed that Mr. Jinno was not an ordinary person.
Mr. Jinno was able to propose solutions for the situation at the Ichinose Apartment, guide the landlord Yuasa on how to reach the Defiled Temple, and inform him about the clever uses of “Mahoraga.” It could be said that this old man was definitely not an average person.
Unfortunately, Fang Jing had no way to contact him.
Previously, Hatakena Gensai also mentioned that after Royaosei returned to his hometown, he handed over the Kyogado antique shop to him to manage.
On the other hand, Fang Jing also sent people to look for the old man who had gone into seclusion in a very remote village. However, the people he sent found out that the old man had already gone abroad. Fang Jing continued to send people to search for his traces overseas, but they discovered that it was just a fake address… The actual situation was that Mr. Jinno’s whereabouts had already become a mystery!
“He really is like a free and unfettered strange person with extraordinary abilities…!”
He felt quite emotional about this and thought it was a shame to have missed the chance to meet this old man.
During this trip to the Literature and History Archives Hall in the Fubian area, Fang Jing met a disciple of the old calligrapher with the surname Yuno.
This disciple was named Nagareyama Yosuke, a middle-aged man with a long neck and slender limbs.
He had narrow eyes, black hair mixed with white, and wore a pair of silver-rimmed glasses, giving off the air of a learned scholar. The corners of his mouth always carried a smile.
“You must be Mr. Nishizuka!”
His demeanor was very elegant, and he spoke with the tone of a classical scholar.
“I heard that you and Brother Gensai are old acquaintances.”
“You flatter me. Mr. Hatakena has been very kind to me.”
The two exchanged some polite greetings before getting down to business.
“I heard that Mr. Jinno and Master Yuno collaborated on compiling materials related to the Fubian area. Because I need to write a paper for a local customs report, I had to come here and bother you.”
“Brother Gensai already gave me a heads-up.”
Nagareyama Yosuke chuckled.
“The Literature and History Archives Hall doesn’t get many visitors. I’m very welcome to have a guest come to visit.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Not at all, not at all.”
Nagareyama Yosuke was very polite, but he also seriously informed Fang Jing.
“This place is a bit far from the city center; it’s considered a rural area. The daily routines and habits here are different from the outside world. This kind of local area doesn’t have extra entertainment facilities. Most of the nearby residents go home to rest very early. Around eight or nine in the evening, the shops in the shopping street will close. The nearest 24-hour Convenience Store is 18 kilometers away from the Literature and History Archives Hall…”
“It seems it’s not very convenient to get around here.”
“Hahaha, indeed. That’s the downside of such a small place. Public transportation isn’t very good. Fortunately, the local residents all have cars. If you really need one, you can ask the staff living nearby for help.”
Before leaving, Nagareyama Yosuke handed a set of keys to Fang Jing.
“The Literature and History Archives Hall will close around seven. Most of the rooms inside will be locked. The largest black key is for the main door. The other keys also have numbers on them.”
“So, besides the main door, all the rooms will be locked.”
“Not all the rooms. The rooms storing more valuable documents and materials will be carefully locked. There’s nothing much to worry about elsewhere.”
Nagareyama Yosuke gave a bitter smile. “This Literature and History Archives Hall mansion was funded and supervised by my teacher Yuno. Although the house is large, to be honest, there aren’t many valuable items inside. Also, the house doesn’t have particularly tight security measures. There’s only one camera at the main entrance. There used to be an old security guard, but he hasn’t come to work for a few days because he hasn’t been feeling well.”
This Nagareyama Yosuke continued to explain, saying that the local public security was quite good and thefts rarely happened. The security work at the Literature and History Archives Hall was indeed rather neglected.
“By the way, Mr. Nagareyama, may I ask one thing?”
Fang Jing took this opportunity to ask Nagareyama Yosuke about the situation in “Naomori Town.”
“Have you heard of a place called ‘Naomori Town’?”
“Of course.”
Nagareyama Yosuke nodded. He rubbed his neck and wiped the sweat from his head.
“Naomori Town isn’t far from here. The scenery around that small town is very nice. During the peak of the economic bubble, that land was still very valuable…”
In the past, during the golden period of national economic revival, that area was the city’s planned development zone.
Early on, because of the local environment, they tried to attract as much capital as possible and built many factories.
However, not long after that, the bubble burst, and it was no longer the right time to expand production scale.
The small town became quiet, and the residents moved away. Even the factory area built along the river had now completely stopped production.
Of course, not everyone left. Some townspeople who mainly farmed still lived in the town to this day.
“Well, it’s getting late. I should be going now.”
Nagareyama Yosuke lived in the city. He bowed, turned around, and walked to the other side of the street. He waved goodbye to Fang Jing, got into a blue Beetle car, and drove away from this old European-style building.
…
“Alright, with no one to disturb me now, I’ll first use the documents stored in this Literature and History Archives Hall to investigate information related to ‘Naomori Town.'”
Fang Jing did not go to “Naomori Town” in advance.
The reason he chose to come to this Literature and History Archives Hall instead of going to “Naomori Town” first for investigation was simple.
Because before him, Karasawa Meisuke and the old lady Sano, who was a “Mikanko,” had probably already investigated “Naomori Town.”
Those Mediums and Spirit Channelers not only had rich experience but also had special abilities like Spiritual Sight.
A group of Mediums rushed to “Naomori Town” and couldn’t find out anything. Fang Jing didn’t think he had reasoning abilities beyond theirs to find the key point of the problem.
According to the information revealed by Karasawa Meisuke, when the “Clan” sealed the “Hunterghost” incident, the news did not leak out.
The “Clan” was a very strange “group.” They acted with great mystery, and outsiders had no way of knowing.
They also had little contact with outsiders.
As for the Mediums, they kept a distance from the Clan and rarely approached this group.
The main reason for this was avoidance. The Mediums could sense the unnaturalness of the Clan’s existence.
It was a source of distortion and carried a thick, eerie sense of foreboding.
…The sealing incident happened a long time ago compared to the current events, and the details had disappeared.
There were some similarities and differences with the current “Hunterghost” incident. Naturally, old lady Sano and Karasawa Meisuke, who was involved in this matter, couldn’t find many clues.
“Perhaps I need to turn the current ‘chessboard’ around and think about the problem from another angle?”
That was why he came to this Literature and History Archives Hall to try his luck.
The local Literature and History Archives Hall in Fubian probably had far more information than ordinary people could imagine.
Fang Jing considered that his actions might yield other results.
If he gained nothing at all, it wouldn’t be too late to go to “Naomori Town” afterward…
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The faint blue moonlight spilled down from the glass in the roof. It was a very high skylight, forming an arched shape like a Church with the surrounding building domes.
Beautiful, transparent, and decorated with flower patterns, the colored glass let lovely light slide through.
“It really is a big enough house…”
With the sound of the main door locking, Fang Jing could finally turn around and gaze at this “space.”
The Literature and History Archives Hall was indeed spacious inside, but it was also very empty, without even proper chairs or stools.
This place was not built to welcome guests.
Nagareyama Yosuke also readily handed the key to him.
Thanks to him, Fang Jing could investigate the materials here.
“The materials room should be on the second floor. According to the number on the key, it should be this one!”
Fang Jing walked over to the “building layout diagram” posted on the wooden pillar in the Entrance Hall and figured out the layout of this Literature and History Archives Hall.
There were six materials rooms in total. On the right side of the building, there was a reception desk and a few storage rooms. On the left side, there was a lounge with a sofa where he could sleep for the night.
It was summer now, so a thin blanket and a soft sofa were enough to get through the night.
He slowly climbed the steps and arrived at the materials room on the second floor. Unsurprisingly, it was also very clean and tidy. Apart from the materials and documents placed on the bookshelves, there was basically nothing else.
There was a desk beside the bookshelf with some books piled on it. Fang Jing glanced at them and found they were materials that had been borrowed but not yet reshelved.
“But this doesn’t seem like a material?”
He reached out and pulled out a book with a colorful cover from the table. After examining it carefully, he realized it was a picture book.
“”The Secret of the Baron of the Red Cloak”… Is this something left behind by the staff?”
Fang Jing flipped it open in confusion.
Inside was a picture book composed of one illustration after another, in a fairy-tale style, clearly not intended for an adult reader like him.
He had to admit that the picture book author’s drawing style was sweet, beautiful, richly colored, and full of vitality.
Just looking at the pictures once made him feel the attraction brought by the bright brushstrokes.
He flipped through the picture book page by page, his eyes fixed on the images, and his mind seemed to be drawn into the pictures as if in a trance.
—Long ago, there was a Baron of the Red Cloak who had a secret. It was a secret that could not be told, for once his secret was known, it would bring about terrible consequences.
Because of this secret, the Baron of the Red Cloak had to live alone in a valley. He was very lonely and lived a very quiet life.
One day, the Baron of the Red Cloak was so lonely that he left the valley and captured a little girl from the town.
He was so lonely that he hoped to make friends with the little girl. So, he told her his story.
The little girl was very scared, but she remained calm. After listening, she decided to become the Baron of the Red Cloak’s friend.
However, she had one condition: the Baron of the Red Cloak must tell her his secret.
The baron agreed to her request and whispered the secret into her ear.
Later, the little girl became the Baron of the Red Cloak’s friend.
…
Thump!
Fang Jing, who had been fully absorbed, suddenly opened his eyes.
He unexpectedly realized that he had lost focus while reading the picture book.
And while he was distracted, something had invaded the Literature and History Archives Hall.
“What’s going on? Why did I lose focus, and… at this time, what ‘thing’ would invade the Literature and History Archives Hall?”
Inside the Archives Hall, there was now a vague, indistinct aura.
If it were a human, Fang Jing’s sharp senses could detect sounds, footsteps, even subtle breathing.
But now, there was nothing at all!
This was really strange.
He couldn’t sense anything at all, only capturing a hidden aura.
“I haven’t finished reading the picture book yet…”
This picture book was a bit eerie; it could make him lose focus in an instant just with its images and text.
Fang Jing turned the picture book over and found the names of the authors on the spine. He discovered it was a picture book created by two people.
“Illustrator, Jumonno Yoshi; scriptwriter, Kiryu Reizuke. Are these two names familiar…”
He cast his puzzled gaze toward the horizon but finally shook his head.
Forget it, let’s deal with the trouble on the other side first!
Fang Jing picked up a flashlight and stepped on the creaking floorboards as he entered the room on the other side.
The vague aura he sensed earlier should be in this room.
He pushed the door open with a sinister smile and stepped out.
To prevent the other party from escaping, although he did not open his Inner Ghost Gate, he immediately activated the “Primal Rage Resonance Field.”
At that moment, Fang Jing’s body released a wave of dark red light, like ripples spreading out. Layer after layer of Resonance Field waves radiated from his body.
This “Primal Rage Resonance Field” extended to a radius of about ten meters. It was a faint red light that human eyes could barely capture, spreading in all directions, causing even the air to ripple.
A mosquito floating through the air, right as the “Resonance Field” was generated, its rapidly vibrating thin wings slowed down bit by bit in an extremely bizarre manner, as if the mosquito was flying in slow motion.