Chapter 203: Yūmi Island (9)
Chapter 203: Yūmi Island (9)
After arriving at the Shrine, Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho requested to meet with Kuzunoki, who was in charge of managing the island’s affairs.
Their request was not denied.
After making an internal phone call, the guard invited the two into a room.
Not long after, Kuzunoki, wearing a white robe, appeared in the room.
“You two must be Mr. Yuki Ham and Ms. Ato Shiho!”
Kuzunoki leaned back in his chair.
“What can I do for you?”
“Actually, about that…”
Yuki Ham coughed lightly twice. Without trying to hide anything, he explained in detail the situation he had encountered recently.
Kuzunoki nodded after listening.
“So, you two believe that someone has gone missing on the island, and this disappearance seems unusual…”
“That’s pretty much it.”
Yuki Ham nodded seriously.
He was also surprised by Kuzunoki’s attitude, because the other party did not seem to dismiss his words, but instead showed a thoughtful expression.
“This is really troubling!”
Kuzunoki frowned unhappily, showing that even he found Yuki Ham’s words quite bothersome.
“Sorry, we don’t mean any harm, but what we experienced is real.”
Apart from a bitter smile, Yuki Ham had no good way to persuade Kuzunoki at the moment.
“…”
Kuzunoki remained silent for a while before speaking slowly. “Alright, I’ll tentatively believe what you said. But, what do you two need us to do?”
“Mr. Kuzunoki, you believe what we said?”
Ato Shiho was very surprised and excited. She had not expected Kuzunoki to believe their story.
However, Kuzunoki quickly dampened her spirits.
“No, such absurd claims would be hard for anyone to believe.”
Kuzunoki shook his head and responded seriously to Ato Shiho.
“I don’t actually believe you. I’m just considering that if the situation escalates, it could cause trouble for the Cult…”
“…”
Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho looked at each other, neither understanding what Kuzunoki meant.
“If the news spreads, or if the police come to the island to confirm whether anyone is missing, the Cult’s reputation would suffer again…”
Kuzunoki stood up from his chair.
“For our side, even the slightest possibility must be completely prevented. Please rest assured, I will arrange for someone to investigate.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Kuzunoki.”
“You’re welcome.”
Kuzunoki shook his head. “I will also inform Professor Horikawa about this matter.”
“By the way, is Professor Horikawa here?”
Yuki Ham remembered that the professor should be at the Cult these days. He hadn’t seen Professor Horikawa for a while.
“Mr. Kuzunoki, can we meet the professor now?”
“Well…”
Kuzunoki hesitated for a long time before finally shaking his head.
“Professor Horikawa has recently expressed interest in joining the Shinzaki Tenrikyo Sect and becoming an inner disciple of Founder Hayashizaki Ichi. Because of this, he is currently undergoing fasting and training. I’m afraid he won’t be able to meet with you for a while. However, we have a phone line connected to the inner part of the Shrine. If you wish, you can call him anytime.”
Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho looked at each other in surprise. They had not expected this at all, especially since Professor Horikawa was such a well-known scholar. They never thought he would join a group like the Shinzaki Tenrikyo, which was almost like a cult.
One can imagine how shocked they both felt.
…
After sending Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho away, Kuzunoki felt a mix of complicated emotions. He frowned, lowered his gaze, and stared at the phone on the corner of the desk.
Finally, Kuzunoki picked up the phone and dialed an internal number.
“Keep a close eye on those two. Don’t give them any chances. At least until the Ritual begins, make sure no one has the opportunity to cause any disturbances…”
“Understood.”
“Also, send someone to the lodgings where the students from Liangshan University are staying. Just make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“Yes.”
The person on the other end of the phone replied briefly.
————————
“I didn’t expect Mr. Kuzunoki to believe us.”
Ato Shiho was naturally very happy. She never imagined that Kuzunoki would believe her and Yuki Ham.
“Yeah… it’s an unexpected joy.”
However, Yuki Ham couldn’t feel happy for long. After hearing that the professor he admired, Professor Horikawa, was joining the Shinzaki Tenrikyo Sect, his disappointment was understandable.
(Besides, that Mr. Kuzunoki’s attitude is a bit confusing… How should I put it? I just find it hard to believe what he said.)
As he spoke, Yuki Ham stopped walking. He turned his head and looked back.
Behind him, Ato Shiho, who should have been following him, had strangely disappeared without a trace.
Wait, what’s going on?
It had only been a few seconds. How could Ato Shiho vanish into thin air in broad daylight, right before his eyes? He couldn’t accept it.
“Shiho—!”
He shouted desperately in the mountain forest.
No, maybe she just got lost. Maybe he had walked too fast, and Ato Shiho couldn’t keep up.
He shouted desperately and ran quickly along the mountain path, hoping to find the lost Ato Shiho.
But all of this was just a waste of time.
Stepping on branches, crossing ditches, and moving through rough terrain, he still found nothing in the mountain forest.
Why… why did this happen?
Yuki Ham pressed his lips tightly together.
Only regret remained in his heart.
It’s my fault, all because of me. If I hadn’t insisted on coming, Shiho… wouldn’t have encountered this.
Suddenly, a dull, heavy pain shot through the back of his head.
It was an extremely heavy blow, as if a Metal Bat or an iron pipe had hit his head.
Yuki Ham realized he had been attacked. He tried to turn his body, wanting to see who had ambushed him.
Unfortunately, as he lay on the ground, he only saw white clothing and a pair of shoes stepping in a muddy puddle.
Oh no!
His face felt the hard ground.
He realized he was lying face down on the floor.
His whole body felt weak, and even his fingers lost all sensation.
In the next moment, his vision turned completely dark.
Night came again. Without him noticing, the rain had stopped. Moonlight passed through the gaps in the trees and quietly fell upon the forest, which was immersed in the night like an oil painting.
Fang Jing squinted his eyes. He moved his stiff hands and feet, and stretched his tense body.
Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho had gone to the shrine of Shinzaki Tenrikyo and had not returned since.
Earlier, Associate Professor Tomatsu received a call from Professor Horikawa, saying that the two of them would not come back for a while and planned to stay there.
“The professor was also very angry, saying that Yuki and Ato almost upset the cult. They talked about some absurd topics, which made Kuzunoki and the cult followers unhappy.”
During the afternoon, Tomatsu seemed to have visited the shrine and had another call with Professor Horikawa.
Everyone guessed that Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho were probably being reprimanded by Professor Horikawa, or there might be some other reason. But since Associate Professor Tomatsu said there was no problem, no one paid much attention.
“No, this situation is already very abnormal.”
Fang Jing realized that things were not so simple, but he had no intention of explaining it.
The key point was… he realized that Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho might not be dead, because in everyone’s memory, these two people did exist. But on the other hand, Yuki and Ato were clearly taken hostage, and the kidnappers were most likely members of the cult.
“If the cult deliberately restrained these two, could it be that Yuki Ham and Ato Shiho might have found out something? Then, is the cult connected to the strange events happening on the island?”
These were all questions and mysteries that couldn’t be easily answered.
“Although there were clues, there wasn’t much that connected them, and they weren’t helpful for my deductions…”
Lying in bed, Fang Jing sensed that Shusu Yuki, from the other bed in the room, had put on his clothes again and left the house. Fang Jing guessed he was probably having a secret meeting with Hayasaka Muko.
Since he wasn’t a member of Ryozan University, Shusu Yuki hadn’t been informed about the commotion last night.
He put on his coat and slipped out of the house.
Fang Jing also slowly got up, planning to follow him. But he wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, he sat by the window, watching Shusu Yuki leave the house. Only then did he put on his shoes and prepare to trail Shusu Yuki.
Creak—!
He pushed the door very quietly, but the old door hinge still made a strange noise.
Outside was a very typical wooden cabin structure. The wooden floor under his feet felt rough, and the corridor was unusually quiet, just like before.
He moved toward the staircase. The design of this residence was such that the Activity Room was downstairs, while the bedrooms were on the second floor. This old-style residence closely resembled a student dormitory from the Showa period.
Fang Jing moved lightly and quickly. But this time, as he reached the corner of the staircase, he unexpectedly discovered a strange situation.
Where the staircase should have been, there was nothing—it had turned into a wall.
“What the hell is this—?”
At first glance, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Then he reached out and touched the wall, confirming it was real.
The wall was thick and solid—not fake or something temporarily put up.
Where the staircase opening should have been, there was nothing; it was completely blocked by the wall in front of him.
He carefully inspected the wall and found no obvious gaps.
“…”
Fang Jing stayed silent for a while before moving his legs. He decided to return to his room, but when he turned around, he was startled to find another strange thing.
“The corridor seems longer.”
Yes, the corridor had lengthened. From a originally short stretch, it had turned into an unusually long passageway-like structure.
Even more bizarrely, several more doors had appeared along the corridor. If each door represented a room, then there were about ten extra rooms on the second floor.
“My original room was the second one from the end of the corridor. But now… where is it?”