Chapter 75: Kagome Hall (3)

He was a guest at Kagome Hall this time and had come to ask for a favor, so he couldn’t just ignore everyone without a greeting.

Fang Jing nodded with a smile at Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi’s words and went downstairs with him.

The main entrance of Kagome Hall led directly into the great hall. Opposite the great hall was a double-flight solid wood staircase that went up to the second floor of Kagome Hall. Relatively speaking, the space downstairs was larger.

Fang Jing and Fujimatsuri went down the right-hand staircase. At the landing on the first floor, right along the centerline of the great hall, stood a sturdy, large grandfather clock with a pendulum swinging back and forth. The clock looked like a valuable collector’s item, its wooden case coated with a shiny lacquer and the clock face adorned with glittering gold flowers and vine patterns.

“This was collected by my grandfather’s father. This clock is quite old, but after all these years, it still keeps accurate time. You have to admire the craftsmanship of the artisans back then.”

As Fang Jing and the speaking Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi came down the stairs, Fang Jing glanced around the large mansion. He was carefully thinking about the layout here. Basically… from the entrance hall to the inner door, the great hall was a hexagonal room. To the lower right of the double-flight solid wood staircase was an Activity Room.

Moreover, the six corners of the first floor were separate rooms: a Kitchen, a dining room, a collection room, and so on. You could say that each point of the Hexagram was an independent room.

The second floor had the same layout, but there were six guest rooms. The guest room he stayed in was very spacious, equipped with a balcony and what looked like high-end classical furniture.

There were indeed a few people in the Activity Room. The interior of the Activity Room in this Western-style building was also quite unique, with a fireplace and a deer antler decoration above the fireplace.

The walls of the Activity Room were covered in warm-toned floral wallpaper, with several oil paintings and masks from Venetian festivals hanging on them.

Right in front, in the center, was a semicircular sofa where several men were playing cards. In one corner of the Activity Room stood an old-fashioned solid wood piano, clearly a vintage collector’s item. On a chair beside the piano sat a girl, leaning back against the chair, holding a book and wearing earphones. She seemed to be listening to music while reading.

There was also a glass door at the back leading directly outside, offering a view of the flower garden behind the mansion.

“Fujimatsuri-kun, you’ve brought quite an unexpected guest this time.”

A middle-aged man in a vest, who had been playing cards, straightened up from the sofa and noticed Fang Jing beside Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi.

“Haha! This is the Nishizuka-kun that Shun-san mentioned before. The photos last time were brought by Nishizuka-kun…”

“Could it be the Kinugawa pieces from last time…”

Another man on the sofa put down his cards, turning them face down on the table. He was of average build, with a thin mustache and wearing glasses.

“So you’re the Nishizuka that Shun-san talked about. You’re younger than I expected.”

“Nishizuka seems to be interested in Kinugawa’s works too. He came this time to take a look at Shun-san’s collections.”

“Then you’re a fellow enthusiast!”

There was also a sloppy, ugly old man nearby. He was thin, of medium height, with a slightly large head, and his smile was a bit odd. He wasn’t joining the card game but stood leaning on a cane, watching from beside the sofa.

“Hey! So this is Nishizuka-kun? Hello.”

The last one to speak was a man on the sofa with slightly wavy hair and a somewhat handsome face. He looked mature but acted a bit frivolous.

“Nice to meet you all. I am Nishizuka Tsukasa.”

Fang Jing could only put on a polite smile, walk over to greet them, then slightly bow in respect.

Apart from the middle-aged man who stood up and bowed slightly in return, the others merely gave small nods—they were all adults, and in this setting, they weren’t too strict about formalities.

Just then, the girl reading by the piano also nodded to him.

Fujimatsuri then gave him introductions: the middle-aged man in the vest was Utsumi, president of a company.

The bespectacled man with the mustache was an editorial director at a magazine. He had been good friends with Hirakawa Shun for many years, since their university days. His surname was Shikatori.

The old man with the rustic appearance was called Old Man Qiao by everyone. He was a well-known scholar, had been a professor at a university, and was now retired.

(Of course, “rustic appearance” was Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi’s polite way of putting it. Honestly, he was rather frighteningly ugly…)

But Fujimatsuri also said that the old man was easy to talk to and very knowledgeable.

As for the last two, Fujimatsuri told Fang Jing that they, like him, were specially invited.

“Specially invited?”

“Yes, those two are Toriumi Kotaro and his daughter, Arisu. They seem to be guests invited by Shun-san temporarily, just like you, Nishizuka. Usually, the regulars at these gatherings are just these few familiar faces.”

Toriumi Kotaro was probably the man with curly hair, and his daughter was likely the girl who had been reading earlier.

Fujimatsuri smiled. “By the way, three more people are here, but they’re not around at the moment…”

“Hi! Fujimatsuri-kun, you’re back… OH! MY GOD! Who is this cute boy?”

A sickeningly sweet voice came from behind Fang Jing and Fujimatsuri, making both of them break out in goosebumps.

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi turned his neck stiffly, forcing a smile at the corners of his mouth.

“Ah, it’s Lady Fumiko. I was just about to mention you…”

What kind of monster was this?!

Fang Jing’s nerves snapped taut as he turned around, and he nearly thought he had encountered another monster. He couldn’t help but take a step back.

On closer inspection, it wasn’t a monster—the person was wearing a black dress that looked like a maternity gown. Their figure was unexpectedly plump, expanding horizontally.

Fang Jing at first thought a thick log was blocking the doorway, but then he realized it was a person.

“This… is Lady Fumiko, a very famous Fortune Teller in Tokyo Metropolis!”

Fujimatsuri put on an awkward yet polite smile.

“Wrong! Fujimatsuri-kun, you should address me as my lady… By the way, Fuyuko-chan and Watanabe-kun are back too. I just ran into them…”

The voice was loud and hoarse, with both a deep male tone and a distinct female quality.

This being called “Lady Fumiko” was a strange entity Fang Jing had never encountered before.

Her skin was milky white, her eyes round and large. She was big—like a stout cylinder, with a wide neck and an astonishingly thick body.

“Hey! Fujimatsuri, weren’t you picking someone up?”

A young man with a messy ponytail and a somewhat tall build “detoured” out from behind the abnormal creature known as “Lady Fumiko.”

He yawned and looked Fang Jing up and down.

“So this is…”

“Where! Where! Is this little guy Nishizuka-kun?”

A girl with a playful short haircut and fair skin bounced in through the door.

Her build was similar to Fang Jing’s. She had a small face, large sparkling eyes, and very distinct, dark pupils that left a deep impression.

Fortune Teller Fumiko (unidentified creature);

Nagakabe Fuyuko… Fujimatsuri’s university classmate and one of his childhood friends;

Watanabe… Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi’s university classmate, also a childhood friend;

With these introductions, Fang Jing had basically met most of the guests at Kagome Hall.

So far, neither Hirakawa Shun, one of the mansion’s hosts, nor his older brother Hirakawa Tadasuru had shown up.