With a thousand silver needles in his pocket, Kamiya River wandered around the town on the edge of this mine.

"When Beitongzi Mountain was closed in 1973, the town seems to have been a gathering place for former miners and their families. From them, you should be able to get first-hand information about Beitongzi Mountain. ”

Kamiya did the same on Oguri Island at the beginning.

Claiming to be a folklorist, he holds a small silver stick to talk to local middle-aged or elderly people.

It works great.

The size of the town is not large, the streets are far from spacious, and after walking for a while, I didn't see any suitable targets.

"Shhh...... Well? ”

At the corner of a certain alley, Kamiyagawa's eyes were drawn to an oncoming person.

It was a woman in her early twenties, who looked like a college girl.

She looks so pretty.

Kamiya's gaze paused on the other party's body for a while.

The girl noticed Kamiya as well, and kept her eyes on it as well.

The two looked at each other.

"Poof."

After a moment, the strange girl on the other side chuckled and pinned her head to the side.

It seems to be signaling Kamiya to follow.

Kamiyagawa didn't have any scruples, and followed him directly.

The two walked into an uninhabited alley one after the other.

"When we first met, my name was Ai Saotome." The girl turned around and bowed lightly to Kamiya and introduced herself, "I didn't expect to meet my peers here." ”

That's right, this opening line.

This man is a soul slayer.

True exorcists are always attracted to each other in the crowd.

After all, they can more or less feel each other's breath and are different from ordinary people.

"Miss Saotome, is she?" Kamiyagawa addresses each other by their surnames, "Hello, my name is Kamiyagawa." ”

"Kamiya...... River? I think I've heard the name. Saotome loves to make memories, and after a while, it suddenly dawned, "Wait, you're a soul slayer from Tokyo?" The one who rescued a lot of hidden living people from Ruzuki Station and solved the Wakayama whale disaster? ”

Kamiyagawa noticed that the other party did not mention the matter of the Fat Powder Fairy, the Epidemic God and the Dream Man.

Maybe these three things are related to the time of the demon sealing, involving the secrets of the countermeasure room, and Saotome Ai doesn't know about it.

If that's the case, this Miss Saotome shouldn't be an official soul removalist.

Or even if they join the government, they have not yet entered the inner circle.

"Let's not."

Kamiyagawa nodded, thought for a moment, and took out the documents for the countermeasure room from his pocket.

"Huh——? It's really true! Saotome Ai looked at the seal and certificate on the document, "So you yourself are so young!?" ”

"Hmmm......"

Kamiya didn't expect his reputation to spread like this.

Any soul slayer you meet has heard your own story.

"Offended!" Saotome Ai bowed again, this bow was much deeper than before, she kept her head down and said, "Let me introduce myself again, my name is Saotome Ai, I am from a family tradition of Shinto, and I have not yet obtained the qualifications to join the countermeasure room, but I have been working hard, please advise!" ”

"It doesn't have to be so formal."

"Yes, you're a senior in the strategy room!" Saotome Ai raised her head, "Senpai, did you come to Iyo to remove spirits?" ”

"Sort of."

It feels weird to be called "senior" by someone who is obviously older than me.

"Ah...... Also for the Headless Horseman? Saotome Ai was slightly embarrassed, "Then I seem to have come for nothing?" ”

"What is the Headless Horseman?"

"Huh? Isn't this what it's for? It was a commission I received a few days ago. ”

Kamiyagawa thought for a moment and said, "I'm going to go to Betongzi Mountain." What level of weird talk are you talking about, the Headless Horseman? ”

"I guess it's about E-class." Saotome Ai relaxed a little, raised her hand and touched her chin, "It's also oh, this kind of weird talk doesn't seem to be worth it for a big man like you to come all the way from Tokyo." ”

"I'm not a big deal." Kamiya shrugged his shoulders, the E-level strange talk was another commission that someone else took first, and Kamiya wouldn't grab it, "By the way, where are you from?" ”

"It's Ehime local, I live in Ibata, and my seniors can come and visit me at any time!"

"That's right...... Need not. Is it okay to ask you something? ”

The soul slayer who lives in Iga Town is a complete local.

From this Miss Saotome, you might be able to get the information you want.

"You say."

"How much do you know about Beitongzi Mountain? Don't Tongzi Mountain area, is there any strange talk? Like Shikijiro or something? Kamiyagawa didn't directly hide his purpose of looking for Shikijiro, anyway, normal people would definitely not be able to think that he was looking for Shikijiro to bring him to the world to open mines.

"Shikijiro? What are the seniors talking about with such low-level geists? ”

"I have some Shikigami Monsters under my command, and one of them needs to be cultivated with materials that Shikijiro might produce."

This reason given by Kamiyagawa is reasonable.

For example, last year, before the little old man was promoted to F-rank, the [Shadow Mass] he absorbed was a strange relic produced from a very low-level Strange Tale Shadow Ghost.

"Shikigami...... Seems to have heard something about you in this regard. Saotome Ai nodded and didn't ask any questions, "Don't Tongzishan, I think about it, it seems that it has always been said that there is Shikijiro, but Ehime's soul slayer is not very likely to go there." ”

"Why?"

"Ah, because it's been peaceful over there. It also built a Beitongzi theme park, with many tourists, and there have been no supernatural events for more than ten years. If you want to find Shikijiro, you may have to go deep into the mountains and try your luck in finding abandoned or dusty mines. Normally, a soul slayer wouldn't go to great lengths to find such a low-level weird story with no record of harming people. ”

"Hmm."

All right.

Asking is about the same as not asking.

It's not bad from the information I judged before.

"Oh, about Beitongzi Mountain, I still think of one thing in my seniors." I don't know if I want to show it in front of Kamiyagawa, the "senior" of the countermeasure room, Saotome Ai seems very positive:

"It's a story I heard from my grandfather when I was a kid. It is said that during the Meiji era, there was a strange incident at Mt. Betongzi for a period of time, when a whip wind suddenly blew in the mountain, and many miners who mined the mine suffered greatly. ”

"Whip wind?"

This term is a bit familiar.

"Yes, legend has it that when this wind blows, it makes the sound of whipping and the dust rolls up. People and animals who encounter this strange wind will get sick. ”

"And then?"

"And then things are a little bit unclear. Anyway, after a certain period of time, the whip wind of Beitongzi Mountain inexplicably stopped, and it never appeared again. However, this is only a story told by my grandfather, and it is difficult to verify whether it is true or false. Maybe it's just plain country talk. ”

"Okay, I see, thanks." Kamiyagawa thanked Miss Saotome, who knew everything.

Whip wind......

I don't know if it's useful or not.

However, after listening to Miss Saotome's description, Kamiya remembered that when he was adding all kinds of strange knowledge before, he had read a record similar to whip wind in a certain book.

In Kagami Village, Tosa-gun, Kochi Prefecture, there seems to be a legend of the whip wind, which is said to be able to attach to cattle and horses. When leading the cows and horses on a night walk, if you are unlucky, you will encounter the whip wind with a loud sound, and if you don't blindfold the cows and horses, they will die in the whip wind.

In some places, the whip wind is called "Butch", and when it hits, it makes a sharp sound of "boom" in the mountains, and the sand and dust carried by the wind can cut people's skin like a knife and injure people.

The two talked casually for a while, and Saotome handed Kamiya a business card.

Kamiyagawa accepted it and said, "It's not too early, I plan to go to Beitongzi Mountain tonight." ”

"Then I wish the seniors all the best in their search for Shikijiro."

"I also wish you good luck in the removal of spirits."

The two people who met in Pingshui were separated.

……

Around 10 p.m.

Kamiyagawa arrived at Betongzi Mountain in a ghost car.

On the way, you can see the Minetopia Besko theme park in the distance, the park is very lively during the day, and it is very quiet at night, only a few lights are on, and it is estimated that there are staff members who stay in it to keep vigil.

However, this is not the final destination of Kamiya.

The local soul slayer, Saotome, said that the years since the construction of Betsutongko Park have been peaceful, and the Kamiya River has to go deeper into the mountains.

The ghost car drove down the winding road in the mountains for a while.

At the end of the road, there is only a winding dirt path ahead, and it is not known where it leads.

The ghost Mazda stops here.

Not the terrain that the ghost car is good at, Kamiyagawa intends to explore directly on foot, directly into the heart of the mountains and forests.

After getting out of the car, he called out the little old man.

Let your scout separate a second body and stay in the ghost car, and stay with Dashi and them. He set off with the little old man's body.

Dashi, they and the little old man are old partners.

The combination of scouts and ghost cars has super perception and extremely fast speed, and there is no danger at all when they disperse and act.

If you really encounter something difficult to deal with, there is a little old man who warns in advance, and Dashi can escape with one foot on the accelerator.

"You guys are waiting for me around here, I'm not sure how long I'm going to be active in the mountains, and if there is any situation, let the little old man inform me." Kamiyagawa explained.

The weirdos who stayed behind all nodded.

With the help of the technique of slashing, the pupils were slightly condensed, and Kamiyagawa's eyes were like torches, and he understood everything.

The dark road ahead suddenly became clear.

Able to move as freely as in the daytime.

Taking the little old man with him, he began his exploration tonight.

……

The little old man led the way.

The master and servant walked for a long time on the muddy path, and then went down the dirt slope into the dense forest.

The air in the mountains and forests is humid, especially at night, the humidity is very heavy, and only the unknown spring insects can be heard chirping slightly.

I don't know how long I walked, but there were no roads around me at all, all dense shrubs and branches, and the waning moon overhead was completely obscured by the branches of the trees in the heights.

In a circle, Kamiyagawa couldn't tell where he was now.

But with the little old man here, you don't have to worry about getting lost.

"Aba."

The little old man dressed as a void monk in front of him, stepping on the rotten branches and leaves, suddenly shouted in a low voice with a little excitement.

"What? Got a spot? ”

"Abba whoop."

The master and servant communicated for a while, and Kamiyagawa determined that the little old man was indeed somewhere nearby, and felt the existence of a subtle strange talk.

But I can't confirm that it's Shikijiro.

After being promoted, the little old man's concealment ability is super strong, and his perception ability has also become stronger.

Stronger than his master.

Anyway, standing in his current position, Kamiyagawa can't feel the existence of strange talk around him.

Continue to let the little old man lead the way.

The master and servant came to a mountain col, and found a hidden mine in a lower position.

The reason why it is judged that this is a mine cave is because some wood remains can be seen at the entrance of the cave. When these things are in good condition, they should be used to support the entrance of the mine.

However, the passage of the mine in front of me has been completely blocked by stones.

Kamiyagawa stood at the entrance of the closed cave and carefully sensed it, and behind the stones, there seemed to be some strange atmosphere.

"Then explore this place first."

He made up his mind and took out his mobile phone, because he was in the deep forest, the mobile phone had no signal, but the time was still visible, it was one o'clock in the morning.

Kamiya has been groping in Beitongzi Mountain for a long time, and only a person like him dares to stay in the deep mountains and old forests during this time period.

However, thanks to his high physique and the coordination of Ayu's breathing method, he is still full of physical fitness.

"Mary." "Inugami."

Kamiyagawa called out his two Shikigami.

The rocks blocking the entrance to the cave need to be cleaned up with the help of a monster like their power.

"Whew-"

Like a werewolf, the dog god stood up half-erect, and his sharp claws pierced into the cracks of the stones, easily lifting a large stone out.

Mary didn't need to do it herself, she used the red mist to pour into the cracks and swell, which shook the stones and clods loose, and the nine red spirits pulled and pulled, destroying most of the originally solid stone walls at the entrance of the cave.

In the gap between the two Shikigami work, the little old man on the side reported a situation to Kamiya.

About the hearse regiment left on the road.

Dashi: Something unexpected happened to them.

"Are they in danger?" Kamiya asked.

"Woohoo."

The little old man shook his head firmly.

There is no danger.

It's just an unexpected event.

Kamiya's scouts have a super sense of danger.

Be cautious and run first.

Since he said there was no danger, it was really nothing.

After getting along for so long, Kamiyagawa still has this confidence.

"Then let the big stones and them deal with it themselves." He explained this and returned to the excavation of the mine entrance.

Through the efforts of Mary and Inugami, the cave that had been blocked and concealed was rediscovered, and it was dark and swarthy, releasing a stale smell.

In addition, the strange atmosphere that I had sensed earlier seemed to be a little stronger.

"Is there any air in here?"

Kamiyagawa stared inward, then took out the [Mirage Cloth Bag] and pulled out an ordinary candle.

This candle was specially carried by him in order to explore the mines on this side of Beitongzi Mountain.

Kamiya didn't immediately enter the mine, but waited outside for a while, and then used the Kabuki puppet to summon a Kabuki puppet.

Light the candle and let the puppet enter with the candle.

Although his body in reality is much stronger, it is flesh and blood after all.

It is not known whether it will suffocate if it goes deep into the mine, and whether there is any danger of collapse in it, so it is safer to put the puppet in it first to see the situation.

(End of chapter)