“They don't have past lives, so they need to create one for themselves. Otherwise, they'll remain as malevolent spirits, confined to urban legends. When those legends disappear, they'll cease to exist entirely.”
“Your friend is the past life they're clinging to. From the moment your friend was born until the time is right, they will subtly influence their life, eventually leading to their death through a legend.”
Lin Ze nodded thoughtfully, “So I ruined her plans, causing her past life to not exist. In a fit of rage, she tried to kill me in my sleep, while Da Tong was killed directly by her.”
“Correct. Though I don’t know why she didn’t attack you in the real world, the Da Tong you mentioned was indeed killed directly by her in the real world.” From the moment she opened her mouth, Long Po had been staring intently at Lin Ze. She was curious. Urban Legends were not weak, even she, unprepared, could only run. What about this young man made them so wary?
Tsukino, the captain who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, “Why have I never heard of this?”
Long Po glanced at him, then suddenly grinned, “If everyone knew about this, what kind of consequences would it have? Don’t worry, the higher-ups are aware. We work with them.”
Thinking about the strange behavior of the Chief after receiving that phone call, Tsukino suddenly understood. Decades… only now had he discovered the truth of the world. He felt a pang of bitterness. How could he live knowing this? What if a ghost was standing next to him and he didn’t even know?
“Let’s eat something and chat. I have a few more questions for you,” Lin Ze called to the shop assistant, ordering food for himself and Long Po. He then took out Kayako’s lunchbox.
“You! Where did you get that?” Long Po suddenly raised her voice. Her eyes were fixed on the lunchbox Lin Ze had taken out. She also had special abilities. In her youth, while fighting ghosts, she had lost one eye. But it had also been a blessing in disguise. Most spirit mediums relied on sensing, while she could “see” certain things.
The lunchbox Lin Ze held was like a black ink, radiating resentment in her vision. She had never seen such intense resentment in her life. Just looking at it made her heart pound.
“This?” Lin Ze hesitated, asking tentatively, “Do you know… Ju-on?”
As soon as he uttered those words, Long Po spat out a mouthful of blood. She hurriedly lowered her head and put on her sunglasses, her body trembling uncontrollably. Just one glance! She had nearly died!!!
When Lin Ze said those two words, she saw black lines surging within him, swirling and twisting around him. She suddenly understood why the urban legend didn't dare harm him in the real world and only tried in his dreams. In dreams, malevolent spirits with no past life were the most elusive, it was their natural, innate ability. (They originally used the dream world to increase their legends, thereby bringing themselves into existence. It was like the natural instinct of a baby to eat.)
“This… This is beyond the scope of a mere old woman. Young man, you’ve burdened this old lady. You said you’re still alive after dreaming about it, does that mean what you mentioned is the reason?” At this moment, Long Po only regretted being able to see things she shouldn’t. This was the first time since gaining this ability that she hated it.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Lin Ze knew the terror of Ju-on, and it involved Kayako, so he had kept it a secret. He didn’t know about Long Po’s special abilities either. He just knew she had a strong sense of perception. How could he have imagined that simply uttering the name Ju-on would have such an effect on her?
Lin Ze couldn’t see what was happening to him, and Tsukino couldn’t see it either, so he was fine. Long Po, trembling, looked at Lin Ze through the reflection of her sunglasses and saw he had returned to normal, before slowly raising her head.
“I’ll introduce you to another spirit medium. See if she can solve your problem. She’s much stronger than me. I just don’t know if she’s in Sakura now. I’ll give her a call.” As a spirit medium, she couldn’t just ignore it, especially since what was on him was too terrifying. If things went wrong, it would be a terrible disaster. She couldn’t handle it, time to call for backup!
Under Lin Ze’s expectant gaze, Long Po dialed a number. “Hello? Chinako? Are you in Japan now? I’ve encountered a very tricky situation! It was just the urban legend Hanako, but there’s something worse on them. Yes! Don’t even mention it, this old lady nearly died after just one glance… Okay.”
Long Po handed the phone to Lin Ze. Lin Ze was excited. This was the number one exorcist in Sakura!
“Hello, I’m Lin Ze.”
“Yes, this is Higa Chinako. Mr. Lin Ze, I’m not in Japan right now. I need to see things for myself before I can help. You can go to my sister first and get some protective charms and artifacts. I’ll let Long Po give you her number later. That’s it, I’ll be back on Saturday.”
You could feel her capable aura even through the phone. Lin Ze agreed and handed the phone back to Long Po. After Long Po gave him the number, she quickly got up to leave.
“Wouldn’t you like to eat something before you leave?”
“No, no, no.” Long Po didn’t want to stay a moment longer.
“How much do I owe you? I’ll pay you.” Lin Ze felt a bit embarrassed. No matter what, he had put her in a difficult position. It was better than losing an arm and life in the Hakkō Demon, though.
“No, no, no. Young man, your problem is very troublesome. This old lady can’t solve it. No charge.” With that, Long Po hurried away, leaving Lin Ze and Tsukino staring at each other.
“Forget it… I’ll tell Higa Chinako about the Hakkō Demon when I see her. Let her deal with it directly. It’ll spare Long Po from further danger.” Lin Ze thought to himself, turning his head, he saw Tsukino looking at him strangely.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m thinking about keeping my distance from you. She almost spat blood after just looking at you. Wouldn’t I die if I stayed next to you?” Tsukino looked serious. He was genuinely thinking about it.
“…Don’t be stupid. Then my classmates would have all died by now! She reacted that way because she’s a spirit medium, she can see it. Normal people can’t. Unless someone is targeting you specifically.” Lin Ze rolled his eyes, exasperated. “Eat, eat. We’ll go find Higa Chinako’s sister after we’re done.”
“You… you still eat this? Didn’t you see the spirit medium’s reaction? This food is clearly not normal!” Tsukino was dumbfounded seeing Lin Ze happily eating the lunchbox.
“I know what’s going on with me. Don’t worry. It’s just food, it’s fine. Wasting food is shameful.” Lin Ze knew that these things were used by Kayako regularly and had her aura on them. It was normal for them to be imbued with her presence. If there was something next to him that made Long Po terrified, it was the Ju-on from his dreams. However, for now, it didn’t seem like she was trying to harm him, so…
Tsukino’s eyes twitched as he watched Lin Ze devour the entire lunchbox.