allendalepharm Page 313
Page 313
Most of these banners are advertisements.
Meanwhile, overnight, a storm seemed to have swept through Nikko City, centered around Tamamo-no-Mae, with all sorts of things related to Tamamo-no-Mae appearing on the streets and alleys.
It only took two days for these things to evolve from Lu Zizhen urging the association to a commercial feast that no one wanted to miss.
They hyped up the entire city by exaggerating the authenticity of Tamamo-no-Mae.
The large screens along the roadside were showing various TV programs featuring Tamamo-no-Mae, including street interview segments.
In the video, an excited young man enthusiastically recounts, "I saw Tamamo-no-Mae with my own eyes, it's true, she even absorbed my yang energy!"
The young man pointed to his dark circles: "See? My dark circles are because she drained my yang energy!"
Tamamo-no-Mae, who was strolling on the street, felt a chill.
What is all this mess?
The host on the show smiled and looked at the camera, saying, "Friends, real urban legends are all around us. More and more people are claiming to have seen Tamamo-no-Mae. It seems that with the cracking of the Sessho-seki, Tamamo-no-Mae, the legendary monster from history, has really reappeared in the world. She may be right next to any one of us at this very moment."
"Also, a quick advertisement: the first volume of the erotic novel 'I, Tamamo-no-Mae's Boyfriend' is on sale today in front of the Nikko City Hall. It's currently on sale, so those interested can go to the bookstore in front of the Nikko City Hall to purchase it!"
Immediately afterwards, a book cover appeared on the screen. On the cover, a girl who looked seven-tenths like the current Tamamo-no-Mae was budding, covering her body and waiting for something. The background of the cover was pink, which looked extremely ambiguous.
Tamamo-no-Mae stood under the big screen, clenching her fists tightly.
Are you kidding me?! A boyfriend... and it's even a pornographic novel?!
That's just porn! How can they even put that kind of stuff on the big screen?!
Tamamo-no-Mae blushed, wishing she could smash the big screen right now, but she was firmly restrained by her reason.
Damn it... What's wrong with modern people?! Why are they so obsessed with themselves?!
While fretting over her actions, Tamamo-no-Mae slowly walked toward the Nikko City Hall.
I just went to see... to see how modern erotic novels are different from those of the past!
Damn it!
When she arrived there, she saw a long line at the bookstore in front of the city hall, and many of the people looked like tourists.
Next to the bookstore, there were several signs. Upon closer inspection, they all depicted a girl with a fox tail and fox ears, posing in different ways, but it was clear that they were all the same person.
The girls on the standees were either standing gracefully or striking alluring poses, with all sorts of strange postures, including one of them lying in bed, which made Tamamo-no-Mae shudder.
Modern people... are so strange!
But seeing the happy expressions on the faces of those who bought the books, she still moved her feet and shuffled to the end of the line, tightened her scarf to cover her neck, and obediently waited in line.
After waiting for so long, it was finally her turn.
She walked to the table that had been temporarily covered in front of the bookstore, which was filled with books that Tamamo-no-Mae had seen on the screen.
To her surprise, the person sitting behind the table was also a woman. She found it hard to believe that modern erotic novels were written by women.
The woman wearing glasses looked up and smiled, but Tamamo-no-Mae's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
This woman looks... full of evil.
Perhaps because she has seen too many people, Tamamo-no-Mae can see through almost anyone at a glance, and can even instinctively perceive a person's personality and character without any communication.
And now, she's certain that the family in front of her...
The man was not a good person at all; he exuded a sense of self-destruction and despair, as if he were desperate to die, and also carried the madness that comes with being burdened with serious crimes.
“…I want a book,” Tamamo-no-Mae coughed twice.
Lu Zizhen curiously examined the woman in front of her. Tamamo-no-Mae's eyes were very unique, with a natural charm that left a deep impression.
But Lu Zizhen didn't sense any resentment, so she smiled and said, "Okay, it'll be 2500 yen per book. Thank you for your patronage."
Tamamo-no-Mae paid the money quickly and ran away, while Rojiko-sama watched her departing figure for a while before clicking her tongue and continuing to serve customers.
When it was lunch break, Dou Tang and Huai Yin, who had been patrolling the city, returned to the city hall and met up with Lu Zizhen.
“You’re right, this hype has really livened up the whole city.” Dou Tang got straight to the point: “In just one morning, I’ve felt a lot of resentment. Although we haven’t found Tamamo-no-Mae yet, the commotion in Nikko City has already forced those monsters and evil spirits to move their positions.”
“Now they’ve heard the fake news online and are frequently going to streets where Tamamo-no-Mae is said to appear, which shows that they’re coming with a purpose.”
This was Lu Zizhen's method: she wanted to hype up the name Tamamo-no-Mae and spread the rumor that Tamamo-no-Mae had come true.
Those demons and evil spirits that came for Tamamo-no-Mae will definitely try to find her, and Tamamo-no-Mae herself will be enveloped by the hype, bringing her an increasingly strong sense of crisis. Under this sense of crisis, she must find a way to escape Nikko City.
Lu Zizhen wanted to force Tamamo-no-Mae to take a risk, to force her to leave Nikko City at all costs, to force her to realize that she was trapped, and to make her feel that if she didn't run away, it would be too late.
This is the strategy of luring the snake out of its hole.
Force her to show herself, force her to take action.
Lu Zizhen smiled smugly: "Let's see how long she can keep hiding..."
"The fact that she's selling novels about officialdom is enough to give her a good beating. At the very least, she definitely won't dare to come to the vicinity of the city hall. As more and more activities related to Tamamo-no-Mae are carried out, the area she can move around will become smaller and smaller. If she doesn't want to be completely surrounded, she has to escape."
“She’ll give herself away once she tries to escape.”
Of course, Lu Zizhen had no idea that while Tamamo-no-Mae did indeed feel a sense of crisis, she also…
She was also very curious about what exactly happened with her erotic novels...
"This, this stuff... it's written way too explicitly!" Tamamo-no-Mae, hiding in the ice cream shop, blushed as she stared intently at the book in her hands.
Chapter 213 Huaiyin's Awakening
Japanese classical literature has a certain obscurity, and it also carries a sense of ambiguity derived from Chinese learning. To be fair, apart from documentary works, the Japanese classical literature system rarely produces masterpieces.
However, Tamamo-no-Mae was not without her own knowledge of fine works; as someone who was once above all others, she had read extensively.
But... I've never seen anything so blatant and despicable!
The book is filled with straightforward, unpretentious, explicit, and intense emotions. Tamamo-no-Mae in the book is deeply in love with an ordinary modern man, and this man is willing to give everything for her.
Simple, supportive, and passionate love.
Tamamo-no-Mae was deeply moved, yet also felt a pang of loneliness.
This kind of thing is destined to have nothing to do with me.
Even though he was just born, he had already attracted demons who came because of his name. Even if he distanced himself from them, the exorcists of this world would not let him go.
They will continue to blame themselves for all the blame and accidents, just as they always have.
She sighed, put away her book, left the beverage shop, and headed towards her temporary lodgings.
………………
into the night.
Today, the hustle and bustle of Nikko never stops. This small town in the valley is filled with curious people, and the number of passengers on Nikko's trams alone has increased by 70%.
“A total of thirty exorcists entered Nikko City today.” Lu Zizhen sat by the window looking at her phone. “Ten of them came to join Ninomiya Yujing, and the whereabouts of the remaining twenty are unknown. They are probably lone exorcists. Those guys are reckless and will probably start a massacre against evil spirits and monsters in Nikko City.”
"Shui Tianjing Sanlang's people haven't made a move. They're still observing and don't know what they mean." Lu Zizhen sighed, feeling a sense of frustration.
“I’ve gained nothing here today.” Dou Tang stood next to her, looking at the night view outside the window. “Tamamo-no-Mae’s ability to conceal her aura is getting more and more sophisticated. This morning I could still sense some of her aura, but now I can’t sense it at all in the whole city.”
"But the barrier is fine, don't worry," Lu Zizhen reassured him. "That guy definitely hasn't left Nikko City."
"Hmm." Dou Tang nodded, but his brows were still furrowed and his gaze was fierce.
"Why is my brother so concerned about Tamamo-no-Mae?" Huaiyin, sitting on the bed, suddenly asked.
“Tamamo-no-Mae…is a very difficult opponent.” Dou Tang blinked, seemingly realizing his own unusual behavior.
"From what that Shiba Inu monster said, I could tell that her heart wasn't at peace. I don't believe she would want to live a normal life."
He paused, then continued, "It's getting late, let's rest. I'm going back to my room."
………………
Suspended.
It floats above the entire city.
Looking from the sky
The city lights resembled another starry sky, with lights from buildings intertwining and soaring into the heavens.
Huaiyin stared at all of this in a daze.
What's wrong with me?
Wasn't I sleeping?
Why are you here?
Having experienced this many times in her dreams, Huaiyin no longer panicked about it; at this moment, she only felt confused.
What's wrong with you?
Her legs were immobile, but her hands were free, and she slowly moved the air in front of her.
The wind... the cold mountain wind, and the noise of the city below, all surrounding her, made her realize that everything before her was not so simple.
She looked down and suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
Beneath him, at the hotel where the three people were staying, was a cloud of black smoke that enveloped everything.
The black smoke writhed and churned, as if a living creature was moving within it, enveloping the entire building down to the ground, as if it were swallowing up the structure before it.
Within the dark smoke and dust, several points of light seemed to be flickering faintly.
Huaiyin reached out her hand towards the point of light.
The point of light, following her will, was stripped from the smoke and dust, transforming into a long, bright white line, the end of which rested in her palm.
Although no one explained it to her, she instantly understood what was in front of her.
This is... the foundation of human obsession and illusion.
The light spot before him was the brightest among all the black smoke and dust. Huaiyin understood that this was Doutang's obsession.
She pulled on the white line and continued to rise, until she was above the entire city of Nikko, feeling as if she had become a floating ghost.
The pedestrians walking on the road have their light points contained deep within their minds. Huaiyin can only gently pluck them with her thoughts, but cannot control them.
But for those who had already fallen asleep, Huaiyin could take out those points of light and transform them into infinitely extending threads of light, only their threads were not as thick as Doutang's.
There are many lights in the city, but only Dou Tang's obsession, like a cable, can be tightly held by Huai Yin.
...What a wonderful feeling.
After wandering around the entire city, Huaiyin finally discovered a light spot that could rival Doutang's. She curiously took out the light spot, but was quite surprised.
After she gripped the rope that the light spot had transformed into, the image of the light spot's owner suddenly flashed into her mind.
... Tamamo-mae.
This is Tamamo-no-Mae's obsession!
Very good!
Huaiyin quickly memorized the location of Tamamo-no-Mae, extremely excited. She held the rope between Doutang and Tamamo-no-Mae with one hand, while fanning herself in the air with the other, shifting her body.
After circling around the hotel where Tamamo-no-Mae was staying to memorize its location, Huaiyin looked at her other hand and then froze.
The ropes of Tou-tang and Tamamo-no-Mae... are connected?!
They're connected?!
"No way!" Huaiyin, who was just secretly pleased with her new ability, was instantly stunned.
She had no idea what the purpose of these obsessions that had formed into ropes was, and now this has happened!
The ropes connecting Dou Tang and Tamamo-no-Mae are now linked! That must be related to his ability to enter dreams; now that they're connected, it won't lead to…
and many more.
Entering a dream...
Huaiyin looked at the rope in her hand, frowned, and then gripped both ends of the rope tightly.
In the middle of the two ropes, a seam can be clearly seen, and at this moment, there seems to be a mixture of light and shadow, white light, moving back and forth between the two ropes.
Oh my god... I don't want my brother to have a dream with that vixen or something, do I?
Her intuition told her that this was very likely the case.
"No...no!"