‘A yokai is using a handphone to locate me?’
After the initial shock faded away, Baishi Shū felt that it was reasonable. The reason was simple: it was the 21st century now.
It was a new generation, where monks could have part-time jobs and drive luxury cars, while miko could record the exorcism process with a consecrated camera and put it online.
What about the yokai?
As far as Baishi Shū knew, a yokai was an entirely different entity from an evil spirit. An evil spirit was the manifestation of the human soul after being subjected to yin energy and algetic conditioning. They were often in pain and held a lot of grudges. Their consciousness as a human would gradually drift away and their resentment would grow as time went on. However, yokai was different.
Although they were infused with yin energy too, they were still living things. It was just that the way they portrayed themselves was different from any other living organism on earth. There were several legends about “good and benevolent” yokai as well. This could mean that yokai had the ability to think and had their own consciousness, not to mention there was a probability that some of the modern people, after turning into a yokai, would not lose themselves to their primal instinct. They would not live the life of a savage, but retain their habits and customs, like using handphones and computers, surfing on the Internet, staying in a house, and consuming carbonated drinks…
Considering this information, he found that it wasn’t that hard at all to comprehend that a yokai would use a handphone to communicate with each other as well as monitor his movements. As for the two kami-sama from the Meiji Shrine that the four-faced yokai talked about, Baishi Shū did not take it seriously
Different people had their own specialty.
Shinto priests had their “talisman” technique, and monks had special skills of their own as well. Deities did not possess skills as useful as the Divine Eye, so it was pretty difficult for them to do something like long-distance monitoring.
There were many kinds of deities in Japan. Amongst them, the one enshrined in the Meiji Shrine was the emperor during the Meiji Restoration, Emperor Meiji and his wife. At the end of the day, both of them were normal people. Even if they became deities after death and grew in strength with the help of faith from their worshippers, the divine power they got would not be as plentiful as Buddhism, which had a much longer history.
Of course, they were not weak, as they were still deities after all. Even though their power could not be compared to Buddha, Baishi Shū did not think that he was on par with them after going through only two years of training. He reckoned that, as a prodigy, he needed at least 10 years of experience before he could be mentioned in the same breath as them.
In comparison, there was something that intrigued him much more. He wondered, since yokai knew how to use a phone, would they use firearms, like a bazooka or a sniper rifle, to kill him?
It was apparent to him that the yokai already knew he was the sole successor of Reimei Temple, as well as a prodigy. They had even started to monitor him and deliberately avoided him. He was worried that one day, when they realized he had grown far too strong and needed to be eliminated, they would use a firearm to get rid of him from afar, so that they would not be exorcised by him in one hit.
Baishi Shū had been thinking that the reason he could exorcise a yokai or an evil spirit so effortlessly was not only because he was a prodigy, but because the enlightenment he encountered and the spiritual power he gained were more than that of his peers. Besides, those evil spirits and yokai he came across were weak and last but not least, he was also blessed by Dharma.
This was because, at the end of the day, the power of Buddha had a better effect against those evil things than the power of Shinto deities. Although Baishi Shū had never seen the old abbot exorcise a yokai or an evil spirit before, he was certain that he would be able to get rid of them even faster than he did.
Harking back to the subject, under the conditions where the yokai was backed into a corner, there was a possibility that they might pull a firearm out from nowhere to counter him. This was because, unlike evil spirits, yokai could carry objects through obstacles such as a wall. This was something Baishi Shū found unfathomable as well.
Take the four-faced yokai, for example. They were wearing clothes and holding a handphone when they were passing through the wall. Under such circumstances, unless he had the Divine Eye activated to keep an eye of his surroundings, it would be difficult to avoid the ambush in advance.
“Luckily, I have already completed the Baishi Universal Deliverance. If I practice it for some more, even bullets wouldn’t be able to penetrate my skin…” he said with relief.
However, he reckoned that he should not keep staying in such a passive position. Constantly living in fear of being attacked was very annoying. His daily life would be greatly affected and he would not be able to study at peace.
This was unacceptable. No one could stand in the way of achieving his dreams. He had taken an oath to enrich himself through learning, rebuild the temple, and amass experience and popularity by helping people in Japan. He wished that he could provide a safe haven in which his worshippers could seek solace.
Why could they not just give him peace of mind and let him achieve his dreams?
“Be that as it may, everyone deserves a chance. Buddha emphasizes that compassion is the only way to cut away at all the hatred in one’s heart. Although they have caused a lot of trouble and disturbed my learning schedule, they can still be saved. As such, I must send them to Buddha’s side and have them chant scripture beside him to wash away their sins.”
With no time like the present, Baishi Shū felt that today was a good day.
For the sake of the safety of the people in Tokyo, as well as the reputation of Reimei Temple, he must send the four-faced yokai to Buddha’s side as soon as possible. After all, if the story of the soul orb was exposed, the situation would certainly get out of control. People would regard Reimei Temple as an evil temple and no one would believe them anymore.
According to the four-faced yokai’s conversation, Baishi Shū could tell that they were not working alone, but under a certain yokai organization. Although he had no idea how large the organization was, two members, at the very least, were confirmed: “big boss” and “technician”.
Baishi Shū decided to exorcise the entire organization so that the four-faced yokai would not feel lonely when they went on their way to meet Buddha. This way, they could also support each other and enhance their friendship along the way.
Amitabha.
Baishi Shū put down his phone. He stood up from the futon and dusted himself. After offering a bow to the Buddha statue, he took a gilding staff from the rack beside it.
The staff was used by the old abbot and was an heirloom passed down to each abbot of Reimei Temple for generations. After being passed down for more than thousands of years, it had accumulated hundreds of units of spiritual power, so it was considered a consecrated instrument. The head of a yokai organization must be very powerful, so to be on the safe side, Baishi Shū decided to bring along an instrument to help him.
‘Here I come, four-faced yokai. I hope you are ready.’
…
Nakano City, Morishita’s house.
The four-faced yokai finally finished their job. They were holding a sachet filled with an unknown object in their hands. Wiping beads of sweat off their forehead, Cowardice said, “Finally, it is done. My heart almost jumped out of my throat today.”
“Ahh! When I get back there, I am going to kill that yokai for making me look like a fool! How dare he lie to me!” Anger growled.
“Be patient, Anger. We still have one thing to do. We haven’t checked on our new friend yet. She doesn’t seem to appreciate her identity and she hasn’t killed her parents yet.”
“Oh well, well, well. That won’t do. We have to give her a little boost,” Jovial chimed in gleefully.
With that, the four-faced yokai merged into the darkness and disappeared from the living room.