Tokyo Fall Guys beats up the supernatural

Page 55

Dou Tang scoffed. There was nothing he could do. Although Lu Zizhen often went along with him, her stubbornness was also quite obvious.

I just hope this isn't a decision she made in a fit of madness.

However, after this incident, Dou Tang lost interest in filming any more commercials and turned around to say, "I'm sorry, Ms. Tsukishima, I have some urgent matters to attend to and cannot film this commercial."

Both Huaiyin and Kume Chinatsu were surprised, but Huaiyin instantly realized what might have happened. She blinked and looked at Doutang, then at the mountain. Doutang met her gaze and nodded, confirming her guess.

"Hey, wait, Kiryu-kun..." Kume Chinatsu wanted to stop her, but Toudou was only thinking about Siren Head, so she quickly said goodbye to Ayane and left the scene.

Watching Dou Tang leave, Kume Chinatsu stood there, her hand outstretched in the air, unsure of what to do.

Her manager, Tsukishima, came over, ruffled her hair, and said, "It's okay, Chinatsu. Since he's your classmate, there will be other opportunities in the future."

Chinatsu Kume raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised: "Tsukishima-nee, what did you say?"

The agent, Tsukishima, holding a cigarette, turned around and looked at Dou Tang's back. Dou Tang's back formed a perfect inverted triangle shape, and due to the nature of his martial arts style, his waist was very thin.

She licked her lips and said, "I said, there will be many more opportunities in the future... I really don't want to miss out on such a wonderful young man."

………………

On their way back, the two suddenly received a text message from Ms. Kyoko, and it was a group text message.

The text message said that Nagaibuki and two others had fainted from heatstroke on the mountain and had been taken to the Kamogawa City Hospital to rest. Other students were asked to take precautions against the heat.

But that's complete nonsense. How could heatstroke be so severe that it requires going to the city hospital? Besides, it's early autumn, not the height of summer. Where would these three people get heatstroke?

Dou Tang immediately deduced that these three people were probably the victims of the Siren Head's long howl earlier.

A surge of anger welled up inside him.

Huaiyin tugged at his sleeve.

"Brother, don't worry..."

Upon hearing this, Dou Tang took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nodded. His voice was incredibly fierce, almost as if he were gritting his teeth as he said, "I know, don't worry."

When encountering incidents of evil spirits harming people, Dou Tang's anger surged up uncontrollably, and he could only relieve it by taking the lives of those evil spirits.

After calming down, Dou Tang said, "Should we go to the hospital to see them?"

Huaiyin nodded; she also wanted to know what had happened to those three people.

While walking, Dou Tang told Huai Yin about the Siren Head incident. Huai Yin also went online to look up information about the Siren Head and discovered that it was actually an urban legend with a traceable origin.

In other words, the siren head is just a made-up character; how could it possibly become real?

Dou Tang glanced at it and also fell into deep thought.

He called Lu Zizhen again, but couldn't get through; it seemed she was busy.

When the two arrived at the hospital, they quickly met the three people who had already woken up. They were receiving intravenous fluids, but the fluids were all medications to calm their nerves, and they were also on an IV drip of glucose.

In other words, they were not injured, and Dou Tang felt slightly relieved.

Seeing that Dou Tang and Huai Yin had come to visit them at the hospital, Chang Yichui and the other two were quite happy. However, after Dou Tang sat down and confirmed that they were alright, the first thing he said was, "Did you encounter anything strange on the mountain?"

But to Dou Tang's surprise, the three of them looked at each other, and Rui Zhi scratched her head: "Strange thing? What is it?"

Strange, what's wrong with these three people?

Dou Tang continued, "Didn't you encounter anything strange? Monsters or anything like that? Did you hear any eerie sounds?"

The three looked at each other, then Ruizhi burst into laughter, pointing at Toudou and saying, "Kiryu-kun! I didn't know you were such a mystery enthusiast!"

Dou Tang frowned, his face saying, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Mizuki continued, "You're so weird! You actually ask such a question... but it's surprisingly interesting considering your delinquent persona!"

"A delinquent boy who likes monsters and mysterious events, hmm... a great premise!" Mizue even gave a thumbs up.

Nagaibuki also laughed and said, "Kiryu-kun, it's okay, we won't laugh at your hobby... But we really didn't encounter any monsters, so we're sorry."

Dou Tang scratched his head, then looked at Huai Yin, who was covering his mouth and grinning mischievously, looking like a sly Jerry who wanted to laugh but dared not, looking very sneaky.

Dou Tang pointed at her decisively with his thumb: "Actually, Huaiyin asked me to ask. She really likes tokusatsu, especially superhero teams and Ultraman, so she's very interested in monsters and stuff like that!"

How could you turn around and betray your sister like that?!

Huaiyin's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Doutang.

Dou Tang nodded and sighed, "Sigh, she's a bit shy, so she asked me to ask you on her behalf."

But then he straightened his chest and said righteously, "However, I think, Huaiyin, just like your older brother and sister said, hobbies won't be laughed at, so you don't need to be shy at all!"

Huaiyin looked at the three of them, Nagaibuki, with a blank expression.

Nagaibuki nodded slowly, looking quite sympathetic.

Xiangmiao, who had been silent until now, spoke gently, "That's right, Huaiyin, liking tokusatsu knows no age. Even when you're in your forties or fifties, you can still like tokusatsu."

There are many people who enjoy this hobby, so there's no need to be ashamed of it!

Dou Tang sat upright in the chair, arms crossed, eyes closed, nodding with a serious expression.

Huaiyin took two deep breaths as if twitching, and looked at Doutang with a pitiful expression.

This person... this person really knows how to get active in unexpected places!

However, having come to this point, Huaiyin had no choice but to go along with it. She was a smart girl and knew that there was no need to dwell on such trivial matters at this time.

Hmph, so a brother who worries about trivial things like saving face is an idiot!

She pouted and asked, "Okay... then do you brothers and sisters remember where you were before you got heatstroke?"

The three of them thought back for a moment.

"It seems to be a shrine on the mountain, what was it called again?" Ruizhi raised one eyebrow as she tried to recall.

Nagaibuki seemed to have forgotten as well, muttering, "Hmm, I can't remember. We went to a lot of shrines this morning, but that shrine... looked very new, and there were five torii gates on the road in front of it."

Five torii gates?

Dou Tang asked, "Are you sure? Five torii gates?"

Nagaibuki nodded affirmatively: "Yes, we remember it very clearly. Five torii gates standing side by side. It left a deep impression on us."

Chapter 105 The Myth of Ito

Five torii gates in a row...

This is currently the only clue we have.

There was no resentment left on the three people, nor any signs of hypnosis. It was as if they had mentally filled in the gaps in their past experiences, and had digested and rationalized those abnormal experiences in their minds.

Who did it? Or was it done by evil spirits? Dou Tang had no idea.

Although they know that Siren Head is related to Lu Zizhen, will the things that happened to their three classmates also be related to her?

Many doubts lingered. Although it seemed to him that this was just a simple school trip, it was as if endless undercurrents were surging in places he was unaware of, and even Lu Zizhen was involved in them, which made Dou Tang somewhat worried.

But these worries were just that—worries. Dou Tang decided to find the answers himself.

Nagaibuki continued, "Kiryu-kun, if you're going up the mountain, make sure you're well-prepared and avoid getting heatstroke."

Dou Tang nodded.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, and finding that Chang Yichui and the others were not in serious condition, Dou Tang decided to take Huaiyin ahead of them and go up the mountain to check on them before noon.

After saying goodbye to the three, Dou Tang and Huai Yin boarded the bus heading up the mountain.

Huaiyin was clearly excited in the car, clinging to Doutang's arm and humming a song while looking at the fields outside. The song sounded quite popular, but Doutang didn't know it; he only remembered hearing it often at home and in shops in Akihabara.

Actually, Dou Tang had another worry in his heart, which was about Huai Yin.

Huaiyin has a supernatural constitution, and Dou Tang is not yet sure whether the crown inside Huaiyin's body will cause other Crown Game participants to fight over it, so he is not very willing to let Huaiyin take the risk with him.

However, what happened before proved that the clone Tangdou was of limited use in the face of those powerful evil spirits, and Lu Zizhen, who could provide help, was missing. Dou Tang could only take Huaiyin with him while investigating the matter of Siren Head.

On the bus, people were discussing the siren blaring earlier, and Dou Tang listened intently.

Judging from the murmured chatter of the elderly people, this wasn't the first time the sound had appeared; it had happened several times before. The official statement from Kamogawa City indicated that it was an experiment and adjustment of the air raid siren on the mountain. After all, the area around Chiba is the outer perimeter of Tokyo Bay, and as an important defense line, some military preparedness is necessary.

Of course, this is just the official statement. There are also rumors that the shrine on the mountain is preparing for a festival in October, and some people say that this is a sign that the Ito Okami is about to be revived.

The former likely originates from a traditional Japanese myth, which states that in early October each year, all the gods of Japan leave their own lands to go to Izumo Shrine to discuss matters concerning the new year with all the gods in the world.

In other words... it's the annual gathering of the Japanese celestial realm.

However, this was just a myth, and Dou Tang naturally didn't believe it.

As for the second half of the sentence... Dou Tang only heard the gist of it and had no concept of Ito-sama, only regarding it as superstition among the elderly.

The bus heading into the mountains reached its final stop, and only Dou Tang and Huai Yin remained on board.

Only then did Dou Tang run to the front of the car and politely ask the driver, "Excuse me, do you know what shrine with five torii gates is nearby?"

The driver, a tall, thin man, straightened his hat, thought for a moment, and then exclaimed, "Oh, you must be talking about Ito Shrine, right?"

He pointed to a mountain road directly opposite the terminal station, where the highway ended abruptly, and the remaining road was a stone-paved road that cars could not travel on.

"Follow this road, and you'll see a new stone path leading up the mountain; that's the road to Ito Shrine!"

Ito...?

Dou Tang memorized the word and then asked, "Sir, what kind of shrine is this Ito Shrine? I think I've heard of it before."

The driver glanced at his watch; there was still some time before the next departure. He picked up the water cup next to him, unscrewed it, took a sip, and said, "It's rare to see a young person interested in this. This Ito Shrine is actually the oldest shrine in Kamogawa City with verifiable history."

He wagged his finger, like a teacher giving a lesson.

The mouth is like a river.

"Legend has it that during the Edo period, a giant wild boar ran all the way from Kyoto to Kamogawa City. At that time, people lived by the sea and no one thought about living in the mountains."

"As a result, not long after the wild boar arrived, a typhoon was about to make landfall on the Kamo River. Before the typhoon even arrived, the surging waves had already submerged most of the coastal villages, causing immense suffering to the people."

The driver got excited and started talking animatedly. Judging from his age of forty or fifty, he probably grew up listening to these stories.

"Then the villagers had no choice but to move to the mountains to escape the typhoon."

"On the night before the typhoon arrived, the people living on the mountain heard a fierce roar outside their houses. They rushed out to check and saw a huge wild boar roaring towards the sea, then crashing through countless trees and heading towards the ocean."

"After the giant wild boar rushed into the sea, something strange happened: the typhoon that was supposed to hit Kamogawa City directly changed course and headed towards Katsuura!"

The driver pointed to the ground: "It is said that the main road of the Kamo River was opened up by this wild boar! Later, people built a shrine on the mountain, which is called Ito Shrine, and the big wild boar became known as Ito Okami."

He took another sip of water, looking somewhat excited, like a taxi driver introducing local classics to his passengers: "But this shrine was abandoned a long time ago! The last shrine heir, named Ito, went abroad for a long time and only returned a year ago with a large sum of money to rebuild the shrine, which is how the Ito Shrine came to be today."

"If we're talking about five torii gates, we're definitely referring to Ito Shrine!"

This Ito Shrine sounds quite unusual...

Dou Tang nodded, thanked him, and got out of the car with Huai Yin.

As soon as I got out of the car, a breeze, slightly cooler than the city breeze, blew in from the valley. The crops in the surrounding fields rippled in the wind, like a green sea.

Holding Huaiyin's hand, Dou Tang said seriously, "Huaiyin, we're going up the mountain now, and it might be dangerous. Once we're up there, stick close to me and don't wander off, okay?"

Huaiyin knew it wasn't the time to be naughty, so she nodded obediently.

The two followed the brand-new stone path upwards, gradually venturing deeper into the valley, and finally arrived at a ravine.

Looking up along the ravine, you can already see the so-called five torii gates.

Five large red doors separated the mortal world from the divine realm.

Chapter 106 Ito Shrine

In various Japanese superstitions, the torii gate represents isolation and a barrier, that is, the gate that separates the secular world from the divine world.

Passing through this door signifies that people have entered the realm of the gods, and it serves as a warning to be cautious in their words and actions.

In ancient times, torii gates were generally painted in the original color of the wood. Only the torii gates of Inari Shrine were painted vermilion, because vermilion symbolizes the warmth and yang energy of spring, which can promote agricultural production.

However, in modern times, vermilion torii gates have gradually become a cultural symbol, and shrines of all kinds have begun to paint their torii gates vermilion.

The Ito Shrine in front of us is no exception.

According to legend, Ito Shrine enshrines the boar god who created Kamo River City, and has nothing to do with production.

Five vermilion torii gates, each less than a meter apart, form a short corridor. The corridor has a strong sense of oppression, and the tall torii gates exude an inviolable solemnity, as if passing through here could truly lead to the realm of the gods.

But Tou-tang didn't believe in myths and legends; his eyes passed through the torii gate and looked at the shrine in the distance.

The shrine gates were wide open, and the shrine was empty except for a tall, imposing statue hidden in the shadows, not clearly visible.

As soon as Todoroki took a step onto the path leading to the torii gate, he felt the atmosphere around him change.