Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 16 The Disappearance in the Locked Room
what is that?
Yu Jian didn't know what "the shadow of the sky" referred to, nor did he understand why someone whose father had been missing for over a month would still be in the mood to paint.

However, he did not immediately publicize the issue. Speaking recklessly without knowing anything would only hurt others and expose his own foolishness.

So he just listened quietly.

The senior student, Akane Isshiki, was clearly not good at communicating with people; she managed to squeeze out a couple of sentences before falling silent.

Fortunately, the three people present had a combined social capacity of 100 people. Two of them barely made up half a share, and the remaining 99.5 shares all went to the compassionate, benevolent, and meddlesome Bodhisattva Aizen.

"Please come in and we can talk slowly." Ai Ran took the initiative to open the carriage door and stepped into the carriage first, using the crates that served as steps as steps.

Mitsurugi followed closely behind, but he paused at the door for a moment, silently beckoning to Isshiki Akane, who was hesitant. Akane instinctively took his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, Mitsurugi simply pulled her into the carriage.

As soon as he entered, Yujian felt something shoot out from within like an arrow. It wasn't an arrow, but it was even harder to dodge; it was a gaze, a sharp gaze from Aizen Yurika.

Yu Jian immediately let go, his face expressionless as if nothing had happened, and went to his desk to boil water and make tea.

Yurika withdrew her gaze, led Isshiki Akane to sit down on the sofa, and then sat down on the single sofa next to her. Only then did she ask in a gentle tone.

"Isshiki-senpai, what does 'the shadow of the sky' refer to?"

"I..." Akane Isshiki hesitated, raised her hand as if to gesture something, tried several times but then put it down dejectedly.

This is no longer social anxiety, it's social disorder!
Yu Jian silently complained in his heart.

Fortunately, Yurika was very patient. She casually chatted about ordinary topics to gradually put Akane at ease, and then guided her little by little to reveal the truth. Mitsurugi, who had been observing from the sidelines, pondered for a moment and then took action.

"Tea."

Mitsurugi moved the tray holding the tea set onto the coffee table, then pointed to Isshiki Akane's sketchbook.

"If you can't express it in words, you can draw it."

Upon hearing this, Akane's eyes lit up, and she immediately laid her sketchbook flat on her lap, took out a pencil, and began to sketch quickly.

"Your Majesty, you are very observant." Baihexiang suddenly switched to a more intimate form of address. Yujian vaguely sensed that something was amiss, but he couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

"I've only been through a similar phase." He sighed deeply, actually thinking of his past life.

At that time, his dislike for social interaction was about to escalate to a dislike for humanity, and he was also immersed in his own world.

Unfortunately, people cannot live in a vacuum forever. Only a very few people can turn their interests into a career and make a living from it, while also maintaining their passion in the process.

In his previous life, he had average grades but happened to love drawing. He even wanted to be a cartoonist when he was young, so he became an art student.

He took the entrance exam twice before finally getting into the relevant university, and then failed the postgraduate entrance exam again. So he gave up his dream of becoming an artist and turned to another profession with lower difficulty: a craftsman who is particularly good at copying famous works.

After doing this kind of work for a long time, I sometimes have strange illusions when visiting art museums abroad. Why does that painting hanging behind three layers of protective glass look so familiar? Wasn't it in my studio just last month?
No matter how skilled he was, in his previous life he was just a craftsman and was unable to create a work of art that possessed true 'beauty'.

Perhaps it's the lack of this kind of spirituality?

Looking at the exquisite artwork that Akane had created with just a few strokes, Mitsurugi couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Fortunately, he had made peace with himself and would not have any inappropriate emotions because of this. He quickly focused his attention on the painting, but as he looked at it, Yu Jian's brows furrowed.

The drawing was very straightforward, with nothing difficult to understand. A small blue figure was falling upwards into a vast expanse of darkness, most of its body swallowed by the blackness. Its posture resembled that of a drowning person, and its expression was one of great pain.

Why upwards?

If you want to depict a drowning person, you usually focus on showing the dynamic of him sinking while struggling to rise.

However, the scene in Akane Isshiki's painting is exactly the opposite. The little blue figure in distress struggles downwards, but its body keeps rising, while its hair is still pulled by gravity and hangs down to the ground.

“Dad, I fell into the shadow, the shadow of the sky. I only saw it later.” Pointing to the pitch-black color, Akane Isshiki tried her best to express her meaning.

This is undoubtedly quite difficult for someone with communication difficulties, but she never gave up.

Removing her hand from the 'shadow in the sky', Akane Isshiki picked up a colored pencil and added a new red figure standing on the ground. Then she drew a straight line, connecting one end to the drowning blue figure and the other end to the red figure's hand.

"Akane, this name also represents the red of evening, so this is the senior herself? And the blue one is your father?" Yurika quickly understood what the other person meant.

“Yes! He needs help.” Akane nodded vigorously, a hopeful light rising in her eyes.

"Can I say that your request is actually to find your missing father?" Yurika unfolded her folding fan in front of her chest, revealing the words 'human nature'.

“Yes!” Akane gripped her paintbrush tightly with both hands, her wooden expression changing for the first time.

Previously, she hadn't reacted much even when bullied by other members of the art club, but now she seemed unusually agitated.

Mitsurugi subtly observed the entire conversation. Judging from Akane Isshiki's reaction, neither the police nor anyone else believed what she said.

They probably thought that Akane Isshiki was mentally unstable due to the shock of her father's disappearance, which led her to give such illogical testimony.

However, after the psychic incident, neither Yurika nor Mitsurugi thought that way. Instead, they immediately tried to deduce the truth by combining it with other information, based on the premise that the other party was not lying.

As expected, Yurika didn't ask any more questions and simply took out an old notebook that looked familiar to Mitsurugi. "Nekopaw Company has accepted your request."

Soon, a signature resembling a child's doodle appeared on the notebook, and Aizen Yurika once again whispered the line.

"The contract is now established."

So we come back to the original question: what is the shadow of the sky?
This raises a new question: why can drawing the shadow of the sky bring back the missing person?
What exactly is the shadow in the sky?

Lily frowned slightly; she didn't mean to question, but was simply thinking.

Akane Isshiki panicked upon hearing this, and the more anxious she became, the less she knew how to express herself. Her pencil drew large, chaotic clumps of lines on the paper, and her fingers trembled with anxiety, making it almost impossible for her to hold the pencil.

Just as Yurika was about to offer some advice, Mitsurugi suddenly grabbed Isshiki Akane's hand.

The girl looked up and met his eyes, then slowly spoke while riding her sword.

"To the art studio."

"Okay, okay," Akane Isshiki agreed softly, her head bowed.

The three left the abandoned train. Akane Isshiki walked quickly ahead, while Mitsurugi and Yurika followed two steps behind in unison.

Now that the commission has been accepted, Cat's Paw Society will do its utmost.

The president and vice president are now discussing specific countermeasures.

When dealing with someone who has communication difficulties, one must be very careful not to overly upset them with their words. This was what Yuken intended to say, but unexpectedly, Yurika suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered:

"Just now, Yujian was really cool."

Yu Jian stumbled and almost fell.

President, what are you saying? President!
The boy's eyes widened, and before he could even speak, Yuriko continued:
"It's nothing, just praising our club's outstanding vice president."

Aizen Yurika stood with her hands behind her back, her fluffy braids swaying gently behind her, like the deceptive tail wagging behind a cunning fox.

On the way to the art studio, Yujian kept a straight face and remained silent, silently pondering in what ways this matter might involve supernatural elements.

Yurika, however, kept trying to strike up a conversation with Akane Isshiki. Their conversation was very casual, with no mention of the missing persons case. But after about an hour's drive, she had gained her client's complete trust. Although Akane Isshiki still occasionally stuttered, her emotions had stabilized.

Yu Jian silently gave his boss a thumbs up in his heart, while he still had a question that hadn't been answered.

Why does Akane Isshiki feel that she can draw the 'shadow of the sky' for her?
With questions in mind, the three arrived at Akane Isshiki's father's studio.

This is a two-story detached building with an outer iron fence more than two meters high, covered with lush green vines, making the whole building look verdant and exceptionally quiet.

Considering that the other party is a famous painter, even unfinished works are valuable, so the windows on each floor are equipped with anti-theft devices, and the doors are made entirely of metal.

When Isshiki Akane took out the key, Mitsurugi paid special attention to its appearance to confirm that the lock used on the main gate had anti-theft features.

Well, as for why he knows these things, it's just a work requirement. It's normal for someone who wants to be a cartoonist to know some strange and unusual things... right?

Upon entering the studio, Yujian immediately smelled a familiar scent—the aroma of paint, turpentine, and linseed oil.

On the surface, it is just an ordinary art studio, and in reality, it still looks like an ordinary art studio.

The first floor was used as a warehouse and lounge, the bedroom was closed, and the living room and other rooms were filled with various odds and ends. If it weren't for Isshiki-senpai leading the way, it would be hard to imagine that this was the studio of a famous painter.

After passing through the locked doorway, Akane Isshiki led the two to the second floor, where her father actually painted.

According to her, the floor was completely opened up, with no partitions left except for the load-bearing parts.

Opening the metal door to the studio revealed an unexpectedly spacious interior. Several open paint buckets lay haphazardly on the floor, their capacity suggesting they weren't meant for paintings of average size, and the paint inside was completely dried and hardened.

What puzzled Yu Jian even more was that when he looked around, he didn't see any canvas or drawing paper, only a stepladder standing alone in the center of the studio.

"This should be the crime scene. It doesn't look like there's anywhere to hide anything or a secret passage. If we really wanted to find that, the police and professional detectives would definitely be better at it than us." Pointing to the remaining police tape at the door, Lily said softly:
Yu Jian nodded, then focused his attention on a special perception distinct from the five senses. This was one of the new abilities he had gained after slaying the demon; it didn't seem like an enhancement from the Asura Dream, but rather something he had comprehended on his own.

The true nature of the sword is currently uncertain; we'll probably have to ask someone in the industry for clarification later.

For now... we'll use it as is for now, since it's still usable.

A strange feeling welled up in my heart.

It's not about seeing or hearing, but about using consciousness to perceive.

Immediately, an unusual response came from the ceiling. Yu Jian looked up immediately, and the scene before him made him hold his breath.

Noticing Mikasa's movements, Yurika also looked up at the ceiling, and then showed a similar expression of surprise.

"This is... a caisson ceiling?"

(End of this chapter)