Black Myth: The Legend of Tianpeng Seeking Demons

"Chihiro! Chihiro! Something terrible has happened! Something...something terrible has happened!" The short, stout man gasped for breath as he pointed to his phone, on which an urgent news report was playing.

Chihiro Yukishiro looked up, saw the person who had come, and frowned slightly: "Mr. Mori, what's wrong now? Which family's cat has gone missing this time?"

The man called Mori is none other than Yukishiro Chihiro's landlord and information broker, Kogoro Mori. Although his name contains "Kogoro," he has absolutely no connection with the famous detective. Instead, he often seeks Yukishiro Chihiro's help with trivial matters.

"No...it's not a cat! It's...it's Minako Aso! She...something happened to her!" Kogoro Mouri gasped, his face filled with terror.

“Minako Aso?” Chihiro Yukishiro’s eyes sharpened instantly. “What happened to her?”

"You...see for yourself!" Kogoro Mouri handed the phone to Chihiro Yukishiro.

Chihiro Yukishiro took the phone and saw an urgent news report playing on the screen: popular idol Minako Aso went missing backstage at a concert in Shibuya, and a large amount of blood was found at the scene, suggesting she may have been kidnapped.

"What?!" Chihiro Yukishiro stood up abruptly, her face grave.

Zhu Feifei, who was standing nearby, also came over for a look and muttered to herself, "Asou Minako? That name sounds so familiar. Oh, right, Xiaobai mentioned her before, she seems to be one of them..."

"Miss Yukishiro, what should we do now?" Kogoro Mouri asked anxiously. "Minako Aso is my idol! If anything happens to her, I... I won't live anymore!"

Ignoring Kogoro Mouri's wailing, Chihiro Yukishiro quickly grabbed her coat and sunglasses and said to Fei-Fei Zhu, "Didn't you want to be my apprentice? Then come with me!"

"Huh? Oh! Okay!" Zhu Feifei was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and quickly followed.

The two rushed out of the office, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the Shibuya concert venue.

On the way, Zhu Feifei couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Miss Yukishiro, who exactly is this Minako Aso? You seem so nervous."

“She’s a popular idol, and also… one of my important clients.” Chihiro Yukishiro’s words were concise, with a hint of barely perceptible worry in her tone.

"Client?" Zhu Feifei was even more puzzled. "An idol can be a client? Does she also do some...unspeakable things on the side?"

Chihiro Yukishiro glared at Zhu Feifei and said coldly, "Shut up! Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask!"

Zhu Feifei curled her lip, inwardly thinking, "Tch, fine, don't tell me then, what's the big deal... It's probably some shady business..."

"You idiot! What nonsense are you thinking about now!" The voice of the Ringwraith White rang in Zhu Feifei's mind. "Asou Minako is no ordinary person. She has a strong demonic aura and could very well be one of your targets!"

"What?!" Zhu Feifei was startled. "She's a monster? Then...then isn't she in great danger?"

"Danger? I think you're just lusting after her body!" Xiaobai retorted mercilessly. "Don't forget your mission! If you mess this up, how will you explain it to Guanyin?"

Zhu Feifei shrank back, not daring to speak again.

The taxi quickly arrived at the Shibuya concert venue. The area had been cordoned off by the police, and was surrounded by police tape and reporters.

Chihiro Yukishiro showed her identification and led Fei-Fei Zhu into the cordoned-off area.

The person in charge of directing the scene was a tall man in a police uniform with sharp eyes. He immediately approached Yukishiro Chihiro upon seeing her.

"Chihiro, you've come!" the man said, his voice tinged with surprise.

"Inspector Ryo Saeba, how's the situation?" Chihiro Yukishiro asked.

“It’s not looking good.” Ryo Saeba shook his head. “We found a lot of blood backstage, but we didn’t find any clues. Ms. Minako’s phone is also switched off, so we can’t locate her.”

"I'll go check it out," said Chihiro Yukishiro, heading straight backstage.

Zhu Feifei followed closely behind, also wanting to see what was so special about this missing idol.

The two arrived backstage to find it in complete disarray, with various performance props and costumes scattered on the floor, along with a shocking pool of blood.

Chihiro Yukishiro crouched down and carefully examined the bloodstains on the ground, her brows furrowing more and more.

"So? What did you find?" Ryo Saeba asked.

“These bloodstains… don’t seem to be human,” Chihiro Yukishiro said in a low voice.

"What?!" Both Saeba Ryo and Zhu Feifei were taken aback.

"Not human? Then what is it?" Zhu Feifei couldn't help but ask.

Chihiro Yukishiro didn't answer. She took a small bottle out of her pocket and dripped the liquid inside onto the bloodstains.

A strange thing happened: the bloodstains began to bubble as if boiling and emitted a pungent odor.

“This is…” Ryo Saeba’s eyes widened, “Demon energy?!”

“That’s right.” Chihiro Yukishiro nodded. “It seems that Minako’s disappearance is inextricably linked to a yokai.”

"A monster?" Zhu Feifei was shocked. He hadn't expected that monsters really existed in this world!

"It seems we're facing a formidable opponent this time," Ryo Saeba said, his expression turning serious.

Just then, a man in a suit and glasses hurried over.

"Excuse me, are you Ms. Yukishiro Chihiro?" the man asked, his tone tinged with anxiety and unease.

“I am,” said Chihiro Yukishiro.

“Great! I’m Minako Aso’s manager, my name is Nobita Nobi.” The man said, “I heard you are a very skilled detective, so I came here specifically to ask for your help.”

"Nobita...?" Zhu Feifei almost burst out laughing when she heard this name. That name was legendary on Earth!

“I will do my best to find Minako,” Chihiro Yukishiro said. “However, I need to know more. Mr. Nobi, do you know if Minako has been behaving strangely lately, or if she has offended anyone?”

"Well..." Nobita hesitated for a moment before saying, "To be honest, Minako has been acting strangely lately. She often spaces out by herself, and sometimes she talks to herself, as if she's talking to someone..."

"Is that so?" Chihiro Yukishiro and Ryo Saeba exchanged a glance, both feeling that things had become even more complicated.

"Also, before Minako disappeared, she received a strange letter with only a black moon pattern on the envelope..." Nobita continued.

"A black moon?" Zhu Feifei's heart skipped a beat. He remembered the "moon shadow" that the Ringwraith Xiaobai had mentioned before. "Could this matter be related to the 'moon shadow'?"

"Mr. Nobi, could you show us that letter?" Chihiro Yukishiro asked.

"This... I'm afraid that won't work." Nobita shook his head. "Minako burned that letter..."

"Burned?" Chihiro Yukishiro's brows furrowed even more. "It seems Minako must have found out something..."

"Chihiro, don't think too much." Ryo Saeba patted Chihiro Yukishiro on the shoulder. "We will definitely find Minako."

“Okay.” Chihiro Yukishiro nodded, then said to Nobita Nobi, “Mr. Nobi, please rest assured, we will do our best to find Minako. However, for your safety, I suggest that you stay under police surveillance for the time being.”

"Okay...okay, I understand." Nobita nodded repeatedly.

"Let's go, Zhu Feifei," Yukishiro Chihiro said to Zhu Feifei, then turned and left the backstage area.

"Where are we going?" Zhu Feifei quickly followed.

“Let’s go find clues,” Chihiro Yukishiro said. “Since Minako has already gotten involved with yokai, let’s start with the world of yokai.”

"A world of yokai?" Zhu Feifei was taken aback. "There's a world of yokai in Tokyo?"

“Of course they exist,” Chihiro Yukishiro said. “It’s just that ordinary people can’t see them.”

With that, Yukishiro Chihiro led Zhu Feifei to a secluded alley.

"Where are we going, Miss Yukishiro?" Zhu Feifei looked at the dim surroundings and felt a little uneasy.

"You'll see when we get there," said Chihiro Yukishiro, stopping in front of a dilapidated wooden door.

She knocked gently on the door, which had no markings and looked like the back door of an ordinary house.

"Tap tap tap... tap tap..."

The knocking sounded particularly clear in the quiet night.

After a while, the door creaked open, and a tall woman wearing a kimono and a fox mask appeared in the doorway.

"It's Chihiro. What brings you here?" the woman said, her voice alluring and languid.

"Tamamo-no-Mae, I have something to ask you," said Chihiro Yukishiro.

"Oh? What could possibly warrant such a personal visit from our 'Falcon'?" Tamamo-no-Mae chuckled, then ushered Yukishiro Chihiro and Zhu Feifei into the house.

Zhu Feifei followed Yukishiro Chihiro into the house and discovered that it was a hidden world inside.