Tokyo Mystery Writers

I (Tatsumi Sekiguchi) came to the used bookstore, hoping to find Kyogoku-do for help.

However, I found that Kyogoku-do was very cold to me. Not only did he refuse to open the door for me, but he also told me that the Kuonji incident was over and that I should stop investigating it.

I was furious at Kyogoku-do's attitude because I clearly realized that this guy seemed to know all the clues about the Kuonji family, and might even know the truth, but he had no intention of telling me!

Seeing my unusual anger, Kyogoku looked at me with pitiful eyes:

"This whole incident is a curse. Whether it's the fact that Jiko is pregnant for twenty months without giving birth, Makirou's disappearance, the death of the baby, or even the fact that the Kuonji clan cannot produce boys, it's all a vicious curse."

I didn't understand Kyogoku-do's obscure words, but I pleaded with him to exorcise the demon for the Kuonji family, since he was an Onmyoji and would surely have a way.

Kyogoku-do came out of the room and looked at me with pity:

"I think the person who most needs to be exorcised is Sekiguchi himself."

"You really like to cause trouble for people. Judging from your mental state, I don't think you can hold on for much longer."

"I've accepted your commission, but my fees are very high."

I couldn't quite understand what Kyogoku-do was saying for a moment, but I knew that with Kyogoku-do's help, Ms. Ryoko would be saved.

That night, Kyogoku-do wore a pure black kimono with the family crest of Seimei Kikyo printed on it, with hand covers on his hands, black socks, and black wooden clogs. He looked like an Onmyoji who had stepped out of a book.

I followed Kyogoku-do, along with Atsuko, Enokizu, Kiba Shutaro, and several of Kiba's colleagues to Kuonji Maternity Hospital.

Upon entering Kuonji Hospital, Kyogoku-do told the director's wife, Kuonji Kikuno, that he had come to exorcise the monster, the Ubume, that was lurking in their home.

Although Kikuno Kuonji couldn't understand Kyogoku-do's strange words, she didn't pay attention to this detail after hearing that Kyogoku-do could solve the strange things about the Kuonji family.

With everyone from Kuonji Hospital, including myself and Kyogoku-do, we arrived at the room where Makirou had disappeared, which was also the room where Gion was.

The room was very cold and had an unusual stench, which made Kyogoku-do frown and show a look of disgust.

Seeing Kyogoku lying on the bed, Kyogoku sighed and then whispered to me:

"Sekiguchi, you're the one who asked me to solve this problem, so you'd better not regret it."

I didn't understand why Kyogoku-do would say that to me, but before I could even ask, I saw Kyogoku-do ask Geko a question:

"You must be Ms. Genko? I'm Chuzenji, a friend of Mr. Makirou from our student days."

Gengzi seemed to be still in a hallucination, muttering something like, "My husband isn't home, and I'm pregnant and can't move around easily, so please forgive my inability to properly entertain your madness."

The crazy talk of the guy was already weird enough, but what Kyogoku-do said next was even more chilling!

"Mrs. Gengzi, I have something I'd like to ask you. The child in your womb is quite big now. Has he spoken to you while he was in your womb? Or has he given you any orders from inside?"

Upon hearing Kyogoku-do's words, Gengzi didn't find anything wrong with them and happily replied:

"It's a pity I don't remember the child saying anything to me, but there's nothing I can do about it, because the child won't be born anytime soon."

Kyogoku-do, seeing the strange smile on Genji's face, continued to ask:

"By the way, Madam, do you still love your husband, Mu Lang?"

When Gengzi heard Kyogoku-do's words, her face was full of love:

"Of course I love him, Mu Lang is the father of this child."

Kyogoku-do received a response from Geko and nodded:

"Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease. After all, Mu Lang has loved you for twelve years and even wrote you a love letter."

I became extremely nervous when I heard Kyogoku-do's words, because I knew that this matter should not be mentioned!

Whenever love letters are mentioned, Gezi becomes extremely sensitive!

Sure enough, upon hearing the love letter, Gengzi instantly transformed into a possessed demon:

"I have no idea what a love letter is! Even... even you..."

Kyogoku-do looked at Gengzi and said with a pitying expression:

"Of course, since the love letter didn't reach you."

Upon hearing Kyogoku-do's words, Gengzi seemed to have suffered a tremendous blow:

"You mean... the love letter didn't reach me?"

Kyogoku-do nodded and told Gion that Makirou had indeed written a love letter back then, but because some idiot sent the wrong letter, it never reached Gion's hands!

When I heard Kyogoku-do's words, I felt dizzy, because I clearly remembered that I had indeed handed the letter to Kageko!

I protested loudly in my heart, but no sound came out.

All I could see was Gengzi's face contorting as she began to sob.

"Mu Lang... really... wrote me a love letter."

"But I don't remember! I always thought that Mu Lang and my sister had an ambiguous relationship."

"So? The person Mu Lang has always loved is me? I misunderstood him!"

"If Makirou has always loved me... I'll be so sorry to him!"

Seeing that Gengzi was crying incessantly, Kyogoku-do offered some words of comfort:

"Madam Gengzi, don't worry, Mu Lang is a good man and will definitely forgive you. But in order to gain Mu Lang's forgiveness, you must remember everything!"

"You must remember everything between you and Murang."

"Come on, take your time to remember. There's no rush. Once you've remembered everything, he'll forgive you!"

"At that time, Mr. Mu Lang will naturally appear here!"

When I heard Kyogoku-do's words, I experienced tinnitus, as if I were in a different world from them!

Kyogoku-do turned around, looked at me, and said:

"Sekiguchi, you need to pay close attention to everything that happens in front of you, and remember it well."

"Because I will also rid you of the demons that are attached to you!"

After Kyogoku finished speaking, he began chanting strange incantations in the room!

As the spell was cast, Kikuno Kuonji, Ryoko's mother, suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably as if she had malaria, and pleaded with Kyogoku-do:

"Stop, stop reading... What you're reading is..."

Kyogoku-do stopped chanting the incantation and looked at the old woman, saying:

"You've heard of this, right? This is the Acala Mantra of Reversing Life. If you don't like it, why don't you try plucking the bowstring?"

"In Yin-Yang Taoism, there are also incantations that use bows. Plucking the bowstring is called 'sounding the bowstring,' while shooting a whistling arrow is called 'toad's eye.' Toad—naturally, it refers to the toad."

Upon hearing Kyogoku-do's words, Kikuno Kuonji's expression changed drastically, and she immediately knelt on the ground and burst into tears.

"Forgive me, please forgive me, I was just doing what my mother told me to do!"

Before Kikuno Kuonji could finish speaking, Ryoko suddenly shouted:

"shut up!"

When I heard what Ryoko said, I doubted my ears. But at that moment, Ryoko seemed like a completely different person. Her beautiful eyes seemed to have lost their pupils!

"Give me back my child! You woman!"

When Naito, the intern doctor standing nearby, saw Ryoko suddenly change, he was so frightened that he squatted on the ground, kowtowing and screaming in terror.

"I don't know anything, I was just an observer, I did nothing! She asked me to go there, if you want to hate someone, hate her."

Ryoko, no, or rather, the woman who was originally Ryoko, looked at everyone present with a voice like that of a demon:

"It was you...it was all of you who ganged up to kill my child! I saw it, I saw it all!"

Ryoko shook her head wildly, cursing and insulting everyone present.

My mind went blank; I had absolutely no idea what was going on!

Ryoko charged desperately towards Kikuno Kuonji, who was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and screamed:

"Ryoko, forgive me, Ryoko, please forgive me!"

Ryoko pushed Kikuno away and then tried to attack her younger sister, Kyouko:

"You're the same! You're the one who ruined me!"

Kyogoku-do suddenly reached out and grabbed Ryoko by the neck, shouting angrily:

"You're not the one I want to see! Get out of my way!"

I don't know where Kyogoku-do got his magic from, but he made Ryoko stop moving. Then, Kyogoku-do whispered something in Ryoko's ear that I couldn't hear.

Ryoko slowly turned her face toward me, a faint smile on her lips.

I thought everything had settled down.

But suddenly Gengzi started yelling incoherently, the sound was not human, Gengzi made a sound like a Guhuoniao bird and got up from the bed.

I saw the pheasant's swollen abdomen burst open in an instant!

It was unclear whether it was blood or some other liquid, but it splattered onto the ceiling.

It turned my eyes bloodshot.

I lost my balance and fell to the ground, where I saw a huge fetus lying on the floor.

Why? Why do newborn babies wear clothes?

Why was the fetus wearing familiar thick glasses?

That person? It looks like Senior Mu Lang, who was just born?

While I was unconscious, I clearly realized that the baby was actually the corpse of Senior Mu Lang, curled up like a fetus...