Chapter 226: A Foxian Tale of the Haunted 『 Part One 』
「 "One look and I can tell it's fake. I don't watch clickbait marketing accounts." Stelle shrugged, her hands spread in a gesture of dismissal.
"Heh heh…" A meaningful, mischievous smile curled at the corner of Guinaifen's lips. "The 'fam' who don't believe me are in for a rough time now. The video I'm about to drop will prove once and for all that the Xianzhou is absolutely teeming with paranormal activity."
With that, Guinaifen handed her jade abacus over to Stelle.
In the video, Guinaifen was livestreaming with the camera practically shoved in her face. She glanced around before spinning the lens, revealing a serene, quiet courtyard in the background.
The night wind moaned like a weeping ghost, and the bamboo in Fyxestroll Garden rustled ominously, their leaves casting shadows like skeletal claws under the moonlight. Little Gui gulped audibly, steeling herself to push forward, muttering a stream of commentary under her breath:
"Alright, fam, right now Little Gui is standing in the single most terrifying holy land of the supernatural on the Luofu—Fyxestroll Garden."
"Please smash that like button, follow, and share to give Little Gui some courage!"
Behind her, Sushang finally popped her head into the frame, trembling as she looked left and right. "I heard… a lot of strange things have been happening here lately…"
"You're so chicken… You said you were going to protect me!"
"B-but… how can the Cloud Knight sword arts slay something that has no form!"
Suddenly, a ball of eerie, spectral fire streaked across the livestream feed, vanishing before Sushang could even get a clear look. The two of them huddled together, shivering as they scanned their surroundings with heightened vigilance.
"Did something just run past us?!"
"D-d-don't panic… I'm right here…" Sushang backed up, accidentally bumping into Guinaifen. But the moment she turned her head, Sushang's scream shattered the audio in the livestream. The camera shook violently as several clusters of ghostly green flames spiraled above their heads like floating lanterns of the underworld.
Hours later, when Huohuo and Xueyi arrived at the scene, Sushang had already fainted from sheer terror. Guinaifen, on the other hand, was vividly reenacting everything that had just transpired for the two arrivals.
"At first it was just a tiny wisp of spirit fire, and then it got this big!"
"It—it came from over there, got close to us, and then—RAWR!"
"Then 'Eeeeeek!'—and Sushang just dropped."
"Sigh." Having grasped the situation, Huohuo let out a soft sigh. She crouched beside Sushang with a look of concern and gently shook her: "Miss Sushang, please stand up. Aren't you cold?" 」
「 .....」
〜Monogatari World〜
The night was deep and heavy. Koyomi Araragi sat cross-legged in the center of his room, staring at the light screen displaying a scene that could only be described as bizarre—in the post-processed video footage, Sushang lay motionless on the ground.
"Ho…"
Shinobu Oshino rested on his shoulder, her golden pupils constricting slightly as a smile of excitement tugged at her lips.
"Quite interesting, isn't it? Ghosts? Wraiths? …Even the Ten-Lords Commission has been mobilized. It seems this is no ordinary haunting."
"However, aren't there plenty of people with supernatural powers in Xianzhou? Why not just let that General Jing Yuan handle it? Any ghost would surely dissipate into smoke before the Lightning Lord, no?"
Araragi sighed.
"We really shouldn't trouble the General with such trivial matters, right? The guy might not even be fully healed from his injuries. If he has to personally step in for an exorcism, you're just trying to work him to death."
"Besides, that thing might not even be a ghost, right?"
"Oh? What is thy perspective?"
"…I just feel that ghosts on the Xianzhou aren't scary at all—compared to those floaty things that only know how to jump scare you, the predatory armies of the Denizens of 『 Abundance 』 are obviously much more terrifying. Or, for instance, the prisoners in the Shackling Prison, which is basically a 'Who's Who' of cosmic horrors. Letting any random inmate out of there would be far more terrifying than a 'ghost'."
—
「 Guinaifen, realizing that the follow-up was being handled by the Ten-Lords Commission, concluded that there must be some earth-shattering, undisclosed lore behind it all. Thus, she cordially invited Stelle to go ghost-hunting in Fyxestroll Garden together.
Since she had nothing better to do—stamina capped and dailies done—Stelle simply agreed.
When the appointed time arrived, the two stealthily infiltrated the interior of Fyxestroll Garden. The moment they stepped inside, Guinaifen felt a chill run down her spine, as if unseen eyes were watching her.
Because Stelle was completely ignorant of the rumors regarding the hauntings in Fyxestroll Garden, Guinaifen pulled up the script from her previous video to give Stelle a quick lore dump.
Fyxestroll Garden was originally a delve created by the Foxians. However, due to the war against the Denizens of 『 Abundance 』 thirty years ago, the Foxian pilots suffered heavy casualties. Consequently, many people spontaneously gathered at the Foxian Tomb in Fyxestroll Garden to mourn their lost loved ones… leading to a scarcity of visitors and a distinct lack of joyous sounds in the garden.
Over time, the eerie ghost fires of the garden flickered in and out of existence, and the sounds of weeping and sobbing echoed from nowhere. Rumors of hauntings spread like wildfire across the Luofu. 」
「 .....」
〜Mob Psycho 100 World〜
"This Fyxestroll Garden is obviously a graveyard, isn't it? If you go exploring in a graveyard, how can you not run into ghosts?"
Inside the office, Reigen Arataka sat with his legs crossed, resting his chin in one hand with a look of utter nonchalance.
"Though, those little wisps of spirit fire that appeared in the livestream just now… they're probably on the same level as your errand-boy lackey, right, Mob?"
Dimple, floating beside Mob, glared daggers at the man.
"You bastard! I am a high-level evil spirit! How could I possibly be the same as those petty little ghosts!"
Shigeo Kageyama sat cross-legged on the floor, staring unblinkingly at the light screen.
"Master, if it were us, could we exorcise those spirits?"
"Heh, of course. But… those small-fry spirit fires are best left to you, Mob."
Thinking of this, Reigen suddenly felt a pang of regret. It was a pity that Fyxestroll Garden was in a different world within the universe; otherwise, he could absolutely take Mob there under the guise of an exorcism and scam a huge fee out of the Ten-Lords Commission.
Or perhaps acting as bodyguards for Stelle and Guinaifen wouldn't be bad either. Having Mob accompany them the entire time as a "Professional Paranormal Consultant," charging by the hour. Those two rookies rushing in with nothing but a smartphone were basically feeding themselves to the enemy.
Mob looked at the involuntary, wicked grin on his master's face and asked, puzzled, "
Master, are you thinking about money again?"
"Indeed, Mob. Isn't Guinaifen a paranormal exploration streamer? We have plenty of these reckless streamers in Japan, too, right? Why don't we… open up a new line of business, where professionals with real skills like us protect them?"
—
「 After the lore dump, Stelle and Guinaifen continued their expedition. However, just as they arrived at a secluded courtyard, several authoritative voices boomed from behind them. A squad of Wraith Wardens surrounded them from all sides, identifying the pair as suspicious trespassers in a restricted area, preparing to arrest them on the spot.
Just as Stelle was about to initiate combat, a cold, piercing voice rang out behind the group. Stelle turned around to see Xueyi, Huohuo, and a pale, bloodless woman with gray hair slowly walking in.
"Stand down, Wraith Wardens. These two harbor no malice."
The Aurumaton Spectral Envoy, leading the squad, bowed respectfully and stepped back. "…Yes, Madam Judge." 」
「 .....」