After Shin successively resolved several incidents with exquisite Daoist arts—such as the whispers in the Old School Building, the recovery of lost items, the regulation of the hot spring ley lines, and the identification of the ancient mirror's spiritual light—his reputation for "excelling at handling delicate energy problems and ancient artifact anomalies" was already solidified within Kuoh Town's supernatural circle. It even subtly showed a trend of spreading to wider domains.
His Eastern techniques, which didn't rely on powerful magical outbursts but rather on precise perception, gentle guidance, and unique understanding, demonstrated astonishing advantages in handling many "琐事" that Western magic systems found difficult to touch or inefficient to deal with.
The Occult Research Club also received some more peculiar and strange requests for commissions that happened to fit Advisor Shin's abilities.
That afternoon, the clubroom door was knocked upon. The visitor was not the usual Student Council members, business representatives, or collectors, but a middle-aged woman with an anxious expression and red-rimmed eyes, tightly clutching a somewhat listless white Pomeranian in her arms.
The woman's attire was simple; she looked like an ordinary citizen.
"Please, please… is this the Occult Research Club?"
The woman's voice was choked with sobs as she asked timidly, "I… I heard from Mrs. Fujiwara of Shirasagi-tei that there's a very capable Mr. Shin here who can solve some… some strange things…"
Rias gestured for Akeno to receive her.
Akeno gently invited the woman to sit down and offered a cup of warm water. "Hello, madam. Please take your time and tell us what happened."
The woman took the cup but didn't drink, speaking eagerly: "My name is Yamaguchi Ryoko, and I run a small pet grooming shop called 'Paw Love' in the town's shopping district."
"The thing is… about a week ago, a Pomeranian named 'Tama' that was boarded at my shop suddenly became very strange!"
She lovingly stroked the somewhat wilted puppy in her arms. "Tama used to be very lively and friendly, but after that day, it became extremely sleepy, had no appetite, lost interest in everything, and…"
"And it always inexplicably emitted a very faint, cool aura. Getting close to it made one feel a bit cold—not the coldness of being sick… I took it to several veterinarians, had a comprehensive examination, and they all said its physical indicators were completely normal, unable to find any cause for illness!"
Mrs. Yamaguchi became more anxious as she spoke. "And that's not all! Strangely, other pets in the shop that had been near Tama—such as the Chihuahua in the adjacent cage and a Persian cat that came for grooming—also successively showed similar symptoms of drowsiness and wilting after returning home!"
"Although not as severe as Tama, it still terrified their owners!"
"Now, business at the shop is greatly affected. Everyone is spreading rumors that my shop has bad Feng Shui, or that there's something unclean…"
"I, I really don't know what to do!"
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at everyone. "Mrs. Fujiwara said that Mr. Shin is particularly sensitive to energies and auras, and might be able to figure out what's wrong with Tama… Please, help me! If Tama continues like this, I'm really afraid it…"
Upon hearing this, Asia immediately showed sympathy, crouching down to gently comfort the pitiful-looking Pomeranian.
Kiba Yuto and Akeno also showed grave expressions. Pets collectively exhibiting abnormalities without any physiological cause indeed seemed strange.
A flicker of thought passed through Rias's crimson eyes. This situation didn't sound like an ordinary illness or a simple negative energy erosion.
She turned her gaze to Advisor Shin. "Advisor Shin, this situation seems to be within your area of expertise. What do you think?"
Shin stepped forward, not immediately touching the puppy, but first observing with focused attention.
In his spiritual perception, the life aura of this Pomeranian named Tama was indeed somewhat weak, but it wasn't the kind of decline seen in illness. It was more like… being continuously covered and suppressed by some external, Yin energy field.
At the same time, he vaguely caught the extremely faint but unusually pure "coolness" described by Mrs. Yamaguchi. It wasn't a low temperature, but an energetic "stillness" and "coldness." This aura… was very peculiar. It wasn't like common negative energy or evil Qi, but rather had a restrained and pure feeling.
"Mrs. Yamaguchi," Shin began, his tone calm, "can you elaborate on anything special Tama came into contact with before the abnormality appeared? For example, new toys, food, or if any strangers touched it?"
Mrs. Yamaguchi tried to recall. "Special things? I don't think so… its food and supplies were all the same as usual. Ah! Right! About a day before it got sick, a very fashionable young lady came to the shop, saying she had custom-ordered a new collar for Tama, with a small, beautiful stone embedded in it, said to 'calm the mind.' It was put on Tama that very day…"
"But that collar looked very ordinary, and the stone was transparent. It didn't seem to have any problems…"
A collar?
Shin's heart stirred. "Can I see that collar?" he asked.
"The collar… the collar seemed to have disappeared the day after Tama got sick!" Mrs. Yamaguchi suddenly remembered. "No matter how I searched, I couldn't find it. I thought I had accidentally dropped it somewhere…"
Collar missing? This was even more suspicious.
Shin pondered for a moment, then said to Rias, "President, I need to go to the pet shop to examine the site. The root of the problem might not be with the puppy itself, but with an item it came into contact with or its environment."
"Alright." Rias nodded. "Yuto, Akeno, you two accompany Advisor Shin. Asia, Koneko, you go too. More people will help observe."
She intended to let her peerage members witness Shin's methods for handling various situations.
The group soon arrived at the "Paw Love" pet grooming shop located in the shopping district.
The shop was small but clean and tidy, though it seemed a bit deserted at the moment.
Upon stepping into the shop, Shin's spiritual perception keenly caught a trace of an extremely faint, cool aura lingering in the air, originating from the same source as the Pomeranian Tama's. This aura was very faint, almost dissipated, but its pure quality could still be felt.
He closed his eyes, carefully perceiving the flow and residual trajectory of this aura.
In his "spiritual perception" vision, the cool aura was like an extremely faint mist, and its most concentrated residual point was not in the cage where the Pomeranian often stayed, but in the direction of a trash can near the grooming station. Moreover, the source of the aura seemed to have lingered there for a considerable time.
"Mrs. Yamaguchi," Shin pointed to the trash can, "has the trash there been cleared recently?"
"Huh? The trash can? It was just cleaned yesterday…" Mrs. Yamaguchi was startled.
"Before it was cleaned, was there anything special inside? For example… a broken collar or something?" Shin prompted.
Mrs. Yamaguchi tried to recall, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "I remember! Before cleaning, there seemed to be a broken leather collar inside! I wondered whose it was at the time, thought a customer accidentally broke and threw it away, so I didn't pay attention!"
"A broken collar…"
Shin walked to the trash can's location. Although the trash had been emptied, he could still feel the lingering cool aura most distinctly there.
He squatted down, his fingers lightly brushing the ground. A faint thread of True Qi extended, like the most precise sensor, capturing the residual energy imprint.
Gradually, a blurry image was outlined in his mind—
It was a leather collar, with a soybean-sized, crystal-clear stone embedded in the buckle. The collar itself was nothing special, but inside that stone, there was a small cluster of extremely pure yet unbalanced Yin energy!
This energy was originally constrained within the stone by some means, exerting a faint "calming" effect. But it seemed that for some reason (possibly collision, wear, or natural energy dissipation), the constraint was broken, and the energy leaked out, attaching itself to the collar.
The Pomeranian Tama, precisely because it had worn this collar for a long time, was continuously and closely permeated by this pure Yin energy. For humans or powerful creatures, this amount of energy was negligible, and might even have a slight calming effect. But for a small dog with weaker vitality like Tama, this pure yet Yin-cold energy was like a continuously operating small "sedative field," excessively suppressing its vitality and vigor, leading to its drowsiness and lethargy.
Other pets, having briefly touched the collar with residual energy or been affected by the energy emanating from Tama, showed milder symptoms.
The collar might have later broken and fallen off due to the pet scratching or other reasons, and was disposed of as trash, but the energy residue and influence remained.
"I think I understand." Shin stood up and explained to everyone. "The problem should be with a collar. The stone embedded in the collar might have contained a special type of energy, predominantly Yin and pure in nature. This energy has minimal effect on humans, and might even have a slight calming effect, but for small pets, prolonged close contact can excessively suppress their vitality, leading to drowsiness and lethargy. The collar might have later been damaged and discarded, but the energy residue remains."
Mrs. Yamaguchi listened dumbfounded. "It, it was the collar's problem? But… but it looked like an ordinary stone!"
"The energy is internal, not outwardly visible." Shin simply explained. "The person who made the collar probably didn't know its true effect, or underestimated its impact on small animals."
"Then… then can Tama and the other pets still be saved?" Mrs. Yamaguchi asked anxiously.
"The energy influence is not a curse or a disease. The root cause has been removed (the collar was discarded), but the residual energy still needs to be cleared." Shin's tone was firm. "It should be solvable."
He asked Mrs. Yamaguchi to gather all the pets currently in poor spirits in an empty grooming room.
Then, he took out a "Purity Talisman" that he had prepared beforehand, which had the gentlest effect. This time, he didn't activate the talisman into strong light or flames. Instead, with extremely exquisite control, he slowly injected True Qi into the talisman, causing it to emit an extremely gentle, warm Yang and harmony Qi, like the warm sun in spring.
This aura was not a powerful purifying force, but aimed to gently neutralize and dispel the residual Yin energy field—like sunlight melting thin ice—without causing any burden to the pets.
Holding the faintly glowing talisman, he slowly paced around the room, allowing the gentle Yang and harmony Qi to evenly fill the entire space, focusing on sweeping over each pet's body.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, the effect was immediate!
Those pets that were originally listless and curled up, under the embrace of the Yang and harmony Qi, first wiggled their noses in confusion. Then, as if an invisible burden had been lifted, their eyes gradually cleared. They all stretched, yawned, and one Chihuahua even began to curiously look around, its tail gently wagging!
The change in the Pomeranian Tama was the most obvious. It was no longer its wilted self, but lifted its head, blinked its eyes, and let out a soft, somewhat spirited "Woof" sound. Although still a bit weak, it had clearly regained its vitality!
"Oh my! That's wonderful! Tama! Kii-chan! You're all better!"
Mrs. Yamaguchi wept tears of joy, excitedly hugging Tama.
Kiba Yuto and Akeno exchanged glances, both seeing admiration in each other's eyes. Shin's ability to precisely control energy and accurately grasp and respond to different energy natures once again broadened their horizons. This gentle neutralizing method was far more suitable for these fragile small lives than forceful purification.
Asia also smiled happily, gently stroking the other small animals that had recovered their spirits.
Even Koneko's gaze shifted from her handheld console, looking at the revitalized pets, then at Shin, a subtle glint flashing in her amber eyes.
Afterward, Shin carefully inspected the entire shop again, confirming there was no residual energy, and advised Mrs. Yamaguchi to ensure good ventilation, stating that the pets would fully recover within a few days.
Mrs. Yamaguchi expressed her endless gratitude and paid the remuneration, and Shin also collected the corresponding fee.
This incident quickly spread throughout the shopping district. Not only did "Paw Love" pet shop recover its business, but it even attracted many curious customers due to this "mysterious experience" and the legend of Shin's "miraculous Eastern techniques."
Mrs. Yamaguchi praised Mr. Shin of the Occult Research Club to everyone she met, telling them how capable he was, how he saw through the root of the problem at a glance, and how he cured all the small animals with miraculous light.
After this incident, Shin's reputation was no longer limited to "solving supernatural events," but gained an additional layer of folk legend as someone "capable of handling all sorts of strange energy influences." His scope of commissions seemed to have invisibly expanded further.
As for Shin himself, in the process of handling this "Strange Pet Case," he gained a deeper understanding of True Qi's characteristics of "Yin and Yang harmony" and "coexistence of all things." Even the most minuscule energy, if used properly or improperly, can produce vastly different effects. The Way of Nature emphasizes balance and understanding, rather than merely relying on brute force to overcome.
His "Dao" was quietly growing stronger, constantly accumulating experience and deepening understanding through these seemingly insignificant practices.
The members of the Occult Research Club also increasingly realized that this Eastern Advisor's abilities, and their scope of application, might be even broader and more exquisite than they had imagined.
...
📢 Author's Note
The full completed version of High School DxD: The Quiet Immortal Who Guides Devils (Part 1) is now available on Patreon!
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✅ Part 1 Complete — 116 Chapters
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1. Dragon Ball: Oolong's Sex Adventure
2. Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4. The Naive Me Who Became Someone's Everyday Secret
5. High School DxD: Rias Gremory, the Phenex Bride
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