Chapter 5

Just as Yamashita Akira was looking at the corpse and feeling a headache coming on, he heard a voice.

"Indeed, it seems to be the work of a ghost. If we don't act soon, more people will die. We must eliminate it immediately."

Hearing the words from beside him, Yamashita Akira turned his head and saw a tall young man dressed in the attire of an onmyoji. Seeing this young man, Yamashita Akira's eyes immediately lit up because the attire was so familiar. It was the same outfit worn by the onmyoji the village chief had invited back at the time. The young man in this attire must be an onmyoji. Moreover, from his words, it seemed he had already identified the problem.

The one speaking was just then approaching, and he had already discovered the cause of the four deaths.

Yamashita Akira slightly bowed to the young man in front of him.

"Are you a respected onmyoji?"

"Yes, I am an onmyoji from Hiroshima Prefecture. My name is Ichi Shoujin. Please take care of me!"

Hearing Ichi Shoujin's words, the crowd around them began to murmur. This was an onmyoji. Unlike the surrounding people, Yamashita Akira felt a surge of joy in his heart. Although he had already guessed the young man's identity, hearing the confirmation still brought him a sense of relief. After all, he was afraid of being wrong.

"Is what you just said true?"

"Yes, the negative energy has already covered the entire relief center. More people will be affected in the future."

Hearing Ichi Shoujin's words, Yamashita Akira confirmed that his previous thoughts were correct.

"Then I will leave it to you. On behalf of the affected people, I thank you. If you need anything, please let me know."

With that, he bowed deeply to Ichi Shoujin.

"You should first evacuate the surrounding people. I need some items. Prepare nine feet and nine inches of cotton rope, nine roosters weighing more than three pounds each, writing materials, and yellow paper for the ink. Please prepare these as soon as possible."

"Hai!"

Hearing Ichi Shoujin's instructions, Yamashita Akira immediately sprang into action. It must be said that the efficiency of the Japanese was truly high. In less than ten minutes, the crowd around Ichi Shoujin was evacuated, and only Yamada Kuma and five others remained. Two of Yamashita Akira's subordinates brought the nine large roosters, each with a bright red comb and plump body. The writing materials looked like antiques, and the nine-foot cotton rope was brought back by Yamashita Akira.

"Is there anything else you need, Ichi Shoujin?"

"Nothing for now. Yamada, dig nine circular pits one foot deep, each spaced one foot apart. The cotton rope must be used to encircle them exactly, without any mistakes."

Hearing Ichi Shoujin's instructions, Yamada Kuma and the others immediately got to work. After all, this was the first task their boss had assigned them, and they couldn't afford to make any mistakes. To ensure accuracy, Yamada Kuma even borrowed a ruler from Yamashita Akira.

After instructing Yamada and the others, Ichi Shoujin began preparing to draw the talisman. This talisman was one that a Taoist had taught him in the past. He had drawn it countless times and was very familiar with it. In the past, he always felt something was missing, but after reading the secret manual in the ring space, he learned that a practitioner needed to use both spirit and qi to draw a talisman. Beginners needed to use their mental awareness to guide the brush. Fortunately, due to his reincarnation, Ichi Shoujin's mental strength was already very high, and the previous owner of his body was also an onmyoji. Therefore, his mental strength was now strong enough to observe his inner body and project it outward, allowing him to draw real talismans, even if they were only basic ones. (Compared to the great masters of ancient times, Ichi Shoujin was still a beginner, but compared to modern people, he was already a remarkable onmyoji, as there was no celestial energy in the modern world, and few people could project their mental strength outward.)

Because of his mental strength, the talismans he drew in his previous life were only in form, lacking the essence. Now, he was about to draw the Nine Yang Yin-Imprisoning Talisman, a rare talisman for trapping ghosts.

On the desk prepared by Yamashita Akira, all the necessary items were laid out. After a moment of calm, Ichi Shoujin picked up the inkstone and cinnabar and began to grind them carefully. Yamashita Akira, who wanted to help, didn't dare to approach when he saw Ichi Shoujin's focused and calm demeanor. For some reason, Yamashita Akira felt a sense of awe and dared not get too close.

After grinding the ink for a while, Ichi Shoujin instructed Yamashita Akira to bring the nine roosters to him one by one. He needed to use the pure yang blood from their combs to mix with the ink. Soon, the combs of the nine roosters were all bled, and the blood was collected in the inkstone. Once the ninth rooster was bled, Ichi Shoujin began to draw the talisman. He needed to draw the Nine Yang Yin-Imprisoning Talisman while the chicken blood was still warm. Once the blood cooled, the talisman would be useless. Therefore, he had less than a minute.

His brush moved swiftly, like a snake dancing, but without any sign of panic. Although he had drawn the Nine Yang Yin-Imprisoning Talisman many times before, Ichi Shoujin did not dare to be careless. Soon, he finished drawing the talisman and closed his eyes to rest for a moment. This talisman was different from the ones he had drawn before. Not only were the materials genuine, but he had also used his mental strength. After drawing the talisman, he felt a bit tired.

Yamashita Akira thought he saw a faint red light flash from the talisman when Ichi Shoujin finished drawing it, though it was very weak. He believed he had really seen it, which made him even more respectful of these mysterious things.

Opening his eyes and looking at the Nine Yang Yin-Imprisoning Talisman, Ichi Shoujin recalled the feeling of drawing it. The sensation of using his mental strength while drawing was indeed different from just drawing the form. If it weren't for his strong mental strength and the fact that he had drawn this talisman many times, he might not have been able to complete it this time. He realized he needed to practice using his mental strength more in the future.

Turning around, Ichi Shoujin instructed Yamada Kuma and the others: "Bleed the chickens, place the blood from each chicken in a pit, cut off the heads and place them in the circle, and put the bodies in the pits."

After giving the instructions, Ichi Shoujin personally soaked the cotton rope in the remaining blood ink. Once this was done, Yamada Kuma and the others finished their tasks. Yamashita Akira and the two subordinates, who were standing to the side, were puzzled by what Ichi Shoujin was doing, but it had a mysterious and eerie feel to it, which made them even more fearful of the young onmyoji.

Seeing that Yamada Kuma and the others were ready, Ichi Shoujin walked around the pits to check them. Finding no mistakes, he began to encircle the nine blood pits with the cotton rope, but he left a gap at the end.

"Yamada, when I perform the ritual, watch the chicken heads in the circle. Once you see that the combs of all nine chicken heads are filled with blood and turn red, immediately tie the two ends of the cotton rope together. Do you understand?"

Yamada Kuma listened carefully to Ichi Shoujin's instructions. After confirming that he had remembered everything, he bowed and replied, "Please rest assured, Yamada will not make any mistakes."

"Good, then I will begin!"

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