svetikya Page 76
Page 76
Chapter 10 One Day You Will Kill Me
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."
A suggestive sound echoed on the beach—the sound of bodies covered in fluid colliding.
Dou Tang looked at the sea.
Lu Zizhen looked at the moon in the sky.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."
"No, wait a minute, isn't it inappropriate to do this in public?"
"No... I like it this way..."
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."
The veins on Dou Tang's face gradually bulged.
Then, he abruptly pulled his hand away: "Stop holding my hand and clapping! My hands are covered in sweat and seawater, they're sticky and uncomfortable!"
"And please, stop making such misleading noises!"
Lu Zizhen laughed so hard she almost fell over, kicking her feet in the sand.
Dou Tang sat on the beach, Lu Zizhen
Lying beside him, the two were in the middle of obvious tire tracks, with bubbles rising on the sea not far away, and the roof of a Beetle could be seen.
After gazing at the moon for a while, Lu Zizhen suddenly asked, "Dou Tang, what do you think of Kume Chika?"
Dou Tang paused for a moment, then asked in a somewhat bewildered tone, "Are you jealous?"
"...Isn't that obvious? But now is not the time to talk about that! I'm asking what you think of this person!"
"Just look with your eyes..."
"Answer honestly!"
Dou Tang rubbed his chin, looked down at Lu Zizhen, and said with some confusion in his eyes, "A very courageous but also lonely good girl... That's about the feeling I get from her."
Lu Zizhen also sat up, letting out a disdainful snort: "In other words, you're what's called a normal person, right?"
"Compared to us, they are definitely normal people." Dou Tang nodded in agreement.
"Then why do you still associate with her?"
Dou Tang frowned upon hearing this, then fell silent.
Lu Zizhen crawled over to him, looking up into Dou Tang's eyes with a hint of longing in her gaze: "You didn't need to get to know her at all, right? Anyway, she won't suspect you're a candy person anymore, so why not just cut off contact with her?"
"After all, she's so different from our circle. She's just an ordinary person who was involved in a paranormal event once. Why...why would you want to socialize with someone like that?"
Dou Tang gave a long "hmm" and then said, "She is a very active and optimistic person. I want to get to know someone like that, but it's not just for myself. She is also one of Huaiyin's few friends. If I had to say why, it would be these reasons."
"But ultimately, I don't like to define social interaction as a product that requires certain conditions or reasons, even though I often do that myself—for example, I think social interaction is irrelevant."
"That's how I do it, but that doesn't mean that's what I think. I still believe that social interaction shouldn't have any preconditions. The most important thing is whether there's mutual attraction. That applies to all social interactions."
"If you can talk to each other, you can become friends. Even if you have different opinions on many things, you can find common ground and respect differences. This is the correct and mature view of making friends."
At this point, he chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Anyone can talk about principles, but to be honest, even I can't do it myself. Right now, I have no desire for social interaction, after all, the pressure of survival is still weighing on my head."
Dou Tang answered the question very seriously, and this time it was Lu Zizhen who was speechless. She simply turned over and lay down with her head on Dou Tang's lap.
"Don't you like me being friends with her?" Dou Tang asked.
Lu Zizhen hummed in agreement: "Of course I don't like it, because I feel that even though we are such a good match and have a lot in common, I still feel a vague sense of inferiority when I'm with you."
Feeling inferior? Dou Tang pricked up his ears, somewhat surprised.
"And her? She doesn't understand your affairs or know your character, yet she can get along with you so calmly, and even gets so proud that she competes with me for your attention just because of the ambiguity... That kind of self-righteous pride makes me nauseous."
"At that moment, I even had the urge to kill her on the spot."
……Oops.
Lu Zizhen's body tensed up immediately. Tonight, her feelings for Dou Tang surged like waves, and she couldn't help but reveal a small part of her innermost thoughts.
Dou Tang didn't pay attention to those words, but instead smoothed her hair, just like he did for Huai Yin.
Just ten minutes ago, this woman was riding through the streets with unparalleled arrogance, laughing wildly, as if the whole world was no match for her and would all bow down at the feet of her black trousers.
But now, she has spoken her mind, and the attitude of having nothing in her words symbolizes the emptiness deep in her heart. Her crazy behavior, in addition to expressing her suicidal thoughts, seems to represent that her soul is so empty that she can only feel the reality of being alive through various novel and exciting experiences.
But therein lies the problem: she is aware of her problem and therefore categorizes herself as not belonging to the "normal" group, which makes her feel inferior.
How similar is she to someone who is conflicted and tormented by the past? The only difference is that she already has a chance to start over, while Lu Zizhen is still immersed in pain.
Dou Tang stroked her face, his fingers caressing her features in a somewhat ambiguous way. Lu Zizhen's eyelids trembled slightly, and then she closed her eyes tightly.
The sound of police sirens could be heard from the distant streets; the police were almost there.
"The police are coming," Dou Tang whispered.
"Hmm... Should we run away? Being arrested on a moonlit night like this, and then hiding in the streets and alleys, would be pretty good, wouldn't it?"
Dou Tang smiled helplessly: "Don't you know a lot of people? You should be able to handle things, right? Then why are we making arrests? It's just a formality at the police station, isn't it?"
"Even if it's just a formality, I don't want to leave. I don't like feeling restricted... except for you."
As Lu Zizhen spoke, she reached out and tightly grasped Dou Tang's hand, placing it down onto her neck, allowing Dou Tang to pinch and hold her neck in place.
Is my neck thin?
Dou Tang could feel the vocal cords trembling in the neck of the person he was touching; the smooth skin made him involuntarily want to caress it.
Fan.
"Yes, it's very fine."
Lu Zizhen tilted her head slightly: "Want to try pinching it?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you want me to strangle you?"
"Maybe, but at least not now, I'm not ready yet."
Dou Tang rolled his eyes: "Even if you're ready, I won't do that, you idiot!"
“People change.” Lu Zizhen placed her hand on the back of his hand. “Just like how the way you look at Huaiyin now is much kinder than before, one day you will really… well, you understand.”
"You're just spouting nonsense."
Dou Tang snorted dismissively.
As the police sirens drew closer, Lu Zizhen took Dou Tang's hand, and the two stood up, looking around.
"Run?" Dou Tang raised an eyebrow. In the distance, the red and blue lights of police cars could already be seen flashing on the exterior walls of the buildings.
"Run!" Lu Zizhen laughed again.
Chapter 11 Killing is not as good as eating oden
Ten minutes later, the two sat at a roadside stall, with several servings of oden and snacks in front of them. The lights from the izakaya (Japanese pub) on the street shone out, casting blurry shadows in the puddles on the ground.
Dou Tang sprinkled some seven-spice powder on the radish in front of him, while Lu Zizhen, sitting opposite him, chewed on a cuttlefish ball, holding a skewer in one hand and her phone in the other, completely disregarding her image.
The two of them had switched to waterproof phones a long time ago, since they often have to face some extreme environments.
Dou Tang used chopsticks to cut a whole radish into four pieces, picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, then exhaled hot air. The radish, soaked with soup, melted in his mouth and turned into a warm current that flowed down his esophagus.
The two sat on a low stool, enjoying the sea breeze. Lu Zizhen, wearing a peacock-patterned coat, continued scrolling through her phone. The dim light from the screen illuminated her somewhat pale face, and some seawater was dripping from her hair, making her look rather haggard and pitiful.
But the moment she opened her mouth, the atmosphere was completely ruined.
"Damn it, those idiots in Kamogawa City... they still haven't found any trace of the fake Ito."
After saying that, she stared at her phone screen, took a bite of a meatball, and said while chewing, "How is it? This place is pretty good, right? I ate here when you and Huaiyin had dinner the other day."
Dou Tang nodded, then said, "But, after a hit-and-run accident, isn't it a bit inappropriate to be eating skewers outside an izakaya?"
"It's really not very good." Lu Zizhen used a wooden skewer with two meatballs still hanging on it to pick up the radish in front of Dou Tang, put it in her mouth, and pursed her lips in satisfaction.
"Challenging the rules and then ignoring them is very addictive; it's that feeling of gaining privilege over others."
Dou Tang rolled his eyes.
"But you see, even so, neither the police in Kamogawa City nor those exorcists will say anything. After all, you and I are now the great benefactors of the entire Kamogawa City..." She pointed a bamboo stick at Dou Tang's nose, a dangerous and seductive smile on her face: "As long as we don't rob or plunder, they can tolerate it until we leave. How about that? Doesn't it feel great?"
"No, not at all." Dou Tang leaned forward and bit off a meatball from Lu Zizhen's bamboo skewer.
“Boring man.” Lu Zizhen chuckled, then put down the bamboo skewer, picked up the seven-spice powder on the table, sprinkled it on another piece of radish in front of Dou Tang, and then snatched it away with her chopsticks.
The way the two ate together might seem ambiguous in traditional Japanese culture, but for them, it was a more intimate way of getting along. Regardless of their personalities, being able to eat together and share food is a sign that they consider each other as family.
But Dou Tang always felt that Lu Zizhen, besides considering him one of her own, harbored other feelings deep down. Those feelings weren't simply romantic love, but rather a certain expectation she had of him...
What are you expecting from me?
But since she didn't say anything, Dou Tang wouldn't ask her directly.
"Ding dong."
Lu Zizhen's phone suddenly rang. She opened it and her expression gradually became serious.
"What's wrong?" Dou Tang asked.
She didn't hand the phone to Dou Tang, but turned off the screen and said, "Something happened in Tokyo. The headquarters of the Shibuya Morning Star Group was attacked, and several people died. It's all over the industry now. It was done by an evil spirit."
Dou Tang became interested and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Continue."
"Judging from the scene, the person who did this is not only a high-level evil spirit, but also intelligent... We cannot determine at present whether it was done by someone in the circle, but in my opinion... it is very likely the same damp evil spirit we encountered before."
Dou Tang narrowed his eyes: "That evil spirit is very likely my target."
A satisfied smile flashed across Lu Zizhen's face, then she said seriously, "The leader of the Morning Star Group has offered 200 million yen to bypass the official system and find the perpetrator."
"The whole of Tokyo is in an uproar now."
“I know the young leader of the Morning Star Group. If you’d like, we can make some money while we’re catching that evil spirit.”
Tou-Tang picked up his wine glass and took a sip. Tou-Tang wasn't old enough to drink yet, but at times like this, he was Tou-Tang.
"Okay." He suppressed his excitement and nodded.
Lu Zizhen asked impatiently, "Back to Tokyo tonight?"
She originally intended to send the evil spirit away a month later.
It was given to Dou Tang, but now it seems the plan can be brought forward.
Knowing his personality, he probably can't hold back anymore. Let's just take him away now, as far away from that Chinatsu Kume as possible...
“No, I’ll go back after the trip.” Dou Tang’s words surprised her.
"What? After the trip is over? Why, why?"
Dou Tang took another sip of the drink. The bland liquid was a bit harsh on his throat. The roadside izakaya didn't have any decent drinks to offer, which was disappointing.
Then he said, "Huaiyin needs me, and I also hope that she can make more friends on this trip."
“You…” Lu Zizhen was speechless.
"Don't worry, I understand what you mean. If that evil spirit is capable of dealing with my three jelly bean clones at the same time, then with the level of an ordinary exorcist, it won't be able to hurt it at all."
He drank the wine in his glass.
"It is mine, and it must be mine."
Although she had some reservations about Dou Tang not following her advice, seeing his unwavering determination, Lu Zizhen swallowed the rest of her words and nodded.
Dou Tang then asked, "By the way, is there any new news about Ito Raibon?"
Lu Zizhen frowned and said, "No, the fake Ito Raimoto is now completely out of contact. His original residence is also empty, as if he never intended to settle here in the first place. All his actions, including the renovation of the shrine, were just for Siren Head to meet with Ito Okami."
"In other words, he came prepared and had been planning this for a long time." Dou Tang frowned as well: "But is it possible that such a person, spending such a large sum of money to renovate the shrine, would ultimately only have such a farce as watching two evil spirits fight?"
Lu Zizhen nodded and continued, "Right now, people in the industry are investigating the source of his funds for renovating the shrine and searching for the truth about Shinichi Toramoto. Although there are no leads yet, given their intelligence capabilities, it's only a matter of time before they find out."
"Could he be an exorcist from abroad? After all, I heard that his public identity is that he studied abroad and returned home."
"Impossible. Both the Kamaitachi and the Paper Shikigami are native products, and judging from his skillful control, he doesn't seem like a foreign exorcist."
"Hmm..." Dou Tang lowered his head, feeling somewhat uneasy.
After all, that guy... had seen the ancestral soul emerge from his body, and he was an enemy. Dou Tang naturally didn't want him to become a threat to him.
Lu Zizhen narrowed her eyes and said in a seductive tone, "After you find him, do you want to deal with him yourself?"