Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 245 - 166: The Curse of the Evil Spirit

Chapter 245: Chapter 166: The Curse of the Evil Spirit

The car drove through the mountains and forests, the high beams piercing through the darkness, leaving only the sound of wheels on the quiet road.

"Um, I’ve heard... there’s a rumor that Princess Nakako’s residence is a cursed house..."

Minamoto Tamako felt it a bit difficult to speak. Independent investigations by the criminal police seemed different from patrol police visits; the questions asked were often sharp and harsh.

Ono Ken was somewhat surprised. She glanced sideways at Minamoto Tamako and asked, "Aren’t you a criminal police officer from the Chiyoda District precinct?"

Minamoto Tamako shook her head repeatedly: "No, I’m not. I’m a criminal police officer from the Toshima District."

"Eh... why would a criminal police officer from Toshima District come here to handle a case?" Ono Ken frowned, her expression slightly tense.

"I’m not here for a case, it’s just... just..."

Minamoto Tamako wasn’t sure how to explain, and she wasn’t good at lying. Yazaki Momo was involved in the spirit summoning ceremony under the guise of a follow-up report; she couldn’t possibly betray Yazaki Momo, could she?

After hesitating for a while, Minamoto Tamako braced herself and found a far-fetched reason: "I’m personally... quite interested in supernatural legends and such..."

"Oh!" Ono Ken understood: "Are you a fan of Mrs. Oogami?"

"Y-Yes."

Minamoto Tamako blushed when lying, but the dim light inside the car should have hidden her blush from Ono Ken.

"I see," Ono Ken, trusting her, kept her hands on the steering wheel and casually remarked: "I didn’t know that the infamous reputation of Wulin Temple had spread to Toshima District."

"Wulin Temple?" Minamoto Tamako caught the key information.

"It’s the name of this villa."

Ono Ken paused, explaining: "It’s an old house over a hundred years old. Prince Akihito originally fancied its tranquility, so he spent a substantial sum of money to buy it."

Minamoto Tamako quickly took out her notebook, turned to the side to record attentively, and asked: "Um, is it really a cursed house? Are the rumors about earthbound spirits true? Did Akishino Mako truly die from malevolent spirits?"

With her demeanor, she indeed resembled a paranormal event enthusiast.

Ono Ken didn’t think much of it and asked in return: "What kind of rumors have you heard?"

"I, honestly haven’t gotten any specific details..." Minamoto Tamako felt a bit guilty.

"Haha, the locals have spread them all around! You could casually ask an elderly person and get the general idea."

Ono Ken thought to herself that youth was good because in a moment of heat, they dare to knock on the door of a cursed house, even disregarding the owner’s status.

Seeing Minamoto Tamako’s bewildered look, she patiently explained: "Legend has it that Wulin Temple was once a recluse place for a hermit. Some say he was a monk, while others say he was a yin-yang master, but nothing conclusive; nobody knows the identity or name of the first house owner."

"Long ago, elders in Chiyoda would often say there was a small house in the mountains that was a place where yin and yang converged. A lost traveler would enter the house and see the ghosts of old acquaintances... The deeper the bond, the stronger the emotion, the clearer the ghost’s appearance."

"If the traveler becomes obsessed with conversing with the ghosts, they will be forever trapped in the small house and never able to leave."

"Later, somehow this legend inexplicably became associated with Wulin Temple, leading people to begin spreading tales that Wulin Temple was precisely the mysterious house in the mountains..."

"They also say it housed the lost souls of travelers and malevolent ghosts attempting to return to the living world."

"These souls and malevolent ghosts would entangle the living, leaving a special mark on them, known as the ’curse of the mysterious disappearance’... Hence, no matter where the cursed individuals hide, they will ultimately return to Wulin Temple and die there."

Minamoto Tamako’s pen flew as she continuously recorded. Upon hearing this, she had a suspicion in her heart and couldn’t help but ask: "What does the ’curse mark’ look like?"

Logically, such vague rumors shouldn’t have a specific pattern. But Ono Ken was able to describe it accurately, she said: "Black, resembling a ghost claw, about the size of an adult’s palm."

Minamoto Tamako furrowed her brows and asked: "Could it be... Miss Akishino had the ’curse mark’ appear on her, leading others to believe she was killed by a malevolent ghost?"

Ono Ken nodded, uttering an ’hmm’ sound, then sighed, appearing like someone who was touched by a sad memory.

She was silent for a moment and suddenly said: "The police said that the mark is not a curse but rather a bruise and abrasion from Miss Akishino’s fall... but I find this explanation too far-fetched."

"Why do you think that?" Minamoto Tamako asked.

"If you saw that mark, you would also think it wasn’t a coincidence; that mark is truly... I don’t know how to describe it." Ono Ken sighed again: "The locals find it ominous; even doctors are reluctant to make house calls. You might not know, but people in Chiyoda are conservative and superstitious... It’s been a long time since any locals have willingly visited."

Minamoto Tamako hurriedly offered some comforting words and then asked: "Could I ask you to help sketch the appearance of the mark later?"

Ono Ken readily agreed.

The two chatted about more scuttlebutt regarding Akishino Mako, Minamoto Tamako brought up rumors of Miss Akishino’s delirium, and ghost sightings, wanting to know if it was true.

"It’s true," Ono Ken affirmed.

She had once encountered Miss Akishino murmuring to an empty room, afterwards she asked who Miss Akishino was chatting with, the latter firmly claimed it was her deceased father speaking to her.

From then on, Miss Akishino frequently encountered ghosts, occasionally letting out horrified screams, her body becoming increasingly frail, often catching colds, fevers, and experiencing sudden fainting spells.

Princess Nakako was distressed over her daughter, staying close by her side, hiring a private doctor to treat her daughter... yet Miss Akishino showed no signs of improvement.

As for what happened next, Minamoto Tamako knew the story — Akishino Mako jumped to her death at midnight, and the cursed mark appeared on her body; Princess Nakako spent heavily to hire the spirit medium Oogami Nui for a chance to see her daughter once more.

As they talked, the car arrived at the foot of the mountain, and Minamoto Tamako got off near the train station platform. She bowed to Ono Ken in thanks and took out her notebook to ask Ono Ken to sketch.

"Uh... roughly like this, my drawing might not be very good..."

Ono Ken sat in the driver’s seat, holding a water-based pen and scribbling on the paper. Minamoto Tamako leaned over to watch, seeing a twisted claw print gradually emerge on the paper. It was pitch black, chaotic, and terrifying.

Just as Ono Ken had said, it didn’t look like naturally formed abrasions or bruises, rather like some sort of strange totem, exuding an aura of evil.

This was the crucial clue, and Minamoto Tamako carefully stored it. Ono Ken waved goodbye, rolled up her car window, and drove to the mall for shopping.

"Strange, why does this mark look somewhat familiar..."

Minamoto Tamako bought a train ticket, and on her way home, she kept staring at the sketch, pondering where this peculiar mark originated from.