The Tokyo Esoteric Sect: An Extra
MIE Prefecture, Japan.
The moonlight was like frost, and white snow covered the mountain path. The stone steps leading to the shrine gleamed with a pale, greenish light.
A figure with long, flowing hair and a white robe trailing on the ground emerged from the snow, passed through a torii gate adorned with frozen icicles, stepped onto the long, snow-covered sando, and entered the empty shrine.
Inside the main hall, besides a faint, almost imperceptible weeping, only his footsteps echoed. Following the direction of the weeping, he slowly walked towards an altar deep within the shrine. Under the light of a pale green lamp, a red stone chest covered in gold lay on the altar. Inside the chest rested a long, jet-black sword, about two fingers wide.
“Is this crying what summoned me?” the figure murmured, reaching out to pick up the long sword from the golden stand.
At that moment, the crying abruptly ceased, and then a fierce gust of gangqi swept through the shrine!
The overwhelming wind, vast and mighty, was like a beast’s gaping maw ready to devour. The white-robed figure’s sleeves and long hair billowed, but he didn’t even lift his head. He simply raised his hand decisively!
With a whoosh, the strong wind suddenly vanished without a trace, leaving only the shrill wail of the crying, as if unwilling to give up. It then rushed out of the shrine and disappeared into the vast expanse of the night.
“—Your Highness Wisdom King.”
The voice abruptly sounded from behind the white-robed figure. A man of about thirty or forty, with white hair and beard but a sinister expression, appeared in the shrine. He bowed deeply to the white-robed figure and said, “We meet again, Your Highness Mahamayuri Wisdom King.”
Maha turned to look, narrowing his eyes, an expression that made his thick eyelashes appear even more like the slender curve of a blade. “Who are you?”
The man did not rise, only slightly raised his head to reveal his face:
“My humble name is Yoshinobu Aida. I had the good fortune to meet Your Highness once in the Demonic Seal Grotto deep underground in mainland China. I have presumptuously set up this altar to summon Your Highness because I have a matter to request. I wish to offer this sword as a generous reward.”
Maha remembered the Demonic Seal Grotto, but he had long forgotten such an insignificant character as Yoshinobu Aida. His incomparably beautiful eyes remained still as he said faintly, “Oh—and what is your business?”
His tone seemed perfectly normal, yet those familiar with him would know that if he were to suddenly erupt in violence, killing, disemboweling, and gutting someone, he would have seemed just as normal moments before.
Yoshinobu Aida, however, showed no fear. “Does Your Highness know the name of this sword in your hand, and why it cries?”
“…”
As expected, Maha did not answer. Yoshinobu Aida straightened up, looking directly at Mahamayuri Wisdom King on the high altar:
“—This sword is named ‘Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi’ (Heavenly Sword of the Gathering Clouds). It was obtained by Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the third noble child of Izanagi-no-Okami, during his wanderings in the human world, when he slew the Eight-Headed Serpent. When Susanoo was born, he was granted the title of God of the Oceans by his father, yet he wept day and night, longing for his mother beyond Yomi-no-Hiraisaka, thus incurring his father’s wrath and being expelled from the ocean, his rightful abode…”
Maha’s expression subtly shifted.
“Later, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was offered by Susanoo to Amaterasu-Omikami, and then passed down through generations of emperors, along with the Yata no Kagami (Eight-Hand Mirror) and Yasakani no Magatama (Curved Jewel), becoming known as our nation’s Three Sacred Treasures, possessing the power to summon wind and rain and subdue sea dragons.”
Yoshinobu Aida paused, took a breath, and continued:
“My Tokyo Esoteric Sect has historically been entrusted by the Ise Grand Shrine to secretly guard the mirror-heart of the Yata no Kagami. However, a disciple of our sect, while the grandmaster was possessed by a demon, absconded with the sacred artifact to a foreign land. It is now very difficult for the Esoteric Sect’s power to separate the Yata no Kagami from him. If Your Highness can help us retrieve the mirror-heart of the Yata no Kagami, I am willing to offer eighty-eight living sacrifices, and furthermore present this incomparably precious sacred sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, to Your Highness…”
Maha smiled faintly and said, “Yata no Kagami.”
He held the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, looking at the faint moonlight in the distant sky. His expression suggested deep thought. After a long while, he slowly said:
“I once encountered this sacred artifact during my travels through the Six Paths. Its mirror nature undergoes dual transformations of yin and yang, being highly volatile. Therefore, the immense divine power contained within it is difficult for a living being to wield. The person wearing the Yata no Kagami must meet one condition: they must possess both yin and yang souls simultaneously. Their yin soul must be a soul forged from an intensely yang soul after its death, experiencing the underworld and returning to the human realm… This is akin to a dead person returning to life, which is almost impossible.”
“No! Please listen to me!” Yoshinobu Aida, seeing Maha’s clear disbelief, immediately said eagerly, “After the Yata no Kagami was lost, I consulted our sect’s secret archives and discovered that the Esoteric Sect had already found a method to refine both yin and yang souls through centuries of cultivation, and the current wearer was personally refined by the previous grandmaster!”
Seeing that Maha still seemed unconvinced, Yoshinobu Aida emphatically stated, “Our sect now only wishes to reclaim the Yata no Kagami. If there is a single word of deception towards Your Highness, please kill me without hesitation and take the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. How about that?!”
Maha remained silent for a long time, only staring at Yoshinobu Aida, his gaze cold and unwavering.
“No need.” After a long while, he finally said, “I trust that you mortals wouldn’t dare.”
—Yoshinobu Aida’s suspended heart finally settled back into his chest. Only then did he feel a chill down his back, realizing he was drenched in sweat despite the deep winter.
“If you haven’t lied, then prove it to me,” Maha said lazily. “Just bring that wearer here, and I will find a way to sever the artifact’s connection with him and return it to you.”
Yoshinobu Aida, however, looked somewhat troubled. “But that person is now heavily protected in a foreign land. With our limited manpower, it’s already very difficult to even get close to him. How can we bring him back to Japan?”
Maha stared at him motionlessly.
When Mahamayuri Wisdom King’s peerless face showed no expression, he was like a deity sculpted from ice, every subtle curve of his brow chilled with the sharp gleam of a blade.
Under the immense pressure, Yoshinobu Aida’s heart even stopped beating.
“Actually,” Maha finally said slowly, his tone unruffled, “there’s a very simple way…”
The next morning, Hot Spring Hotel Garden.
Yan Lanyu was dumbfounded. “I… I just said it casually, what does it have to do with me?!”
In the outdoor restaurant of the hotel garden, the thirteen or fourteen-year-old Chu He, wearing a white shirt and jeans, sat at the breakfast table. His cheek was so pale it looked as if water could drip from it. His slender fingers held a coffee cup as he scrolled on his phone, saying, “The fact is, it does have something to do with it.”
“—Heavenly Dao Zhihu says that if a person who has accumulated a certain amount of merit has never made a wish before, a strong wish suddenly arising from their heart on a certain day will possess immense ‘wish power,’ making its realization highly probable. If multiple wishes are made at once, the probability of realization correlates with the difficulty of achieving the wish.”
He turned his phone to show the Heavenly Dao Zhihu page to Yan Lanyu, proving he wasn’t spouting nonsense:
“In other words, the three wishes you made last night, from easiest to hardest, were: a hotel discount, me waking up, and long-lasting years. My original depth of slumber wasn’t very deep, so your wish power could be considered the last straw that broke the camel’s back. As for the hotel discount, that shouldn’t be a problem either… The last one is hard to say. Changes brought by time are force majeure within the Six Paths.”
Chu He smiled slightly.
Yan Lanyu was dumbfounded. Suddenly, Zhou Hui’s voice came from outside the restaurant:
“Hahahahaha, let me tell you something super funny! This hotel boss is totally into Li Hu and insists on pursuing her! He even offered us a discount himself, hahahaha—”
Zhang Shun: “…”
“Actually, I told him how can a mere discount show sincerity? At least it should be free, and throwing in twenty free fruit platters that cost four hundred each would be about right. I think that boss looks pretty good, the type our sister-in-law likes. How about when we go back later, we just leave sister-in-law here? It’ll perfectly avoid the risk of Deputy Yu’s public fund abuse being discovered, hahahaha—”
On the steps of the garden restaurant, Zhou Hui forcefully slung his arm around Zhang Shun’s shoulder and laughed heartily towards the sky, his laughter unrestrained and overflowing with boisterousness, making one want to pick up a shoe sole and smack him hard in the face.
Zhang Shun’s facial muscles twitched strangely a couple of times. He gritted his teeth and pushed Zhou Hui away. “No, no, no, Sister-in-law Zhou, I think this is still a bit inappropriate. At least we should give Li Hu the right to choose for herself…”
Zhou Hui said, “Oh, what’s there to choose! Li Hu loves this type, generous and free-spending! Brother tells you, Li Hu doesn’t even need to choose, she likes this type the most, I guarantee she’ll volunteer to stay and date the hotel boss once she finds out, hahahaha—!!!”
Chu He: “…”
Yan Lanyu: “…”
The expression on Zhang Shun’s face was hard to describe. He seemed to want to grab a fly swatter and swat Zhou Hui away, and also wanted to grab his own hair and lift himself away.
After a long while, he finally grabbed Zhou Hui’s forcibly hooked hand and pushed it off his shoulder inch by inch. Although his facial muscles were twisted in a smile, his voice sounded like it was squeezed out from between his teeth, word by word:
“By the way, Brother Zhou, I suddenly remembered that after knowing each other for so long, I haven’t treated everyone to a meal yet. It’s really quite embarrassing…”
“No, no, no, you’re too polite! Who are we to each other, how can we eat your meal?!”
“No, no, no, I must treat you, I must treat you. Look, we’re all family, so why not pick today instead of another day…”
“Oh, what are you doing, what are you doing? Being so polite makes it seem like we’re forcing you to treat us!”
“Listen to me, listen to me… Brother Zhou!” Amidst the pushing and yielding, Zhang Shun finally grabbed Zhou Hui’s hand and said righteously, “Don’t say anything else. How can I not treat you to such a meaningful meal, the first one of the New Year? If there’s a discount, how can it show my sincerity? Anyone who mentions a discount to me is my enemy! I’ll cover all expenses at this hotel from last night to today. Brother Zhou, do you want to order two more bottles of wine? Put it all on my tab!”
Zhou Hui hastily declined, but Zhang Shun wouldn’t be refused. He pushed him aside and rushed to the hotel front desk.
“Brother-in-law—!” Zhou Hui called out fruitlessly from behind, his voice winding with a lingering note, carried by the wind, deeply moving.
The next second, Zhou Hui turned around, humming a tune, and walked into the restaurant. He grabbed a waiter and said, “Do you serve lobster sashimi for breakfast? Just bring two lobsters, one kilogram each, and two dozen abalones for me to take away, thank you!”
At the dining table, Yan Lanyu’s expression was simply indescribable. Chu He took a sip of coffee, looking at him sympathetically, “I heard that your Tokyo Esoteric Sect particularly fears and reveres Zhou Hui… Is that true?”
From Yan Lanyu’s expression, it was clear that he was struggling internally: he really didn’t want to lose face, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie at the moment.
“Idol complexes always shatter,” Chu He said, patting his hand, with a lot of experience.
“Darling, how’s breakfast?” Zhou Hui strolled through the restaurant and came over. Under the strange gazes of other guests not far away, he leaned down and kissed Chu He’s cheek.
Chu He looked up and shared a brief kiss with Zhou Hui, saying, “I was just telling Xiao Yan about his wish for me to wake up.”
Phoenix’s human form was currently that of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old, the age hardest to discern. His hair hadn’t grown long yet, barely covering his ears, revealing a pure green stone button pierced in his earlobe; his dark, thick eyelashes naturally drooped, and his snow-white cheek almost melted into the morning light.
Zhou Hui looked at him, his gaze filled with tenderness, completely unaware that in the eyes of other guests, he had become a perverted pedophile.
“—Oh right, I was still talking about it!” Zhou Hui, completely oblivious to the strange glances from all directions, patted Yan Lanyu’s shoulder heartily: “You’re too honest, kid. A rare opportunity like a birthday wish, you should just use it for yourself, but you’re still thinking about our little phoenix! Oh, I don’t even know how to thank you. Accumulating wish power isn’t easy. I’ve accumulated so many years of merit, but I’ve never won the lottery when I wished for it…”
Chu He said helplessly, “You don’t even have such a thing as merit.”
Yan Lanyu found himself practically an accomplice to pedophilia in everyone’s eyes. He quickly stood up and retreated, but Zhou Hui wouldn’t let him go: “Oh, you’re such a child, why are you so obedient and sensible? If only my son were half as good as you—it’s a pity you’re a boy. If you were a girl, I’d adopt you as my daughter and give you half my inheritance… It’s really such a pity, otherwise I don’t know how I’d thank you!”
Zhou Hui looked regretful, acting as if he wished he could kill Yan Lanyu on the spot so he could be reincarnated as his daughter. This made Yan Lanyu shudder: “No… no, no, Mr. Zhou, I’m more used to being a boy…”
“How did Deputy Yu get so lucky to find you? Oh, I don’t have anything good to thank you with.” Zhou Hui said amiably, then, without explanation, pulled out a few wadded-up yellow papers from his pants pocket. When unfolded, they were clearly childish scribbles, which he thrust into Yan Lanyu’s hand.
“These are safety talismans I drew. Original price 8,888,888 yuan, with an additional 2% handling fee for card payments. As a token of my gratitude, I’m giving them to you for free now. Don’t be too touched!”
Yan Lanyu: “…”
Yan Lanyu stared at the wadded yellow papers in his hand, not reacting for a while.
When he finally came to his senses and was about to decline, he looked up only to see Zhou Hui scoop up the little phoenix and walk away like the wind. Looking at his arrogant and domineering retreating figure, he was probably utterly immersed in his persona of a Lolita-raising, handsome, gentle, and wealthy lover, completely unaware that people were secretly photographing him not because they thought he was a movie star, but to expose him on Weibo as a terrifying, perverted old uncle.
The news of Phoenix’s return from Nirvana spread throughout the Special Department immediately. Led by Yu Jingzhong, Wu Bei, Situ, the Nine-Tailed Fox, and others took turns visiting. Shen Wan hugged Chu He and refused to let go, only to be grabbed by the back of his neck by Zhou Hui and thrown down the stairs.
Jia Louluo also came. Before entering the door, he ran into his father in the corridor and was scrutinized up and down by Zhou Hui with a strange expression, who asked, “…Why are you wearing that to come here?”
“Is something wrong?” Jia Louluo was puzzled, looking down at his half-new, half-old black hoodie, off-brand jeans bought at a mall discount, and twenty-yuan imitation Li-Ning sneakers from Taobao. He didn’t think there was anything amiss.
Did he need to dress formally to see his mother? Compared to Maha, it was already hard enough for him to be clean and tidy, wasn’t it?
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, that’s completely wrong!” Zhou Hui grabbed Jia Louluo, and despite his resistance, dragged his son into his own room across the hall, clicked the door shut, and pulled out a messy pile of clothes from the wardrobe, throwing them at Jia Louluo’s face: “Change into these! From now on, when you go to see your mother, you must be well-groomed and stylish. Dare to complain even one word, and I’ll skin you alive and feed you to the Nine-Tailed Fox!”
“…” Jia Louluo looked at his father wordlessly. His father stared back righteously.
Jia Louluo’s temple twitched slightly. After a long while, he finally succumbed. “Okay… okay.”
Ten minutes later, Jia Louluo stood before Chu He, dressed in designer clothes, looking awkward like a rural youth visiting the city for the first time.
Chu He put down “Bao Shi Zi” and asked strangely, “What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you sitting?”
Jia Louluo, enduring Zhou Hui’s scorching gaze from the corner of the room behind him, said awkwardly, “No… no, I’ll only stay for ten minutes. Mom, how have you been? Do you need anything?”
Chu He smiled. “I don’t need anything. Your father and I plan to go to Buzhou Mountain to sort out the household items there soon. I can bring back anything you need from Hell. You look good? Are you used to staying in the human realm? How is Maha?”
A hint of undisguised coldness flashed in Zhou Hui’s eyes.
Jia Louluo’s tone immediately changed. “Maha is very good! I’m also doing great! I eat twenty snakes every day! I’ve never lacked money!”
Chu He: “…”
Chu He stared at his son. Jia Louluo innocently fiddled with the corner of his clothes.
“Just eating snakes isn’t a balanced diet,” Chu He said, looking disheveled by the wind. “You… take some vitamins when you have time.”
Ten minutes later, Jia Louluo walked away stiffly. Chu He’s face wore an unspeakable expression, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Why do I feel like this child’s demeanor is a bit strange?”
Zhou Hui, resting his head on Chu He’s lap and playing Candy Crush, shamelessly declared, “It’s normal!—Teenagers are rebellious and sensitive. Parents shouldn’t ask too many questions; they should respect their personal privacy! Otherwise, they might become psychologically twisted and grow up to be man-eating monsters like the Peacock Great Demon King…”
Chu He felt something was off, as if something had happened when he was still a tiny phoenix, but seeing Zhou Hui’s completely normal expression, he decided to drop the matter for now.
The National Security Special Department, like a swarm of locusts, finally embarked on their journey home after heavily fleecing Zhang Shun.
With a week left of the Chinese New Year holiday, the romantic soul poet Wu Bei planned to climb Mount Everest in Nepal. Shen Wan went with him back to his hometown in Tibet to visit relatives. Situ Yingzhi invited the Nine-Tailed Fox to go on a shopping spree in Hong Kong. Zhang Shun, for some unknown reason, suddenly expressed a desire to go as well.
After Phoenix awakened, for some reason, Zhang Shun was a bit avoidant of him. Chu He, of course, didn’t know that his younger brother was just feeling guilty. He thought that after the True Buddha returned to his position, he wouldn’t rely on him as a completely dependent older brother as he did in his previous life. Therefore, although a little disappointed, he understood and didn’t actively show too much concern for Young Master Zhang.
Thus, he missed the most crucial piece of information—
Zhang Shun booked a room with the Nine-Tailed Fox at a hotel in Hong Kong.
The Nine-Tailed Fox, of course, wouldn’t volunteer this information either. Are you kidding? Who would eagerly offer themselves to have their fox fur peeled off by Phoenix Wisdom King?
Zhou Hui took Chu He to the Hell’s Buzhou Mountain for a honeymoon, and incidentally to pack up their belongings, allowing Phoenix Wisdom King, who missed his son dearly, to visit his child in the Sea of Blood. His brother-in-law and sister-in-law enthusiastically approved, almost waving handkerchiefs to see them off, which made Chu He a little sad. He asked Zhou Hui, “Are they annoyed with me? Why didn’t they call me when they went out to play?”
Zhou Hui, at this moment, showed a rare moment of honesty. He said, “The children have grown up and have their own world. We must respect their personal privacy…”
Zhou Hui and Chu He would be in Hell for at least half a month before returning. The Special Department couldn’t be left unmanned, so Yu Jingzhong immediately rushed back to Beijing.
It was quite depressing that everyone else was happily going on vacation in different directions, while he had to go back to work at Unit 547. Fortunately, he wasn’t alone; Yan Lanyu was in the same car returning to Beijing.
—Yan Lanyu had a driver’s license and could drive, but he didn’t own a car. Usually, he commuted with Yu Jingzhong, and even when they went out for a late-night snack, Yu Jingzhong habitually acted as the driver. It was incredibly convenient and useful.
Driving from the suburbs back to their home, they were stuck in traffic on and off for a full three or four hours. Old Teresa Teng songs played continuously in the car. Yu Jingzhong drove with his window down on his side, constantly smoking amidst the lyrics of “Time flies, but I only care about you—” He seemed to be harboring some unspoken thoughts.
They finally pulled up to the apartment building downstairs. Yu Jingzhong braked and turned off the engine, but he didn’t open the car door.
Yan Lanyu knew he finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, so he turned to look at him.
However, Yu Jingzhong kept fiddling with the Zippo lighter in his hand, twisting a cigarette around and around, but not lighting it. After about three or four minutes of hesitant silence, he finally coughed. “That… Lanyu.”
Yan Lanyu appropriately showed an attentive expression, but his eyes were fixed on the lighter.
It was said that when Yu Jingzhong first joined the army, he won first place in the entire army’s shooting competition. The old general, in his joy, pulled it out of his pocket and gave it to him. The significance of how the old general obtained this lighter was even more extraordinary: it was spoils of war captured from a Soviet prisoner during the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War.
The old general had a deep appreciation for Yu Jingzhong and they always had a good relationship. However, few people knew that after Yu Jingzhong was transferred to National Security, the old general once wanted to introduce his eldest granddaughter to him, but Yu Jingzhong politely declined, citing the high danger of his job and the precariousness of his life.
Just as Yan Lanyu thought the lighter might catch fire if he kept fiddling with it, Yu Jingzhong finally coughed again and stammered:
“That… Lanyu, what do you think of me?”
Yan Lanyu was immediately stunned.
Yu Jingzhong stared at a distant utility pole and said, “I’m no longer on the front line, so I can be a bit more stable. Although I earn a fixed salary, fortunately, I have savings and no mortgage, and usually no expensive hobbies. If something happens in the future, the country has a pension. Before, you weren’t eighteen yet, and I felt it wasn’t appropriate to say these things to you. Now… I’m just saying, don’t feel any… psychological pressure.”
Yu Jingzhong paused, then suddenly realized he was habitually acting timid in front of Yan Lanyu again: “No, no, I mean, you should seriously consider our… our possibility. You see, we’ve been living together for so long, and we get along well in all aspects. It’s pretty good to continue like this, right? That… I’m not saying you can’t stay if you refuse me, you can still stay even if you refuse me… Of course, I’m not encouraging you to refuse me, I just hope you carefully… carefully consider it.”
Poor Yu Jingzhong almost wanted to fall to his knees over his own expressive abilities. He could hold his own when giving reports to a bunch of influential old men in the Military Commission, but when confessing to eighteen-year-old Yan Lanyu, he was completely muddled and incoherent.
Yan Lanyu sat quietly in the passenger seat, his mind initially blank, then slowly filled with a mixed, indescribable feeling:
“Actually…”
“Anyway, that’s how it is,” Yu Jingzhong hastily interrupted him, “I’m not in a hurry, you think about it carefully, don’t rush to give me an answer. I’ll go up and cook first, you, you, you, come up when you’ve thought it over.”
Deputy Director Yu opened the car door and fled in a panic. Halfway through his escape, he realized he had left his Zippo in the car and instinctively wanted to go back for it. Then he stumbled, remembered that there must be a spare lighter at home, so he executed a clean drift, turned around, and dashed into the building.
—As expected of a former spymaster, even Liu Xiang would die of shame seeing his hundred-meter dash speed.
Yan Lanyu watched his retreating figure through the car window, not blinking.
The teenager’s profile was as if frozen, even the curve of his hair falling to the corner of his eye was completely still. After an unknown amount of time, he finally moved, letting out an almost silent sigh.
“I’d be willing,” he said with a bitter smile.
“…I really want to be willing…”
