Snap.
The silver-white metal cover of the Zippo lighter slides open and makes a crisp sound.
Yuuki Makensuke lit a special cigarette.
The blurred smoke was inhaled into his lungs, and then exhaled. Amidst the white smoke, he narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully observed all three spiritual masters who had just entered Jixiang Su.
Didn't see any problems.
There was no evil aura left on the three of them.
"Have you ever had close contact with a tree turned into a person?" Yuuki asked.
"There is."
"knew."
Then, Yuuki Makensuke looked towards the street again. The streets were also empty at dusk, and he didn't see anything strange.
However, in several other places in Jixiangsu, one can vaguely see misty ghostly auras. These sneaky auras appear like thin black smoke in Yuki's eyes, and there are probably dozens of places above the entire town.
Black smoke curled up like this.
Presumably the source of these ghostly spirits is the victims who turned into trees.
"Okay." Yuuki put out the half-burned cigarette and breathed out lightly, "I think we have to go into Jixiangsu again."
"Well, Mr. Yuuki, will there be any danger after entering?" Officer Hanai was so nervous that sweat broke out on his forehead, "I mean, is it possible that we will also be infected with that weird change?"
"No. That kind of weird change shouldn't spread so easily."
People turned into trees, and the number of victims reached dozens in a short period of time.
It is tempting to think that this change is contagious.
However, Yuuki carefully observed the three spirit exterminators who had entered Ji Xiangsu and had close contact with the "Human Tree", and there was nothing unusual about them.
In addition, Yuuki just now wondered whether there was a problem with the environment of Jixiangsu.
For example, are there pollen, spores and the like floating in the air that ordinary people can't see? As long as they come into contact, they will turn into "human trees".
But when I observed the situation in villages and towns just now, this conjecture was rejected again.
In a sense, the environment here is quite normal.
Judging from Yuki's rich experience, the dozens of ghostly ghostly auras rising up are similar to ordinary ghostly auras.
It does not have the characteristics of infection and attachment.
If it could really be contagious, from the perspective of Yuuki lighting a cigarette, those ghostly auras should be more "sticky".
Therefore, it is still difficult to determine how the strange events in Jixiangsu spread. We just know that it is not easy to spread, and simply entering Jixiangsu is not enough to be infected.
"Okay, okay."
Officer Hanai raised his hand to wipe the sweat, and decided to arrange his manpower to follow Yuki in.
Although the special system of the Countermeasures Room is relatively independent, it is also subordinate to the police system, and relatively speaking, the members of the Countermeasures Room have more power. In addition, Yuuki Makensuke himself is a senior executive directly under the Countermeasures Room. In terms of position,
, that is much higher than the police chief in Huajing.
He gave orders and command, and others could only choose to follow them.
"Be careful, hold your weapon, and follow me."
Before entering Jixiangsu, Yuki patted Nagatomo on the shoulder and said this.
…
The sun gradually sets on the west side of the Black Hat Mountains.
Probably because something strange happened, the entire Xiangjisu was extremely quiet, and the doors of every house were closed. Only occasionally did the dog at home bark uneasily when he heard the footsteps of Yuki and his entourage on the street.
After walking for a while, everyone came to an old house near a farmland.
"Mr. Yuki, the owner here is named Kusakabe Kokichi. He is a 75-year-old man who lives alone. According to our judgment, he is probably the first person to turn into a strange tree." Officer Hanai introduced this while uneasily
I took a few more glances towards the courtyard of the house.
Because the daylight had faded, the courtyard was dead, blurry, and gray.
The night wind blew the clothesline in the yard, and a few old shirts and trousers hung on it, swaying.
"The three of us first came to Jixiangsu because we learned about the strange things that happened to old man Kusakabe. We had entered this place, and the strange tree we had close contact with at the beginning was also this one. At that time... we were not sure which tree it was.
The tree was transformed by Kusakabe."
"The old man usually lives in seclusion, and because he lives alone, he may have been dead for a long time by the time he was found. According to the local people in Jixiangjuku at the beginning, he did not see the old man coming out for at least four to five days.
Pass."
The exorcist lady, whose surname was Fukuyama, who had previously stated that she had entered Jixiangsu, also roughly began to talk about what they had learned here.
Yuki Masakisuke was outside the station room, listening to them carefully and lighting another cigarette at the same time.
That's right.
The ethereal black air I saw before was the strongest here.
Probably that old man Kusakabe was really the first one to turn into a strange tree.
However, the ghostly energy that was as big as a teacup only curled up and disappeared when it reached a high altitude. There was no sign of spreading to the surroundings.
Yuki spent a little more time, carefully observing the black smoke coming out from the top of the house, confirming that his initial judgment was correct, that the smoke did not have the characteristics of infection, and then called to the people around him:
"Go in and take a look. Don't leave anyone alone."
Elder Kusakabe's home has thin wooden walls and debris everywhere, making it seem a bit crowded.
The old man's bedroom is on the first floor.
There is no bed, just tatami mats.
The floor was covered with bedding, which was a little yellow and damp, as if it had been soaked in some turbid mucus, and a strange tree grew on the bedding.
The ghostly energy comes out of the trees.
This tree is about 1.8 meters tall. I can't tell what kind of tree it belongs to. The roots of the tree have already penetrated the quilt and penetrated into the floor. The branches and leaves are very lush, and the leaves are green, but the veins of the leaves are red.
The trunk is as thick as a bowl, and the bark is wrinkled and full of ravines. The surface is bulging and interlaced like annoying proliferative tissue. If you look closely, it looks like it is crowded with distorted faces.
In addition, there was a vest and trousers on the tree trunk. The clothes and trousers were torn, but they seemed to have grown completely into the tree and were inseparable.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! A tree that makes people feel uncomfortable when looking at it.
Yuki was the first to speak in the crowded room: "You didn't mention the things on the ground."
Yes.
There are things on the ground.
Centered at the bottom of the trunk, some slender red flowers grow.
There are not many, only six or seven.
The flower stems are slender, and the flowers are clustered like dragon's claws. The big red flowers are as red as blood.
"Is this Manzhu Shahua?"
Sheriff Hanai, who was already a little fat, began to sweat again on his forehead. If he could, he didn't want to stay in this room full of weird atmosphere for a moment longer.
"Yes, Higanbana." Yuuki Makensuke nodded.
"These flowers, these flowers, were not available when we came in last time." Ms. Fukuyama explained anxiously.
"I know, I don't mean to blame you."
Yuki used the smoke from his cigarette to inspect several bunches of Hibiscus flowers, but found no problems.
Simply staying in this room, whether next to strange trees or those other side flowers that don't look right at first glance, will not have any real impact on people.
There is clearly something weird everywhere here, but no core problem can be found.
The current findings are like scratching the surface.
Yuki held a cigarette in his mouth and continued to observe the strange tree. His eyes looked back and forth at the leaves and trunk through the blurred smoke.
Everyone else held their breath and concentrated, fearing that any effort in breathing would affect him.
To be continued...