Chapter 51: About How I Blinked And Traversed Worlds
Shangshan Che looked at these high school students, recalling that the atmosphere was the same before they successfully summoned the Kitsune-dog that day.
A bit nervous, a bit excited, but mostly the joy of going out to play with friends.
Among Japanese high school students, the so-called courage-testing gathering and supernatural games, aside from a few supernatural enthusiasts who would be interested, are actually just a kind of alternative mixer.
On a dark and windy night, boys and girls walk together, then draw close to each other due to nonexistent dangers to boost affection, and become couples.
Probably something like that routine.
The boy called Miyamoto Ryo flexed his biceps, with a disdainful expression: “Didn’t they say urban legends are all real? Let’s test it out!”
The female high school student leaned closer to him, asking curiously: “By the way, are there any urban legends related to stations?”
“—Kisaragi Station.”
But the one who answered was not the strong and robust Miyamoto Ryo, but the skinny bespectacled boy who was thoughtfully staring at and observing Shangshan Che.
He said faintly: “It’s said that the train arriving soon is one that leads to the Eternal World, and the terminus of that train is supposedly Kisaragi Station.”
The female high school student covered her mouth: “Eh? Doesn’t that mean they’re all yokai?”
Miyamoto Ryo at her side put his hands on his hips: “What yokai or ghosts? Watch me punch them all flying with my fists!”
“Hey, you students, don’t talk about such scary topics late at night!” The auntie nearby frowned, finally unable to hold back and yelled in scolding.
Miyamoto Ryo was stunned, then burst into laughter holding his belly: “This is scary? Auntie, are you menopausal? Hahahaha!”
The several high school students around him laughed out loud together, making the auntie’s face flush red, but in the end she didn’t curse with dirty words.
Idiots.
Shangshan Che didn’t even need to think; those shouting the loudest definitely wouldn’t survive three minutes if they really encountered demons.
On the contrary, the bespectacled boy who for some reason kept staring at him, and the ponytail girl who went against Miyamoto Ryo and was apologizing to the auntie, had a higher chance of survival.
These two people were perhaps the only two supernatural enthusiasts in this courage-testing gathering.
They were quite like him and Lili Zi back then.
“Two-Foot Adult.”
Shangshan Che said softly, making the white-hooded girl he was holding look up in confusion.
“po?”
He let go of her hand: “Go scare them, don’t let them board the train and lose their lives in vain.”
“po!”
Two-Foot Adult nodded and slowly floated toward the high school students.
Che Adult is so kind and gentle~ And so handsome too~
Two-Foot Adult let out a fangirl laugh while floating, and this laughter, under her control, faintly echoed in the Mortal Realm.
—Any demons and monsters with even a bit of reason can control whether to appear before ordinary people without spiritual sight.
Miyamoto Ryo, not far away boasting to two girls and his underlings, of course didn’t hear it, but the bespectacled boy’s expression changed, and he immediately looked around, trying to find Two-Foot Adult’s whereabouts.
“Hattori,” he asked the ponytail girl, “did you hear any laughter?”
Hattori Ayako was about to reply when she horrifyingly saw a girl with a blank face and wearing a white hood suddenly appear before her.
She tensed up completely in fright, only recovering after several seconds, her tone trembling: “Makiya, this place… really seems to have ghosts.”
“Ghosts, huh.” Makiya Hitomi pushed up her glasses, her tone slightly excited. “Can you describe its appearance?”
“A girl wearing a white hood and white skirt…”
—Huh?
Shangshan Che heard the conversation over there and pondered how these two were excitedly discussing after encountering a ghost.
Could it be that Two-Foot Adult is too cute and not scary enough?
In the late-night platform, the high school students led by Miyamoto Ryo treated this “courage-testing gathering” like an outing and were giggling; the auntie looked a bit scared, anxiously scrolling her mobile phone; the drunken salaryman uncle sat on the ground, peering toward the other side of the tracks.
Finally, there was Two-Foot Adult who had been trying hard to scare the duo, and the increasingly curious duo.
Amid this clamor, the train leading to the Eternal World pulled into the station.
“The train has arrived…”
“The train has arrived. Passengers disembarking at this station, please prepare to exit…”
The cold mechanical female voice echoed in the carriage. Shangshan Che faintly heard the announcement clearly, but the station name was completely inaudible.
Blocked by some unknown power, huh.
“popopo… Che Adult, sorry.” Seeing the train arrive, Two-Foot Adult floated back to him and whined pitifully, “I didn’t complete the task you gave me.”
Two-Foot Adult, a supernatural phenomenon hundreds of years old, still acting cute? Are you still a child?
Though he thought that in his mind, Shangshan Che still patted her head comfortingly: “This isn’t Two-Foot Adult’s fault. Idiots and heroes can’t be scared off.”
The train slowly stopped, and the somewhat outdated carriage doors opened to both sides.
The salaryman uncle was the first to stand up. Though drunk, his salaryman instincts drove him to immediately enter the train.
Miyamoto Ryo: “Oh! Here it comes! Everyone, get on the train!”
But unbeknownst when, Shangshan Che was already standing at the door, his hoarse voice coming from under the hood’s shadow: “Don’t board, because… this train leads to the Eternal World.”
With the final warning given, Shangshan Che took the now visible Two-Foot Adult’s hand and stepped into the train.
Miyamoto Ryo outside the train sneered, then in a pinched voice: “I’m so scared!”
“Young people nowadays are really superstitious.” The auntie grumbled a few words, then hurriedly boarded the train; if she missed the last train, she’d have to walk home.
Only the bespectacled ponytail duo remained standing in place.
Hattori Ayako hesitated and asked: “Makiya, should we… still board?”
Makiya Hitomi pushed up her glasses: “We’re already here. Don’t you want to see the legendary Kisaragi Station with your own eyes?”
“Besides, I’m also interested in that hooded person’s true appearance.”
He stepped into the train first, and Hattori Ayako, seeing so many classmates on the train with no guard against the danger, gritted her teeth and boarded too.
After a good while, amid the beeping electronic echoes, the train doors slowly closed.
As soon as Shangshan Che stepped into the train, he suddenly felt inner peace and tranquility, and the power belonging to demons was faintly suppressed—not that he couldn’t use it at all, but it was considerably weakened.
He looked toward Two-Foot Adult and sensed in his heart that she felt the same.
In other words, at least inside this train, it didn’t seem as dangerous as he thought.
“The ones in front, move!” The auntie’s irritated voice came, pulling Shangshan Che out of his brief contemplation.
Shangshan Che pulled Two-Foot Adult to a seat with a view of the whole scene, then slowly turned his gaze, using his peripheral vision to size up the passengers in the carriage.
Sitting directly across from him was a JK in a short skirt, legs crossed, scrolling her mobile phone, looking unremarkable.
But Shangshan Che recognized the model of her mobile phone; it had been discontinued over a decade ago.
But for now, there were no stars above her head.
Shangshan Che pondered and looked to the right…
Why is someone standing holding the handrail when there are empty seats?
He looked up and met the eyes of Kitano Runa, who had a face full of bewilderment.
Kitano Runa was full of question marks.
She looked around, her expression stiff.
Wait, who can tell me where this is?!
