The ocean was boundless, its deep blue connecting with the sky in the distance, inspiring immense awe.
Any living creature appeared incredibly small beneath such a vast spectacle.
On the boundless sea, a ship cut through the waves.
The originally blue sea had, at some unknown point, turned murky black, unnoticed by the others.
Only Jiang Yuan watched the darkness beneath the surface, silently sipping his drink.
The ship continued its voyage, soon entering Japanese waters. The vessel had already been registered before its arrival, allowing them to smoothly set foot on Japanese soil.
As soon as they disembarked, Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan became restless.
Japan was a place they had long dreamed of visiting, and now that they were finally here, how could they not experience its local customs and culture?
The two immediately put their arms around each other's shoulders, whispering and plotting something.
"Who among you can speak Japanese?" Ai Jiangtu asked.
"I can!" Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan exclaimed in unison.
"Are you sure you can speak Japanese? Or do you just know a phrase or two?" Jiang Shaoxu rolled her eyes and said.
The two laughed awkwardly; they really only knew a few phrases.
Among the group, only Jiang Yuan and Jiang Shaoxu truly understood Japanese.
Just then, a Japanese patrol officer, there to check documents, walked over.
Everyone immediately tensed up. They had no documents and, strictly speaking, were illegal immigrants, unable to withstand a search.
"Wait for me, I'll handle it."
Jiang Yuan said, taking the initiative to approach the patrol officer.
In just a few minutes, the conversation was over.
"How was it? Did he ask to check our documents?" Ai Jiangtu asked worriedly.
Jiang Yuan shook his head: "It's fine. He just came over to ask what we were doing here. I told him we were exchange students, and he left."
In reality, he had used mind magic to easily resolve the situation; otherwise, how could a patrol officer have let them go so easily?
Hearing Jiang Yuan's explanation, Mo Fan raised an eyebrow: "Is the Japanese border control really that lax? Then I'll have to visit often in the future—"
Mid-sentence, Mu Ningxue's gaze fell upon him.
Mo Fan immediately shut his mouth.
With the entry issue resolved, the next step was to proceed to Tokyo for assembly as arranged by their instructors.
"There's not enough time. Let's find a place to rest for the night first," Jiang Yuan said.
Having been on the ship for a while, everyone was eager to find a place to rest properly now that they were finally on solid ground.
However, a problem presented itself to the group.
It was still the issue of documents; they couldn't book a hotel.
As the group walked down the street, Mo Fan made a long face: "Damn it, are we going to sleep on the street?"
Jiang Yuan looked towards a small hill not far away. At its base was a stone archway gate, and marble steps extended all the way up to a temple nestled in the mountains.
That was Yan Ming Temple, where the Baxia's companion vessel was kept. If they didn't want to sleep on the street, they could only go to this temple.
There was danger, but it was not a danger in front of Jiang Yuan.
"Let's go there. Temples shouldn't require us to show identification," Jiang Yuan said, pointing at Yan Ming Temple.
Upon hearing that he wouldn't have to sleep on the street, Mo Fan took the lead, huffing and puffing as he ran up the hill.
The others followed closely behind.
Upon reaching the temple, after paying a small donation, the monks warmly welcomed them and let them stay.
While the others rested, Jiang Yuan walked alone through the temple. Nine Nether Queen arrived beside him through the Nether Abyss, saying she wanted to explore Japan, so he let her go.
Jiang Yuan himself slowly walked towards the back mountain.
Usually, temples have monks specifically responsible for cleaning the back mountain, but the back mountain of this temple was exceptionally messy and dilapidated.
Weeds and dead branches were everywhere.
"Benefactor, what are you doing here?" As soon as Jiang Yuan approached the back mountain, a voice rang out.
From somewhere, a young monk emerged. He had a refined appearance, giving off the impression of a young scholar.
"I'm just walking around, exploring," Jiang Yuan said with a smile.
The young monk put his palms together and said: "The back mountain has not been tended to for a long time, and many fierce beasts and venomous snakes live here. For your safety, Benefactor, please return."
"Oh, alright, I understand," Jiang Yuan replied casually.
The young monk said no more and left the area.
Jiang Yuan sneered and continued deeper into the back mountain.
After only a few steps, a fresh grassy scent wafted through the air.
Suddenly, a young girl's figure appeared on the path covered in weeds. She had a high ponytail, wore a simple long dress, and had a very sweet face.
As soon as the girl appeared, she immediately walked over with a smile.
"Hello, are you here to play?"
Her voice was very pleasant, making people feel an irresistible sense of closeness.
But Jiang Yuan felt nothing, even finding it a bit speechless.
For a young girl to appear in such a desolate place in the back mountain, and to be so beautiful at that.
Even thinking with his butt, he knew something was off.
Seeing Jiang Yuan remain silent, the girl curiously approached him, looking at him with her big eyes, and continued to ask: "Why aren't you speaking? My name is Miyata, what's yours?"
"What's my name?" Jiang Yuan curved the corner of his mouth: "My name is Songxia Shacha."
"Songxia Shacha?" Miyata repeated awkwardly, then smiled: "What a strange surname, I've never heard of it. Are you a foreigner?"
Jiang Yuan nodded.
Miyata's smile widened: "Then let me show you around. I'm very familiar with this place."
"Alright, let's go."
Jiang Yuan knew that the Miyata in front of him was already dead, merely a driven evil spirit.
The driver was the seemingly harmless young monk from earlier, and his name was Nara Harakara. He was also dead, having similarly become an evil spirit, residing within the Baxia's companion vessel.
The reason for their Death was simple: a monk from the temple was discovered having a private meeting with a woman, and they then falsely accused Miyata and Nara Harakara, when in fact, there was nothing between them.
No matter how she explained, the monks of Yan Ming Temple did not believe Miyata, and in the end, to prove her innocence, she jumped into the sea and committed suicide.
And Nara Harakara also died eventually.
However, he discovered the Baxia's companion vessel and used the power of curses to transform both his and Miyata's souls into evil spirits, hiding them within the vessel.
In this matter, only Miyata was truly pitiable.
After her Death, she was still driven by Nara Harakara, who sustained his ridiculous evil spirit power by capturing and absorbing souls.
The method of harming people was, first and foremost, to learn their name.
Therefore, Jiang Yuan was now being targeted.
"Let's go there, it's the old site of the temple," Miyata said, pointing to the dark area in the distance, covered by trees and bushes.
Beneath the dense tree canopy, an ancient brick and tile building was faintly visible, usually very difficult for anyone to see.
Miyata walked ahead, then turned around, smiling as she looked at Jiang Yuan, just about to say something.
Jiang Yuan suddenly spoke: "Do you want to get rid of him?"
His voice seemed to carry a power, and Miyata's eyes wavered for a moment.
She asked in confusion: "Get rid of who?"
"Nara Harakara," Jiang Yuan said lightly.
The moment his words fell, Miyata seemed to freeze, and the surrounding wind became still.