This temple clearly doesn't have a "speak no evil" rule.
A few little monks were chatting away, and the conversation quickly drifted to a local legend—the one about the Fog Tengu.
Actually, it wasn't entirely "unintentional."
Shanni Temple is tucked away in such a remote area that almost no tourists come by. So whenever someone did visit, the old abbot would always steer the conversation toward the "Fog Tengu." It was their temple's biggest selling point.
There's been a Fog Tengu legend floating around this region for a long time. But what really brought it into the spotlight was a murder case two years ago.
—Two years ago, a monk named Zhongnian was found dead under suspicious circumstances, and some folks claimed he'd been killed by the Fog Tengu. Once that story hit the papers, temple tourism exploded. They raked in some serious cash for a while.
But now that the buzz has died down, the crowds have thinned. Still, a few curious visitors trickle in—some because of old articles, others thanks to word of mouth from people who once stayed at the temple.
The old abbot, however, has a guilty conscience when it comes to the so-called "Fog Tengu murder." Because the truth is… Zhongnian wasn't killed by the Fog Tengu.
He was killed by the old abbot himself.
But you can't eat guilt for breakfast, so the abbot didn't hesitate to cash in on the myth instead.
Now, in his best spooky voice, the old abbot was telling two new guests:
"Fog Tengu are ancient monsters who can fly. On rainy nights, they sneak into villages under cover of fog, pass through walls, kidnap the pure-hearted, and then hang their bodies in high places... to feast on them."
He leaned in, ready to dramatically startle the guests with a sudden twist.
But then, a chill passed over him. He had a bad feeling—like if he did try to scare them, he'd immediately get slapped into a bowl of vegetable soup.
…Plus, scaring two grown men wasn't exactly satisfying.
So the abbot hesitated, stroked his beard, and skipped the jump-scare, going straight to the conclusion:
"But don't worry, it's just an old legend. From back when technology wasn't very advanced."
"…But it might not be just a legend," muttered one of the younger monks nervously. "Didn't something similar happen two years ago… Senior Brother Zhongnian…"
"Mu Nian!" Another monk frowned and cut him off. "Don't go telling guests that kind of thing."
"It's fine, go ahead," said Jiang Xia, eyes lighting up. He hadn't even touched his food—he was that intrigued. "We're detectives. Weird cases are our specialty."
"!" "!" "!" "!" "?!"
Five heads turned sharply toward Jiang Xia, metaphorical exclamation marks popping above each one. But their meanings? Totally different.
The four monks stared at him, and the youngest hesitated before saying,
"Actually, I've been meaning to say—you look kind of familiar. Are you that guy who got famous recently… Jiang Xia? Is that your name?"
"Oh, I know him!" piped up the third monk. "I went to the city last week. While I was waiting in line, the girl behind me was talking about him."
"If he's really a famous detective, maybe he can solve the mystery. That case from two years ago—"
"Shut up!"
The old abbot slammed the table, cutting him off mid-sentence.
His expression turned thunderous as he glared at his apprentices.
"I told you not to talk about that! When mealtime's over, all of you go back to your quarters. No exceptions!"
Then he turned stiffly to Jiang Xia and Amuro Toru. His tone had lost all its earlier warmth:
"This is a private matter for the temple. I advise you not to pry."
With that, the old abbot stormed off, his face practically screaming "I have something to hide."
…
The old monk might have been a jerk, but at least his disciples had decent hospitality skills.
After clearing the dining area, they led Jiang Xia and Amuro to their guest rooms, laid out fresh bedding, and even somehow conjured up disposable toothbrushes and razors out of nowhere.
Jiang Xia got ready quickly, pretended to sleep, and prepared to go ghost hunting.
Amuro seemed curious about the events of "two years ago," but didn't ask too many questions. Detectives in this universe have a weird unspoken rule: if someone looks shady enough, don't question it. Maybe it's some kind of instinctual professionalism. Gotta protect the job security of detectives and all that.
Jiang Xia, on the other hand, wasn't curious at all.
He already knew the truth—he was the "prophet" type, after all.
Two years ago, Zhongnian was found "hanged" in what was officially ruled a suicide.
But actually, he was murdered by the old abbot.
See, the old abbot wanted his granddaughter to marry into a wealthy monastery. Unfortunately, she fell in love with Zhongnian and even planned to run away with him.
The abbot tried reasoning with her, but she wouldn't budge. Eventually, he decided that if the guy wasn't around anymore, there'd be no elopement.
So, he got creative.
At Shanni Temple, there's a narrow confinement chamber about 10 meters tall. There's a small window near the top, next to a waterfall. The whole room is built super solid—no water leaks.
Two years ago, the abbot killed Zhongnian, sealed the lower doors and windows with tape, then used boards to divert water into the chamber. He let the corpse float upward, then hanged it from the ceiling beam at the top. Once it was suspended, he smashed open the lower wall and let the water drain out.
That way, there were no signs of anyone climbing to the top beam, and it looked like the corpse had been carried up by the Fog Tengu.
Of course, the police couldn't exactly write "killed by a mythical flying dog" in their report, so they ruled it suicide.
Jiang Xia didn't really care about the details of the case.
He just thought the old abbot was trying way too hard. Given the average police competence in this universe, the guy could've just hanged him directly and still gotten off with a suicide ruling.
But Jiang Xia had other things on his mind. Right now, all he cared about was that new ghost baby…
The rooms were spacious, with tatami floors.
Jiang Xia dragged his bedding toward the door and lay down.
When the little monks finally dozed off and Amuro stopped making noise, Jiang Xia sent his shikigami drifting out into the hallway through the crack of the door, preparing to assemble a puppet.
But before the puppet was ready, Jiang Xia sensed something approaching from outside.
He paused and shifted his view to Miyano Akemi, using her to peek through the door.
There, he saw the new ghost fetus rushing down the hall, looking very flustered, like it was searching for help.
Jiang Xia's eyes lit up.
He slipped out under the excuse of going to the bathroom and met up with the ghost.
It was clearly still spooked, but it didn't avoid Jiang Xia the way it had before. You could tell it needed something.
When he got a closer look, Jiang Xia noticed a weird bulge on the ghost's back—shaped suspiciously like wings.
He led the ghost into the empty bathroom and politely stood still for two seconds… but couldn't help himself. Under the ghost's nervous gaze, he reached out and pinched the tip of its wing.
He tugged lightly. The ghost freaked out and flapped in a panic.
Jiang Xia let go, and the ghost fetus sulked behind the soap dispenser, folding its wings away and patting down its ruffled feathers.
Jiang Xia watched, fascinated.
Ghosts in this world often had a chibi Q-version appearance. But surely the monk hadn't died with wings on his back. If he had, the Fog Tengu murder would've made international headlines.
Apparently, the rules of this universe weren't exactly the same as Jiang Xia's original world.
He could only guess that the wings were some kind of mutation—maybe a side effect of the local legend. Since so many people believed in the Fog Tengu, the monk's ghost might have been shaped by that belief.
No idea if the wings were just for show or if they could actually fly...
Curious, Jiang Xia poked the ghost again. The monk ghost flinched away.
But it soon remembered it still needed help from this psychic, so it stiffened and stood still, letting Jiang Xia poke away.
The ghost was so docile, Jiang Xia couldn't even test it properly.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 13/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS*
Glossary
Q version: A chibi or super-deformed version of a character, with exaggerated cute features.
Fog Tengu: A kind of Japanese monster.