The

 shrine maiden, or m

iko, 

said

 something in Japanese. Of course, we didn’t understand. She spoke again

. T

his time, she 

spoke in rough Chinese

. “What are you doing here? Why did you 

trespass here?

” 

“Oh, you can speak Chinese?” I was amazed. 

“I

’ve

 read ancient Chinese books

, so

 I

’ve

 learned 

the

 grammar

 a bit

.” 

Although this 

m

iko could speak Chinese, her grammar 

was indeed

 weird.

She 

raised

 her broomstick again

 and 

boldly said

,

 “Answer me!” 

“We are after a little fox spirit. She stole our passports. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him.” I pointed at Chuyi. 

The 

mi

ko skeptically assessed us. “You

’re a

fter a little fox? You

’re 

l

ying

!” 

“Then why 

would we

invade

 this place at midnight like this? Is there something good to steal in this shrine?” 

She rolled her eyes at me. “We don’t have any foxes here!” 

I wanted to laugh when I heard her talk

, but

 I refrained

 as it wasn’t

 polite. 

Chinese was

 really hard to study. It 

was good enough

 that we could communicate. 

“This is Inari Shrine, where fox immortals are worshipped, right?” 

The 

m

iko sneered

.

 “Then, is there always a Bodhisattva in Bodhisattva temples in China?” 

Chuyi explained, “I’m a Daoist priest from Mitu Temple in Hong Kong. That little fox tried to guide us here. She should have 

a

 purpose. Can you take us for a tour inside? We will 

not

cause any trouble

.” 

The m

iko frowned

 and asked,

 “How about you?” 

“I’m a

merchant

 of otherworldly items

. I 

don’t think

 you

’ve

 heard 

of

 this profession.” 

The 

m

iko didn’t understand what otherworldly 

items

were

, but she knew the word merchant. “Why

 is

 a merchant 

traveling

 with a Daoist priest?” 

“In short

, w

e are co

-workers

. It’s similar to the Onmyoji in Japan.”

She didn’t quite understand,

but she put her broomstick aside. “All right, I can take you in. But if we don’t find your passports, I’ll call the police to arrest you.” 

“Okay!” I nodded. 

The 

m

iko guided

 us. We walked 

along the mountain path

, and a

lthough she was wearing a hakama 

with a long

, loose sleeved kimono robe, I 

noticed that

she had a

 good physique. She

 had a good body and 

curves. Of course, I wasn’t a pervert that had bad thoughts toward a shrine maiden.  

The mountain path was long and steep

. There were 

many red torii 

and lanterns that hung on them

. However, the light from the lanterns 

wasn't

 bright enough. 

W

e were lucky that 

there was 

a full moon tonight. 

The woods alongside the mountain path were pitch-black. 

We occasionally

 heard squeaking sounds from the night birds. There were many stone foxes of various sizes

, with the 

biggest around half the size of an adult. They had a 

humanoid shape and wore 

ancient clothes. The

y brought their

 palms together

 and squinted their 

eyes as if they were smiling. It would be eerie to walk here alone at night. 

After walking for a while, the space in front of us expanded and became bright. A red 

wooden gate

 that read 

‘I

nari Shrine

’

 stood on two cement supports

, and two foxes sat on top of it. They held

 a bunch of rice ears in 

their

 mouths.

The 

m

iko 

led

 us through the great gate. The yard inside was spacious with pretty and clean tiles. 

There were

 big

 and lush 

trees 

that were neatly aligned 

with the rock

s

 and springs

, as well as

 some red Tang Dynasty styled structures. They looked new, but I knew they 

were

 built quite a long time ago. 

I suddenly 

felt like I had traveled back

 to the Tang Dynasty. It was a nice place to shoot 

an

 ancient drama. I heard that Shu Qi shot some of her 

a

ssassin movie scenes in Kyoto. 

I noticed the 

geomancy

 of this place. Everything was arranged meticulously. 

An 

expert 

must have

 helped make this place. 

After all

, this place was 

a

top tier

 shrine in Japan. 

The 

mi

ko halted

 and turned 

to face us. “Where are your passports? I will take you there to get them. You can’t roam around this place.” 

I thought the 

m

iko wanted to trouble us. If she didn’t let us search, how 

would

 we know where our passports were? 

Chuyi said, “I

 can sense 

the monster aura. It should be there.” He raised his fingers

 and pointed in

 the 

direction of the m

ain hall. 

The 

m

iko looked skeptical. “Are you sure?”

Chuyi nodded.

“All right, I’

ll

take

 you there,” said the 

m

iko. 

We needed to take off 

our

 shoes 

before entering 

the main hall. There was a statue with a red coat enshrined in the main hall. Although the statue had a human form, its face had the features of a fox. “Miss, is that Tamamo no Mae?” 

“No, many Chinese tourists have asked me that question. I 

didn't

 know how to cry.” 

“I 

think

 you 

meant ‘I

didn’t 

know whether to

 laugh or

 cry

,’

” I corrected her. 

Indeed, our passports 

were

 on the altar. I picked them up and checked them. There were five passports

, and something

 was 

placed

 underneath the

m. It was

 a 

Ksitigarbha

 Talisman! 

This 

Ksitigarbha

 Talisman was 

stuck onto a

 piece of wood. The 

m

iko gasped

, looking at the talisman in my hand with wide eyes. 

Chuyi and I exchanged looks. 

This talisman was the one I had given to the oden chef. The fox spirit couldn’t 

have touched

 it since she was a monster. That

 was 

why she had pried up the wooden piece to get the talisman. The little fox had tried her best to usher us here. I 

realized

 there was more 

to this

 story

.

The 

m

iko asked, “Does this talisman belong to you too?” 

The 

mi

ko had been vigilant the entire

 time 

she had accompanied us

 and didn’t look that friendly.

 I 

only wanted

 to return to the hotel to rest. However, I gave her a nod. “Yeah, I drew this talisman.” 

“You can draw this kind of 

talisman

?” She looked stunned. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked. 

She brought her palms together

 and asked in an honest voice

, “Could you please give me a few?” 

She then explained shyly

,

 “These days, 

strange things have been happening 

in the shrine. We often hear strange noises at night

, just as if s

omeone 

was

 throwing bricks at the walls. Some people here have even seen a headless samurai walking on the mountain trail.

 Several

m

ikos were 

terrified

. Last month, we saw a burning head 

fly

 around the yard, too.

” 

M

ikos 

were

 just shrine maidens and they 

couldn’t

 subdue ghosts or monsters. Some 

m

iko did have sacred powers. However, it came with their bloodline. This kind of inheritance had been long lost in the history of Onmyojis. 

The 

m

iko said embarrassedly, “My grandmother was a famous 

mi

ko in Kyoto in her time. But 

in

 my generation, we don’t have a bit of magic power

...

” 

“Excuse me, how should I address you?” I asked. 

“My name is Chiba Rin.”

Chuyi and I also told her our names. 

“Miss Chiba, how do you know about this talisman?” 

“Because we also have this 

Ksitigarbha

 Talisman!” The 

m

iko said with bright eyes. 

I was surprised. The 

mi

ko knew of the power of the talisman and she

 knew its 

name. This girl did have 

some

 knowledge. 

“Please follow me. I want to show you something.” The 

m

iko 

made

 an inviting gesture.

My mind shoo

k. 

Another business case 

has come

 to my door!