I Became a Monk in Japan and Exorcised Demons of Other’s Housewives

Chapter 42: In the Secret Room!

“This enhancement worked quite well.”

Lu Jin muttered to himself.

If his eyes had already reached the pinnacle of the human eye, then his ears had now attained the peak of human hearing.

Within a radius of a hundred meters, there were no secrets left.

If the enhancements continued, it wouldn’t just be a simple upgrade in hearing.

He might even gain some sort of divine power, akin to the “Heavenly Eye.”

Crack!

Lu Jin pushed open the door and walked out.

He slowly closed his eyes.

In an instant, his hearing expanded to the extreme.

He could even clearly hear the beating of his own heart, as well as the flow of blood through his veins.

As his focus intensified, even the sound of the wind’s movement was caught by him with clarity.

This sensation was like a bat’s echolocation.

Gradually, within a world of darkness, a rudimentary map of the terrain began to form.

Tiny specks of fireflies lit up.

And each speck of light represented a person.

“This makes things much easier now.”

With his eyes closed, Lu Jin walked forward guided by the image in his mind.

Along the way, he moved as if with a god’s perspective, effortlessly evading several patrolling bodyguards.

Moments later, he arrived at the door of a study.

The source of the strange crying came from inside this room.

Lu Jin suddenly narrowed his eyes.

His gaze turned to a corner behind him.

“You’ve been hiding for so long, and you’re still not coming out?”

As his words fell, a familiar figure stepped out from the corridor corner.

She wore a tight-fitting martial arts uniform, a longbow strapped to her back, and her eyes were sharp like a hawk’s.

Her black hair was tied in a ponytail, and though her tall, lean frame exuded discipline, her natural assets bounced dangerously with every movement, threatening to burst free.

Just looking at her, one might worry that slender waist might snap at any moment.

“How long do you plan on following me?”

Lu Jin narrowed his eyes, his tone unfriendly.

This woman’s movement skills were unusual—she walked without a sound, like a cat.

If her breathing and heartbeat hadn’t quickened slightly in that one instant, he wouldn’t have noticed he was being tailed.

“I should be the one asking you that.”

“Why are you sneaking around this late at night?”

Yuan Boling’s voice was cold and detached, sounding like a typical aloof ice queen.

Lu Jin squinted. He wasn’t afraid of this woman.

What he truly feared… was the longbow on her back.

If they were outside, he might have to waste some effort, playing a game of cat and mouse.

But in this narrow corridor, he was confident he could crush her before she loosed a second arrow.

However, that would make quite the commotion and surely attract attention.

“Aren’t you curious where that crying sound came from earlier?”

Upon hearing this, a hint of hesitation appeared on Yuan Boling’s icy face.

She was indeed curious about that strange crying sound from before.

“You better not be lying to me.”

Listening to the approaching footsteps from downstairs, Yuan Boling hesitated, then ultimately chose to compromise.

Lu Jin smiled faintly, placing his hand on the door handle.

A surge of spiritual power flowed from his hand, easily unlocking the door that had been bolted shut from the inside.

Upon entering, they were met with a modest-sized study.

Lu Jin narrowed his eyes, looking toward the bookshelf—the faint weeping was coming from behind it.

After a moment of searching, he discovered a peculiar ornament on the shelf.

Grabbing it and giving it a gentle push—

Rumble!

The bookshelf split open to the sides.

“Huh?”

Yuan Boling was surprised by the scene.

This guy seems awfully familiar with the place.

Lu Jin stepped into the basement.

Yuan Boling hesitated, then decided to follow.

As they descended the stairs, a sealed chamber came into view.

Candles were placed all around the room, and in the center, a spell formation was carved with fresh blood.

Two figures immediately caught their eyes.

“Evil spirits?”

At the sight of them, Yuan Boling reflexively drew her longbow.

But a hand reached out and gripped her arrow before she could fire.

“These two evil spirits are sealed here. They can’t escape—what’s the rush?”

Lu Jin said calmly, his eyes falling on the two evil spirits inside.

One appeared to be a beautiful, mature woman in her thirties.

Her looks were stunning, and her figure was impressive.

But her sharp, upturned eyes gave her an aggressive and mean appearance.

She was nailed to the wall—hands, feet, forehead, chest, and abdomen all pierced by black nails.

Each nail had a yellowed talisman tucked underneath it.

These nails and talismans emitted a faint glow. Though not true magical artifacts, they still possessed spiritual properties due to a spellcaster’s blessing.

The other spirit was imprisoned within the center of the chamber’s barrier.

She looked no older than ten, with a porcelain doll-like face, wearing a red kimono.

“She doesn’t look like an evil spirit…”

Lu Jin looked toward the imprisoned spirit.

Despite the aura resembling that of an evil spirit, he sensed no malice from her.

Instead, she exuded a pleasant, comforting presence.

The evil spirit nailed to the wall cursed painfully.

But when she saw that the people entering weren’t Aoi Kai, the curses stopped.

She seemed surprised it wasn’t Aoi Kai who entered.

“It’s her!”

Lu Jin suddenly felt the prayer beads in his hand tremble slightly. He looked down in surprise.

“You know her?”

“She’s the one who ruined me.”

Tanaka Saya’s tone was full of resentment.

So this was Aoi Kai’s first wife?

Lu Jin was slightly surprised. He had suspected Aoi Kai had silenced his wife to hide the truth.

But he hadn’t expected her to become an evil spirit.

Tsk.

That’s cold-blooded.

Lu Jin gripped the beads tightly and slowly approached the spirit nailed to the wall.

“I’ll ask you a few questions. Answer me, and I’ll let you go.”

The spirit blinked, narrowing her eyes.

Though she wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, the offer was too tempting.

“What do you want to know?”

“Who are you?”

“Aoi Kumi.”

“Why did Aoi Kai imprison you here?”

“Because of her.”

Aoi Kumi glared with hatred at the red-kimonoed girl in the center of the room.

“Her?”

Lu Jin raised an eyebrow. This spirit’s aura felt weak—it didn’t match that of a malicious spirit.

“She seems to be… a Zashiki-warashi?”

Yuan Boling suddenly spoke, sounding uncertain.

Zashiki-warashi*?

[A type of childlike spirit in Japanese folklore believed to bring good fortune to the household it inhabits. If the spirit leaves, misfortune often follows.]

Lu Jin turned to the girl in surprise.

Zashiki-warashi are spirits from Japanese folklore.

They’re known to bring good fortune rather than harm.

Because of this, some selfish families would hire powerful spellcasters to trap them using wards, restricting their freedom.

They are among the rare, benevolent types of youkai.

A few years ago, the Aoi Corporation faced a major crisis—it was on the verge of collapse.

Then, suddenly, it turned around. Not only was the crisis resolved, but the company went on to flourish, eventually becoming one of Japan’s top conglomerates.

That fortune must have come from this Zashiki-warashi.

However, something still felt off.

Even though a Zashiki-warashi brings fortune, they’re still just a minor spirit.

Given the size of the Aoi Corporation, even ten of them should’ve been drained dry.

Yet the one before him looked healthy and full of life.

“Aoi Kai, that bastard, spent a fortune learning a dark sorcery from a Thai jiangtou master. Through a method of feeding ghosts with other ghosts, he was able to strengthen this entity.”

“However, this sorcery requires a close relative or loved one as a medium, in order to transfer the good fortune of the Zashiki-warashi to oneself.”

“That’s probably not all,” Lu Jin said calmly.

The black magic of ‘ghost-feeding-ghost’ does work.

But to support a large enterprise with just that amount of good fortune—forget turning Aoi Kumi into a vengeful spirit—even turning Aoi Takumi into one wouldn’t be nearly enough.

Unless people are killed continuously, using the resentment of their souls to feed it, only then could the Zashiki-warashi’s fortune be sustained.

After getting the answers he wanted, Lu Jin raised his hand and, empowered by Vajra force, directly shattered the seal on Aoi Kumi.

“Huh?”

Aoi Kumi was stunned in place.

This monk… actually let her go so easily?

Realizing what was happening, she quickly fled from the place that had imprisoned her for years.

Yuan Boling slowly raised her longbow.

Even though she felt pity for the woman, a vengeful spirit was still a vengeful spirit.

Lu Jin calmly extended his hand and pinched the arrow in mid-air.

“Relax, she can’t escape.”

Ordinary vengeful spirits can typically only move within a fixed range.

Besides, she was made this way by Aoi Kai. The first thing she would do upon leaving is undoubtedly to take revenge on him.

And that was exactly what he wanted to see.

In the moment Yuan Boling was stunned, Aoi Kumi’s figure had already vanished.

She could only helplessly lower the longbow in her hand.

Lu Jin slowly walked to the edge of the barrier, looking at the girl trapped in its center.

He placed his palms together in prayer, and a wisp of divine power merged into the prayer beads.

Whoosh!

The beads emitted golden Buddhist light. Behind Lu Jin appeared an angry-faced Vajra phantom holding a demon-subduing pestle.

Its face was ferocious, posed in a demon-subduing stance.

“Break!”

Lu Jin extended two fingers and pointed toward the barrier’s edge.

The wrathful Vajra phantom raised the pestle and smashed it downward.

Boom!

As the Buddhist light collided with the barrier, it shattered like fragile window paper under the power of Vajra.

“You’re free now.”

Lu Jin turned and walked away.

“That’s a Zashiki-warashi—aren’t you tempted?”

Yuan Boling looked at Lu Jin with surprise as he simply turned and left.

This was the legendary spirit of fortune.

Ordinary people may never encounter one in their entire lives.

As long as you captured her, your whole family’s future would be smooth sailing.

This kind of temptation, who could resist?

“When you say that, can you take your hand off your bow?”

Lu Jin gave her a glance.

This woman clearly didn’t want him to imprison the Zashiki-warashi, yet still felt the need to question him.

However, he truly wasn’t interested in the Zashiki-warashi.

Fortune gained through shortcuts never truly belongs to you.

Besides, once his reputation spreads, why would he worry about money?

In the circles of the upper class, even a single ritual earns hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

“Hmph, at least you’re a decent guy.”

Yuan Boling snorted softly and slowly lowered her hand from the bow.

Just as Lu Jin was about to step out of the chamber, he suddenly felt a chilling, terrifying presence behind him.

“Watch out!”

In a split second, an arrow infused with strong spiritual power came flying toward Lu Jin.

As he turned, he saw something that sent shivers down his spine—A black, deformed demonic infant covered in glowing runes.

About 40 centimeters tall, its pitch-black skin had a bronze-like sheen, resembling some kind of metal.

Thunk!

The spirit-breaking arrow pierced the demon baby, but only halfway in before it stopped—it couldn’t go any further.

“You abomination—seeking death!”

Lu Jin’s gaze turned icy, and his robe erupted with waves of Buddhist light.

Wherever the light shone, the demon baby moved like it was trapped in quicksand, unable to get within three feet of Lu Jin.

No matter how hard it struggled, it could only inch forward slowly.

Lu Jin, holding his prayer beads, punched the demon baby squarely in the head.

Under the Buddhist light, it let out a wretched screech, its hateful eyes turning to fear.

Just as the demon baby turned to flee, Lu Jin slowly opened his narrowed eyes.

Golden light swirled in their depths.

Fourteen golden prayer beads shot out, orbiting around the demon baby.

Like Mount Sumeru descending, the terrifying pressure blanketed the chamber.

As the prayer beads contracted, the demon baby was trapped and flew back into Lu Jin’s hand.

Looking at the sealed demon baby, Lu Jin’s eyes showed a trace of doubt.

What the hell was this thing?

“That looks like a ghost infant,” Yuan Boling’s voice came from behind.

“You know what this is?”

Lu Jin asked in surprise.

This woman seemed to know everything.

“That’s a kind of malicious spirit refined by Thai jiangtou sorcerers.”

Yuan Boling’s expression darkened as she looked at the ghost infant.

To cultivate such a thing requires at least twenty years.

And over that period, they must kill 1,111 people, gathering all that resentment and cursed power, before a fully-grown ghost infant can be formed.

She couldn’t imagine what kind of twisted person would create something so heinous.

“Hmm…”

Lu Jin narrowed his eyes in thought.

This ghost infant appearing here couldn’t be coincidence.

Someone must have planted it here on purpose.

“This kind of wicked thing is best destroyed.”

Lu Jin looked at the struggling ghost infant, still sealed in the Vajra prayer beads.

With a thought, the ferocious Vajra force ground the ghost infant into nothingness.

At the same time, in an apartment somewhere in Tokyo—a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged on the bed suddenly paled, vomiting blood.

His face showed a mix of terror and fury.

“The ghost infant… something’s happened!”

…

When Lu Jin and Yuan Boling left the chamber, they found the villa eerily quiet—not even the patrolling bodyguards were in sight.

Sounds of chaos drifted in from outside the gate.

In the courtyard, Aoi Kai—possessed by a vengeful spirit—looked like a man gone mad.

With lifeless eyes, he held a hammer and nails, driving them into his own body one by one.

The nearby bodyguards were horrified by the bloody scene, frozen in fear.

Lu Jin took one look and immediately knew: he was possessed.

With a flick of his wrist, he released Tanaka Saya from the prayer beads.

“Everyone’s here. Time for you to take your revenge.”

Covered in resentment, Tanaka Saya slowly approached Aoi Kai.

“This is their grudge. Best let them settle it themselves.”

Lu Jin gave Yuan Boling a glance.

That casual look carried immense pressure.

Her instincts told her that if she tried to interfere, it wouldn’t end well.

Ignoring her, Lu Jin turned his attention to the three people walking out of the villa.

A monk, a Shinto priest, and an onmyōji.

His eyes narrowed slightly, golden light flickering in their depths.

He slowly joined his palms, holding a string of Vajra prayer beads.

At the same time, his spotless kasaya shone with Buddhist light.

His solemn, commanding aura resembled that of a Buddha.

“Honored guests, this path is closed.”