Silence.
Inside the brightly lit little shop, only the tick-tock of the clock's hands could be heard.
The old man's expression was hidden behind his sunglasses, while Yukikawa Yukie's eyes were wide, unable to process what had just happened.
And Mo Bai, the very instigator of this "purify evil spirits with gourmet food" event, felt the smile that had just appeared on his face freeze solid.
WTF?!
Didn't Xiao Bai say that exorcising spirits with this recipe would be a piece of cake?
I'm so proficient at it now, so why did the evil spirit still take a bite and spit it right back out?!
Thinking back on his several previous exorcisms, Mo Bai started to panic. Who the hell knew if there was some kind of Evil Spirit Moral Protection Agency in this world.
"Senior, did it fail?" Yukikawa Yukie asked cautiously, glancing from the Lost Demon, which was still alive and well after spitting out the noodles, to Mo Bai's rigid back.
Mo Bai, his back to Yukikawa Yukie, had nothing to f@cking say.
"No, quite the opposite," the old man spoke up just as Mo Bai was unable to respond. "The foul energy on its body is dissipating."
Yukikawa Yukie looked at the Lost Demon again, and indeed, it had lost its previous vigor and now appeared somewhat sickly.
But...
Wasn't this condition just the aftereffect of vomiting?
The old man's words were a shot of adrenaline for Mo Bai. He felt that his image as a lofty expert could still be salvaged.
"Tha-that's right!"
"My cooking did indeed have an effect. It's just that this beast's resentment runs deep, so it didn't work immediately."
"Stay right here and don't move. Wait while I reform this beast with my gourmet food."
Grabbing the Lost Demon by the hair, Mo Bai carried the bowl of noodles and walked toward the shop's exit.
...
"That's for dirtying my damn floor!"
"That's for almost making me lose face!"
"Is that big mouth of yours just for show?"
"Eat! Eat it all up!"
From outside the half-closed shop door, the rather discordant sounds of objects colliding could be heard.
"Oh... my... god, this senior is terrifying."
Beating up an evil spirit with his bare hands!
How could Yukikawa Yukie, who knew that not even the high priestess of a shrine could do such a thing, possibly maintain her previous cool and aloof, ice-queen persona?
She could only try her best to distract herself.
"From his behavior, this senior seems a bit petty. It's best to be cautious," Yukikawa Yukie thought to herself.
"Hello, grandpa. May I ask your esteemed surname?" Yukikawa Yukie initiated awkward-chat mode.
"This old man is Ashiya Dōman."
Yukikawa Yukie's stiff, friendly, fake smile vanished.
"What Dōman?"
"Ashiya Dōman."
"Ashiya what?"
"Ashiya Dōman."
"Ashi-what Dōman?"
"..." Ashiya Dōman turned to stare at Yukikawa Yukie for a moment before going back to battling his ramen. "If your memory is poor, young lady, you may also call this old one Dōma Hōshi."
As the old man's gaze fell upon her, Yukikawa Yukie felt her mind go completely blank, unable to think or react.
It was a pressure originating from a difference in their very planes of existence.
The gap in power between her and the old man was as wide as heaven and earth.
He was the real deal, nine times out of ten!
"A-a-a-a-an absolute master?!?"
After Ashiya Dōman turned away, Yukikawa Yukie—realizing just how provocative her actions had been—bit her knuckles to stifle a scream, her horrified expression more abstract than the world-famous painting "The Scream."
Sorry, my apologies, goodbye!
With no time to worry about etiquette or anything else, Yukikawa Yukie, feeling like a complete newbie, scrambled back to her original seat.
What truly terrified her were the things she had confirmed during their conversation.
The old man was not human.
An Aramitama—a terrifying, taboo existence on the level of a Magatsu-no-Kami on the malevolent spirits' side. Legend said that wherever an Aramitama passed, calamity would befall and turn the land into a hellscape.
Weak, helpless, and afraid.
In the little shop, which seemed to grow quieter in contrast to the noise outside, she could only feel a sliver of security by pressing herself tightly against the wall.
Having completed the exorcism (physical), Mo Bai re-entered the little shop, where the atmosphere had turned somewhat strange.
"Senior!!!" Yukikawa Yukie, who had already started writing her last will and testament via text message, cried tears of joy.
"Mm," Mo Bai nodded, a little confused, his expression solemn.
"The evil spirit has ascended."
"It passed away peacefully. After taking more than twenty of my iron fists, it finally swallowed even the bowl."
Yukikawa Yukie's thin lips formed an "O," and she stared at Mo Bai, who seemed to have a halo above his head, as if she had just seen a ghost.
"Granting the evil spirit a dignified end."
"Namu san, what a display of..."
"The check," Ashiya Dōman interrupted, unable to listen anymore.
"Your bowl is one hundred thousand yen."
Mo Bai accepted the ten friendly faces of Fukuzawa Yukichi, his mood becoming increasingly cheerful.
"Safe travels."
"There is one thing I must tell you, shopkeeper." Ashiya Dōman rose, leaning on his cane.
"Go ahead," Mo Bai said, washing his hands without looking up.
"This old man may be unable to patronize your shop for some time."
Mo Bai's movements froze.
"It seems a promising seedling from the main Tsuchimikado family has arrived at the Onmyo-juku. This old one's hands are getting a rare itch to test my skills."
"Gyehehehe..."
It was unclear whether Ashiya Dōman's concluding laughter was aimed at Mo Bai or the promising seedling he had mentioned.
"Then one can only hope that promising seedling isn't too much of a scrub."
Mo Bai's expression remained calm, but inwardly, his heart was bleeding.
It's easy to find a rich whale these days, but it's hard to find one willing to eat pig slop!
As for the promising seedling Ashiya Dōman mentioned, he didn't have the spare energy to worry about some completely unrelated person.
The law of the world has always been the survival of the fittest. If Mo Bai didn't have some skills of his own, would a man like Ashiya Dōman, with his extraordinary obsession with Onmyojutsu, be sitting here quietly eating noodles in this randomly-fucking-teleporting shop?
Mo Bai was fine, but Yukikawa Yukie was not so lucky.
Walking past her table, Ashiya Dōman paused his steps slightly and glanced sideways. The moment their eyes met, Yukikawa Yukie felt as if she had plunged into an abyss.
Beneath a black and red sun, a silent black snake coiled around her neck. Terrified, she could clearly see her own pale, numb reflection in its black and crimson eyes.
And from the tops of her feet touching the frigid ground, solid ice began to creep upward.
A chill pierced straight to her heart.
A mere verbal prohibition could actually be lethal!
Yukikawa Yukie struggled helplessly. In this pitch-black environment, she couldn't even sense the spiritual power within her body.
"Hey, little lady, that old man is gone." Suddenly, a voice by her ear shattered the dim space.
As if waking from a dream, Yukikawa Yukie stared at the bright surroundings of the shop, feeling as though a lifetime had passed.
Having stepped out of the little shop, Ashiya Dōman faced the stone wall of the alley, his eyes closed, silent for a long time.
"Looks like that old man really scared you good." Mo Bai handed her a dry towel. Yukikawa Yukie was slumped limply in her chair, her white shirt already soaked with cold sweat, revealing the faint outline of her feminine undergarments.
"Whoa~ And it's even lace. Hmm, should I say that the ice-queen type and a secret perv are a matching set of attributes?" Mo Bai was feasting his eyes.
"Thank you, Senior." Yukikawa Yukie, her teeth chattering, was in no state to pay Mo Bai any mind.
Taking advantage of someone and being thanked for it—this was a first for Mo Bai.
No matter how thick-skinned he was, there was no reason to keep watching, y'know!
Mo Bai's old face flushed red as a rare pang of conscience struck him.
"How about this."
"I'll cook some noodles for you. How about we consider it an apology on that old man's behalf?"
He also happened to need a test subject to see what effect the Soul Repose Noodles truly had.
"Mm." Having just walked the line between life and death, her thoughts a tangled mess, Yukikawa Yukie was too absentminded to even wipe away her sweat, let alone pay attention to what Mo Bai had said.
It wasn't until the sound of chopping vegetables reached her ears that Yukikawa Yukie realized what she had just agreed to.
"Senior, may I ask what kind of ramen it is?" Feeling abashed, Yukikawa Yukie didn't dare to meet Mo Bai's gaze.
"There's only one kind of ramen tonight."
"Soul Repose Noodles!" Mo Bai flashed a standard eight-toothed smile that seemed to sparkle.
Yukikawa Yukie's soul instantly tried to flee her body.
That was the same ramen that made the Lost Demon vomit and then ascend (physically).
Am I fated to not escape this ordeal tonight?!
________________________________________
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