"After that, did we ever get in touch? This... no. It's quite strange, actually. I thought Miss Saya and the other sisters would've informed the boss in advance, but suddenly, one day, they just stopped coming to work and called to inform the boss. The boss was furious at that time, extremely angry. Later, I also tried calling the other sisters to find out what happened, but none of their phones were reachable... Mr. Duanmu, you're not here to investigate this, are you? Could this be some kind of incident!?"

Luckily, Reina is a detective enthusiast, so she answered all of Duanmu Huai's questions, appearing very cooperative, even quite eager—of course, eager as she was, she didn't hold back on ordering drinks.

At least tonight's sales were secure.

Unfortunately, Reina didn't know where that store was exactly, she only said it was in Gion. She wasn't very clear about the specific location, as Reina mentioned, those kinds of places are membership-only, and unless you're staff or a guest, you're not allowed in.

The flyer also didn't have an address, so is this clue just broken?

Duanmu Huai had tried using retrospection on the flyer, but it seemed the flyer had been kept sealed until it was used, so he couldn't see anything around it. What he saw in the flyer was generally the same as what Reina described, and he couldn't see anything prior to that. But there was no way around it, the flyer was always tucked in the middle, providing no visibility at all.

However, Duanmu Huai didn't come away empty-handed. He got a photo of Saya from Reina, and then sent the photo to Yuko Shionji to investigate—as Reina described, the day after the gathering, they had agreed to check out that place together. However, Reina had already changed her mind, so she found an excuse not to go.

After that, Reina didn't see Saya or the other sisters...

Once Duanmu Huai was sure he couldn't gather more information from Reina, he bid farewell and left. Yuko Shionji was quick too; just as Duanmu Huai left the club and hadn't returned to his hotel, Yuko Shionji sent him a piece of surveillance footage.

In the footage, you could see someone resembling Saya, a stylishly dressed woman, chatting and laughing with several others as they left the station and headed to Gion.

Then they walked into the inner area of Gion, and... they climbed the steps and entered a temple?

"???

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai was full of questions. At this moment, Yuko Shionji also sent a message.

"After they entered the temple, they never came out, at least not in the areas covered by surveillance. I reviewed the footage from the following days, but found nothing."

"Oh, boy, this is something else."

Duanmu Huai watched the surveillance footage, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Running a club inside a temple? Such a novel idea?

You can't deny, this really seems quite stimulating. Duanmu Huai remembered a game scene involving actions in a church in front of a divine statue and a nun, the imagery filled with taboo and excitement was still quite interesting. If you replace that scene with being surrounded by the Eighteen Arhats in a Buddhist hall...

"......"

No, suddenly I'm not interested anymore, I even feel like chanting scriptures.

After all, a temple full of monks can't be compared to a church full of nuns.

"What do we do next?"

"I'll go see what's going on with that temple."

Given how things had developed, Duanmu Huai didn't need to guess to know something was definitely up with that temple, although a cult hiding in a temple was problematic in itself.

"Good luck, that temple doesn't have cameras, so there's not much I can do."

Yuko Shionji directly hung up, while Duanmu Huai gathered his spirits, and then followed the path in the video, heading deep into Gion.

At this time, it was already late at night, the busiest time in Gion. The streets were bustling with people, and the street lamps dispelled the darkness, lighting up the entire area. Duanmu Huai walked through it, surprisingly unnoticed by anyone, thanks to the Shadow Crow Guard's stealth, his large frame merged completely with the shadows, and all movements in the bright street's darkness were thoroughly concealed.

It didn't take long for Duanmu Huai to reach the foot of the temple, only to see that the roadside was packed with cars. Although Duanmu Huai wasn't familiar with cars, he could guess that these vehicles were obviously only for those who were quite wealthy or important. Looking up, he saw a line leading up to the mountain gate, with men in black suits standing guard, unclear if they were Yakuza or bodyguards.

Although charging right in was an option, it would be quite troublesome and time-consuming to get tangled up with these small fry.

Duanmu Huai considered for a moment, then once more concealed himself, slipping through the woods under the cover of night and arriving at the temple wall—which, unsurprisingly, was heavily guarded, but for the 2.8-meter tall Duanmu Huai, the wall was quite low, allowing him to easily leap over with a light jump.

"Alright, where to go next...?"

Duanmu Huai stood up, looking over the temple's situation, quickly noticing the main hall was brightly lit, and he could hear the faint sound of chanting and worship carried by the wind.

Chanting at this hour instead of sleeping?

There's definitely something wrong!

Thinking this, Duanmu Huai immediately lowered his posture, like a bear quietly crossed the courtyard to the main hall, then peered through a window gap into it.

The hall was brightly lit, but not by electric lights, instead by candles, whose glow illuminated the once dim hall, allowing Duanmu Huai to clearly see everything.

All around the main hall were dozens of candle stands, and in the center at the front was a Buddha statue. Strangely, the Buddha had no face, only its limbs and the flames behind it were carved. Its entire face was a blank slate, with only a conical flame symbol on it.

In front of the Buddha statue, several monks in robes, eyes closed, were striking wooden fish drums and reciting "mami mami hum" scriptures.

Opposite the monks, several men in black suits, looking like big shots, were kneeling; the youngest among them appeared to be over fifty. The oldest seemed entirely white-haired, could even be seventy or eighty.

Then came the highlight—between the guests and the monks, several women dressed in monk robes, with shaved heads, danced gracefully to the rhythm of the wooden fish and chanting...

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai blinked and rubbed his eyes.

Is there something wrong with my eyes? What kind of hellish drawing is this?

While cults are never up to any good, this is just too abstract!

"——————!"

While Duanmu Huai was still dumbfounded, the chanting in the hall grew even brighter, and at the same time, the brazier in front of the faceless Buddha statue suddenly erupted into a bright, blazing fire!

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