The Victim from Sendai

Although Asano Mori reeked of alcohol and seemed completely incoherent.

But surprisingly, he woke up almost the instant the bird stepped into the courtyard.

"Who's there! Trying to cause me trouble again! Get out!"

Reeking of alcohol, Asano Mori stumbled to his feet and roared in the direction of Asuka.

However, when he saw Fei Niao's plain yet youthful face, he froze for a moment, but still retorted in a gruff voice, "What are you looking at! Trying to steal something? Get the hell out of here!"

Asuka glanced around expressionlessly and spoke indifferently.

"Steal what? Straw mats?"

"You bastard..."

Seeing that Asano Mori's anger was about to flare up, Asuka didn't want to cause any more trouble, so she simply stated the purpose of her trip directly:

"I heard that Asano Shigeru, who lived here, died under mysterious circumstances, and I'd like to know more about it."

"Big brother..." Asano Mori's body swayed involuntarily as the words "Asano Shigeru" struck him right between the eyebrows.

But the next second, a volcanic eruption of anger erupted, turning Asano Mori's eyes bloodshot!

"None of your business! Do you have any right to interfere in my brother's affairs?! Get out! All of you, get out!"

As he continued cursing, whether he sobered up or became even more drunk, he charged headlong at the bird like a mad boar!

Although he seemed reckless, Asuka could still tell from his movements and trajectory that this guy's shoulders were down, his center of gravity was forward, and his steps were wild but not without method, so he must have been trained.

However, compared to Asuka, the flaws in her movements were still too great.

Just as Asano Mori's body was about to collide with Asuka, he merely turned his body slightly to the side, and at the same time, he reached out his right hand like lightning, directly grabbing Asano Mori's right wrist as he sprinted with all his might.

Asuka pressed down hard, pinching the tendon on Asano Mori's wrist, causing him to cry out in pain.

Before the tingling sensation could spread throughout his body, Asuka casually pulled him away, causing Asano Mori to spin around and fall backward onto the ground in a disheveled state.

"Bastard! I'll kill you!!"

Seeing Asano Mori struggling to cough, Asuka spoke again:

"Calm down. I'm not here to laugh at you. On the contrary, I'm here to help you find his killer."

"The murderer?!"

Whether it was the cold ground that cooled Asano Mori's chaotic mind a little, or it was Asuka's words that touched him.

He stopped struggling and cursing, and looked at the young man with suspicion and wariness, rubbing his wrist as he propped himself up...

"Let's go inside and talk..." After a long silence, he slowly spoke.

Through Asano Mori's efforts to recall and some suspicious speculations, Asuka gradually pieced together the situation regarding the first victim, Asano Shigeru:

Shigeru Asano, male, 37 years old, unmarried.

Originally a farmer in a small town, he was introduced to work at a dyeing workshop under the Sendai Dyeing and Weaving Company. He was an honest and hardworking person with only one younger brother who was 11 years younger than him. He had no other relatives.

Last month, Shigeru Asano returned to the town, but his health deteriorated, and he coughed frequently, with black streaks even appearing in his phlegm.

Later, Asano Mori learned that his older brother had been harmed by chemical fuels and toxic dust at the factory, but the factory did nothing about it and instead fired him on the grounds that he was unable to work.

While recuperating, Shigeru Asano, led by his opinionated coworkers at the factory, tried to unite and demand an explanation from the boss.

Unfortunately, a few days ago, Shigeru Asano contracted shadow disease and died at home.

With his death, the Shadow Disease began to spread. The townspeople believed it was a calamity brought by the Asano family, so they not only dug up his grave, but also frequently came to his former residence to make noise.

Asano Mori initially thought Asuka was the same kind of person, which led to the conflict.

"What are the specific characteristics of 'shadow disease'? Does the person die the moment the shadow disappears? Or are there other symptoms?"

"I can't really explain it... My feeling is that my older brother wasn't feeling well after he came back, then he developed a shadow disease, and his health deteriorated until he couldn't get out of bed at all... The next day, he was completely..."

Asano Mori didn't want to recall how his dearest older brother died, and he clutched his head in anguish.

Their parents died early, and Asano Mori was raised by his older brother.

In order to give his younger brother a better life, the older brother went to work in Sendai dyeing and weaving. All the money he earned was used to pay for his younger brother's tuition at the army academy, hoping that he could make something of himself.

However, due to his disagreement with the school's extreme teaching philosophy, Asano Mori was not only ostracized by his classmates but was also expelled from the school.

After returning to his hometown, he was often bullied by fellow villagers who were also military academy students. He couldn't even run a small business or farm properly, and eventually became a good-for-nothing spendthrift who has been in a bad state ever since.

But he felt genuinely guilty and heartbroken for his older brother, so when Asuka said that Asano Shigeru had been murdered, he wished he could find the murderer immediately and kill him as soon as possible!

"I told my brother not to be stupid! How could we possibly give him justice for such a heartless boss! We should grab our weapons and smash that damn company! But he wouldn't listen!" Asano Mori took another swig of wine, his voice trembling.

"He always says, 'What's the difference between that and those bullies... We need to follow the rules... What's the point! Following the rules will only kill you! What's the use?'"

Asuka interrupted Asano Mori's cursing, asking in confusion, "You mean they're working together... Asano Shigeru isn't the only one with workplace injuries like this?"

"That's right... In order to save costs, the dyeing and weaving company provides very poor protection for its workers! And the government is on their side, which means that those who get sick can only wait to die at home. Of course, no one wants that!"

"I heard that last year in Russia, there was a worker-led rebellion, and they even became generals and emperors! These things are circulating in the factory now; everyone wants to unite and cause trouble for the boss, but this happened..."

Is it a coincidence...? Asuka pondered.

Besides Shigeru Asano, among the victims in the town, there was another worker who suffered a workplace injury while working in Sendai...

All the clues began to converge, and the stories connected, leading all the way to the Sendai Dyeing and Weaving Company. This gave Asuka a bold guess:

Could it be that this ghost is targeting Asano Shigeru and that person? Could this ghost be connected to these workers? Could the others be just a smokescreen or innocent victims caught in the crossfire...?

As for why it's a shadow...

Flesh, blood, internal organs, and bones—these are the sources of power for ghosts.

Perhaps because Asano Shigeru's body was so contaminated that it could no longer be used for eating, the demon could only create the so-called "shadow disease" to deceive people when killing people. Its real purpose was to cover up the truth that Asano Shigeru died from having his life force drained.

Perhaps that's the case.

As her thoughts gradually became clearer, Asuka also made a plan.

"You said your brother and others teamed up, so are there other villagers in the vicinity who have suffered work-related injuries?"

"...Yes!" Asano Mori suddenly raised his head, trying hard to recall the information in his mind. "...It should be...in Yamamoto, north of here...no, Marumori Village! There's a worker there who came back from Sendai with my older brother!"

Asuka stood up, and Asano Moriya quickly stood up and looked at him:

"Where are you going? Marumori Village?"

"Not bad." Asuka nodded and placed her hand on the Nichirin Blade at her waist.

"If I'm not mistaken, he'll be there tonight."