23 A ghost from a drawing?

A well-planned learning schedule was the key to high-performance learning. This iron rule applied to the monks as well. 

Baishi Shū fully utilized his free time between classes to analyze the spiritual power frequency needed to enhance his body cells. At the same time, he experienced enlightenment, thus not only did his research progress soar up to 23%, but his spiritual power even increased by 70 points as well. 

This was considered a huge leap forward. After all, he could only gain 10 points of spiritual power for each scripture reading. However, one time of enlightenment could make up for seven days worth of training. 

It was a wonderful thing and he hoped he would experience another two enlightenments tomorrow. 

Satisfied with his breakthrough, Baishi Shū strode out of his classroom after his class ended. While he traversed down the corridor, he took the opportunity to check his phone for any messages from the old abbot. 

Then, he saw Asada Senna's messages.

 "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I have an assignment tonight. It's a paranormal investigation, so I'm wondering whether you are interested or not. Of course, we will split the remuneration the same as the last time!" 

"Baishi-san?" 

"Hello, are you there?"

[You unsent a message]

'Hmm? Does the tycoon from the Yotsuga Suga Shrine have another new assignment?' 

Baishi Shū's eyes shone. 

Several days ago, he finally made up his mind to build the kyozo first. The scriptures, the ancient records, and chronicles that had been passed down for hundreds of thousands of years from the country across the sea needed a proper place to be stored in. No matter how meticulous he was at managing them, some of them were still damaged. Generally, for other temples, something so valuable and precious would be locked up in glass cabinets and displayed as exhibits for visitors to view. 

Naturally, the kyozo would have a different structure compared to Baishi Shū's room. His room was merely a spot that acted as his relaxation space, so a simple cottage was more than sufficient. However, that was not the same case for a kyozo. It was a place of great importance, so regardless of its exterior or its interior, it had to follow a strict design. Baishi Shū was certain that the old abbot had a suitable blueprint, so all he needed to do was earn money. 

According to the old abbot's blueprint, the cost needed to build a kyozo was 30 million yen. Hence, even though he had already begun to build his own room, his desire to earn money did not lessen but became greater. 

After he read through Asada Senna's messages, Baishi Shū swiftly replied, "Of course, I'll tag along." 

'Since she said she will split remuneration the same as last time, it should be safe for me to say that she is going to divide it 50/50, huh?' 

Baishi Shū's eyes glowed even brighter after he did the math. The price for the Yotsuya Suga Shrine's service was way more expensive than what he offered, so even after Asada Senna split the remuneration, it was still a considerable sum of money. 

Asada Senna replied very quickly, "Your classes are over? Hmph, what a nerd." 

"I will take that as a compliment. After all, I love to study and studying makes me happy," Baishi Sho responded matter-of-factly. 

"Oh, is that so? Then, may I kindly ask, Mr. Studious Baishi-san, how are your grades?" 

On the other side of the line, Asada Senna pouted and narrowed her eyes as she typed the message. 

'So, he claims to love studying, huh? Then how is he going to explain his spiritual power? There's no such thing as a shortcut or so-called sovereign panacea on the road of pursuing spiritual power. To cultivate spiritual power, one must pour in a lot of time and effort.' 

Since Baishi Shū had a great amount of spiritual power, Asada Senna reckoned that he must have poured a lot of time into his spiritual power training. Correspondingly, he would not have much time for his homework or studies. When Asada Senna went to school, she had a solid academic performance. It was just after she part-timed as a miko that her grades began to drop. In the end, she did not get admitted into any universities and became a miko in the Yotsuya Suga Shrine. 

"My grades? Oh, I got full marks for most of my subjects, and I've been ranked number one on the school-wide examinations for the past one and a half years. This is nothing worth mentioning, to be honest," Baishi Shū replied humbly, "Unfortunately, I'm weak in physical education and I always fail in that subject." 

"?" 

Asada Senna felt her chest aching. 

'So not only does he have great spiritual power, but he is the top scorer in his school? Can I stop talking to him now?'

To prevent Baishi Shū from vaunting his academic prowess, Asada Senna hastily responded. 

"Since you have free time tonight, let's go investigate the paranormal incident together. I will divide the remuneration into half, just like how we did last time. On a side note, I will tape down the entire process as well, so do you wish to play a part in my video? If yes, then I will pay you another 250,000 yen as your reward!"

'So, she will split the remuneration she received by half. On top of that, I will have another 250,000 yen as a reward for appearing in her video?'

Asada Senna's message indeed had sidetracked Baishi Shū's attention.

"Of course, I'm more than willing to appear in your video." 

'Miko Asada indeed is a miko from a large shrine. She is generous, and I'm willing to be her lifetime friend.' 

"It's a deal, then. Let's meet up somewhere first. You haven't had dinner yet, have you? I heard there is a nice restaurant in Nerima City. I never had a chance to try it out, so let's go there tonight. It's on me!" 

"Are we going shopping after we finish our dinner?" 

"?"

"I had to practice tonight, so I need to spare at least three hours reading scriptures. If we are going shopping, I'm afraid I might not have enough time," Baishi Shū simply said. 

Even though he did not know whether Asada Senna would invite him shopping or not, according to the past two experiences he had had with her, it occurred to him that she had a deep obsession with shopping. Perhaps, every girl was like that. Therefore, to nip the possibility in the bud, Baishi Shū decided to put an end to it before she could even ask. 

Snap. That was the sound of the bond of their friendship breaking. 

...

After Asada Senna sent him the location, Baishi Shū went to Nerima City on his bike and met up with her. 

She was donned in her usual red hakama and white kosode—the classic miko outfit. Looking at her, Baishi Shū had no idea why but he felt that her outfit perfectly matched the ambiance in Nerima City. 

Nerima City was known as the "Birthplace of Anime". It was the home for many manga artists and about 70 animation studios, including Toei Animation which had produced tons of great animes. It also happened to be where a lot of anime locations were set. 

However, those things were in the past for Baishi Shū. He used to be an otaku, but he had already turned over into a new leaf. Right now, the only thing he loved was learning, and it had been two years since he peeled himself away from indulging in anime and manga. The reason he came here was that Asada Senna's client was an animation studio. 

"A ghost from a drawing?" Baishi Shū frowned. "Let me get this straight. Are you saying that a ghost has come out from the drawing of an animation studio's employee because his drawing is too expressive?" 

"I didn't say that. It was the client from the animation studio who told me," Asada Senna blinked her eyes as she replied innocently. 

Both of them were sitting inside a restaurant. As they enjoyed their dinner, they already started recording the video. Of course, Asada Senna had gotten Baishi Shū's consent. 

Why was Baishi Shū willing to show his face in the video? 

It turned out that Asada Senna's client was one of the audiences for her last video who had watched how she got rid of the Onryō, and even though her performance was subpar, he still believed that she was a miko with spiritual powers. Therefore, he contacted the Yotsuya Suga Shrine and named both her and Baishi Shū to help him in combating the evil spirit that had been bothering him. 

Baishi Shū saw an opportunity. If he made more appearances in Asada Senna's video and took advantage of her popularity to make himself more famous, wouldn't it be a way to bring publicity to Reimei Temple? 

That was the reason he decided to show himself in her video. 

However, he felt like something was not quite right… 

'A ghost coming out from a drawing? Do you think you are Ma Liang from the Magic Paint Brush? This is ridiculous!'

Even though he had seen a lot of ghosts and evil spirits that could not be explained by science ever since he transmigrated to this world in the past two years, Baishi Shū still found it hard to believe something like a ghost coming out from a drawing. 

'This isn't just paranormal activity anymore. This is magic.'

"Miko Asada, I don't know about you, but this sounds like a prank to me." 

"It shouldn't be… Maybe this is just a coincidence. Maybe he bumped into a ghost when he stayed back at his office to finish his drawing," Asada Senna said hesitantly. 

After that, she waved her hand and continued, "Anyway, we will know about that after our client gets here. Besides, he has said that even if we can't find any evil spirits or ghosts, they've promised to pay us 800,000 yen as our errand fee for coming all the way here."