25 You Know Nothing About A Curve Wrecker

"Baishi-san just saw some footprints. You needn't be so nervous, Mr. Nakano. If anything happens, I'll protect you," Asada Senna consoled when she saw Mr. Nakano's face drained of all color. 

It proved to be an effective approach since the unknown was the most frightening thing to a person. After he was informed that those were just footprints, Mr. Nakano's nerves relaxed a little. Since he knew that his company was haunted, he had already psyched himself up for something bizarre like this. Besides that, footprints were not that scary at all. After all, he was being accompanied by a monk and a miko. 

His courage soared when he thought about this. Feeling a little embarrassed about his previous reaction, he took the initiative and stepped out of the elevator to show that he was not afraid at all. 

"Ahem, this is where my colleague heard the footsteps that night…"

'Well, not bad.'

Holding the camera, Baishi Shū inwardly complimented Asada Senna's effort for helping Mr. Nakano overcome his fear. This was something he could not and would never do. He was not good at words, and comforting people was just beyond his scope of ability. When facing a distraught client, he would only retort to one option—the Meditation Spell. With one spell, all worries would vanish like vapor. That was the reason he found Asada Senna's approach of making Mr. Nakano walk into the corridor filled with footprints, handprints, scratches, and bite marks by himself commendable. 

Yes, like the elevator, the corridor was filled to the brim with footprints, handprints, and scratches. The company was not built on a land of grudges, so all the traces were still pretty fresh. It occurred to him that in the last two days, the evil spirit had been gamboling around the building with both its hands and feet like it was having some sort of party, leaving countless footprints and handprints on the ceiling, the walls, and the floor. 

'Does this evil spirit suffer from ADHD?' Baishi Shū thought.

However, whether or not the evil spirit suffered from ADHD, it had nothing to do with him. He just needed to do what he had been tasked to do: locate the evil spirit and exorcise it, just like what he would usually do.

Did evil spirits not have their own habits? Did they not experience excruciating pain or torture before they were ultimately transformed into evil spirits? Did they not have some heart-wrenching stories behind their existence?

The answer was yes. The more one suffered, the likelier it would turn into a ghost or a monster after death. Every evil spirit had a very tragic experience or past, or had even led a cataclysmic life before they died. Each and every one of them had a wonderful story to be told, especially those ferocious ghosts and evil spirits. 

Be that as it may, the dead should remain dead. They should not linger in the realm of the living and wreak havoc amongst the living. This very act itself was a sin and had nothing to do with what they had encountered in their past life. 

Baishi Shū would never try to discover the story behind a ghost. Every time he accepted a job, he would follow a certain set of strict protocols. He would first scan the place with his Divine Eye for any evidence of the demonic occurrence. If there was a sign of evil spirits, he would begin chanting scriptures until midnight when the evil spirit would manifest. After that, he would exorcise it and send it to the Western Paradise.

At that point, Buddha would take over the job. He would placate the evil spirit's soul and guarantee it a better life in its next incarnation. If it was lucky enough, it would be given the opportunity to stay in the Western paradise forever and enjoy eternal bliss. 

As for Baishi Shū, he would seize the chance to study and take his spiritual power to the next level, just like what Lu Xun used to say. 

Why did Baishi Shū have higher spiritual powers compared to Asada Senna? This was because rather than spending his time on browsing videos, making videos, chatting with clients, or digging up stories behind ghosts as Asada Senna did, he poured all his time into learning and cultivating. 

For example, after ascertaining there was an evil spirit in this building, Baishi Shū did not say anything further. He followed Asada Senna with the camera in his hand and acted as if he was invisible. He poured most of his concentration on his appendix as he continued his research on refining his body. He constantly changed and analyzed the frequency needed to strengthen his cells while making sure that the camera was rolling as he followed behind the duo. As such, he had zero ideas about what both of them were talking about. 

"Baishi-san, what kind of evil spirit do you think is behind all of this?" Asada Senna suddenly asked. 

Baishi Shū raised his head and saw Asada Senna looking at him with her bright eyes. The moment their gazes clashed, she subconsciously turned her head away to avert her eyes. 

Mr. Nakano was gazing at him intently as well. Apparently, in Mr. Nakano's heart, Baishi Shū was the one most dependable between the two. A quiet man was a thinking man. He was certain that Baishi Shū had already figured out a way to tackle the evil spirit. Therefore, he was very curious about what his opinion was.

Right now, Baishi Shū felt at sea. He appeared dazed and confused. 'What's my opinion? I'm just a humanoid camera holder. Why would you ask me for my opinion?'

Even though he had successfully improved his progress bar of analyzing the frequencies of cells by another 2%, he did not know what they were talking about. However, it did not hinder him from answering that question. 

As a super scholar, he had perused a plethora of scriptures and knew about hundreds of demons that existed in this world. He had even read about some rare demon chronicles from the Records of Demons and Spirits, so it was as easy as pie for him to answer that question. 

Firstly, it was impossible for the ghost to come out of a drawing. 

This was because, in this world, a drawing ghost did not exist although there was a legend that revolved around Kacho Fugetsu. According to the legend, Kacho Fugetsu had been drawn by a talented artist who poured all of his passion and energy into painting her. After he finished the drawing, he spent his day talking to her, willing her to come to life. However, she stayed on the canvas and never responded to his call. After many years, the artist passed away. It was then that Kacho Fugetsu gained a spirit and climbed down from her canvas, seeking the artist who loved her so. 

Truth to be told, according to the speculation of the writer of the Records of Demons and Spirits, he concluded that it was the artist's deep obsession and soul that made the girl in the canvas come to life. Therefore, the real identity of Kacho Fugetsu was actually a man. Putting it in another way, in order to bestow life into the subject of a drawing, it either had to be the work of external forces or was caused by the artist. There was no way a subject from a drawing would come to life by itself. 

After eliminating the wrong answer, Baishi Shū looked at the handprints and footprints again. He felt like the evil spirit was a beast. 

After all, human beings were bipedal creatures. Even if we turned into evil spirits, we would never abandon our physiological habit and run on all limbs. That instinctive habit was reserved to wild animals. 

Then, why would a wild animal leave behind human handprints and footprints? The answer was simple: the unification of a beast soul. 

If an animal was nurtured by humans as their child or friend since young, it would eventually catch on some human scent. Then, after it passed away, its soul would become half-man and half-beast. 

Nevertheless, a therianthropic soul was not some adoring beastman that was usually depicted in the anime. It was a kind of vile and ferocious demon with the facial features of a human and the body of a beast. The harpy and Jinmenken from the ancient scroll were the best examples of this. 

In summary, there was only one answer.

"It's a human-faced spirit," Baishi Shū replied simply. 

Asada Senna's eyes bulged in shock. She did not expect him to be able to come up with an answer. 

The reason she asked Baishi Shū the question was that she wanted to taunt him in front of the client. After all, she could see that he was not paying attention to the situation at hand at all and she had been very certain that he must be reading scriptures inwardly. 

'Hmph! A stupid monk who knows nothing but only reading scriptures.'

Because of that, she wanted him to make a fool of himself. However, she underestimated the knowledge of a scholar tyrant.