stonecrandall Chapter 119 The foggy dog
Chapter 119 The foggy dog
Chapter 119 The foggy dog
As the group of six approached the temple, they saw a plaque above the main gate with the three large characters "Shanni Temple" written on it. Although Chinese characters could be seen from time to time, the plaque written entirely in Chinese characters still made people feel very warm and familiar.
The temple looks as if it's hanging on a cliff, but upon closer inspection, it appears to be quite stable.
Amuro Tooru originally viewed the building with a habitual critical, skeptical, and scrutinizing eye; after all, a house built deep in the mountains and forests was obviously suspicious.
However, since it is a Buddhist holy site, it makes sense. After all, religious sites have all sorts of rules, and this place certainly fits the description of being far removed from the secular world and having a beautiful environment.
Sonoko Suzuki suddenly sneezed, and Ran asked with concern, "Did you catch a cold? It's still quite chilly in this weather."
Akutagawa glanced at the group of underage boys' exposed legs and seriously doubted that they felt cold at all, but he still volunteered to knock on the door: "Let's hurry up and find a monk to stay with us, and get some hot water or something."
Sonoko Suzuki didn't feel cold, but she did feel someone behind her. However, since Ahiko cared about her, she pretended to be weak and gave a soft "hmm".
Conan rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on his hands.
That was definitely a bit of a sarcastic remark.
The gate opened, and an elderly monk who looked quite old poked his head out. His suspicious gaze swept over the group, finally settling on the camera in Kogoro Mouri's hand, and his expression changed.
"You're not reporters from a TV station or newspaper, are you? Go back, go back! This is a Buddhist monastery for quiet meditation, not a place for laypeople like you!"
Upon hearing the words "a place of quiet cultivation," Akutagawa Hiko almost burst out laughing, but fortunately, he had strong self-control and no one noticed anything amiss.
Amuro Tooru has excellent communication skills. After all, you can't just take on any part-time job you want. With so many jobs, it would be difficult to handle them without being eloquent.
Upon hearing that the group wanted to stay the night, the old man's face lit up with a smile as bright as a chrysanthemum, and he instantly became amiable: "You should have said so earlier. Our temple also runs an inn, and we'll include a vegetarian meal. It'll cost ten thousand coins per person."
Just moments ago, Monk Tianyong had the air of a highly virtuous monk, but now he was just like any other innkeeper hoping for lodging.
Kogoro Mouri was taken aback: "Ten thousand yen? That's so expensive!"
Ten thousand is no small sum, especially among this group. If he were to pay, he would need to come up with at least thirty thousand, since he couldn't let anyone else pay for his daughter and Conan, right?
"What, you're giving up? It takes at least six hours to walk from here to the foot of the mountain, and there are rumors of something like that nearby."
At the dim temple entrance, the old abbot's face was illuminated for a moment by a flash of lightning that ripped through the sky. Coupled with his enigmatic and mysterious demeanor, the two girls broke out in a cold sweat.
Although Sonoko Suzuki didn't want to be ripped off, walking for six hours wasn't exactly romantic: "I'll cover the accommodation!"
Monk Tianyong beamed with joy and welcomed the group of six into the temple.
Akutagawa Hiko surveyed the temple; its appearance was simple, yet it charged 10,000 yen, which was actually quite expensive.
Moreover, only one vegetarian meal is provided.
Although there was a suspicion of forced buying and selling, Monk Tianyong still cared a lot about the reputation of this temple-hotel. In such a remote place, if the reputation was not good, neither incense offerings nor accommodations could be sustained.
Monk Tianyong called out his four disciples, including his eldest disciple Kuan Nian, who was the most cheerful and talkative, and his youngest disciple Xiu Nian, who joined the temple the latest but was quick-witted, to chat and tour with them.
Tun Nian, who was best at cooking, and Mu Nian, who was skillful, were assigned to prepare vegetarian meals.
The eldest brother was indeed talkative, but perhaps a little too talkative. Seeing Kogoro Mouri marveling at the grandeur of the lobby, he half-jokingly said, "How about we consider holding the funeral here? We might give you a discount."
There's a reason why Kuan Nian only said this to Kogoro Mouri. The others all look very young, and there's even a child waiting for their funeral. It's questionable whether he's still alive.
Having thoroughly explored the temple, including the confinement room and the waterfall, Akutagawa Hiko also collected all the clues.
And the vegetarian meal was ready just in time. Preparing a meal for eleven people at once is no small task, even if there is a child and an elderly person among them.
Although the vegetarian meal contained no meat, Akutagawa Hiko still enjoyed it immensely.
Having a completely vegetarian meal once in a while is actually not bad, but you definitely can't stand eating it every day.
There was no rule about "not speaking while eating" here, and the monks chatted away.
Ran Mouri, mustering her courage, asked about something she was particularly concerned about: "What exactly is that thing the host was talking about?"
Seemingly waiting for Akutagawa and his companions to raise their questions, the topic instantly shifted from all directions to local folklore: the Tengu of Mist is a selling point of their temple, and whenever guests come to stay, they steer the conversation toward this.
After the legend of the Mist Tengu circulated in a small circle, some reporters from small newspapers and television stations came to interview him and said they would hire a detective to investigate the matter.
It's certainly a good thing that the temple is more popular and has more incense offerings, but the problem is that Monk Tianyong is guilty of something. The legend of the Tengu is just an excuse he uses to cover up his crimes.
Today, Monk Tianyong originally intended to follow his usual practice and talk about this legend with his disciples, then pique their interest and give the group, which included children and girls, a good scare.
However, whenever I have such thoughts, a sense of crisis always wells up in my heart. I always feel that if I scare certain people, they will be embedded in the wall and can't be pried off.
For his own safety, Monk Tianyong chose not to talk about the legend, but only chatted with his disciples about trivial matters.
However, it was Ran Mouri who brought it up, and the four little monks started talking about the legend of the Tengu.
Legend has it that an ancient monster dwells in the nearby mountains and forests.
These tengu, like mist, sneak into villages on rainy nights, using their terrifying strength to break through house walls and abduct the kind villagers.
Finally, using its flying ability, it climbs to a high place, suspends the body high up, and waits to enjoy it.
Akutagawa Hiko listened to the story with a very eager look on his face: "So, this monster has a physical form, and besides flying and being very strong, it doesn't have any special abilities, right?"
Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki, who were initially trembling with fear, suddenly felt that the monster wasn't so scary after hearing what Akutagawa Hiko said, and even felt a little—ow.