Twist and Turn Side Quest

Chapter 23: Side Quest - Twist and Turn

In the withered and desolate farmland, the pale, twisting phantom seemed to possess a strange magic, captivating Uesugi Tetsu's gaze, making it impossible for him to look away.

The Laughing Brahma mask twitched for a moment, but in the next instant, the usually stern face broke into a bizarre smile.

A dry, distorted voice escaped from the depths of Uesugi Tetsu's throat, beyond his control:

"Twist… and turn…"

Despite feeling utterly disgusted, Uesugi Tetsu's smile grew wider, and his previously weary body seemed to fill with energy as he stood up straight.

Then, along with the pale phantom in the field…

He twisted and turned.

On the grass, Uesugi Tetsu's eyes snapped open, and he let out a dry heave of disgust.

"What the hell was that…"

Even now, the image of that incredibly bizarre, distorted white figure lingered in Uesugi Tetsu's mind, along with the sensation of his body completely disobeying him.

After lying on the grass to rest for a while, Uesugi Tetsu finally managed to clear his chaotic thoughts.

— This time, he had actually died on the spot just by looking at the thing in the field for a moment too long.

Did it explode just from a single glance?

That was ridiculous.

How many stars did this guy have? One star? Or one and a half?

Noting down several characteristics of the distorted white figure, Uesugi Tetsu didn't hesitate to pull out his phone and ask the almighty salaryman netizens for help.

[Moon Sand-chan]: I have a friend who saw a white phantom twisting and turning in the fields, possibly a scarecrow. Is this thing dangerous?

In the office, Nanjō Emi, who had propped her black-stockinged feet on the desk and was happily sipping a soda, couldn't help but spray her drink onto Shizuma Mafuyu, who was diligently working opposite her.

Shizuma Mafuyu's mouth twitched. She didn't say anything, merely taking two tissues to silently wipe the soda from her face and neck.

— Even in just half a day, she had already gotten used to Nanjō Emi's unreliable behavior.

The Onmyo Junior Official's demeanor in private was completely different from how she acted in public.

She didn't seem like a corporate elite at all; instead, she was quite similar to her own high school sister—liking to guzzle soda, eat puffed snacks, and often secretly gossiping about colleagues with her.

Shizuma Mafuyu sighed inwardly.

She felt a sense of disillusionment.

— But Nanjō Emi believed there was a reason she sprayed her soda.

It had only been a few hours since she told Uesugi Tetsu to behave, and now he'd already provoked another famous ghost story?!

Was he bored out of his mind!

Nanjō Emi wasn't fooled by the classic "I have a friend" excuse; she had used that little trick countless times before.

However…

Nanjō Emi was a bit puzzled.

From the readings of the Imperial Spirit Technique, the doll she gave Uesugi Tetsu hadn't been harmed yet. If he had truly encountered the Twist and Turn, the doll should have intervened by now.

This kind of specific ghost story, born in rural villages, wouldn't be too powerful even if widely known.

Because this is the modern era.

It was like putting the famous ghost story "Miss Mary" back a thousand years; she would have been significantly weaker without telephones.

[Work to Death]: Then your friend will be dead soon. This is "Twist and Turn," a very famous ghost story. As soon as you see it, you fall into mental delirium, eventually going mad, and then dying.

Uesugi Tetsu saw that all the characteristics matched the reply and thought, Indeed.

He had experienced mental breakdown and death within minutes of seeing the Twist and Turn, experiencing yet another novel way to die.

— If this thing is so powerful, could it be related to the side quest?

[Side Quest Two: The White Scarecrow—In fields corrupted by chemical wastewater, a scarecrow sways in the wind.]

Uesugi Tetsu reread the quest description and felt that "Twist and Turn" had a high probability of being related.

So, the problem was:

If he couldn't even bear to look at it for a moment, how was he supposed to defeat it?

Uesugi Tetsu relayed this question to the netizens.

— Nanjō Emi thought Uesugi Tetsu had gone mad.

The Twist and Turn stayed in sparsely populated rural areas and didn't wander around, making it one of the most harmless types of ghost stories.

Why would you deliberately provoke it when your brain was clearly malfunctioning?

But even as she thought this, Nanjō Emi tossed a key: "Shizuma, go get that Vajra statue from the safe, and when we go this afternoon, also…"

She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that Uesugi Tetsu had asked [Work to Death], not her, Nanjō Emi.

If she gave the item to Uesugi Tetsu, her disguise would be blown.

So Nanjō Emi took the key back.

[Work to Death]: There is indeed a method, and it's not difficult.

[Moon Sand-chan]: What are your thoughts, senior?

[Work to Death]: Since seeing the twisting and turning leads to madness, why not just close your eyes and hack it to death?

--Hack it to death with eyes closed?

Uesugi Tetsu chuckled. Did the overworked netizens think they were some kind of swordsman with "inner sight" or "fist-sight"?

But after sitting there in silence for a while, Uesugi Tetsu realized this idea... wasn't entirely impossible?

--Ririko said that judging position by sound was the most basic skill for a qualified swordsman.

It seemed there was something to it.

She'd ask Ririko when she saw her this afternoon.

Thanking the netizens for their timely advice, Uesugi Tetsu didn't waste any more time and re-entered Arakawa Ghost Village.

--She had killed the foreman and hadn't had time to claim her reward from the Blacksmith yet.

A huge water pressure hit.

Uesugi Tetsu, who had gradually gotten used to the cutscenes, put on her mask without a word and headed straight for the blacksmith's shop.

Along the way, she didn't forget to test the effects of the Foreman's Crowbar, a rare quality weapon.

And after testing it, Uesugi Tetsu was pleasantly surprised to find that the crowbar's effect far exceeded her expectations.

For locked doors in ordinary thatched huts, she only needed to lightly tap the lock with the crowbar to break it, giving the impression of a master key.

Even for thick wooden doors blocked by planks and various furniture, Uesugi Tetsu only swung it with normal force and sent the entire door flying along with the obstructions behind it.

Although powerful, it seemed she hadn't even tested the crowbar's limits.

"Maybe I'll try the iron door on the school rooftop later."

Putting away the crowbar, Uesugi Tetsu thought before stepping into the blacksmith's shop.

Entering the blacksmith's shop, Uesugi Tetsu noticed this time that there was no sound of hammering from the backyard. Instead, a small figure wearing a hood stood beside the blacksmith.

"Making such a small child learn blacksmithing? Squeezing child labor..."

Muttering to herself, Uesugi Tetsu was about to explain the process to the blacksmith when she saw him smile and place the hammer on the table:

"Speak, what weapon do you want?"

Uesugi Tetsu, who almost thought the blacksmith wanted to betray her, was stunned. She put the cleaver back, not expecting the old blacksmith to be so straightforward.

She said, "I practice Tennen Rishin-ryū."

The blacksmith froze and his smile disappeared.