"Hey, what are you talking about? Xiaorui's already scared. Can you stop making insensitive comments?"
"Many evil spirits wander this world. People with weak wills are especially easy for them to latch onto. So far, whatever's attached itself to you has only been trying to scare you. I still can't be sure what it is, but there's no doubt it's targeting your fear. The more frightened you are, the more you fixate on it, the stronger it gets. Miss Zheng, if you can't face it bravely, I don't know how powerful it might become."
"What do you mean? Is... is it going to kill me?"
"Xiaorui, don't be afraid."
"I can't rule that out. So, Miss Zheng, please try to be brave."
"Easy for you to say! How am I supposed to be brave? You're not the one this is happening to! How could I not be scared? Wouldn't you be afraid if you were in my shoes?!"
"Ah... Xia... Xiaorui..."
"Haah—! Haah—!"
"I'm glad you've got some fight in you. It'd be even better if you directed it at that thing."
"Hey, stop it!"
"You don't understand... You have no idea how I feel... Sob..."
"Little Zheng Xiaorui, if you're so afraid that all you can do is wait for someone else to save you, I suggest you kill yourself. I can recommend some places with strong yin energy. If you pick the right time to die, you might become the very thing you're afraid of. Then you won't be scared anymore, will you? After all, you could run into paranormal events in your next life, even after reincarnating. You might as well become a ghost now, and then you'll have nothing to fear."
"Sob... Sniff..."
"That's enough! Xiaorui, don't listen to him. Xiaorui, it'll be okay. We can find another medium. There's bound to be someone who can save you!"
"Hey, Chief..."
"Are you done crying?"
"You..."
"If you're done crying, go home and look carefully for anything that's appeared or gone missing. It's crucial, so take it seriously. This is something you have to do yourself. No one can help you. If you don't want to die, then be brave."
"..."
"Ling, show them out."
"All right. This way, please."
"Xiaorui, let's go. We're not coming back."
"..."
Tap, tap, tap... Bang.
"Chief, you didn't have to be so harsh with a young woman."
"Did you see something?"
"Sigh... That young woman's yang energy has been weakening the whole time."
"Was that thing responsible?"
"I didn't see anything. I suspect she's been in poor spirits, and some passing yin spirit has been slowly draining her yang energy. At this rate, even without these strange incidents, she won't live much longer."
"Ah... What should we do?"
"There's nothing we can do but rely on her. Even when we get rid of the evil spirits for people, sometimes we still can't save their lives."
"Like getting seriously ill? Even if there's treatment, their bodies have already been damaged. If they don't recover properly..."
"Exactly."
January 15, 2014. Received a call from the client. Call recording: 201401151603.mp3.
"Hello, Miss Zheng."
"..."
"Miss Zheng?"
"I... found... something..."
"Oh? What did you find? Would it be all right if we came over now?"
"Yes, come over. The things... are a mask and a kimono..."
"Okay. We'll be there right away."
January 15, 2014. Arrived at the client's home. Audio file: 07820140115.wav.
"Miss Zheng... Miss Duan, hello."
"Mm, you're here."
"Has something happened in the last couple of days? You both look unwell."
"I haven't found anything. Xiaorui... found these two things..."
"A mask and a kimono?"
Bang!
"Ah!"
"Aaah!"
"What was that? Chief!"
Bang!
Bang! Crash! Clatter!
"Skree—Awooo!"
"Th-what is that? A fox?"
"Haah... haah... haah... Sob..."
"Xiaorui, don't be afraid. It's been captured."
"Sob..."
"That's a fox, right? It just came out of that mask?"
"It's a fox spirit, a fox demon. It likes to play tricks on people."
"Was this thing what was tormenting Xiaorui?"
"Looks that way."
"What about the kimono? Is it safe?"
"It has a lot of yin energy, too. It's an old garment that's been owned by several people. Someone like Miss Zheng shouldn't be using such an old thing."
"Sob..."
"Then... can you deal with this?"
"Yes."
"So Xiaorui will be all right?"
"For now, yes."
"Huh?"
"Zheng Xiaorui, do you remember what I told you last time?"
"..."
"If your will is weak and your mind is unsettled, evil spirits can easily target you. If you don't want this to happen again, you have to be brave. Ghosts and spirits aren't that scary. They have no physical form, so they're no match for the living. But if you let your fear take over, they might be able to kill you."
"..."
"I'll make sure to protect Xiaorui!"
"Oh? All right, then. Do your best."
"You!"
January 15, 2014. Killed the fox spirit and destroyed the fox mask and cherry blossom kimono. Case closed.
Attachment: Photos of the fox spirit, fox mask, and cherry blossom kimono.
Several enlarged photos were clipped to the end of the file.
The photo of the fox spirit was a little blurry. It looked like an ordinary red fox, curled into a ball with its bushy tail wrapped around its body as someone held it down by the neck. It looked terrified of the person restraining it.
The fox mask was the kind commonly seen in J-country, white with narrow, smiling eyes and red patterns painted on it. It was quite beautiful, and there was nothing about it that looked frightening.
The kimono made me uneasy. The fabric was black, with a few pink petals on the upper half and layers of cherry blossoms across the skirt. Blossoms fluttered across the long sleeves, and a cherry tree covered the back, its branches and leaves dense. The flowers layered across the front extended from its branches, and the crown of the tree reached up to shoulder level, as if a hand were stretching desperately to grab someone by the shoulder.
"If you let your fear take over, they might be able to kill you."
The Chief's words echoed in my ears, bringing back the cold, eerie feeling I'd had at the agency. Was that feeling because I'd been afraid? Could there really be ghosts at that agency?
"It's probably just psychological," I muttered to myself.
It would be ridiculous if a ghost-hunter's place were haunted. The Greenleaf Paranormal Agency might have failed before, but it wasn't some shady scam shop. Its members didn't seem incompetent, either.
The feeling I'd had at the agency was psychological. My discomfort looking at the kimono photo now was psychological, too.
I lowered my head, about to close the file, when I suddenly noticed something that seemed to have appeared in the kimono photo. Looking closer, I saw two people standing beneath the cherry tree, one on either side, each holding onto the trunk. The trunk obscured half of each person. They were tiny compared to the tree, and both wore black clothes patterned with red flowers, making them easy to miss against the background.
For some reason, my heart began to pound faster. I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd stumbled upon something important.
"Brother, aren't you going to bed? You still have work tomorrow, don't you?"
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