A minivan drove into the Thatched-Roof Old Village in Miyama Town and stopped outside a guesthouse.
Chen Miao and the other three got out and checked in.
Once they were done, the group took a walk around the Thatched-Roof Old Village.
It was already November. The rice had long since been harvested, leaving only neat rows of dry, brown stubble.
Dried rice stalks were piled beside the field ridges, and bundles of rice ears hung from drying racks.
As evening approached, they could see mist gradually rising among the distant mountains.
The village scenery really was lovely, a pleasure to look at.
But after making a circuit, all four of them noticed a problem.
The scarecrows that had stood in the Thatched-Roof Old Village were all gone!
Without the scarecrows, would the supernatural phenomenon still appear?
Kyoko Kuroda's proposed solution was to split into two teams after nightfall and search the village separately.
Koji Hosokawa and Miyuki Yamazaki had no objections. Kyoko Kuroda had always called the shots, after all; they only needed to follow her lead.
But Chen Miao raised an objection.
"President, what exactly did we come here to do?"
"To verify that supernatural phenomenon, or to deal with it?"
Kyoko Kuroda looked at Chen Miao in surprise.
"San Shui, what do you mean?"
"If we're only here to verify it, then searching for two or three days should give us a pretty good idea of whether it exists."
Chen Miao looked at Kuroda Ryoko and continued, "But if we're here to deal with it, I don't think we should be so passive."
Kuroda Ryoko straightened slightly.
"San Shui, of course we came to deal with it. Please go on."
Chen Miao nodded and took out the [Body-Protection Charm] he was carrying.
"I imagine talismans like these aren't