night.
Teiichi had slept for most of the day, slowly got out of bed.
I put on the new clothes I bought this morning.
Then I looked at it, still lying on the bed.
Part of the haori on the left arm is missing.
"Sigh, there's nothing I can do. I'll just have to ask Kanae to give me some more nourishment when I go back for the New Year."
He picked up the haori and put it on, then left the inn.
"Hey, Shiya, how many more bowls do you think that person can eat?"
Yoshihara lowered his voice to avoid disturbing other customers, but his gaze remained fixed on the figure in the distance.
The figure was eating a large bowl of pork chop rice, with another bowl next to him, and most importantly, there was already a rather high stack of empty bowls next to him.
Upon closer inspection, there were already six empty bowls.
Including the bowl I'm eating and the two bowls on the side, there are already eight bowls in total.
You should know that a large bowl of pork chop rice is enough to fill up an average adult.
Clearly, Teiichi in this small town who can eat like that.
Like Yoshihara, Shiya's gaze remained fixed on Teiichi.
They were already there before Ding Teiichi entered the store.
Originally Teiichi hadn't attracted their attention at all.
But before they had even finished their first bowl, Teiichi started ordering more and more food.
This attracted their attention.
Not only them, but many people in the store had their eyes on Teiichi.
Upon hearing his friend's question, Shiya replied.
"Judging from the speed at which he's eating, he's clearly not full yet, probably only about 60-70% full. I feel like he could eat another three or four bowls!"
Upon hearing this, Yoshihara's lips curled into a sly smile. He gently swirled the wine in his glass, the liquid dancing within.
"How about we make a bet?"
Shiya asked, puzzled, "What are you betting on?"
"Let's bet on how many bowls this person can eat! Everyone can name two numbers!" Yoshihara's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Shiya pressed further, "What happens to the loser?"
Yoshihara chuckled, "Simple. I have two big green onions at home. I'll stick them into the loser's nostrils and then walk to the other person's house!"
"So harsh?" Shiya was shocked when he heard about the punishment.
Yoshihara glanced at Shiya sideways. "What, you're scared?"
"Bring it on, who's afraid of who!" Shiya retorted defiantly, "I bet he can eat eleven or twelve bowls!"
Yoshihara said, "Then I bet he can eat fifteen or sixteen bowls!"
"Heh..." Shiya sneered, "You've definitely lost. No normal person could eat that much!"
Yoshihara retorted, "Even a normal person couldn't possibly finish eight bowls of food, right?"
"So, he definitely..."
The two sat in their seats, whispering to each other.
Their words reached Teiichi one, even though they thought it impossible for him to hear them.
Teiichi was neither surprised nor bothered by being surrounded by onlookers and the jokes they made about.
If you had such a person in your past life...
I have to say something about my own merits and demerits.
It had nothing to do with anything else; it was simply because it was new.
Moreover, most people don't say such things with malice.
If this was the case in my past life, how much more so in this present era?
Ignoring everyone else, Teiichi time.
Soon, amidst the shock of Shiya's mother's death and Yoshihara's excited expressions, the situation became clear.
Teiichi asking for the thirteenth and fourteenth bowls.
Soon after, the fifteenth and sixteenth bowls were also consumed by Teiichi.
Although he was curious about what it would look like to have a green onion stuck to his nose, Teiichi had no intention of depriving himself of his stomach and raised his hand again.
"Boss, two more bowls of pork chop rice, please!"
The boss wiped non-existent beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, then continued preparing the food.
"Yay!"
On the other side, Shiya had previously looked like his mother had died, suddenly perked up.
One hand was clenched into a fist and placed in front of his chest, with his elbow hanging down.
Yoshihara, standing to the side, sighed regretfully.
Regardless of what the two people thought.
Finally, after finishing his twentieth bowl, Teiichi put down his chopsticks with satisfaction.
He stood up, wiped his mouth, and then went to the bar to pay the bill.
Stepping outside, the warmth vanished instantly, replaced by a biting wind.
"Call--"
Teiichi soft breath, her body quickly adjusting to the cold weather.
The night is unusually dark, and heavy snow is falling.
Although the snow on the streets had been cleared by people during the day, a thin layer of white snow still remained.
How about we take a rest tonight?
Even ghosts need to hibernate in the dead of winter, right?
Moreover, we encountered Akaza just yesterday, which means this area is Akaza's territory.
It's unlikely there are any other ghosts...
The brain's inertia is like a demon, constantly coming up with one reason after another to make Teiichi go back to rest.
After a moment, Teiichi slowly shook his head.
I slept most of the day, and now I won't be able to sleep when I get back.
I can go out and have some fun during the day, but there's nobody around at night.
So I was left alone in the hotel room.
The key point is that there are no cell phones in this day and age, so what would someone do alone in a room?
Teiichi wandered around the town, planning to go up the mountain again shortly before dawn.
Ghosts that eat people usually prefer to act around midnight.
If it's too early, the person is still awake and might resist.
If it's too late, it's too rushed, as it's not long before dawn.
After all, ghosts usually live in places far away from humans.
The process involves going to human settlements, selecting a target, attacking, taking time to eat people, and returning to one's dwelling.
In total, it will still take two or three hours.
Therefore, ghosts generally prefer to move around at night.
At this time, most people are fast asleep.
Then they have plenty of time to commit the crime.
This Teiichi phase.
First, patrol the area with a lot of people, then choose a direction from the mountains to proceed.
Unless you happen to hear from someone in the village or town that someone lives in the mountains.
That Teiichi might go directly up the mountain in the middle of the night.
Last night was the same; Teiichi patrolled the town until a few hours before going up the mountain.
I never expected to run into Akaza so soon after I started climbing the mountain.
As night deepened, Teiichi encountered fewer and fewer people on the streets.
Finally, even the lights in the houses on both sides were turned off.
Only Teiichi person remained walking on the street.
In the dimly lit mountain forest.
Even though it snowed sporadically all day.
However, the traces left by the battle Teiichi and Akaza last night have not completely disappeared.
Fallen trees were scattered throughout the forest.
However, the marks on the ground were buried again by the heavy snow.
"Zheng..."
The melodious sound of the pipa once again echoed through the woods...