Chapter 1 The Only Problem

Li Ang hung up the phone and called several other TV stations to confirm that the Iki Shrine news would be broadcast.

He pushed Hotei Hidesuke and got into the car they had arrived in.

"Now, there's only one problem left."

Li Ang gripped the steering wheel, looked at himself in the rearview mirror, and said calmly, "Remember the secret message that Hotei Hirabara's second personality wrote to the main personality?

They used this method to exchange information, both to avoid family members who were part of the organization, and to avoid the third personality lurking in Hotei Hirabara's body.

If it was Hotei Hirabara's main personality who killed the family and kidnapped Emon Shion,

Then, where did the third and second personalities go?

And why was the main personality so muddled, and ended up driving and being discovered and captured?"

Liu Wudai frowned slightly and said softly, "Perhaps it was Hotei Hirabara's main personality who did it, but the act of personally killing his family still severely shook Hotei Hirabara's already unstable mind.

When Chief Xing was manipulating Hotei Hirabara's body, we first heard crying and knocking on the door in the second-floor Japanese-style room, and then opened the compartment in the Japanese-style room.

The crying and knocking at that time were not from the four corpses,

But from Emon Shion, who was hidden in the lower level of the compartment."

"Emon Shion was hiding in the lower level of the compartment?"

Wanli Fengdao was stunned when he heard this and carefully recalled the structure of that Japanese-style room, "The edges of the upper and lower layers of the compartment are covered with blue cloth,

If you just open the compartment door, you can't see the inside of either layer.

But why would Emon Shion hide inside?"

Liu Wudai corrected, "Not hide, but conceal.

At the time, Hotei Hirabara's main personality killed his family and was in a state of extreme mental confusion. The third personality took the opportunity to surface and try to seize control,

Therefore, a struggle occurred in his mind with the main personality and the second personality.

The latter could only hide Emon Shion first,

To prevent the third personality from taking control of the body and taking Emon Shion away if the struggle failed.

Based on what happened later, we also know that

The main personality, second personality, and third personality all failed to take control of the body,

Instead, the Iki Shrine organization found Hotei Hirabara in his muddled state first."

Inside the dark space, Liu Wudai looked down at the wooden chair he was sitting on, slowly turned his head, and looked at the small hill made of chair fragments behind the space.

"There should be something in that hill."

Li Ang nodded, started the car, and drove toward the east, "Please search for it."

"No problem,"

Wanli Fengdao drew the Dragon Slayer Sword without saying a word, with a eager expression on his face.

Players' abilities were not sealed within Hotei Hirabara's mind.

Concerned that a large-scale disturbance in the mental world would affect Hotei Hirabara's sanity,

The three players simply took out tools and began to clear the chair fragment mountain, and soon found a chair at the foot of the mountain.

This chair was as unremarkable as the many chairs the players were sitting on,

Except that its surface was covered with a... Hotei Hirabara's face.

"Don't kill me,"

The chair slowly opened its eyes, and barely said in a weak voice, "I am the second personality of Hotei Hirabara you're talking about."

"Is that so?"

Li Ang smiled, "Using Hesiod's *Theogony* as the standard, tell me the names and deeds of all the primordial gods, Titans, and third-generation gods in Greek mythology."

The wooden chair: "..."

"Can't say it?"

Li Ang shook his head, "The real second personality should have perished and died in the struggle with you.

That's why you're so weak, unable to control Hotei Hirabara's body, and had to bury yourself in the chair mountain, which symbolizes Hotei Hirabara's memory fragments.

The Iki Shrine organization, the doctor in charge of interrogation, and Hotei Hirabara's son-in-law should all know of your existence.

That's why the psychiatrist repeatedly called 'Hotei' instead of 'Hotei Hirabara' when we were reading memory fragments—they wanted you to come out.

To distinguish yourself from Hotei Hirabara, you only used the surname with Shinto significance."

The wooden chair was speechless.

Li Ang sighed, "Take it apart."

The last sentence was spoken to the three teammates in the black space.

"Wait! Wait!"

The wooden chair shouted loudly, "If you kill me, you'll never know the location of Emon Shion!"

Wanli Fengdao, who was about to make a move, stopped his long sword from slashing at the chair and narrowed his eyes and asked, "What did you say?"

The human face on the chair swallowed, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Okay, I am indeed the third personality of Hotei Hirabara. I've been hiding here, listening to you talk.

Earlier, I also saw Hotei Hirabara strangle the family to death with a tie with my own eyes."

Xing Hechou frowned and said, "Wait a minute, you saw Hotei Hirabara kill the whole family with your own eyes, but you didn't try to stop him? Hotei Miyoko and Hotei Rie, they should all be believers of the Heavenly Maiden Iki like you."

The chair's eyes flickered slightly, "That's right. But I'm a little different from them."

Li Ang said indifferently, "The difference you're talking about refers to the form of faith in the Heavenly Maiden Iki?

According to the performance in the diary, you should occasionally be able to surface and manipulate Hotei Hirabara's body.

The reason why you didn't interfere when he did it

Is because you have your own plans for Emon Shion, who is about to become the next shrine maiden.

For example, imprisoning her and presiding over the ritual yourself, making her a shrine maiden who belongs only to you."

Li Ang shook his head, "Hotei Hirabara's main personality can hide his granddaughter anywhere,

But considering his own mental state,

He still had to set the hiding place in an extremely concealed location that he could never forget.

For example, the secret base he built when he was a child."

Li Ang started the car and drove to the mountains east of Iki Shrine in Kawayama City. Finally, on a hillside near Kibou Village, he found special marks.

He went straight to an unremarkable patch of grass, groped for a while, and grabbed a copper handle of a wooden trapdoor in the ground. With a little force, he pulled open the trapdoor covered with a thick layer of soil.

The light of the setting sun shone into the low space through the trapdoor,

You could vaguely see old newspapers on the ground, as well as scattered fluorescent night lights, drinking water, snacks, and canned food.

A timid little face emerged from the darkness, "...Grandpa?"

"It's me,"

In the sunset, Hotei Hirabara showed a faint smile. He bent down and reached out to grab Emon Shion's hand, "Everything is settled, Grandpa is here to pick you up."