Chapter 44: Tsukumogami

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

10 minutes later at Moon Cafe.

A delicate-looking teenage girl abruptly entered the cafe while pressing on her chest. She was panting; apparently, she rushed to the cafe.

Although there were not many people in the cafe, almost all of them exclaimed on her beauty. They seemed to not recognize Mai Kujo, which was completely normal.

She glanced through the whole cafe until she saw the familiar wooden tachi on the table. After a moment of hesitation, she bit her pink lips and finally made her way to Kazuki.

“You’re here. Come have a seat.” Kazuki treated her like a friend while gesturing her to sit down.

“Sorry, I am late because I needed to bid goodbye to my seniors.” She sat facing Kazuki, looking nervous. She finally had the chance to take a close look at Kazuki. She was shocked that both of them were around the same age and was afraid to ask too much.

The reason she was in a rush was due to what Kazuki whispered in her ear just now.

“Meet me at Moon Cafe 10 minutes later. If not, I will take back your Tsukumogami.”

Kazuki was confident that the ray of light he came across was Tsukumogami.

In Japanese legends, if artifacts were stored unattended for a hundred years, it would absorb human’s aura and transform into monsters. It was the so-called Tsukumogami.

Tsukumogami was also considered as one of the Japanese ghosts. Speaking about the Japanese gods and spirits might take up more than three days and nights.

From the Snow Fairy to Bone Fairy, Ibaraki-Doji to Ubume, and also the Water Demon that showed up during summer, these are all familiar monsters to us. They all originated from sad folklores and were full of mystery. Therefore, many of them became materials for Japanese literary works.

Moreover, Japan had its own definitions for the concept of spirits, unlike Chinese mythology which had clear boundaries.

In Japan, there were two different types of gods in the Japanese’s belief. One would be like Izanagi or Izanami which were worshipped by humans; while another would be like Tsukumogami, which was called a ‘god,’ but its existence was similar to ghosts.

It was common for the Japanese to name ghosts as monsters. For example, Nakagawa Aokiji and Chiba Shiori regarded the Multi-armed Demon as a terrifying monster.

Of course, Kazuki was more used to naming spirits he encountered based on the definition in the era of the recuperation of reiki.

As for the spirits like the Tsukumogami, he would call it an artifact’s soul since it was actually transformed from an artifact. However, because Mai Kujo was a Japanese, he would need to converse with her based on her understanding.

After she sat down, she nervously held her necklace with both hands and said softly, “Sir… can I keep Whitey with me for a longer time?”

As an ordinary person, Mai Kujo thought that the world might not be what it looks like on the surface after encountering such a disturbing incident. Since her necklace could transform into a Tsukumogami, perhaps other places would have the presence of gods, spirits, etc.

Although she did not experience much these past few years, she had always believed in it. Today it finally came, catching her by surprise.

“For a long time?” Kazuki said calmly. “So should I wait till you die? I believe you are aware of the consequences of using the Tsukumogami. Are you sure you still want to keep using it?”

In Kazuki’s opinion, Tsukumogami was transformed from an artifact, so he considered it as an artifact’s spirit. However, the Tsukumogami was different from the sword’s spirit he triggered alive.

The Tsukumogami had its own thinking and consciousness, which could be both good or bad. Its ability was also unpredictable. Therefore, for humans to use their ability, they must pay the price.

Meanwhile, the sword’s spirit he triggered alive had pure consciousness and bonded with his body and mind. They did not have clear thoughts like the Tsukumogami, but they would grow mature after a long period. Moreover, humans did not need to pay back for what they did.

These were the essential differences between them.

Mai Kujo bit her lips as she remained silent. In the meantime, the necklace in her hands radiated faint light which could only be seen by both of them.

Noticing the strangeness, Mai Kujo subconsciously released both her hands. Kazuki could finally witness the appearance of the Tsukumogami.

What caught his eye was not the necklace but a wooden pendant. It was shaped like a mahjong piece without any patterns. Apparently, it was the white Mahjong dragon tile without any markings.

The next moment, a pair of eyes with the size of two green beans appeared, and a small mouth with gritted teeth facing Kazuki. It did not look scary at all, but a little adorable.

All of a sudden, the sword on the table shook. The Tsukumogami named Whitey felt an attraction from the body of the sword. Thus, it immediately transformed back into a pendant with a whoosh, hanging on Mai Kujo’s neck motionless.

Kazuki was speechless.

So weak… Kazuki perceived for an instant and realized that the overall hidden reiki of this Tsukumogami was not much, but it was pure. If it was absorbed, it could perhaps help him enter the Peak of the First Foundation State, and after a few days of training, he could achieve the Second Foundation State. This was the reason why his cultivation had improved so much.

Even if the hidden reiki was not much, but in the era of rare reiki, this accumulation of reiki was comparable to his one and a half months of cultivation.

Mai Kujo protected Whitey as she looked at the Sun and Moon Sword and gently said, “Sir, Whitey was a gift from my mother. It was originally a pendant carved by an anonymous crafter and had a history of over centuries. Since young, I wore it to learn mahjong from my mother, and it turned into a Tsukumogami when I was in junior high school.”

From then onward, Mai Kujo realized that her mahjong journey had become multicolored.

Yes, a rainbow of colors!

Every time she played, she could see many colors.

For example, if she had a mahjong tile that others would need in hand, it would turn red; if it were a safe tile, it would be white. On the other hand, if it were a tile that others could form a suit, it would be in green; if it were a card which could complete her mahjong hand, it would be gold.

Every color represents different meanings. Even if Mai Kujo had her eyes closed, she could still sense the colors. This was what Whitey gifted her.

However, this ability had a considerable drawback where her vitality would decrease at an equilibrium velocity, and she could not stop it.

In the beginning, she was terrified. But after some time, she was forced to accept this fate. Now, Mai Kujo had already gotten over it. She only hoped to make her family proud by becoming the Second Best Mahjong Player in Japan.

Therefore, it was not that she wanted to use this ability, but it was a passive skill that she could not resist at all.

Upon hearing this, Kazuki frowned. He had never heard of Tsukumogami that could force humans to utilize them unless the Tsukumogami forced it… nothing was impossible in this world, or perhaps Mai Kujo was a particular case.

As he was contemplating, he gestured Mai Kujo to show him the pendant.

Once he received the pendant, he caressed it and felt a touch of warmth spread to him. He transferred a hint of reiki and briefly perceived it, realizing that the Tsukumogami was already connected with Mai Kujo.

He should have noticed it when he used the Peeking Eyes just now, but he could not because his realm was too low, so it only lasted for two seconds. He only managed to observe the strangeness of Mai Kujo but did not have time to scrutinize because he was forced to leave when the reiki in his body was ultimately used up.

He held the pendant in his hands. If only he exerted some force, he could destroy it into pieces, and naturally absorbed its pure reiki. However, Mai Kujo might be dead on the spot.

He secretly sighed. He thought he would have gained today, but it did not seem like it.

He could not forcefully absorb it since this would kill Mai Kujo. Thinking about it, he fished out his phone and fixed his gaze at Mai Kujo, “Let’s exchange our contact numbers. You can contact me when you feel it’s about time for you to die. I will come and retrieve the Tsukumogami. I guess you understood the price you need to pay for using this Tsukumogami, so it’s better not to let others control it”.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep