Chapter Five: A Loving Father and a Dutiful Son

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How did this human suddenly transform into a formidable Hannya that even ghosts dare not approach?

The “mother” and “sister” stood frozen in place, their bodies stiffened—partly due to the overpowering control of the “fearful smile,” and partly because their simple malevolent spirits couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Two translucent evil spirits wanted nothing more than to turn and flee this haunted house immediately, but could only watch helplessly as Uesugi Che calmly approached, unable to move even an inch.

“Mom, long time no see.”

Uesugi Che warmly embraced the spirit resembling his mother, clasping her tightly with both arms. His entire being surged with ghostly power, gradually twisting the spirit into a grotesque, twisted shape.

“Uh... uh, uh...”

Under the terrified gaze of the “sister,” the “mother” spirit in Uesugi Che’s grasp could not withstand the strain and suddenly burst apart, dissolving into a cloud of gray mist that scattered across the floor.

[You have slain scattered wandering souls and gained 10 soul ashes.]

Uesugi Che shook his head regretfully. “Old thing, didn’t you pay into your pension for at least twenty years? Why are you only dropping this little gold?”

“Then next…”

Fixing his eyes on the “sister,” who had slightly regained her ability to move but was trembling uncontrollably, Uesugi Che asked with puzzlement, “Sis, didn’t I say I want to live a peaceful life alone? Why are you still bothering me?”

“G-go! I’ll leave right away!”

The “sister” wept softly as blood dripped from her eye sockets, panicked, and immediately turned to drift out of the house.

“Since you’ve come, you might as well settle in.”

A dark, bluish-black claw rested on the “sister’s” shoulder, the terrifying weight rendering her struggles utterly futile.

Watching her frantic resistance, Uesugi Che pondered.

—With his current strength, he seemed no longer afraid of such scattered wandering souls—the kind of ghosts that ordinary people often encounter, mere apparitions.

The effect of the fearful smile was also quite effective, able to forcibly control scattered wandering souls for nearly fifteen seconds, and it was a wide-range AoE.

Then, time to try…

Uesugi Che focused his mind and equipped the Hundred-Eyed Demon’s eye onto the “Smiling Hannya” card.

Instantly, his vision blurred.

When it cleared, Uesugi Che was shocked to find that his field of view had expanded from 180° to roughly 270° in front.

A subtle wave of nausea swept over him.

Even in the form of the Smiling Hannya, this sudden expansion of vision made him feel dizzy and overwhelmed.

But this minor discomfort would fade with time.

After turning his gaze around several times in place, Uesugi Che could not help but feel somewhat disappointed—was that all the Hundred-Eyed Demon’s eye could do?

Might as well let it fly freely as a scout.

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He shook his head but narrowed his eyes slightly when he returned his gaze to the “sister.”

Because above her head floated a faint mist tinged with a hint of yellow.

This mist had not appeared before equipping the Hundred-Eyed Demon’s eye.

But what did this mist signify…

Uesugi Che thought for a moment, then took out from his pocket a cloth doll whose eyes had been “accidentally” wrapped with a large wad of tissue during his journey. Looking above the doll’s head, he saw nothing.

So it had no effect on inanimate objects, even extraordinary ones.

“You stand here, don’t move.”

He instructed the “sister,” who was so frightened she dared not even breathe, then walked to the balcony and peered through the gap in the curtains at the street below.

Just then, under a nearby streetlamp, a blurry humanoid figure drifted by. Above its head also floated a mist, but paler than the “sister’s,” and without any yellow tint.

So that was it.

“Thanks for your hard work, sis.”

After giving the “sister” a thorough suppression and gaining another 10 soul ashes, Uesugi Che thought:

—The second effect of equipping the Hundred-Eyed Demon’s eye to a demon avatar seems to be the ability to discern the opponent’s strength.

Although it was still unclear whether this “strength” was an objective measure akin to star rankings or a subjective comparison relative to himself.

Either way, the effect of the Hundred-Eyed Demon’s eye was quite satisfying.

Removing the Smiling Hannya mask, Uesugi Che leaned against the soft couch.

He did not plan to immediately spend the newly gained 20 soul ashes in the half-star card pool “Secluded Bamboo Grove,” but rather intended to save up for the future when the one-star card pool unlocked.

After all, the drop rate of the half-star card pool was terribly low.

Even if, by chance, he drew a useful card like Smiling Hannya or the Hundred-Eyed Demon’s eye, it could not hide the fact that most of the time he only got “Mild Incense Ashes,” those worthless little experience bottles polluting the card pool.

As for unlocking the one-star card pool…

One only needed to possess a one-star demon avatar card.

Currently, the easiest way was to upgrade the half-star Smiling Hannya to one star—drawing a one-star demon avatar directly was less than a one-in-a-thousand chance, so Uesugi Che immediately dismissed that idea.

Not to mention he lacked enough soul ashes; even if he had enough, he wouldn’t waste them like that.

It was more practical to upgrade the cards he already had.

Selecting the “Smiling Hannya (Juvenile Form)” card on the interface,

he could then feed it the slightly glowing “Mild Incense Ashes” from his inventory.

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Uesugi Che gave it a try—feeding was limited to 10 portions at a time, and he currently had 12.

[“Smiling Hannya (Juvenile Form)” upgrading: 0%]

Watching the spinning Smiling Hannya mask on the exquisite card, Uesugi Che couldn’t help but sigh:

Damn those greedy game designers—did they really factor this in?

Drawing a pile of incense ashes from the card pool, feeding ashes to demon avatars, then using the upgraded avatars to unlock more expensive new card pools…

This was nothing short of a perfectly designed internal recycling system.

Still, being able to see Smiling Hannya slowly growing stronger was quite satisfying.

After all, a stronger Smiling Hannya meant a stronger Uesugi Che!

He just didn’t know if feeding those 10 portions of incense ashes alone would be enough for an upgrade…

Watching the progress bar remain stalled for dozens of seconds, Uesugi Che guessed it would take at least two or three days, possibly even over a week, to finish the upgrade.

Considering the sudden appearance of “mother” and “sister” spirits at home tonight, and what Nanjo Aimi had said earlier, while paranormal incidents weren’t common, they were not extremely rare either.

So during Smiling Hannya’s upgrade, he needed to develop himself quickly.

If he encountered Ririko tomorrow, he should tell her not to investigate that club for now—drawing the attention of the commander would be bad news.

While Uesugi Che was planning, the sound of a soccer match on the TV suddenly reached his ears.

He was momentarily dazed as warm memories of time spent with his “father” flooded his mind.

Then Uesugi Che smiled beside him and said, “Dad, why are you still awake so late?”

The middle-aged man beside him said nothing, silently watching the soccer game on the screen.

“Hah, forget it,” Uesugi Che shook his head, “You stay up all night watching the match, I’m going to bed.”

With that, he got up and headed to his room, stopping halfway to untie the “restraints” on the doll’s eyes.

Then he found a small string in his room and hung the doll by the door.

Nanjo-san’s doll would serve as a door guardian—he’d carry it with him when he went out.

Bang.

Uesugi Che stared at the suddenly appearing [Enter Tokoyo] option and eagerly shut the door.

Outside the room, the doll hung lightly in midair, spinning gently, its ebony eyes reflecting the empty face of the middle-aged man.