The phone screen displayed "No Service," yet the ringtone blared incessantly. Then, the call connected on its own, and from the speaker emerged a guttural cry—impossible to tell whether it came from a beast or a human.
"Hey…"
The distorted audio garbled into barely intelligible words, but this wasn't a conversation. Soon, the voice crackled and popped with static, a meaningless 'hey, hey, hey, hey—' pouring into her ears in a relentless, nonsensical stream.
In terms everyone would understand, this was what you'd call a 'haunting.'
But according to Copano Rickey's feng shui perspective, it could be interpreted as a shift in fortune—the forces of heaven warping into a malignant tide, with misfortune taking the lead.
The oppressive Yin energy surrounding them was terrifyingly thick.
Her ears twitched slightly as Copano Rickey listened to the whispers on the wind.
The spiritual talisman in her hand, meant to harmonize the feng shui, ignited uncontrollably. Cold, colourless flames licked at the paper, giving off no warmth whatsoever.
This disturbance in the feng shui had far surpassed what a single talisman could hope to rectify.
Her expression turned grave as she stared at the dark-haired Uma Musume standing just a few paces away.
Golden eyes glowed with an eerie light from within her pupils.
No wonder she wore a mask, hiding her face from view.
No wonder Manhattan Cafe had been so determined to obstruct her.
This black-haired girl before her was the spitting image of Manhattan Cafe!
Just what is the connection between you two?
Copano Rickey tried to speak, but a knife-like cold wind forced its way into her lungs, stealing her voice.
Snap!
A sudden looseness at her foot—her securely tied shoelaces had somehow snapped clean in two.
Whether it was ghosts or feng shui, neither could directly affect a person.
But the streak of bad luck these phenomena attracted was another story—utterly terrifying.
Just moments ago, she'd merely intended to step closer to the other girl, and misfortune had descended upon her one thing after another.
Holding her loose shoe in place, Copano Rickey shuffled forward.
Then a sharp crack!sounded above. A heavy tree trunk, unable to withstand the fierce wind, came crashing down right in front of her. Sharp branches stabbed deep into the cracks of the paved path, prying the stones apart.
Calamity swirled around her.
"Even a ghost shouldn't be able to bring this much bad luck. It seems you..."
Have drawn a malignant spirit here!
A smile played on the girl's lips as she spoke, utterly unshaken by the violent gale.
"Your so-called Heaven, Earth, and Man... they feel less real to me than these beings."
After all, the world she saw was fundamentally different from that of an ordinary human. Ghosts and living things were one and the same to her.
Witnessing this, Copano Rickey gritted her teeth.
I knew it... You're far too dangerous!
From within her wide sleeve, she produced a small yellow bell and began to ring it gently.
Ding-a-ling!
A clear, crisp chime rang out, and immediately, the ferocity of the wind lessened slightly.
A strong, peculiar sensation washed over the area. The biting cold began to recede, and the chaotic feng shui slowly started to regain its order.
The girl narrowed her eyes, watching Copano Rickey's every move.
If this girl felt like an abyssal black to Copano Rickey, then to the girl, Copano Rickey was a blinding, brilliant white.
A light constantly shone behind her, as if something was perpetually illuminating her path.
Was it luck? Or perhaps the colour of her soul?
The girl wasn't sure. But one thing was crystal clear.
She and Copano Rickey were like two opposite ends of a spectrum—naturally incompatible.
This confrontation wasn't about life or death. She simply wanted to show this feng shui master that she wasn't some common ghost to be bossed around.
Stop threatening me with those talismans!
As Copano Rickey continued ringing the bell, the girl saw white mist beginning to cling to the ghosts around them.
Where the mist touched, their forms grew more and more transparent.
So this is what exorcism really looks like?
It was her first time witnessing the very moment a soul vanished.
They didn't seem to be in pain. If anything, they looked... relieved.
However, the sound of the bell grew progressively muffled and dull as more and more ghosts gathered, especially that massive, terrifying one that resembled solidified crude oil, constantly emitting horrifying shrieks. It dispersed the white mist effortlessly. At the same time, the bell's chime faltered for an instant.
This was a malignant spirit.
Who knows where Sunday Silence had managed to dig this one up.
The bell, designed to alter feng shui, had no obvious effect on it.
Copano Rickey realized it too. Watching the golden bell darken and tarnish, she simply tossed it aside and pulled two talismans from her pocket.
Seeing this, the dreadful spirit seemed utterly enraged. An indistinct limb—perhaps a hand—lashed out at her.
The incorporeal attack passed right through her body, but from the spirit's fingertips, it seemed to pull wispy strands of white smoke from within Copano Rickey.
"Fortune," Sunday Silence remarked. "Even a malignant spirit can't touch a human body directly. But they can steal a person's fortune outright."
This was what Copano Rickey would call one's 'destined lot.'
Those touched by a malignant spirit would find their luck turning abysmal, much like an ordinary person suddenly becoming prone to all manner of illnesses.
So, whether an exorcist or a feng shui master, their fear of malignant spirits rarely stemmed from the spirits themselves, but rather from the calamities they attracted.
However, this wasn't Copano Rickey's first encounter with a malignant spirit.
Hearing the change within herself, she swiftly slapped the two talismans onto her own chest.
Throughout this confrontation, the girl in black had maintained the role of the guide.
Luring the spirits, applying the pressure.
So far, the results were striking.
Will-o'-the-wisps spread across Copano Rickey's chest, blocking the malignant spirit's grasp.
But simultaneously, the faint white mist that had been clinging to her body also vanished.
The calamity arrived right on schedule.
With a loud bang! an underground water pipe burst, sending huge clods of earth shooting into the air before raining down on Copano Rickey like a sudden storm.
In an instant, her clean outfit was plastered with mud.
Wiping the grime from her eyes, and before the next misfortune could strike, Copano Rickey's ears suddenly shot upright.
As if she'd finally found her opening, she kicked off her shoes and sprinted towards the ruptured pipe.
Pulling a handful of white powder from her pocket, she flung it without hesitation onto the geyser of water.
The powder dissolved into the spray, falling like rain upon the gathered spirits.
Like thin ice melting away, the ghosts' bodies began to emit wisps of black smoke.
Even the malignant spirit grew progressively weaker under the downpour, until finally, it dissolved into a tendril of smoke and vanished into the air.
"It seems luck is still on my side," Copano Rickey said, a grin spreading across her mud-streaked face.
Now that the misfortune blocking her path was gone, the way forward lay clear.
But just as Copano Rickey stood up, ready to approach the other girl—
"What in the world... happened here?"
Leaning against a tree trunk, Manhattan Cafe had arrived. She surveyed the chaotic scene, demanding an answer between ragged breaths.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.