174: Chapter 174 The Living Top Star and His Warm-hearted Father

He turned his head and looked at Kayako, who was still wriggling on the floor like a caterpillar.

A strange flush appeared on that deathly pale face, and she even let out one or two extremely sticky, muffled groans.

Qin Ming pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling that it was an eyesore.

He didn't bother watching this absurd farce any longer. He raised his right hand, and a ball of blinding golden holy light rapidly compressed and took shape at his fingertips.

"Hurry up and get on your way," Qin Ming said with a casual flick of his wrist.

The fist-sized "Holy Light Bullet" turned into a golden meteor, accurately smashing into Kayako's back.

At the moment of contact, there was no violent explosion, only extremely pure holy energy silently diffusing outward.

"Ugh—!" A short, shrill shriek escaped Kayako's throat.

In the golden light, the massive resentment that had been entrenched here for years was like snow being doused with boiling oil; along with her twisted spirit body, it instantly disintegrated, leaving not a single speck of residue behind.

[ju-on eliminated, Points +50]

[ju-on exorcised, Points +200]

The system's notification sounded right on time.

Meanwhile, at the corner of the second-floor hallway...

Seeing his backer killed in one shot, the pale boy Toshio let out a terrified cat-like cry, turning around to scramble into the ceiling vent.

"Where are you running?" Emma's sweet voice rang out from below.

The ethereal blue Magic Radiant Sword floating beside Emma jolted violently, piercing through Toshio's back and pinning him directly to the wall.

The blue magical energy instantly exploded, and Toshio's body then turned into a wisp of white smoke and completely dissipated.

[ju-on eliminated, Points +20.]

"Boring," Emma yawned.

A total of seventy points. Qin Ming glanced at the system panel; it was decent enough.

He snapped his fingers. Dracula's spirit bowed slightly, then turned into a dark red shadow and merged back into the shadow beneath Qin Ming's feet.

The suffocating chill in the air finally receded completely.

Qin Ming walked to the entrance and looked at the high school girl, Takagi Suzuka, who was still unconscious on the floor.

He sighed, leaned down, grabbed the back collar of her sailor uniform, and dragged her out of the Saeki residence like a sack of flour.

After dumping Takagi Suzuka by her own front door, Qin Ming brushed the dust off his hands.

"Let's go get something to eat." Qin Ming led Emma toward a convenience store at the corner.

The next few hours passed uneventfully.

Qin Ming and Emma bought some oden and fried chicken at the convenience store, sitting on the bar stools by the window to pass the time.

Emma offered severe criticism of Japanese fried chicken, believing it wasn't nearly as crispy as the one made by the old Black man in Los Angeles.

Qin Ming watched the pedestrians on the street with boredom.

It wasn't until evening that Robert stepped out of the car, dressed in a suit. Although his brow carried the fatigue of a long flight and meetings, the smile on his face was exceptionally bright.

"Kids! Good news!" Robert pushed open the courtyard gate and waved to the two sitting on the steps. "The branch office handover went very smoothly.

To celebrate, Dad is taking you to eat the most authentic Tokyo specialty cuisine tonight!"

Dinner was handled at a nearby, elegantly decorated Japanese restaurant.

Robert ordered a large amount of tempura, sukiyaki, and high-grade Wagyu beef sashimi.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the family of three walked home slowly under the cover of night.

It was past nine o'clock in the evening, and the streets of this residential area were already very quiet.

The dim yellow streetlights stretched their shadows very long.

Just as they were only one intersection away from their home, a noisy sound broke the silence of the night.

"Hey, hey, little sister, looking for a place to stay all by yourself so late?"

"Why don't we big brothers take you somewhere fun? Guaranteed to be much more comfortable than renting a room alone."

Qin Ming looked toward the sound. In a dark corner where the streetlights couldn't reach, three Japanese punks with dyed yellow hair and cheap earrings were surrounding a young woman.

The woman kept her head down. Beside her feet were a very large old-fashioned leather suitcase and two bulging canvas bags; she looked like a country girl who had just arrived in the city.

Robert's footsteps stopped instantly, his ingrained sense of justice suddenly surging.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Robert strode over.

The three punks were startled by this sudden roar.

They turned their heads and, by the light of the streetlamps, saw a burly foreign man over 1.8 meters tall approaching angrily.

"Tch, a foreigner." The leader with yellow hair cursed and spat. Weighing the difference in combat power, he decisively waved his hand.

The three punks scurried into a nearby alley like drowned rats and quickly disappeared.

Robert walked forward and looked at the woman.

"Are you okay?" Robert asked using the extremely stiff Japanese words he had just learned along the way, accompanied by concerned gestures.

The woman still kept her head down. She wore a slightly faded plaid shirt and a long dark skirt. Her long black hair hung down from both sides, covering most of her face.

As a cold wind blew past, her thin body trembled slightly.

She didn't speak, but only shook her head extremely slowly. She seemed socially anxious to the extreme, not daring to look Robert in the eye at all.

Robert looked at the pile of heavy luggage by her feet, then pointed to the single-family house a few dozen meters ahead.

"My house is just around that corner up ahead," Robert said, softening his tone. "It's so late and too cold outside. Why don't you come to my place for a cup of hot water to calm down? It won't be too late to leave once you've warmed up."

The woman seemed to want to refuse, but another gust of night wind swept by, and she shivered.

Under Robert's extremely sincere gaze, she finally hesitated and gave an extremely slight nod.

They arrived home.

The light in the living room was very warm.

The woman carefully placed her luggage at the entrance, her hands wringing together as she sat uneasily on the edge of the sofa.

Robert went to the kitchen to pour a cup of steaming hot water, walked over, and handed it to her.

Qin Ming and Emma sat on the single sofa on the other side.

Emma had a lollipop she'd swiped from the convenience store in her mouth. She tilted her head, her gaze unabashedly sizing up the woman.

Qin Ming appeared calm on the surface, but at this moment, he could clearly feel a massive amount of spiritual power dormant within this seemingly weak woman, like a deep-sea vortex.

This was definitely not an ordinary person.

"I'm Robert, I just moved here today." Robert rubbed his hands and sat on a nearby chair, trying to break the ice with a relaxed tone. "Actually, I'm not very familiar with this area either, haha, I only know a few words of Japanese."

Robert clearly didn't know how to communicate with a young girl in a state of shock.

The woman held the disposable paper cup with both hands. The warmth of the hot water transmitted through her palms, making her body less stiff.

"Sadako," her voice was very soft, carrying an ethereal, echoing quality. "My name is Sadako Yamamura."

The hand Qin Ming was using to hold his water cup suddenly jerked.

???

"Sadako Yamamura?" Qin Ming's voice wasn't controlled well and rose slightly.

Perhaps because Qin Ming's voice was too loud, the woman on the sofa was like a startled fawn, immediately looking up.

With the help of the bright light in the living room, Qin Ming finally saw her face clearly.