Chapter 630: Unexpected

The Yasukuni Shrine in Ri Nation was in Kudankita of Chiyoda, Dongjing, and was dedicated to the soldiers and their families who had died in wars since the Meiji Restoration era. Most of them were soldiers of the Ri Nation who took part in the Second Sino-j.a.panese War and the Pacific War, including some thirty thousand of the Takasago Volunteers. The shrine complex comprised several buildings housing prayer halls such as Reijibo Hōanden, Honden, Haiden, Tori, Yūshūkan, Chōzuya, and many others.

The priests of the shrine had been waiting for Koizumi Junichiro since this morning, and they had received his notification only last night. All of them were made aware that the governor of Dongjing would visit today.

A dozen police officers had been dispatched to the Haiden Hall to conduct a thorough search of its surrounding. There they checked the inside of the hall meticulously and escorted out all non-essential personnel. The only person left behind was the high priest who managed the shrine, and he was a man well known to Koizumi Junichiro. The police officers had conducted five thorough searches, combing through the area with highly sensitive detectors for the possibility of hidden bombs.

Besides the Haiden Hall, the police also conducted thorough checks on Reijibo Hōanden, which only opened to the top officials of the Ri Nation. So thorough and complete was the security check that it included a search of the crossbeams, and even a fly could not escape detection.

On top of the police officers or the three hundred Self-Defense Force members, they all had a secret pa.s.scode to verify one another’s ident.i.ty. As all visitors were required to verify their ident.i.ty, security personnel carried portable fingerprint recognition devices. Although Xiao Han, the thousand-faced killer, could transform himself into someone else, his fingerprints could not be altered.

Koizumi Junichiro walked into the shrine through the front gate under the watchful eyes of an escort of a dozen police officers, including Miyazaki Ronjin and Asou Shuyao. He looked curious and slightly confused. Turning to Miyazaki Ronjin, he said, “The distance between my residence and the shrine is only of seventeen kilometers. Yet that thousand-faced killer, Xiao Han, did not attempt to a.s.sa.s.sinate me en route. Could this be a trap?”

“I would imagine so,” Miyazaki Ronjin answered.

Ever since Xiao Luo became an elusive and dangerous outlaw, Miyazaki Ronjin’s entire demeanor had suddenly changed. He now looked a revitalized man who had regained his self-respect and the discipline of a head inspector.

Although he knew that they were setting up a trap, he still felt uneasy as his instincts told him that there was a pair of eyes looking at them from the dark. It felt like they were being predated upon by a venomous snake that was going to strike anytime.

“That outlaw is not dumb, and he would have noted the preparations we have made,” Asou Shuyao said, trying to make her presence felt in the company of the governor of Dongjing. She took every opportunity to speak to Koizumi Junichiro.

“Then he’s probably going to disappoint me. I didn’t expect that he’d be such a coward.”

Koizumi Junichiro felt the bullet vest on underneath his clothes, and he felt slightly disappointed. He then stepped into the Haiden Hall, leaning into his walking stick.

The ritual for paying respects to the war dead at the Yasukuni shrine always started with the Haiden Hall and then on to the Hōanden building, which housed the Reijibo. The Reijibo contained some two hundred names and black-and-white photographs of the martyred soldiers. This included Koizumi Junichiro’s father.

“Welcome and good morning, Mr. Koizumi Junichiro!”

The highest-ranking priest of the shrine came forward to greet Koizumi Junichiro with a warm smile. He was wearing a black kanmuri cap, held a shaku in his right hand, and was dressed in a special white pure robe. His silver hair gave him a very dignified appearance.

“Good morning, High Priest.”

Koizumi Junichiro bowed to the priest and returned his greeting with his palms pressed together.

“This way, please.” The priest showed the way with his left hand.

“Thank you.”

Koizumi Junichiro nodded and entered the Haiden with his walking stick.

Miyazaki Ronjin took out the machine for fingerprint detection and said, “High Priest, please rest your thumb on this machine for verification purposes.”

“I have known the priest long enough. Is this really necessary?” Koizumi Junichiro asked, and a frown showed on his face.

“Governor, we have to be as careful as we can.”

Asou Shuyao added with much respect. She had reached an understanding with Miyazaki Ronjin on this matter.

“Haha, haha… Then I’ll do as you wish. It is not a problem.”

The priest smiled as he put his left thumb on the device. The indicator lighted up in green, which meant that his fingerprint did not match the fingerprints of the wanted criminal, Xiao Han.

“Are we done already?”

Koizumi Junichiro was a little upset with Miyazaki Ronjin and Asou Shuyao, for one should never doubt a priest. Although they did it for the sake of his safety, they had also offended the priest.

Both Miyazaki Ronjin and Asou Shuyao bowed slightly to express their sincere apology.

“Humph!”

Koizumi Junichiro snapped and strode in.

The priest followed closely behind.

To pay respects in a shrine, one needed to clean one’s hands, and it was symbolic of cleansing one’s soul. The practice was for the priest to scoop water with a ladle and pour it over both hands of Koizumi Junichiro first. Koizumi Junichiro would receive the water with his left hand to rinse his mouth. After spitting the water in his mouth, he would use the remaining water from the ladle to wash his left hand. Finally, he would wash the handle of the ladle before putting it back.

Then, he would proceed to the bell and ring it three times, keeping sincere thoughts in his mind, before respectfully placing an offering of money into the donation box, and ending the custom with two deep bows.

The priest would witness and a.s.sist the entire process.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a deafening blast came from outside the building. An explosion had occurred on the ground a dozen meters away from the Haiden Hall, causing a swirling cloud of dust and debris.

SWOOSH.

Every police officer in the Haiden drew their guns and was on high alert.

“Is Xiao Han here?”

Koizumi Junichiro was shocked by the explosion, but he soon calmed down. There were three hundred men from the Self-Defense Force outside, after all, and Xiao Luo would be digging his own grave if he dared to attempt the a.s.sa.s.sination here. He had nothing to worry about, he thought.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll check.”

Miyazaki Ronjin did not trust the Self-Defense Force, so he shouted at the police officers in the hall, “Protect the governor!”

He then turned around and ran out quickly.

After he had left the Haiden Hall, the priest, a.s.sisting Koizumi Junichiro, suddenly transformed, and he emanated an aura of savage bloodl.u.s.t. With no warning, he thrust his shaku into Koizumi Junichiro’s throat like a sharp sword, piercing through his neck.

SWIs.h.!.+

Koizumi Junichiro stared at the shaku as it pierced through his neck. Blood oozed out of his nose and mouth, and when he looked up at the priest again, he saw the eyes of a wolf.

He was not the priest, but Xiao Han, the thousand-faced killer!

“Governor!”

Asou Shuyao and the police officers were all shocked, for none of them had expected that Xiao Luo could have known the ritual of wors.h.i.+p. He even deceived the fingerprint recognition system they had put in place. How could this be possible? How did he pa.s.s the fingerprint test?

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The police officers squeezed their triggers and immediately fired at Xiao Luo, sending a hail of bullets toward him and turning the hall into a battleground.

Xiao Luo evaded the shots and seemed to waltz through the hail of bullets effortlessly. He leaped into the air and chopped down at the police officers with his bare hands, knocking them out unconscious, all within three seconds.

“Xiao Han, you will pay for this!”

Asou Shuyao pulled out two daggers from her sleeves and bounded toward Xiao Luo. Being a martial artist belonging to the Asou family, she had mastered the technique of Divine Slaying Sword Skill. She could also apply this technique to daggers.