Chapter 317: The Jorōgumo

The entire mountainside appeared to be in the shape of a funnel lying sideways.

The corridor that Kimura Kazuki just passed by was actually a small passageway in the funnel. But now, as he passed by rows of rooms on both sides and stepped into the depths of the mountainside, he was greeted by an extremely spacious area.

Then, his eyes fell on the creature in front of him.

"Oh, it's you."

A creature that was about four to five feet tall appeared in his sight. It was a massive spider, hovering in the middle of the web that spanned across the entire area. The spider was crunching down on a beast stuck on the web, taking its time to swallow as venomous green-colored smoke oozed out from its mouth each time it breathed out.

The green smoke then converged and morphed into a normal-sized spider. At the moment, aside from the huge spider, the web was also inhabited by a tremendous number of small hairy spiders. If there were arachnophobic people present currently, they could have long fainted from fright.

The beast stuck on the web was badly mangled and mutilated, and there was no chance at all that it might still be alive. Despite having enhanced night vision, Kimura Kazuki was still unable to identify what kind of beast it was.

However, after seeing the giant spider, Kimura Kazuki recognized it straight away.

A Jorōgumo! It was a type of Yokai in Japanese folklore, and it carried the meaning 'spiderwoman'.

The reason why Kimura Kazuki was able to recognize it at first glance was that he remembered Tomoya Saito mentioning that he had encountered a beautiful young lady one night. A Jorōgumo was said to possess the ability of shapeshifting into a beautiful woman in order to seduce men, in turn having their severed heads as food.

Kimura Kazuki knew that most of the monsters in Japanese legends were just myths made up by ordinary people. He had asked Sei Shigeru about this previously, who had told him that there might be archetypes of those legendary monsters circulating online. However, most of them were created by people out of their imaginations, because there were no legendary monsters recorded in the history of the clan.

As for the archetypes of monsters like the Tengu and Yuki-onna, they still existed in the real world to this day.

Kimura Kazuki was certain that the giant spider in front of him was a Jorōgumo. The creature was drawn using the Soul Summoning Pencil, and then it came to life. After developing its own mind, it managed to escape without a trace.

He did not expect to encounter the creature here. Contrary to what one might expect, Kimura Kazuki was actually calm, as he knew that this creature's strength was not particularly high. Even if he killed the creature, he would not gain much reiki from it, but of course it was better than nothing.

When Kimura Kazuki stopped walking, Tomohito Kobayashi, who was supporting his father, Takashi Kobayashi, with one hand, had finally caught up to him.

As they reached Kimura Kazuki's side, they lifted their heads to the sky, but saw only darkness. The occasional rustling noises that they heard sent shivers down their spines, chills running all over their bodies.

"Hold on..."

Right when Tomohito Kobayashi switched on his flashlight, Kimura Kazuki was just about to stop him, but it was too late.

Tomohito Kobayashi's skill in using the flashlight was pretty good. He did not shine it on one spot, instead he pointed at the flashlight above him. In the next moment, the light reflected and spread out over the apex of the mountainside, and the entire mountainside was illuminated in a dim glow.

As for the gigantic spider that was hovering in the air, any passerby would no doubt notice it with just one glance by now.

Takashi Kobayashi did not utter any words. He could only stare blankly while his stiff body fell backward.

Tomohito Kobayashi was too stunned that he did not even notice his father's condition. Kimura Kazuki had no choice but to lend an arm to Takashi Kobayashi and support him, transferring reiki to his core so that he would not be scared to death.

After all, Takashi Kobayashi was considered elderly. At this age, any slight incident might cause his life to perish. The spider in front of them was nothing to Kimura Kazuki, but Takashi Kobayashi was like any other ordinary person; he had never come across a spider that enormous in his whole life.

Any ordinary person would freak out when they see a mere mouse, let alone a giant spider that was four to five feet large. It was not biologically possible after all.

Before Kimura Kazuki could speak, Taisei Kobayashi and the other two had finally caught up. As they came closer, their eyes widened and they were immediately stunned by what they saw.

The three of them froze in place. Two of them felt their legs giving out, causing them to collapse swiftly to the ground. Their bodies shivered uncontrollably as their lips trembled, no words coming out from their mouths. Taisei Kobayashi was the only one who was in a slightly better condition. Cold sweat dotted his forehead and yet, after swallowing and parting his lips profusely, he could only manage a gasp. Any words he attempted to form were stuck in his throat. He could hardly say anything or make any sounds.

Kimura Kazuki knew that when people were in fear, that emotion would be transmitted to their brains and cause them to be paralyzed, locking down their bodies, as if they were being bound by chains. It was not that they did not want to face their fear, but the fear prevented them from having control over their own bodies.

Seeing this, Kimura Kazuki knew that this was not the time to deal with them. He noticed that Tomohito Kobayashi's eyes were still hazy, therefore it seemed that he had yet to snap out of it. Kimura Kazuki did not even bother to wake him, instead, he shifted his gaze toward the Jorōgumo. The only matter that needed to be dealt with immediately was the monster.

"Master..."

However, just as he started to brainstorm strategies, a gentle yet timid voice piped up.

The voice was heard not only by Kimura Kazuki, but the others as well.

The voice caused Taisei Kobayashi to snap back to reality. "Yo... Yokai..." He cried out in fear, then immediately covered his mouth as he realized that the two frontmost eyes of the giant spider were inadvertently diverted at him.

At this moment, Tomohito Kobayashi took a step back, though his eyes were still glazed. Kimura Kazuki was unsure whether he had recovered, or he was still in a state of shock.

However, Kimura Kazuki did not spare them a glance as his focus was pinned fully on the giant spider. There was no doubt that he had heard the voice, so he asked out of interest, "Were you the one who spoke?"

It was quite hard to imagine that such a terrifying creature could produce such a pleasant sound.

"It was me, master..." As the Jorōgumo finished speaking, its whole body trembled and its densely dotted eyes receded. As it squirmed, its upper body transformed into skin that was as pure as jade, and a lovely face of a young lady appeared before everybody.

Even though she appeared to be stunning, the terrifying lower half of her body reminded everyone that she was still a horrifying monster.

"Is it possible for you to transform into something smaller?" Kimura Kazuki's tone was now softer. Even though the two had never met before, the Jorōgumo in front of him had an innocent face, and the fear that was harbored in those eyes when they looked into his, was indeed genuine.

In the past, the relationship between Yokais and humans had its ups and downs. However, Kimura Kazuki had a more forgiving ideology compared to the people from the Dharma Ending Age. If this Jorōgumo had committed numerous evil deeds, clearly he would never let it escape unscathed. Though if the creature had never harmed a single soul, Kimura Kazuki might allow it to go free.

They were quite different compared to spirits.

During the Dharma Ending Age where cultivation was not possible, the only choice left was to finish off the obsession of any specters that people encountered, then absorb its reiki afterward. This was because as time passed by, the mind of a specter would slowly become distorted, and they would gradually turn into a demon.

But Yokais who had a mind of their own were just like humans, some were good and some were bad.

"It... seems that I can't..." The Jorōgumo looked miserable. However, she realized that everyone else around him was looking at her with fear. After giving it more thought, an idea popped into her mind. All the small spiders scattered around the corners started to sublimate into greenish smoke and were sucked into her belly. Not long after, the Jorōgumo looked at Kimura Kazuki with innocent eyes as she pitifully inquired, "Master, are you here to kill me?"

"That depends on what you have done in the past."