Chapter 59: Not All Dogs Go to Heaven

Because Ariko Asano had left home suddenly, she hadn’t called the family driver and took the subway herself to Shibuya Station, using a map to find the location Joqiao had given her.

“I’m exhausted,” Ariko said, breathing heavily, her chest heaving.

She had been in such a rush to leave that she hadn’t paid much attention to her outfit—just grabbed a couple of things at random: a short-sleeved T-shirt with a Kumamon bear on it and a pair of dark cropped pants. Still, it was a cute look.

“You’ve worked hard,” Joqiao said, handing Ariko, the shrine maiden, a glass of water.

She took it and gulped it down in one go.

“Who is this?” Shigeru Kamiyama asked, looking at Ariko.

If Joqiao seemed young but carried himself with the steadiness and caution of someone older—which made Shigeru think he might just have a youthful appearance—then Ariko seemed truly young, almost like a middle-schooler. Could someone that age really be an exorcist? Filled with questions, Shigeru waited for Joqiao’s explanation.

“This is Shrine Maiden Asano from Atsuta Grand Shrine, my colleague,” Joqiao introduced, having noticed Shigeru’s doubts.

“Oh, Atsuta Grand Shrine…” The moment Shigeru heard that name, he was reassured. That was a major shrine.

“Sensei, where is the vengeful spirit?” Ariko asked, glancing around after she’d caught her breath.

“There isn’t one,” Joqiao replied, explaining. While waiting for the shrine maiden, he had carefully investigated the area again and come to a conclusion.

First, after Yuzu died, its spirit lingered and remained in the house. But Yuzu hadn’t become a vengeful spirit, nor had it faded away. Second, there truly was a heavy accumulation of dark energy around Shigeru Kamiyama’s home—like what you’d find in a hospital morgue or a crematorium, unnaturally so.

Normally, Yuzu’s spirit would have been eroded by this energy over time and gradually transformed into a vengeful spirit. Its longing and attachment to its family would turn into resentment, haunting Shigeru’s household.

But Yuzu had not been corrupted. In fact, it had resisted the erosion, which was almost impossible. Emotions are complicated, even in loving families—there are always moments of irritation or discord. This negativity is usually amplified by dark energy and turns a spirit resentful.

In Yuzu’s case, it seemed to feel only pure affection toward the Kamiyama family—love, longing, gratitude, reluctance to part. Joqiao didn’t claim to understand people, let alone the heart of a dog, but he knew that Yuzu’s deepest obsession was with this family. Because of this, not only had it avoided becoming a vengeful spirit, it remained behind to protect Shigeru and his loved ones, dispelling the accumulating dark energy.

In fact, if Yuzu’s spirit hadn’t remained these past two months, Shigeru might have already encountered misfortune.

At that moment, Yuzu sat in its bed, tongue out, watching the strangers Joqiao and Ariko—just as it had when it was alive.

When Joqiao finished explaining, he turned to Shigeru. “Mr. Kamiyama, that’s the situation. We’ll perform a purification ritual to dispel the dark energy near your home so you won’t have to worry about any ill effects.”

“As for Yuzu… Although it’s now just an ordinary spirit, with time, it could still change.” Joqiao’s eyes softened. “Shrine Maiden Asano will help it pass on.”

After listening, Shigeru hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.

Ariko watched the two men, her heart full of emotion. She had expected Joqiao to demonstrate his remarkable exorcism skills again, but hadn’t anticipated this gentle outcome. It seemed her teacher was a kind person, after all.

She reached into her bag and took out a collapsible ritual wand, giving it a gentle shake. To her spiritual sight, the room began to fill with a soft, glowing power. The dark energy clinging to the beams and floorboards was drawn out and dissolved in the light.

Indeed, calling Shrine Maiden Asano had been the right choice. If Joqiao had done it, he likely would have just sprayed spiritual water everywhere—far less elegant.

As for Yuzu, at some point, the dog’s spirit had wandered into the room, chasing after the spiritual power like a pup surrounded by fireflies—utterly delighted.

“Woof, woof.”

For a moment, Shigeru thought he heard a dog barking.

“Yuzu?” He looked around, but the familiar silhouette was nowhere to be found.

“Yuzu?” he murmured, dazed and lost.

Just then, Ariko frowned suddenly.

“What is it?” Joqiao instinctively reached for his gun.

“Yuzu’s state is a little strange,” Ariko said, watching as the spirit of Yuzu nuzzled at Shigeru’s pant leg.

“It’s no longer just an ordinary spirit—it’s more like a possessing spirit now,” she explained simply, mainly for Shigeru’s benefit. “A possessing spirit is a soul that, through faith or desire, attaches itself to something—land, a mountain, a spiritual object.”

In other words, the primitive form of a local deity. For example, Meiji Shrine enshrines the spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife. Through long years of worship and the faith of the people, their spirits became deities.

Yuzu was the same, though on a much smaller scale.

Upon hearing this, Joqiao understood. Just as Yuzu had chosen to remain and protect the Kamiyama family after death, so too did the family’s longing keep Yuzu’s spirit alive. That mutual remembrance became the source of its existence.

This explained how Yuzu had dispelled the dark energy, why it hadn’t faded, and why it hadn’t become a vengeful spirit despite so much time passing.

“If you insist on sending it on, it can be done,” Ariko said, pausing in her ritual. “But that’s like erasing a shrine’s deity—it would have a negative impact on the priests and maidens of that shrine as well.”

In other words, the Kamiyama family might suffer some backlash or misfortune.

“Isn’t there a way for Yuzu to stay here—with us?” Shigeru asked, then caught himself, feeling selfish for wanting to keep Yuzu from moving on.

That was just love, under another name, and selfishness at its core.

As Ariko pondered, Yuzu’s spirit padded over to her and sat obediently before her, then bowed its head, as if begging her not to separate it from its family.

“There is a way,” Ariko said. She had studied the Shinto path, with its many insights into spirits and deities. “I can strengthen the bond between you and Yuzu. So long as you remember her, she’ll remain by your side, protecting you and keeping evil at bay.”

“After this, Yuzu won’t be just a spirit—she’ll become an inugami, a dog spirit. A guardian deity belonging to your family alone.”

Such methods weren’t forbidden. In some great houses, family heads near death would ask a shrine to perform a similar ritual, hoping to protect their descendants. Success, however, was rare—human hearts are complicated.

“Thank you both, truly.” Shigeru suddenly knelt in gratitude. Beside him, Yuzu’s spirit bowed her head as well.

The rest of the work didn’t take much time. In less than an hour, Ariko completed the transformation. Now, in the Kamiyama home, there was a place for offerings—a photo of a smiling Akita dog hanging above the incense burner.

After settling the hundred-thousand-yen fee, it was nearly dusk when they took their leave.

“I never imagined you’d be so kind, sensei. I thought you’d just shoot and exorcise Yuzu’s spirit,” Ariko teased as they walked, Joqiao a couple of paces behind.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the ground.

“Thank you for your help,” Joqiao said, acutely aware of his own limitations. He was an expert at eradicating vengeful spirits, but situations like this were another matter.

“Instead of just saying thanks, why not do something real?” Ariko grinned over her shoulder.

“Seventy thousand yen?” Joqiao ventured.

She burst out laughing. “Sensei, you really are something. Actually… how about you make me a bowl of Chinese noodles? Um, dandan noodles?”

“It’s dandan noodles,” Joqiao corrected her, thinking for a moment before nodding. “Alright, let’s go to Shinjuku then. I don’t have the ingredients at home, but I can borrow the kitchen from my boss.”

“Really? Yay!” Ariko beamed, then grew thoughtful. “But who would have thought the bond between a person and a dog could be so deep? Yuzu would rather stay with her family than ascend to paradise.”

“Yes,” Joqiao agreed, gazing ahead. They had already reached the station.

Right outside Shibuya Station, wasn’t there such a dog? One who preferred to stay by his master’s side, even more than in heaven?