Blessing and Curse

"Itsumaden... that's truly a beautiful name..."

After softly repeating the girl's name, Miketsu spoke to her through the paper crane.

"Beautiful? Thank you..."

Hearing Miketsu's praise, Itsumaden said indifferently, then fell silent again, merely sitting there, quietly continuing to gaze at the paper crane in her hand.

Seeing this, Miketsu couldn't help but speak again.

"Aren't you curious who I am? Don't you want to know my identity? Normally, when encountering an item that conveys messages, one would surely be very curious about the being behind it who is speaking through it."

"What does it matter if I'm curious or not? What does it matter if I know or not? In the end, nothing can be changed... knowing more will ultimately be meaningless..." Itsumaden continued with a sigh, her tone filled with negativity, which Miketsu could clearly perceive.

There's truly no hope to be felt...

Miketsu sighed, shook her head slightly, then continued to ask.

"Why were you captured and imprisoned here? What have they done to you?"

Hearing Miketsu's question, Itsumaden chuckled lightly, saying with surprise in her expression.

"I truly didn't expect that among those who actively approach me, there would be someone who doesn't know Itsumaden, doesn't know about the Golden Feather. I think... you must be the first."

"Golden Feather?" Hearing the new term, Miketsu became even more puzzled. According to the other party's words, Itsumaden and the Golden Feather seemed to be very famous.

Hearing Miketsu's question, Itsumaden said nothing more, but silently raised her other wing-arm, allowing its dust-covered bright yellow feathers to unfurl. Then, a faint wisp of demonic power surged over them.

Among the feathers Itsumaden unfurled, several emitted a golden glow, instantly illuminating the dim, confined space.

In the darkness, the golden long feathers emitted a soft radiance, with tiny specks of light like fireflies circling around them, drifting down like sparkling snowflakes, truly beautiful.

"This... is the Golden Feather?" Gazing at the beautiful sight before her, Miketsu sighed inwardly.

"Yes, these are what the world calls Golden Feathers. Essentially, they are crystallized demonic energy of mine. Each time I undergo a stage of growth, I gain another one of these feathers. They... are regarded as treasures by humans and even yokai..." Looking at the Golden Feathers on her body, Itsumaden's eyes were filled with resentment.

"Treasures?"

"That's right... treasures, and treasures even more precious than gold..."

As Itsumaden showed Miketsu her radiant feathers, she recounted the misfortunes they brought.

Itsumaden are extremely rare yokai. These so-called Golden Feathers are formed when their demonic energy crystallizes and consumes ordinary feathers after a period of demonic power growth. Because of their luxurious appearance and extreme rarity, they were once considered treasures more valuable than gold.

Such a value system was devastating for the Itsumaden species. They were extensively hunted, forcibly bred, and had their Golden Feathers regularly plucked. After plucking, they would wait for them to regrow, then pluck again.

For Itsumaden, Golden Feathers are crystallized demonic energy and a measure of growth. Forcibly plucking them is not only extremely painful but also causes a massive loss of demonic power, leading to a loss of cultivation and a reduced lifespan. If this continues, imprisoned Itsumaden quickly die.

The already rare Itsumaden saw their numbers sharply decline due to hunting by both humans and yokai. The production of Golden Feathers also decreased year by year, which in turn caused the value of Golden Feathers to skyrocket, further intensifying the persecution of Itsumaden.

For Itsumaden, she had never seen any other of her kind apart from her mother.

"Mother once said that these Golden Feathers are a blessing from heaven for us. Legend has it that if an Itsumaden can live long enough to replace all the feathers on her body with Golden Feathers, she can ascend to the Celestial Realm, transform into a heavenly demon, and stand alongside the gods..."

"Heh, yet in my eyes, these Golden Feathers are indeed a curse. Because of them, my mother died violently, my kin were wiped out, and I've lived a life of fear and solitude since childhood, daring not to approach humans... nor yokai. As soon as any news of me accidentally leaked, I had to move to another place..."

"Thus, I drifted for a hundred years. Perhaps due to my mother's favor, I always escaped danger by a hair's breadth throughout these hundred years, countless times evading peril, never caught by anyone. Over the century, the Golden Feathers on my body grew more numerous, and I even cultivated to the point of shapeshifting. Just when I thought I could continue like this, misfortune finally struck..."

With a light sigh, Itsumaden recounted her ordeal to Miketsu. The paper crane in Itsumaden's hand remained silent. After a long moment, Miketsu's words finally emerged from it.

"Have you... tried to escape?"

"That was in the beginning, but it only resulted in these injuries and nothing else. However, they seem to be planning to sell me whole, fearing it would harm the price, so they haven't touched my Golden Feathers yet... But none of that matters anymore... What's meant to come will always come. My ultimate fate might be even more tragic than death..."

"Heh... perhaps this isn't a bad thing. I'm already tired of living in constant fear... Ending everything here might be good. If I am the last Itsumaden in this world, then such things will never happen again."

Itsumaden's words carried deep despair. She seemed to hold no hope of escaping from here.

"Perhaps you don't need to be so negative. Things haven't reached their final stage; everything could still turn around, there's still hope." Miketsu's voice continued to emanate from the paper crane.

"Hope? What hope is there... Who can bring hope... These self-deceiving empty talks are meaningless."

As she spoke, Itsumaden gazed vaguely at the skylight, which cast down light, and continued, "In times like these, humans might still place their hopes in elusive deities, wishing for gods to perform miracles, to have something to cling to for hope even at the very last moment. That truly is somewhat enviable. Though it's mere illusion, it at least offers some comfort..."

After listening to Itsumaden's words, Miketsu fell silent again. After a long moment, she spoke once more.

"Since you envy it, then why don't you also entrust this last hope to the gods?"

"Would it be useful? Do gods hear the prayers of yokai? So-called gods... aren't they all objects of human faith? Those who are high above probably rarely even respond to their human believers, let alone me, a yokai..."

"Not necessarily. If you don't try, no one will know the outcome... Perhaps in this world, there might even be gods belonging to yokai."

"Gods... belonging to yokai? What nonsense are you talking about? Heh, how could such a thing exist?" Listening to the words emanating from the paper crane, Itsumaden couldn't help but softly shake her head, and the other party quickly responded.

"If you don't try praying, how can you know if there is one or not?"

"Praying..."

"If a time comes when everything is beyond salvation, when all is futile and hopeless, you, perhaps, can try praying.

...

The sun in the sky was gradually setting in the west, and twilight was nearing its end. As night was about to fall, several figures stood on a mountain outside Fangshan Castle.

"Whoa! Look! Over there, over there! Mr. Frog is right there!"

Yamausagi stretched out her small hand, pointing towards Fangshan Castle in the setting sun, and said, "Hoo... hoo... we're finally here. This place is too far from Heian-kyo! Are you sure the intelligence is correct? Nura Rihyon."

"Of course, the intelligence I gathered isn't wrong. The Taira samurai escorting a large batch of goods isn't a hidden target; it's natural for information to leak out when detected by humans and yokai." With a slight smile, Nura Rihyon looked at the distant mountain castle and said, "The target is right before us, but we need to be careful. According to the intelligence, the Taira clan has sent Taira no Kageyori to escort them this time. If possible, it's best we complete the rescue discreetly and avoid direct confrontation with them..."

"Is that Taira no Kageyori very strong?" The tanuki Tamamura turned his head and asked Nura Rihyon curiously.

"Yes, very strong. He's a top-tier warrior among the Taira samurai. This strength comes from his old man."

"Taira no Kageyori's... old man?"

Hearing the question from the tanuki from Shikoku, Nura Rihyon's expression hardened, and he said seriously, "The greatest warrior under heaven... the de facto ruler of the entire Kanto region... the Great Lord of the Eastern Provinces... a human said to be more yokai than yokai, as powerful as a monster..."

"Taira no Masakado..."