The Return of Itsumaden

On the roof of Fangshan Castle's mansion, Minamoto no Yorimasa threw out a paper doll, summoning a new bird shikigami, then he directly jumped onto the shikigami and flew into the sky.

"Thief, don't run!" Taira no Kageyori, seeing this, immediately drew a bow from behind him, nocked an arrow, aimed at Minamoto no Yorimasa, and shot, but did not hit.

"Damn it..." Taira no Kageyori was furious, but as a samurai unable to control a flying shikigami, he was helpless against Minamoto no Yorimasa. He could only angrily snap the second arrow he had taken into his hand to vent his frustration.

Just then, Taira no Kageyori felt a warmth on his body. After a moment of surprise, he quickly reached inside his armor and pulled out a yellow talisman that had burned to ash. This was a precious charm used for warning, and its burning meant something had been triggered.

"Itsu... maden..."

Seeing the state of the yellow talisman, Taira no Kageyori's heart tightened. He disregarded the escaping Minamoto no Yorimasa, put away his bow, and leaped directly from the top of the mansion to the ground, arriving before the still-astonished samurai captain.

"Lord Kageyori!"

"Gather everyone and follow me... as fast as possible, Itsumaden has been stolen!"

Minamoto no Yorimasa flew through the sky on the demonic bird, overlooking the scarred land below in the moonlight, murmuring to himself with a serious expression.

"Onmyoji... Onmyojutsu... Onmyojutsu with exaggerated power..."

Faced with the current situation, Minamoto no Yorimasa was not only astonished but also increasingly furious. His plan had been formulated according to the intelligence provided by his family. According to the original information, there were no threatening targets in this castle apart from Taira no Kageyori. Their original plea for help to the Heian-kyo Onmyoryo had been directly passed to the Subjugation Bureau, assigned as a mission for the Bumingtang, and the ones who came were just a bunch of nobodies who weren't even Onmyoji.

Although Taira no Kageyori later sent another plea for help, the Onmyoryo's other dispatched Onmyoji would arrive at the earliest tomorrow morning. Minamoto no Yorimasa only needed to hold Taira no Kageyori back, and everything else should have been flattened by the demon horde... that's how it should have unfolded.

"Hmph... Weren't they saying that those sent from Heian-kyo were just insignificant trash? Trash with spiritual power exceeding a Junior Secretary?"

Minamoto no Yorimasa snorted coldly. He had already decided to thoroughly question his elder brother once he returned.

Just then, he cast his gaze northward, the anger in his eyes subsiding slightly. His plan had not completely failed; he still had a backup. In the current situation, he could only rely on that pre-arranged contingency.

Miketsu rode Tsuruha, speeding through Fangshan Castle. She didn't go directly to the northern cliff or the dungeon, but instead rode towards an exit on the eastern side of the mountain castle.

Miketsu could feel that the paper crane she had specifically left on Itsumaden was moving rapidly in that direction. Itsumaden had used the paper crane to call for help earlier; she had been abducted!

The mastermind behind this attack on Fangshan Castle had clearly not only prepared a frontal assault with a demon horde; he had also arranged other means in secret. This should be the same group as the insect yokai she had discovered earlier.

"Tsuruha... hurry up..."

"Understood, Lady Uka!"

Tsuruha increased her speed. As the strongest spirit beast of Inari Mountain, she was incredibly fast, and soon caught up with Morimura Saemon's black wolf. At this moment, they had just left the city and had not yet entered the dense forest.

Just then, Miketsu's expression sharpened. She extended her consciousness to Itsumaden's body and reactivated the miniature paper crane still hidden on her.

The small paper crane flew out from Itsumaden's hand, directly towards Morimura Saemon in front, and exploded near his head.

"Ah!"

Accompanied by a scream, Morimura Saemon's left face was injured by the small explosion caused by the miniature paper crane. He howled, unable to control the black wolf beneath him for a moment, and he, along with Itsumaden, all tumbled to the ground and stopped.

Clasping his bloody left face, Morimura Saemon struggled to get up. When he saw Miketsu and Tsuruha rapidly charging towards him, he quickly ordered his shikigami black wolf to rush forward, while simultaneously throwing two talismans with his free hand.

With a flash of cold light, the cross-spear in Miketsu's hand drew an arc, unhesitatingly cutting the pouncing shikigami black wolf into two. Tsuruha also breathed fire, incinerating the flying talismans into ash.

Miketsu then stopped in front of Morimura Saemon, riding on Tsuruha, and looked at him coldly.

"Please, please don't kill me! Itsumaden is yours, I beg you to spare me!"

Seeing his shikigami cut down so swiftly, Morimura Saemon immediately knelt and begged for mercy. At the same time, his hand secretly reached for a talisman inside his clothes, planning one last sneak attack.

Looking at Morimura Saemon, who had knelt so readily, Miketsu dismounted from Tsuruha with a grim expression and said coldly.

"Don't bother, sneak attacks are useless against me..."

Morimura Saemon, who had just gripped the talisman, froze in place. He hadn't expected his actions to be seen through by the opponent... In that instant, his mind went blank.

Looking at Morimura Saemon's current state, Miketsu sneered. She reached out and patted Morimura Saemon, who was still kneeling, then immediately moved away from him, slowly saying.

"You want me to let you go... alright, leave what you shouldn't have taken, and you can leave now..."

"You, are you serious? I can leave?!" Morimura Saemon, who had originally held no hope of escaping, was stunned and said incredulously.

"Of course, I won't lie to you."

"Many, many thanks, Your Excellency! I will surely repay your kindness someday!" Morimura Saemon loudly exclaimed with a joyful face, but a hint of coldness still flickered in the depths of his eyes.

You let me go today; I will find a way to repay this grudge. I will make you regret your choice today!

After bowing deeply to Miketsu, Morimura Saemon clutched his injured left face and bolted into the forest, disappearing from sight in a brief moment.

Watching Morimura Saemon's retreating figure, Miketsu snorted coldly. Then she quickly went to Itsumaden, who was still sitting up from the ground, and helped her up, wrapping her arm with her sleeve.

"Are you alright?"

Itsumaden slowly turned her head to look at the black-haired, black-eyed girl before her. In her hazy eyes, there was a touch of color, and she spoke in a weak, delicate voice.

"You... are the owner of that paper crane?"

Facing Itsumaden's question, Miketsu nodded gently. Then she shifted her gaze to the iron collar around Itsumaden's neck, which was engraved with incantations.

This must be what suppresses Itsumaden's demonic power and keeps her weak. It might also have a tracking function. If this isn't dealt with, escaping with Itsumaden would be extremely difficult.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from not far away. Taira no Kageyori arrived on the scene with his samurai. When he saw Itsumaden being supported by Miketsu, Taira no Kageyori's expression tightened.

Morimura Saemon sprinted through the dark forest, the pain from his facial injury constantly stinging his nerves, and a burning rage of resentment flared in his chest.

"Asakura Hao... just you wait... Asakura Hao... I will make you pay eventually! I will make you regret your choice today!"

"What's so great about being powerful! From now on, I will always watch you! You will always have a weakness! As soon as I find your weakness, I will bring you down! I will repay today's humiliation twofold!"

Cursing continuously, Morimura Saemon kept moving through the forest. His priority now was to get away from Fangshan Castle, away from this forest, find a safe place to spend the night and treat his wounds, and then return to Heian-kyo in the daytime.

However, as he ran further and further, Morimura Saemon found his consciousness becoming increasingly hazy, and his strength growing weaker. This situation slowly worsened with time.

At first, Morimura Saemon thought this was due to the pain from his wound, but it wasn't until the situation deteriorated to the point where he could barely walk and his vision was highly blurred that he realized things were not so simple.

Accidentally tripping on a stone, Morimura Saemon fell face-first onto the ground. This fall left him unable to get back up.

"What... happened..."

Morimura Saemon spoke with difficulty; his consciousness was now just a string about to snap.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered the pat Asakura Hao had given his back when he was begging for mercy.

Morimura Saemon struggled to lift his hand, wanting to feel his back, but at this point, he was completely immobile and could do nothing.

In the pouch at Morimura Saemon's waist, a seemingly ordinary stone lay quietly.

This was precisely the Shoki Stone he had once placed on Yura's body, intending to subtly corrode Yura to death with it. Now, it was he himself who faced such a fate.

Filled with resentment and unwillingness, Morimura Saemon, unable to even speak, stared wide-eyed as he met his inevitable fate.

The blood oozing from his wounds gradually attracted the yokai and wild beasts in the forest. They watched the Omi curse master lying motionless on the ground, drooling.

For them, supper had begun.