Byakuren

"Itsumaden, descend directly."

Seeing that Itsumaden couldn't directly spot the tower, Miketsu decided to land and walk the rest of the way herself.

Itsumaden steadily lowered her altitude, finally stopping in a clearing in the woods. Miketsu dismounted from Itsumaden's back, and Itsumaden transformed back into her human form.

"Stay behind me."

After instructing Itsumaden, Miketsu walked straight towards the tower. If Itsumaden couldn't see through the illusion, then she would just have her follow.

Thus, Miketsu walked through the dark woods towards the tall tower, with Tsuruha's foxfire providing light. They hadn't walked long before a low growl drew their attention.

A tiger, a robust, brightly colored tiger, now stood across Miketsu's path.

"A beast? No, a tiger yokai! Please step back, Lady Uka!"

Tsuruha darted out from Miketsu's sleeve, blocking her path, watching the tiger with alert eyes. Itsumaden also raised her claws.

A tiger yokai?

Miketsu's first reaction upon seeing the faint demonic energy emanating from the tiger was also "tiger yokai," but then she suddenly noticed something amiss. Besides demonic energy, there was another aura on this tiger.

"Don't disturb others, Hoshi."

At that moment, a woman's voice came, and then, a woman dressed as a monk slowly emerged from the roadside.

Wearing a bamboo hat, a monk's robe, and holding a vajra, she had a beautiful face and long, slightly curly hair reaching her waist. One could vaguely discern a gradient in her hair color, though the darkness of the night made it impossible to see the exact shades.

A woman? A monk? A nun? Or perhaps a bhikkhuni? But do monastics have such long hair? And it looks permed and dyed.

Seeing the woman who suddenly appeared, a myriad of questions immediately filled Miketsu's mind. The mysterious woman's attire was indeed peculiar. Could monks in this country dress like this?

Upon the woman's appearance, the tiger, called Hoshi, let out a low growl and retreated behind her. At this moment, the strange nun was smiling as she met Miketsu's gaze.

"I truly didn't expect that the prayers in that tower would one day be answered by a true deity," the woman murmured. Her words made Miketsu momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected the woman to immediately identify her as a deity. She should not be in the divine realm right now.

"I am merely an ordinary human."

"An ordinary human would not possess the name 'Uka'."

Hearing the woman's words, Tsuruha's face momentarily showed difficulty. Earlier, when she saw the tiger yokai, she thought there were no other people around, so she had let something slip.

"I am truly sorry..."

"It's alright." After comforting Tsuruha, Miketsu turned her gaze to the woman before her. From the current situation, the other party seemed to bear no ill will, but everything about her was a mystery, making caution necessary.

"This humble nun's dharma name is Byakuren. I practice on Mount Shigi and am currently on a pilgrimage. I greet Your Excellency first." The woman named Byakuren bowed to Miketsu.

'Tsuruha... Where is Mount Shigi?' Hearing the information revealed by the woman, Miketsu actively asked Tsuruha through their contract.

'Mount Shigi is in Nara, south of Heian-kyo. It is an important monastic center of the Shingon school, Lady Uka. This bhikkhuni is from the Shingon school!'

From the contract, Miketsu received Tsuruha's answer. She immediately recalled information about the Shingon school.

It was one of the two major Buddhist sects, on par with the Tendai school of Mount Hiei, and a crucial force protecting the human realm alongside the Three Great Clans.

"A bhikkhuni of the Shingon school, why are you here?" Miketsu took a breath and questioned Byakuren.

"I merely happened to pass by this place, and seeing an extremely profound blinding spell set here, I entered to investigate, unexpectedly discovering something unusual..." Byakuren spoke calmly, and Miketsu gleaned some information from her words.

The illusion here was likely not set by Byakuren. She probably had nothing to do with the secrets hidden here, but was merely drawn in, just like Miketsu herself.

Furthermore, the illusion here was extremely sophisticated; neither Tsuruha nor Itsumaden could see through it. Miketsu, as a true deity, only sensed something amiss, but Byakuren, as a human, could discern it at a glance, indicating her remarkably high cultivation.

This might be a high-ranking figure of the Shingon school!

Thinking this, Miketsu paused, organized her thoughts, and continued.

"What's inside?"

"Regarding that, you'd best see for yourself..."

After Byakuren finished speaking, she turned and walked away. Her manner clearly indicated she was leading the way. Miketsu looked at Tsuruha and Itsumaden, then followed.

After traversing the forest, led by Byakuren, Miketsu finally arrived at the base of the tall tower she had seen from above.

This was a dilapidated ruin, a wide stone platform made of bricks and stones stood prominently in a clearing in the woods. On the stone platform, bricks were shattered, wood had disintegrated, moss covered everything, and weeds grew rampant.

At the center of the platform was the tall tower Miketsu had seen before. This was a seven-story pagoda, taller than many towers in Heian-kyo. The tower itself was very old and worn, covered everywhere with cobwebs and cracks, clearly neglected for a long time.

The entire tower was very crudely built; only the lower part of the tower body had tiles, while the upper parts were bare. The very top even lacked finished wooden planks, just a framework, giving the impression that the tower was abandoned before completion.

While surveying her surroundings, Miketsu followed Byakuren onto the stone platform. On the platform, Miketsu saw many dilapidated stones carved with talismans and drawings, all indicating that array magic had once been performed here.

"What... is this place?" Miketsu asked curiously, looking at the surroundings.

"I am not entirely clear on the specific situation... but as you can see, this is a ritual array ground that has been abandoned for many years." Byakuren spoke as she walked to a collapsed stone pillar and pointed to a spot on it.

"Please look."

Miketsu and her companions walked over and looked at the spot Byakuren pointed to. Several Chinese characters were carved there.

Enryaku 10.

"Enryaku 10... At that time, wasn't Heian-kyo not even established yet?" Tsuruha couldn't help but blurt out upon seeing the inscription on the stone pillar.

"Indeed, Enryaku 10, during the reign of Emperor Kanmu. At this time, there were still several years until the capital was moved to Heian-kyo... You should know where we are currently located, right?" Byakuren turned to Miketsu and said.

"This area..." Listening to Byakuren, Miketsu recalled the information about Fangshan Castle in the mission description when she arrived. Fangshan Castle was a garrison mountain castle of the old capital, and she was still not entirely far from Fangshan Castle.

"Nagaoka-kyo..."

"Exactly, this is one of the ruins left behind by the old capital, Nagaoka-kyo."