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Fujiwara no Saneyori sat in his room. Several attendants stood before him, holding up a kariginu, which was covered in various colors of yokai blood. Fujiwara no Saneyori recognized the kariginu; he had given it to Miketsu not long ago.

“Reporting, sir, the examination has just been completed. It is stained with the blood of at least fifteen different types of yokai,” an attendant approached Fujiwara no Saneyori and respectfully reported.

“Fifteen types…” Fujiwara no Saneyori wondered what kind of battle could have splattered so much yokai blood on her. First, the distance couldn’t have been too great.

Such close-quarters combat—was she truly not a samurai?

Fujiwara no Saneyori pondered whether it would be more appropriate to simply give Miketsu a suit of armor the next time she came to change clothes.

…

As dusk approached, Miketsu, dressed in miko attire, lay on the shrine’s Torii Gate, basking in the gentle, less harsh sunlight from the horizon, while pondering countermeasures for the current situation.

She estimated that as soon as she went to Choyo-machi now, she would be targeted. If she couldn’t resolve the current crisis, she would have to abandon her identity as Owl.

This was unacceptable. Owl had already sworn brotherhood with Toga and gained a certain reputation in Heian-kyo’s demon realm. Abandoning all of that would be too great a loss. Most importantly, if Owl went to eat at the Cat Izakaya, the meal was free!

She couldn’t abandon her identity as Owl, so she could only resolve the crisis. But the problem was that Miketsu didn’t want to completely oppose the Onmyoryo. The Onmyoryo was, after all, the official protective force of the human realm and the largest power in Heian-kyo. Completely opposing it would definitely not benefit her.

This meant that Miketsu’s methods for solving the problem could not be too aggressive. The intensity of the incident had to be kept within certain limits; at least, no one could die.

Moreover, this method of solving the problem had to create a long-term impact, ensuring that the Onmyoryo would not actively provoke Owl for a long time afterward. Otherwise, if she were always busy dealing with the Onmyoryo in the future, that would also be unfeasible.

After clarifying this premise, Miketsu continued to organize her thoughts. This time, Miketsu needed to devise a relatively gentle plan that could still generate sufficient deterrence, resolving the problem and intimidating the Onmyoryo without casualties, making them abandon any further investigation into her.

Thus, with a host of demanding preconditions, Miketsu began to think seriously. Just as the sun on the horizon was about to set completely, a sudden inspiration struck her.

Her mind recalled Fujiwara no Saneyori’s answer when she asked him earlier that day who had suggested she investigate Owl: a man named Minamoto no Mitsunaka.

Minamoto no Mitsunaka, that is, the Minamoto Clan… the most suspicious party behind the Vermilion Bird Seal incident.

But why would the Minamoto Clan target Asakura Hao with this suggestion? Had Asakura Hao offended them in some way?

Miketsu suddenly remembered that the group of yokai that attacked Fangshan Castle that day was clearly abnormal; they seemed to lack reason. They appeared to be controlled, which had similarities to the Black Fox Demon during the Vermilion Bird Seal incident. Seimei had also pointed out that the fox demon had lost its name and was controlled…

She had previously inferred that the mastermind behind the Vermilion Bird Seal might be the Minamoto Clan. Could it be them again this time? Did the Minamoto Clan manipulate the yokai to attack Fangshan Castle? What was their motive?

As soon as Miketsu thought of this, she roughly knew the answer. Besides Itsumaden, what else would be worth such a large-scale mobilization?

In that case, everything made sense. The Minamoto Clan had somehow received news that the Taira Clan had captured Itsumaden and was preparing to sell her at Fangshan Castle. So, they gathered a group of yokai to attack Fangshan Castle, intending to forcibly seize Itsumaden. However, their main attacking yokai force was wiped out by her, so the Minamoto Clan was extremely displeased with Asakura Hao for disrupting their plan.

This deduction was logical, but the key was the lack of evidence. However, that didn’t matter; she could verify this deduction with a Planchette later.

If she could truly confirm that the Minamoto Clan was the mastermind, then she would have a way to deal with the Onmyoryo…

Thinking this, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on Miketsu’s lips. She patted the Torii Gate beneath her and stood up, preparing to find Tsuruha to set up the Planchette for divination.

…

Deep night had fallen, and all of Heian-kyo was enveloped in silence. Unlike the bustling nightscape of Choyo-machi and its yokai, the human city at night was utterly desolate. Onmyo-sei and onmyoji from the Boundary Bureau patrolled various parts of Heian-kyo, ensuring that no large groups of yokai would invade Heian-kyo under the cover of night.

Minamoto no Mitsunaka sat in his ox-cart, returning to his residence from the Greater Imperial Palace. Guards followed both in front of and behind the ox-cart, a small squad moving solitarily along the dark, empty streets.

Although the procession was small, no one dared to challenge it. As an Onmyo Taiyu, Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s own strength was enough to rival a high-ranking yokai general, who were often confidantes of local Yokai Lords. Throughout Heian-kyo and the entire Kinki region, whether human or yokai, none were so foolish as to cause trouble in his presence.

Minamoto no Mitsunaka was resting with his eyes closed inside the ox-cart when suddenly, a chilling sensation appeared in the air, and a surge of demonic energy emerged in front of the convoy.

Minamoto no Mitsunaka abruptly opened his tightly shut eyes, raised his hand forward, and streaks of cold light shot out from his sleeve, piercing through the ox-cart’s curtains and striking the ground far ahead of the convoy.

Accompanied by the roar of breaking earth and stone, the area struck by the cold light was immediately covered in a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, countless various weapons were now embedded there.

Tachi, naginata, spears, jumonji yari… countless weapons were stuck in the ground, forming a terrifying forest of blades that almost completely filled the street ahead. This was the effect of Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s single strike; any number of ordinary yokai standing there could be dealt with at once.

The forest of blades gradually transformed into specks of spiritual power and vanished into the air, returning to nothing in an instant. Only the broken ground remained as evidence of their existence.

“Go check over there.”

Still seated within the ox-cart, Minamoto no Mitsunaka spoke to his fully alert attendants outside the cart. One attendant immediately gripped his weapon and walked forward alone. After searching for a while on the ground, which had been pitted by Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s attack, he returned with something in his hand.

“Sir, I only found this one item…”

The attendant respectfully presented the item to the inside of the cart. Minamoto no Mitsunaka took it and examined it closely, finding it to be a small cloth pouch with deep cuts from weapons.1EUNO

After a detailed inspection, Minamoto no Mitsunaka opened the pouch and found a delicate small box inside. Opening the box, he found a folded piece of paper, on which lay several fine, bright yellow downy feathers. Upon seeing these feathers, Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s eyes widened.

He knew the origin of these feathers; they were from the Golden Feather!

Taking a deep breath, Minamoto no Mitsunaka picked up and unfolded the paper behind the feathers. Several exquisitely written characters were on it.

“Second quarter of the Hour of the Rat, Mount Otowa summit.”