Bargaining Chips

Mount Otowa is located not far east of Heian-kyo, a not-so-tall peak, with Kiyomizu-dera temple situated halfway up the mountain, existing there even before Heian-kyo was built.

A sharp cry cut through the night sky, as a jet-black crow flapped its wings, soaring beneath the stars and moon, circling above Mount Otowa while observing the situation below.

Continuously lowering its flight altitude, the jet-black crow finally landed on a branch of a tree at the mountain's summit, its head darting left and right, attempting to find something in the dark woods.

“A prominent figure of the Minamoto Clan, a Senior Secretary of the Onmyoryo… to actually use a shikigami for an appointment.”

A deep voice emerged from the darkness between the trees. The crow turned its head and saw a chilling figure, cloaked in black robes and wrapped in bandages, slowly stepping out of the darkness, moving into the moonlight. A single eye, emitting a captivating red glow from beneath the hood, stared at the crow on the branch.

“No one would go in their true form to a place that might be a trap.”

The crow spoke, its voice that of Minamoto no Mitsunaka.

“Black robes, a single eye… it’s you, Owl, as expected…”

Looking at the figure before it, the eyes behind the crow shikigami made a judgment; the image of Owl was already widely known.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Miketsu said, sitting down at a nearby stone table, which had been placed there by the temple on the mountainside.

“Is Itsumaden in your hands?”

After a moment of silence, Minamoto no Mitsunaka spoke again through the crow. Hearing Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s words, Miketsu remained silent, instead slowly and leisurely pulling a bright yellow feather from her sleeve. When the crow saw this feather, it visibly trembled twice.

This was a Golden Feather, but not Itsumaden’s; it was from the feather fan left behind by Gonnosuke.

“Hmph… as expected, the allure of the Golden Feather is irresistible to both humans and yokai, even for Owl. A liberator? A Yokai Knight? Before Itsumaden, greed is fully revealed.” Minamoto no Mitsunaka said with a mocking tone, clearly believing that Owl had already imprisoned Itsumaden and was extracting Golden Feathers from her.

Miketsu did not try to correct Minamoto no Mitsunaka. If he wanted to believe that, then so be it; negotiating with a villain as a villain would be more effective.

But what was this “Yokai Knight” about? Did Owl have a new persona in the demon realm? Miketsu hadn’t been to Choyo-machi recently, so she didn’t know.

“Speak, why have you lured me here with a Golden Feather?”

Finally, Minamoto no Mitsunaka cut to the chase, and Miketsu didn’t hide anything. She lightly swayed the Golden Feather in her hand and spoke directly.

“I have a deal, a trade using Golden Feathers as leverage.”

“What do you want?”

Minamoto no Mitsunaka was not surprised by Miketsu’s words, as if he had expected it.

“Information. I want intelligence on all the undercover agents the Onmyoryo has planted in Choyo-machi, the Ghost Market.”

Hearing Miketsu’s words, Minamoto no Mitsunaka, who was controlling the shikigami, couldn’t help but be startled.

Owl knew the Onmyoryo was moving against him? This decision was clearly made by the Onmyoryo with his involvement only during the day, and the mission was only dispatched in the afternoon. How did Owl know already? What was his intelligence network?

For a moment, Minamoto no Mitsunaka believed that Owl had hidden forces in the demon realm, and his subordinates had keenly sensed the changes in the demon realm and informed Owl. Of course, there were other possibilities, such as Owl having his own undercover agents within the Onmyoryo.

“I will give you three Golden Feathers as payment in total. The first one can be advanced so you can verify its authenticity, and the other two will be given to you after you provide me with the information.” Miketsu continued, three Golden Feathers were already a very high price, equivalent to one-third of the Golden Feathers on Gonnosuke’s feather fan. One should know that fan was worth roughly two cities.

“Three…” the jet-black crow murmured. Even through the shikigami, Miketsu could feel Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s eagerness. He deeply craved Golden Feathers; Miketsu was certain of this, otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to obtain Itsumaden.

Would the Minamoto Clan, one of the Three Great Clans, also crave Golden Feathers like common mortals? Perhaps Golden Feathers held other meanings for them, and a yokai like Itsumaden, capable of transforming into a heavenly demon, might have a special use for onmyoji families.

At this moment, Minamoto no Mitsunaka was deep in thought, but he wasn’t contemplating whether to accept Miketsu’s proposed deal. Instead, he was considering how to use this opportunity to directly capture Owl, or to follow Owl and find Itsumaden’s hiding place. That would be the best outcome for him.

However, Miketsu had already seen through his thoughts.

“You’d best not entertain other ideas. I know your tricks.”

“You know? Heh…” Minamoto no Mitsunaka scoffed at Miketsu’s words, believing Owl was merely bluffing, trying to scare him and inflate her own value. How could a mere yokai know the Minamoto Clan’s movements?

“Otherwise, how would I know that the yokai horde at Fangshan Castle was under your control?” Seeing Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s dismissive reaction, Miketsu continued calmly, her words causing Minamoto no Mitsunaka to freeze.

Owl knew that the Minamoto Clan, that he himself, was the mastermind behind the yokai horde’s attack on Fangshan Castle?

Indeed, he had been lured by the Golden Feather, but how did Owl know he craved Golden Feathers, and with such an extraordinary intensity?

He wasn’t the only high-ranking official in the Onmyoryo who knew about the undercover agents, but why did Owl specifically choose him to exchange Golden Feathers for information? This could only mean that Owl knew the Golden Feathers held an irresistible allure for him. The reason she could discern this was likely because Owl knew who the mastermind behind the yokai horde incident was, and she concluded that he, who could cause such a commotion for Golden Feathers, would be unable to refuse such a bargaining chip.

“How did you know this?” Minamoto no Mitsunaka said with a heavy voice. Their operation should have been extremely secretive, and they had thoroughly covered their tracks, confused divinations, and disguised the entire incident as a natural occurrence.

“No secret can be absolutely kept; oversights always lie in unseen places…” Miketsu said, feigning profundity, while Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s mind began to wander.

Oversight? Where did I make an oversight? Was there a problem with the causality concealment? Or were there flaws in the operation? Or even… did Owl have an undercover agent close to him?

The thought of an undercover agent made Minamoto no Mitsunaka’s heart sink. When he had previously deduced why Owl knew so quickly that the Onmyoryo was pursuing him, he had already considered whether Owl had an undercover agent within the Onmyoryo. Given the current situation, if there truly was an undercover agent, it was highly likely that this agent was planted right beside him?

Miketsu’s words were meant to intimidate Minamoto no Mitsunaka, to let him know, “I know your secrets, don’t think about double-crossing.” Judging by his reaction, this objective had been initially achieved.

“I know where Itsumaden is. If anything happens, her whereabouts will remain a mystery forever.

“Pay a certain price, and you can acquire Golden Feathers. Otherwise, you will get nothing.”

After Miketsu finished speaking, she fell silent. After a period of silence enveloped the scene, the crow finally spoke.

“Alright, I agree…”