Clan and Descendants

After listening to Mokou's account, Miketsu mentally organized the information, her mind filling with numerous thoughts.

First, it was certain that Mokou was the source of the Calamity Fire legends over the past two hundred years. During this time, she had been drifting between the worlds of humans and yokai, wandering alone in a semi-conscious state. She was driven by that broken blade to constantly approach Heian-kyo. Whenever she lost control during this period, it would trigger the Calamity Fire, incinerating vast stretches of forest and many yokai. However, because Mokou subconsciously avoided humans, the fire never affected them, and the legend only spread among the yokai.

The biggest problem now was: who was the man who left the broken blade inside Mokou's body, forcing her to travel to Heian-kyo step by step? He possessed an exceptionally sinister sword, and the broken blade had snapped off from that very weapon; it was the source of the sinister power. Furthermore, Mokou said she dressed like someone from a hundred years ago—Mokou's "hundred years ago" meant more than three hundred years from the present. He claimed he stole the Hourai Elixir for his god. Who was his god?

Also noteworthy was that the man referred to Heian-kyo as the Land of the Four Gods. At first glance, this seemed fine; Heian-kyo hadn't been built yet, so not calling it by that name was correct. However, the term "Land of the Four Gods" itself seemed slightly off. It clearly corresponded to the Four Symbols Corresponding Grand Array of Heian-kyo. But according to official accounts, the Four Symbols Array was co-created and established by the Onmyoji clans when Heian-kyo was first founded. Therefore, the history of the Four Symbols Array should be identical to the history of Heian-kyo; it shouldn't have existed two hundred years prior.

There were two explanations for this. One was that the Land of the Four Gods was not the same as the Four Symbols Array, and the Onmyoji clans modified the Land of the Four Gods into the Four Symbols Array after moving the capital to Heian-kyo. The other was that the official history was a lie; the Four Symbols Array had already existed, and the Onmyoji clans of Heian-kyo simply occupied it after moving there.

Regardless, the power of the Four Symbols was likely not created by the Onmyoji clans to protect Heian-kyo and the Imperial Court as the official story claimed. The power of the Four Symbols predated Heian-kyo. Why did it exist here? It was clear it did not exist solely for the sake of Heian-kyo.

Another noteworthy thing was that, according to Mokou's description, the man with the sinister sword was a human. Miketsu remembered that back at the Vermilion Bird Seal, the leopard cat yokai Torin had claimed their blood sacrifice power came from humans. That blood sacrifice power was extremely similar to the power on the broken blade. Could they be the same thing? Was the one who gave the blood sacrifice power to the leopard cat yokai the same person who drove Mokou to the Land of the Four Gods to self-destruct?

After obtaining the information provided by Mokou, Miketsu's mind was swamped with countless thoughts and questions, to the point that she stood rooted to the spot, silent for a long time.

"Hey, what are you dazing off for?" Mokou spoke up, seeing Miketsu like this.

"Ah, nothing, just thinking about some things... By the way, is there anything else you want to say?" Shaking her head, Miketsu returned to her senses and looked at Mokou.

"That's it. That's everything." Mokou shrugged. Miketsu was certain Mokou knew other things but didn't want to talk about them—for instance, the origin of that wicked princess, or how she had obtained the Hourai Elixir from the escorts. Miketsu didn't press her on the things Mokou was unwilling to say.

"So, what do you plan to do next?"

"I... well..." Mokou seemed suddenly stumped by Miketsu's question. She had lived in the wilderness for centuries. Due to her unique nature, she had always avoided both yokai and humans, living the life of a secluded savage, battling the sinister intent within the broken blade and struggling to maintain a sliver of rationality. Miketsu found it incredible that she had managed to endure for two hundred years in such a state.

Now that Mokou was clear-headed and rational again, she was nearly two hundred years out of touch with the world. She was like a person who had traveled through time from two centuries ago, feeling lost and not knowing where to go.

Seeing Mokou's confusion and understanding her plight, Miketsu thought for a moment and then suggested.

"If you really don't know where to go, perhaps you could try going home to take a look."

"Go home?" Hearing Miketsu's suggestion, Mokou tapped her head, thought for a moment, and said.

"But according to what you said, more than two hundred years have passed. My family must all be gone by now. Is there any point in going back?"

"Even if your immediate family is gone, there should still be descendants left behind. They should still share a blood relation with you, and they would likely take you in," Miketsu continued. However, Mokou didn't seem to agree with Miketsu's viewpoint.

"Take in an immortal monster? That's impossible. I might look human, but in reality, I'm completely different. From a human perspective, I'm more like a yokai. What human family would accept a yokai as one of their own?"

After hearing Mokou's words, Miketsu thought that what she said made quite a bit of sense, but she still added her thoughts.

"How will you know if you don't try? If you're not sure if they'll accept you, you can observe them for a while first."

"Hmm, maybe you're right. I think I really could go home and take a look," Mokou said after some thought. The main reason was that she truly had nowhere else to go right now.

Seeing Mokou's decision, Miketsu nodded with satisfaction. Then, she seemed to remember something and asked.

"By the way, what is your surname? I remember you saying your family was noble."

"Me? My surname is Fujiwara. Fujiwara no Mokou."

Hearing Mokou's words, Miketsu froze on the spot for a moment.

"Fu-Fujiwara!?"

……

"What? You're saying the Fujiwara clan is massive now, even controlling the Imperial Court!?" Mokou said with disbelief after hearing Miketsu's explanation.

"Yes, in Heian-kyo, the Fujiwara are a family of immense power... though I just don't know if their Fujiwara and yours are the same one," Miketsu said. She truly hadn't expected Mokou's surname to be Fujiwara.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure either. My family's surname was bestowed by the Emperor. I don't know if that fellow up there gave the same name to anyone else afterward." Scratching her head, Mokou was also bewildered. After all, it was possible for people to share a surname without sharing an origin. It would be embarrassing to misidentify her own descendants.

"By the way, the crest of the Fujiwara in Heian-kyo looks like this. Have you seen it?" As Miketsu spoke, she began to draw in the dirt with a stick.

"A family crest? A mark of the clan? We didn't seem to have such things back then." Mokou's words interrupted Miketsu's movements. Then, both of them began to ponder again. The focus of their meditation was how to confirm that the Fujiwaras of Heian-kyo were indeed of Mokou's lineage.

"By the way, are you familiar with those Fujiwaras?" Mokou seemed to think of something and clapped her hands as she asked Miketsu.

"Familiar? Well... somewhat." As Miketsu spoke, she thought of Fujiwara no Saneyori.

"Then show this to them." Mokou spoke while rummaging through her clothes, finally pulling out a small object.

Mokou's supernatural state seemed to allow her personal belongings and clothing to undergo the same changes as her body, so this item had not been destroyed during the battle.

Miketsu took the object and looked closely. It was an exquisite wooden plaque with a few characters carved on it—"Fuhito."

"This belonged to my father. Show it to those Fujiwaras and appropriately reveal my existence. Hmm... just say you've done me a favor and I owe you one. Tell them I want them to repay that favor to you on my behalf."

"If they refuse to pay it back, it proves they might not belong to the same Fujiwara as me, or they don't acknowledge me. If they are willing to pay it back, it not only proves they share my origin and are my kin, but also that they are willing to acknowledge me."

Miketsu took the wooden plaque and looked at it carefully, unable to stop herself from complaining inwardly.

What was this? Ancestral debts paid by descendants?