The Fox Hunters

The merciless sun had scorched Heian-kyo for a long time. The sweltering heat was difficult for both humans and yokai to endure, and everyone—from high-ranking nobles to commoners, and from monsters to mortals—longed for the summer to end.

As the saying goes, what reaches its peak must decline, and the temperature followed the same principle. After a sudden downpour, the temperature in Heian-kyo dropped sharply. Everyone understood that summer was coming to a close and the early autumn season was beginning.

Light rain fell from the gloomy sky, dripping steadily from the eaves of the Minamoto Residence. Inside an elegant room with a circular window, two men dressed in light, casual attire sat facing each other, sipping tea while admiring the rainy view outside. Their appearances were remarkably similar.

They were the sons of Minamoto no Mitsunaka and brothers of the Minamoto Clan: Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Minamoto no Yorimasa.

“I truly didn't expect to have the chance to drink tea and enjoy the scenery with you, Brother. It is a rare occasion,” Yorimasa said to his elder brother. With short, light-grey hair and a streak of bright red highlights on his forehead, Yorimasa was slightly shorter and thinner than Yorimitsu, and he was no longer wearing his night gear.

“Yorimasa, you usually work in the shadows for the sake of the family, so we brothers rarely meet. Let us take this opportunity to have a good gathering,” Yorimitsu said with his unchanging smile.

“Yes, it has been a long time since we last met. The same goes for you, Brother, and for Father as well...” Yorimasa continued after taking a sip of tea.

“You two seem to have been quite busy lately. Could you tell me what you have been occupied with? To the point where you are sometimes away from home for days?” Yorimasa’s question was clearly an attempt to gather information, yet Yorimitsu did not seem to mind. He answered his younger brother directly.

“Hehe, I'm not entirely sure what Father is doing right now. I only know that he has been busy ever since he obtained something a while ago, and he has no time for other matters. Consequently, he has handed over some very important tasks to me, so I have become busy as well.”

“Oh? What kind of matters are those?”

Yorimasa asked curiously, and after a brief pause, Yorimitsu slowly replied.

“Screening and supervising ‘Miko’...”

Hearing Yorimitsu's words, Yorimasa froze in place. He held his posture for two or three seconds before forcing a smile onto his stiff lips and saying, “Has Brother actually begun to take charge of such an important matter? This is a vital mission belonging to the Minamoto Clan...”

“I'm merely assisting Father to ease his burden; it's nothing major,” Yorimitsu said dismissively. However, the importance of this task could be read from the look in Yorimasa’s eyes.

“So, do you have new candidates for the Miko position, Brother?”

“As for that, I already have candidates, and there are some very outstanding children among them.” After saying this, Yorimitsu seemed unwilling to reveal any more. He shifted the topic and said to Yorimasa, “What about you, Yorimasa? Those old men haven't been privately calling you to do their work lately, have they?”

“No, I've been quite free lately. I'm even planning to visit a friend from far away soon.”

“A friend?”

“Early autumn has already arrived, Brother Yorimitsu...” Yorimasa said with a smile, glancing at the desolate scenery outside the window. “Early autumn? I see, it is once again time for the season of the Autumn Hunt...” Yorimitsu nodded in understanding as he spoke.

“Yes... Autumn has come, and it is once again time for the ‘Fox Hunters’ from the provinces to make their move in Heian-kyo...”

...

The drizzling rain continued to fall. On a road on the outskirts of Heian-kyo, a strange convoy was making its way forward.

This was a convoy consisting of seven or eight large carts. These carts were massive, nearly twice the size of normal ox or horse-drawn carriages, occupying a large portion of the road and forcing merchants and pedestrians to scramble out of the way.

The ones pulling these vehicles were not ordinary oxen or horses, but a large pack of foxes with various fur colors and massive builds. Braving the rain, they worked in groups of seven or eight per vehicle, straining against the ropes on their bodies to drag the large carts forward. Behind the convoy followed many attendants on foot.

Inside the lead vehicle of the convoy, within a cabin much more spacious than that of a typical ox cart, two people sat facing each other. One was Minamoto no Yorimasa, and the other was a tall, pale, clean-shaven middle-aged man dressed in fine silk with fur draped around his neck.

“Lord Ishikawa, it has been a year. It seems the number of foxes you command has increased quite a bit; you even have this many just for pulling carts,” Yorimasa said to Ishikawa with a smile.

“Hehe, most of those are just wild foxes. How could they ever catch the eye of the Minamoto Clan? The truly good ones are all inside the carts. However, all of this is thanks to the secret arts granted by the Minamoto,” the man known as Ishikawa said with a flattering smile.

Yorimasa did not speak, instead glancing out the carriage window at the hazy sky before slowly saying,

“I heard previously that because the foxes of Fushimi have become increasingly difficult to catch over the last decade or so, your harvests have been declining year by year. You were supposedly planning to give up on hunting in Heian-kyo, yet I didn't expect you to show up this year after all.”

“Lord Yorimasa is correct. We indeed had such thoughts originally. However, this is the only place in the world that can produce foxes with the foundation of a Spirit Beast and the title of Divine Messenger. We simply couldn't bear to give it up; the value of a single Fushimi fox can equal dozens of wild ones,” Ishikawa continued, though Yorimasa could see no trace of regret on his face.

“So, you have come prepared this time, with a way to solve the difficulties you've been facing?”

“Lord Yorimasa is truly brilliant to have guessed my thoughts so easily.” As he spoke, Ishikawa took a scroll from his sleeve and spread it out on the table. On the white paper of the scroll, an elegant and beautiful grey-black fox was depicted in vivid detail.

“This is the leader of the Fushimi foxes, named Tsuruha. It is precisely because she officially became a Spirit Beast over ten years ago that our hunts have been frequently obstructed, and our harvest has been decreasing every year...” Pointing at the spirit fox in the painting, Ishikawa spoke with a glint in his eyes, while Yorimasa looked at the image and spoke thoughtfully.

“Tsuruha? To think these godless Divine Messenger foxes could actually cultivate themselves into Spirit Beasts, hmph...” After a cold snort, Yorimasa turned his gaze toward Ishikawa.

“So your purpose in coming this time is her?”

“Exactly... Tsuruha is the primary target of this hunt. As long as we can capture her, all the Fushimi foxes will be ours for the taking.”