Suspicion

A dense scent of blood mingled with the drizzling rain. Amidst frantic screams, the fox hunters were torn apart one by one by the yokai. These hunters, who could only bully the Inari foxes because the latter were forbidden from killing, were utterly no match for the horde of monsters. Human bodies were completely unable to withstand the fangs and claws of the yokai; torn flesh and organs spilled onto the damp ground. What was supposed to be a battle had long since turned into a slaughter.

Watching this massacre she had orchestrated herself, Miketsu could feel her own divine virtue wailing incessantly. However, she remained entirely unmoved, suppressing the urge to call for a stop. She watched with cold indifference as the fox hunters died miserable deaths. For the first time, she was in such direct conflict with her own divine virtue.

While Miketsu and the former Inari Okami were essentially the same being, they were different at their core. Miketsu could not tolerate what these humans had done to her kin for centuries. Such a blood debt had to be paid. Every one of this year's fox hunters had to die. Since she and the foxes could not kill humans with their own hands, she would drive the horde of yokai to devour them!

The one-sided slaughter was nearing its end. When the last fox hunter fell, the scene was left with nothing but mangled corpses and blood soaking into the soil.

"Lord Owl... it has all been settled."

Clad in black with her face obscured, Makoto approached Miketsu to report. These fox hunters reminded her of the humans who had hunted her, so she had shown no mercy in her strikes.

Miketsu nodded. She walked silently into the bloody battlefield. She saw Konkiku using her claws to frantically tear at the corpse of a man who seemed to be a leader, venting her rage. This was a level of brutality she could never have achieved while the man was still alive.

"Hehe... how pitiful these fellows are... of all the people to provoke, they had to provoke you, Lord Owl?" Beside Miketsu, a withered and hideous-looking Gaki spoke with a laugh. This was Shushikai, the leader of the Gakusatsu Group. He once had a grievance with Miketsu over the matter of Toga, but when Nura Rihyon was recruiting subordinates, the opportunistic Shushikai took the initiative to lead the Gakusatsu Group into Miketsu's service. Miketsu had accepted them, bringing them along whenever there was a job that required killing or disposing of bodies.

Generally speaking, Miketsu would only truly decide to kill those who were genuinely wicked, but these fox hunters were an exception.

The fox hunters were wiped out to the last man. There were no survivors except for the single fox they had used as a guide, which was controlled by a spell. Konkiku and Makoto were currently trying to break the spell collar on that fox.

After forcibly destroying the collar with brute strength, the controlled wild fox regained its senses in a daze. It first bowed to Miketsu to express its gratitude, then began to cry out emotionally. It seemed to be trying to convey something, but it was all fox barks that Miketsu could not understand.

Seeing this, Miketsu had Konkiku communicate with it. After Konkiku exchanged a series of sounds with the wild fox, which was not yet capable of human speech, she hurriedly ran to Miketsu's shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"Lord Owl, this fox says many of its companions are still trapped in a certain place. It begs you to go and rescue them..." Konkiku lowered her voice further and continued.

"And... from its description, that place seems to hold the Inari foxes who were captured in the past..."

...

Deep within the dense forest, the team of fox hunters had been slaughtered. Yet, dozens of miles away, inside a spacious carriage, the leader of the fox hunters was still sipping tea and chatting with his guest. He seemed entirely unconcerned about the status of the team he had sent out.

"So... Lord Ishikawa, why were you so focused on the matter of 'Owl' in your previous letter? He is a yokai leader who has recently risen in Heian-kyo; he shouldn't have much to do with your fox hunting business." Taking a sip of tea, Minamoto no Yorimasa spoke to Ishikawa. Before the latter had arrived in Heian-kyo this time, he had specifically contacted the Minamoto clan through specialized channels, paying a price to inquire about much of the current intelligence in Heian-kyo, most of which pertained to Owl.

"Hehe, it is nothing. It is just that I have an important plan for this visit to Heian-kyo. I need to understand more about the recent situation in the capital to adjust the specific execution of my plan." With a flattering smile, Ishikawa answered Minamoto no Yorimasa. However, his answer did not entirely resolve the doubts in Yorimasa's heart.

"I can understand wanting to know the recent state of Heian-kyo, but why focus so heavily on Owl? He shouldn't have any connection to you."

Hearing Yorimasa's words, Ishikawa gave a mysterious smile. He lifted the teapot to refill the other's cup and spoke leisurely.

"Lord Yorimasa, have you ever wondered... what is the origin of this Owl?"

"Owl's origin? Hmph... not only have I wondered, the entire Onmyoryo has wondered. But no one can figure out Owl's background. Even Kamo no Tadayuki's divination was useless..." Minamoto no Yorimasa raised his teacup, looking at the composed man with a strange gaze.

"Could it be... you know the origin of that Owl?"

"I wouldn't say I know for sure; at most, it is a guess. This yokai named Owl has several characteristics that caught my attention. I started with these traits and arrived at a few hypotheses." Ishikawa continued, and Minamoto no Yorimasa clearly began to take an interest in his words.

"Oh... what characteristics?"

"First and foremost, the most important point. I wonder if you noticed, Lord Yorimasa, that in all incidents involving this Owl, human casualties have been extremely low. Furthermore, in these incidents, Owl has never personally killed a human." After Ishikawa finished, Minamoto no Yorimasa pondered for a moment before nodding slowly.

"You are right. During the incident at Fangshan Castle, the samurai and onmyoji who attacked Owl were either blown away or frozen; almost no one died. The only merchant and his guards who died did not seem to have been killed by Owl. Even later, when Owl intimidated the Onmyoryo, he did not kill the undercover agents planted there."

After the events at Fangshan Castle, the Onmyoryo had sent specialized personnel to investigate. The deaths of the guards and the merchant were clearly caused by either triggering a trap or by wounds from a bird's claws, making it more likely to be the work of an Itsumaden.

"Exactly. Owl avoids harming people and has never personally killed anyone. This reminds me of a certain class of beings—the foxes of Fushimi, those foxes who are influenced by a deity and are unable to kill humans."

"Then your guess is..."

"I suspect that Owl's true identity is my target for this trip, the leader of the Fushimi foxes—Tsuruha..."

Hearing Ishikawa's words, Minamoto no Yorimasa couldn't help but be startled. After pausing to think for a moment, he spoke again.

"That is a very bold guess... but to guess that Owl is Tsuruha based solely on the fact that he doesn't kill people, isn't that a bit too far-fetched?"

"Yes, relying on that point alone is indeed far-fetched. But there is more. In the eyewitness accounts of Owl in the demon realm, there is always a white fox following him. According to our long-term observations, Tsuruha also has a younger sister who is a white fox. Is that a mere coincidence? Furthermore, the Ghost Market that Owl frequent is almost always the same one, and that Ghost Market is very close to Fushimi... Is all of this just a coincidence?"