Little Tengu

Paying attention to concealment, seizing positions, and striking vital points, Miketsu's hundred demons attacked the Demon Hunters' team. Under the onslaught of the demons, the resistance of these mystics was quickly dismantled.

The battle ended very quickly. After several consecutive deaths, the morale of these mystics collapsed. When Nura Rihyon shouted among the demons that those who surrender would be spared, the remaining people all surrendered.

Even if she appeared to be a yokai, Miketsu was, after all, a deity, a benevolent and compassionate god who loved humans. Her practice was to let humans go, provided they did not resist and were not unforgivable criminals, after they left their valuables.

Except for ruthlessly eliminating the fox hunters who had a deep hatred for Inari Mountain, she would always know when to stop, leaving a glimmer of hope for those who ceased to resist. Over time, Owl gradually gained a reputation for benevolence, though this benevolence was relative to yokai.

The speed at which this battle ended was somewhat unexpected for Miketsu. The intelligence she had received earlier stated that this Demon Hunter team had connections with Onmyoji families in Heian-kyo and that they were transporting some other important items among the yokai. Miketsu believed that Onmyoji were mixed in, which was why she personally came to oversee the battle. However, in the end, no powerful Onmyoji stepped forward, so Miketsu did not intervene.

Realizing that the attackers were Owl's subordinates, these mystics quickly surrendered. Apart from a few unlucky individuals who died at the beginning, the rest survived. Thus, it quickly came to the stage of clearing the battlefield, and Miketsu also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Releasing the imprisoned yokai and confiscating useful supplies, the subsequent cleanup work quickly commenced. Among the goods transported by these Demon Hunters, one item caught Miketsu's attention.

It was a wooden box, over a meter in length and width, covered with numerous talismans. It was protected by a jutsu-shiki, and any yokai who accidentally touched it were immediately repelled. Upon discovering the anomaly, the yokai did not dare to delay and immediately notified Miketsu.

“Hoho! Treasure! Treasure! It’s treasure~”

“What the hell is this? So many talismans, so mysterious?”

“Lord Owl, this might be the important item these people were secretly transporting.”

Standing beside Miketsu, Nura Rihyon, the tanuki, and Yamausagi carefully examined the wooden box while offering their opinions. Miketsu’s attention, however, was on the talismans and restrictions on it.

After continuously poring over books in the Onmyoryo for several months, Miketsu herself had accumulated some knowledge of Onmyodo. She could clearly understand the purpose of the talismans and jutsu-shiki before her.

The talismans were for suppressing yokai, and the jutsu-shiki could repel anyone who touched it. Both the Demon-Suppressing Talismans and the expulsion jutsu-shiki were not high-level; Miketsu could even understand them directly, which surprised her.

Was this the secret treasure that the Onmyoji families were secretly transporting, as mentioned in the intelligence? The sealing level was only that of an Onmyo-sei. Did this make sense?

With this question in mind, Miketsu had a yokai bring over a surrendered mystic. When the mystic saw her, his legs immediately went weak, and he knelt on the ground, his face full of terror.

“Is this box yours?” Miketsu asked the man before her in a calm voice.

“Reporting, reporting to Lord Owl… This box is not ours. It was entrusted to us for transport, all the way from Echizen to Heian-kyo. They paid a lot of money in advance for it.” The man nervously responded to Miketsu’s words. He had long heard descriptions of Owl’s appearance, and facing Miketsu’s questions, he dared not be negligent, responding truthfully.

“Do you know what’s inside? Who entrusted you to transport this thing?”

“I don’t know. Those people were masked and wouldn’t reveal anything except the task. They were very mysterious. However, from their accents and tones, we could tell they were from Heian-kyo. According to the introducer, they have a deep background and are important figures in Heian-kyo.” The man continued to state what he knew, but his words made Miketsu frown.

Important figures in Heian-kyo? Meaning Onmyoji families? Would Onmyoji families hire small-time characters like you to transport things? The restrictions on the transported item are only at the Onmyo-sei level; a slightly stronger yokai could break them with brute force, couldn’t they? What’s the point of all this? Could these guys have been deceived? But the problem is that the shipping fees have already been paid in advance, so what would be the point of deceiving them?

After hearing the man’s words, Miketsu began to seriously doubt whether the intelligence she had received earlier was problematic. Were these guys really connected to the Minamoto Clan? It didn’t seem high-class at all.

Thinking this, Miketsu decided to open the box and take a look. Drawing the blade from her waist, she allowed demonic power to seep from it without transforming, then channeled Yaksha Power for a slash. After a flash of blue light, the not-so-clever restriction on the box was forcibly broken by Miketsu. The tanuki, seeing this, stepped forward to open the box, and its contents were revealed to everyone.

Inside the box, which was covered in incantations, a boy of about eleven or twelve, dressed in white with grayish-white hair, was curled up and sleeping. Large, thick, dark black wings filled the entire space behind the boy, like a blanket, and the yokai boy slept soundly within.

“It’s a little demon?” The tanuki was surprised by the scene inside the box.

“Little brother~ It’s a pretty little brother with wings~” Yamausagi curiously leaned in to watch.

“This is… a Tengu? Black wings, is it a Karasu-tengu? And so small, not even fifty years old yet…” Nura Rihyon stated all the information he could gather from the sleeping boy before his eyes.

As for Miketsu, after her initial surprise, she began to analyze the situation. A young Tengu. This immediately reminded Miketsu of what Yura had told her before.

Not long ago, the Tengu’s Secret Realm, Sugo Ungo, was suddenly attacked. Many Tengu went missing as a result, and there were many signs indicating that human Onmyoji were responsible. The leader of the Tengu, Yokai Lord Kakuhanbo, even sent an envoy directly to the Onmyoryo to demand an explanation.

Could this one before them be a Tengu from Sugo Ungo, one of those missing Tengu?

With this question, Miketsu began to carefully observe the interior of the box. A moment later, Miketsu found a familiar mark among the talismans.

The Sasa Rindo family crest! This is the mark of the Minamoto Clan!

Upon seeing this mark, Miketsu was startled, wondering if her earlier guess was correct. Was the Tengu incident truly the Minamoto Clan secretly pulling strings? Did they directly go to the Yokai Lord’s territory, capture a bunch of Tengu, and then secretly transport them back to Heian-kyo in this manner?

At first, Miketsu thought this idea was reasonable, given the Minamoto Clan’s usual conduct. But the more she thought about it, the more something felt off.

Miketsu, who had dealt with the Minamoto Clan several times, understood that they were very secretive in their actions and had meticulous plans, which was completely different from the current situation.

Firstly, the Minamoto Clan’s Onmyoji were far stronger than these mystics. If they truly needed to escort something, would they not come themselves but instead entrust it to these weaklings? Even if it was for the sake of confusing perception, and the Minamoto Clan secretly entrusted these Demon Hunters to escort it, wouldn’t the news have leaked too easily? It didn’t fit their secretive style of doing things at all. Furthermore, were those Onmyo-sei-level restrictions really created by the Minamoto Clan, one of the three great Onmyoji families? And would they really leave their family crest in such a place?

Miketsu looked at the small, sleeping Tengu in the box, falling into deep thought. A moment later, she spoke to the trio who were gathered around the box, curiously touching the little Tengu and chattering incessantly.

“Close the box and take him back.”

Following Miketsu’s order, Nura Rihyon closed the box. He then walked over to Miketsu’s side and asked in a low voice.

“Lord Owl, it seems those people in Heian-kyo are up to mischief again…”

Hearing Nura Rihyon’s words, Miketsu glanced at him silently and said softly.

“Nothing is certain yet. Let’s go back first.”

No sooner had Miketsu finished speaking than a sudden gust of wind swept across the land, causing the demons present to scatter in disarray, covering their faces and howling. Countless withered branches and fallen leaves were caught up in the gale, and the visibility in the space immediately decreased, with everything around becoming murky.

Tightly clutching her black robe, Miketsu stabilized herself against the wind with Yaksha Power, her expression becoming solemn. In this wind, she could smell demonic power.

Miketsu infused divine power into the blade in her hand, and a massive surge of demonic power erupted suddenly. Without transforming, Miketsu sharply swung her blade, controlling her demonic power to blow against the sudden demonic wind. The strong demonic wind was quickly neutralized, and Miketsu’s demonic power, without losing momentum, continued to blow in the direction from which the demonic wind had come, causing the trees in that direction to sway.

The demonic wind created by Miketsu quickly dissipated. In the mid-air in that direction, a group of figures had now appeared.

Dressed in black, with wings on their backs, masks covering their faces, and wearing tall geta, these were a group of yokai whose characteristics were very obvious at a glance, revealing their race. They were Tengu, the flying Karasu-tengu!