Mechanism

After the disaster, the entire Heian-kyo fell into a state of gloom and sorrow. According to preliminary statistics from the Onmyoryo, at least a thousand people, including civilians, were casualties during the yokai disaster. The Tsuchigumo and the Great Snake, having never approached Heian-kyo directly, did not cause significant harm.

The Onmyoryo and the Onmyo Clans suffered considerable losses after this series of events. According to Kamo no Tadayuki, this was the greatest setback Onmyodo had faced since the Nine-Tailed Fox's burning of the capital over a decade ago. If not for the assistance of the Great Yokai Owl and the genius Onmyoji Asakura Hao, Heian-kyo would likely not have survived that night.

While the human realm was steeped in sorrow, the demon realm was exceptionally lively. After the Onmyoryo agreed to Owl's demand to abolish the demon prisons, Miketsu quickly dispatched Konkiku and Slippery Nura to contact the Onmyoryo and immediately began the specific operations for releasing the yokai. She designated Abe no Seimei as their contact, to prevent them from being exploited due to unfamiliarity with Onmyoryo affairs.

With the release of the first batch of yokai, the entire Kinki region's demon realm was shaken. When the news spread that Owl had forced the Onmyoryo to abolish the demon prisons, Owl's prestige within the demon realm saw an explosive increase. The Minamoto Clan's demon prisons held a terrifying and detested status in the demon realm, and their disappearance now caused many yokai to cheer.

Under Miketsu's orderly arrangements, large batches of yokai, excluding those with dangerous man-eating tendencies, began to be released in stages from the Minamoto Clan's underground demon prisons. There was a reason why the Onmyoryo cooperated so decisively and everything proceeded so smoothly. Due to the significant civilian casualties caused by the yokai disaster, strong voices against the existence of demon prisons emerged from both the court and the populace. Coupled with the promise made to Owl and the inherent great risks of demonic power itself, the Onmyoryo had no reason not to cooperate under these various pressures.

Of course, Miketsu didn't just focus on making the Onmyoryo fulfill its promise to release the yokai. She understood the significance of the large number of yokai imprisoned in the Minamoto Clan's demon prisons to the Onmyo Clans; they were a vital source of materials and Shikigami for Heian-kyo's Onmyo Clans. Although the Onmyoryo, under various pressures, agreed to abolish the demon prisons and release the yokai, their need for materials and Shikigami did not disappear. Therefore, Miketsu conveyed some proposals she had conceived long ago to the Onmyoryo.

These proposals concerned the acquisition of materials and Shikigami for Onmyoji. Onmyo Clans actually needed materials from two sources: first, spiritual or demonic natural treasures gathered from nature, such as special ores and plants. Second, certain parts of yokai, and a considerable portion of these were merely blood. For yokai with strong regenerative abilities, most of these parts could regenerate quickly. Therefore, as long as the Onmyo Clans were willing to pay, Owl could become an intermediary platform, actively purchasing these items from yokai.

Furthermore, because spiritual herbs and stones often existed in extremely dangerous natural environments, Onmyoji had to pay a high price to acquire them. Yokai, however, were far more adaptable to harsh natural environments than humans, and could easily venture into dangerous, shoki-filled areas to collect the natural materials Onmyoji needed. If Onmyoji were willing to cooperate with yokai, they would pay much less than before.

In terms of Shikigami, Miketsu directly proposed remuneration and temporary contracts, essentially introducing an employment system into Shikigami contracts. Onmyoji could hire yokai as Shikigami. After paying a certain price and satisfying the yokai, Onmyoji could still use them as Shikigami for a limited period. While this meant Onmyoji could not arbitrarily obtain permanently subservient Shikigami, it drastically reduced the time spent capturing, taming, and forcibly contracting Shikigami. Moreover, the casting threshold and cost for voluntary, time-limited contracts were far lower than for forced permanent contracts, allowing more Onmyoji, and even Onmyo-sei, to utilize Shikigami.

Of course, whether it was having yokai voluntarily provide body materials, collecting natural materials, or hiring Shikigami, all of these required the establishment of a platform for exchange between the human realm and the demon realm. There needed to be an intermediary, acceptable to both sides, capable of communication, dispelling misunderstandings, and executing notarization. And who could be more suitable for this role than Miketsu?

Owl held immense prestige in the demon realm of Heian-kyo and had also provided assistance to Heian-kyo. Among Onmyoji, she had a relationship with Abe no Seimei, who would become a future leader of Onmyodo. Asakura Hao, on the other hand, was a genius Onmyoji, closely connected to the powerful Fujiwara Clan among the Three Great Clans, and a key figure in summoning a deity to save Heian-kyo.

In most cases, conflicts and disputes, disagreements and opposition arise from a lack of communication and exchange, and barriers in information transfer. With Miketsu's abilities, she could certainly establish such a platform, such a mechanism. And she began to act with this goal in mind.

In fact, Miketsu had considered long ago that no matter how many people she saved as an Onmyoji, or how many yokai she saved as a Great Yokai, she could not fundamentally resolve the intense conflict between humans and yokai.

Miketsu understood that solving an immediate problem only required a direct action. But solving a long-term problem required establishing a long-lasting mechanism. And now, Miketsu was determined to establish such a mechanism—one that could effectively alleviate human-demon conflict over the long term, a mechanism that could bridge the Human and demon realms.

At this moment, Miketsu was no longer merely seeking strength and influence, or just self-preservation and protecting the foxes around her. She would use her power to change the surrounding world.

……

In Choyo-machi, the release of many yokai had made it much livelier than before. In various Yokai Izakayas and along the riverbanks, yokai gathered in twos and threes, feasting and animatedly discussing the major events in Heian-kyo a few days prior. Those yokai who had personally accompanied Owl into the capital and participated in the events were constantly boasting loudly, becoming the center of attention at every banquet.

On a small lake island in Choyo-machi, a Five-Story Pagoda stood. At the top of the Five-Story Pagoda, a crimson skeleton dressed in court noble attire sat on the floor, playing the Sanzu in its arms. He was Elder Sanzu, the founder and administrator of Choyo-machi.

Elder Sanzu skillfully played the Sanzu in his arms, and a rhythmic, melodious tune flowed out, rising and falling with the emotions it conveyed, before finally concluding.

“A beautiful tune. Every time I come to Choyo-machi, I hear delightful music from the pagoda. I never expected to enjoy it so closely today.” Not far from Elder Sanzu, Miketsu, disguised as Owl, spoke with a relaxed air. She had been invited up here by Elder Sanzu.

“Haha, it’s wonderful that Lady Owl appreciates this old man’s music… Among yokai, not many understand music, and I’m very glad Lady Owl is one of them…” With a polite expression, Elder Sanzu looked at Miketsu with his hollow eyes and said.

“So you invited me up here not just to listen to music, I presume…”

“Of course not. In truth, I’ve wanted to meet Lady Owl for a long time. Today, I merely did what I had previously failed to do.”

“A long time ago? Then why didn’t you invite me sooner?” Hearing Elder Sanzu’s words, Miketsu was slightly puzzled. She frequently frequented Choyo-machi; it shouldn’t have been difficult for him to invite her.

“It’s shameful to admit, but the reason this old man didn’t meet Lady Owl sooner was because I dared not.” Elder Sanzu gave an awkward smile.

“Dared not? Why? Was it because you feared unnecessary trouble? After all, Lady Owl, your first rise to prominence involved offending the subordinates of Oyakata, the Yokai Lord. This old man avoided contact with you to prevent Oyakata’s yokai generals from misunderstanding. Later, you became embroiled in conflict with the Onmyoryo, so this old man dared even less to approach you.” Elder Sanzu’s tone carried a hint of bitterness, and Miketsu on the other side roughly understood what he meant.

“You feared that by provoking the Yokai Lord and the Onmyoryo, I would lose influence and ultimately implicate you?”

“Yes, this old man is usually overly cautious. For the stability of Choyo-machi and myself, I constantly weighed the Onmyoryo and the Yokai Lord, daring not to offend either side. Therefore, I believed that Lady Owl’s challenge to the Onmyoryo and the Yokai Lord would bring great risks, and thus I was unwilling to associate with you… But now, it seems that my timid self from back then was truly laughable…” Elder Sanzu’s voice was filled with deep self-mockery, and at this point, Miketsu spoke directly.

“There’s nothing laughable about it. You were merely living by your own code of survival, protecting yourself and this Choyo-machi.”

“My own code of survival… Heh… But such a code, while allowing one to cling to life under strong pressure, cannot lead Choyo-machi to break through that pressure and move towards greater breadth and prosperity. The current Choyo-machi needs a leader with more courage, more strength, and more foresight.

“Yes, like Lady Owl… Or rather, only Lady Owl…”