Deception

Looking at the serious expression on Yura’s face, Miketsu was momentarily stunned before she offered a gentle smile.

“If Seimei recovers his memories and sees everything you've done for him, he might be so moved that he'll never want to leave your side.”

“Tsk... what are you even saying!” Hearing Miketsu’s words, Yura’s face flushed red as she spoke quickly.

“Ha, let's set that aside for now. Seimei is still in his own courtyard, right?”

“Yes. Although you asked the Inari Miko to step in and separate the corrupted portion of Seimei’s soul, we still need to observe him to see if any traces of corruption remain...” As she spoke, Yura took a slow sip of tea, her expression turning somber.

“Also, according to your intel, the Four Symbols Seal has the potential to erode its host. Therefore, we have conducted corresponding checks on that Fujiwara ancestor and will continue to observe her for a while. Likewise...” As Yura spoke, she slowly lifted her bangs, revealing an abstract tiger-shaped mark that was emitting a faint glow.

“I hope you will keep an eye on me as well, Hao. Heian-kyo cannot afford to lose another Divine General...”

“Heh... of course. I will keep a close watch on both you and Mokou. Though I must say... I really didn't expect the White Tiger Seal to be with you. I'm surprised those fellows in the Minamoto Clan would tolerate an outsider occupying a Divine General position that should have been their family's inheritance...” Miketsu said with a smile. She had only recently learned that Yura was the White Tiger Divine General. The Minamoto Clan had not announced a new candidate for a long time, leading to rumors that the White Tiger Seal had been lost after the disaster a decade ago. No one expected it to be in the hands of someone outside the Minamoto Clan.

“It’s not that the Minamoto Clan tolerated it; it was Minamoto no Yorimitsu alone.”

“Minamoto no Yorimitsu?! It was his idea to give you the White Tiger Seal and hide it from the public?”

“Something like that... I obtained the White Tiger Seal by accident, but Yorimitsu believed that with someone clearly coveting the Four Symbols Seal, it wasn't wise to put the White Tiger Divine General out in the open. It would make me an easy target for those hiding in the shadows, so he had me keep it a secret. Even the rest of the Minamoto Clan thinks the White Tiger Seal is lost.” Yura corrected her.

“Minamoto no Yorimitsu... that man really is a maverick, quite different from the heads of the other great clans... In any case, looking at how things turned out, his approach was correct.” Miketsu mused. Her impression of Yorimitsu was that he didn't particularly approve of yokai, but his stance was one hundred percent on the side of the human realm, making him much more tolerable than his father.

“Hmm... there's one more thing I'm worried about. Regarding the other half of Seimei’s corrupted soul, do you know its current whereabouts?” Changing the subject, Yura asked Miketsu.

“That cannot be confirmed for now... I imagine that since it is the other half of Seimei’s soul, the place it goes might have some connection to him,” Miketsu said after a moment of thought.

“A place connected to Seimei? Where could that be? Tsk... honestly, of all times for Seimei to have amnesia. But since the other party is just a wisp of a soul without a body, it shouldn't pose too much of a threat, right?”

“Who knows...?” Miketsu said, a faint, unsettling premonition rising in her heart.

...

Far away from Heian-kyo, deep within a dark and dense forest, stood an exquisite little courtyard cottage. In this wilderness courtyard, countless foxes of all kinds were leaping and playing. The area was protected by a demonic barrier, making it a place isolated from the world.

Inside the small wooden house sat a beautiful woman with fair skin and long, jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders, wearing a simple unlined robe. At this moment, she sat before a low wooden table, brush in hand, writing. Her expression betrayed a deep, irrepressible melancholy.

“What is happening... my heart has been inexplicably tight these past few days.”

The woman set down her brush and frowned, placing a hand over her chest. She spoke with great sorrow; it was clear her heart was exceptionally uneasy.

“What... has happened? Could it be Seimei...?”

Just as she was murmuring to herself, she suddenly seemed to sense something. Her eyes sharpened, her expression froze, and she stood up abruptly, walking quickly to the door of the cottage. She threw it open and blurted out:

“Seimei!”

However, there was nothing outside the door but a few foxes playing on the lush green grass.

Seeing this, the woman was momentarily dazed. As she began to look around, the foxes playing on the grass suddenly raised their heads in terror and immediately scattered in all directions. Behind the woman, a cluster of purple-black soul fire suddenly ignited out of thin air.

“Mother...”

A hollow and resentful voice echoed from within the soul fire. The woman turned her head to look at the purple-black flame, and the expression on her face immediately shifted to one of horror.

“Seimei! What happened to you, Seimei! Why have you become like this!” The woman’s voice was laced with sobs as her trembling hands reached toward the soul fire, her face filled with disbelief.

“It was the Onmyoji... the Onmyoji of Heian-kyo harmed me...” The resentful voice continued to drift from the soul fire, and a wisp of purple-black mist seeped out, gradually enveloping the woman.

“The Onmyoji? That’s not right... Haven't you already become the Onmyo Taiyu? Did Kamo no Tadayuki not protect you? How could you have ended up like this...?”

“Humans are not to be trusted! Mother! I have nothing but hatred for them now!” As the words fell, the eerie soul fire suddenly flared up. It flew before the woman’s eyes, speaking to his heart-stricken mother.

“So, Mother, I need your help now...”

“I... what can I do to help you? Seimei, tell me! As long as I can help you, I will do it. I am your mother, Seimei!” Amidst the purple-black mist, the woman cried out loudly. Her current state was somewhat unstable and abnormal.

Seeing the woman’s response, the flaring soul fire paused, and the demonic voice continued to drift out.

“I am currently a lonely ghost... I can do nothing. I need a new body... and so, my mother...

“I need you to give birth to me once more...”

...

In Heian-kyo, at the end of Tsuchimikado Avenue, near Seimei’s courtyard, Seimei was walking along a riverbank trying to recall his past when he suddenly frowned and looked toward the distant sky.

“What is it? Seimei, did you remember something?”

Beside Seimei, Kagura was watching him intently as she spoke.

“No... it’s not that I remembered anything, but I suddenly feel a tightness in my chest, a bad premonition.”

“A bad... premonition?”

“I don’t know how to describe it, it’s just...”

“Run, Seimei-sama!!” Just as Seimei was about to say more, a loud shout came from the distance. Little White was currently sprinting toward them as fast as his legs could carry him.

“What’s wrong, Little White?” Kagura asked, tilting her head at his frantic state.

“A dog... a dog... a fierce dog-headed yokai is over there, drawing his sword and slashing at people without a word! He’s coming this way!”

“A dog-headed yokai?” Hearing Little White’s words, Seimei looked into the distance. At that moment, a humanoid Shiba Inu wearing a kimono, carrying a sword and a doghouse on its back, radiating immense resentment, was running quickly toward them. Looking at Seimei and the others, it shouted:

“Where is he? Where is the villain who harmed my friend!? I’ll cut him down!”

Facing this clearly hostile dog yokai, Seimei instinctively began to form a hand seal.