The Inquiry and the Clan Split

Heian-kyo during the day, the Upper Capital District, the Minamoto residence.

Inside the Minamoto residence, numerous servants hurried about their business, while countless fully armed samurai guarded every key entrance and exit, maintaining a state of extreme vigilance.

“Clang, clang, thud, thud...”

Throughout the estate, various rhythmic hammering sounds echoed incessantly, and the ground trembled slightly from time to time. The cacophony reverberated in every corner of the Minamoto residence, causing an inevitable sense of irritation for those living within.

In an elegant room somewhere in the mansion, Miketsu sat in her seat, her brow furrowed slightly at the noise drifting in through the window. She eventually spoke.

“It’s been a while since I’ve visited your side, and it seems to have become even noisier.”

“My apologies, Lord Hao. The workshops below have been quite busy lately. An increase in noise is unavoidable,” Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the head of the Minamoto clan, said with a smile as he sat across from Miketsu.

“Heh, it seems the progress of your Artificial Shikigami Project is going well. If there’s this much activity, it means you’ve already entered mass production, doesn't it?” Miketsu let out a soft laugh and commented. She had a fair understanding of what the Minamoto clan was currently up to.

Since the yokai calamity thirteen years ago, an agreement had been reached between the Onmyoryo and Owl regarding the release of innocent yokai. This had led to the inevitable decline of the Minamoto clan, who had originally relied on those yokai to create their shikigami. However, a few years ago, after Minamoto no Yorimitsu became the head of the clan, he began steering the family down a different path: the path of artificial shikigami.

The dungeons that once imprisoned various demons had now been converted into workshops. Inside, “craftsmen” worked day and night, forging a new generation of Minamoto shikigami.

“Naturally. After bidding farewell to our old methods of using shikigami, we had to master new powers as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the family’s status would be further shaken,” Minamoto no Yorimitsu responded. He then cut to the chase, looking at Miketsu with a questioning gaze.

“I heard that Lord Hao has been paying quite a bit of attention to our Minamoto clan lately. Why is that? Have we done something recently?” Yorimitsu’s attitude was very direct, pointing out the fact that Miketsu was investigating them. In response, Miketsu did not hide it and spoke plainly.

“I recently uncovered a secret activity involving an evil god, and I discovered individuals with Minamoto traits participating in it...” Omitting the major details, Miketsu described the findings she had made while dealing with the Suwako incident a few days prior. Upon hearing Miketsu’s words, Minamoto no Yorimitsu was slightly taken aback.

“Individuals with Minamoto traits... an evil god...”

“Yes. Therefore, I wish to ask the Minamoto clan head: you said that the traitors within the Minamoto clan during the calamity thirteen years ago were deluded and corrupted by an evil god, and you guaranteed that all worshippers of the evil god within the clan had been purged. Is this the truth?” Miketsu questioned him slowly, her gaze sharp. After a momentary pause in his expression, Yorimitsu spoke seriously.

“That is mostly correct... but there are parts that need clarification. The worshippers of the evil god within the Minamoto clan were not merely deluded. Worshiping that evil god is an ancient, secret tradition passed down within the Minamoto clan itself. The clan has been secretly performing rites for the evil god for a very long time. Saying those worshippers were only acting out of delusion... was merely a narrative used to answer the Onmyoryo’s inquiries.”

“Worshiping an evil god... is a Minamoto tradition?” Hearing Yorimitsu confirm this, a flicker of surprise appeared on Miketsu’s face.

“Indeed. Faith in that Snake Evil God has persisted since the birth of the Minamoto clan, until a few years ago when I purged all the worshippers within the capital’s branch...” At this point, the corners of Yorimitsu’s mouth curled slightly. He looked at Miketsu and gave a somewhat helpless smile.

“To tell you the truth, the Minamoto clan has effectively split over the issue of how to handle the worship of the evil god.”

“Split? You demanded the complete abolition of the faith, and other clansmen were unwilling?” Miketsu responded with curiosity as she listened to Yorimitsu’s account.

“Exactly. Because this worship has existed within the Minamoto clan for so long, it is deeply rooted. Many elders were heavily influenced by it. These elders refused change and were incredibly stubborn, viewing that evil god as the guardian deity of the Minamoto clan. Once they saw my intentions clearly, they repeatedly obstructed my ascension to the position of clan head, though they ultimately failed,” Yorimitsu continued, reminiscing.

“So you moved against those elders?” Miketsu, who understood Yorimitsu to an extent, spoke directly.

“Indeed. On the eve of becoming the clan head, I gathered my forces and launched an attack on those stubborn old fools. Taking the initiative, I dealt them heavy losses. Subsequently, they all fled Heian-kyo, heading toward the Forbidden Grounds secretly built by the Minamoto ancestors for the worship of the evil god. They activated the restrictions there to isolate it from the outside world and nominated my brother, Minamoto no Yorimasa—who had been confined in the Forbidden Grounds—as their clan head. Thus, the Minamoto clan officially split...”

Having finished his explanation of the events, Yorimitsu took a sip of the tea before him and smiled at Miketsu, who was currently processing the information.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu? Minamoto no Yorimasa? So the internal split of the Minamoto clan was caused by the issue of the Great Snake’s worship... From the results, Yorimitsu was the winner of this gambit. He inherited the most orthodox title and the vast majority of the Minamoto clan’s resources, while Yorimasa’s side seemed to have nothing left but a bunch of elders and a single Forbidden Ground... In that case, the group of mortal followers of the Great Snake involved in the Suwako incident likely came from Yorimasa’s faction.

After initially clarifying the current state of the Minamoto clan, Miketsu nodded slightly and then continued to ask Yorimitsu.

“Then, what exactly is the origin of this tradition of evil god worship within the Minamoto clan? Why exactly do you perform rites for the evil god? Is there a story behind this?” Miketsu pressed further. She wanted to figure out exactly how the Minamoto clan became entangled with the Great Snake. Why did this ancient god become the object of the Minamoto clan’s secret worship? However, Yorimitsu’s answer was completely unexpected.

“The origin? Why we worship that evil god? I’m afraid I don’t know how to answer that, because for the Minamoto clan, performing rites for that Snake Evil God was a mandated task...”

“A mandated task?”

“Heh, don't forget, what is the origin of our Minamoto clan?” Yorimitsu asked with a smile, and Miketsu immediately realized the point.

“The origin of the Minamoto... You are royalty who were demoted to subject status. Are you saying that the tradition of the Minamoto’s evil god worship was mandated by the Imperial Family?” With a look of surprise, Miketsu spoke. Yorimitsu wagged a finger and continued.

“Or rather, it was inherited from them. The source of the Snake Evil God’s worship began with the Imperial Family...”