Chapter 64 - Art Exorcism.

Inside the pitch-black house, a dense aura of yin energy permeated, terrifying ghost shadows flickered in and out of sight, and faint, painful wails could be heard.

In the darkness, a cold, low female voice echoed.

“They’re coming again… they’re coming again… fresh souls and flesh are coming again, delicious flesh with spiritual power… hehehe…”

“Killed… two… it seems they were Onmyoji, but it doesn’t matter, as long as they dare to step in here… no matter who… there’s only one outcome…”

“To feed… my never-ending resentment… hehehe…”

An inextinguishable resentment stirred in the darkness, ready to devour all who dared to enter.

…

The wealthy merchant Morita’s mansion was located on a hill far from the village. It was a medium-sized, ordinary residence with a main gate and walls about a person’s height. The main structure was a two-story house, flanked by two smaller annexes. The main gate faced the wall in front of the large house, and behind it was the owner's private garden. In addition, there were smaller auxiliary buildings like stables.

Even in broad daylight, the mansion exuded a chilling aura. Weeds grew rampant in the courtyard, cobwebs covered everything, and a deathly silence hung in the air.

Miketsu carefully observed the mansion from a distance. Through her Spiritual Vision, she could clearly see the black aura soaring skyward from within the residence.

“This is Morita’s house,” the village chief said tremblingly, standing beside Miketsu. “Since the incidents, no one in the village has dared to enter, except for the exorcists who were invited, but none of them ever came out.”

Miketsu remained silent, continuing to gaze at the distant mansion. At this moment, Tsuruha was also offering her advice through their pact.

‘Lady Uka, please be careful. The evil spirit in this house is extremely powerful, commanding no less than ten Changguai, and it has likely transformed the entire mansion into its own domain. Entering rashly would be very dangerous.’

Listening to Tsuruha’s words and analyzing the information she had gathered so far, Miketsu silently nodded. She turned to the village chief beside her and asked.

“It should be fine to just go into the courtyard, right?”

“Uh… this humble villager isn’t sure, but those previous exorcists all disappeared without a trace after entering the house. If it’s just in the courtyard… it should be fine, I suppose.” The village chief thought for a moment, then continued.

“Alright, then wait for me here.”

With that, Miketsu focused her mind, heightened her guard, and quickly walked towards the mansion. The moment she entered the courtyard, she felt a chill, just like the one she had experienced in the Forest of Transformation and Slaughter.

Creating a demon realm by gathering yin energy, forcibly dragging mortals into the Demon Realm—this evil spirit in the mansion is truly powerful to a certain extent. No wonder it could kill six extraordinary individuals…

In the courtyard, Miketsu sensed her surroundings, sighing inwardly.

Looking around, Miketsu carefully observed the situation in the courtyard with extreme caution. Finally, her gaze settled on a half-open door of the main house.

Behind that door was an interior that the daytime sun could not directly reach. From Miketsu's perspective, it was almost completely dark inside, and a gaze was fixed upon her from within.

No, not just one, but many. They were scattered in various corners, from the attic windows, from the cracks in the wooden boards, from beneath the house… from various positions, all simultaneously staring at her…

Miketsu slowly approached the half-open door, stopping at its edge, gazing into the dark interior. Countless arms seemed to wave at her from within, beckoning her to enter, guiding her to fall into the abyss…

“…”

Miketsu decisively closed the half-open door, then turned and quickly walked away without looking back. Her action instantly stunned the entity that had been lurking in the darkness, waiting for a long time.

“...Hehehehehe… I never expected… never expected… that so-called Onmyoji… are merely cowards who cling to life… Be afraid… run… but in the end, none of you can escape…”

In the darkness, mocking whispers echoed…

The old village chief saw Miketsu quickly walking back from a distance, and his hanging heart finally settled. However, another worry quickly arose in his mind.

The Onmyoji master returned without doing anything. Had the yokai in the mansion become so powerful that even she couldn’t handle it? What would become of this village then… Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

Miketsu walked up to the worried old village chief, turned to glance at the mansion, and then spoke.

“Village chief, do you still want this mansion later?”

“Want it? No, no, no! So many people have died, who would dare to want it! Even if there were no yokai inside, no one would dare to live there.” Hearing Miketsu’s words, the village chief immediately shook his head. Miketsu’s expression relaxed, and she continued speaking to the village chief.

“Good, if you don’t want it… Village chief, now go into the village and gather all the paper you can find for me. Also, prepare seven or eight brave laborers, and get some rice paste.”

“Paper? Laborers? Onmyoji master, what are you…”

“You’ll know in a moment. Just go as I asked. Oh, right, remember to bring a pair of scissors, and if there’s a skilled young woman in the village, you can bring her too.”

“Yes, yes, yes…”

Miketsu watched the village chief disappear from sight, then she turned back to face the lifeless mansion before her, a faint smile playing on her lips.

…

A short while later, the village chief had prepared everything Miketsu requested: five or six rolls of large paper, seven or eight strong young men, and an ordinary village woman with scissors.

Seeing that the items were ready, Miketsu immediately found a flat stone and had the village woman cut the paper into small pieces for her. She then took out her seal for carving talismans and an inkpad, and amidst surprised glances, she began stamping talismans one after another.

After the talismans were stamped, Miketsu instructed the men to take them and paste them onto the ominous mansion. During this time, she spent some effort convincing them that the evil spirit inside couldn’t come out during the day, and as long as they didn’t enter the house to paste, they would be fine.

Thus, about ninety talismans were cut, stamped, and pasted, and the number of talismans covering the ominous mansion slowly increased.

Finally, after about half an hour, the entire surface of the ominous mansion was covered with talismans. From the main house to the annexes, from the empty stables to the walls, from the front courtyard to the back, a talisman was pasted every meter or two, Miketsu’s charms covering the entire ominous mansion.

“Hiss… so sore… but it’s done, thankfully. Mission accomplished.”

Miketsu rubbed her shoulders, sore from stamping, while looking at the distant mansion covered in talismans. She nodded in satisfaction, and the initially bewildered old village chief seemed to understand something upon seeing this scene.

“I know! Onmyoji master, you want to use these talismans to seal away that yokai, don’t you?”

“Seal? No, no, no, these talismans aren’t for sealing.”

“Not for sealing? Then what are they for?” Hearing Miketsu’s words, the old village chief immediately felt puzzled.

“You’ll know in a moment. Before that, have all the villagers retreat far away, preferably staying inside the village.” Miketsu then instructed the village chief, but before he could leave, she seemed to remember something else.

“Oh, right, have someone dig a pit for me over there, deep enough for a person to stand in.”

While the outside of the mansion was bustling with activity, the inside was filled with curiosity.

The evil spirit within the mansion initially thought the Onmyoji was going to use talismans to seal it, but it soon discovered that these talismans had no effect on it whatsoever once pasted on the walls. There was no suppression as expected; they were just like ordinary paper.

Could this so-called Capital Onmyoji be a fraud? The evil spirit suddenly had this thought and once again let out a chilling laugh in the darkness, mocking the villagers for hiring a charlatan.

Meanwhile, the pit Miketsu had asked the village chief to have dug was finally ready. After this, she sent all the villagers back into the village, and she herself jumped into the pit.

Miketsu now mentally referred to this as a trench…

The pit was about three hundred meters from the ominous mansion, which was precisely Miketsu’s maximum range for linking talismans.

Standing in the trench, Miketsu confirmed its height; it was indeed deep enough to completely conceal her. Just as she was about to begin, she suddenly remembered something and quickly took off the tall eboshi she was wearing.

With preparations complete and no omissions confirmed, Miketsu took a deep breath, adjusted her mindset, and after mentally counting “three, two, one,” she feigned forming a mud escape hand seal.

“Art is an explosion!” Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

The ominous mansion, harboring boundless resentment and having devoured countless lives, was at that moment engulfed in a dazzling white light.

What is the safest way to deal with an ominous, haunted house?

Naturally, it’s to blow the entire house sky-high without stepping inside!