Shizuhara-machi is located north of Heian-kyo, a human settlement built on a narrow plain between towering mountains. Because there is a flat, passable road connecting it to Heian-kyo, the journey from Heian-kyo to Shizuhara-machi is not long; at Tsuruha's speed, it would take only about an hour to arrive.
Miketsu's last distant trip was to Shenmu Village with Tsuruha for an Onmyoryo mission. Now, their destination is to target an important figure within the Onmyoryo.
"Ah... that's Shizuhara-machi over there."
Under the evening sun, Miketsu stood on a hill, gazing at the distant human settlement nestled among the mountains, with smoke curling from its chimneys.
"Yes, Lady Uka, but we don't need to go inside this time," Tsuruha said, standing beside Miketsu and also looking at the town in the setting sun.
"Hmm, because we've already pinpointed the exact location. Tsuruha, our current position is the Qian position of Shizuhara-machi, isn't it?"
"Tsuruha has confirmed it; it is indeed the Qian position. We just need to continue walking about half a ri in this direction to reach the location indicated by the divination."
"Very well, let's depart now." With that, Miketsu turned and prepared to continue walking in the direction of the Qian position, but she had barely taken two steps when Tsuruha called out to her.
"Lady Uka..."
"Is something wrong, Tsuruha?"
"The outfit you're wearing... is it really alright?"
"This outfit, huh? It felt a bit awkward at first, but I've gotten used to it." Hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu turned to examine her attire. At this moment, she was not wearing the miko outfit of a deity, nor the kariginu of an onmyoji, but rather the black robe and bandages of the yokai Owl. This was the first time Tsuruha had seen Miketsu in this getup.
"No... Tsuruha didn't mean that. It's just that I don't know when you acquired this outfit, Lady Uka..." Tsuruha spoke slowly, her voice tinged with a hint of sadness.
"Well... didn't I tell you before? I'll explain everything in detail once this Yura matter is resolved. It will take some time," Miketsu said with a slightly awkward tone, hearing Tsuruha's question.
"Is that so... In that case, Tsuruha won't ask any more questions, but... but Lady Uka, are you really hiding something from Tsuruha?" With a resentful gaze, Tsuruha looked at Miketsu, who involuntarily took two steps back at the sight.
"Uh... about that, Tsuruha, I'll explain it properly later. There's a reason, trust me!"
"Regardless of the reason, as Lady Uka's divine messenger, for Lady Uka to hide something from me, that is my dereliction of duty..." As she spoke, Tsuruha sadly lowered her head. Her reaction made Miketsu feel a pang of sympathy.
What should I do? Although I knew this day would come eventually, I'm still a bit at a loss now that it's here.
Miketsu hesitated for a moment, then, as if having made a decision, walked over to the crestfallen Tsuruha, who was still looking down. She crouched down and wrapped her arms around Tsuruha's fluffy neck.
"La-Lady Uka!" Tsuruha clearly hadn't expected Miketsu to do something like that so suddenly.
"There, there~ It was wrong of me to hide things from you, don't dwell on it. We still have things to do now, you know." Miketsu said, gently stroking Tsuruha's soft fur. This action made Tsuruha tremble all over, unable to utter a complete sentence.
"La-Lady, Lady Uka... Tsuruha... Tsuruha, I..."
Tsuruha seems very excited. As expected, foxes have no resistance to me at all, Miketsu thought to herself, looking at Tsuruha's reaction in her arms.
"So, Tsuruha, do you forgive me now?"
"Fo-forgive... No, Lady Uka did nothing wrong. Le-let's go now!"
"Mm, alright, Tsuruha." After initially soothing Tsuruha, Miketsu stood up again and continued onward with Tsuruha towards the location indicated by the divination.
The reason she was dressed as Owl was that she might soon have a direct encounter with Fujiwara no Kanehira. Facing such an important figure in the Onmyoryo, a high-ranking member of the Fujiwara clan, Miketsu did not want to confront him as Asakura Hao. After all, she still needed to operate within the Onmyoryo in the future, and offending a powerful figure would not benefit her.
Thus, Miketsu and Tsuruha pressed forward, traversing through the dense forest. When they felt they were close to their destination, she quietly activated the Yu-step.
Suddenly, Miketsu stopped.
"What's wrong, Lady Uka?" Seeing Miketsu's actions, Tsuruha also immediately stopped and began to survey their surroundings cautiously.
"There's a problem with the threads of causality ahead."
"A problem?"
"Yes, there are causes that will bring me disadvantage, though not fatal. I think they must be mechanisms or talismans that could trigger alarms or other traps," Miketsu said slowly, her eyes shimmering as she looked at the intertwining threads of causality before her.
Although the range of causality threads visible in the Yu-step state was limited, far less comprehensive than the all-encompassing perception in the Planchette state, it could be activated and deactivated at will, and other actions could be performed while active, even in combat.
"Alarm traps? What should we do, Lady Uka? If we go carelessly, we'll surely alert them," Tsuruha said seriously, looking at the seemingly ordinary forest ahead.
"Don't worry, although the detrimental causes ahead are dense, they are not without gaps. Tsuruha, shrink down and hide on me." Miketsu's crimson gaze, hidden beneath her hood, swept across the situation ahead, then she said with confidence. Hearing Miketsu's words, Tsuruha nodded, then immediately shrank and skillfully slipped into Miketsu's sleeve.
After securing Tsuruha, Miketsu took a deep breath and, fully focused, took her first step into the dangerous area ahead.
Miketsu carefully navigated through the threads of causality. In her eyes, she could clearly see where crossing or touching certain spots would directly trigger danger. She could now avoid these places and move forward without triggering anything.
Miketsu now felt like a secret agent or master thief in a movie, gracefully dancing through a laser grid, evading one crisis after another.
Finally, after moving forward for a short while, she successfully passed through this perilous area without alerting anyone. After a soft sigh of relief, she continued onward and finally reached the edge of the forest.
Then she saw a dilapidated mansion built on a clearing amidst the dense woods. In front of the mansion, there was a stone table with two stone stools, on which two figures were currently seated.
One was an old man, dressed in a kariginu and wearing an eboshi, elegant and proper, with a composed demeanor. The Fujiwara family crest was emblazoned on his kariginu. Miketsu recognized him; he was Fujiwara no Kanehira.
The other appeared to be quite old as well, dressed in simple, tattered, thin clothes, covered in dust and grime. His beard and sparse hair were very messy. He also had unusually long, pointed ears and disproportionately protruding large eyes. The black aura emanating from him, visible through spiritual vision, indicated that he was a yokai.
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