A Pawn’s Passage

When Qi Xuansu arrived in Fenglin, it was the latter part of January. Now, it was the beginning of February.

The chill of the early spring breeze could not dispel the gloom over Ise Province.

Yoshida Castle was filled with displaced commoners, their expressions numb, unsure of when such days would come to an end.

As they passed by a food stall, A To suddenly stopped in her tracks.

A yatai was essentially a kind of street-side snack stand with wheels at the base and a counter on top. They typically served ramen and other snacks, as well as sake and shochu. A canopy covered the top, with cloth curtains hanging from the eaves. When closing shop, one could simply pull the whole thing away.

The girl had been out searching for someone since yesterday, consuming a lot of energy. She was now so hungry that she could faint.

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to sit with her in front of the yatai. They then ordered a bowl of ramen each.

Truthfully, Qi Xuansu was not hungry. Even if he were to eat, he preferred meat. The saying that Martial Arts Practitioners could eat an entire cow a day was not just an exaggeration.

But since this was the only option, he could only follow suit.

On a chilly day, a bowl of ramen warmed the body. But he did not find the taste suitable to his palate. Still, compared to Zhang Yuelu's cooking, it was not bad at all.

After finishing his meal, Qi Xuansu once again observed the huddled refugees with a calm expression.

He was not a man of excessive compassion, nor was he cold and heartless. He could not help but recall the saying that regardless of whether an empire rose or fell, it would always be the common people who suffered.

That said, the Daoist Order had already shown sufficient mercy; any more would no longer be called revenge.

Ultimately, the issue lay with the Sonno-joi faction, who, for their political agendas, claimed that the mistakes of forefathers should not be blamed on the present generation. Thus, the Daoist Order should not seek revenge.

To Qi Xuansu, that was an utterly laughable notion.

If past wrongs did not belong to the present generation, then neither should lands be hereditary. If so, the Daoist Order taking unclaimed territory would be perfectly reasonable then.

One should not inherit the lands and riches of one's ancestors without also inheriting their sins and debts. It was all or nothing. How could one just conveniently keep the good and discard the bad?

Just as Qi Xuansu was pondering such grand topics, a sudden commotion broke out on the street.

A dark figure darted swiftly across the street, followed by the sound of chaotic footsteps from tachi-wielding samurai and shinkan in tall ceremonial caps chasing right behind.

Moments later, more samurai rushed out from the other end of the street, surrounding the dark figure in the middle.

Only then did the dark figure reveal its true form, barely retaining a human shape. Its face was already grotesquely twisted like a demon's. Veins bulged beneath its ashen-blue skin, and in places where the skin had torn, bluish flesh and blood were exposed. Looking closer at the tattered and filthy robes, one could faintly discern that it had once been a shinkan.

Qi Xuansu turned his gaze toward it.

He had long known that Fenglin was steeped in sinister energies, riddled with monstrous beings and bizarre happenings. He himself had just slain a Flying Savage that possessed the living. But what he did not expect was that even a priest of the Tenmon Sect could fall and become a ghoul.

What was even stranger was that the surrounding refugees did not panic or flee. They only showed some fear. Perhaps they had seen too much and grown so used to it that they were simply numb to everything.

A To saw the scene as well and picked up her kagura suzu, ready to join the fight.

Qi Xuansu stood up first and traced a Kuji-kiri in the air.

An invisible binding fell upon the demon, and the samurai seized the opportunity to charge forward, hacking at it with a flurry of blades. The sound that rang out was like metal striking stone.

Qi Xuansu made no further move and merely asked, "Even the city isn't safe?"

A To replied with practiced calm, "This is already the 13th incident. I just didn't expect it to be a shinkan this time."

Qi Xuansu could not help but glance at her.

This young girl, though still carrying a trace of childishness, was unexpectedly strong in such an environment. She showed no excessive sentimentality, even knowing that this demon might once have been someone she knew. Her expression bore more helplessness and numbness than grief.

That was why they say one's environment could temper people. In this setting, even a noble-born young lady could transform into a strong miko, while in comfort, a Daoist might become nothing more than a pampered greenhouse flower.

As the two spoke, the samurai had already severed the demon's limbs. The shinkan then cast their spells and burned the creature right there in the street, reducing it swiftly to a pile of black ash.

An elderly shinkan walked toward the three of them.

A To stepped forward and greeted him respectfully, "Master Guji."

Judging by his attire, he was a shinkan at the gon-shokai rank, which was the minimum rank one had to be to serve as a guji at a typical rural shrine.

The elderly man nodded and looked at Qi Xuansu.

A To quickly introduced them. "Master Guji, this is Master Docho from the Harima School. He saved me yesterday and also rescued Sayo from those bandits."

Sayo was the merchant woman.

Qi Xuansu greeted the guji with a bow.

"So you are a Harima Onmyoji." The guji returned the bow. "Onmyoji, thank you for your aid. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Qi Xuansu replied, "Both the Court and the Chancellor's Office have issued demon-hunting decrees, offering generous rewards. That's why I came to Ise Province. However, I was unaware of the Jingu's mandate requiring a travel permit. Master Guji, I'd like to ask you to issue me one so I may move freely within Ise Province."

The guji paused in thought and then said, "Onmyoji, you saved A To and Sayo, and even helped us eliminate a demon. In both sentiment and reason, I ought to grant your request. However, due to the matter involving the Tsuchimikado Onmyoji, the Jingu's orders are now extremely strict. I cannot issue travel permits at will."

Qi Xuansu replied, "Although the Jingu denounces Onmyodo as heretical and corrupt, I believe this stems from the political conflict between the Court and the Chancellor's Office, not from actual prejudice against Onmyodo itself. One must admit that when it comes to dealing with these demons, the Onmyoji are more adept. The Jingu cannot possibly block all Onmyoji from entering Ise Province."

The guji fell silent because what Qi Xuansu said was true.

After a great war, Ise Province was left battered and broken. Although Ise Province was the foremost of the Three Grand Shrines, it had exhausted itself repelling the Toyotomi forces, and now it faced the advance guard of the Daoist Order. In the short term, it had no power to curb the rampant rise of demons and monsters throughout the region. Beyond the barely maintained major cities, most of Ise Province had fallen to demons.

This was also the main reason Mount Suzuka had remained untouched. Though it seemed to lie right under Ise-jingu's nose, the truth was that Ise-jingu simply had no capacity to deal with it. As long as Mount Suzuka stayed neutral, that was enough.

Thus, the Daoist Order's intent was clear. If Mount Suzuka were to defect at this moment and strike from within, coordinating with the Daoist army, then Ise-jingu would be besieged from both front and rear, and its fall would be a matter of moments.

Even if Ise-jingu were to withstand the Daoist Order's assault, Ise Province was still the ancestral stronghold of the Tenmon Sect, so no one could afford to abandon it lightly. The demonic infestations must be dealt with. They could not be left unchecked, or it would severely undermine the Tenmon Sect's authority. In the past, when Fenglin remained isolated, perhaps it could have been tolerated. But now, with the Daoist Order rising as a direct rival to the Tenmon Sect, and the people no longer solely relying on them and possibly even turning to the Daoists, that would threaten the very legacy of their forebears.

Under such circumstances, Onmyoji were indeed a valuable aid. Even if the Jingu had just severed ties with the Onmyodo Sect and denounced it as heretical and impure, it had to admit this truth.

The guji suddenly asked, "Do Harima Onmyoji also practice swordsmanship? As far as I know, these bandits possess robust blood qi, so Onmyodo spells have limited effect on them."

Qi Xuansu smiled. "I'm not proficient in swordsmanship. The reason I was able to defeat those bandits wasn't because I'm an onmyoji, but because of this."

He drew a gun from behind his waist.

The Black Robes' eyelid twitched slightly. "A Black Robes' gun?"

"Smuggled goods. It's very expensive," Qi Xuansu remarked. "Many daimyos are involved in such trade. I once served a hatamoto, and as thanks, he gifted me this handgun. I must say—it works quite well."

A To added, "Master Guji, Master Docho can't possibly be a bad person. He's nothing like those Tsuchimikado Onmyoji."

At last, the guji let out a sigh. "Very well. Onmyoji, please come with me."

Under the guji's guidance, Qi Xuansu arrived at a shrine located within the city.

Normally, shrines were built on mountains outside the city. But under the current circumstances, no one dared to leave the safety of the city walls. With crowds gathered in the city, there was an abundance of human presence, yang energy, and blood qi, enough to fend off malevolent spirits. If one stepped outside the city without specialized formations, one would simply turn into a demon with time.

It was not just the shrines; even Buddhist temples had moved into the city.

Since this was a temporary shrine, it appeared somewhat shabby. The guji issued Qi Xuansu a travel permit, which was mostly similar to those used in the Central Plains.

After receiving the travel pass, Qi Xuansu carefully stored it away.

The guji said, "Onmyoji, why go so far? Why not stay here in Yoshida Castle? You can still slay demons here."

Qi Xuansu had already prepared his response and shook his head. "I still have other companions from the Harima School. We usually live scattered across the land without a fixed home. This time, we each entered Ise Province from different directions and agreed to meet in Anno District. Traveling alone in Ise Province is far too dangerous nowadays."

Because the Tsuchimikado Onmyoji had already stirred trouble before him, Qi Xuansu could not say outright that he was headed for Suzuka District, where Mount Suzuka was located. He could only claim he was headed for the neighboring Anno District.

The guji nodded in agreement, then added, "To reach Anno District from Taki District, you must pass through Itaka District and Ichishi District. Lately, many Sonno-joi activists have been gathering in Ichishi District, making it a key target of the Daoist Order. There are frequent sightings of Crane Crafts there, so you must be cautious."

Qi Xuansu expressed his thanks.