Chapter 11: Rotten to the Core

Cries, screams, reprimands.

Minamoto Kiyomoto listened to these sounds and looked at everything before him.

A young man was searching for his eaten fingers in a pile of cherry blossoms; a young woman, along with the cherry blossom petals, had forever become nourishment for the cherry blossom trees.

Even with Kamibayashi Miko and Himemiya Izayoi, there were still people injured and killed.

“Lady Divine Miko,” a samurai with a long spear walked over, “this is the shikigami scroll of Chidorigafuchi.”

Kamibayashi Miko retracted her gaze from the newlyweds, looked at the scroll filled with names before her, and a golden flame ignited on her finger, writing her name on it.

“Lady Himemiya?” the long-speared samurai looked at Himemiya Izayoi again.

Himemiya Izayoi covered her mouth with her fan and just smiled, but didn’t make a move.

The long-speared samurai hesitated for a moment, turned his gaze to Minamoto Kiyomoto, and handed him the scroll.

“What is this?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked curiously.

“You don’t know?” the long-speared samurai was taken aback for a moment, then explained, “This is the scroll of the Chidorigafuchi shikigami.”

And then?
Wasn’t that equivalent to explaining nothing? Who could understand?
But Kamibayashi Miko had signed it, so Minamoto Kiyomoto thought he should just sign it too.

Just then, Himemiya Izayoi’s lips moved close to his ear, covered by her fan, and she whispered, “Don’t sign.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her face, which was so close, and his heart skipped a beat.

“Can I not sign?” he stopped his outstretched index finger and asked the long-speared samurai.

The long-speared samurai looked troubled, “Generally speaking, all cultivators have to sign, but there is no rule that says you must.”

“Then I won’t sign,” he withdrew his hand.

The long-speared samurai glanced at the two miko and let Minamoto Kiyomoto go. Without these two, Minamoto Kiyomoto would not have had the choice to sign or not.

Putting away the scroll, the long-speared samurai turned around and shouted to all the cultivators, “Begin repairs!”

The young man searching for his fingers stood up, holding his charred fingers; the group of people crying around the dead young woman wiped away their tears and stood up trembling…
“Gods and spirits of heaven and earth, with your brilliant and majestic power,” the crowd chanted the incantation to summon the shikigami.

The river water trembled, and a huge water dragon condensed from water poked its head out of the water, its breath weak.

Kamibayashi Miko’s body burned with golden divine power, the long-speared samurai’s body glowed with earthy yellow divine power, and the two cultivators on the river surface were blue…
On the riverbank, the cultivators, wrapped in brilliant divine power, formed a seal with one hand and transmitted divine power to the water dragon.

Receiving the divine power of its “masters,” the water dragon gradually regained its spirit.

With a joyful dragon’s cry, the charred rapeseed flowers revived, the collapsed bridge surface was repaired, and the small hole poked out by Polaris slowly closed.

Everything that was broken in the battle, as the spirit of Chidorigafuchi—the water dragon—gained divine power, was restored to its original appearance.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at the incredible scene before him, both shocked and excited.

How many more magical things were waiting for him in this world?
“You don’t seem sad at all?” Himemiya Izayoi, who was also idle, asked him.

“Sad?”

“Look,” Himemiya Izayoi’s gaze shifted to the newlyweds who were taking photos with their guests.

Minamoto Kiyomoto glanced at them and asked her, “What will happen to them?”

“They’ll probably commit suicide,” Himemiya Izayoi said in a tone that was not quite certain, but in reality, she didn’t care at all.

She looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto with a smile and said, “Looking at them, the time is probably today.”

“Can’t they be saved?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“How can they be saved? Send someone to watch them for a lifetime? Are you willing to take this mission?” Himemiya Izayoi tilted her head and asked with a smile.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was silent.

He didn’t think he was a bad person, but he wasn’t good enough to spend a lifetime preventing someone from committing suicide in order to save them.

And this was just this time, this place’s victims. What about the victims in other places, last year, next year? Who would watch them?

“If you talk about buying divine spring,” Himemiya Izayoi continued in her undulating voice, “first of all, it’s expensive. Secondly, only cultivators are qualified to buy it, and the user must also be a cultivator or a cultivator’s relative.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t want to be immersed in these negative emotions, so he simply changed the subject.

“What is this?” he pointed at the Chidorigafuchi shikigami.

Himemiya Izayoi laughed twice, then replied:

“‘Heaven bestows a great mission, the divine weapon chooses its master, all things have a spirit,’ this is ‘all things have a spirit.’ Cultivators can’t repair the environment, but they can give the spirits of the environment divine power and let them repair themselves—it’s equivalent to human healing.”

After saying this, she looked Minamoto Kiyomoto up and down, “How come you don’t know anything?”

“I’ve only been in the business for three days, where would I know?” Minamoto Kiyomoto explained, then asked, “Why didn’t you let me sign just now?”

Himemiya Izayoi didn’t answer.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked over in confusion, but saw a face full of hunger.

“Three days?” Himemiya Izayoi licked her rosy, soft lips, her eyes looking as if they wanted to eat Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Sorry,” Minamoto Kiyomoto moved closer to Kamibayashi Miko, who was transmitting divine power to the water dragon, “I’m already Miss Kamibayashi’s person.”

Kamibayashi Miko glanced at him, lowered her hand that was forming a seal, and Chidorigafuchi had already returned to its original state.

The injured people and the bodies of the dead were quickly taken away. The people who remained gradually retracted their divine light and turned back into ordinary tourists.

Cherry blossoms fell like snowflakes with the wind. Through the treetops of the cherry trees, the blue sky and floating white clouds were revealed.

It was a clear spring morning, and it was as if nothing had happened.

“It will be more dangerous than today in the future,” just as Minamoto Kiyomoto was immersed in the feeling of being in a different world, Kamibayashi Miko suddenly said.

“You’re not scared, are you?” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her profile with a smile.

Kamibayashi Miko turned her head, her eyes filled with an indescribable emotion, regret, apology, and determination.

“Do you have any wishes?”

“…You say it as if I’m about to die,” Minamoto Kiyomoto was speechless.

“I’m sorry,” Kamibayashi Miko said.

“Didn’t we agree?” Minamoto Kiyomoto smiled. “On the matter of life and death, we’re even. But it was your fault for deceiving me. If you had told me the truth, I would have agreed, after all, you’re so beautiful.”

“What-did-you-say?” Himemiya Izayoi pinched Minamoto Kiyomoto’s waist and said word by word.

“Hiss—” Minamoto Kiyomoto sucked in a breath of cold air in pain. “What are you doing?!”

“In front of me, you dare to say another woman is beautiful!”

“…”

“Say I’m more beautiful,” Himemiya Izayoi said angrily.

“You’re beautiful, you’re the most beautiful, you’re the most beautiful in the world!”

“Hmph,” Himemiya Izayoi reluctantly let go of her hand. “Let’s see if you dare to do it again.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto rubbed his waist, his face full of pain. He said to Kamibayashi Miko in a tragic and heroic tone:

“Miss Kamibayashi, no matter what happens, I am devoted to you and will definitely make you fall in love with me.”

“What did you say?”

“Miss Himemiya, we’re really not that close.”

“Oh, so you’re calling me Miss Himemiya now. You used to call me Izayoi,” Himemiya Izayoi snorted coldly from her nose.

“Izayoi?”

“Mm,” Himemiya Izayoi pouted her pink lips and nodded aggrievedly.

“If you’re not crazy, then I am.”

Kamibayashi Miko looked at the lamenting Minamoto Kiyomoto before her.

After a great battle, with some people injured, some dead, and some about to die, this man was probably sad for half a minute, and now he only remembered that she had deceived him and that he must take revenge.

Should it be said that he had no sympathy, or that his ability to console himself was strong?

Whichever it was, compared to a kind and good person, such a person who was neither good nor bad was perhaps the best choice for her teammate.

This way, no feelings would be generated.

Without generating feelings, she could become stronger and protect these people.

At the wedding banquet, the unmarried women lined up. The bride, with her back to them, prepared to throw the bouquet. Everyone’s face was full of smiles, happy and lively.

‘I can’t save them, but at least I have to let Minamoto Kiyomoto live until the day I die.’ After Konohanasakuya-hime, Kamibayashi Miko also had her own realization.

Leaving Chidorigafuchi, the three of them went to Shinjuku Gyoen together.

This was also a battlefield, and the traces of the battle had already been cleaned up.

The cherry trees in the Imperial Garden were larger, enormous, and magnificent, like clusters of pink clouds.

People spread mats under the cherry blossom trees, and the heads of the people coming and going were like swallows flying under the clouds. The crowd chattered, and children flew kites on the lawn.

The three of them entered the “Onmyo Bureau” from the pavilion.

There were also a lot of people here, it seemed they were all here to collect their rewards.

Everyone was chatting while queuing, some boasting about themselves, some cursing at the newcomers, some sad, and some sighing about when this day would end.

“It’s Lady Divine Miko, and also the miko of Ise Grand Shrine!”

“I heard that the casualties at Chidorigafuchi this time were even less than at some of the less popular cherry blossom viewing spots.”

It seemed that the performance of the two had already spread. As for Minamoto Kiyomoto, there were also people discussing him, all of them female cultivators.

“What’s the use of surviving this time? Those who are meant to die will still die. Next time, it will be a formal yokai.”

“People will die sooner or later. Living one more time is one more time.”

The topic returned to the difficulty of life.

Minamoto Kiyomoto and his two companions were also talking about this battle.

“Hahaha, that’s hilarious, ‘I will win!’, ‘My god!'” Himemiya Izayoi laughed so hard she didn’t even have the strength to fan herself.

“Is it shameful to run away when the situation is not good, and to call for help when your life is in danger?” Minamoto Kiyomoto held Polaris, wishing he could chop this woman down with one sword.

Of course, it was just a thought.

To endure when you can’t win is not a shameful thing, right? Mm.

“I am not your mother, classmate Minamoto,” Kamibayashi Miko said with a faint smile.

“I don’t need you to remind me, thank you.”

“Now that you have 500,000 yen, do you have any plans to repay your debt?”

“No.”

“Remember to write a will. When you die, leave all your inheritance to me, although it’s not much money.”

“Don’t you only say five sentences to the same person within ten minutes?”

“Mm, this is the fourth sentence.”

“Is this a question of which sentence it is?” Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t understand. “You should be a cold mountain beauty.”

“You’re praising someone else as a beauty in front of me again! Hmph, if you don’t persuade me, I’ll go back to Kyoto right now,” Himemiya Izayoi stomped her foot, crossed her arms, and said angrily.

Minamoto Kiyomoto made a “please” gesture.

“Are you sure you’re not going to persuade me?” Himemiya Izayoi’s fan had a faint glow of flame-colored divine power.

“Miss Kamibayashi,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Kamibayashi Miko.

“You don’t think I’ll save you, do you?” The great merciful and compassionate Divine Miko, who was determined to save all living beings, looked at him with a confused expression that said, ‘how can you be so naive.’

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked back and forth between the two and asked tentatively, “Are you miko… all like this?”

After Kamibayashi Miko finished her five sentences, she immediately put on an expression of not knowing anyone, stood there calmly, as beautiful as a fairy statue made of jade.

“Like what?” Himemiya Izayoi’s delicate face no longer showed the “anger” from just now, and she asked with a hint of innocence.

“…Like to bully people.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto had originally planned to say “crazy,” but for his own safety, he held back.

There was no pond in front of him, so Kamibayashi Miko had no place to kick him, but there was still Himemiya Izayoi’s fire. If his clothes were burned, they were burned, but his hair absolutely could not be.

“By the way,” he suddenly remembered and asked Himemiya Izayoi, “you still haven’t answered me, why didn’t you let me leave my name on the scroll at Chidorigafuchi?”

“Would I harm you? Just listen to your big sister obediently,” she was a little girl just now, and now she was suddenly a big sister.

Women, harder to figure out than the Eight Divine Thunders.

The other party didn’t want to answer this question, so Minamoto Kiyomoto changed the question.

“‘Heaven bestows a great mission, the divine weapon chooses its master, all things have a spirit,’ I know ‘all things have a spirit,’ what are ‘heaven bestows a great mission’ and ‘the divine weapon chooses its master’?”

“You guess first,” Himemiya Izayoi’s graceful eyes looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto with a smile.

“‘Heaven bestows a great mission’ refers to each person’s capacity, that is, the quality of their cultivation talent.”

“Mm,” Himemiya Izayoi fanned herself leisurely.

“‘The divine weapon chooses its master…'” Minamoto Kiyomoto thought for a moment and said uncertainly, “Only when a person’s capacity is sufficient can they use a divine weapon?”

“I guess so.”

“‘I guess so’?” Minamoto Kiyomoto repeated. “Is it a guess, or not?”

“I’ve answered three of your questions, now it’s your turn to answer mine.”

“Where did the three questions come from? And did you even answer?”

“Are you trying to go back on your word?” Himemiya Izayoi pointed at Minamoto Kiyomoto’s chin with her fan.

“Fine, fine, you ask,” what could Minamoto Kiyomoto do when he couldn’t win a fight.

“That’s more like it. I thought you had forgotten our vows of eternal love,” Himemiya Izayoi said with pouted pink lips.

“…”

Kamibayashi Miko looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was flirting with Himemiya Izayoi, and found it ridiculous.

With such a frivolous attitude, not knowing who he was when he saw a beautiful woman, he still wanted to make her fall in love with him?

“First question, what is your relationship with this woman?” Himemiya Izayoi pointed at Kamibayashi Miko and said.

“Can I say?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked Kamibayashi Miko.

Kamibayashi Miko looked ahead at the queue. It was almost their turn.

“Miss Kamibayashi and I are classmates. I am pursuing her,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said to Himemiya Izayoi.

“You’ve really only been cultivating for three days?” Himemiya Izayoi no longer cared about Minamoto Kiyomoto’s relationships with women.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Kamibayashi Miko. Kamibayashi Miko’s face was expressionless.

“I can’t tell you that,” he replied.

“Why not?” Himemiya Izayoi was not happy and said angrily.

“Didn’t you not answer my question just now either?”

“Hmph, fine, third question…”

“Wait,” Minamoto Kiyomoto raised his hand, “that’s already three.”

Himemiya Izayoi looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto in disbelief. From her slightly parted lips, her pink tongue could be seen.

“I’m never talking to you again!” It was Himemiya Izayoi’s turn. She took two steps forward, took the money, and before leaving, she glared resentfully at Minamoto Kiyomoto.

It seemed she was really angry and was planning to go back to Kyoto.

Next, Minamoto Kiyomoto and Kamibayashi Miko also took turns collecting their rewards.

“Miss Kamibayashi, I’ve booked you for this afternoon,” with 500,000 yen in his pocket, Minamoto Kiyomoto’s words became bold.

The two of them returned to Hakusan Shrine together.

He didn’t know if it was because he had money, or because he had defeated the yokai, but they both walked on quiet paths suitable for strolling.

Minamoto Kiyomoto also used his divine power to make himself disappear from the sight of ordinary people.

“This inexplicably strange miko of Ise Grand Shrine, I feel she’s even more terrifying than a yokai, too dangerous,” walking on the residential path of Okubo-dori, Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

Kamibayashi Miko didn’t speak.

Minamoto Kiyomoto continued:
“One moment she’s a little girl, the next she’s a big sister; one moment she’s jealous, the next she seems to have a good impression of me, preventing me from signing the scroll. Plus her outstanding appearance, if it weren’t for my devotion to you, Miss Kamibayashi, an ordinary person would have already been immersed in the false intimate atmosphere she created.”

“Aren’t you the same?” Kamibayashi Miko suddenly said.

“The same as what?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked in confusion.

Three housewives walked towards them from the opposite direction, looking as if they were going to a dinner party, talking and laughing.

The road was narrow, and the two of them stepped aside to let them pass first.

Continuing to walk forward, Kamibayashi Miko said:

“Aren’t you also creating a false intimate atmosphere between you and me? You can see that others are bad because you are just as bad.”

“There’s one difference,” Minamoto Kiyomoto smiled. “I trust you.”

“You’re rotten to the core.”

“No, no, no, that was the truth just now, not creating a false intimate atmosphere.”

The two walked out of the alley, and outside was the boundless spring scenery again.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s phone rang. It was his impatient mother, urging him to send the photo quickly.

He only sent his own selfie.

“I was rejected, but I will persevere, the more I fail, the more I will fight, and I will never be discouraged. Please rest assured.”

“I must win her over! (Fighting.jpg)”

“Roger that! (Bloody knife.jpg)”

(End of Chapter)