Chapter 168: Another Encounter

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The next morning, the deck was full of people. Everyone had been summoned.

“Are we going back?” someone guessed.

“Probably. The sea is too dangerous,” many of those who had come voluntarily were already regretting it.

“I used to feel that this life was unbearable. I didn’t expect that after a few days at sea, I actually feel that my previous life was still okay.”

“Village-level, town-level, county-level, I’ve encountered all kinds of yokai. I’ve only seen a town-level yokai once in my life, let alone a county-level one!”

“Lord Tsukushi-no-Kimi himself almost died.”

“That’s because his lordship took the initiative to charge to the front to save us, and that’s why he was injured.”

“Lord Tsukushi-no-Kimi is a person worth following.”

The crowd was in a heated discussion, each with their own thoughts.

“Quiet!” Amatsumara shouted.

The buzzing giant ship instantly fell silent, leaving only the sound of the waves and the wind.

After confirming that he was still majestic and unstoppable, Minamoto Kiyomoto walked onto the ship’s tower terrace. Surrounded by the shrine maidens and Kasen, he looked down at the practitioners on the deck.

“Everyone,” he began, “yesterday we encountered the greatest danger since we set out to sea. I was able to see everyone again alive, all thanks to luck.”

He scanned the crowd and continued:
“I know that some people are scared, regretful, and want to go back.”

“I’m also scared, I also regret, and I also want to go back.”

“But is being scared useful? Can regret make it as if nothing happened? If we go back, will it not come for us?” He pointed to the flag embroidered with the “Coral Demon Moth.”

In the morning wind, this yokai seemed to be alive. Its huge eyes, like those of Amatsumara, sometimes looked down on the crowd, about to fly down; sometimes it looked into the distance, preparing to break free from the canvas and escape into the distance.

“I, for one, enjoy the pleasure of battle. And compared to the pleasure of battle, I don’t want to lose even more.”

“I will never retreat,” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s voice was calm.

“I can already feel the aura of the Coral Demon Moth. It’s not far away.”

“Either die at sea, or return to Tokyo with the corpse of the Coral Demon Moth.”

He put the laurel crown back on his head, his voice firm and resonant, as if declaring war on the sea:
“Besides death, no person, yokai, or anything else can defeat me!”

The crowd looked at him, silent.

“My lord,” Amatsumara suddenly said loudly, “forgive my bluntness, but death is not your opponent either! The Yellow Springs Kingdom is already under your rule!”

The crowd was shocked and suddenly remembered this matter.

Minamoto Kiyomoto laughed heartily, “Well said! Amatsumara, when you die, I will ensure that your mind is not lost, and I will let you continue to forge divine artifacts in the Yellow Springs Kingdom!”

“Thank you, my lord!” Amatsumara quickly bowed, his face unable to restrain his ecstasy.

He had witnessed Minamoto Kiyomoto’s divine might. Even the Goddess of the Yellow Springs was no match for him. This seemingly absurd promise would definitely not be false!

The others were skeptical. Some thought they were crazy, and some had other ideas in their hearts.

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t care what these people thought. He was just telling them his determination.

After knowing the existence of “Konohanasakuya-hime,” “Eternal Life Jade Fan,” and “Akan,” he only wanted to move forward, constantly forward, become a behemoth, and leave the world behind.

After the morning meeting, the demon-hunting ship cut through the sapphire-like sea surface and continued to sail towards the deep sea.

“Your Excellency, Lord Tsukushi-no-Kimi, how far are we from the Coral Demon Moth?” In the great hall where the banquet was held, the Kyushu Shinto Lord asked Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Not far,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “At the current speed, we’ll see it tomorrow.”

The Kyushu Shinto Lord nodded and couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

The Kasen, shrine maidens, and clan leaders discussed tomorrow’s battle for a while, then all retreated to arrange their subordinates.

Minamoto Nagatoku fell a few steps behind and quietly stayed behind.

“Kiyomoto-kun, please take care of your own safety. As long as you are alive, whether it’s the Coral Demon Moth or anything else, they will not be your opponent in the future,” he advised tactfully.

“A practitioner must have a bit of fearlessness of death, but don’t worry, I don’t do things I’m not sure of,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a laugh. “Yesterday looked dangerous, but it was actually a play. I was luring the snake out of its hole. The people on this ship are not all here to subjugate yokai.”

“So that’s how it is!” Minamoto Nagatoku suddenly understood.

“Go and make arrangements. Tell Kiyomi to be careful.”

“Okay, you rest well.”

Himegami Izayoi watched Minamoto Nagatoku leave and said to Minamoto Kiyomoto, “This old man wanted to deal with you before, but now he’s almost treating you like his son.”

“It’s just for profit,” Minamoto Kiyomoto leaned back in his chair, his arms resting on the armrests.

He said in a leisurely tone, “Profit is good, simple. Feelings are troublesome.”

“What do you mean? You think we’re troublesome?” Himegami Izayoi said.

“Feelings are troublesome, so I only talk about feelings with you. Talking about feelings with you is enough,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a laugh.

Himegami Izayoi snorted, then smiled again.

“Look at her,” Minamoto Kiyomoto pretended to whisper to Kamibayashi Miko. “I told you, feelings are troublesome.”

Kamibayashi Miko avoided the hot air he was blowing on her ear and poked his waist with her hand.

Himegami Izayoi reached out to pinch his face—she had discovered yesterday that it felt good to do this, and Minamoto Kiyomoto with his face pinched was very cute.

The Hokkaido Miko looked at the three of them, thought for a moment, stood up, squatted in front of Minamoto Kiyomoto, and gently beat his chest with her small fists like soft snowflakes.

“…What are you doing?” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked down at her without moving.

On his sides, Kamibayashi Miko and Himegami Izayoi also looked at the Hokkaido Miko with confusion.

The Hokkaido Miko looked up at the three of them, then continued to beat his chest.

Whether it was the force, the fair hands, or her own thoughts, they were really like snowflakes.

Looking at the doll-like beautiful Rikka, Minamoto Kiyomoto sensed a trace of danger. Himegami Izayoi had been the same back then.

He was, after all, a normal male. Some things could not be suppressed and were not controlled by his will.

‘After eliminating the “Coral Demon Moth,” I’ll separate from her,’ he thought.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered that as a reward for agreeing to help, the Hokkaido Miko would stay at Hakusan Shrine for a year.

“Have you had enough?” he asked the Hokkaido Miko.

The Hokkaido Miko withdrew her hand, still maintaining the posture of squatting in front of Minamoto Kiyomoto, and asked the other two, “Why did you hit him?”

“That’s what I should be asking you!” Even Himegami Izayoi couldn’t help but raise her voice slightly.

Kamibayashi Miko laughed. Being naturally indifferent and also liking to play small pranks, she found it very interesting.

The Hokkaido Miko tilted her head and explained, “I mean, what’s the benefit of hitting him? I didn’t find any.”

“Can you get up first?” Minamoto Kiyomoto interrupted her.

He was sitting on a chair, and the Hokkaido Miko was squatting between his legs—he and Himegami Izayoi had never tried this posture.

“Oh,” the Hokkaido Miko placed her hands on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s legs.

“Kiyomoto-kun, you have to be careful…” The Itomi sisters, Hanyu Chika, the Izumo Miko, and the Suitengu Miko walked into the great hall.

The Hokkaido Miko placed her hands on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s legs… and stood up.

She brushed away the white hair that had fallen to the corner of her mouth, walked back to her seat, and took a sip from her teacup.

She hadn’t drunk water since morning. The flurry of punches just now had made her a little thirsty. She liked to drink water.

“Did you swallow it?” The Suitengu Miko covered the corner of her mouth and couldn’t help but make a swallowing motion.

The Hokkaido Miko looked at the teacup in her hand, tilted her head in confusion again, and found that people born outside the snow were so hard to understand.

“You four,” Itomi Sayaka’s expression was hard to describe.

Hanyu Chika covered Itomi Yuki’s face with her hand. Under her palm, Itomi Yuki’s face quickly turned red.

“Even the Divine Medium—” the Izumo Miko was a little surprised. She felt that a person really couldn’t be judged by their appearance, or even their temperament.

“Me?” Kamibayashi Miko, who was smiling and watching the show, couldn’t help but be stunned. Then she resentfully poked Minamoto Kiyomoto’s waist with her hand.

“Blame me?” Minamoto Kiyomoto grabbed her hand with a smile and asked her, “It’s not my fault this time, right?”

“Is it my fault then?” Kamibayashi Miko questioned.

“Even if the Divine Medium accidentally kills me, it can’t be Miss Kamibayashi’s fault.”

“If you want to die, I can help you,” Kamibayashi Miko remembered his reckless behavior again and coldly pulled her hand back.

Just as Minamoto Kiyomoto was about to say a few witty words, he heard Himegami Izayoi’s sigh, “It’s not her fault, so it’s my fault. Alas.”

So, talking about feelings is troublesome.

“What are you guys talking about?” Don’t forget, once the Hokkaido Miko had a doubt, she would never give up.

“I also want to know what they’re talking about,” Minamoto Kiyomoto sighed.

“What are you talking about then?”

“Nothing,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Itomi Sayaka. “What do you want me to be careful of?”

“Be careful of your body,” Itomi Sayaka came over and teased.

“I knew you would say that,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said weakly.

Everyone also knew that it was a misunderstanding just now. No matter what, it was impossible for four people to do that kind of thing together, right? Besides, Minamoto Kiyomoto’s pants were still on.

But why was the Hokkaido Miko kneeling there? This was something they couldn’t figure out—Minamoto Kiyomoto himself couldn’t figure it out either.

Only the Suitengu Miko, with her delicate little nose twitching, was trying to find some kind of aftertaste.

Itomi Sayaka sat down on the right side, next to the head of the table, and said to Minamoto Kiyomoto, “There were a lot of people just now, so I didn’t say it. I’m here to remind you to be careful of the people from the Shinto sect, and also the people from Hokkaido.”

“What about me?” the Hokkaido Miko said.

“You shut up,” Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t bear it anymore and didn’t even look at her.

“Oh,” the Hokkaido Miko replied obediently.

This, on the contrary, made everyone turn their gazes to her.

“Yesterday, I didn’t persist. I thought he was hopeless. I was guilty. I will do my best next time,” she said again. “If Kiyomoto dies, I will be a little sad.”

“You’ve really fallen for him?” Himegami Izayoi asked with a smile.

“Everyone here likes him, right?”

“I like him,” Itomi Sayaka admitted with a smile, and even pulled Itomi Yuki’s small and weak body over. “We’re a pair of sisters.”

“Sister!” Itomi Yuki was really angry. Her face was red with anger, and she was about to cry.

“Even you—” Kamibayashi Miko looked at the Izumo Miko. She was very vengeful and returned the favor.

“Me? I’m… I’m fine,” the Izumo Miko said embarrassedly.

After saying this, she immediately changed her words, “I just admire him. I think he has great aspirations!”

“You’re very popular,” Himegami Izayoi poked Minamoto Kiyomoto with her elbow, seemingly teasing him.

“Is that the point?” Minamoto Kiyomoto sighed. “If possible, I hope there won’t be a next time. I want to live.”

“Stop chatting. Let’s get down to business!” Itomi Yuki broke free from her sister’s arms and said while combing her long hair.

“Yuki is still the most sensible,” Minamoto Kiyomoto was very relieved.

“She’s more sensible than you,” Itomi Yuki said impolitely. She was very angry about Minamoto Kiyomoto’s impulsive behavior yesterday.

Her attitude was similar to Kamibayashi Miko’s, which was also why Minamoto Kiyomoto liked her.

“They’ve been very quiet during this time,” the Izumo Miko had already calmed down. “Hokkaido is fine, but the Shinto sect hasn’t made any moves either.”

“The more they don’t make a move, the bigger their plot is,” Himegami Izayoi said.

Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded and said to the crowd, “When we fight the Coral Demon Moth, the few of us will try to stay together. If things go wrong, we’ll run immediately.”

“Run? That doesn’t sound like you,” Itomi Sayaka teased.

“I’ve suffered so many losses and been scolded so many times. My mother is also waiting for me to take care of her in her old age. I, this moth, have also been bound. I know to stay away from the fire.”

“You’re a Kasen now. Settle down for a while,” Kamibayashi Miko said.

“I’ll settle down after I fight the Coral Demon Moth,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied with a smile.

“You can’t say that casually. People who say that usually don’t have a good end,” Itomi Sayaka said.

“You’re the one who can’t say that casually!” Minamoto Kiyomoto was tired.

The group chatted for a while longer, prepared a few plans to deal with emergencies, and then dispersed.

The “Coral Demon Moth” was right in front of them, and there were strong enemies lurking around. No one could relax.

Especially Itomi Sayaka. This battle was related to whether she could return to a normal life in the future.

If she failed, or worse, if Minamoto Kiyomoto died, some people in the government would definitely not mention anything about “making up for her mistake,” and the Shinto sect would have no place for her.

She valued his life more than Minamoto Kiyomoto himself.

The others also had their own reasons.

This battle against yokai and people must be won, a complete victory.

Nothing strange happened that day. Minamoto Kiyomoto trained in his room all day. The cold that had almost killed him had given him a better understanding of divine energy.

A moth flying into a flame would be burned to death, but it would also gain more light.

And Minamoto Kiyomoto had the talent to grasp these lights, and his progress was very fast.

He had recently found a spell from the laurel crown that allowed “two people to train together.”

The principle was probably this—the power of two intimate opposite sexes would merge, and they would use a part of the other’s capacity to train.

Himegami Izayoi was addicted to this and pulled him to train all night, saying that she wanted to cultivate the legendary golden elixir as soon as possible.

In Minamoto Kiyomoto’s opinion, what would be cultivated would only be a “nascent soul.”

Kamibayashi Miko’s training progress was not slow, but it was far from comparable to the two of them.

According to the effect of the Divine Medium’s spell, only when she did something beneficial to all living beings would the qi of the living rapidly increase her divine power.

The next day, at dusk, the weather was cold, and the north wind howled, rolling up two-meter-high white waves.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stood on the ship’s tower and clearly sensed that the divine power that ‘belonged to him, but not to his present self’ was already close at hand.

The atmosphere on the demon-hunting ship was oppressive. Every thousand meters the ship sailed, the crowd would have to swallow a mouthful of water.

The practitioners who were chatting on the deck would sometimes suddenly become so nervous that they couldn’t even speak properly.

Today’s sunset was strangely red, and the entire sea was dyed into a pool of blood.

“Wooo—” an ethereal sound echoed between heaven and earth.

The sea surface was like paper being pierced. The huge waves rolled outwards in circles, and the white foam rolled. The demon-hunting ship, as heavy as a giant island, tossed violently in the waves and became a small boat.

“Coral Demon Moth?”

“No!”

“Damn it, what kind of yokai is it again!”

A giant whale broke through the water surface, spouting a water column that was like a waterfall.

The setting sun passed through the water column, and the world sparkled, like a dream.

“Town-level! It’s a town-level yokai!” on the mast, an onmyoji from the Onmyoryo said loudly.

The water column crashed to the ground, and a strong wind swept through. The water droplets in the sky fell like a rain of arrows, and the crowd was like facing a storm.

“Should we go around?” in the storm and heavy rain, the Kyushu Shinto Lord asked Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“No,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at the giant whale before him. “We’ve arrived.”

“Arrived?” The crowd was puzzled and followed his gaze.

The giant whale let out an angry and terrified ominous buzz. Then, a rhythmic and heavenly and terrifying chant suppressed the giant whale’s voice.

Another yokai slowly climbed up from the sea, looking down on the giant whale that had almost overturned the sea.

That pair of beautiful red horns, with branches, and graceful curves, like a beautiful coral tree.

Crisscrossing, like the most exquisite work of art, and also as complex as human blood vessels. A constant stream of blood-red light flowed within the coral horns.

With its back to the setting sun, it looked like a huge moth, and also like a sacred angel, majestic and unparalleled.

“Coral Demon Moth.”