Chapter 204: Inside the Coral Hall

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After handing things over to Amatsumara, Minamoto Kiyomoto returned to the Coral Hall, with the Itomi sisters following behind.

Himegami Izayoi, Kamibayashi Miko, and the Hokkaido Miko stood at the entrance of the Coral Hall, waiting for him.

Amidst the cheers of the mountain and the tsunami, Minamoto Kiyomoto walked over.

He was about to speak when Shirako and Little Butterfly came over, covering their ears, and shouted, “It’s so noisy! Piglet, hurry up and shut them up!”

Minamoto Kiyomoto, Himegami Izayoi, and Kamibayashi Miko looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

The few of them entered the hall.

“Increasing the number of people who can contact you directly, the number of documents you have to deal with in the future will be several times the current amount,” Himegami Izayoi said with some schadenfreude.

“A necessary sacrifice,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her. “Besides, don’t I still have you?”

“My own…” Himegami Izayoi said half of it and gave him a smiling, bad-tempered glance.

“Then do you have no holidays in the future? Can’t you go out to play?” Shirako asked Minamoto Kiyomoto.

She wasn’t concerned about Minamoto Kiyomoto, but because if Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t go out to play, she couldn’t go out to play.

“The Noryo Festival, the New Year, and that one in Hokkaido, next month’s Ice Lantern Festival, I can rest…”

“Three holidays,” Shirako nodded reluctantly.

Arriving in the hall, Minamoto Kiyomoto did not sit at the head of the table. There were only three seats there. The Hokkaido Miko would definitely squeeze in. He simply sat down on the cushions on both sides with everyone else.

“Yuki,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Itomi Yuki, “don’t go back to Chiba or the practitioner’s academy for now. Follow your sister. It might be more dangerous than the Shinto sect for a while.”

“Hmm,” Itomi Yuki nodded and picked up her tea.

“What’s the point of following me? I have to go out on missions. Yuki, you stay here and follow him,” Itomi Sayaka said.

Itomi Yuki didn’t speak and was busy drinking tea.

Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile, “Then stay. If you don’t understand anything, just come and ask me.”

“I didn’t expect you to be such a good brother,” Himegami Izayoi said with a meaningful smile.

“Huh?” Minamoto Kiyomoto turned his head to look at her in surprise. “Didn’t you say I was a ‘bad brother’ last night?”

Himegami Izayoi blushed and reached out to pinch his waist.

As they were chatting, the Izumo Miko, the Suitengu Miko, Minamoto Nagatoku, the Ichijo clan leader, the Fujiwara clan leader, and Manjaku Shojin came to see him.

“Come in,” Minamoto Kiyomoto called out.

“Greetings, Lord Shinto,” the six of them bowed.

“Sit,” Minamoto Kiyomoto pointed to the cushions below.

Yoko led two maids, brought them tea, and then disappeared with silent steps.

The sound of the waves below the mountain had not yet disappeared. Amatsumara was saying something at the top of his voice, and the sound reached the Coral Hall, faint and indistinct.

“Tazu,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said to the Izumo Miko, “it will take time to create the world we dream of.”

The Izumo Miko smiled gently and said, “Hmm, I know. Lord Shinto, you can do things with integrity and give more people the right to talk to you directly. This is already a great progress.”

“That’s good,” Minamoto Kiyomoto laughed. “I will definitely do what I promised you at the Izumo-taisha.”

“If you have any orders, please feel free to give them to me,” the Izumo Miko lowered her head slightly.

Himegami Izayoi opened her fan and said with a kind smile, “Any order is not okay.”

The Izumo Miko was stunned for a moment and looked at her with surprise and confusion. She was obviously someone who had not learned the ‘how to use a washing machine’.

“Don’t mind her. She’s not serious all day,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said to the Izumo Miko, and his hand patted Himegami Izayoi’s hand, either as a comfort or a warning.

Minamoto Nagatoku, the Ichijo clan leader, the Fujiwara clan leader, and Manjaku Shojin turned a blind eye and did not express any opinion on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s private life.

“By the way, it really surprised me,” the Suitengu Miko’s gentle voice was like the wind blowing through the willow leaves. “I didn’t expect you, little brother, to be able to seal yokai and even control them.”

“If it weren’t for the Coral Demon Moth, the experience accumulated by the demon body spell, the sufficient spells in the Laurel Crown, and the ‘Mountain Wind Cave’ happening to be very compatible with the divine energy of the mountain, this matter would not have been so simple.”

Whether it was the Izumo Miko’s ‘Lord Shinto’ or the Suitengu Miko’s ‘little brother’, Minamoto Kiyomoto said nothing.

At his current position, he needed the respect and reverence of others.

But he didn’t mind if it was like the Suitengu Miko, as always.

“Even without these, Lord Shinto, you would definitely be able to control yokai. It’s just a matter of time,” the Ichijo clan leader said.

“Creating the demon body spell, possessing the Coral Demon Moth, and obtaining the Laurel Crown, these things were done by Lord Shinto himself, and only you can do it!” the Fujiwara clan leader followed.

Minamoto Nagatoku glanced at the two of them, not expecting that with Amatsumara not here, he was still a step behind in flattering.

He couldn’t think of what to say.

“That’s right,” he could only nod his head vigorously, agreeing with the two of them.

Minamoto Kiyomoto smiled.

After the pleasantries, Minamoto Nagatoku said, “Lord Shinto, I wonder if you will participate in next month’s Hokkaido Ice Lantern Festival?”

“Go, go, go!” Shirako replied immediately.

Minamoto Nagatoku glanced at her and waited for Minamoto Kiyomoto’s reply.

“I can only rest at this time,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with some self-deprecation.

“Lord Shinto has worked hard,” Minamoto Nagatoku flattered dryly and continued, “The Noryo Festival in Kansai, the Kanda Festival in Kanto, and the Ice Lantern Festival in Hokkaido, as long as there is a vacancy in the Kasen position, a Kasen competition will be held…”

Minamoto Kiyomoto understood what he meant.

“You want to compete for the Kasen at the Ice Lantern Festival?”

“Yes,” Minamoto Nagatoku bowed respectfully. “Originally, there was only one Kasen position at this Ice Lantern Festival. It was because you became the Shinto Lord that there was an extra one, but this one is almost certainly Ashiya Doman.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

“Just half a month ago, the Tenjo Kasen of Tenjo Mountain died, and another one was vacant.”

At this point, Minamoto Nagatoku paused slightly, peeking at Minamoto Kiyomoto’s expression.

“I want to try to fight for this extra position, so I’m reporting to you, Lord Shinto.”

“Shouldn’t this be reported to His Majesty?” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with amusement.

“Lord Shinto, who doesn’t know now that you are the next Lord of Kyoto, and even the lord of the world? Of course I should report to you,” Minamoto Nagatoku said.

Himegami Izayoi raised her teacup and took a sip with a smile.

Kamibayashi Miko laughed softly. It was so pleasant that one would wonder if spring had come and the bird with the most beautiful song had accidentally flown into the Coral Hall.

Everyone looked at her. She raised her teacup and looked elsewhere.

A teacup was really a good thing.

“Insolent,” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s tone was slightly heavier.

Minamoto Nagatoku was terrified and at a loss.

But he couldn’t understand why Amatsumara could flatter like this, but he couldn’t.
“There is only one Lord of Kyoto, and that is the current His Majesty. Without His Majesty, there would be no me.”

“Yes,” Minamoto Nagatoku replied quickly.

The other few people also noted this in their hearts.

“Sister Mizu,” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s face softened, and his gaze turned to the Suitengu Miko, “I have something to ask you for help with.”

“Little brother, you say.”

“I have decided to cancel your annual subjugation missions, including your shrine’s preparatory shrine maidens. In the future, you will only be responsible for rescue. Of course, the number of times will increase.”

The Suitengu Miko thought for a moment and asked, “How many times a year?”

“Once a month?” Minamoto Kiyomoto said in a negotiating tone.

“Little brother, being responsible for rescue is also dangerous. I still want to choose twice a year.”

Minamoto Nagatoku, the Ichijo clan leader, and the others did not expect her to dare to refuse and all looked at her with surprise.

Minamoto Kiyomoto laughed and said:
“Of course I won’t let my own people take more risks and suffer more losses. I’ll give you the ‘Mountain Wind Cave’. You just need to stand outside the battlefield and command the ghostly figures to rescue people and treat them in a safe place.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you, little brother,” the Suitengu Miko had no objection this time.

The others were surprised by the information in Minamoto Kiyomoto’s words. Could the control of a yokai be transferred?

“Little brother, you remember, once a month.”

The group came back to their senses. They always felt that there was a bit of a pink atmosphere in the Suitengu Miko’s seemingly reminding words.

Under the gaze of Himegami Izayoi and Kamibayashi Miko, Minamoto Kiyomoto’s face was expressionless, and he sat upright.

He spread his left hand, and a black divine power surged like lava, condensing into a thirty-centimeter-long scepter.

At the top of the scepter was a miniature ‘Mountain Wind Cave’ model. Three black iron rings surrounded the ‘Mountain Wind Cave’ like planetary rings.

“The sealing stone slab is very heavy and inconvenient to carry. With this scepter, you can summon it anywhere in Honshu. Of course, it’s okay if it’s not in Honshu, but it can’t be too far.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto threw out the scepter. The scepter spun in the air and slowly stopped in front of the Suitengu Miko.

Minamoto Nagatoku and the others were indescribably envious. Although the ‘Mountain Wind Cave’ was a weaker yokai in the village level, it was still equivalent to two Kasen!

That was against yokai. If it were against people, with its strange shriek and endless ghostly figures, its effect would be even greater.

The Suitengu Miko stretched out her soft hand and held the scepter floating in front of her.

“It’s so long and big,” she exclaimed.

“…”

“Cough,” Itomi Yuki coughed shyly.

“I’m talking about the scepter,” the Suitengu Miko showed a gentle smile without any shyness.

She held the scepter in her arms and tucked it between her soft peaks.

I wonder if the ‘Mountain Wind Cave’ is used to such a soft mountain.

“Is there anything you need me to do?” the Izumo Miko said as if she didn’t want to be left behind.

“Hmm—” Minamoto Kiyomoto thought for a moment. “For our dream, protect yourself.”

The Izumo Miko was very satisfied with this mission and nodded, “Yes.”

“Minamoto Nagatoku,” Minamoto Kiyomoto turned his gaze to Minamoto Nagatoku, “there’s still a month until the Ice Lantern Festival. I’ll teach you a spell. I hope it will be helpful to you.”

Minamoto Nagatoku stood up in surprise and bowed, “Thank you, Lord Shinto!”

Finally, Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Manjaku Shojin, who had been silent all this time.

“Shojin, you have something to ask me?” He had seen the scene in the main hall in his dream. It had flashed by, but he didn’t know what had happened.

“Namu Daishi Henjo Kongo,” Manjaku Shojin bowed and looked at Minamoto Nagatoku and the others, hesitant to speak.

The Izumo Miko, Minamoto Nagatoku, and the others tactfully said, “Lord Shinto, we’ll leave first.”

Walking out of the Coral Hall, the Izumo Miko and the Suitengu Miko walked together.

“Sister should be the first to master a yokai,” the Izumo Miko’s tone showed a trace of envy.

“Sister Tazu, little brother won’t forget you. Maybe next time he catches a yokai, he’ll give it to you.”

The Suitengu Miko caressed the scepter in her arms, feeling a little impatient. She planned to take on a mission now and experience the feeling of controlling a yokai.

By the way, she had to go back to the Suitengu Shrine first and tell the preparatory shrine maidens her little brother’s order. They didn’t have to participate in subjugation in the future!

Not participating in subjugation was absolutely impossible before. All practitioners were treated equally, except for the Divine Medium of this generation.

Now, only the Suitengu Shrine did not have to participate in subjugation. The others would definitely have opinions, even if Minamoto Kiyomoto increased their number of times and they were doing the work of saving people.

The human heart was like this. Sometimes, they would rather not live well themselves than let others live well.

But with such an arrangement, even if some people had opinions, they could not refute it, because many people would indeed be saved because of it.

From this, one could see Minamoto Kiyomoto’s current power. He could almost do whatever he wanted, but he still had to give a reasonable explanation for his actions.

Minamoto Nagatoku, the Ichijo clan leader, and the Fujiwara clan leader, the three of them walked together.

The other two first congratulated Minamoto Nagatoku on receiving the guidance of the Honshu Shinto Lord and wished him to suppress the crowd at the Ice Lantern Festival and become a Kasen.

After the pleasantries, the Ichijo clan leader asked the two of them, “By the way, have you noticed a sentence from Lord Shinto?”

“Brother Ichijo also noticed?” the Fujiwara clan leader asked back.

“Noticed what?” Minamoto Nagatoku was puzzled.

“‘Without His Majesty, there would be no me’,” the Ichijo clan leader’s expression was meaningful.

Minamoto Nagatoku knew why he hadn’t noticed. When Minamoto Kiyomoto said this, he was scolding him.

“What’s wrong with this sentence?” he asked.

“Why would His Majesty give the Laurel Crown to Lord Shinto? Why did he help so much in the subjugation of the Shinto sect? Why did he want to give him and the Ise Miko a marriage? Now there are rumors that he wants to pass the throne to him?” the Fujiwara clan leader stroked his beard.

“The previous His Majesty and my sister Ayako had a good relationship. When my sister left Kyoto, she said she was pregnant, but her belly hadn’t grown yet,” the Ichijo clan leader said.

“…What do you mean?” Minamoto Nagatoku was so scared he stood in place.

The Ichijo clan leader looked around and lowered his voice, “Lord Shinto is very likely not my sister’s child… he is the illegitimate son of the previous His Majesty.”

Minamoto Nagatoku’s breathing stopped for a few seconds.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was not staring at them. Otherwise, the few of them might not have walked down the mountain, but rolled down.

In the Coral Hall, after the Izumo Miko and the others left, the Itomi sisters also went to the dojo to cultivate.

Himegami Izayoi sat at the head of the table, handling documents for Minamoto Kiyomoto. Kamibayashi Miko still sat beside Minamoto Kiyomoto, with the posture of a guardian.

The Hokkaido Miko was in deep thought, not knowing who to imitate.

“Shojin, what’s the matter?”

“Lord Shinto…”

“Just call me Kiyomoto,” Minamoto Kiyomoto respected this master who had once said, ‘I hope that in the future, when you face the demonic path, you can remember us firewood-gatherers who can correct our mistakes and are willing to give you an initiation’.

“Lord Kiyomoto, I would like to ask you to help mediate a dispute.”

“A dispute?”

Manjaku Shojin nodded and explained the matter.

Near Koyasan, there were many Buddhist mountains, such as Mount Kannonmine, Mount Gomadan, Mount Daifugen, Mount Bussho, Mount Shaka, and Mount Nehan.

Between these mountain gates, there were both disputes and exchanges.

Not long ago, perhaps because it had been bathed in too much Buddha’s light, a scripture suddenly appeared on a leaf of a Bodhi tree in the center of the mountains.

This leaf with the scripture, along with the Bodhi tree, was taken away by Koyasan, which had the strongest strength.

The people from the other peaks were very dissatisfied, believing that this Bodhi tree grew in the mountains and they all had a share.

So they came to the door many times and asked Koyasan to hand over the leaf named “Bodhi Leaf Sutra.”

But what was recorded on the leaf was not a Buddhist scripture, but an evil spell called “Hell and Paradise.”

It was very powerful and extremely easy to learn. All one had to do was indulge in desire. The more desire was vented, the more one indulged in oneself, the stronger the power of the spell.

Koyasan explained to the crowd, and in order not to let the scripture spread, they refused to take it out for these people to verify its authenticity.

In the end, led by Mount Kannonmine, Mount Daifugen, and Mount Shaka, nearly two hundred Buddhist temples gave Koyasan an ultimatum—

If they did not hand over the “Bodhi Leaf Sutra” before January 25th, they would attack the mountain gate and take back what belonged to them with their divine power.

“Lord Kiyomoto,” Manjaku Shojin clasped his hands together and requested, “please come to Koyasan on January 25th to resolve the dispute.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto agreed.