Chapter 5: Deception

The afternoon sun filled the courtyard, where fragrant grasses swayed with the wind.

The time in the Japanese-style room was leisurely. Minamoto Kiyomoto listened attentively, contemplating every word Kamibayashi Miko said.

The butterfly sprites went to play in the courtyard, playing hide-and-seek among the flowers and trees. Shirako went to find a new clothes-drying pole.

Speaking five sentences every ten minutes, it took the better part of half a day to finish.

Kamibayashi Miko picked up her teacup, moistened her lips, her gaze resting on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s face.

He was sometimes engrossed, sometimes frowning in deep thought, and then suddenly revealing a smile of understanding.

He listened with relish to the obscure and tongue-twisting incantations, and understood them as soon as he heard them.

“I’ll go try it!” Minamoto Kiyomoto slapped his knee, stood up from his cross-legged position, and walked excitedly into the courtyard like a child who had just gotten a new toy.

Kamibayashi Miko put down her teacup, glanced at him, slowly rose, and strolled onto the corridor.

At this moment, Minamoto Kiyomoto had already jumped into the courtyard’s soil like a monkey.

“Thunder and fire, arise swiftly—” Minamoto Kiyomoto formed the thunder seal with his hands, aimed at the green plum tree, and chanted loudly.

Before he could finish, a golden mist came from behind, causing him to stumble.

“What did I do wrong?” He turned around and looked incomprehensibly at Kamibayashi Miko under the wind chime on the corridor.

Kamibayashi Miko glanced at him, then at the ground.

“‘Don’t blow up my tree, aim at the ground’?” Minamoto Kiyomoto translated her expression word for word—of course, Kamibayashi Miko wouldn’t speak so crudely.

After confirming that his translation was correct, Minamoto Kiyomoto formed the thunder seal aimed at the distant ground.

Just then, Shirako, having found a long tachi from somewhere, came from another part of the corridor with it slung over her shoulder, her gaze fixed on him in the courtyard.

The butterfly sprites among the flowers and trees also poked their heads out to watch.

“Thunder and fire, arise swiftly, might of the crimson sky!” With a loud shout, a black light swelled from Minamoto Kiyomoto’s body.

Sparks of electricity flashed. He released the thunder seal from his hands and slapped it towards the ground.

Black lightning flashed, and with a startling boom, a small pit the size of a basin was blasted into the ground before him.

The power of releasing lightning with his own hands made Minamoto Kiyomoto feel exhilarated and exceptionally excited.

He laughed out loud twice and formed the thunder seal with his hands again.

“Thunder and fire, arise swiftly, great thunder, run fast!”

Boom, another loud noise, and another small pit appeared on the ground.

“Thunder and fire, arise swiftly, might of the crimson sky!”

“Thunder and fire, arise swiftly, might of the crimson sky!”

The courtyard was filled with the sound of thunder and crackling fire. Later, before one bolt of lightning could even strike, the next was already forming.

The lingering lightning bolts traveled along the ground, winding like snakes.

The butterfly sprites were so scared they hid among the flowers and didn’t dare to come out. Shirako’s small face was illuminated snow-white by the electric light.

Minamoto Kiyomoto panted slightly, his divine power depleted. Although he hadn’t used his brain or engaged in strenuous exercise, he felt dizzy and weak.

He plopped down on the corridor. After ten minutes had passed, he asked Kamibayashi Miko, who was standing beside him:

“How was it?”

“You have the power, but you haven’t grasped the essence,” Kamibayashi Miko raised her hand and lightly slapped out a palm.

Golden lightning surged like a dragon. After the bright light, the pitted ground before them had turned into a deep, three-meter circular pit.

The walls of the large pit were all crystallized like glass, glittering in the sunlight.

“Great Thunder is a sacred thunder,” Kamibayashi Miko’s expression was indifferent.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at the giant pit, then at her slender right hand that looked as if it would break with a single snap, and lay down on the wooden boards of the corridor.

“How long do I have to cultivate to surpass you?” he said weakly.

“Miko-sama is a Divine Miko. You can never catch up, no matter how long you cultivate,” after saying this, Shirako even snorted proudly.

“What’s a Divine Miko?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked her.

“Listen carefully,” Shirako drew her baton with her right hand and tapped it on the palm of her small left hand. “Among cultivators, the most powerful are the Divine Miko, then the Four Divine Lords, the Twelve Miko, and the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry.”

“Is Miss Kamibayashi the most powerful?”

“She will be in the future!” Shirako’s face was tilted up so high he could barely see it.

“Miss Kamibayashi is the Divine Miko, what about the Four Divine Lords?”

“The Divine Lord of the West Sea in Kyushu, the Divine Lord of the South Sea in Shikoku, the Divine Lord of the North Sea in Hokkaido. As for the Divine Lord of Honshu, it hasn’t been decided yet because the Ogosho and the Lord of Kyoto can’t agree.”

“So, the Kansai forces are the strongest then?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked again.

“Stupid pig!” Shirako scolded. “Although the Divine Lords are powerful, the Divine Miko is stronger! Kanto, with its Divine Miko, is the strongest!”

“Humanity’s enemy is the yokai, not other humans,” Kamibayashi Miko said at this moment.

“I roughly understand. One last question,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said, “why do you wear pants under the miko skirt?”

“…”

The two looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto lying on the corridor. His eyes were slanted, looking at the hem of Kamibayashi Miko’s red skirt.

“You dead pig! I’ll kill you!” Shirako charged over with her baton raised, looking menacing, a golden light swelling from her body.

“Miss Kamibayashi!” Minamoto Kiyomoto was completely weak. Like a drowning person subconsciously clinging to anything they could grab, he reached for Kamibayashi Miko.

Before he could grab her, Kamibayashi Miko raised her leg and kicked.

Minamoto Kiyomoto flew towards the large pit, plunging straight towards the crystallized ground.

“Help!” Crashing headfirst into this was worse than taking a blow from the baton.

Gurgle, gurgle, a large amount of spring water appeared out of thin air at the bottom of the large pit, turning it into a pond in an instant.

Minamoto Kiyomoto fell in with a “splash,” the water splashing up and glittering brightly in the sunlight.

“Wow—” the butterfly sprites watched this scene happily.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s head emerged from the water. He shouted loudly at the corridor, “From that angle, you can only see my calves! What kind of person do you take me for!”

A layer of golden mist enveloped Kamibayashi Miko, and electric sparks crackled.

“Don’t! Don’t, don’t, don’t!” Minamoto Kiyomoto quickly got out of the water, afraid of being electrocuted like a fish.

After a short rest, Kamibayashi Miko taught him a defensive water curse and a sword style said to be from the “Shinto-ryu.”

By the time Minamoto Kiyomoto could skillfully use the two curses and had memorized the sword style’s core principles and moves, it was almost dusk.

It was time for Kamibayashi Miko to take Minamoto Kiyomoto to the Onmyo Bureau to register.

She changed into her regular clothes, a simple light green long dress, her straight black hair let down. Her aura was ethereal and otherworldly, like a celestial princess from somewhere.

Minamoto Kiyomoto carried a tennis bag he had bought on the way, with Polaris wrapped inside—a qin case was too expensive.

On the way, Minamoto Kiyomoto seized the time to ask about his doubts in cultivation.

After speaking his five sentences, the ten minutes were his thinking time. When the ten minutes were up, he would immediately ask again.

That eager posture was as if he wanted to stick a straw in Kamibayashi Miko’s head and take a sip whenever he had a question.

The Onmyo Bureau was located within Shinjuku Gyoen. It was past 4:30, and the park had long been closed, empty of people.

Occasionally, in remote corners, he saw some strange and bizarre spirits wandering around.

“By the way,” Minamoto Kiyomoto remembered something, “you haven’t taught me how to contract a shikigami yet.”

“Wait until you have enough divine power for yourself.”

“Shikigami use their master’s divine power?”

“Mm.”

The two arrived at a waterside pavilion, and from there, they entered the hidden realm.

They stood in a huge plaza.

Before them was a stretch of ancient-style buildings that extended up to the sky. Bright yellow lanterns hung on the cliff-like walls of the buildings.

The plaza was filled with all sorts of peculiar people, wearing monk’s robes, hitatare, kariginu, kimonos, miko outfits, sheer single-layer robes, and gorgeous furisode like those of an oiran.

Of course, there were also people in modern clothes.

Minamoto Kiyomoto even saw a woman in Tang dynasty attire, carrying a charm as if she had walked out of a Tang dynasty painting of court ladies.

This world’s Japan was still most deeply influenced by the Tang dynasty. Kyoto was also built in imitation of the Tang dynasty’s Chang’an.

The largest hidden realm in Kyoto still used the name Heian-kyo.

After entering the Onmyo Bureau, Minamoto Kiyomoto no longer spoke, but observed, thought, and summarized on his own.

Directly asking Kamibayashi Miko was fast, but it wouldn’t train his own observation skills, especially these mysteries that were detached from daily life. He needed to train his problem-solving habits and thinking from scratch.

Kamibayashi Miko seemed to be very famous.

Although no one came up to greet them along the way, almost everyone bowed to her.

As for Minamoto Kiyomoto, besides the women staring at him infatuatedly, for some reason, many people stared at him with incomprehension, disbelief, and even anger.

‘Is it because Kamibayashi is popular? Or is there some other reason?’ he guessed in his heart.

The two walked into the cliff-like building, walking on a zigzagging wooden staircase. After a short while, they arrived at a floor with only one room.

The room was brightly lit and very spacious, with counters on three sides.

Kamibayashi Miko walked towards the counter on the right, which was the least crowded.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked around, his attention focused on the counter on the left, where many young boys and girls were queuing.

Most of them wore a uniform, like high school students from somewhere.

‘Is it a special school for cultivators? I wonder if I can borrow their textbooks.’

“Registration,” Kamibayashi Miko said to the person behind the counter.

Behind the counter was a female staff member in a kimono, who now had a troubled look on her face.

“Kamibayashi Miko, twenty years old, divine power golden, weapon ‘Divine Miko’s Damask,’ teammate Minamoto Kiyomoto,” Kamibayashi Miko enunciated clearly, word by word.

The woman in the kimono first didn’t know what to do, then finally glared resentfully at Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was busy sizing up the high school students, and began to register Kamibayashi Miko.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was baffled.

After Kamibayashi Miko received a wooden plaque, when it was his turn, he repeated the format Kamibayashi Miko had used.

“Minamoto Kiyomoto, twenty years old, divine power black, weapon ‘Polaris,’ teammate Kamibayashi Miko.”

“Please release your divine power once,” the kimono-clad staff member’s tone was very cold.

A black light emerged from Minamoto Kiyomoto’s body.

The woman in the kimono glanced at it, then said coldly again, “Please present your weapon.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto took Polaris out of the tennis bag.

The woman in the kimono took it, took a picture, measured its length, and registered its detailed features.

“Why don’t you have to go through so much trouble?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked Kamibayashi Miko during this time.

“The Divine Miko’s divine power is passed down through generations, it has always been golden, and so is the weapon,” the bright yellow light in the room cast her face in a madder red, so soft and beautiful it made one’s heart tremble.

“You don’t know?” the kimono-clad staff member at the counter looked up and asked strangely.

“I only met her yesterday,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“Eh?” The kimono-clad staff member seemed to realize something. “Mr. Minamoto, would you like to learn about the benefits for official cultivators?”

“Official cultivators?”

“Yes! If you team up with Lady Kamibayashi, you are considered unofficial, and apart from intelligence, you receive no official benefits.”

“If you join officially, you can learn all minor curses for free! For every battle you participate in, you can receive three medium curses and one major curse, and attend the cultivation classes of the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry!”

“In addition, you can receive battle intelligence at the first opportunity. In battle, you will be led by a team of cultivators with experience in three or more battles!”
“In terms of remuneration, the monthly base salary is 500,000 yen. If a yokai appears, one battle is worth 10 million yen! Other situations are calculated separately!”

“If you are injured, you can enjoy the best medical treatment, with special prices for medical fees! If you are unfortunately killed in action, your family will be arranged to come to Tokyo, live in the safest area, with free housing! Children’s tuition is free! Parents’ medical fees are free!”
“Join the official side, Lord Minamoto, you can register directly at the counter opposite!”

The kimono-clad staff member looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto almost coercively, pointing her finger at the counter opposite.

It was almost… like a pyramid scheme.

“Is it really that good?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“I wouldn’t lie to you!” The woman in the kimono leaned out from behind the counter. “All of us staff members have curses. Relevant information must be kept true for cultivators!”

Without the preconceived bad impression, up close, she noticed Minamoto Kiyomoto’s looks, blushed, and sat back down shyly, readjusting her posture.

“May I ask another question?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked her.

“Please, please do,” the woman in the kimono cleared her throat.

“The thunder curse… Great Thunder, what level of curse is it?”

“The Eight Divine Thunders are the greatest curses, the most powerful curses,” the woman in the kimono’s voice was gentle.

“Can I learn it?”

“As for the greatest curses, unless you have made a great contribution in battle, there is no way. But the greatest curses are very difficult to learn. Medium and major curses are the most cost-effective.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto turned to look at Kamibayashi Miko. Kamibayashi Miko’s beautiful eyes were staring at him.

“You did it on purpose?” he said softly.

Deliberately hiding the existence of an official organization;
Deliberately teaching him the Eight Divine Thunder Curses, which were among the greatest curses;
As for the defensive water curse, the Shinto-ryu sword style, and Polaris, there was no need to think, they were definitely things that official cultivators could not easily access.

The purpose of doing this was to make him grateful for her kindness and join the unofficial cultivators, who had no benefits—and crucially, were in great danger.

Kamibayashi Miko nodded, admitting it.

“How should I put this—” Minamoto Kiyomoto considered his words. “Although you brought me into the world of cultivation where I must participate in battles, and even charged me, you have helped me a lot. The curses I’m cultivating are even better than the official ones. But I’m the kind of person—”

He paused, then said:

“…I don’t know if you can understand—I hate being used, regardless of whether I benefit from it or not. I hate it to the point of being a clean freak, you could even say it’s a sickness.”

Kamibayashi Miko’s face was expressionless.

People with high self-esteem all hate being used. She had already thought of this possibility.

In the end, she still couldn’t participate in the battle, she sighed in her heart.

“If you want to go over, then go,” she made way, the official registration office was behind her. “If you have any doubts in your cultivation in the future, you can still come to me.”

“You misunderstand,” Minamoto Kiyomoto waved his hand. “I hate being used, but without you, I might have been able to live a safe life, and would never have come into contact with the world of cultivators—I will team up with you.”

“Lord Minamoto?!” the kimono-clad staff member cried out in surprise. “The battles are extremely dangerous. Even the Divine Miko, every generation has died in battle!”

“That dangerous?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked in surprise.

The Four Divine Lords, the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, were all below the Divine Miko, and even the Divine Miko would die in battle?
The kimono-clad staff member glanced at Kamibayashi Miko, said “pardon me” to her, and then explained to Minamoto Kiyomoto:

“According to the regulations, all cultivators must participate in battles, unless they are injured in battle to the point where they can no longer fight. The death rate in battles is very, very high. Even for the Divine Miko, no generation has ever lived past the age of twenty-five.”

She glanced at Kamibayashi Miko again and continued:
“For Lady Kamibayashi to seek you out, forgive my bluntness, is a very selfish act. You, who have not received cultivator education from a young age, will absolutely not survive a second battle.”

Dangerous, Kamibayashi Miko had said; to what extent it was dangerous, Kamibayashi Miko had not said, and this matter, she clearly knew.

Minamoto Kiyomoto and Kamibayashi Miko looked at each other for a while.

Kamibayashi Miko didn’t explain. From her eyes, Minamoto Kiyomoto could also see that everything the staff member said was true.

“I repay kindness with kindness, and also take revenge for grudges,” after a long while, he said to Kamibayashi Miko.

“You want to take revenge on me?” Kamibayashi Miko sized up Minamoto Kiyomoto. “Your talent is very high, even better than mine, but I have been cultivating for fourteen years.”

“You misunderstand, I don’t want to fight you.”

Kamibayashi Miko looked at him in confusion.

“Actually, I don’t care how dangerous the battles are. You guided me, taught me to cultivate, and I will accompany you in battle with this life of mine. But you used me, deceived me, and this is something I absolutely cannot tolerate—can I make a request?”

“What request?”

Minamoto Kiyomto smiled: “Aren’t you unable to have feelings for people? Can I pursue you?”

There was not a hint of liking in his smile.

He didn’t like Kamibayashi Miko. He was deliberately teasing her, knowing that she couldn’t have feelings.

As for what price she would pay if she developed feelings, he didn’t care.

Just as he said, he didn’t care about being brought into the world of cultivation and participating in battles that were almost certain death, but he would absolutely not tolerate being used and deceived.

Kamibayashi Miko’s beautiful and charming face was covered in ice and snow, showing no joy or anger.

“You can,” she said.

Minamoto Kiyomoto clapped his hands as if in admiration, turned to the kimono-clad staff member and said, “Please continue with the registration.”

Thank you all for your rewards, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets.

(End of Chapter)