Book 5: Chapter 51: Presenting The Biwa

A team of samurai poured into the streets of Heian-kyō. Not far away, a tall male figure appeared in their path and walked towards them. The leader of the samurai stopped his horse and asked, “Did you see a huge evil spirit pa.s.s by here?”

The man wore a long, dark blue robe and had a head of blue-purple hair which was slightly disheveled. Even while facing the group of samurai, his handsome face remained cold and his spectacles glinted with a magical purple color.

What was even stranger was that the man seemed to have lost an arm. The empty sleeve was tattered and fluttered in the night wind.

“I just saw what looked like a huge ghostly figure in the adjacent block, running that way.” The man said, pointing in a certain direction with his only arm.

“Give chase!” The group of samurai rode away immediately while the man went in another direction, his long robe fluttering behind him.

However, a spiritually keen young soldier lagged behind the group before coming to a stop. He gripped his spear somewhat suspiciously and stealthily followed the man. His eyes carefully studied the man’s mutilated arm.

“You, you are…”

The man turned his head and a strange purple light flashed through his eyes.

“Could it be…” The young soldier’s eyes widened as he stared at the man’s only arm, seeming to recall something! He took a deep breath and wanted to shout out loud.

Suddenly, a huge demonic hand stretched out from the one-armed man’s shadow reflected on the moonlit wall, grabbing the soldier with speed invisible to ordinary people.

Pffft! The young man’s blood was splattered on the white wall, painting a tragic scene.

At this time, around the broken temple, the moonlight shone upon the battlefield littered with the corpses of many fallen samurai and onmyoji. The fight against Ibaraki Doji resulted in heavy casualties.

The support that arrived one after another was constantly bringing down the surviving girls from the roof of the temple.

Meanwhile, a big snow-white dog carrying Amako Haruhiro on its back was nearly besieged by the crowd of samurai.

“Stop!” Seimei waved his hand, “This white dog is not a demon, but some kind of spirit body. I don’t know whose spell it is, but it seems that it saved Miss Amako.”

“What?” The samurai felt a bit incredulous.

The demon hound spoke human speech, “I am the shikigami of Miss Kagami Lily and was ordered to rescue and protect Miss Amako on my back. Now that I have seen Lord Seimei, I will hand her over to you.”

After saying that, the demon hound kneeled down and allowed the surrounding people to carry away the petrified Amako.

“It’s Lily again…” Seimei smiled with a mix of complicated emotions, “I feel that Lily has taken all the credit in this battle. Truly, what a remarkable girl.”

Not far away, a few samurai reported, “Lord Kimura, we went in pursuit of Ibaraki Doji, but…but we failed to catch up!”

“It’s the same for us! Obviously, we have surrounded the entire area and he has absolutely nowhere to escape, but we searched every street and alley. He, he just disappeared!”

“Could he have flown off?”

Kimura was also frowning, “If we let this guy get away, I’m afraid he’ll cause trouble and rally all the demons in Mount Ooe to take revenge on us! The consequences are immeasurable! Don’t shy away from hardship, go search again!”

“Understood!”

Since Lily missed the opportunity to chase Ibaraki Doji and failed to find any clues on his whereabouts, she returned here.

Lily saw that Kasuga and Keiko were safe. They still looked a bit rattled and it took some time for them to remember to thank Lily. However, they were also relieved that Lily was okay. Only that powerful girl, Hoshi Murasaki, was nowhere to be found.

“Mirror Girl.” At this moment, Seimei and Hiromasa came over.

“Lord Seimei, Lord Hiromasa.” Lily saluted.

Hiromasa’s gaze fell on Lily’s lower body, causing her to feel a bit embarra.s.sed.

“Good sword! Just by looking at the sword within the sheath, I can sense its incredible aura!” Hiromasa said with honest appreciation.

It turned out that he was looking at the sword hanging on her waist. Lily was left speechless.

“Is that the sword that cut off the right hand of that Rash.o.m.on spirit?! Mirror Girl, we could only repel that archdemon because you played the most crucial role!” Hiromasa praised.

“Not at all, it’s still thanks to everyone,” Lily replied simply. Everyone knew that she had severed Ibaraki Doji’s arm with one slash. After all, many of the captured women who witnessed the scene were able to recount what they saw after getting rescued.

Seimei looked at the biwa on Lily’s back, “Mirror Girl, please forgive my rudeness, but this biwa is a lost treasure of the palace hundreds of years ago, the Arcane Biwa. May I ask what you intend to do with it? I suggest that you return it to the palace. Of course, the imperial family won’t treat you poorly. Although it is a treasure that you have rightfully won, it is a lost treasure of the palace, after all. If you take it for yourself, I am afraid it is slightly inappropriate.”

Regarding this arcane biwa, since Lily took it out in front of so many people, she had already figured out what to do with it.

She smiled and said, “This is a legendary instrument from the palace. How could I take it for myself? Lily intends to present it to Lord Chief Advisor early tomorrow morning. After all, Lily will also accept the reward from the Fujiwara Clan. Dealing with the biwa will naturally be up to the Lord Chief Advisor to decide.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then I won’t say anything. Does Miss Kagami intend to join the Fujiwara Clan? But that’s good. With Miss Kagami’s talent and strength, all the major powers are naturally eager to admit you into their ranks, but inevitably, there will also be jealous people. In your situation, it is better to rely on a big tree to dispel your worries. After all, from tonight onwards, I am afraid that the entire Heian capital will know Miss Kagami’s great name.” Seimei said.

“Lily has her own measures. Thank you for the reminder.” Lily was polite and distant to all men.

At this time, several retainers solemnly carried Kamo Tadayuki’s corpse onto a bullock carriage.

Seimei, Lily, and the others bowed deeply to see off the old man who had fought for the people of Heian-kyō until the end.

As an adept, Kamo’s talent, attainments, and luck were considered very high, but in the end, he was still far from the heavenly gate. It was inevitable that old age and physical decline would weaken his strength, otherwise, he would not have lost to an opponent of the same level.

On the road of training, if one didn’t believe in tears or sorrow, the only things that could enable one to go further were strength and opportunity.

But this upright and powerful old man still stirred a lot of respect in Lily’s heart. Now that the coffin of Old Man Kamo had gone, the battlefield here was nearing its conclusion.

Lily narrated the battlefield report to the officials who came to inquire so they could record it. After confirming her contribution, she bid farewell to Seimei and Hiromasa before leaving.

“First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll take the biwa to the Chief Advisor’s residence. This time, Lady Ayaka will definitely find time to see me.” Lily returned to the night market alone.

A few hours later, outside the city of Heian-kyō, a one-armed man emerged from the middle of a river. He was dripping wet and looked a little despondent, but his eyes still glowed with a magical light.

He looked back at the huge ancient city illuminated by a sea of lights and swore to himself, “Kagami Lily, to leave me in such a miserable state where I got seriously injured and almost killed… If it was a powerful person like Fujiwara no Ayaka, it would be fine, but you are just a mere woman with Spirit Jade strength! I won’t accept this, just you wait… Even if you don’t step into Tanba Province, one day, I will come to Heian-kyō to find you again! The enmity between you and me has just begun.”

The one-armed man turned around and walked towards the dark northwestern wilderness…

…

…

At this time, in the giant forest tens of thousands of miles southwest of Heian-kyō.

Clang—! A black blade of light flashed and a translucent, lime green creature fell by the feet of a young girl.

Minamoto no Shimizu waved the unknown liquid from the tip of her blade before sheathing it. She looked up at the night sky that obscured the splendor of the moon and could only see the vague remnants of milky light.

“It’s been a long time since I saw the full moon. The canopies of these giant trees in the forest are really incredible. Lily, you are like the moon— proud and white, hanging alone in the night sky. When will your elder sister get to see you again…”

Shimizu collected the demon’s anima and took out the map to identify her position. She then walked towards the village.

Shimizu met Shimadzu at the entrance of the village,

“Hey!” The tall woman was still as hearty as the sea, “How was it, Miss Shimizu? How was the harvest today?”

“Not bad, I guess,” Shimizu replied blandly.

“Did you find the ancient jade?”

Shimizu shook her head and was also a little disappointed. If she found the ancient jade, she would be able to go back and meet Lily.

“Say, Miss Shimizu, can you lend me some anima? I’m almost out of money for accommodation.”

“No.”

“Tch, so stingy! I’m your lover!”

“Stop talking nonsense. You should work hard on your own. Have you forgotten your ambition when you came here?”

“Nope, my ambition changed after I met you! Miss Shimizu, you smell so good, even though you just fought a fierce battle.”

“Are you hot? My blade is cold; how about I use it to cool you down and alleviate the unrest in your body?” Shimizu said coldly.

“d.a.m.n girl, don’t be so mean. Did you think I spent all day wandering around the village? I got some news about the ancient jade!”

“What?! Where is it?”

Shimadzu pulled Shimizu aside and said quietly, “ There is a swamp five hundred miles southwest of this village. They say that…”

Shimizu brightened up, but still maintained her calm a bit, “That’s a very dangerous area.”

“How about, if you are interested, let’s go together?”

“No, I’ll go alone!”

“Hey! Hey! I found this information to tell you, are you just going to leave me like this?! Miss Shimizu, you are not being fair!”

“…as you wish!” Shimizu said helplessly.

“Yay! Then how about we get ready and leave in a few days?”

“Let’s leave early tomorrow morning.”

“Eh? So anxious, you just can’t resist going back to see your little lover?”

“Shut up.”

…

…

In the early morning of the next day, when Shimizu and Shimadzu, who were tens of thousands of miles away, embarked on their adventure to the southwest where poisonous demons ran rampant, Lily washed herself thoroughly and put on an elegant red kimono. She also rubbed herself with the perfume of the celestial maiden. Of course, the perfume given by the Cloistered Emperor was a bit tacky and the meaning behind him giving her his own perfume was unclear so she wouldn’t use it indiscriminately.

Lily also specifically hailed a bullock carriage and went to the chief advisor’s manor in a solemn mood.

“This time, I have to see Lady Ayaka no matter what!”