69novels Chapter 197 The Zen Temple
Chapter 197 The Zen Temple
Chapter 197 The Zen Temple's Splendor (Two Chapters Combined)
Those who were still wandering around at night were mostly nobles.
In Heian-kyo, there was a custom called "visiting one's wife," in which the man would go to the woman's house at night and stay overnight until dawn the next day before leaving.
Such a relationship doesn't necessarily mean they are husband and wife; most of the time... it's just a romantic relationship.
Before dawn, Taira no Masahiko tidied his clothes, boarded an oxcart, and left his lover's residence.
Later in the evening, he would encounter other acquaintances' oxcarts on the road, so he would always leave earlier.
The morning before sunrise was as dark as night. The oxcart traveled the familiar road back home, for he would soon have to go to court to meet the Emperor.
The scenery along the way was no different from usual...
No, perhaps there still are.
He stopped the oxcart when he saw the woman standing by the roadside, dressed in gorgeous clothes, with long hair trailing on the ground, a sorrowful expression, and cold eyes.
Her skin was as white as moonlight, her hair and eyebrows were jet black, and her entire body consisted only of black and white, making her breathtakingly beautiful. Only one thought remained in one's mind—
Is this a celestial maiden?
He completely forgot about thoughts like encountering female ghosts on the road.
She's so beautiful, how could she be a demon?
How could someone as beautiful as her possibly harm anyone?
That's all nonsense!
This must be a goddess from heaven!
"This... how should I address her?" He was momentarily at a loss for words as to how to address the woman.
"..." The beautiful woman looked at the man's lips moving in and out, her gaze slowly moving downwards. "Xiao Wei, my name is Xiao Wei."
Bewitched by those dark eyes filled with clear light, Taira no Masahiko warmly led him back to his home.
Meanwhile, in Heian-kyo, beautiful women began to disappear at night.
A few days later, several female corpses were discovered in the maple forest.
They were all stripped of their skin, leaving only bloodstained flesh, making it impossible to distinguish their identities, and each of them had lost their heart.
She enjoys peeling the skin off beautiful women and feeding on human hearts... Her habits seem to match those of the female ghost in the story that appeared not long ago.
It's easy to paint the skin and bones, but difficult to paint the heart. She was born without a heart, so she kept stealing other people's hearts.
Conventional methods were no longer effective, so the nobles began to hire people to do the work.
Who is this person being shaken? An Onmyoji.
……
In one of the courtyards of the Gojo House.
"The Onmyoji have begun patrolling the Kyoto area to search for traces of the Painted Skin Demon..." Maro whispered, reporting on the recent events that had occurred outside.
The white-haired boy sat under the eaves, a chessboard beside him, playing chess against himself.
"The Onmyoji has entered..." he said with a light laugh.
"What Onmyoji?" As soon as Gojo Haru arrived, she heard this question and looked at Su Wu with a mischievous expression.
"We're talking about what's happening outside... Can Onmyoji catch the Painted Skin Demon?" Su Wu didn't try to hide anything and naturally started chatting with Gojo Haru.
Haru Gojo is over thirty years old, but... he has no wife or children and seems to be all alone.
He didn't look old at all; standing next to Su Wu, they looked like two people of the same age.
White hair, white eyebrows, white eyelashes, blue eyes, snow-white skin, pure and noble like ice and snow, yet he is extremely unruly when he opens his mouth.
I wonder if Gojo Satoru will look just like Gojo Haru a thousand years from now.
"If you're talking about the Onmyoji who were dispatched... no way." Gojo Haru gave his opinion without hesitation.
While not all the Onmyoji trained by the Onmyodo are useless, there are certainly not many who are truly useful.
Most of them can only predict good or bad fortune and observe the weather.
There are very few who can subdue demons and ghosts and are also capable of fighting them.
The sorcerers are all incredibly skilled fighters, capable of engaging in hand-to-hand combat with demons and ghosts. However, each has their own area of expertise; matters concerning demons and ghosts are handled by Onmyoji, while matters concerning cursed spirits are left to the sorcerers.
As early as when the body was discovered, Gojo Haru went to see it and concluded that it was the work of demons and had nothing to do with cursed spirits.
The words of the owner of the six-eyed creature are highly credible.
In this way, the sorcerer no longer cared about the matter.
We're just waiting to see how the Onmyoji performs.
In this day and age, Onmyoji look down on Spellcasters, and Spellcasters look down on Onmyoji.
Unfortunately, there is also disharmony among sorcerers. The Gojo family has become the leader of sorcery because of Gojo Haru, who has six eyes, but there are still a lot of people who are not satisfied with him.
There are many demons and cursed spirits who want to kill Gojo Haru, but there are also just as many humans who want to kill him.
"That painted-skin demon doesn't quite live up to its newly born strength," Gojo Haru said, stroking his chin with a relaxed and amused tone.
"What do you mean by that?" the boy asked with a smile, appearing relaxed.
"If I had to say..." Gojo Haru explained with a smile.
Logically speaking, the story of the Painted Skin Ghost had only been circulating for half a month, so her birth time could not have been more than half a month.
What is the strength of a cursed spirit that has only been born for half a month?
They were so weak that even Gojo Haru didn't have the desire to crush them.
Newly born demons are the same; they are never very strong.
However, using his six eyes to observe the subtle residual energy on those corpses, he realized that the painted-skin ghost's strength was no different from that of a great demon.
It's only been half a month since it was born, yet it's already a powerful demon? Although it's not as powerful as some established demons, it shouldn't be underestimated.
"So that's how it is. The Painted Skin Demon is so gifted?" Su Wu asked, feigning shock.
"Of course..." Gojo Haru laughed loudly, tilting his head back.
"Mist-kun, oh Mist-kun, what exactly do you want to do?" he suddenly asked leisurely.
The story of the Painted Skin Demon was born when the boy first arrived in Kyoto. To call it a coincidence would be to underestimate his intelligence.
"Me?" Su Wu wasn't surprised.
None of the owners of the Six-Eyed Machine are fools.
Because everything that ordinary people can see or cannot see, that they have seen since childhood, is all taken in by those eyes.
"It's just an experiment," he said softly, placing a chess piece in his left hand.
"Creating demons and ghosts is no different from creating gods."
"If I can bring demons and ghosts to life with my writing, then I can certainly bring gods to life with my pen." He looked at his hands, long and pale with distinct knuckles.
These hands look like those of an adult.
"...What a blasphemous idea." Gojo Haru slowly opened his fan, covering his face below his eyes.
Such blasphemy.
"They can't come down and hit me, can they?" Su Wu sneered contemptuously.
If there really is a god, then if you don't like him, just come down and beat him up.
"I also want to create a legend of killing a god," Su Wu sighed.
"This is really..." Gojo Haru chuckled to himself.
"You scared me." He shook his head and sighed, but he didn't look scared at all.
"But those who died were innocent," he added, as if offering a warning.
Whatever the boy wanted to do, the fact remains that the painted-skin ghosts he created killed several people.
This really shouldn't have happened.
"...If we don't stop now, the people of Kyoto will be in a panic, and someone might ask Lord Seimei to take action," Gojo Haru added.
"Ah, Abe no Seimei..." Su Wu said with a sigh.
He wanted to meet the other person, but it was just a casual, collector's mentality.
"The Painted Skin Demon should have ended by now. Don't worry, it won't cause any major trouble." Su Wu put away the chess pieces one by one.
He plays chess with both his left and right hands, using his brain to fully understand each move he makes, thus always reaching a point where there is no solution.
"As long as you know your limits," Gojo Haru said.
He appears kind and gentle, reminding Su Wu to be mindful of her boundaries, and also noticing those who have been killed by the Painted Skin Ghost.
But he wasn't that kind either, because his tone never rose even slightly throughout. Even though he knew who was behind the Painted Skin Ghost that was causing panic in Kyoto, he didn't do anything about it.
"I'm curious about something. Is it because of me that the Painted Skin Demon has been far stronger than ordinary people since its birth?" Su Wu muttered to herself.
What if someone else wrote the story of the Painted Skin Ghost?
"It's because of you, of course," Gojo Haru said with certainty.
"You should know that if people like us curse someone..." Gojo Haru didn't finish her sentence, leaving everything unsaid.
With their strength, if they were to curse someone after their death...
Those who are cursed have a 99.9% chance of becoming a top-tier cursed spirit.
Anything born from their thoughts is more powerful than anything born from ordinary people.
If the story of Painted Skin Ghost were written by an ordinary person, then the story would have to be brewing for half a year or even a whole year before the Painted Skin Ghost would actually be born.
Its strength wouldn't be as great as the one Su Wu created.
"But does the Painted Skin Demon have a name?" Gojo Haru asked, seemingly curious.
He had also read the story about the Painted Skin Ghost, but the ghost's name was never mentioned in the entire story. Of course, the unlucky man who was targeted by the Painted Skin Ghost also had no name.
"Her name is Xiaowei," Su Wu said, then laughed.
He pieced together the settings from the Painted Skin movie while writing it.
Although her name wasn't revealed in the story, she should be called Xiao Wei.
"It's called that..." Gojo Haru tapped his palm with his fan.
"Do you think I can become an Onmyoji?" Su Wu suddenly asked.
"An Onmyoji?" Gojo Haru stared at the boy with his azure eyes.
"Of course, you can." He said casually.
With the help of the six-eyed one, it is certainly possible.
However... spiritual power and magical power clash and cannot be integrated. If one wants to cultivate them together, it is often much less effective.
The more spell power one has, the less spiritual power one possesses.
"Because spiritual power and magical power are incompatible, Onmyoji see sorcerers as if they are filthy," Gojo Haru said leisurely.
After all, curse power originates from negative emotions. Compared to spiritual power, which is as pure as moonlight, curse power looks... filthy and disgusting.
Therefore, Onmyoji always wish they could throw a purification skill at sorcerers to purify them, provided that the sorcerers could do so.
"...Doesn't this mean I can't be an Onmyoji anymore?" Su Wu sighed.
It's not that you can't become one, but even if you do, your skills in Onmyoji arts won't be very strong.
After all, he had quite a bit of cursed power on him.
It seems I can only operate in Heian-kyo as a sorcerer.
"Spellcasters are no less skilled than Onmyoji," Gojo Haru couldn't help but say.
Why does he sound like he'd love to switch to Yin-Yang magic? Their sorcerers aren't bad either; they're known for their fighting prowess, and almost all of them are military generals.
"People always want what they can't have," Su Wu said casually.
After being a sorcerer for so long, one naturally wants to try being an Onmyoji.
"However, you're more free than I thought," Su Wu said, looking at Gojo Haru.
It's said that Gojo Satoru works under a 007 work system? Compared to that, it's much more comfortable to see Gojo Haru doing nothing every day.
Perhaps it's because there are quite a few sorcerers and Onmyoji nowadays, and many of them are quite capable.
Unlike later generations... the world of sorcery only has a handful of capable fighters...
After Abe no Seimei's death, the Onmyoji family probably went into seclusion and never appeared in public again.
"If even I'm busy, it proves that Kyoto is on the verge of destruction," Gojo Haru simply said.
His existence, like that of Abe no Seimei, is like a pillar of strength among sorcerers.
When everyone else is struggling, that's when their shopping mall will get its turn.
"Sigh..." Su Wu let out a meaningless sigh.
Hearing this, Gojo Satoru is in an even worse situation.
"Woof woof..." The white dog suddenly ran into the yard, stopped in front of Gojo Haru, and barked twice.
"Hey, Tamaki, where's Akira?" Gojo Haru greeted the white Shiba Inu familiarly.
"The Ten Shadows of the Zen Temple Family?" Su Wu reached out to pet the dog, but the dog backed away, refusing to be touched.
"You know, it seems that a thousand years later, someone from the Zen family who lived in your time has also inherited the title of Ten Kage," Gojo Haru said with a smile.
A thousand years later, it seems that the situation is still one of the three major powers standing side by side.
"No, the person who inherited the Ten Shadows doesn't have the surname Zen-Yuan," Su Wu said with a smile.
His surname is Fu Hei.
"I can't believe such a thing happened?" Gojo Haru's face was filled with delight.
They seemed pleased to see an accident happen to the Zen family.
"What do you mean by someone who inherited the Ten Shadows doesn't have the surname Zen-in?" A man with long black hair, dressed in black, walked in, his eyes emerald green.
Upon seeing the man, the jade dog immediately ran to him.
Su Wu leaned against Kong behind her, seemingly unconcerned.
No dog is as handsome as his big cat.
Su Wu smiled without saying anything, and Gojo Haru didn't say anything more either, but changed the subject. "This is the head of the Zenin family, Zenin Akira, who is also my... um... friend?" Gojo Haru used an uncertain tone.
"Huh? Who's your friend? We're mortal enemies." Zenin Akira said fiercely, arms crossed.
He doesn't look much like Fushiguro Megumi. Fushiguro Megumi looks like a cool and arrogant guy, who is obviously the second male lead.
As for Zenji Akira... he looks like a grumpy old man who'd start a fight at the drop of a hat.
This guy is more like Fuhei Shen'er than Fuhei Hui!
"This is Gojo Kiri, a junior member of my family," Gojo Haru introduced Banso Kiri.
"Who would come to their arch-enemy's house for tea..." Su Wu remarked.
Their arch-enemy dares to come knocking? Aren't they afraid of being kicked out?
"You have a problem with that?" Zenji Akira sat down without any hesitation, pouring himself tea as if he were at home.
"Do as you please," Su Wu shrugged.
You can call us mortal enemies if you want, whatever makes you happy.
Haru Gojo covered her face with a fan, trying not to laugh.
"This is... your shikigami?" Zenin Akira looked at the large white tiger behind Su Wu.
That physique, that face, and that aura...
"I guess so." Su Wu nodded slightly.
"Not bad," Zenji Akira praised.
"Emptiness is naturally excellent," Su Wu replied confidently.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold again.
Zen-in-no-Tsukasa is not good at chatting with people, while Su-Wu is a Schrödinger-like chatterbox.
Sometimes he's a great conversationalist, with endless topics to discuss, and other times he's completely mute.
"..." Gojo Haru's face turned red from trying not to laugh. He cleared his throat and said to Zenji Akira, "Ahem, tell me, what brings you here?"
(End of this chapter)