Chapter 329: It’s Normal For An Onmyoji To Turn Into A Demon, Right? Shuten Doji’s Wager, This Man’s Got Guts
“Qing, you dare!”
Seeing Spider Cutter getting closer and closer to Lord Shangshan’s neck, Kaga Kiyomitsu, which had originally been pressed down by Lord Shangshan’s finger, popped out from the scabbard again.
Its originally soft and glutinous voice was now filled with furious resonance, baring its blade toward Spider Cutter, which was essentially stronger than itself.
Qing ignored it.
“Little Jia, don’t be hasty.”
Lord Shangshan smiled and gently pressed Kaga Kiyomitsu back inch by inch, making the latter buzz aggrievedly.
Meanwhile, Lord Shangshan himself was completely unperturbed.
After all, this was the Eternal World; at worst, he would just get his head chopped off—the key was to do ideological work on Qing and explain some things clearly to him.
Qing had existed for a millennium, and his personality had long been set and rather extreme.
So unlike Little Jia and Two-Foot Adult, who turned a blind eye, it was perfectly normal for him to have such doubts.
“First, let’s talk about how I turned into a fox right there… and it looked like a genuine Six-Tailed Fox, right?”
Lord Shangshan lightly pressed his finger against Qing Se’s blade, not minding at all that the pad of his finger had been cut open with a thin slit.
He smiled and said, “Little Qing, you now think I really am a Six-Tailed Fox, don’t you?”
Spider Cutter stopped, and Qing replied indifferently, “I don’t want to question Lord Shangshan, but the facts I’ve seen with my own eyes are like this, forcing me to believe.”
“Then Little Qing, let me tell you something today.”
Lord Shangshan revealed a mysterious smile, took out a Red Hannya Mask from his waist, and softly said, “Sometimes, what you see with your own eyes isn’t necessarily the truth.”
As his words fell, a red-and-white kimono swept across Lord Shangshan’s face.
At the same time, Lord Shangshan transformed into Red Hannya.
Then, with a simple wave of his sleeve, without any warning or the slightest fluctuation of qi barrier or spiritual power reaction.
—But before Qing’s eyes, the heart-stealing Six-Tailed Fox had suddenly vanished.
In its place was a robust Red Hannya with a ferocious and cruel temperament that sent chills down the spine, its muscles like fine steel poured over its body.
Qing was stunned.
For the first time in hundreds of years, he encountered something he couldn’t understand.
So he was stunned.
Because the genuine Red Hannya before him actually revealed the exact same smile as Lord Shangshan and the previous Six-Tailed Fox, asking him,
“—Little Qing, now do you see me as another extremely dangerous Red Hannya that must be slain?”
Qing was momentarily bewildered, not knowing how to respond.
“Heh heh.”
Lord Shangshan placed his hand on the Red Hannya Mask over his face again, and while pretending to remove it, transformed once more into Hundred-Eyed Demon before Qing’s eyes.
In an instant, Lord Shangshan changed from the bloodthirsty and cruel Red Hannya into a pale-faced, gloomy Gothic-style youth dressed in a tailcoat.
Countless blood-red eyes floated in the air, all showing a subtle smile together, resonating in unison,
“How about it, Little Qing? In your eyes, I’ve become Hundred-Eyed Demon again, haven’t I?”
Qing fell silent.
Lord Shangshan shed all incarnations, reverted to his normal appearance, and continued, “Since I’m a composite of three demons with clear dangers, doesn’t that mean you should slay me even more?”
“This…”
Qing didn’t know what to say.
For the first time in a millennium, he encountered such a bizarre and inconceivable situation.
Even he, who had slain countless demons, couldn’t tell for a moment whether the Lord Shangshan before him was human or demon, or some other ghostly thing.
Seeing Spider Cutter moving farther from his neck, even the blade tilting downward, Lord Shangshan patted its hilt and said earnestly,
“Little Qing… you know I’m an Onmyoji.”
“And as an Onmyoji, it’s perfectly normal to learn from the enemy and borrow the power of demons.”
Lord Shangshan transformed back into the Six-Tailed Fox and spread his hands: “There’s nothing strange about this, nor is it hard to admit.”
Smiling, he gripped Spider Cutter’s hilt,
“Why don’t you take a look inside me? Not only are most of the defining objects I use to define my sea of qi made from demon materials, even my blood is infused with Yao Bikuni’s power!”
Qing did as he said and took a look around, confirming it was true.
Lord Shangshan’s body was filled with intense demon qi—if he had encountered this scene for the first time, he probably would have slashed already.
Lord Shangshan patted his right chest again,
“But these, like the Myriad Spirit Furnace Core… or rather the Myriad Spirit Cauldron, are just one of my sources of power.”
Qing cast his gaze again and glimpsed the terrifying core slightly pulsing under the dim Heavenly Cycle Flame Armor.
Lord Shangshan spoke candidly: “Four Paths and Five Elements, Great Onmyōdō, Heretical Paths… a thousand sorceries, myriad transformations; the means of an Onmyoji are countless, Little Qing.”
“You’re a tachi, and your previous masters were all samurai who knew nothing of Onmyōdō.”
Lord Shangshan’s tone remained gentle,
“Your understanding of Onmyōdō is superficial and shallow; you don’t know that profound Onmyōdō can achieve many miracles. I don’t blame you for that.”
“Is… that so?”
Qing’s tone was a bit hesitant.
He carefully observed that small core with internal energy far greater than a Ghost God, yet he completely couldn’t understand its operating principle.
It seemed like it really was.
Qing started to believe what this new Onmyoji master was saying.
—No matter what demonic form or appearance, they were just one of Lord Shangshan’s sources of power.
“Since these means together constitute my power and strength, once mastered, there’s no need to distinguish【power】 as good or bad; power itself has no distinction of good or bad, right or wrong.”
Lord Shangshan said,
“We just need to figure out whether I’m using this power in the right place.”
“I… I understand.”
Qing responded somewhat dazedly and pulled the blade back a fraction, finally allowing Kaga Kiyomitsu to lie peacefully in the scabbard.
“Then, Little Qing.” Lord Shangshan said solemnly, “In the future, whether I use my power on the righteous path will need your supervision as a senior.”
This statement made Spider Cutter’s blade tremble sharply.
Qing immediately replied, “I guarantee I won’t fail Lord Shangshan’s expectations!”
—Alright, this Spider Cutter who only knew killing all day had been completely enchanted by its master.
—Kaga Kiyomitsu lying in the scabbard thought so.
After a pause, Qing asked again, his tone much softer: “Then Lord Shangshan, why did you suddenly come here… to the Eternal World?
And how did you come directly from the heartland of the Minamoto Family to the Eternal World?”
—This Lord Shangshan wasn’t even a Ghost God; how could he cross the endless Sea of Depth with his own power?
Qing didn’t understand, but now he was waiting for this new master, worthy of being called a Great Onmyoji, to answer him.
—The moment he realized he was in the Eternal World, he thought his new master Lord Shangshan had colluded with those old undying ones in the Eternal World to hold him, the former boundary marker, and use it to locate the Mortal Realm, hastening the Eternal World’s arrival.
He had nearly self-destructed.
But after a while, Qing saw nothing happened, so he waited until Lord Shangshan turned into the Six-Tailed Fox before unsheathing to question.
Yet Lord Shangshan immediately provided a reason that convinced him utterly…
Facing Qing’s question, Lord Shangshan directly took out the Walker Token from his storage bag and dangled it in front of Spider Cutter.
Qing exclaimed in shock,
“—You’re a Walker!?”
“I might be the last Walker still alive in the world.” Lord Shangshan nodded.
Qing fell into a long silence.
“Walker… so you’re a Walker… then everything makes sense…”
He muttered softly, but his voice was clear through the heartstring connection: “No wonder Lord Shangshan can come to the Eternal World at will…”
Lord Shangshan: ?
Qing’s words directly blocked all of Lord Shangshan’s follow-up explanations.
He pondered that he still had a series of explanations unsaid—how did Little Qing understand already?
When it came to overthinking and brain supplementing, a millennium-old tachi was impressive… unlike Little Jia, who needed everything explained crystal clear to understand.
This was a good thing.
Lord Shangshan put away the Walker Token and said to Qing, who probably had a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, “No matter what happens next, Little Qing, don’t make a sound or show surprise.”
“I understand.”
Qing agreed almost without thinking—after this, what could surprise him?
Moreover, in his millennium, he hadn’t only been slaying demons; he had also cultivated composure for many days, and his ability to remain calm in the face of change was profound.
Seeing Qing readily agree, Lord Shangshan covered it with a cloth strip and entered the territory of the Karuta Factory.
—Who knows if there are “acquaintances” of Qing in the Hanafuda Market; he was there to play cards and didn’t want extra trouble.
Eyes opened and closed.
The original night faded away, and a massive black cube stood before them.
“This place is…”
Qing was slightly puzzled.
Kaga Kiyomitsu was stuttering introductions to him through the heartstring.
Lord Shangshan skillfully entered the factory, skipped the plot, and with the two swords at his waist, arrived at the Hanafuda Market.
“—My lord, congratulations on winning the third round of the Number One Karuta Tournament Under Heaven.”
“—Next, please follow me upstairs for the fourth round of the tournament.”
The long-absent voice of the Fox-faced Woman and the clamor of the first floor of the Hanafuda Market interrupted Qing and Little Jia’s exchange.
Qing surveyed the surrounding samurai, Onmyoji, and various demons, somewhat puzzled.
How, in a moment of inattention, had they suddenly arrived in this building from a past era?
Lord Shangshan stood up familiarly and followed behind the Fox-faced Woman to the second floor.
Fox-faced Woman: “I can only go this far; please push the door and enter yourself, my lord.”
“No matter.”
Lord Shangshan pushed open the creaky old wooden door, crossed through trees, rocks, and weeds, and inside the room saw the Fox-masked Attendant and the One-Horned Oni sitting cross-legged on a boulder, drinking heavily.
Zheng—!
The moment Lord Shangshan pushed the door open, Spider Cutter emitted a resonant cry full of killing intent,
“Hoshiguma… Tongzi!”
Qing spoke word by word through the heartstring, full of killing intent.
Lord Shangshan still wore a smile, pressed his hand on the cloth-wrapped Spider Cutter, and said through the heartstring, “Little Qing, don’t rush; this isn’t the real her.”
“What you see is just a mere illusion.”
Only after he said this did Qing calm down.
The room returned to silence.
Hoshiguma, who had initially been drawn by Spider Cutter’s blade cry, withdrew her gaze and looked at its owner, Lord Shangshan.
The One-Horned Oni was slightly taken aback.
She stared at Lord Shangshan’s face and smiled with interest,
“Six-Tailed Fox, your sword… seems to have quite the grudge against me.”
“Not at all, Your Excellency Hoshiguma.”
“You know me?”
“Your Excellency Hoshiguma’s fame is known to everyone.”
Lord Shangshan sat down in front of Hoshiguma, and under her fixed gaze, took a stack of karuta cards from the side.
He curved his lips slightly, revealing a faint smile,
“Shall we not play cards? Let’s start our match right away.”
“You’re right, play cards, play cards.”
Hoshiguma nodded vigorously twice, but just as the karuta cards were about to run out, she grabbed Lord Shangshan’s slender wrist.
This grab was like the closure of the entire heaven and earth, instantly depriving Lord Shangshan’s wrist of any room to move.
Lord Shangshan looked up, deliberately restraining his smile: “Your Excellency Hoshiguma, this is…”
Hoshiguma unusually set her wine aside and grinned at him,
“Six-Tailed Fox, how about we bet something?”
—The main event is here!
Lord Shangshan perked up and, after pretending to hesitate for a while, nodded: “Sure.”
He said, “I’m quite confident in my karuta skills; don’t end up suffering a crushing defeat, Your Excellency Hoshiguma.”
Hoshiguma let go and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Forget surpassing her; it had been too long since she last met an opponent who could match her in karuta cards.
She came to the Hanafuda Market precisely to see if there was anyone in this Number One Karuta Tournament Under Heaven who could rival her.
—Or could it be that this Six-Tailed Fox, who seemed perfect in every way, was the one to reach the finals?
Didn’t seem likely.
Once the last karuta card was placed before them, Hoshiguma pointed at Lord Shangshan and spoke bluntly,
“Six-Tailed Fox, I want you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb; the literal meaning.”
Hoshiguma licked her dry lips and narrowed her eyes: “It’s been a long time since I last saw a man with your vibe… If you lose, spend the night with me.”
—Not only was his little face so enticing, but the body under that red-and-white kimono was filled with explosive power, surging with extraordinarily vigorous vitality.
It even surpassed the burly Oni Generals under her command!
Supreme quality.
So Hoshiguma, on a whim, proposed this bet to claim this Six-Tailed Fox beauty while winning the card game.
Lord Shangshan opened his mouth.
He had anticipated that his “beauty” could unlock hidden plot.
But he truly hadn’t expected the effect of his enhanced charm—this face— to be so direct and smooth.
“Then if I win…”
“Name any condition!” Hoshiguma waved grandly, “Anything I have or can do, it’s yours!”
“Good!”
Lord Shangshan clapped his hands: “As expected of Your Excellency Hoshiguma, so magnanimous!”
“No time to waste; let’s start this simple karuta game.”
The gaze Hoshiguma cast was scorching and blatant, as if she wanted to devour him alive.
“Yes, let’s start.”
Lord Shangshan nodded, unable to hide his pleased smile of a plan succeeding.
Within the red-and-white kimono lining, that blank karuta card was glowing faintly.
【Karuta’s Only Solution】
【Effect: When used, guarantees victory in karuta battles.】
