Compared to the libraries of the various noble houses in Heian-kyō, the Seiwa Genji library was far more specialized—as the front line in the conflict between Mount Ōe and Heian-kyō, information on the enemy was indispensable.
The Seiwa Genji collection consisted entirely of illustrated records on all manner of yōkai and the Oni Host, meant to identify an enemy's origins at once when the unexpected arose and provide a solution.
"Starting today, you'll study here at night as well." Hebe fetched an oil lamp and blew into its empty bowl. Light emerged from within.
Blue-green foxfire burned quietly in the lamp. Holding it, Hebe cast the shadows of three tails upon the walls of the library.
Yes, three tails.
When Hebe found Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the phantom of her third tail had already appeared. As their teacher-student relationship was established, that third tail fully took shape.
This tail's ability was to exchange the fate of a designated target for a time. Misfortune could become good fortune, and good fortune could become misfortune.
Just like a lotus bearing new life.
Thinking about it now, Hebe had indeed changed the fates of many people, and the abilities awakened by fox tails were intimately connected to their surroundings.
Thus, when she came to Minamoto no Yorimitsu's side, it was only natural that she would awaken such an ability.
Thud.
Hebe set the lamp on the table, then transformed into a fox. With three fluffy golden tails swishing behind her, she curled up amid the books.
A volume lay open before Minamoto no Yorimitsu, but her gaze kept drifting toward the tails behind Hebe.
I want to cut off Teacher's fox tails and hide them. Then Teacher, without her tails, won't be able to leave me... just like a celestial maiden who loses her heavenly robe and can only marry a fisherman as his wife.
In her daze, horns sprouted grotesquely from the shadow behind her. Two points of light, bright as thunder, lit up within its pitch-black face.
Hebe turned the sutra scroll before her as if absentmindedly, while the reflection of her fox tails behind her grew ever larger.
The lamplight burned quietly.
The shadows of the fox tails and the bull demon chased and tore at each other amid the scrolls. They crossed every carved stroke on the bamboo slips, dyeing their faded bodies black again in the dried ink. They hunted one another through the gaps cast by the walls and shelves, fighting over every inch of space resting beneath the lamplight. They tangled endlessly within every speck of dust floating in the air, until the dust fell into the light emitted by the lamp and turned into glimmering points of radiance.
On the floor, their shadows stretched longer and longer.
The fox tails seized the bull demon's body and pulled hard in three directions.
Gozu Tennō, her eyes brimming with lightning, stared fixedly at Hebe. She struggled, but could not escape the fox tails' restraint.
Puff.
The flame swayed in silence.
The shadows filling the entire library suddenly vanished.
Minamoto no Yorimitsu shuddered and saw that the fox demon was still curled amid the scrolls, her three enormous tails lightly thumping against the floor.
The scroll before her remained open to its first page.
Deep within her consciousness, Ushi Gozen's roar had faded to an almost imperceptible murmur.
The two of their silhouettes merged together upon the paper sliding door, tenderly intertwined.
No further anomaly appeared until deep into the night.
When daylight came, Minamoto no Yorimitsu realized that she had not slept all night, yet still felt vigorous and full of energy.
"That's normal." Hebe tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Prepare yourself, Yorimitsu. This process may last a long time."
When sunlight streamed in, the fox demon blew at the oil lamp, and the blue-green foxfire went out in an instant.
"Teacher, how long will this process last?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu asked.
Within the light, the fox demon transformed back into human form, a malicious curve rising on her lips.
"Don't even think about sleeping until you come of age."
Yet, to Hebe's surprise, Minamoto no Yorimitsu did not look shocked. Instead, she returned a faint smile.
If that's the case, then that isn't bad at all, Minamoto no Yorimitsu thought. After all, it means I get to spend even more time with Teacher.
Finding it suddenly boring, Hebe flicked her tails and walked out of the library.
She intended to have Minamoto no Yorimitsu gradually begin dealing with yōkai and the Oni Host.
How could a famed blade be sharpened without blood? Before beginning large-scale slaughter, she first had to let her grow accustomed to blood.
No, perhaps for Ushi Gozen, blood and death are precisely the sacrifices that hasten her awakening, Hebe thought blandly, her hands tucked into her sleeves.
She was about to personally push Minamoto no Yorimitsu onto the battlefield decreed by fate.
At the end of that road, Minamoto no Yorimitsu would inevitably merge with Ushi Gozen as one... in other words, Minamoto no Yorimitsu's best ending would be to die in battle before being assimilated by Ushi Gozen.
Hebe glanced at the fox tails behind her.
From that perspective, her third tail had arrived at just the right time.
Respectfully Accepting
There were still more than two months until Minamoto no Yorimitsu's coming-of-age ceremony, but she had already personally slain more than a dozen "beasts."
To avoid causing large-scale unrest, Minamoto no Yorimitsu only began her slaughter after nightfall each time.
Hebe always followed behind her. On one hand, she was there to back Minamoto no Yorimitsu up; on the other, she cleaned up after her.
Under Ushi Gozen's influence, Minamoto no Yorimitsu's fighting style was exceptionally violent. Once she entered the zone, she would unleash furious lightning and storms without regard for her own safety, plowing across the entire battlefield like a passing natural disaster.
Fortunately, following Hebe's teachings, she first lured her targets into deserted wilderness before beginning the extermination.
Otherwise, it would have been hard to say whether the yōkai and oni caused greater harm, or Minamoto no Yorimitsu's destructive power did.
Only after Minamoto no Yorimitsu finished her extermination and left would Hebe enter the battlefield to arrange a ritual that cleansed the lingering effects.
Calling it a ritual was generous. In truth, she merely changed into tabi socks and stamped on the ground a few times.
If the onmyōji of Heian-kyō had been called in, they likely would have needed several days to completely purge the residual effects.
And at Minamoto no Yorimitsu's rate of extermination, the onmyōji of this era simply could not bear the burden.
Besides, the Heian nobles would never have permitted it—if the onmyōji and Buddhist priests all went to serve as Minamoto no Yorimitsu's assistants, who would protect us noble aristocrats?
At the end of the day, under the protection of onmyōji and Buddhist priests, as long as the Heian nobles did not court death themselves, the chances of being targeted by yōkai and oni were truly low.
In the statistics of the Bureau of Onmyō, only nobles and warrior houses counted as casualties... as for dead or injured commoners? They did not count as numbers at all.
"Whew, when that Gozu Tennō swept across the battlefield, I nearly got caught up in it too."
Following behind Hebe, Tanutarō spoke with lingering fear.
Hebe had thought this tanuki yōkai had run far away, yet half a year ago he suddenly came knocking, saying something about how "a promise must be kept."
Not using free labor would have been an unforgivable waste. Besides, though Tanutarō was utterly hopeless in direct combat, his tanuki illusions made him more than capable of serving as a scout and eyes.
During this time, Hebe selected targets suitable for Minamoto no Yorimitsu to practice on according to the Seiwa Genji records. At the same time, she dispatched Tanutarō to gather intelligence beforehand and confirm where the targets appeared. Finally, Minamoto no Yorimitsu struck with full force.
Very few yōkai could endure that entire sequence and continue clinging to life. If one truly could, the fox demon waiting on standby would make it regret not dying earlier.
"Lady Tamamo..." Tanutarō hesitated.
"What?" Hebe picked up a bloodstained shell from the ground and tucked it into her sleeve.
"That Gozu Tennō goes somewhere alone after every extermination and waits there until dawn... Do you want to go see her?"
Hebe thought for a moment. "No."
Whether Minamoto no Yorimitsu or Ushi Gozen, they truly needed a space to be alone.
To them, nothing in this world was more intimate than each other.
Besides, Hebe truly had matters of her own to attend to.
Under the night sky, fine rain fell as Heian-kyō slept in silence.
Wearing wooden clogs and holding an umbrella, Hebe passed through the vermilion Rashōmon.
The rain gradually intensified, yet curling white mist rose from the ground, entwining like dragons and serpents.
The air over Suzaku Avenue twisted faintly, as though something was on the verge of erupting.
Hebe frowned slightly and swept her gaze over the majestic firebird at the end of Suzaku Avenue.
"Quiet."
The spirited firebird's gaze gradually dimmed, and the feathers burning across its body like flames darkened as well, no longer radiant or scorching.
This firebird was the embodiment of Heian-kyō's barrier. It instinctively repelled all non-human races attempting to enter Heian-kyō.
Normally, the firebird would not notice Hebe entering Heian-kyō. But today, she carried many yōkai remains left behind after Minamoto no Yorimitsu's exterminations, so the firebird reacted.
Amid the misty rain, the fox demon knocked on a household's door.
"Who is it?" an old man's hoarse voice came from behind the door.
"I sent a tanuki yōkai with a calling card the night before last, arranging to visit tonight," Hebe replied.
The door opened, and an old man with bright, piercing eyes stood in the small courtyard.
"Lady Tamamo, come in, please come in—You brought the items, yes?"
"Of course." Hebe smiled. "Master Yasutsuna, it wasn't easy to bring them here."
The old man before her was Yasutsuna, the swordsmith who historically lived in Hōki Province, yet he was now here in Heian-kyō.
His purpose was to gather the essence of yōkai and oni in order to forge an unparalleled famed blade.
Ever since receiving the message brought by Tanutarō, Yasutsuna had been eagerly awaiting her arrival.
"Heh, heh." The old man rubbed his hands together. "This old man's skill is merely passable. The cursed objects Lady Tamamo brought are the true priority."
Looking at the remains left behind by those yōkai, joy overflowed from his face. Saliva even threatened to drip from his mouth.
"Bliss..."
Yasutsuna stared at those cursed objects for a long while before reluctantly withdrawing his gaze. "Lady Tamamo, the cursed objects you brought are simply too perfect. But in that case, the ores this old man has stored up seem somewhat unworthy of them..."
This was an extremely awkward situation. Yasutsuna had originally assumed that the yōkai materials Hebe brought would be ordinary, something his lifetime collection of minerals could surely handle.
But the yōkai materials Hebe brought were not only abundant in quantity, but also of superior quality, even carrying vigorous vitality.
Yasutsuna could vaguely hear wails entwined around the shells and segmented limbs, the resentment of yōkai unwilling to die.
Hebe pondered slightly. "Must it be ore?"
"No, ore is not absolutely necessary." Yasutsuna shook his head. "If there are swords or blades of sufficiently high quality, this old man can melt them down and forge them anew, turning them into a blade billet."
As soon as he finished speaking, a redwood scabbard inlaid with gold appeared before Yasutsuna. It felt extremely heavy in the hand, and a soft sound of metal striking metal came from within when it was gently shaken.
"This was the beloved sword of the Great Tengu of Mount Kurama. After I fought her, I won this sword fairly and squarely." Hebe's tone was even. "Unfortunately, the blade has already been destroyed. Please take a look and see whether it can still be used."
Yasutsuna's arms trembled, and for a moment, he was speechless.
Assuming Yasutsuna was dissatisfied, Hebe shook her sleeve again, and a pile of golden bones fell from it.
"This was the blade carried by Ibaraki-dōji, oni king of Mount Ōe. I passed through Mount Ōe and fought her." Hebe pointed at the pile of bones. "This blade was forged from evil oni bones and was destroyed by me in battle... Well, since it's made of bone, it probably cannot meet your requirements."
Hebe then drew a long sword gleaming with cold light from her side. A faint, sweet aroma of wine flowed along its edge.
Its one flaw was a conspicuous dent in the blade, seemingly a scar left by someone's punch.
The long sword was somewhat bent, but at least it was still intact.
"This is the sword of Shuten-dōji, oni king of Mount Ōe. I acquired this one as well. What do you think..."
"Enough, enough, enough!" Yasutsuna wept with joy. "Gods and Buddhas of the heavens—Today, this old man shall forge a supreme cursed object!"
He looked at Hebe and solemnly said, "Please observe this old man's sword forging. I stake my life that I will not disappoint Lady Tamamo!"
Hebe nodded. "Then I shall respectfully accept."
Ama-no-Sakahoko
Yasutsuna began forging the sword.
Plain forging, fire forging... Before the furnace, sweat began streaming down Yasutsuna's face. He chanted incantations from Cathay with total concentration, and as he prayed, the furnace flames grew ever hotter.
"Suiren Emperor, grant me bones tempered a hundred times, and turn this ruined body into a new furnace..."
Hebe listened carefully and knew this was a prayer Pointed To the Suiren Emperor Great Dao Lord, or the Supreme Suiren Emperor, True Illumination, Crimson Achievement Celestial Venerable.
The so-called "Suiren Emperor" was precisely the honorific title of September Archon · Skyflint within Cathay's cultural sphere.
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