Daily life at Kiyomori Temple (II)

The sun gradually sank, its heat no longer scorching.

The shrine maidens headed outside in twos and threes. Some were going to practice archery, while others were preparing to go gathering.

At the temple, two or three girls could usually prepare breakfast, taking turns with the others. After the meal, everyone cleaned up together, washing their own bowls and chopsticks and putting them away. Then they went to listen to their master's morning lecture. A dozen or so girls sat in one room as he slowly explained scriptures and classical stories. At noon, when the sunlight was strongest, the shrine maidens rested or did some sewing and other work. In the afternoon, when the sun was less fierce, the girls either went out to gather medicinal herbs and other things or practiced at the archery range. By the time those who had gone out returned, the girls who stayed at the temple had lunch ready.

Han slung her bow and arrows over her back and headed out, laughing and chatting with the other girls. Although they were only going gathering and knew the surrounding area fairly well, they still brought the weapons they needed to defend themselves.

"Han, we're going a little farther today," little Yuriko said as she walked beside her. "Will you be scared?"

"No." The girl smiled and shook her head. "Not when I'm with everyone."

"Good. The mountain over there is beautiful. It's the flowering season now, and the whole mountain is covered in bright flowers, like an ocean. We can also find some rare, valuable herbs." Yuriko happily described the scenery on the mountain she had visited before.

Yesterday, some Yokai Exterminators they were on friendly terms with had come to visit, bringing several very useful weapons. Zhiyá had given them medicines made from secret recipes in return. As a result, the temple's medicine stocks were now running rather low. If someone came seeking treatment, they might not be able to help in time. That was why the shrine maidens had made a special trip to this more distant mountain today.

Although the Yokai Exterminators fought demons directly all the time and had extensive experience treating wounds, with their own distinctive and effective remedies, their understanding of medicine beyond that was very limited. Their master, however, was not only powerful but also an outstanding physician. In the Many Treasures Pagoda, one could even find extremely precious texts on medicinal herbs from Tang Country in his collection, as well as Master Jian's Secret Prescriptions, written by Master Jianzhen of Tang Country. It had circulated only among physician monks, and most of its contents had since been lost elsewhere. Thus, the medicines their master gave were extremely precious to the Yokai Exterminators, and Kiyomori Temple had maintained friendly relations with their village for many years.

Once they reached the foot of the mountain, the young shrine maidens began searching carefully for medicinal plants. They identified the herbs they needed by their growing conditions, the shapes of their leaves or flowers, and sometimes even their distinctive scents. Han stayed with Yuriko, the two looking out for each other in case anything happened. Although villagers sometimes came hunting in the mountains, that did not mean there were no wild boars, or even other dangerous beasts. Everyone therefore took care not to venture too deep. Of course, some of the established paths were relatively safe.

"Han, Han, come here a moment!" Yuriko suddenly called out delightedly from nearby. "Is this bletilla?"

"All right, coming." Han picked the purple pearl grass leaves beside her and hurried back to Yuriko.

Although bletilla was not an especially precious medicinal herb, it was still hard to come by. Once its bulbs were dried, they could be used to stop bleeding quickly. Han had only gone gathering a few times, but her excellent memory and innate familiarity with plants made her very good at identifying medicinal herbs. The other shrine maidens had more experience, but much of their knowledge was limited to their master's descriptions or what they had read in books. They often needed much more time to become familiar with the plants.

Han carefully examined the plant Yuriko was pointing at. Bletilla flowered in spring and rarely bloomed in summer, making it difficult to identify during the summer months, but Han still confirmed that this was indeed bletilla. When Han nodded, Yuriko cheered and carefully picked it. War had made Yuriko an orphan. Her father had died on the battlefield, and her mother had fallen ill and never recovered, leaving her all alone. That was why Yuriko had always taken a special interest in medicine. She hoped to heal people and save lives, so that no one else would die for lack of timely treatment.

After a while, Han and Yuriko judged from the sky that it was about time to return. With the little herb baskets on their backs half full, they went to the agreed meeting place. The other girls arrived one after another, happily sharing what they had gathered and learned that day. They chatted all the way home.

"Hey, you shrine maidens!" A large group of riders suddenly appeared ahead. Though casually dressed, they all carried weapons-quite unlike the bows and arrows the shrine maidens used for protection. These were blades meant for killing, and many were clearly standard weapons used by samurai and soldiers.

Most of them rode alone, but one horse carried two people. The man behind leaned weakly against the rider in front, his face shockingly pale. The man who called out seemed to be the leader's deputy. His hair was cropped extremely short, his face looked vicious, and his shoulders and arms were bare. With his dark skin, he looked more like a bandit than a samurai.

"Do you know of a physician around here who can treat people?!" The man glanced back at someone behind him, then turned around again and asked as if seeking confirmation, "At a place called Kiyomori Temple?"

"Who are you?" Ran, the oldest, stood at the front and looked directly at the increasingly menacing man.

"Why ask so many questions? Just tell us whether you know!" The man grew more impatient. "Judging by your clothes, you're shrine maidens, aren't you? I heard that physician is a priest too, and that there are lots of shrine maidens at his temple. Must be you, then. Ha!" Something seemed to occur to him, and he laughed scornfully. "Since you're with that priest, you must know how to treat people too."

"What do you want?" Ran did not deny it. She merely raised a hand to stop the girls behind her from acting and asked with a frown.

"One of our brothers got hurt. We'd like your master to take a look at him." The man finally gave the girls before him a proper once-over. Even the oldest was only thirteen or fourteen, though she already showed some of a young woman's alluring beauty.

"Then come with us." Ran breathed a sigh of relief. They were only seeking treatment. Thank goodness. These men were clearly no decent sort, and with their vicious appearance, they were probably bandits roaming about causing trouble. Although their deaths would be no loss, they could not be turned away when they came seeking treatment. Besides, everyone nearby knew where Kiyomori Temple was; it had not been concealed with any special spells. Most importantly, the girls had faith in their master.

"You're not planning to ambush us, are you?" Before the man could reply, another man beside him spoke. At his words, those who had been whispering among themselves suddenly fell silent, making his standing among them clear.

On closer inspection, he did not look nearly as vicious as the first man who had spoken. He could even be called handsome. His skin was pale, and his jet-black hair curled like seaweed. He was not bulky, but he looked lean and formidable. Had he not been among these men, it would have been hard to imagine him as a bandit like those behind him. Some might even have believed he was a young nobleman.

"As shrine maidens, we would never do anything so despicable!" Ran struggled to suppress her anger. The girls behind her were younger still, and as the oldest, she had to protect them.

"Really?" The man's lips twitched, his face expressionless. "That girl behind you seems to disagree." He was quite familiar with that sort of hateful gaze. As he spoke, he drew the sword at his waist and pointed it straight at Ran and the girls behind her.

A clang rang out, the sound of an arrow striking a blade all the sharper in the silence. Ran turned and saw that Han still held her bow, another arrow already nocked. The arrow just fired had come from that very bow. She had only recently begun learning archery, yet her accuracy was astonishing.

"Looks like someone's got a problem with us!" said the vicious man who had spoken first. At the same time, he and everyone behind him drew the swords at their waists.

"Han, stand down!" Ran snapped. They were no match for these desperate outlaws. There was no need to provoke an unnecessary conflict.

"But..." Han swallowed the rest of her words and silently lowered her bow.

Daisy, beside her, gave her a faint, grateful smile, though her face remained pale. Ever since these men appeared, Daisy had not seemed herself, and now she was trembling all over. Han felt the malicious gaze of the man above them but ignored it, merely taking firm hold of Daisy's cold, sweaty hand. Daisy paused, then gripped her hand in return with startling strength. Han was slightly taken aback. Daisy seemed to realize it too and loosened her grip a little.

"We have no problem with you. We treat the sick and save lives, nothing more," Ran said calmly. "If you want treatment, follow us." With that, she turned and led the way, and the young shrine maidens followed in silence.

After a long pause, the riders silently followed them as well. No one spoke along the way.

After a long while, they finally reached the entrance to Kiyomori Temple. The shrine maidens at last breathed a sigh of relief, and Ran relaxed as well.

"This is the place. Dismount and bring the injured man inside. Everyone else can wait outside." Back at the familiar shrine and torii gate, Ran felt more confident and was calmer now.

"Oh? You expect us to wait out here? We wouldn't feel safe doing that, would we, brothers?" The vicious man who had spoken first smiled with ill intent, and a chorus of agreement rose behind him.

"What is there to feel unsafe about? I'd like to hear it." A steady male voice joined the conversation. As the shrine gates slowly opened, their master's figure came into view. Merely standing there, he cowed everyone present. This was a side of her master Han had never seen before, as though everything lay in the palm of his hand, yet nothing was worthy of his notice. Only much later would Han learn that this was the gaze of someone accustomed to authority.

The vicious man seemed intimidated as well and could only falter without saying anything.

"We merely wish to stay with our injured brother. We mean no disrespect," said the man who seemed to be their leader. Paired with his refined, handsome features, his words seemed especially persuasive-provided one ignored the hand that never relaxed its grip on his sword hilt.

"Then leave all your horses and weapons outside. Kiyomori Temple is not a place where people like you can wander in carrying deadly weapons." Zhiyá had no intention of arguing with them. He merely gestured for the girls to enter, then ignored the men.

Faced with the priest who looked very unwise to provoke, the bandits exchanged glances. Finally, at their leader's signal, they obediently left their swords on their horses. After leaving a few men to watch the animals, they followed the others into Kiyomori Temple one by one.

Along the way, they inwardly marveled at the shrine's tasteful, immaculate furnishings. Several exchanged greedy looks without a word.

Once the men had settled their injured companion, their master began treating him.

The man was gravely wounded. A sword wound ran across his entire back, from his left shoulder to his right waist, leaving scarcely any skin intact. The whole wound gaped open and was still bleeding. Judging by its condition, it had been treated before, and the bleeding had even been stopped. But it had reopened, and without proper rest, it would begin to fester if left untreated any longer.

Seeing that the skin around the wound had already begun to darken slightly, Zhiyá first used silver needles around it to stop the bleeding. The blood quickly ceased flowing, and he sprinkled medicinal powder over the wound. The injured man's tightly furrowed brow immediately relaxed. Seeing how effective Zhiyá's powder was, the bandits' eyes shifted as they considered stealing some to take back.

"All right, you can leave now." Zhiyá clapped his hands, dusting off the remaining medicinal powder. "Remember to take him with you."

"Lord Priest, abandoning a patient like this hardly seems compassionate," said the man who appeared to be their leader.

"Our shrine does not shelter bandits." Without looking at them at all, Zhiyá put away the silver needles and medicines he had just used.

"What...!" One bandit tried to charge forward to teach this ungrateful priest a lesson, but their leader stopped him with a wave.

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Priest." The leader wore a smile that looked particularly sincere. The shrine maidens who had witnessed his other side outside could not help curling their lips in disdain.

"Your clothes and your conduct both make it clear that you're bandits, don't they?" The priest finished putting his things away. "Besides, isn't the Spider Tattoo on that man's back the mark of the bandit gang that's been running rampant lately? Well, bandit chief? Or should I call you Onigumo?" The priest finally looked directly at the man.

"And knowing that, you still expect us to simply leave?" The smile had completely vanished from the leader's-no, Onigumo's-face. "Don't you know bandits always take something valuable when they go?" His wicked gaze slid over the shrine maidens behind the priest before continuing to survey the room's furnishings.

"Heh." Their master gave a cold laugh, and several figures dressed as military commanders appeared beside him.

Shikigami. Onigumo was startled. Although he was neither a priest nor an onmyoji, even he could tell that these shikigami were not weak. In fact, they were far stronger than the rabble behind him. Still, he had no desire to retreat in such humiliation.

"Leave at once. I treated you only because I do not turn patients away. That does not mean just anyone may stay at our shrine. At the very least... certainly not bandits!" Zhiyá delivered his final word.

The bandits looked at the implacable priest and the powerful shikigami beside him, gritting their teeth. But when they saw their leader's expressionless face, their hearts lurched.

"We're leaving!" Onigumo suddenly said. "Next time, who knows whose temple this will be?" Two bandits lifted the injured man and stepped back behind him.

"In that case," a girl's clear voice rang out. The shrine maidens turned to see Tsubaki, who normally scarcely ever left her room-and whose domain was curses. "The next time you face danger, you will no longer escape unscathed. Instead, you will die without even a place to be buried."

"Oh? Is that a curse?" Onigumo narrowed his eyes. "Those things are precisely what I believe in least."

"Then we'll see when the time comes." Tsubaki argued no further. She merely drew her lips into a cold smile, just like Zhiyá's.

"Chief..." The bandits behind Onigumo grew uneasy. People in those days still feared curses, especially when this girl, young as she was, seemed so utterly composed, as though her words were certain to come true.

"Move!" Onigumo said no more and led the way out. The bandits followed close behind, though their restless eyes kept darting over the beautiful girls and the elegant courtyard.

Han felt the girl beside her finally relax her rigid body, but the darkness in her eyes remained. She was still the same shy, adorable little Daisy, yet she felt entirely different.

"Everyone, go and eat," their master instructed. "Daisy, stay behind."

The young shrine maidens were all a little surprised, but they obediently left.

"Han, aren't you coming?" Seeing Han remain where she stood, Yuriko asked with concern.

"It's all right. Let's go." Han shook her head, took Yuriko's hand, and left with her. If it was their master, surely he could untangle the knot in little Daisy's heart. She hoped little Daisy would be happy again.