Two cities.
Luo Shu glanced at the two tickets in his hand, each worth 600 yen, then looked up at the moat in front of him.
Across the moat is Nijo Castle, which was first built by Oda Nobunaga, burned down, and rebuilt by the Tokugawa Shogunate.
In the past, this was the residence of the Shogun and the center of power for the entire island nation.
After the Tokugawa shogunate returned power to the emperor, it gradually fell into disuse, and in modern times it has become a famous tourist attraction.
This is something that is well-known in the human world, but on the mysterious side, Nijo Castle also represents the 'City of Night', symbolizing the shadow of politics. It was the former residence of Yuyuko and the place where it was sealed.
In this world, the operator of Nijo Castle is simply the Hanakaiin family, a family of Onmyoji who have guarded the seal of the Feathered Fox for generations.
"What are you thinking about?"
An elegant female voice sounded softly in my ears~.
Hearing the voice, Luo Shu turned his head slightly and immediately saw the charming figure of Tokisaki Kurumi, wearing a red kimono with forget-me-not patterns and holding a marshmallow.
"Want a bite?"
Looking at the marshmallows that were sent to him, Luo Shu took a bite and then explained:
"I was just thinking about Nijo Castle."
"Hmm~"
Tokisaki Kurumi moved the marshmallow back in front of her, lifted her hair, took a bite, chewed and swallowed it, then smiled and retracted her gaze towards Nijo Castle:
"Is it about Yuyuko?"
"For a fox that can draw strength from the dark politics and human hearts, the best place to give birth to a nue is the representative of the Magic Capital, 'Nijo Castle', right?"
Luo Shu nodded upon hearing this: "Actually, the Prime Minister's residence should be more suitable, but the dark side of modern politics is indeed not as good as what Nijo Castle has accumulated over the years."
"Besides, we can't allow Yuyuko to occupy the Prime Minister's residence for a long time."
The darkness of politics lies in the fact that the interests of a small group of people are higher than those of the masses, which causes impacts on a large area and affects countless people.
And Yuyuko can see through the "shadow of politics" and draw strength from the countless suffering people.
This characteristic is the reason why Abe Haruaki had to let Nue be born by Feathered Fox.
He wanted to establish a mystical connection with the darkness of politics through Yuyuko.
"His goal is probably job rank..." Luo Shu muttered to himself.
Just like how Toga King went deep into the underworld many times, and even wanted to be buried in the underworld of the Abyss Warring States after his death, just to gain contact with the underworld and create his own rank.
Luo Shu now also suspects that the reason why Abe Haruaki, also known as Nue, had to remotely control Yuyuko to give birth to him was to create his own class.
Contacting the power of concepts and creating one's own class is a necessary condition for advancement to demigod.
Because to some extent, class is equivalent to the simplification of God's power, and is a fragment among the fragments of power.
When thinking about Abe Haruaki's purpose, Luo Shu suddenly paused and smiled apologetically at Tokisaki Kurumi beside him:
"Sorry, I got distracted again."
"It doesn't matter." Tokisaki Kurumi looked at Luo Shu with a smile: "Or rather, the Shu who wants to enter the realm of God is unexpectedly charming."
When Luo Shu heard Tokisaki Kurumi say this, although she didn't say it explicitly, he felt relieved.
Is there anything more comforting than receiving compliments from a beautiful woman?
If there is, then this beauty is probably Tokisaki Kurumi.
At this time, Luo Shu suggested: "How about going to the Sakura Garden? It is said to have the most beautiful cherry blossoms in the world. It is a good place to visit."
Hearing this, Tokisaki Kurumi smiled and said, "Why don't we go to the Honmaru Palace to check it out first?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu said awkwardly: "It's rare that you come out to play dressed like this, how can I take you to work first?"
"Eh...Shu-kun actually cares about my feelings?" Tokisaki Kurumi showed a surprised expression: "You were bullying Suzuka-chan in front of me yesterday."
"Cough cough cough cough!!"
Luo Shu coughed several times, looking at Tokisaki Kurumi with an expression that seemed to be hesitant to speak, and finally surrendered helplessly:
"Okay, I admit I went too far yesterday."
"Well, I wonder if Miss Tokisaki is willing to give me a chance to redeem myself? Let me go with you to visit the Sakura Garden?"
Hearing this, Tokisaki Kurumi took a bite of the marshmallow, then smiled and stretched out her right hand towards Luo Shu.
Seeing this, Luo Shu immediately reached out and held Tokisaki Kurumi's hand.
The girl's hands were very soft and cold, which made Luo Shu want to hold them for a little longer to warm them up.
However, Luo Shu quickly controlled this emotion. He just held Tokisaki Kurumi's hand, and after taking a look at the ticket shop of Nijo Castle, he led the girl across the bridge and entered Nijo Castle.
Wait until Luo Shu leaves.
Inside the ticket office.
The girl, with short hair and brown eyes, was very young, probably no more than 10 years old. She stared blankly at Luo Shu's back, seeming to be distracted.
Seeing her like this, Hanakaiin Masaji, who came to the ticket booth temporarily to act as a ticket seller, pushed his glasses and asked in confusion:
"Yuro, what are you looking at?"
Hearing this, Hanakaiin Yuura explained in a childish voice:
"Just now, someone who looked familiar seemed to have entered Nijo Castle."
"Look familiar?" Hanakaiin Masaji looked at Yuura in surprise: "Is she your elementary school classmate?"
"Oops, if I had known it was your classmate, I wouldn't have charged you for the ticket."
Thinking of this, Hanakaiin Masaji felt a little regretful. If just the ticket money could give Hanakaiin Yuura, who had been practicing Yin-Yang magic since childhood and had few friends and became so withdrawn, a few more friends of the same age, then he and even the master would be very happy.
. ..... .......
After all, this child is only 8 years old, but he can use the strongest Shikigami of the Hanakaiin family and has been identified as the genius who will be the next head of the family.
Ensuring the healthy growth of this genius can be said to be one of the top priorities of the Huakaiyuan family.
"Not a classmate." Hanakaiin Yuura shook her head and then recalled.
She had a good memory and immediately remembered the other person's identity:
"It's the head of the family. The person in the photo of an important person he showed me recently seems to be the new director of SDS..."
"The new head of SDS?"
Upon hearing this, Hanakaiin Masaji's face changed. He was suddenly called back from the University of Tokyo where he was studying and ran to Nijo Castle run by the main family to work as a ticket seller. Wasn't he under the order of the head of the Hanakaiin family to investigate suspicious people who had recently entered Nijo Castle and prevent the return of the feathered fox that had recently leaked the news?
Although the Minister of SDS cannot be said to be a suspicious candidate, the sudden and secret visit of such a big shot to Nijo Castle is a bad sign no matter how you look at it.
When SDS personnel are dispatched, it is never a small matter, not to mention that this time it is the minister who is dispatched directly... Especially now, the news that Yuyuko has been resurrected has already been heard from the intelligence house in Tokyo.
Thinking of this, Hanakaiin Masaji didn't care about anything else and hurriedly activated the family's communication Shikigami.
He needed the elders of the Hanakaiin family to provide tactical guidance.
Chapter 379: The Noise at Huakaiyuan's House
Hanakaiin main family, Katsura Imperial Palace.
It was once the Emperor's villa, but was given to the Hanakaiin family, who have been protecting the Emperor for generations. In modern times, it has become a tourist attraction requiring reservations and is operated by the Hanakaiin family.
However, at this moment, the Katsura Imperial Villa, which was supposed to be open to the public, is under blockade.
The current head of the Hanakaiin family, the contemporary 'Hakaiin Hidemoto', and the heads of the various branches of the family were sitting in a huge Japanese-style room, exchanging information in a heavy atmosphere.
"The Tokyo intelligence agency has received news that Yuyuko has already set off for Kyoto."
"The big monsters in Kyoto are also getting restless. There have been a lot of monster spirits around the eight seals that seal Nijo Castle in the past few days. They don't want to endure it any longer!!"
"What do the Nura clan say? Although I don't like those freeloaders, they were allies against the Yuyuko four hundred years ago. What are they doing?"
"The second generation leader of the Nura Clan, Mr. Koiban, sent a letter saying that he will lead his hundreds of demons to arrive in Kyoto in the near future."
"What does the Onmyoji say?"
"The Onmyoji's attitude is very vague. It seems that the Onmyoji's chief chose to retreat in order to study what the General Suzaku would bring back from the abyss. They only said that they would discuss it after the chief came out of retreat."
"Rely on the Onmyoji? You must be kidding. Don't forget, he is the fifth generation Abe. Even if he changes his name to Tsuchimikado, it can't change the fox demon blood in him!!"
"What do the other gods say?"
"The attitude of the God General is also very vague. It seems that he chose to stand by and watch because the warriors have already intervened."
"Damn it, the warriors intervened because those guys from the Onmyoji didn't take good care of the monsters and let them attack the noble lady? At this time, are you still thinking about the grudges with the warriors?"
"I've said it before, the Onmyoji is not reliable. Don't forget that the current Onmyoji leaders are almost all members of the Tsuchimikado family. It's better to rely on the Nura Clan than on them. At least those freeloaders are willing to join forces."
"Then how about trying to contact the warriors?"
The words of one family head caused all the family heads present to fall into silence.
At this moment, the contemporary Hanakaiin Hidemoto sighed softly:
"Let's forget about contacting the warriors."
"The Hanakaiin family is a line of Shintoism founded by the Emperor. They have long been rooted in Shintoism. If they associate with those extreme militant warriors, they will only dig their own graves."
After hearing what the head of the family Xiu Yuan said, the other family heads also relaxed:
"Compared to the warriors, even the Tsuchimikado family is much more pleasing to the eye."
"It's fine, but because of Tsuchimikado's ambiguous attitude towards Abe Haruaki, we are in big trouble."
The heads of Huakaiyuan’s families were also depressed.
If the one who was resurrected was another Onmyoji, even if it was the ancestor of Onmyoji like Ichikoku, then they would deal with it in the same way they should, whether it was suppression, control, or processing, there was a set of procedures.
But it just so happened that the one who was resurrected was the old guy Abe Haruaki.
This is awkward.
Whether it is the remaining Abe family, the Tsuchimikado family that currently controls the Onmyoji Ryo, or the Gomon family that has been hiding in the dark and has only recently begun to emerge, all of them are high-ranking Shinto families.
The common ancestor of these families is Abe Haruaki.
It is for this reason that the influence of Abe Haruaki alone can even represent the entire Onmyoji.
Before these families made public statements, everyone in the Onmyoji pretended to turn a blind eye to Abe Haruaki's resurrection. As long as the matter didn't get out of hand, basically no one would deal with it.
This put an end to the Hanakaiin family, who had cooperated with the Nura group and annihilated the Feathered Fox once.
Don't take action. After Abe Haruaki is resurrected in the body of Nue, the probability of settling new and old grudges together is too high.
Let's take action. It's okay to fight against the Hagoromo-gumi with the strength of only one family, but if Gomonoin or even Tsuchimikado secretly helps, the Hanakaiin family may have to face most of the Onmyoji.
This is almost a crisis of extinction for the Hanakaiin family, which is sparsely populated due to the curse of the Feathered Fox.
Under such circumstances, the Huakaiyuan family was indeed in a very embarrassing situation.
In the heavy atmosphere, a young branch family head finally couldn't help but ask:
"The Onmyoji acknowledged Abe Haruaki's resurrection. Are they trying to prove that Abe Haruaki had nothing to do with that Ye Wang?"
As soon as he finished speaking, several loud shouts came from the venue:
"Shut up!!"
"Qingjie, be careful with your words!!"
The young patriarch was startled by the sudden shouting of his seniors.
At this time, the old Hanakaiin Hidemoto on the main seat pressed his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then reminded the young Hanakaiin Kiyosuke:
"Don't mention that name casually, or the curse will backfire!!"
Hearing this, Hanakaiin Qingjie felt a chill in his heart and lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Just at this moment, a male voice with an elegant tone sounded:
"Would you like to verify whether the Asakura family's master is the real Seimei?"
"The Onmyoji chief probably has this idea. After all, he has been a superhero since he was a child. He is a very talented person. He is a very experienced person.
The sudden male voice made the heads of the major branches of the Hanakaiin family change their expressions slightly, and they turned their heads to look at the side of the head patriarch, Hanakaiin Hidemoto.
There, they saw a handsome and transparent male spirit dressed in a white Taoist robe.
