"The Child of the Night shall soon return."
A deep, steady male voice declared thus.
"You Kyoto yokai must dedicate your strength to the Child of the Night's return, offering everything you possess."
Having spoken, the resonant voice turned icy:
"Go and gather information about noble ladies. The Child of the Night's return requires their livers."
"For our Hyakki Yagyō!"
"For our Hyakki Yagyō!!!" xN
Abruptly, the hazy vision dissipated. Luo Shu's eyes snapped open as he sat up on the office sofa.
At that moment, Yukino Yukinoshita—who had been manually scrubbing fish scales without water to clean the lingering fishy scent—paused briefly in surprise:
"Did you divine some information?"
"Divined a bit, yes." Luo Shu scratched his head before complaining, "To think I got played by a Small Yokai."
"How so?" Yukino asked, puzzled.
"The mastermind behind the Fish Demon wasn't that troublesome Hao Asakura, but Kyoto's Hyakki Yagyō."
At this, Luo Shu himself chuckled:
"That Fish Demon was quite loyal. Before dying, it shouted for revenge from someone it had only heard of by name."
"Tch, using its life to misdirect us—now that's dedication!"
After hearing Luo Shu's explanation, Yukino was equally astonished:
"So, that yokai was actually working for Kyoto's yokai, but after we captured it, it chose suicide to shift blame onto that man called Hao."
"Exactly." Luo Shu nodded, then added sarcastically, "The Fish Demon had only heard Kyoto's Great Yokai mention Hao Asakura in passing, knowing he was an important figure, so it casually dropped his name today."
"Tsk, had me worried for nothing. Turns out Hao wasn't involved—well, no, he is involved, but as the victim here."
At this point, Luo Shu wasn't sure what else to say.
On one hand, the matter didn't actually involve someone as troublesome as Hao Asakura. On the other hand, the fact that such a troublesome figure truly existed in this world was... problematic.
Even if they weren't enemies now, beings like that required cautious handling.
Understanding that the Hao Asakura, who had alarmed Luo Shu, wasn't an enemy, Yukino remained perplexed—though her confusion now centred on the Kyoto yokai's actions:
"But why would Kyoto's yokai target the minister?"
"Normally, yokai under official jurisdiction should be the last to provoke government personnel, no?"
After a thoughtful pause, Luo Shu replied:
"Because of fresh livers. And because of one person."
"Who?"
"Abe no Seimei."
Luo Shu named someone instantly familiar to Yukino.
Another Great Onmyoji from a thousand years ago—the man who invented the pentagram Kikyo seal, a towering figure in Onmyōdō, versed in astronomy, geography, divination and Familiar Spirits alike.
For the Fujiwara clan to be targeted by such a person... while marginally better than attracting Hao Asakura's attention, it wasn't by much.
"Abe no Seimei?!" Yukino gasped softly, growing increasingly bewildered.
How had this escalated to involve the legendary White Fox's child?
Noticing her confusion, Luo Shu glanced at Yukino and began explaining:
"The yokai of Kyoto, also known as the Hagoromo Group, are ostensibly led by the Great Yokai Hagoromo Gitsune, but in truth, they are commanded by Abe no Seimei."
"However, since Abe no Seimei has long been dead, it's actually his mother, Hagoromo Gitsune, who manages the group in his stead."
"The core objective of the Hagoromo Group is likely to resurrect Abe no Seimei. To achieve this, Hagoromo Gitsune must once again serve as the maternal vessel to give birth to this Great Onmyoji."
At this point, Luo Shu paused, his expression turning slightly uneasy as he added:
"The Hagoromo Group adheres to raw liver culture, and to rebirth Abe no Seimei, a substantial amount of nourishment would naturally be required."
Hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita's face instantly turned ashen:
"Raw liver culture?"
In the eyes of yokai, the three most refined parts of a human are the brain, liver, and heart.
For nutritional supplementation, the liver and heart are considered the most potent.
The thought of such a grotesque ideology made Yukino's complexion grow even paler.
Just then, Luo Shu quietly added:
"Folklore suggests that the livers of noblewomen from prestigious families are said to contain the highest nutritional value."
In an instant, Yukino understood Luo Shu's implication.
The reason the Fish Demon had infiltrated the Fujiwara family was simple: to gather raw livers for Hagoromo Gitsune. And the source of these livers would naturally be the three granddaughters of the former prime minister and daughters of the current minister of the Fujiwara household.
To draw a parallel, this would be akin to targeting the liver of a shogun's granddaughter during the Edo period.
"This... this is utterly unacceptable..."
Yukino wanted to prevent such atrocities. No matter the circumstances, the idea of cannibalism was beyond her moral comprehension.
Seeing her distress, Luo Shu attempted to reassure her:
"Don't worry for now. Currently, the Hagoromo Group in Kyoto is still in the target selection phase. The situation hasn't spiralled out of control."
"Moreover, now that we're aware of the situation, dealing with the Hagoromo Group is inevitable—whether by exposing the matter to pressure the higher-ups or taking direct action ourselves."
"Given the temperament of those in power, if this were brought to light, I doubt any of those ministers or lawmakers would tolerate yokai targeting their female relatives' livers."
Under Luo Shu's explanation, Yukino gradually calmed down, her rationality returning as she asked:
"Should we report this?"
"Let's notify the department internally first. I'll contact the Operations and Intelligence Departments."
Luo Shu sighed with a tinge of emotion:
"The Hagoromo Group, Abe no Seimei's resurrection... truly, it's one thing after another."