Late night.
Before the Inari shrine.
Under a drizzling rain, Luo Shu lifted his umbrella slightly as he gazed up at the torii gate before him.
The torii served in Japan as symbolic entrances to sacred spaces - demarcations between the mortal and divine realms.
Thus, nearly every Japanese shrine features a torii gate, with prominent sites, such as Inari shrines, boasting entire corridors of them. The famed Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, for instance, displays tens of thousands of vermilion torii donated by devotees.
Though Hanazono Inari Shrine lacked such grandeur, it maintained a scaled-down version of this iconic passageway.
Within mystic circles, torii gates served as crucial components for barrier construction.
Studying the first stone torii with its plaque marking Hanazono Shrine, Luo Shu couldn't help but smirk:
"To choose a meeting place wrapped in layer upon layer of Faith Power barriers... Hagoromo Gitsune certainly has nerve."
Luo Shu finished speaking and, holding his black umbrella, lightly tapped the stone pillar to announce his arrival to the shrine's master.
Within minutes, two shrine maidens in scarlet hakama approached, each holding an oil-paper umbrella. They bowed and said:
"Guest, please follow us~"
Luo Shu narrowed his eyes at the two maidens before him, sensing the rudimentary Spiritual Power emanating from them, confirming they were genuine members of the mystic side.
In this world, the mystic side shrines of Japan were mostly long-established institutions.
They operated their shrines generation after generation, with the position of Shinto Priest passed down hereditarily. Officially recognised as civil servants, they enjoyed high social status and corresponding privileges.
On the mystic side, nearly every renowned shrine had its own unique speciality.
Whether it was due to their extraordinary bloodline, the enshrinement of powerful Abyss Artefacts, or inherited spiritual techniques, these shrines each held their own secrets.
The alliance formed by these shrines was the Onmyou Agency, whose members were primarily successors of major shrine lineages.
The Twelve Divine Generals were the prime representatives—twelve core members of the Shrine Faction who possessed Hero Grade combat strength, serving as the Onmyou Agency's most crucial military pillar.
Though Ueno Hanazono Inari Shrine was a public shrine, it also had its own lineage, the Ueno family, which ranked among the mid-tier families within the Onmyou Agency.
Led by a shrine maiden, Luo Shu met the chief Shinto priest of Ueno Inari Shrine—an elderly man with a greying beard but a vigorous demeanour.
After exchanging greetings, the chief priest explained:
"I am Ueno Harutaka, invited by the Gokadoin Divine General to act as the mediator for this meeting."
"Gokadoin Divine General?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes slightly.
"That Gokadoin, the same branch family of the Abe clan as the Tsuchimikado? Which Gokadoin holds the position now?"
Ueno Harutaka didn't conceal the answer.
"White Tiger General, Yuiyui Gokadoin."
"Her?" Luo Shu chuckled in realisation. "A woman several centuries old, still competing with youngsters for the Divine General position. How amusing."
Though Luo Shu had never met Yuiyui Gokadoin, he knew her origins.
A descendant of Nue, Abe no Seimei, and the head of the Gokadoin Family, she was the sixth-generation leader of the Gokadoin, born in 1477—the 15th century.
With such a background, her becoming one of the Onmyou Agency's Twelve Divine Generals struck Luo Shu as absurd.
After all, the Divine Generals were meant to represent the younger generation—the oldest publicly known was only 48. To have a five-hundred-year-old grandmother among them was undeniably entertaining.
Ueno Harutaka showed no reaction to Luo Shu's remark, clearly privy to some inside information.
Or perhaps, given his role as mediator, his ties to the Gokadoin Family were already questionable.
The successive leaders of the Gokadoin Family had all attained longevity through the Taizan Fukun Ritual pioneered by Abe no Seimei, forming an ageless family that acted in Japan under Nue's will.
In this context, it was hardly surprising that Hagoromo Gitsune, their ancestral matriarch, could contact the Gokadoin Family and arrange the Ueno family as intermediaries.
Once he grasped the situation, Luo Shu didn't mince words.
"When will Hagoromo Gitsune arrive?"
"Please wait a moment, honoured guest. Lady Hagoromo Gitsune will be here shortly."
After speaking, Ueno Harutaka gestured for a shrine maiden to serve tea, then took his seat at the head table. He then added:
"The Onmyou Agency's director asked me to convey his regards and gratitude for your assistance to the Vermilion Bird General in the Abyss."
Luo Shu wasn't surprised. It was inevitable that Shirayuki Hotogi, the Vermilion Bird General, would report his actions to the director.
"Gratitude? I'd be lucky if the director doesn't resent me for cutting in halfway."
Luo Shu's tone was utterly sincere.
After all, the Onmyou Agency had been the ones to discover the Abyss Warring States. Yet now, that entire Abyss was likely to become a controlled realm under the SDS.
Compared to Luo Shu's gains, the information Shirayuki Hotogi brought to the Onmyou Agency director could be considered utterly insignificant.
"Still, since the director asked you to convey her gratitude, it seems she's not entirely unaware of Hagoromo Gitsune or even Abe no Seimei's affairs."
Luo Shu smiled faintly, revealing his true intent:
"Which brings us to the question."
"What is the relationship between the Onmyou Agency director and Hao Asakura?"
At this, Ueno Harutaka fell silent.
The existence of Hao Asakura was a taboo in Japan's mystic side.
Twelve years ago, Hao was reborn and began recruiting subordinates starting from Japan. Every major faction in the country was visited by the then four-year-old Hao.
The result was the destruction of over a dozen families and organisations, with all their souls becoming nourishment for Hao's growth.
Under such circumstances, Hao Asakura was no different from a demon king in the eyes of Japan's various factions.
Being associated with such an existence carried significant reputational risks.
Yet, facing the de facto head of the SDS, and with the Onmyou Agency director's permission, Ueno Harutaka answered frankly:
"The director considers herself Hao's disciple."
"I see. That makes sense."
Luo Shu nodded in sudden understanding as he raised his teacup for a sip.
If the Onmyou Agency director saw herself as Hao Asakura's disciple, then the Gokadoin family's elderly matriarch joining the Twelve Divine Generals, and the unclear connections between certain families, the Gokadoin and Abe no Seimei within the agency, all fell into place.
With higher-ups turning a blind eye, combined with the Hagoromo Group and Gokadoin family's own strength, it was only natural that Hagoromo Gitsune could secure a foothold in Kyoto, the Onmyou Agency's stronghold.
As for Nue's desire for resurrection and the rituals needed to utilise him, these factors all needed to be accounted for.
"Rather fascinating indeed." Luo Shu set down his teacup with a faint smile.
After all, nothing compares to the thrill of human conflict!
Just then, a tinkling sound rang out.
The wind chimes had sounded.
Hagoromo Gitsune had arrived.