The tides of time crashed violently against the reefs, unleashing a thunderous roar.
Within the vast, empty void, Yan Lanyu curled his body with every shred of strength he possessed. He gasped in sharp, shivering breaths, repeatedly slamming his forehead against his knees amidst the tearing agony and despair.
Why me?
Why do I have to relive all of this?!
Why must the ugly past, which was clearly buried deep within the recesses of my soul, be so cruelly dug up and put on full display?!
His forehead split open from the impact, and fresh blood trickled down the bridge of his nose onto his cheeks. His face contorted in violent spasms, unleashing a succession of hoarse, piercing, and animalistic screams of pain.
Let me out.
“—LET ME OUT—!”
—BOOM!!
The massive body of the magic dragon swept past in a flash, instantly snapping a row of vermilion wooden pillars along the outer corridor of the divine hall.
The pillars crashed heavily to the ground, shattering into countless fragments. Several clerics who were running frantically toward the scene lost their footing and slipped, nearly having their heads split open by the flying lumber.
With a flick of Chu He’s wrist, the tilting pillar behind him seemed to be lifted by an invisible, colossal force, slowly returning to its upright position.
“Who are you?!” The sorcerers, whose eyes could not perceive the magic dragon swirling directly above their heads, stared in absolute horror at the young man before them. “How did you get in here? What are you doing?!”
Chu He didn’t answer. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and looked up into the sky.
A streak of snowy light sliced through the heavens, carrying the unstoppable momentum of a falling meteor before violently exploding into a blinding brilliance!
“Maha—!” Zhou Hui’s roar drowned out everything amidst the thunderous explosion. “What the hell is that thing in your hand?!”
Zhou Hui’s figure plummeted rapidly, landing firmly on the ground with a loud thud. He stood up abruptly, cursing in rage, “That brat’s sword is way too overpowered! It can literally summon wind and lightning directly from the heavens. Do you know what the hell that is?”
Chu He rubbed the bridge of his nose in sheer helplessness. “That is the Kusanagi sword, a legendary ancient artifact capable of controlling the weather. Along with the Yata-no-Kagami and the Yasakani Jewel, it is known as one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan… Hurry up and throw Maha back into the Sea of Blood, kill that dragon, and let’s get out of here. Do you really want to make this even more chaotic?!”
Zhou Hui was furious. “That little brat is infuriating! No way, I’m going to snatch that sword from him!”
Chu He: “……”
The surrounding sorcerers were utterly dumbfounded. One who reacted slightly faster immediately rushed forward, shouting, “Where on earth did you come from, to dare trespass into the Inner Palace where only His Imperial Highness is permitted?! Begone at once!”
Zhou Hui immediately turned his head and whispered, “Really? Only the imperial family can enter?”
Chu He replied, “More or less. This is a place dedicated exclusively to the sacrifices of the Japanese imperial family. Aida Yoshihide and the others must have sneaked in…”
“Oh?! Then doesn’t that mean there ought to be a ton of treasures hidden here?!”
“Shut up!” Chu He’s mind was in a complete tangle. “Can you please not add to the mess at a time like this?!”
The sorcerer was practically exploding with rage. However, the defenses inside and outside the shrine didn’t rely on human strength to begin with. The clerical staff was extremely limited, and most of them were helpless shrine maidens. Only a few of them were on rotation near the Inner Palace; at this moment, even if they called the police, no one would arrive in time. They were completely at their wits’ end.
“If you refuse to leave, then don’t blame us for—”
Before the sorcerer could finish his sentence, an incredibly thick bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down from the night sky!
Maha’s cold voice echoed amidst the crackling electrical current: “You mere mortals, clear the path—!”
—BOOM!
At the absolute critical second, Chu He raised his hand in mid-air and pushed outward. A gentle yet surging force wrapped around the midsections of the sorcerers, instantly blasting them dozens of paces away.
The very moment the sorcerers managed to land, the electrical current cascaded down like a waterfall, instantly blasting the ground they had just occupied—along with the front doors of the hall—into thousands of pieces!
The sorcerers shrieked in unison. Amidst the violent tremors, Zhou Hui staggered a few steps, narrowly avoiding being hit dead-on. He couldn’t help but curse loudly, “That brat really knows how to raise hell, doesn’t he?”
Snap! Chu He grabbed Zhou Hui’s hand just as the latter was about to draw his blade and charge. Raising his other hand against the howling gale, a string of pure azure Buddhist beads instantly flew from his wrist. The beads shattered and shifted within the light, transforming into a琉璃 (glass/crystal) short blade. Gripping it with his slender fingers, he swung his arm forcefully toward the direction of Maha’s attack.
The blade’s edge formed a fan-shaped arc of azure light, defiantly slicing through the headwind and violently striking the Kusanagi sword out of Maha’s grip with a single blow!
This sequence of movements was executed with absolute fluid grace and unstoppable force. Half of Maha’s body was thrown backward by the impact. He snarled in anger, “Mother!”
“Stop this nonsense.” Chu He extended his hand toward Maha and said, “Come to me, I will take you back to the Sea of Blood.”
“No! Why must all of you interfere with my actions?! Why do you all side with the human realm?!”
Chu He shook his head. “That is not true. I know you want to compensate for your missing divinity by consuming souls…”
Chu He wanted to continue reasoning with him. However, at that exact moment, the Kusanagi sword that had been flung into the air traced a brilliant arc, suddenly drawing out countless interwoven sparks of electricity from the gathering dark clouds.
Immediately after, the grid of electrical currents crisscrossed, converging into a single concentrated beam of lightning that lightly tapped the tip of the sword pointed high into the sky.
Chu He blurted out, “Eh?”
The sudden turn of events caught everyone by surprise, drawing all eyes to this bizarre celestial phenomenon. Under the watchful gaze of the crowd, the moment the lightning made contact with the blade’s edge, it was as if cold water had been poured into a boiling pot of oil—with a thunderous roar, the entire sky exploded into brilliance!
“I told you so—!” Zhou Hui shouted loudly right next to Chu He’s ear. “You’re still there trying to lecture our eldest son! I told you ages ago that this sword is incredibly valuable! We should have just snatched it for ourselves!”
Chu He couldn’t utter a single word.
The waterfall of electrical currents cascaded straight down, pouring over the landscape like a torrential rain. Within this grand curtain of light that bridged heaven and earth, the magic dragon finally revealed its furious form!
If the magic dragon’s body had been residing in a parallel dimension just moments ago—hidden from the naked eye of mortals—then under the illumination of this rare celestial phenomenon, it had completely shattered the shackles binding the human and demon realms, projecting its image fully into the mortal world.
The sorcerers opened their mouths wide, watching helplessly as its form manifested high in the air. The dragon’s head loomed over a hundred meters above, its entire body coiled like a mountain range, while its massive tail even brushed against the ground.
“This… Is this a dragon? Could this really be a dragon?!” Shaking their heads, the sorcerers trembled violently as they backed away. “Why is a dragon here?!”
Under everyone’s gaze, the magic dragon seemed rather agitated. Its mountain-like head swayed from side to side, and its three blood-red, lantern-like vertical pupils slowly scanned the air, as if searching for something.
Meanwhile, Maha, who was also in mid-air, had absolutely no intention of paying it any mind.
The Peacock Wisdom King possessed zero interest in things he couldn’t eat. Furthermore, Zhou Hui was right before his eyes; his hatred for his father was more than enough to eclipse any concern for the affairs of these Japanese sorcerers. Even if this dragon slaughtered everyone present right now, it had absolutely nothing to do with him.
Maha only wanted to continue dealing with Zhou Hui. He turned around, lunging toward the direction of the Kusanagi sword.
—However, at that very moment, the magic dragon’s three pupils suddenly converged high in the sky, locking its gaze tightly onto him.
“……”
Sensing that something was amiss, Maha looked up to lock eyes with the magic dragon.
The wild wind whipped up his long, flowing silver hair; his gaze was cold and utterly bewildered. At that moment, through the violent soul of the Peacock Wisdom King, the giant dragon seemed to detect a certain familiar aura. It abruptly lifted its head, coiling into a poised, inverted U-shape.
“……?”
Is it going to attack me?
Before Maha could even process the thought, the giant dragon swooped down from the heavens in the next instant, striking him with lightning speed and sending him flying!
“—Ah!”
Caught entirely off guard, Maha was slammed sideways, spraying a mouthful of silver-white blood across the sky!
What the hell is going on? Why did it suddenly target me?!
Maha couldn’t comprehend why, out of all the people present, the magic dragon had suddenly singled him out. But there was no time left to think. Before he could even recover from the dizziness caused by the impact, the magic dragon opened its gruesome fangs, barreling toward him like a colossal train, and violently smashed Maha straight out of the air onto the ground!
With a resounding boom, a massive crater several meters in diameter was blasted into the earth.
Maha lay at the bottom of the crater. Before he could even scramble to his feet amidst the swirling dust, the magic dragon’s massive, scaled claw came hurtling down toward his head with a whistling roar!
If this had been a mortal, such a blow would not only shatter their body to pieces—there wouldn’t even be a single bone fragment left; they would be reduced to dust in an instant.
The fury of the Peacock Wisdom King instantly surged to the crown of his head.
He staggered to his feet, opening his mouth to unleash an incredibly piercing, drawn-out shriek. Immediately after, a brilliant golden light erupted around his body; his entire form transformed within the golden radiance, shifting in the blink of an eye into a colossal peacock as magnificent as a rare gemstone!
“What is going on?” Chu He took a step forward to intervene, but Zhou Hui firmly pulled him back. “Wait, don’t go!”
Chu He turned around, only to see Zhou Hui narrowing his eyes as he carefully examined the magic dragon that was relentlessly launching attacks. After a long while, Zhou Hui spoke, “It’s not trying to attack Maha… It’s looking for someone.”
“—Looking for someone?”
“Uh-huh, it wants to find Yan Lanyu,” Zhou Hui said. “Do you remember how Maha used his own barrier to lock Yan Lanyu inside just now?”
Chu He froze.
The peacock unfurled its wings and tail feathers, cloaked in raging golden flames as it swept past the magic dragon. Everywhere it touched, it sliced a long, deep gash into the dragon’s body. Black blood and scales rained down like a downpour, but the peacock evaded them all, charging forward to violently slam directly into the dragon’s vital seven-inch mark!
Thud!
The giant dragon’s body was thrown several rods away, and the peacock seized the opportunity to spread its wings and soar high into the sky.
The combat prowess of the Peacock Wisdom King’s true form could only be described as feral. He was just about to turn around and deliver a devastating blow to the dragon when he suddenly felt an incredibly faint, imperceptible tremor deep within his heart.
This is…?
A flicker of doubt flashed across Maha’s eyes. Immediately after, continuous tremors surged from his nerve endings.
—He suddenly realized it was the barrier.
It was the barrier he, the Peacock Wisdom King, had personally erected. It had been violently shaken by the magic dragon’s heavy impacts, and was now beginning to collapse.
Inside the alternate dimension, the world resembled a collapsing house. It began with fine dust trickling down, followed by shattered bricks and tiles, until finally, the ruined walls came crashing down all at once like a violent earthquake.
As the alternate dimension crumbled, the memory images hidden deep within his soul were also shattered, transforming into tens of thousands of fragments that swept away like a roaring tide. Amidst the deafening roar, Yan Lanyu unleashed an unheard cry of agony. Like a body rapidly surfacing from the deep sea, he broke through the boundless space of the barrier with a loud splash!
At the far end of the void above his head, that single line of white light leading to the reality of the mortal world finally appeared.
Meanwhile, beneath his feet, the final fragment of memory was spinning as it plummeted into the abyss.
—Eighteen years ago, Tokyo.
Inside an ordinary apartment unit, a gentle breeze wrapped in sunlight drifted through the curtains. Beside the bed, a baby kicked its legs in a cradle, its bright, watery eyes wide as it looked toward a smiling young couple.
“Look, honey, he’s smiling! He’s smiling at me!”
“Be a good boy, let Daddy hold you…”
The infant was lifted from the cradle. However, for some unknown reason, he suddenly began to struggle without any warning, making tiny whimpering noises before bursting into a loud, frantic wail.
“Ah, what’s wrong? Did he wet himself?”
“Be good, baby, be good. Come to Mommy for some milk…”
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. Yet, at the exact same time, the infant’s crying and struggling grew even more violent, unleashing a piercing scream of agony with a strength that defied imagination for a newborn. The young father couldn’t hold onto him at all, forced to hastily place the baby back into the cradle while the mother hurriedly ran to answer the door.
At that exact microsecond, the infant reached his hand out toward his mother, seemingly trying his absolute best to grab her.
However, he was far too small. His tender fingertips brushed against the hem of his mother’s clothes without leaving a single trace.
“Excuse me, who are you… Ah!”
“Sweetheart! Sweetheart, what’s wrong with you?! Who are you people… Someone help! Help, somebody help us!”
With a horrific spray of fresh blood, the cries for help came to a screeching halt, followed immediately by the dull thud of a heavy object crashing to the floor.
Several men dressed in plain clothes stepped over the threshold. The leader walked straight over to the side of the cradle, looking down at the infant.
“Hello,” he said. “We meet again.”
The infant had already stopped crying. A few drops of blood had splattered onto his swaddling clothes, and one drop was slowly trickling down his fair, tender cheek.
His pitch-black pupils reflected the smiling face of the man—it truly was a familiar face.
—Ninigi-no-Mikoto.
“To see my Lord return within my lifetime is truly the greatest fortune imaginable.”
Ninigi-no-Mikoto bowed politely by the side of the cradle. Reaching down to scoop the infant into his arms, he turned to his subordinates and said, “Wrap it up, we’re heading back.”
One whose soul is pure, unyielding, and fierce to the absolute limit can be refined into a Yang world soul.
When a Yang soul dies harboring deep grievances, enduring the trials of Avici Hell and mountains of blades and seas of fire, and the spirit returns once more to the human realm—it is called a Yin world soul.
The heart of the Yata-no-Kagami is fickle and volatile, capable of reflecting both gods and ghosts; only one who simultaneously possesses both the Yin and Yang sides of the soul is worthy of serving it.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and the years flowed like a fleeting shadow.
Five years later, Esoteric School.
The sunlight resembled a golden veil, and the chirping of early summer cicadas echoed row after row along the tree-lined path. In front of the grand estate, which carried a heavy flavor of the Heian period, a bamboo pipe filled with water, tipping over with a hollow thud as it struck a moss-covered stone.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto stepped onto the veranda, using his hand to block the brilliant golden sunlight as he narrowed his eyes to scan the surroundings.
“It’s been a long time since I last came here,” Aida Yoshihide lamented by his side. “Ever since the Master fell ill and went into secluded meditation, he hasn’t set foot here. Counting the years, it’s already been quite a while…”
“The same goes for me,” Ninigi-no-Mikoto smiled.
“Say, Senior Brother Ninigi, what do you think the Master means by summoning the two of us here this time?”
Sensing the sharp, burning gaze from his side, Ninigi-no-Mikoto maintained that same smiling face, his demeanor relaxed and serene. “Won’t everything become clear once we see the Master? I haven’t the slightest clue.”
A flicker of dissatisfaction flashed across Aida’s eyes, but he chose not to voice it.
Ever since the Master fell ill and went into seclusion, his physical condition deteriorating day by day, the overt and covert power struggles between these two fellow disciples had become increasingly apparent. At present, they could only maintain a superficial harmony.
“Well then, since Senior Brother Ninigi is so enamored by the scenery here, please take your time to enjoy it. I shall take my leave first.”
Aida strode forward without looking back. Ninigi-no-Mikoto acted as though he were completely deaf to the sarcasm in his words, merely nodding with a smile.
By the edge of the pond, early lotuses were just beginning to bloom. A dragonfly landed on a lotus leaf before instantly taking flight into the blue sky, vanishing without a trace.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto leisurely walked down the veranda, crossing the garden toward the main hall. Suddenly, his gaze caught a child of about four or five years old sitting on the wooden steps in front of the grand house.
“—Hmm?”
He hadn’t paid much attention at first. But after taking a few steps, he suddenly came to a dead halt.
The child wore a traditional pageboy haircut and a black kimono. Staring out toward the shimmering ripples of the pond, his tender face carried a profound tranquility that was completely disproportionate to his age. A red cord pendant hung from his neck; because his stature was so small and he was sitting down, the pendant extended all the way to his knees.
It was unmistakably a greyish-white shard.
“……”
Ninigi-no-Mikoto narrowed his eyes, examining the child’s face with meticulous detail, as if trying to find the overlapping light and shadows from his memories within those features.
However, the child merely sat there frozen, entirely detached from everything in the outside world. After a long while, he moved ever so slightly, lifting his head to return Ninigi-no-Mikoto’s gaze.
In that microsecond, the chirping of the cicadas seemed to fade away, and the surroundings dissolved into a dense, suffocating silence.
The tolling of the New Year’s Eve bells rang out alongside the fireworks, instantly illuminating the depths of the darkness before being swallowed once more into the boundless, eternal night.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto stepped forward, smiling as he spoke in fluent Chinese:
“Hello, we meet again, Lecturer-kun.”
The child looked at him with an expressionless gaze, his eyes resembling a deep abyss of dead water.
Only after a long pause did he speak: “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
He stood up, turning around to ascend the wooden steps and walk into the grand house.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto froze for a moment, the habitual, careless smile fading from his lips. After a long while, he shook his head and stepped up the stairs.
Outside, the sunlight was brilliant; yet the grand house was dim and gloomy. All four walls were sealed with dark window paper, and the air was thick with the scent of decocting medicine that had lingered over the years. It swirled through the space in fine strands, as if a certain musty, sickly aura had deeply seeped into the very walls and floorboards.
Two young attendants stood guard outside the inner chamber. Seeing Ninigi-no-Mikoto arrive, they bowed deeply before sliding open the paper door.
Inside the inner room, the smell of medicine was even more overwhelming. A frail, decrepit old man leaned weakly against the sickbed, with Aida Yoshihide kneeling beside him, his head bowed deeply.
The small child sat kneeling expressionless in the corner of the room, his hands resting lightly on his knees. From his angle, he could clearly see Ninigi-no-Mikoto enter, yet he didn’t even lift his eyes.
“Ninigi has arrived as well. Let us get straight to business, then.”
Ninigi-no-Mikoto walked over to Aida’s side, kneeling down in a similar fashion as he bowed slightly. “Master.”
The old Master’s wrinkled lips twitched weakly.
“The Esoteric School has grown increasingly prosperous in recent years, while my days are numbered. Before I depart, I wish to entrust the affairs of the school to a trustworthy individual. I have pondered this long and hard; both of you are my disciples, and regardless of whom I choose, it would be unfair to the other.”
The Master paused, letting out a succession of hoarse coughs.
The once-premier Onmyoji had already been entirely hollowed out by years of illness. His complexion was an ashen gray, his advanced age completely exposed, and his cloudy eyes were half-closed. His body appeared as though it were nothing more than a layer of skin draped over a skeleton.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto lowered his eyes, catching a glimpse of the child in the corner out of his peripheral vision.
The Master’s health had begun to decline six years ago, during the refining of the dual Yin-Yang soul. The winter that young man died, the Master had used a multitude of forbidden techniques to breach the chasm between the Yin and Yang realms. Later, he had used his own life force as a price to divine where the reincarnated soul would land. From that moment on, his health had gone downhill, completely beyond recovery.
Perhaps this is the price, Ninigi-no-Mikoto thought.
From the moment the first domino fell, everything had collapsed in succession. All causes and effects led toward that worst possible conclusion, until there was no longer any room for redemption.
“Master is merely suffering from a minor ailment. As long as you rest for a while, you will surely be able to…”
The Master waved his hand, causing Aida’s voice to come to an abrupt halt.
“I have considered this for a long time, and I have decided to leave the power of choice to the Yata-no-Kagami.” The Master paused before continuing, “Lanyu, come here.”
The child stood up and walked forward, bowing slightly toward the sickbed to show his respects before kneeling down once more, remaining completely silent.
“His name is Yan Lanyu. His Four Pillars of Destiny and dual Yin-Yang soul perfectly align with the heart of the Yata-no-Kagami. I intend to leave him to the next Master to serve as a page boy.”
The Master coughed a few more times, his voice raspy. “Lanyu… choose one of them to serve.”
Aida had completely failed to anticipate this turn of events. His face twisted instantly in shock, though he quickly forced himself to suppress it.
Even Ninigi-no-Mikoto was highly caught off guard, his eyebrows arching slightly.
The room was dim and cool, and the faint chirping of cicadas drifted from outside the window. The incense in the corner unleashed curls of white smoke, while behind the curtain in the tea room, the bubbling sound of boiling medicine carried a faint, lingering bitterness and metallic tang.
Yan Lanyu’s profile was utterly serene. He merely kept his gaze lowered, staring at his hands resting on his knees.
His fingertips were almost transparent, possessing an incredibly fine, barely discernible luster within the dim light.
No one spoke. For a moment, the air seemed to freeze, and a suffocating silence submerged everyone like a rising tide.
Yan Lanyu’s body shifted slightly, tilting his frame subtly toward the direction of Ninigi-no-Mikoto as he bowed deeply. “I choose to serve this Master.”
Like a time bomb ticking down to zero, Aida’s expression transformed violently in an instant. He lunged to his feet, shouting, “Wait! I cannot accept this—!”
However, the Master’s ancient voice echoed at that exact moment, carrying an implicit thread of menace: “Aida.”
“……” Aida panted heavily. Only after a long while did he finally manage to calm his violently heaving chest, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to sit back down.
When Yan Lanyu uttered those words, Ninigi-no-Mikoto had also been somewhat startled initially. However, in the next instant, his surprise morphed into a look of deep intrigue.
He examined Yan Lanyu from top to bottom, as if getting to know him for the very first time, refusing to let even the most microscopic expression on his features slip by. Yet, Yan Lanyu’s face was completely devoid of any emotion. He merely stared at the dust motes drifting aimlessly through the air before closing his eyes after a long pause.
The Master spoke slowly, “Since this is the choice of the Yata-no-Kagami, then let it be so. —Ninigi.”
Ninigi-no-Mikoto bowed his head. “Yes.”
“After I depart, you shall succeed as the Master of the Esoteric School.”
Outside the Heian-style grand house, the sunlight remained brilliant, and the grass grew wild amidst the flying birds. The gentle early summer breeze drifted through the branches, and the sunlight reflected onto the bluestone steps, casting dappled shadows from the trees.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto stepped over the high threshold. He narrowed his eyes against the sun for a brief moment before turning around without any warning. “Wait—”
He smiled as he looked back, saying, “You still owe me a New Year’s gift, Lecturer-kun.”
Behind him, Yan Lanyu stood just inside the threshold, preparing to close the paulownia wood door.
The light inside the room was incredibly dim, making his face appear somewhat indistinct along the boundary of light and shadow. Ninigi-no-Mikoto merely stood there quietly, smiling as he watched him. It felt as though a long, long time had passed, until even the chirping of the cicadas receded into a blurry background.
“My name is Yan Jing,” he finally spoke after an eternity, his voice utterly flat.
“The Jing of Jingji (thorns).”
__
Author’s Note:
The fight scene got a bit fast. To prevent confusion, here’s a simple summary: The Headmaster turned into a dragon and started wailing on Maha. Then, Maha’s barrier couldn’t take it and completely collapsed, releasing our little beauty Yan~
