Chương 24: Maddened Crowd

The gathered yokai stared intently at the sealed gourd while a chilly wind blew into the mouth of the cave. There were three of them, two lean and humanoid who stood under the massive shadow of a massive bull-horned one.

"Well," Sha said, running a hand through his short mane of golden hair.

"Inumi's dead. Leave it to that fool to die so early into things." By yokai standards he was a handsome man, with a lean build and reddish skin. Two small horns sprouted from his forehead, curling upward. He was relaxed in that moment, but those who knew him knew how his skin could blaze like fire when he used his qi.

"At least he had the good sense to put his gourd with that messenger bird," Orochi remarked. His limbs were long and sinewy, covered in a layer of pale green scales. There was no hair upon his bald head, just concentric rings of short horns. He lifted the jug, slitted serpentine eyes examining it.

"And he did get some decent power into the thing."

"I should hope so, given that gang of idiots he collected to raise hell," Sha replied. He sighed, leaning back into the large flat stone he had taken as a chair.

"Still... it's nowhere near enough. Where'd he bite it?"

"Down south, near the coast. At least, that was the direction he was heading when he last got in touch," said Orochi. Sha considered this, pursing his lips and rubbing at his pointed jaw.

"I think there's a sect down there. Rose Snake or something like that. You reckon they got him?" Orochi shrugged.

"Maybe. I don't think the south is all that dangerous, it's why he was down that way and not us." They fell silent as the bull-horned oni reached over, pinching the gourd between his massive thumb and index finger.

"Humans can be tricky. And Inumi's foolishness may well have alerted them to our movements. Certainly, cultivators and men of influence will wonder why an oni was roaming around causing trouble in such an unremarkable region." Though his voice was deep and powerful, like the rumbling of thunder, he spoke with the refined accent of a politician of the northern provinces.

"Yeah, well..." Orochi scratched his chin, choosing his words carefully as Ushio's burning ruby eyes fell upon him.

"We're pretty far from ready, you know. The Demon King's seal..." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"I am aware," said Ushio, gently setting the gourd down. He sighed, and the rumbling weight of that sigh sent a small tremor racing through their hillside meeting place.

"Perhaps it was foolish to send Inumi on his own. I thought such a weak region could not threaten him, and yet..." He reached up with a massive dark hand, rubbing at the ridge of stone-like scales that dominated his jawline.

"I am not one for sentimentality, but..." Sha leaned in, watching Ushio carefully.

"But...?"

"But certain insults cannot be allowed to go unanswered. If the sect on the south coast killed one of our own, then we simply need to return that unkindness unto them. Raze that region to the ground. Not only would that avenge Inumi's disgrace, but I am sure we could harvest much anguish in the attempt."

"I guess. We were gonna sack Low Moon anyway." Sha grinned and raised his right hand. A shimmering heat haze rose up around his fingertips and flashed suddenly into a white hot plume of flame that cast a scalding, blinding light upon the walls of the cavern. A stench of charred meat rose up from outside, briefly filling the cavern. Sha wrinkled his nose, flicking his wrist to kill the qi-infused flame at his fingertips. Disgust was writ large on his pretty features.

"Damnation, but they are atrocious cooks," he said, glaring at the mouth of the cave.

"What can you expect from tengu?" Orochi asked, lazily shrugging.

"Indeed." Ushio curled his broad nose with no shortage of disdain in his voice "Good for killing but... not much else. At any rate, Sha, I take it I can trust investigation of the south to you? After all, you seemed to volunteer for it."

"Nothing I can't handle," Sha said, giving a small shrug.

"Might even be too easy." Ushio snorted twin trails of steam from his nostrils.

"Refrain from overconfidence, Sha, for your own good. Bring a detachment of tengu and oni with you, just to be sure."

"Right, right..." Sha rose, pacing quietly toward the mouth of the cave. Orange firelight illuminate him, plumes of smoke drifting up past him.

"I'll be careful, relax. I wasn't born yesterday, you know. I'll need some time to gather everything I need, before I set off. You know how it is."

"I'll wish you luck. I got my own business to attend to," Orochi said.

"As do I," Ushio replied.

"All in the name of our king." Sha stood upon the stone ledge overlooking their encampment. Below them stretched a veritable fleet of gnarled, winged humanoids, their ebony flesh lit by the many cookfires. Human meat bubbled and blackened upon many spits and stakes, and the tengu tore at them with beaks lined with a myriad of pointed teeth.

They ate and bickered and hissed at each other, beasts who fought and snarled at each other over scraps, and the camp was alive with the sounds of chewing, growling, and spitting. So many of those writhing winged shapes were down in the valley that anyone would quickly lose track of their numbers.

"Aye, all for the Demon King." Sha turned, grinning over his shoulder at the towering oni.

"Don't you worry. We'll get you all the human anguish you need."