Chương 79: Chapter XXI Verse I — The Sanctuary's Great Leader

Galan spotted Tadamaru's eyes peering over a garbage dump at the bottom of the incline.

"Hey, what are you doing there?" Galan smiled. Tadamaru stepped out, fur bristling as he growled.

"What were you thinking?!"

"Just testing the village's defenses," Galan scoffed. This guy is out of his mind, Tadamaru thought.

"C'mon, the clearing is ahead," he sent with a huff.

"The Great Elder should be there." They crossed a wooden bridge over a moat, passing a somber procession of yookai carrying offerings—carved effigies, berries, herbs, and stones. Wow, guess she is a big deal. Galan thought. But back to the ghosts.

"Say, you know any humans who investigated the ghosts here?"

"No." Tadamaru shook his head.

"I only know of the yookai investigators sent by Lord Zensuke himself, and they don't stay long. Most of us don't track what the ghosts are doing, so we don't have much to offer them." Guess it's all up to me now, Galan thought. They reached a large stage with a central hearth, flanked by roaring torches. The gathered yookai fell silent, staring at them. Tadamaru sighed and stepped forward.

"Excuse me, everyone. Have you seen Great Elder Umiginu? This investigator was sent by Lord Zensuke to discuss the ghosts." Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"If you help me," Galan continued, "I promise to replace the ghosts with a stable justice system once I gain the trust of the humans."

"And why should we trust you?!" an old spider yookai sent his thought.

"The ghosts are doing their job just fine!"

"Yeah!" the crowd shouted.

"Exile the traitor!"

"Tough crowd, huh?" Galan muttered to Tadamaru.

"Yeah… I really wish Lady Umiginu was here right now." Just as a riot seemed imminent, a glistening snake-woman emerged from a path to the crowd's left, slithering to the stage. Her lower half was covered in jade-green scales, while her upper half was that of a young woman clad in white.

"Everyone, calm down. There is no need for turmoil," she commanded.

"Human or not, he is still our guest, and I will not tolerate any attempt at sowing discord within our harmonious gathering." The crowd knelt.

"Yes, Lady Umiginu!" Tadamaru rushed to her.

"Great Elder! He is an investigator sent by Lord Zensuke." Galan bowed deeply.

"Great Elder Umiginu. My name is Odagawa. I seek to restore balance by understanding the story of Shimizu Asaka."

"A human speaking of balance… that is indeed rare," she mused.

"Tell me, why her?"

"She's confirmed to be a ghost. She buried a man, suffocating him—matching her own death. Is that true?" Murmurs rose again. Umiginu nodded.

"Correct. What else?" This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"She visited the forest at night, something humans don't do. I'm guessing she's half-yookai."

"Yes," Umiginu confirmed.

"She is my younger sister." The crowd gasped at the revelation, realizing that the human they'd treated with suspicion and contempt was related to their own Great Leader. I knew it. Galan thought. A village leader would've relegated this task to someone else unless the victim were important to her.

"Lady Umiginu, may I speak my mind?" Asked Galan with reverence.

"Call me Umi."

"Understood, Umi. I believe the ghosts are only using your sister to find and scare their targets, using her identity as a mask."

"And why would they do so?"

"Because forcing fragile, newly dead souls to commit such horrific atrocities is simply not sustainable. They have neither the skills to wield a blade nor the heart needed to swing it at a frightened target." A wave of shock rippled through the clearing at his clinical words, with some of the oni whispering about his heartlessness while Sawako pulled her daughter close, warning her never to trust a human. Even Tadamaru stood agape, staring at the sheer audacity of the foreigner.

But Umiginu quietly measured his words, her deep-seated guilt clashing with a sudden, overwhelming sense of relief, before she offered a soft, hopeful smile.

"Thank you for your assurance, Sir Odagawa. I pray that your words ring true."

"Just Oda."

"Of course, Oda."

"But Great Elder," Tadamaru asked,"how can a half-yookai appear human?"

"Perhaps it is time everyone learned the truth," Umiginu sighed. She lit the central hearth with a torch. As the fire crackled, the crowd gathered to pray. Umiginu smiled, remembering childhood nights with Asaka. Umiginu turned to the crowd, her expression solemn.

"Yookai and humans alike. I welcome you to my sister's final parting. Although she enacts our vengeance, I wish for her to find peace, for our future should not be defined by the spilling of blood." The four oni from the intersection approached. They wore plain white robes, carrying an unlacquered cypress coffin. Galan's mindcast revealed they had made it months ago, keeping it empty to comfort Umiginu. They lowered it onto a platform, bowing deeply. Umiginu wiped a tear.

"In truth… humans and yookai came from the same source. The Primordial Soul. We were never meant to be enemies. To prove it, I shall recount my sister's life." She gestured for Tadamaru and Galan to sit. The crowd muttered, unhappy with the human's and traitor's presence.

"Don't let them bother you," Galan said to Tadamaru.

"I got your back." Tadamaru nodded.

"Thanks." On the stage, Umiginu took multiple deep breaths before she spoke.

"Shimizu Asaka was a child of two worlds, born from a snake-woman and a human. To us, she carried the scent of the forest and the warmth of the hearth." She took a calm breath, her gaze drifting across the crowd as the memory took hold.

"But a child of two worlds is often welcomed by neither. She tried to live amongst the humans in the north. It was peaceful… until time became a cruel mirror. The village children grew up, our father grew old and died, but Asaka remained a child. Fear took root. They called her… the 'Ever-young.'" Silence fell over the crowd.

"The 'Shadow Hunters' came on a rainy night. I remember the smell of rain masking their approach. They cut into my scales and burned our home. Mother fought them so I could run with Asaka. We escaped, but her heart broke that night. She asked me, 'Sister, why do my friends want to hurt us?' I had no answer." She scanned the crowd.

"Yet she never hated them. Even as we hid, she healed the sick, believing kindness could bridge the divide. We ran for years, seeing the same cycle of fear and violence everywhere." She raised her right palm to silence the murmurs of restlessness.

"But Asaka saw something else. Do you know why we stopped running? Why we settled near Moons' Valley village, so close to the very creatures you despise?" The crowd was raptured while Galan leaned in.

"Because one winter in Echizen, we found a lost human child in a blizzard. Asaka warmed him and guided him home. When his mother found them… Asaka told me to come out. I took a peek out of the tree I was hiding behind, but the woman didn't scream. She bowed. To a yookai." Her voice rose, carrying the weight of that singular, defied expectation.

"That mother left food at the edge of the forest for us every week until spring. No words, just gratitude. That is the truth. Humans are taught to hate, just as we are taught to fear. But Asaka refused to be defined by either." She settled into a loose coil beside the coffin.

"If we let our anger consume us, if we let the ghosts speak for us, then we become the very monsters they hate. And I will not let my sister's memory be used to fuel the fire that took our mother." After rising again, her voice ringed out with a sense of absolute authority.

"We shall seek justice for Asaka, not vengeance. One restores balance, while the other digs two graves. So, lower your weapons tonight. If anyone wishes to share memories of my sister, now is the time." She moved aside, head bowed. The crowd shifted, silence hanging heavy until movement stirred near the right side of the stage.