Volume Three – The Fox Spirit’s Tomb Chapter Twelve – The Japanese Onmyoji

The moment Gao Feng helped Tian Tian reach the entrance of the shrine, a sudden chill crept down her spine, and goosebumps erupted all over her body. Immediately after, a man behind the two women let out a sharp roar. They felt as though they had lost control of their own bodies, flying backward as if yanked by an invisible force.

With two dull thuds, the women collapsed before the man. He turned to look at them, let out a soft chuckle, and said in broken Chinese, "Since you’ve come, don’t even think about leaving. The life-swapping ritual cannot be completed without you."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the man stood up abruptly, raising both hands high. The two women felt a sudden, violent trauma to their heads, as waves of dizziness crashed against their brains like a turbulent sea.

As they stood facing each other in front of the shrine, they watched in horror as wisps of red, bloody mist began to emerge from the tops of each other's heads. Strangely, they felt absolutely nothing.

Gao Feng and Tian Tian both tried to scream, but they realized their bodies—even their mouths—no longer obeyed their commands. They lacked the strength to make a single move; it was as if their bodies no longer belonged to them, and all physical sensation had vanished.

Though their hearts were filled with frantic anxiety, they could do nothing but watch helplessly as the red mist continued to pour from one another’s crowns.

Seeing that the ritual had begun, the man let out a peal of laughter. "The ritual has finally started! Once your blood has been fully drained, I will crush your bodies. Lord Takao will return to this world, and then it will be your doomsday. There will be no one left on earth who can stop us."

"Damn it, 'Lord Takao'? Old Li is going to beat you into a common bear!"

The roar was incomparably rough. The moment Gao Feng and Tian Tian heard that voice, their hearts surged. They locked eyes, seeing a glimmer of hope—it was Li Kun!

As the words faded, a thunderous crash echoed through the shrine. Li Kun had kicked the first-floor door wide open. "Hey, you grandson upstairs! Your two grandfathers are here! If you don't let them go, we’re going to burn this nest of yours to the ground!"

I turned toward the staircase to the right and said to Li Kun, "Old Li, they’re on the third floor. Let’s hurry; if we’re any later, they won’t make it."

Li Kun nodded heavily, gripping my triangular bayonet, while I held the Soul-Severing Blade, scanning the luxurious three-story pavilion with extreme caution.

The pavilion was dim, and we had no idea what lay upstairs. Furthermore, this environment was disadvantageous for us, and since this was his territory, we needed to lure him outside to have any real chance of victory. Otherwise, our odds were less than twenty percent.

We raced up the stairs to the third floor. Upon reaching the landing, we saw light spilling out from a room inside.

Li Kun and I looked in to see three figures standing there. One was wearing a military uniform; because of the distance, I couldn't see clearly, only making out a rough silhouette.

On either side of him stood two slender figures. As we looked closer, we saw Gao Feng and Tian Tian staring straight at us. The figure in the middle remained with his back to us, hiding his appearance.

"Old Li, be careful," I whispered. "This guy isn't simple. Look at them—if they could see us, they would definitely have tried to warn us or at least call our names. They must be paralyzed. This guy is dangerous."

Li Kun replied, "Understood. I’ll go up and see what kind of trick he’s using. You find an opening and strike him with that blade. One hit from you, and he’ll either be dead or crippled."

I shook my head and grabbed his shoulder. "Don't be reckless. We go together; he’s not easy to handle."

We walked slowly toward the shrine. When we were just a short distance away, I asked, "Who are you, and why have you captured our people?"

The man in the shrine remained silent and motionless, as if he hadn't heard me at all.

At that moment, both women let out a sharp cry, and the red mist above their heads intensified. My pupils contracted—could this be some sort of evil ritual? Were they draining their life force and yang energy?

My heart tightened. If their yang energy was being stripped away, they would surely die of exhaustion before long.

"Damn you!" I roared. "Daring to drain their yang energy? You must be tired of living! Old Li, kill him!"

We lunged forward with our weapons. As we entered the shrine, the temperature plummeted, and our movements felt sluggish.

But the resistance didn't stop us. Li Kun thrust the bayonet toward the man’s heart, while I swung the Soul-Severing Blade toward his neck. Since I had dealt with the immortal female corpse and the three-eyed serpent-man in the tomb, I knew that unless you severed the head, these monsters wouldn't go down easily.

Just as our weapons were about to strike, the man sighed. "It seems the ritual cannot be completed so simply."

He dropped his arms, rolled forward like a monkey, and dodged our lethal strikes. As he moved, Gao Feng and Tian Tian collapsed to the floor like deflated balloons, falling unconscious.

I looked at them. Their faces and lips were deathly pale; it was clear they had already lost a significant amount of vitality.

The man’s ritual had been interrupted. I looked up at the wooden spirit tablets on the altar. Seeing the many Japanese names, my brow furrowed. My gaze fell on a larger tablet in the center—"Nakato Takao." The name hit me; why did it sound so familiar?

Before I could think, a sharp pain struck my abdomen. Li Kun and I were sent flying backward, crashing into the tables and chairs behind us. Amidst the splintering wood, we felt a searing pain throughout our bodies.

I gasped, realizing this guy was no ordinary foe. We hadn't even seen his attack before we were sent reeling.

We looked back to see the man hunched over, arms extended, head bowed, still holding his striking posture.

Li Kun spat on the ground. "Old Liu, this guy is still trying to look cool? I can't take it anymore."

Despite the agony in my stomach, I couldn't help but laugh. "Quit joking around. He’s tough. We need to lure him outside."

Li Kun nodded. As we stood up, we noticed something startling: the man's face was a blur, impossible to discern, and he was wearing a Japanese military uniform from the War of Resistance.

Seeing his attire and the tablets, I realized with a shock: was he a Japanese Onmyoji? If so, we were in trouble. We were dragon-seekers—or, more bluntly, grave robbers—and going up against an Onmyoji was a tall order. We lacked the mysterious artifacts or skills of masters like the Thousand-Poison Daoist. This was going to be a brutal fight.

I gritted my teeth, but before I could speak, the man snarled in broken Chinese, "You have ruined my grand design. Everything I have done must be started over. You two will pay the price."

He flicked his palm, and a military saber on the floor flew into his hand. Li Kun and I drew a sharp breath. "Old Li, get ready!"

The man tensed, then took a single step that covered over two meters. He didn't run; he simply closed the distance in one stride.

With a metallic ring, he tossed the scabbard aside and lunged at us, slashing his saber horizontally. Had that blow connected, it would have cut us in two.