From the God of Lies to the Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 294 The Perfection of the Story

The place Tamamo-no-Mae pointed to was very close to the Kurahashi family's Yin-Yang Bureau, which is now the Kyoto Museum.

In this incredibly chaotic era, which has even led some to engage in looting and vandalism, shops and banks are their targets, and only places like museums are relatively deserted.

After all, antiques can still fetch a good price during prosperous times, but in times of chaos, antiques are practically useless except for taking up space.

Therefore, Kurahashi Seiji arrived here almost without any complications.

The managers here all left in a hurry, leaving only an old man sweeping the floor, slowly cleaning up the broken glass.

Upon seeing Kurahashi Seiji's arrival, the old man slowly said, "The jade and gold display cases have already been sold out. The metal display cases are in the back. As for the others, I don't think you'll be too interested!"

Upon hearing this, Seiji Kurahashi's eyes widened in surprise before he snapped back to reality.

This old man sweeping the floor is mistaking himself for a robber!
He looked at the other person and saw that the old man was slowly sweeping the glass on the ground. It seemed that this place had been visited by rioters for some time before!
"I'm not here to rob you," Kurahashi Seiji said. Then he saw an even more terrified expression on the old man's face. He was a little helpless for a moment, wondering what the old man was thinking and why he had such a look in his eyes.
"I want to know, where is the museum of historical and cultural materials?" Kurahashi Seiji asked again, noticing that the old man visibly relaxed, his expression growing increasingly strange.

"It's on the left, that place is very well preserved, and no one who went in tried to steal the ancient books..."

Upon hearing this, Seiji Kurahashi nodded slightly. "Thank you for your guidance!"

He then walked inside, leaving the old man behind, staring at his retreating figure with a strange expression.

"The Heian period, the Hundred Demon Records..." Kurahashi Seiji searched all the way and finally found the thread-bound book that looked a little blurry in a very inconspicuous counter.

He immediately unfurled his painted fan, and with a flick of his wrist, the book that was previously inside the glass display case was now in his hands.

Kurahashi Seiji originally intended to watch it on his own, but then he thought it might not be necessary. Watching it with Tamamo-no-Mae might not be as enjoyable as watching it on his own.

Therefore, he found a corner in this room, slowly opened the book "Record of a Hundred Demons" in his hand, and with a wave of pure energy, a special decree was issued!

"By order of Lord Seimei, the hidden history books shall be opened!"

With a special hand seal, the book in front of him seemed to be dissolved by a beam of light. The ancient, worn-out paper disappeared and turned into a special history book that looked like it was made of leather!

The Chronicles of One Hundred Demons: The Heian Period

This is the title of the book, and the recorder is none other than Abe Yushu, the last of the three great Onmyoji of the Abe family!
On the first page of the book, he wrote: "At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, ghosts and monsters roamed freely, but the way of Yin and Yang declined, which was a sign of the silence of heaven and earth. Therefore, I have recorded this book to enlighten future generations."

This statement is quite clear: this great Onmyoji was afraid that the lineage would eventually be lost, so he wrote this record specifically so that future generations would have something to follow!

This made Kurahashi Seiji's expression even worse, because Tamamo-no-Mae... had said the same thing! She said it more clearly, more explicitly, and more despairingly!
She even said that the truth behind the decline of Onmyōdō in Japan actually originated from Taoism in the Central Plains. Because of that terrible disaster, all mystical matters were sealed off, and Onmyōdō was just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.

Kurahashi Seiji didn't want to believe it, because if it were true, it would be too terrifying. What they would face in the future might be an even more terrifying crisis!

But now, this record makes him unable to help but believe what the other person said...

He continued flipping through the pages, and found some notes on the first page:
[Eki 21 (921 AD) - Kyoto]
On the night of the Yin-Yang Bureau, Abe no Seimei observed the stars and saw that the seven constellations of the Vermilion Bird were faintly glowing with blood. He then reported to Emperor Daigo: "A demonic star is approaching the palace, resentment is gathering, and a hundred demons will soon be on the night procession."

The Emperor decreed that Seimei should guard the capital.

Seimei sealed the four directions of the Imperial Palace with the Kikyo Seal, yet tacitly allowed a hundred demons to roam the streets—"Not all demons are evil; it is the resentment in people's hearts that makes them a den of demons!"

Upon seeing this, Kurahashi Seiji was stunned, because he thought of the situation he had observed the stars at night a few days ago. The blood-red color of the Vermilion Bird constellation in the sky, even accompanied by the appearance of a blood moon, was exactly what this situation was.
In fact, the current situation is even more critical, terrifying, and tense than it was during the Heian period!
Does that mean that the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons has also emerged in this era?
Below this sentence is Abe Yushu's annotation: "The ancestor Seimei learned the Daoist Yin-Yang arts from the Great Tang Bodao. He once said that Yin-Yang masters do not rely on divine power, but rather use talismans, astrology, rituals, etc., to invoke the rules of heaven and earth, thus being able to pardon shikigami and guide pure energy to purify resentment!"

"But the so-called hundred ghosts are actually physical demons formed from the resentment of noble infighting and common people's suffering. Apart from a few truly powerful demons, they are nothing more than this!" "Instead of eliminating ghosts, it's better to eliminate their source!"

"I wanted to kill all the nobles to reduce the source of demons, but the Kamo family stopped me... How tragic, how lamentable, how regrettable!"

"If anyone can see this, remember not to trust those nobles... they are the source of all ghosts!"

Upon seeing this, Seiji Kurahashi was dumbfounded.

My goodness, are our ancestors so powerful that they wanted to cut off the source of demons and ghosts and were preparing to kill all the nobles?
Looking at it this way, the suppression that the Abe and Tsuchimikado families suffered later was not unjust at all; it was too extreme!

However, the Kamo family... Kurahashi Seiji came to his senses. If nothing unexpected happened, the Kamo family should be the descendants of Kamo Tadashi, the teacher of Seimei's ancestor and the founder of Onmyōdō (the Way of Yin and Yang)!
It's reasonable that the Kamo and Abe families were considered the two major Onmyoji families during the Heian period!

He continued reading, and what followed were still Abe Yushu's words:

"Various demons and ghosts originate from their own resentment. For example, the killing demon comes from the battlefield, the tall woman comes from the resentment of women who cannot get married, and the undead come from the hatred of the dead..."

"The Yinmolu ghost is formed from the corpse energy of those who died unjustly, and it specifically devours derelict officials."

The Bridge Princess is born from a woman's entangled love affairs, dragging people into the water to release her obsession;

Zashiki-warashi are originally benevolent spirits, but if they are mistreated, they transform into bloodthirsty and malevolent beings.

Upon seeing this, Kurahashi Seiji finally realized that this was the ghost that had appeared in Kyoto a couple of days ago. So this was it!
No wonder Tamamo-no-Mae said this book was very important; it's not just a historical record, but also a book of strategies!
Now that he knows how resentment is generated, he can rely on the strategies in the "Golden Crow and Jade Rabbit Collection" to think of a solution!

I must say, this is indeed a very important book!

Having read this far, Seiji Kurahashi prepared to leave with the book, but the next passage made him stop in his tracks:
[The third year of the Tianqing era (940 AD) - Kyoto]
The powerful demon, the nine-tailed fox spirit Tamamo-no-Mae, bewitched the palace.

Its demonic power originates from the greed and desires of all living beings; wherever it goes, "children's corpses pile up, and metal and stone turn to ashes."

Seimei's grandson, Abe no Yasachika, used the "Sun and Moon Sealing Technique" to suppress it in Nasuno, and its demonic body turned into the Sessho-seki (Killing Stone).

However, on his deathbed, Tai warned: "When the stone breaks, the demons return; only a pure heart can dispel illusions."

“Tamamo-no-Mae… is indeed not as innocent as she said. That makes sense. If she were truly innocent, how could these Killing Stones appear in this country in such a way?” Kurahashi Seiji thought slowly, feeling relieved.

He had come to believe the facts of the matter, but more details still needed to be investigated.

Just as Kurahashi Seiji continued searching for those special stories that fascinated him, a peculiar knocking sounded at the door:
"Knock knock! Mr. Kurahashi Seiji, are you still there? This is Shiratori Hayato. The Tokyo authorities are looking for you!"

Upon hearing this, Kurahashi Seiji put away the book "The Record of One Hundred Demons," tucked it into his robes, and then slowly stood up.

He wasn't too surprised to be discovered. He had done quite a lot during this time, whether it was investigating the information about the Yinmoro Demon in the villa area or releasing the Zashiki-warashi, all of which were done under the noses of the officials.

These police officers will definitely report the information. It seems the authorities have finally arrived!

If he used to think such things were optional, now he feels they are very necessary.

After all, the idea of ​​a parade of a hundred ghosts at night sounds quite romantic, but this romance is built on the perspective of countless people's deaths!
He felt that if he could get help from the authorities, he might be able to minimize the losses.
"I understand. Where are they? I can go with you!" Kurahashi Seiji said. For the sake of those innocent civilians, he had to go and negotiate!
But for some reason, when he thought about this, he suddenly felt like something was wrong!

Will Tokyo really invest resources in ensuring the safety of its citizens?
PS: Ah, next up is, of course, the Japanese government's baffling actions, which we all love to see. These bureaucrats really don't treat ordinary people like human beings!
(End of this chapter)