The Japanese-fear sorcerer who started by taking in Tomie

Chapter 101 No, you crave power!

"???"

Shin-Yuan Yuan looked utterly bewildered.

Dude, why are you collecting your boogers? Aren't you disgusted? And what's with those raccoon dogs stealing your boogers? Does anyone actually treasure this stuff?

"Brother, don't underestimate this!"

Seeing his disgusted expression, the Red Demon hurriedly handed the yellow ball to Shinjuro and explained eagerly.

"This stuff is a real treasure! Eating it can strengthen your body, and it can also—"

"No, no, you keep it yourself." Shinju Gen waved his hands in alarm, taking a half-step back almost imperceptibly.

"Alright." Red Demon scratched his head sheepishly and stuffed the yellow ball back into his pocket. Since his older brother didn't like it, there was no need to say anything more, lest he cause trouble.

The saying "Too much talk leads to mistakes" is a lesson that Qinggui taught him.

"From what you're saying, you're not the only demon in these mountains?" Shinjuku asked again. "Are there many of them? How strong are they? How do they compare to you?"

"Not too many, really." The Red Oni scratched his head again, thought seriously for a moment, "Basically, the Blue Oni and I are the ones in this area..."

The strongest one is on the mountaintop, and there's a group of tanuki over there, and a group of kappa live in the stream. Besides that—I don't recall any other yokai."

"Things are different now than before. There are far fewer monsters now, and many acquaintances have either moved away or disappeared."

The Red Demon stood with his hands behind his back, striking a pose of world-weariness.

In fact, the Red Oni is quite old; as a yokai, it is at least older than Tomie.

Most of the legends about the Red Oni circulating on the streets of Tokyo are remnants of its origins.

Yulia checked her phone and exclaimed in surprise.

Because her phone displayed many legends about the Red Oni circulating near Tokyo, Yulia read them aloud and then asked, "Does this mean it's you?"

The Red Demon nodded nonchalantly.

"So, you're quite famous in Tokyo." Gen Aragaki raised an eyebrow.

"Hehe, it's all just empty fame, empty fame." Red Demon chuckled and scratched his head.

"I was young and naive back then, wandering around aimlessly, and that's when humans saw me," the Red Demon said with a sigh.

"Back then, demonic energy was still very prevalent. Although the Yin-Yang Dao was also quite powerful, we demons would still frequently descend from the mountain, mainly..."

If all things made by humans are pretty useful.

"But now, the world has changed drastically, and even we monsters have fallen into obscurity. Instead, urban monsters have sprung up. It's truly unpredictable!" The Red Demon sighed.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have been better off opening an izakaya with Ao-Oni. Otherwise, I wouldn't be stuck eating fruit on the mountain every day and not even being able to drink alcohol."

At this moment, Akaki looked exactly like a middle-aged, overworked office worker about to be laid off.

"Wait, what did you say? A yokai running an izakaya?" Gen Shingaki keenly caught the key point.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Red Oni asked, looking puzzled. Isn't this normal? He knew of at least dozens of demons who had gone down the mountain to make a living in the human world.

Gen Aragaki thoughtfully pinched his chin.

In other words, many monsters have actually infiltrated human society long ago, but they just haven't been recognized.

What about Fujiwara-senpai?

Do you know Fujiwara Chizuru?

Shin-Yuan Yuan asked again.

"Fujiwara Chizuru?" The red oni tapped his head. "That name sounds familiar. I think I've heard the blue oni mention it before. I think it was some kind of emperor."

"Consort?"

Imperial Concubine?

Gen Aragaki rubbed his chin, his mind racing through the names of the monsters associated with the royal family.

He didn't waste his time at home; he crammed on knowledge about monsters. He wouldn't say he knows them all, but he understands most of them.

In Japanese folklore, there are only two yokai (supernatural beings) that can be associated with "imperial consorts".

Tamamo-no-Mae and the Enchantress of the Carriage.

First of all, Tamamo-no-Mae is an old acquaintance. She is a peerless beauty who is the transformation of a nine-tailed fox spirit. Some say that she is the reincarnation of Daji from the Shang Dynasty. After entering the palace, she became the favorite concubine of Emperor Toba and is ranked as one of the three great yokai in Japan. After her true form was seen through by an onmyoji, she escaped from the palace.

Judging from Fujiwara Chizuru's behavior, and given that she clearly knows Tamamo-no-Mae, it couldn't possibly be Tamamo-no-Mae herself.

The remaining option, naturally, is the enchanting concubine.

Hmm—that doesn't make sense either!

Gen Aragaki frowned slightly.

Bunkawa Yokai was a favorite concubine of Emperor Murakami during the Heian period. Due to the jealousy of another concubine, Yuki, she died in a court intrigue. Her resentment lingered after her death, and she became a tsukumogami (a spirit inhabiting a tsukumogami).

It is also a monster that has taken form from the resentment of many women in the palace carriage.

Compared to Tamamo-no-Mae, Bunche Yo-hime is not as famous, and her experiences are not as dramatic or legendary, but she is a genuine tsukumogami.

Tsukumogami, also known as Kujukami or Kujukami, are spirits in Japanese folklore that are formed from objects that have been used or abandoned for a hundred years, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth and accumulating resentment.

Although it is called a god, it does not actually belong to the eight million gods; it can only be considered an object that has come to life.

Animals are the most common creatures to become spirits, but objects becoming spirits is very rare, and objects becoming spirits are even rarer when they are filled with the resentment of many women.

On another note, the concubine Yu-hime who caused the death of the demon queen Wenche happened to be from the Fujiwara family.

Is it a coincidence? Or is Fujiwara-senpai not actually the enchanting concubine, but some other kind of enchantress?

Shinjuku Gen slowly narrowed his eyes.

Fujiwara-senpai, the more you try to remove something from your body, the more you seem to get back.

Gen Aragaki snapped out of his reverie and asked in a deliberately profound tone, "Do you crave power?"

"Huh? I don't crave it." The red demon exclaimed in confusion, shaking its large head like a rattle drum.

Who still craves power these days? No matter how strong your body is, it's just a matter of a magazine of bullets. If you don't have enough bullets, you can always use a few more cannonballs.

He, the Red Demon, considered himself tough and resilient, but he wasn't so blind as to think he could withstand cannonballs.

Because he really tried to withstand it back then, but he couldn't.

The Red Demon used to live in Hiroshima; those who know, know.

That day, the sky was covered by dust, and he still vividly remembers the sight of that mushroom cloud rising.

From that moment on, the Red Demon secretly vowed never to provoke humans again.

If you are truly forced to provoke them, you must silence them and leave no future trouble.

However, the man in front of us is clearly not within the scope of "silencing".

It would be more likely that I would be silenced.

"No, you crave power." Gen Aragaki's tone was firm and left no room for argument.

The red demon paused for a moment, then immediately understood, put on a resolute expression, and nodded vigorously.

"Yes, I crave power!"

Shinjuku Gen nodded in satisfaction. "This child is teachable."

"In that case, I'll give you a task: bring the leaders of the Tanuki and Kappa races to me. I have something to discuss with them."

"Understood! Okay, boss, I'll go right away!" Red Demon replied hurriedly, nodding vigorously.

"Don't even think about going against my word." Shinjuku stared at him coldly, his tone chilling. "Otherwise, I'll plow the whole mountain before I kill you."

The red demon shuddered at the look in his eyes, nodding his head even faster, but he couldn't help but have some doubts in his mind.

Are young people these days so arrogant? Even Ida Iryu wasn't this scary back then, was he? At least Ida Iryu was reasonable.

They don't kill good monsters!

"I'm a very reasonable person." Gen Aki suddenly smiled, jumped up and patted Akaki's shoulder with such force that it almost shoved half of Akaki's body into the ground.

"If you do my job well, I will surely grant you power! But if you don't—"

Gen Shinju gave a mysterious smile.

"I understand, I understand—"