How did I, an Onmyoji, become the Lord of Yokai?

Seeing their interest in the ornaments, Kyogoku Kimura began to explain them in detail.

Although he couldn't recognize all the many ornaments in the palace, the explanation of those few items was enough.

After all, the palace is not large, and a ten-minute walk is not enough for him to give a long explanation.

After passing through long corridors and palaces, Kyogoku Kimura led them deep into the royal palace.

He stopped beside a wooden door and opened it with his withered hand, saying, "Mr. Shimizu, Miss Aono, the master is inside. Please come in."

"Okay, thank you, sir."

After another thank you, Shimizu Asahi stepped into the room.

This is a very simple room. Not only are there no calligraphy or paintings or porcelain, but even the desk and wooden chair that are essential for the main seat are absent.

After subtly surveying the simple living room, Shimizu Asahi turned his gaze to the middle-aged man kneeling on the cushion.

He looked to be around thirty or forty years old, wearing a very luxurious twelve-layered kimono and a tall hat standing up on his head.

Although he hadn't introduced himself yet, the moment Shimizu Asahi saw him, he immediately recognized him—King Kyogoku Munemitsu, the ruler of Izumo Province! (Chapter 157, Section 160: The High Monk Seibozu)

In the quiet room, two people and a demon sat silently.

Shimizu Asahi, an Onmyoji from Heian-kyo, and his shikigami Aonobo were sitting side by side, while opposite them was Kyogoku Munemitsu, the current ruler of Izumo Province.

Although the king was very quiet and did not show any arrogance or confidence, both Shimizu and Asahi could feel the extremely noble aura emanating from within.

"Mr. Shimizu, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The quiet atmosphere was quietly broken as the stern and resolute man revealed a friendly smile.

"Although you have already guessed who I am, I think it would be better to introduce myself."

He bent his back slightly and chuckled as if making a friend: "My name is Kyogoku Munemitsu, the current ruler of Izumo Province."

"Your Majesty is too kind. These are words that Shimizu would say. It is my honor to meet the ruler of Izumo."

Kyogoku Munemitsu's attitude surprised Shimizu Asahi. As the ruler of a country, his status far exceeded his own, but instead of being arrogant and domineering, he spoke to him as an equal.

It is an unprecedented event for a king to bow and greet a student of Yin-Yang philosophy.

That's why Shimizu Asahi's words carried a hint of intimacy.

"Hehe, Mr. Shimizu is indeed as Mr. Kamo said, neither arrogant nor impatient, but humble and friendly."

Kyogoku Munemitsu chuckled, then said with great relief, "It's wonderful that we were able to invite you here, sir."

Upon hearing this, the black-haired boy was taken aback.

"Are the king and the teacher friends?"

"How could that be? I only studied under you when I was young."

"So that means... Senior Brother?"

Blinking, Shimizu Asahi was genuinely surprised this time. He hadn't expected that the ruler of Izumo had once trained under his teacher.

"Haha, Mr. Shimizu, I am not worthy of being called your senior brother." Kyogoku Munemitsu laughed heartily, then waved his hand and said, "I have only been studying with you for a few days, and I am not considered your disciple."

Despite what he said, Kyogoku Munemitsu's happy smile showed that he was very satisfied with being called "senior brother".

Shimizu Asahi finally understood why the other person was so close to him.

Although Kyogoku Munemitsu claimed that he was not Kamo no Tadayuki's disciple, deep down he already considered himself a member of Kamo's school. Therefore, he had a natural affinity for his exceptionally talented junior brother, Shimizu Asahi.

"Senior brother, you know I am your junior brother, yet you still address me as 'Master.' If our teacher finds out, won't he say I don't know the proper etiquette?"

After learning about Kyogoku Munemitsu's other identity, Shimizu Asahi's tense nerves relaxed.

Compared to being the ruler of a country, the identity of senior brother makes people feel closer to him.

“You are the teacher’s proudest disciple, so how could the teacher say anything to you?”

Picking up the teapot beside him, Kyogoku Munemitsu personally poured tea for Shimizu Asahi and Shimizu, and replied with a hint of envy, "Since a year ago, in addition to Kidomaru, you have been added to the letters that Master sends every month. In all these years, this is the first time I have seen Master show such affection for his two students."

"To be honest, I'm quite envious."

"Senior brother is joking. You and our teacher are separated by several countries, yet you still maintain such close contact. Doesn't that also demonstrate your high standing in our teacher's heart?"

"That... seems to make some sense."

The man paused for a moment, then stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought. After about three or four seconds, he laughed happily again.

"Junior brother, now that Master is not here, it shouldn't be a problem for senior brother to secretly refer to himself as Master He Mao's disciple, right?"

"If my senior brother doesn't say anything, and I don't say anything either, then no one will know."

"Haha, as expected, my junior brother understands me."

Looking at the kind, easygoing yet resolute man, Qing Shui Chaoyang's mind went completely blank. He smiled slightly before regaining his composure.

"Alright, senior brother, let's put aside the matter of our meeting for now. Let's talk about the Snake Tomb first."

"Ah, sorry, sorry, senior brother got a little too excited."

When Shimizu Asahi mentioned the Snake Mound, Kyogoku Munemitsu's expression also became serious.

"Junior brother, the reason I invited you here is that I hope you can find a way to deal with the two snake demons under the snake tomb."

"Deal with the snake demon? Wasn't your goal to seal the snake demon, Senior Brother?"

After learning about the destination of this mission, Shimizu Asahi immediately made a deduction. Since June and July are the mating season for snake monsters, the two snake monsters under the snake mound will struggle desperately. Therefore, the seal of the snake mound will be very weak during these two months. In order to prevent the snake monsters from being born, asking him to reinforce the seal is the best and most likely outcome.

Although he had considered the possibility of killing the snake demon, it was, after all, a powerful monster that could potentially transform into a ghost king. If he were to release it rashly, no one knew what might happen.

Therefore, he subconsciously believed that this mission was to seal the snake tomb.

He just didn't expect that his senior brother would have such courage, planning to directly break the seal and attack the snake demon.

"Junior brother, things are not actually as you think."

"The reason I said something like killing the snake demon is because the seal on the snake tomb is about to be broken."

Seemingly sensing what Shimizu Asahi was thinking, Kyogoku Munemitsu immediately shook his head.

He sighed slightly with a hint of bitterness, and then said, "Just over a month ago, the two snake demons under the Snake Tomb began to attack the seal. Since this is an annual tradition, the Onmyoji guarding the Snake Tomb didn't pay too much attention to it. But for some reason, this year the two snake demons are particularly excited. They seem to have inexhaustible power, and they keep attacking the seal without stopping."

"Although I immediately organized people to reinforce the seal, to my surprise, even with the combined power of many Onmyoji from Izumo, we were unable to suppress the continuous impacts."

“We are, after all, human beings, and our energy and spiritual power are very limited. We cannot engage in this kind of tug-of-war with demons. In just half a month, cracks appeared in the seal. If it weren’t for a high monk passing by, Shenmen County would probably have become a ruin.”

"That's why I decided to kill those two snake demons."

"I see..." Hearing his senior brother's words, Shimizu Asahi's expression became serious. He nodded and said solemnly, "I didn't expect those two snake demons to break free of their seal..."

"By the way, senior brother, is the one guarding the seal now that passing high monk?"

"Yes, Master Aoandon is currently guarding the Serpent Tomb alone." Chapter 158, Section 161

West of Shenmen County, three people dressed in water-dried clothes, including Chaoyang, were walking on a winding, narrow path.

The final destination of this path is the Snake Tomb.

After learning about the situation at the Snake Mound, Shimizu Asahi immediately suggested that they go and take a look at it.

Although Kyogoku Munemitsu considered that they had traveled a long way and were somewhat tired, and wanted him and Aonobo to rest for a day, Shimizu Asahi's attitude was very firm. After his persuasion failed, he had no choice but to take them to Hebizuka himself.

"Junior brother, that's the Snake Tomb."

Standing at the uphill intersection of the path, Kyogoku Munemitsu pointed to the end of the road not far away and said, "Master Aobozu is currently guarding that place."

Upon hearing their senior brother's words, Shimizu Asahi and Aonobu subconsciously looked up.

What came into their view was a desolate place with many piles of stones, but the piles were not large... no, perhaps "small" would be a better word.

After all, those piles of stones were just made up of two or three fist-sized stones, and no matter how you looked at them, they couldn't possibly be associated with a large-scale attack.

However, these piles of stones were arranged very neatly.

Although the stones in the piles are disorderly, the distances and intervals between different piles are quite precise.

"It's like a cemetery."

Qingshui Chaoyang murmured softly.

If viewed from a distance, one could easily mistake the snake mound, which is neither too big nor too small, for a cemetery.

...In fact, it was indeed a cemetery, although what lay beneath were not human beings.

"After all, it's a snake mound; it would be a bit unreasonable not to call it a cemetery."

Kyogoku Munemitsu smiled and responded to Shimizu Asahi, then said, "Let's go, Master is probably getting impatient."

"Ah."

The boy withdrew his gaze and prepared to continue forward. However, suddenly, his wandering gaze inadvertently caught sight of a scene that surprised him.

"Senior brother, why are there still houses around the Snake Tomb?"

The foot that had just been lifted stopped again, and Shimizu Chaoyang pointed to the opposite bank of the river not far from the Snake Tomb.

On the other side of the river, there was an ordinary village with only about twenty or thirty households.

This should not be the case. Although the serpent demon is suppressed by the Serpent Tomb, it does not mean that the seal of the Serpent Tomb is without flaws. Over the past few hundred years, there have been continuous incidents of the serpent demon breaking free of the seal, and countless people living near the Serpent Tomb have been killed by the serpent. In order to avoid these unnecessary sacrifices, the royal family has long since ordered the people to stay away from the Serpent Tomb.

There shouldn't be anyone living near the Snake Mound anymore, so why...?

"You mean that village... well, there's nothing we can do about it."

Seeing that Shimizu Asahi had noticed the village in the distance, Kyogoku Munemitsu couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Junior brother, I think you've seen it too. Izumo is a completely mountainous country. It is surrounded by mountains, and there are very few places suitable for people to live in."

"Although Shenmen County is indeed very prosperous, its land is extremely limited and cannot accommodate all the people in the surrounding area. Therefore, some people have to leave Shenmen County and find a suitable place to live on their own."

"Finding a suitable place to live in this area surrounded by mountains is too difficult, and the village next to the snake mound was a decision made out of necessity."

"So...I see..." Shimizu Asahi opened his mouth slightly. He really hadn't expected that Izumo, a country whose national strength was comparable to that of Yamato, would have a land shortage crisis.

"Although we have been trying to find land over the years, the results have been very small... If possible, I would not want people to live in such a dangerous place."

The middle-aged man rubbed his temples and sighed.

However, the next second, Kyogoku Munemitsu chose to skip the topic. He smiled again and said, "Of course, don't worry. The villagers have already been evacuated. They won't be coming back until the Snake Mound Incident is over."

"In a way, the snake demon uprising isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least after this, the people of this village can live in peace."