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

When the plague struck, the people living on the east side of Ichizaki Island were the first to be affected.

They were the first to be infected and the first to show symptoms. The doctors who tried to treat them also contracted the same disease after coming into contact with them and then suffered.

The origin of the plague is unknown.

Some say it might have blown from across the sea, while others say it might just be divine punishment, nothing more than the torment called 'death'.

But no matter what, no one can stop the spread of the plague; that's the truth.

Himiko once tried everything to drive away the plague, but in the end everyone died except for her and Takiyasha-hime, who was protected by the divine artifact.

"Is this...the village that used to be?"

"But...why is it like this?"

When Shimizu and Asahi arrived at the village to the east, everything that came into view was completely different from what they had guessed.

Himiko used time-space magic to keep the Sun Wheel City intact on the day of her wedding, the day when everything in the Sun Wheel City was still perfectly preserved.

But... why is it different from other places?

A faint aura of death permeates the air here, and the earth is shrouded in a color resembling disease.

The village was dilapidated, and death loomed over the sky.

Rather than calling this a place for survival, it's more accurate to say it's a place for burial.

—Himiko's time-space magic didn't reverse this place?

"Himiko's magic didn't reverse time and space here?"

Shimizu Asahi frowned slightly. Apart from the watchtower protected by the artifact Time Melody, were there any other places that were not covered by the artifact?

No, that's not right... Is it because there's something going on here?

Such thoughts arose in the boy's mind.

Then, as if struck by a flash of inspiration, he suddenly realized something.

If Himiko didn't turn back time here, does that mean that this place was still plagued?

He immediately covered his mouth with his hand and told the six people to be on guard. Then, the blue talisman emitted light and protected the six people.

"Is it because of Takiyasha-hime's time song, or is there something wrong with this place itself?"

Reiko rested her chin on her hand, her eyes filled with thought.

"Whatever the reason for this place, at the very least, it's possible to obtain intelligence here."

"Search this area."

"There's no point in standing here thinking all this, is there?"

Qingnvfang gently shook her head. After drawing everyone's attention, she looked at Qingshui Chaoyang and asked, "Should we split up to search, or search together?"

"According to Takiyasha-hime, besides us, the only living people here are Takiyasha-hime, Himiko, and Meiroku."

"That's true, but this place is not quite the same as the places we know. Just in case, it's better if we act together."

After thinking about it for a moment, Shimizu Asahi finally decided to act together.

"Hehe... In that case, let's begin."

"An adventure story about the City of the Sun."

The petite Ghost King smiled, her charming face seemingly showing a hint of interest.

As she spoke, the group began searching the village.

They maintained an extremely cautious attitude, using their spiritual and demonic powers to protect themselves, and never touched anything with their own hands.

They quickly finished searching the village.

Because the village wasn't very big, they didn't need to spend too much time there.

In retrospect, it seems that this is indeed the case. No matter what, Sun Wheel City was just a country from eight hundred years ago. In that era when agricultural development was not advanced, even the capital of the strongest country did not have many people.

All told, there are probably only a few thousand people in the City of the Sun.

This still includes the soldiers who protected the capital.

"We found nothing... Is there nothing at all in this village?"

As Qingshui Chaoyang arrived at the center of the village, he looked at each of the opened doors and a faint look of disappointment appeared in his eyes.

Apart from the watchtower, there was no other village swallowed up by time and space. I thought I would find some clues here, but there was nothing but dust and death.

Their search yielded nothing.

"Is it because the passage of time has caused all the clues that should have existed to disappear?"

Ali said this with some uncertainty.

After all, this place doesn't seem to be covered by time-space magic, so the passage of time here should be normal, and any clues will disappear under the wear and tear of time.

Nothing truly lasts forever.

However, her guess was quickly refuted.

"Not necessarily... If this place really has been lost for eight hundred years, it should have become ruins long ago, instead of still retaining the appearance of houses like it does now."

Can trees, especially established trees, really last for eight hundred years?

Nobody cares about this, so nobody knows.

But given the circumstances, it's probably impossible.

Things that are not maintained will deteriorate over time.

If the clues are like this, then the cabin should be as well.

"If I really have to guess, this is what it looks like after the plague broke out and everyone died."

"Himiko sealed off the space and used spacetime magic to make time flow, but here, due to a strange power, time did not rewind, but similarly, nothing continued to change."

Ye Zi touched her smooth chin and said this.

"If that's really the case, then the locals probably have no leads left. So, should we move on to the next location, or continue searching here?"

"...Let's go, to the next place."

Looking at the scene, Shimizu Asahi remained silent for a long time before finally deciding to leave.

There might be something else hidden here, but it will definitely take a long time to find it.

Instead of searching for a clue that might not even exist, we should leave here and look around elsewhere.

"Hmm...that's fine too."

"Then, let's change our destination."

The girls exchanged glances, seemingly having considered the same question, before turning and leaving.

Their next destination is Ichizaki Island... the largest forest and flower field in the City of the Sun.

Although Sun Wheel City is a human city, it is ultimately an island. Since it is an island, it is only natural that it has dense forests and flower fields.

However, the flowers in the flower field... something seems a little off. Chapter 757, Section 760: Sunflower Field

"These are sunflowers, flowers that grow specifically towards the sun, but their arrangement is a little different."

Sunflowers are yellow flowers that grow towards the sun, changing their blooming position according to the sun's location.

Normally, they would all be in the same direction, but now, they are blooming in different directions.

It was a chaotic mess, devoid of any semblance of order.

Standing before the golden, dazzling flower field, the six members of the group, including Qingshui Chaoyang, looked at the scenery, which was completely different from other flower fields, and a thoughtful look appeared in A-Li's eyes.

"It's because of the time."

Ibuki chuckled softly.

"Himiko's magic does not directly reset time, but rather reverses time."

"That is, to turn back time to that original moment."

"Therefore, the sun will rise from the place where it originally set."

“When the past dawns again, people living in today will act because of the facts of the past, and so will these sunflowers.”

"But in fact, these sunflowers became disordered because of the sun's erratic appearance."

Ibuki shared her own understanding of time travel, but didn't mention the main points, which Shimizu Asahi ultimately filled in for her.

The boy looked at the sunflower field in front of him, stroking his chin as he spoke.

"What Ibuki means is that these sunflowers were not affected by time as much as ordinary people, which is why this situation occurred."

"Oh my, as expected of you, sir, you understood my meaning so quickly."

Ibuki smiled charmingly.

Shimizu Asahi squinted. Although Ibuki had given an answer, was it really reliable?

With Himiko's power, making the sunflower field move according to its daily rhythm is basically a piece of cake.

Is the power to control a few flowers greater than the power to control a human soul?

If what Ibuki said is true, then the only possibility is that Himiko did not intend to restore this place to its original state.

All she had to do was ensure the sunflowers survived.

While it is indeed possible, but... did Ibuki suddenly think of this?

A question arose in the boy's eyes, and he couldn't help but look at the girl beside him.

The girl who noticed his gaze didn't answer; instead, she smiled slyly.

It seems to be saying, 'Hehehe...that's true, how did I know...'

"..."

Forget it, if my wife doesn't want to talk about it, I won't ask her. She must have her reasons.

However, given the current situation, their investigation in this flower field seems to be coming to an end.