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

Upon hearing the blue-haired girl's words, Shimizu Asahi paused for a moment, then tilted her head in confusion.

"Yes, I've been here before." Qingnvfang nodded directly and said, "I like the hot springs here, so I come here every year."

"In that case, do you know anything about Shiranui?" The black-haired boy was overjoyed and immediately asked.

"The news about Shiranui only came out this month, and the last time I was here was exactly a year ago, so my understanding of Shiranui is the same as yours."

The girl shrugged slightly, indicating that she didn't know either.

"I see...that makes sense..."

Shimizu Asahi scratched his head, a little disappointed.

Indeed, if Qingnufang knew anything, she would have told him the moment she learned of the mission.

It seems I'll have to find the clues myself...

However, Shimizu Asahi did not notice that after saying those words, Aonobo and Shimizu Mio inadvertently exchanged a glance, and their dark and light yellow eyes both carried an imperceptible smile.

In fact, Qingnvfang knew about Shiranui.

Not only her, but all the people of Xingyuan knew about Shiranui.

Ari, the songstress of the Rijin Pavilion on Xingyuan Island, is known as Shiranui by the people of Xingyuan.

Ali is the most outstanding singer in Liren Pavilion. Her singing voice is beautiful and her dancing is superb. Every glance and smile of hers is captivating. In order to see her singing and dancing, the people of Xingyuan would take a boat out to sea every evening.

This is why lights would rise from the dark surface of the Xingyuan Sea, a scene so similar to the legend of Shiranui that the people of Xingyuan began to call her Shiranui at some point.

Although it's unclear where those Onmyoji heard the news of Shiranui's appearance, they clearly didn't understand who the Shiranui the people of Kyohara were referring to.

Moreover, if Shiranui were to actually descend, how could Kyohara still be living such a peaceful and prosperous life as it is now?

The three major families are indeed boring. They could have easily resolved the matter by simply sending someone to inquire, but instead, they chose to pass the buck to each other in order to preserve their strength.

That's why she doesn't like humans.

Thinking of this, Qingnvfang glanced at her own Onmyoji.

He's a half-demon, so he shouldn't be considered human...

However, Kamo no Tadayuki should have known about this.

He is a meticulous person, and he will send someone to investigate any task that catches his attention.

Knowing the truth about the mission, he still entrusted it to Shimizu Asahi, so his intentions were naturally clear.

To allow his disciples to relax.

The reason it's presented as a task is, of course, for the sake of reward.

Shimizu Asahi resolved the crisis in Kyoto and deserved to be rewarded. However, if the reward were given directly, he might refuse. Therefore, Kamo Tadashi thought of entrusting the matter to him.

If it's done in the form of a commission, he has no reason to refuse.

P.S.: The author has slightly modified the timeline here, moving Ali's story back a bit, so... hehe.

Chapter 102, Section 100: The Survival Methods of the Apricot Plain Monsters

"We've arrived, this is the place."

After a brief moment of thought, Aonofu led Shimizu Asahi and Shimizu Mio to a very ordinary Japanese-style hot spring inn.

A dark brown wooden plaque hangs on the right, and a winding pebble path leads to the door, with some vegetation along the path.

Although it has nothing special, it exudes a subtle elegance, giving people a comfortable and relaxed feeling.

However, upon smelling the scent wafting through the air, the black-haired boy revealed a surprised expression.

He glanced at Qingnu's room, thought for a moment, and then closed his mouth without saying a word.

Walking along the cobblestone path into the hotel, the first thing that comes into view is the spacious entrance hall and the reception desk, which is neither too big nor too small.

At the front desk stood a lovely young lady with long, light black hair.

"A-Qian, I'm here again. Is my room still available?"

Qingnvfang naturally began to talk to a girl named Asahi.

"Yes, it's already been vacated." Ashen smiled warmly, skillfully taking out the room number and key and handing them to the blue-haired girl.

However, as she handed over the room number, the girl in light black suddenly noticed the two people next to Qingnu's room.

"Who are these two...?"

She tilted her head slightly and asked with a hint of confusion.

"My... friend."

Qingnvfang hesitated for a moment, but finally said the word "friend" and continued, "I want two rooms, right next to each other."

"Hey!! Sister Qingnvfang's friend!?"

A-Qian's eyes widened in surprise, her slender little hand covering her mouth, her expression one of utter shock.

However, the next second, A-Qian realized that her behavior was a bit impolite, so she immediately restrained herself and put on an innocent and cute smile.

She extended her small, white hand and said, "Since you are Sister Qingnvfang's friends, then you are my friends too. My name is Aqian. I am in charge of many things at the inn. If you need anything, you can tell me."

"Ah, my name is Shimizu Asahi, and this is my older sister, Shimizu Mio. I'll be troubling you for the next few days, Miss Asahi."

The black-haired boy gently squeezed the girl's hand and said softly.

"Yes, please guide me."

After Shimizu Asahi finished speaking, Shimizu Mio added a sentence.

"Mmm." The girl hummed happily twice, then took out the room number and key for another room and handed them to Shimizu Asahi. "This is your room."

"Thank you."

After a simple thank you, the three left the front desk.

The spacious and clean corridor was quiet; apart from the footsteps of Shimizu Asahi and his companions, there were no other sounds.

"Qingnvfang, this inn, is it run by a demon?"

Suddenly, the black-haired boy spoke.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on the blue-haired girl. Although his words were a question, his tone was definitely affirmative.

He had already noticed it when he was at the hotel entrance: the receptionist, Ms. Asa, was also a yokai.

Female monster.

"What? You don't like this inn?" Qingnufang asked, glancing over lightly.

"No... I'm just a little surprised that a monster would open a shop in a human city."

Shimizu Asahi shook his head, feeling that it was somewhat unreal.

He couldn't quite describe how he felt. If he had to, he would say he was surprised, very surprised.

Monsters mingled in human cities and ran their own inns posing as humans.

So, this is another way in which monsters and humans coexist?

"Ah, that's true. I was also quite surprised when I first came to Xingyuan."

Hearing the boy's words, Qingnufang nodded in understanding.

In this era, humans and monsters are hostile to each other and opposed to one another. It is almost a given that they will fight each other when they meet. Even if they are wary of each other and do not easily make a move, they will never have any interaction.

This kind of way of life, integrated into human life, was something even Qingshui Chaoyang had never imagined.

After all, it's like a demon with a human heart—it's too unbelievable.

After a slight pause, Qingnufang continued:

"Besides this inn, there are many small shops in Xingyuan Village run by yokai. They take on human forms, live here in a human way, and never disturb the peace of humans."

"They did this because they meant no harm to humans, and because one of the local people had helped them."

"Did some ordinary citizen help them?"

Noticing the key words, Shimizu Asahi murmured softly.

"Ah."

"You may be the only one who hopes that humans and monsters can coexist peacefully, but you are by no means the only one who does not hate monsters."

"The monsters living here have all encountered people like this."

Although the conflict between monsters and humans represents the will of the masses, the so-called masses are merely the will of the majority gathered together.

It can only represent the majority of people, not any specific individual.

Just as there are aliens like Umibozu among the monsters who are hostile to humans, there are also such aliens among humans.

"I see....."

The unexpected answer made Shimizu Asahi feel a little better.

"Xingyuan seems to be a nice city..."

The more yokai there are in Apricot Plain, the more people will not hate yokai, which is the scene that Shimizu Asahi most hopes to see.

"Of course, after saying all this, I think the most important thing is that Xingyuan doesn't have an Onmyoji to oversee it."

Seeing the smile on the boy's face, Qing Nufang rolled her eyes slightly and said this.

That's right, Xingyuan doesn't have any Onmyoji (spirits/masters) in charge... or more accurately, it doesn't have many powerful Onmyoji.

Because there are few monsters causing trouble here, the need for Onmyoji is not great, so Heian-kyo has not dispatched many Onmyoji to guard this place.

Even a powerful Onmyoji like Shimizu Asahi could only detect a trace of demonic energy at a hot spring inn like this, let alone the Onmyoji here.

"Hehehe, maybe."

The black-haired boy chuckled, but suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he blinked and revealed a joyful expression.

"By the way, Qingnüfang, if she's a demon, she should know something about Shiranui, right?"

Ordinary people cannot detect the demonic aura of great demons, but demons can. Instead of asking the people of Xingyuan for clues, why doesn't he just ask Asa directly?

Upon hearing Shimizu Asahi's words, both Aonofusa and Shimizu Mio stiffened slightly. They exchanged a casual glance without changing their expressions, and then understood each other's meaning.