My personal opinion on Gensokyo

Seeing this scene, Inuyasha, who was sitting cross-legged against the wall with his arms still crossed in the sleeves of his fire rat fur, snorted disdainfully, closed his eyes and prepared to go to sleep.

Inuyasha still believes that all of Shangyang's current actions are to make Kikyo relax her vigilance, making it easier for Shangyang to seize the Shikon Jewel from the miko by surprise.

Similarly, seeing Inuyasha sitting cross-legged with a disdainful snort and closing his eyes to go to sleep, Shang Yang shrugged casually, sat by the door of the outer room, and turned his gaze out the window to see the quiet village slowly becoming dark as the lights in each house began to turn off.

Silent all night.

The next morning, we arrived at a fishing village on the coast.

After bidding farewell to the villagers who seemed to hope that Kikyo would stay in this fishing village, Kikyo, Shangyang and Inuyasha left the seaside fishing village and returned to Maple Village in the deep mountains of Musashi Province.

"...Those humans are really annoying, especially those little human kids."

Looking back at the beach fishing village that was no longer visible, Inuyasha complained in dissatisfaction.

"They actually want us to stay in the village for a long time to protect them. There must be a limit to their demands."

Glancing at Inuyasha who seemed to be sulking, Shangyang shook his head helplessly.

Come on, Inuyasha, you're not upset about this at all. You're obviously just frustrated by those naughty kids who pulled your dog ears while you were still asleep.

However, even though Shang Yang and Kikyo understood the whole story, Shang Yang just casually raised his hand and patted Inuyasha's left shoulder and advised him.

"Don't worry, this is only natural. You know, these days, farmers in every rural village hope to have a powerful miko, priest, or monk live in the village. It's understandable that the people in the fishing village want Kikyo to stay in the village for a long time."

Hearing Shang Yang's words, Platycodon nodded slightly, agreeing with Shang Yang.

“…I also know these things.”

Hearing Shangyang's comfort, Inuyasha, with his arms crossed in his sleeves, snorted again with a slight displeasure.

"Weak humans are such a nuisance... Wait! There's such a strong smell of blood!"

Just when Inuyasha was disdainfully complaining, suddenly, Inuyasha frowned greatly, sniffed sharply, and spoke in a serious tone.

Then, Inuyasha followed the scent he had smelled and ran quickly to the front of the road.

After seeing Inuyasha's actions and looking at each other, Kikyo and Shangyang quickly followed.

When Inuyasha followed the smell of blood and walked quickly forward for a distance, the scene before him made Inuyasha frown in disgust and raised his hand to cover his nose with his sleeve.

The smell of blood here is too strong.

What appeared before Inuyasha was a battlefield that had just been fought not long ago.

Nearly a hundred bloody bodies lay scattered on the road, and all kinds of swords, spears and guns were scattered all over the ground.

Kikyo and Shang Yang, who were chasing after them, also saw this scene. Seeing this, Kikyo just shook his head slightly, roughly observed the clothes and swords of the remains, and speculated softly.

"...the result of two groups of bandits slaughtering each other."

"……more than."

Shang Yang walked forward, turned over a broken body lying on the road, and looked at it, then sighed.

"A group of bandits robbed some villagers in some unknown village, probably intending to take them as laborers to their lair, but they were attacked by another group of bandits on the way."

"Although we don't know which side won, we can be sure that the victorious bandits probably suffered heavy casualties, so they adopted the strategy of killing the captured villagers on the spot and then quickly leaving."

"Is it……"

Nodding slightly, the witch's face showed a hint of silence.

"Tsk, this is what humans are like."

With a disdainful spit, Inuyasha turned around and complained unhappily.

"Let me tell you right up front, I'm not going to dig a hole to bury these bodies... Hey! You two, listen to me!"

Before Inuyasha could finish his words, he was shocked to find that both the scary miko and the annoying guy were looking for tools without saying a word and digging up the soil in the forest beside the road. It seemed that they really intended to bury the broken bodies.

"...How long will it take for you to finish digging like this?"

Inuyasha, who couldn't bear to watch it any longer, looked at the weak shrine maiden who had no strength at all, and the young man with an injured left arm who was slowly digging the soil. He curled his lips in dissatisfaction, rolled up his sleeves, walked to Kikyo and Shangyang, and gave orders proudly.

"Hey, Miko, and you, the two of you go move the remains over here. Digging a grave is something I can do in no time! Watch while I dig!"

Before he finished speaking, Inuyasha used his sharp nails and the strength of a half-demon to quickly dig up the soil and dig a deep pit. Just as Inuyasha boasted, within tens of seconds, a deep pit gradually took shape.

Watching Inuyasha digging the hole quickly with a smug smile on his face, Shang Yang wanted to complain that digging holes was indeed a dog's talent, but considering that if Ergou heard this, he would get angry and get angry, and it would be a troublesome if he refused to do it, Shang Yang resisted the urge to complain. Instead, he walked away and helped Kikyo move the broken bodies scattered everywhere to the deep hole dug by Inuyasha.

After a lot of trouble, when the last body was finally placed in the deep pit and filled with soil, Platycodon stood in front of the restored deep pit, gently closed his eyes, put his hands together, bent down slightly, then put down his hands and looked sideways to the west.

That is the direction of Kyoto, the country's capital.

After a slight hesitation, Kikyo turned her gaze to Shang Yang, who was brushing off the dust on his body, and spoke in a light tone.

"...Shang Yang, I want to go to Kyoto."

　/久零⒍（四）留7/爸爸爾岜 “Huh?! Kyoto?”

After hearing Kikyo's words, before Shang Yang could react, Inuye Cha was stunned for a moment, still crossing his arms in his sleeves, and spoke with disdain.

"Hey, Miko, are you still thinking of questioning the nobles of the human court in Kyoto about why they allow bandits and thieves to run rampant? I advise you to put that thought aside."

“…I’m not that arrogant.”

Gently shaking her head, Kikyo spoke in a light tone.

"I just wanted to go and take a look..."

"Let's go to Kyoto..."

Shang Yang rubbed his hair, nodded slightly without caring, and agreed casually.

"...Okay, then I'll go too."

"...boring, then I'll go back to the village first."

Hearing what Kikyo and Shangyang said, Inuyasha curled his lips in dissatisfaction.

"An old man I know once sternly warned me not to go near the human capital."

"I don't know why, but that old man is a trustworthy guy. Hey, you two, I'm going back to the village first. Remember, don't let the Four Souls Jade be taken away by the monsters hiding in Kyoto!"

"...Why do you insist on returning to Maple Village?"

Hearing this, Shang Yang finally couldn't help but complain.

"Why don't you go wherever you want to go? Maple Village is not your home, Inuyasha."

"What the hell is it to you, a fellow like you?!"

Inuyasha glanced at Shangyang unhappily, his face gloomy and his tone extremely disdainful.

"I won't let you two get away until I get the Four Souls Jade. Remember this!"

After leaving these arrogant words, Inuyasha turned around without hesitation and left in the direction of Musashi Province, where Maple Village was located, without looking back.

"Really persistent..."

Watching Inuyasha leave, Shangyang shook his head helplessly.

Hearing Shang Yang's words, Kikyo nodded slightly in agreement.

"...If I could use his desire for the Four Souls Jade to change him, it would probably be a good thing."

So, after Inuyasha left, Kikyo and Shangyang also slowly moved towards the direction of Kyoto, the capital of this country.

After two days' journey, the closer Kikyo and Shangyang got to Kyoto, the more obvious change they saw was that there were more and more magistrates stationed at fixed locations to collect taxes for the shogunate.

On the main roads, the shogunate set up checkpoints specifically to collect "guanqian" from passing merchants and farmers. At the ferry crossings, the shogunate also set up checkpoints specifically to collect "jinryo" from merchants and farmers crossing the river.

At the same time, the closer you get to Kyoto, the more pedestrians of all identities you see, and beggars can be seen everywhere along the way.

Because Kikyo's shrine maiden costume was so eye-catching, before approaching Kyoto, Kikyo put on an old straw raincoat and a hat over her shrine maiden costume. Shang Yang did the same, making the two of them look no different from the passers-by around them.

As mentioned before, after two days of travel, Kyoto Heian-kyo, the largest human city on this land, the capital of this country, the place where the world is prosperous, and the seat of the Muromachi shogunate, the current regime that governs this country, has gradually appeared in the sight of Kikyo and Shangyang.

This year was 1514 AD, the second year of Zhisheng in the Tang Dynasty and the spring of the eleventh year of Yongzheng in Japan.

At the same time, it was the 47th year that this land entered the turbulent times known as the "Warring States Period".

PS1: I recommend this book, a novel written by a cute little sister in my group. "Login to the Fantasy World in the Galaxy Era"

PS2: Since I have just started writing a book, please don’t be too strict and be more tolerant~ After all, the author is a lovely rich loli (really a rich loli).

Volume 5: Miko of the Warring States Period: Chapter 264: Kyoto Observations

The year 1514 was the second year of Zhisheng in the Tang Dynasty and the eleventh year of Yongzheng in Japan.

As mentioned earlier, the Muromachi shogunate, which was located in Heian-kyo, Kyoto and governed the country, had difficult-to-resolve economic problems since its inception.

The Muromachi shogunate itself had a relatively weak governance over the local guardians (daimyo) and jito (samurai landlords).

The main financial income of the Muromachi shogunate came from the more than 200 directly-administered lands of the Muromachi shogunate scattered across the country - the Goryosho, which were managed by the shogun's close retainers. They collected "annual tribute rice" and "annual tribute money" on behalf of the shogun as living expenses for the shogun's family and to pay salaries to the shogun's retainers.

Although the Muromachi shogunate often levied taxes on local shugo and jito in order to solve its financial difficulties, the shugo and jito, who were quite independent, often evaded the shogunate's taxation with various excuses.

Therefore, the Muromachi shogunate had to set up "checkpoints" at various major transportation routes close to Kyoto Heian-kyo to collect "checkpoint money" and "ferry fees" at ferry crossings. This was also a scene that Kikyo and Shangyang often saw during their two-day journey to Kyoto.

At the same time, the Muromachi shogunate also levied taxes on pawnshops and sake houses inside and outside Kyoto, and occasionally collected dobetsu money from civilians inside and outside Kyoto. If the funds were really insufficient, it would semi-forced loans from wealthy merchants.

However, even with this achievement, the Muromachi shogunate's financial revenue was still very unstable.

Dilapidated and old, this is the first impression that the current Kyoto Heian-kyo gave to Shangyang and Kikyo. The townspeople of Kyoto guard their dilapidated houses and have no extra money to repair them. In their barely-there lives, they have to wait anxiously for the shogunate's temporary taxation again and again.

The townspeople were in such a state, and the shogunate itself was in extreme financial difficulty. The palace in Heian-kyo, Kyoto, had not been repaired for decades, and the walls of many palaces had become dilapidated. Even though the center of the shogunate, the Shogun's Palace in Kyoto, still managed to maintain the majesty of the Shogun, it was of no avail compared to the entire dilapidated Kyoto.

Even the current emperor Go-Kashiwabara has been on the throne for fourteen years, but the shogunate has still not been able to come up with any money to hold a formal enthronement ceremony for him.

This unimaginable situation also shows how much the Muromachi shogunate has declined.

Since the Onin War, every shogun's accession to the throne has been accompanied by war between supporting and opposing forces.

The shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, who once ruled the world, had long since become a puppet like the emperor. Almost all of the shogunate's power was usurped by powerful daimyo. The daimyo of each party used the shogun's chosen sons as pawns and started wars again and again over the shogun's succession rights.

The long Warring States Period is constantly taking the lives of the people living on this land. Since the Onin War, the Warring States Period has continued for forty-seven years, with no sign of peace at all. Instead, it has pushed this land into an increasingly chaotic and bloody era of war.

In Heian-kyo, Kyoto, spring is in full swing.

As soon as she stepped into Kyoto, the smell of blood and resentment in the air made Kikyo frown slightly and raised her hands to cover her face with her sleeves. It was the gradually warming weather with the arrival of spring, but in Kyoto Heian-kyo, there was no warmth at all. Instead, it was filled with the cold and gloomy atmosphere of the night.

The pervasive smell of blood and the special smell of resentment were not "smells" in the common sense, but rather breaths from another realm. The bloody smell was the condensed anger of ordinary people who had died in the years of war over the past decades, while the resentment was the confusion, despair, and resentment of ordinary people whose lives were taken away by this chaotic world of the Warring States Period.

After using some Tang coins to send away the absent-minded warriors guarding the Kyoto city gate, Shang Yang approached Kikyo, who seemed to be in deep thought, and shrugged.

"The capital of this country now looks more like a place where monsters appear."

“…It was my misunderstanding.”

Hearing this, the witch slowly turned sideways, turned her clear eyes to the young man who seemed a little confused about her words, and spoke in a calm tone.

“…Sorry, Shang Yang, I asked you to come with me.”

"Tomorrow, we will go back."

"Going back tomorrow?"

After hearing what Kikyo said, Shang Yang was stunned for a moment and asked in surprise.

"How to say?"

"There's no need to stay anymore..."

Gently shaking her head, Kikyo spoke softly.

"I thought Kyoto would be different, but it's actually the same..."

"...and there's no place for me here."

At the same time, in Heian-kyo, Kyoto, in a spacious mansion belonging to a nobleman.

Although it was only afternoon and far from nightfall, it was almost as if the house of this nobleman had entered the dead of night. Large patches of dim shadows of the houses were reflected on the ground, and it was even darker in the main hall in the middle.

The servants who served the nobles and their families had already been dismissed by the nobles who were sitting on straw mats woven from the finest orchids.

What is about to be discussed is not something any servant can listen to.

"...the legendary Four Souls Jade."

Behind the main seat in the dim main hall was the covered three-leaf maple family crest. Sitting on the main seat was an elderly man in pure black hunting clothes, a tall crown on his head, and white hair. His voice was gloomy and echoed in the main hall like the cry of a night owl echoing over a cemetery at night.

"Has he been taken to Heian-kyō?"

"Without a doubt, Master."