The Omnyōdō at Heian Palace

T/N: Hmf.. You guys are still not joining the discord server it's feel so empty damnit.

But it's you guys who are losing a lot by not joining it.

After all there are special NSFW illustration along with request section for any request.

I would even take request for another fanfic Translation.

But alas...no one is even talking there other than my brother Daoist_kaito

So please give it a try

Link in the Summary.

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The boundary between the living and the dead must never be blurred.

Otherwise, all things in the world will become chaotic due to the loss of harmony.

This is also the most taboo area in Onmyōdō.

Once touched, the consequences will be unimaginable.

But now—

The Grand Onmyoji looked at the stone path leading forward under his feet, his brows furrowed with doubt and incomprehension.

Because he felt that someone was using Onmyōdō to blur the line between life and death, keeping some things that should have passed away.

This was something that went against the natural order of Yin and Yang.

Minamoto no Raiko quickly noticed the anomaly in her beloved husband beside her, and she directly asked:

"Husband, what's wrong?"

"Is there something wrong with this path?"

"..."

Looking at the worried expression on Minamoto no Raiko's face beside him, Abe no Taishin smiled slightly and gently shook his head.

"It's nothing."

"My lady, it's just that it's my first time here, so I'm a little surprised."

"Is that so..."

Minamoto no Raiko reached out and tidied the hair on Abe no Taishin's forehead, then took his arm.

"Husband, if there's anything you can't handle, you must tell me immediately."

"No matter what the problem is, I will face it with you."

"Yes... my lady, I will."

Let's observe a little longer.

Maybe... I'm just mistaken.

Although Abe no Taishin thought so, he knew in his heart that this possibility was very low.

Because—

This was the Onmyōdō that he relied on to survive.

If he claimed to be second best in Kyoto, no one would dare to claim to be better.

[You began to be vigilant.]

[Talent Grand Onmyoji+++ has been activated: Having mastered Onmyōdō, you realized that this might not be a simple audience with the court.]

[You carefully observed the situation within Heian Palace.]

[Your thoughts were correct.]

[You did discover something.]

"..."

Standing on the steps, Abe no Taishin turned his head to look back at the path he had come from, a hint of surprise in his expression.

Because he realized that this road wasn't laid down for aesthetic purposes.

The plants on both sides of the road weren't just randomly chosen either; they were highly significant pines and cypresses.

Abe no Taishin knew this was the most common formation in Onmyōdō—although he didn't know the purpose of doing so yet.

After all, there were a thousand different understandings of Onmyōdō in the eyes of a thousand Onmyoji.

Even disciples taught hand-in-hand would more or less use different formations than their masters.

But one thing was certain—

Someone had indeed laid down a formation here using Onmyōdō.

"Husband, what's wrong with you?"

Minamoto no Raiko looked at Abe no Taishin beside her with a worried expression.

"Are you really alright?"

"After we go in here... it will be inside the palace. If something goes wrong then, it will be very troublesome to explain."

"..."

Abe no Taishin decided not to hide it from Minamoto no Raiko—after all, it wasn't something he couldn't talk about.

"My lady."

"This is what's happening."

[You told Minamoto no Raiko what you had observed along the way.]

[Her expression was even more surprised than yours.]

[You realized she hadn't noticed these things.]

"This..."

Minamoto no Raiko was a little unable to believe it.

"Who would dare to do such a thing here?"

"This is the Emperor's Heian Palace."

"If they were discovered, wouldn't that be a crime of great disrespect?"

"Yes." The Grand Onmyoji nodded. "My lady, you are right."

"But what's certain is that this person is very powerful—after all, my lady has entered the court so many times and never noticed this problem, has she?"

"This shows that he knows how to hide these traces without affecting his own requirements."

"Indeed."

Minamoto no Raiko nodded in agreement with Abe no Taishin's words, but soon thought of a new question.

"Husband, thinking about it this way, it seems even more strange."

"My lady, what do you mean by that?"

"Husband."

Minamoto no Raiko's gaze swept across the road laid out in a formation within the palace.

"Since there is someone who even husband praises so highly, it means they must be a very powerful Onmyoji, right?"

"In that case—"

"Why didn't anyone mention such an Onmyoji when we were dealing with the 'Algae Woman'?"

"Now that my lady mentions it, it is a bit strange."

Abe no Taishin pursed his lips and began to seriously think about this question.

However, this was clearly not something that could be answered in a short time—after all, there were simply too many possibilities.

Seeing her husband looking so troubled, Minamoto no Raiko reached out and patted his head.

"Alright, husband, let's not worry about these things for now."

"Since we discovered the formation within the palace, we just need to report it later."

"As for what to do next, let him decide for himself."

"...I suppose so."

[You temporarily hid your thoughts.]

[You and Minamoto no Raiko entered the court together.]

[You met many officials of the court.]

[Talent Kyoto's Supreme Fame has been activated: As the number one Onmyoji in Kyoto, you are very famous even among the officials of the court.]

[You chatted with these people.]

[This relieved Minamoto no Raiko.]

[Always concerned about her husband, she was very worried that you might not like this atmosphere.]

[But looking at it now, there was no need to worry about such things.]

[The court session began.]

[But the person who appeared before the assembled officials was a bit unexpected.]

[Because it wasn't the Emperor, but another woman.]

"..."

Abe no Taishin showed a look of confusion.

He quietly asked Minamoto no Raiko beside him.

"My lady, why is that person sitting up there..."

Minamoto no Raiko knew what was puzzling her husband.

She began to explain.

"Husband, don't worry."

"That is the Emperor's Empress—she will tell the Emperor what we report."

"Empress?"

Abe no Taishin suddenly thought of something.

"My lady, then her name..."

"Fujiwara no Tokuko." Minamoto no Raiko lowered her voice a bit, afraid of being heard by others.

"?!"

Abe no Taishin's pupils widened slightly in an instant.

Because he had heard this name from Tamamo no Mae.

That was the person the foot soldiers had mentioned when she was put into the prison cart!

[You realized that the plan to capture Tamamo no Mae might be related to Fujiwara no Tokuko.]

[You wanted to get more information.]

[But you found that Fujiwara no Tokuko didn't seem to want to show her true face.]

[Even when meeting with the assembled officials like this, she covered her face with a veil.]

[You felt more and more that this was an unusual situation.]

"My lady."

Abe no Taishin looked at Empress Fujiwara no Tokuko at the very front, his brows furrowed with nothing but confusion.

"Don't you think it's very strange for the Empress to attend court?"

"After all, according to ethical principles... this should be done by the Emperor."

"Husband, you're right."

Minamoto no Raiko's gaze also fell on Fujiwara no Tokuko at the very front.

"Of course, it's a very strange thing."

"But no one would be the first to say it—that would inevitably cause many conflicts and even incur the Empress's hostility."

"And more importantly."

"The Emperor hasn't raised any objections so far. Just that point alone means it's not our place to interfere, don't you think?"

[Of course, you understood what Minamoto no Raiko was saying—rather than questioning the Empress, it was better to remain silent.]

[You didn't say anything more.]

[But your heart did not agree with this situation.]

[After all, the Emperor was the symbol of power in all of Heian-kyō. If the Empress were to take over the administration of the government for a long time like this, the result would definitely be the exile of power.]

[You felt there was a big problem behind this.]

[But you couldn't change it for the time being.]

"Husband, let's stop here for a moment."

"It's time to report the matter of eliminating the 'Algae Woman' to the Empress."

"Alright."

[The court session led by the Empress began.]

[One by one, the officials reported matters to Fujiwara no Tokuko.]

[No one questioned it, and no one opposed it.]

[The atmosphere seemed almost no different from when the Emperor was present.]

[Everything proceeded smoothly.]

[Soon, it was your and Minamoto no Raiko's turn.]

[You came before Fujiwara no Tokuko.]

"Reporting to the Empress."

Minamoto no Raiko presented the "fox corpse" to Fujiwara no Tokuko.

"This is the result of eliminating the 'Algae Woman'."

"The Grand Onmyoji has successfully killed the 'Algae Woman' within Heian-kyō, ending the disaster she brought."

"...Very well."

Fujiwara no Tokuko replied coldly, then looked at the Grand Onmyoji beside her.

"However—"

Through the veil, Abe no Taishin couldn't see the other person's eyes.

But the intuition he had cultivated through a long life of exorcising demons told him that Fujiwara no Tokuko wasn't so happy.

And the reality was indeed so.

After scrutinizing Abe no Taishin for a while, Fujiwara no Tokuko's voice faintly sounded.

It was a tone with a hint of reproach.

"I recall that when the Emperor gave you the order, the priority was to capture her alive, was it not?"

"Yet now you are presenting a corpse..."

As expected.

Regarding the matter of eliminating the "Algae Woman," everything was almost exactly as Abe no Taishin had sensed.

They wanted to bring Tamamo no Mae into the palace, not kill her somewhere.

Fujiwara no Tokuko's attitude was by no means just being difficult—rather, she had expected Tamamo no Mae to be captured and brought into the palace.

The "fox corpse" before her meant that this expectation had completely died.

That was likely the reason for her displeasure.

[You confirmed your thoughts.]

[You realized this was an unusual situation.]

[This was definitely not the attitude that the Emperor or Empress should have.]

[After all, even if Tamamo no Mae was just a fox demon, killing her would definitely be a great achievement.]

[But you didn't voice your thoughts.]

[You decided to "explain" the situation clearly first—after all, you had already prepared your explanation.]

"Reporting to the Empress."

Abe no Taishin answered Fujiwara no Tokuko neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Within the Emperor's orders, there was indeed a directive for us to capture the 'Algae Woman' alive if possible."

"But—"

Abe no Taishin looked at the veiled woman before him.

"The situation at the time was extremely urgent."

"In order to prevent the 'Algae Woman' from harming even more people, I had no choice but to put her to death in the fire to eliminate the threat."

"..."

Fujiwara no Tokuko did not continue Abe no Taishin's words.

But even without seeing her expression, this silence was enough to indicate her attitude.

Seeing this, Minamoto no Raiko quickly spoke up.

"Empress, your subject can testify."

"At that time, after the 'Algae Woman' was captured, she let out an extremely terrifying howl."

"Your subject was worried that this would lead to unnecessary danger, so I ordered her to be burned to death in the fire."

"This—"

"The foot soldiers who participated in the demon extermination that night can all testify to this."

"It was not that the Grand Onmyoji intentionally killed the 'Algae Woman', but that there was no way to capture her alive, so he had no choice but to take action."

Although as Abe no Taishin's husband, Minamoto no Raiko's words sounded somewhat like she was protecting him,

Those who knew her well knew that this young lady of the Minamoto clan, even if she did do so, would produce irrefutable evidence.

Her style of doing things had always been like this, allowing no room for procrastination.

"..."

Fujiwara no Tokuko still didn't speak.

However, her gaze shifted from Abe no Taishin and landed on the "fox corpse" that the two had presented.

She maintained her silent attitude.

But Abe no Taishin wasn't worried at all.

After all, he hadn't failed to notice the flaws in the "fox corpse."

Before entering the court, the Grand Onmyoji had already had Tamamo no Mae help him "repair" these flaws.

First.

It was re-brushed with the fluid flowing from the fox's treasure amidst the trembling legs.

Then.

Abe no Taishin acted as a mold maker, using his fingers to physically measure Tamamo no Mae's wet treasure while also "making" a one-to-one replica of the interior for the "fox corpse."

Finally.

He had Tamamo no Mae rinse the newly made part in the same way.

Now—

He could say without exaggeration that even examining this "corpse" with the strictest scrutiny, it would be impossible to find any flaws.

This could only be the body of a "fox demon"!

And the reality was indeed so.

Fujiwara no Tokuko examined it for a long time but could not find any problems.

All the circumstances indicated that this "corpse" was exactly what the "Algae Woman" looked like after being killed.

"..."

"You have worked hard." Fujiwara no Tokuko said an encouraging word casually.

"I will have the Emperor bestow upon you the rewards you deserve."

"You may step down."

"...As you command."

[The "Algae Woman" subjugation operation, which lasted a season and used countless resources and manpower, officially came to an end.]

[You will receive rewards from the Emperor.]

[Minamoto no Raiko was very happy about this—because she felt that you, with your outstanding talent, should have had an opportunity to make a name for yourself long ago.]

[But she quickly noticed that your expression was a bit off.]

[She realized that the situation might be different from what she had imagined.]

[She leaned closer to you.]

"Husband, what's wrong?"

Minamoto no Raiko asked Abe no Taishin softly beside him.

"Why are you still looking at the Empress?"

Abe no Taishin had a complicated expression as he replied.

"My lady, there's something I want to do."

"What is it?". Minamoto no raiko asked a bit puzzled.

"It's just—"

Abe no Taishin looked towards Fujiwara no Tokuko, who was still meeting with the assembled officials.

"I want to meet the Emperor."

"This..." Minamoto no Raiko was a little surprised.

"Husband, do you have something important that you need to specifically see the Emperor about?"

"My lady, this time it's not about me."

Abe no Taishin's expression became extremely serious.

"It's that something might have happened to the Emperor."

"What?"