âThe Cloistered Emperorâs order?â Frowning, Lily asked. In truth, she didnât have a good impression of the Cloistered Emperor. He might have treated her well on the surface, but she had always felt uncomfortable and uneasy.
Makoto led Lily to an empty room with a large map.
She pointed at a temple icon in the mountains, âLily, remember this location, according to the voice transmission we received, the sword miko advance squad has been besieged by the demons in these mountains. Fortunately, this ancient temple existed when the Hatanos ruled Tanba, so its existence is marked upon our maps.â
Lily observed the marks on the map, and estimated the distance between the ancient temple and port Ayabe, approximately two hundred miles or so.
âMemorized it?â
Lily nodded lightly.
âWithin that Sword miko squad is not only the well known ladies of various clans, but also the emperorâs younger brother, Prince Narinaga.â
âWha?? Prince Narinaga came to Tanba with the sword mikos? He, how did he enter the Tsunaga sisters?â
âUnknown, as for how he entered the squad, it is said that he was crossdressing.â
ââŠâŠâ
ââŠâŠâ
âThe Cloistered Emperor personally named you, requesting that you go rescue the sword miko squad, especially Prince Narinaga. Lily, this will be very dangerous, if you have no guarantee, then even if I must disobey the royal command, I will send someone elseâŠâ
âNo, Mother Makoto, I will go.â
âHm?â
Lily felt that it would be better to go out on a rescue mission than be confined here, there were so many reasons for her to help. To begin with, the sword miko army had been here for a month, perhaps they had news on sister Uesugi, another reason was that she was also a member of the Tsunaga sisters, and lastly prince Narinaga was there, he had helped her during the murder trial, she owed him.
Although she ached to look for sister Uesugi, she had no idea where to start, but the sword miko squad was nearby. WIth her speed, she could reach them within a day despite the dangerous terrain.
Makoto nodded, âTo tell the truth, Iâm unwilling to send you outâŠbut I know you, if I detain you here, youâll definitely act by yourself. Lily, you must take the utmost care. How many soldiers and horses do you need, and who? I will mobilize the armyâs elites.â
âNo need, the road is dangerous, the more people there are, the greater the delay will be. I will go by myself.â
âYou, byâŠyourself? Lily, the sword miko squad is besieged by an army of demons!â
âMother Makoto, sometimes a greater number is not an advantage, also I donât know anything about commanding troops. Only by myself can I act quickly and decisively.â
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âTrue, Lily, take precautions, rescue the sword miko squad and return. You must not get carried away and continue into TanbaâŠdo you understand? This is an order.â
âUnless I get news of sister Uesugiâs exact location, I will return immediately1.â
âLilyâŠâ
Makoto didnât know what else to say, she was afraid to put Lily in danger, yet she had given her the most dangerous mission. It might have been the Cloistered Emperorâs order, but stillâŠ
âMother Makoto, you must take care too.â Lily turned and left the room.
âWoo! Kagami Lily, youâre dressed so sexy! Lonely? Do you want this lord to accompany you?â Takamune had been walking past, spotting Lily, he vulgarly invited her.
Lily had no mood to pay attention to him, pulling out a long scroll, she accelerated and hopped across a few roofs before jumping towards the Tanba river.
âOii! Even if you donât welcome me, thereâs no need to jump into the river!â shocked, Takamune gave chase only to see Lily summon a ten meter long red Koi and jump on its back as they dropped into the river. With a swing of its strong tail, they easily sped upstream.
âAhâŠthisâŠwhat is this?â Takamune watched dazed from the port.
âŠâŠ
âŠâŠ
In Heian-kyo, in the dark shogunâs mansion
Minamoto no Yoritomo in a black suit and an officialâs hat sat in the main room.
Shenzu had been brought here after being blindfolded.
âEnter.â A servant told her after taking off the blindfold.
Shenzu walked in, the room was big yet dark, the only light in the room was the moonlight shining where Yoritomo was sitting.
Walking in, she passed the pillars before arriving a few meters away from Yoritomo and sat down.
âLord Shogun, why have you sought out a death inmate who colluded with demons?â
Yoritomo looked at Shenzu, her wrecked tattered clothes and her bare skin. There was not a hint of lust in his eyes, only sadness. âShenzuâŠyouâve suffered.â
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âIâm a sinner whoâs destined to be executed and cursed at by the world. Arenât the shogunâs words a bit ridiculous?â Shenzu thought nothing of Yoritomoâs sudden concern.
Yoritomo continued to look at Shenzu seriously, after a moment of silence he said. âYour real name is Minamoto no Shenzu, my daughter.â
Shenzu had grown indifferent to the Imperial courtâs interrogations and punishments, but now she trembled uncontrollably, her eyes wide open and her golden blue pupils narrowed into a thin line.
For a long time she didnât speak, but eventually she started laughing.
âAhahahahaha! Lord Shogun, why are you joking around with a prisoner?â
âNo, you are definitely my daughter. Your mother was not a human, she was a beautiful princess from Yomi.â
ââŠâŠâ Shenzu fell silent.
She still remembered that terrifying abyssal world in her childhood memories, but those memories were very vague, she couldnât remember her motherâs face, but she felt that she had been abandoned by her mother there.
But before she had grown up, she remembered being picked up by Rokuhara Tandai, living with him, learning martial arts, learning swordsmanshipâŠ
She didnât know if Yoritomo was speaking truth or lies, but it was true that she didnât know who her father was.
âWhy should I believe you?â
âIâm only telling you the truth, I donât need you to believe me. My current wives have nothing to do with you, and you cannot disclose our relationship, there is no need to trick you.â
âIf you are speaking the truth, why tell me now?â
Minamoto no Yoritomo was also helpless, âOriginally, I was not going to tell you, but Lord Rokuhara Tandaiâs death changed everything. I know that in your heart, Lord Rokuhara Tandai is much more important than this father who suddenly appeared, I completely agree.â
âTeacherâŠâ Once Rokuhara Tandai was brought up, she trembled uncontrollably, she believed that Rokuharaâs power within her body must be even sadder. âKagami LilyâŠthat woman, she killed my teacher! She killed my teacher!â
âI think, you must be unwilling, if you are executed like this, then your teacherâs enmity will never be resolved. I have paid much to rescue you, including handing the Bureau of Justice to the Fujiwaras. You should also know just how stubborn Kimura is and how he doesnât understand what the Genjiâs real interests are. If you were not my daughter, why would I sacrifice so much to rescue you.â
âFine, then even if your words are the truth, I wonât repay you!â Shenzu retorted, âFrom childhood, I had no mother or father, I no longer care who my father is, I only have my teacher in my heart!â
âI donât need you to repay me, why would a father care about a daughterâs repayment? I only want to help you, so you can live as you will and do what you want.â
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âWhat I want to do? Hah, the thing I want to do the most, is kill that Kagami Lily!â
âThisâŠI will be blunt, with your current power, you cannot win against Kagami Lily. You have been imprisoned for a while, but her powers have increased significantly.â
âWhatâŠâ Shenzuâs eyes filled with unwillingness, âWhy, why does that hateful woman have such talent! Teacher was such a good person, why did he have to die?â
âAh, ShenzuâŠeverything has two sides. Lily who you hate so much, is she not the goddess of many of Heian-kyoâs people? Your teacher who you value so much, is he not the devil of many people? And me, I am your father, but to many others, an enemy.â
Shenzu turned her gaze to Yoritomo, âRight, fatherâŠin this world, only teacher treated me sincerely! As for you, I see a man who would use his own daughter, right?â
Minamoto no Yoritomo showed a sad expression, âIt makes me very sad to hear that, I only wanted to let you live as you wanted, but if I set you free right now, you would immediately look for Kagami Lily, would that not be setting you up to die?â
âThen what do you plan on doing?â
âMinamoto no Shenzu, do you not want to inherit your teacherâs position?â
âWhat did you say?â
âI want to appoint you as the new Rokuhara Tandai.â The small eyes on Minamoto no Yoritomoâs face glowed2.
âWhat!??â
âYou arenât willing?â
Shenzuâs teacher, Rokuhara Tandai, was older than any official in the Heian dynasty. As the oldest military leader of Heian-kyo, he was a mysterious entity who survived through multiple generations.
Within Shenzuâs body resided her teacherâs power, her teacherâs spirit energyâŠ
If she inherited her teacherâs title, then wouldnât that mean her teacher would continue to survive in a sense?
Furthermore, if she became the second highest military official in Heian-kyo, wouldnât her revenge against Kagami Lily be easily accomplished?
âNot willing? How could that be possible? Ahahaha, ahahahaha!â Shenzu started laughing, âShenzu thanks the shogun, ah no, I should call you⊠Lord father.â
References
Robinxen: Hmmm⊠unless you get news.Silva: For real tho, this Lord Kamakura is getting more and more suspicious by the minutes, he keeps helping those who have enmity against Lily and keeps setting her up since the beginningâŠ