Bai Luo and Gorou didn't linger long. After learning the full story, they decided to return to camp for further discussion.
Compared to Bai Luo, Gorou had witnessed far more on this trip—the Tatarigami's widespread effects, the common folk's perception of the resistance, and... scenes even he, as a general, had never expected to see.
"We'll need to convene the officers when we return. Many matters require reassessment."
Only when they were alone did Gorou finally speak freely.
Normally around Bai Luo, his tail would wag unconsciously.
But this time, it hung limp, barely twitching.
"As for Higi Village... I wouldn't recommend wasting efforts there. That place is beyond saving. The refugee settlements nearby, however, might still be salvageable."
What was the Tatarigami, really?
In some ways, it resembled the karmic debt Bai Luo had encountered before—the same corruption that tormented Xiao and the Yakshas. The lingering wrath of fallen gods.
If anyone in Watatsumi could truly purge it... it would be their Divine Priestess.
But the people would never allow her to touch such defilement.
After all, even as a curse, it stemmed from their revered Orobashi no Mikoto.
Gorou's ears twitched. Bai Luo's words were harsh, but pragmatic.
"Handle the arrangements. I have other leads to pursue."
At the hill's crest, Bai Luo gazed down at the camp below.
"Alone?"
"Some things are simpler solo."
"...Very well. If you need aid, the resistance stands ready."
Gorou was reluctant to let Bai Luo investigate alone. It wasn't that he distrusted him—after witnessing the power of the Tatarigami, he worried Bai Luo might encounter danger. But recalling how Bai Luo had walked freely through the Musoujin Gorge, he could only reluctantly agree.
After handing Bai Luo the Mora he had saved up, Gorou headed down the hill.
It wasn't until Gorou reached the halfway point that Bailuo seemed to remember something.
"Hey, Gorou! Your clothes!"
Bai Luo's shout was loud, and nearly everyone in the military camp below looked up.
And then... they saw the woman on the mountainside.
Gorou: "..."
Only after seeing the soldiers' reactions did Bai Luo put on an expression of feigned shock.
Then, he tossed the clothes in his hand down to Gorou on the mountainside, gave him an apologetic smile, and vanished over the hill.
Mr. Bai couldn't have done that on purpose. Absolutely not.
He just wanted to remind me to change clothes.
Yes, to remind me to change clothes.
Holding the clothes Bai Luo had thrown down, Gorou didn't head toward the soldiers rushing up the slope. Instead, relying on his agility, he disappeared into the nearby forest.
It wasn't until evening that he pretended to return to the camp through the main gate.
But he didn't see how hard Bai Luo, hiding on the other side of the mountain, was struggling to hold back his laughter.
If you're going to pursue excitement, you might as well go all the way.
So guess whether he did it on purpose.
"Ah, I forgot to ask about her brother."
After descending the mountain and seeing the soldiers searching the hillside, Bai Luo remembered that he had promised the little girl he'd ask about her brother.
Oh well. Since that fool Teppei is also in the camp, he can handle it.
As for Bai Luo... he had more important things to do.
...
Dendrobiums, vibrant plants also referred to in poetry as "lycoris," were once extinct across the islands of Inazuma.
True to their name, these plants look as if dyed in blood—not only are their flowers blood-red, but their leaves are too.
The pale veins resemble bleached bones, and approaching them feels like catching a whiff of blood. Legends say that it blooms most enchantingly where much blood was spilled.
Though exceedingly rare and valuable, their ominous reputation among the people of Inazuma limits their market.
Rumor has it that these plants are watered using blood. The bloodier and more brutal the battlefield, the more lovely the dendrobium blooms shall be.
Inazumans believe that the souls of the fallen shall follow the winding paths of the bloodied dendrobiums into the next life, thus rejoining the eternal elemental cycle.
But as for those who doubt or are perplexed by "eternity," they shall be shackled to the earth, becoming another enchantingly red flower amid the vermillion fields.
Yet these eerie flowers, which should have vanished, now blanket Nazuchi Beach.
For this is the battleground between the Shogunate and the resistance.
Merely standing at the edge of Nazuchi Beach, with its expanse of demonic red flowers, is enough to send chills down one's spine.
Arrows embedded in stone, rusted tachi, broken spears, battle flags washed by the sea, beached warships...
Though Nazuchi Beach shows no smoke or corpses, it feels even more unsettling.
Especially the seabirds and fish that actively approach at the sight of humans.
Their pleading eyes, though merely reflecting a basic hunger for food, send a shiver down the spine—for it means they've grown accustomed to the taste of humans.
Though the war between the Shogunate and the resistance has temporarily halted due to the Tatarigami, it doesn't mean the conflict is over.
Among the war-wrecked ships stranded on Nazuchi Beach, shadowy figures occasionally move.
Whether they are scouts from either side, pirates lurking here, or... the unquiet ghosts of the war-dead is unclear.
To reach Shogunate territory, one could either take the waterways—rowing from the Jakotsu Mine area to Tatarasuna—or, like Bai Luo now, trek across Nazuchi Beach to the opposing frontlines.
Battlefields are eternally places of ill omen.
And given Inazuma's belief in spirits, few dare to take this path.
As for why Bai Luo was heading to Shogunate territory...
He pulled out the flyer he'd gotten from Yasumoto.
Of course, it was for this.
The Shogunate dared to summon people affected by the Tatarigami, so Bai Luo assumed they must have a way to deal with it.
But the information from Yasumoto overturned that assumption.
Why would Shogunate officers personally seek out Yasumoto, who was just a mountain away from the resistance? Of course, because their investigations in Higi Village revealed that Yasumoto had the ability to treat the Tatarigami.
Even if it wasn't a complete cure, merely alleviating its effects was impressive enough.
And for such an uncertain factor, they went to such lengths—meaning one thing:
The Shogunate, too, had no solution for the Tatarigami.
So, returning to the original question—why would they distribute flyers summoning the people if they couldn't guarantee treatment?
That's... rather intriguing.