Chapter 45: Gyo Ten Shin Gen
"Dad, were those really Zenki and Koki just now? Why would they obey him?"
Only after the shock had lingered for several breaths did Tsuchimikado Harutora finally find his voice again.
His face was full of confusion.
No, confusion was putting it lightly. What he felt now was complete disbelief.
Those two had been Kishin of boundless malevolence. Even his father and mother, who stood near the summit of the Tsuchimikado Clan's fighting strength, had treated them like a catastrophe waiting to erupt. And yet, in front of Gin Tsumugi, they had behaved like utterly loyal retainers.
Was that even possible?
Were those really the legendary Zenki and Koki?
"There is no doubt. Those were the real Zenki and Koki."
Hirotaka answered in a low voice, though his own expression was not much better.
"As for why that happened…"
He trailed off there.
Because he had no answer.
Not just Harutora. Hirotaka himself did not understand. Neither did Tsuchimikado Chizuru. The couple knew better than anyone how terrifying those two Kishin were, and precisely because of that, what they had just witnessed was even harder to accept.
While they were still trying to collect their thoughts, Tsuchimikado Natsume had already rushed forward.
"Mr. Gin, are you hurt?"
There was clear worry in her voice as she looked Gin Tsumugi over from head to toe, as if afraid he had suffered some hidden injury when Zenki and Koki approached him.
"I'm fine."
Gin Tsumugi gave a small, reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. Zenki and Koki never intended to hurt me."
Only after hearing that did Natsume let out the breath she had been holding.
Relief spread across her face.
At that moment, Hirotaka, Chizuru, and Harutora also walked over.
Tsuchimikado Hirotaka stopped in front of Gin Tsumugi, then gave a solemn bow without hesitation.
"Mr. Gin, thank you."
"This time, you truly saved the Tsuchimikado Clan from disaster."
"On behalf of the clan, I offer you my deepest gratitude."
His words were not polite formalities.
He meant every one of them.
No matter what strange truth lay behind this incident, one thing was certain. If Gin Tsumugi had not stepped in, Zenki and Koki would have rampaged through the estate. Once that happened, the Tsuchimikado Clan would have paid a staggering price just to contain them.
Harutora, who had been bristling with dislike toward Gin Tsumugi ever since he arrived, remained silent.
Even he understood that much.
If not for Gin Tsumugi, the Tsuchimikado Clan might already have been forced to abandon this ancestral estate. For a family like theirs, that would have been an enormous humiliation.
"You are too courteous."
Gin Tsumugi stepped forward and helped Hirotaka straighten up.
Only then did Hirotaka and Chizuru get a proper look at him from up close.
His features were refined and almost impossibly clean. Those deep blue eyes of his held a calm clarity that made it difficult to look away. Clad in snow white Onmyoji robes, he seemed both elegant and distant, carrying a quiet air that made him feel somehow set apart from everyone around him.
A fine looking young man.
But what struck Hirotaka most was not Gin Tsumugi's appearance. It was the strange sense of familiarity he felt simply by standing this close.
It was faint, yet undeniable.
A sense of kinship.
As though some hidden bloodline resonance was quietly stirring.
It made no sense at all.
Still, before he could dwell on it, the question everyone truly cared about rose to the surface.
"Mr. Gin," Hirotaka said carefully, "what exactly happened just now?"
Even Natsume turned toward Gin Tsumugi at that question, her curiosity plain in her eyes.
Gin Tsumugi paused for a moment.
Then he gave a slight apologetic smile.
"My apologies."
"This involves a special ancient method I possess. Please understand that I cannot explain it in detail."
It was a clean answer.
Too clean.
Anyone with a working mind could tell he was glossing over the truth.
Yet, unexpectedly, Hirotaka did not press further.
"Since it concerns Mr. Gin's private technique, we will not pry."
The answer came so quickly that even Chizuru gave him a brief look.
Gin Tsumugi also seemed faintly surprised, though he said nothing.
Hirotaka chatted with him for a short while after that, exchanging a few ordinary words that sounded casual on the surface, though his gaze remained quietly observant the entire time. Only then did he leave with Chizuru and Harutora.
Natsume lingered a moment longer before following after them.
Soon, only the sound of wind through the trees remained.
On a narrow path within the Tsuchimikado estate, green bamboo swayed softly on both sides, their leaves whispering against one another.
Chizuru finally spoke.
"Husband, do you really believe that explanation?"
Her voice was low, but her meaning was obvious.
Ancient method?
That answer was little more than a polite refusal.
Hirotaka did not respond immediately.
Instead, he asked a different question.
"Did you notice anything about Mr. Gin?"
Chizuru frowned lightly and thought for a moment.
"Notice what?"
"Other than being absurdly talented in Onmyodo, nothing in particular."
"That young man is extraordinary, yes, but…"
She paused.
"You sound as though you discovered something."
Hirotaka's expression grew more serious.
"I felt bloodline affinity."
Chizuru stopped walking.
"What?"
"It was faint, but unmistakable. Stronger in Natsume than in me, but I felt it as well."
His brows tightened as he spoke.
"If you did not notice it, that is probably because you married into the Tsuchimikado Clan rather than being born into its bloodline."
Chizuru fell silent.
Then her expression gradually changed.
She had almost forgotten.
Forgotten, because so much time had passed and because some matters were easier not to think about unless forced to.
After a few moments, she said, "Do you mean to say that Gin Tsumugi has Tsuchimikado blood in him?"
Hirotaka shook his head.
"Simple bloodline connection would not be enough to make Zenki and Koki kneel."
"If it were only that, the Tsuchimikado Clan would not have failed with them for generation after generation."
His voice turned heavier.
"No. This matter is much more complicated."
He looked ahead, though his thoughts were clearly elsewhere.
"And if we recklessly force him to answer, we may invite far more trouble than we can handle."
Chizuru understood at once.
"You mean…"
Hirotaka nodded grimly.
"If Mr. Gin can make Zenki and Koki go back, then naturally, he can make them come out again."
Chizuru's breathing stalled for a moment.
That possibility had not crossed her mind before.
But once Hirotaka voiced it, the danger became impossible to ignore.
Zenki and Koki were no longer merely a sealed calamity beneath the Tsuchimikado estate.
Now, the person who could move that calamity stood before them in human form.
"I need to report this to the Head of the Family immediately," Hirotaka said.
But Chizuru's face changed.
"Husband, Honshu Island is sealed off by the power of Yamata no Orochi."
"You know as well as I do that we can only communicate during the specific window each month when its power weakens."
"And this month's window already passed."
Hirotaka's footsteps stopped.
He stood in silence for several breaths.
Then, slowly, he made up his mind.
"Then I'll use [Gyo Ten Shin Gen]."
Chizuru's face went pale.
"Husband!"
"That secret code cannot be used lightly."
Her reaction was not exaggerated.
[Gyo Ten Shin Gen] was one of the Tsuchimikado Clan's deepest emergency transmission techniques, a secret method that could force a message through even under terrifying spiritual interference. But precisely because it violated normal limits, the backlash was severe.
Hirotaka exhaled.
"At this point, I have no choice but to try."
"If I succeed, then fine. If I fail, I'll only end up bedridden for half a year or so."
Chizuru stared at him.
She clearly knew that what he said was an understatement.
The consequences of failure were far more serious than that.
But Hirotaka cut off her protest before she could continue.
"Chizuru, understand this."
His expression was grave to the extreme.
"The moment Zenki and Koki tore open the sealing array, this matter ceased to be something we could quietly handle within the clan."
"And now there is Mr. Gin."
He paused, then spoke each word with deliberate weight.
"If Zenki and Koki were once a time bomb buried beneath the Tsuchimikado Clan, then the detonator is now in Mr. Gin's hands."
Chizuru's lips parted, but no words came out.
She knew he was right.
No matter how one looked at it, what had happened today had already far exceeded their authority. This was something only Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi could decide.
After a long silence, Chizuru finally lowered her gaze.
"Then be careful."
Her voice had softened.
There was worry in it, but no longer opposition.
Hirotaka gave a faint nod.
Without another word, the two of them continued down the path through the bamboo grove, their steps grave and heavy.
Because they both knew that from this moment onward, the situation inside the Tsuchimikado Clan had changed completely.
.....
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