Chapter Six: Strategies for Dealing with the Reverse Knot Luo

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Once again, under a bright full moon, the earth was bathed in a hazy lunar glow. Outside the village of Maple, within the brilliantly lit Hojo family military camp, Hojo Akitoki and Akechi Mitsuhide sat facing each other with elegant composure.

Between them, on a small table, lay what was purportedly the legacy of the late Kikyo, delivered just moments ago by Granny Maple.

“No need to wait for the monks we recruited to verify this,” Hojo Akitoki said with a smile, tapping the talismans thoughtfully.

“The paper for these talismans is indeed old, but not fifty years old.”

“Moreover, the ink on the talismans isn’t entirely dry in some places if you look closely.”

“My lord, I will go and bring back that shrine maiden, Maple,” Akechi Mitsuhide asserted.

If Hojo Akitoki could discern these details, how could Akechi Mitsuhide not? In truth, even before Akitoki pointed out the inconsistencies on the talismans, the anger rising in Mitsuhide’s heart at having been deceived had already made it impossible for him to suppress his murderous intent.

“No matter. That’s not the point,” Akitoki said with a light laugh, signaling Mitsuhide to restrain his impatience as he gazed faintly upward toward the canopy that veiled the night sky.

“The true guest we must entertain on this journey is not a mere frail old woman.”

“Even if she claims to be the sister of Kikyo, the shrine maiden who once dominated the yokai fifty years ago.”

Meanwhile, beneath the gentle moonlight, Granny Maple was drenched in cold sweat as she hurried toward the village.

“This isn’t right, something’s wrong!” she muttered.

Having attempted to deceive Hojo Akitoki by presenting the talismans she herself had drawn—allegedly the legacy of her sister from fifty years past—the stronger her memories of the scene in the military camp grew, the more ominous her premonition became.

“That look in his eyes!” Granny Maple murmured, certain of one thing: when she showed the talismans, Akitoki’s gaze upon them had been piercing and all-seeing, as if he had seen through everything.

“But why?” she suddenly stopped and glanced back at the Hojo family military camp beneath the night, which loomed like a fierce tiger crouched upon the earth, radiating a deadly aura.

She could not understand why, if Akitoki had already seen through her trickery, he had not reacted immediately—had not used it as an excuse to capture her or threaten her into surrendering something even more precious.

Moreover...

The more she scrutinized the Hojo camp, the more questions filled her mind.

Indeed, in this Warring States era, the Hojo family, managed by Hojo Akitoki, was truly affluent, boasting one of the most formidable military forces of the time.

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Yet the rumors said that Hojo Akitoki was not a man given to extravagance!

On the march or in battle, the camp housed black dogs, vivid roosters, and oxen usually used for plowing.

These animals could be justified as food supplements.

But why would anyone cover the entire military camp with expensive fabrics?

It made sense for nobles or high-ranking samurai to use canopies to display their status.

But for common foot soldiers and the camp’s outer perimeter, what purpose could it serve other than flaunting wealth and luxury?

Furthermore, Maple Village lacked the means to threaten the Hojo army.

The real enemies—the Takeda and Imagawa clans—were over a hundred ri away at Kawagoe Castle, making a sudden attack on this camp impossible.

So why, then, had they painstakingly dug trenches around the camp’s perimeter that resembled moats?

“I don’t understand, the Qilin of Sagami—Hojo Akitoki,” Granny Maple muttered as the night breeze scattered her wispy white hair.

The more she pondered these questions, the more perplexed she became.

After lingering for a moment, Granny Maple, though seasoned with half a century of experience, was not a woman of great wisdom.

Her expertise lay elsewhere, and she could not fathom Hojo Akitoki’s true intentions.

“Enough,” she shook her head, deciding to stop dwelling on it.

Since Akitoki had seen through her but said nothing, and showed no sign of attacking Maple Village for now, why should she torment herself here?

Besides, Hojo Akitoki was cautious about the distant future, but the immediate threat was right before her eyes.

The thought of the second dog, probably still subdued by Kagome, sent sharp pains along her trigeminal nerve.

That second dog, tangled in love and hate with her sister, was no trivial matter—she had better hurry home to tend to it.

Lifting her foot, Granny Maple prepared to return to the village.

At that moment, a chilling aura swept through the vicinity.

Thanks to the training she’d received from her late sister Kikyo during childhood, she sensed it immediately.

“Yokai!”

Though she appeared frail and old, Granny Maple displayed agility beyond her years.

With a hand gesture, she instantly formed a small protective barrier around herself about the size of a person.

“Hmm, not bad,” came a cool, pleasant female voice drifting on the night breeze.

“Really a yokai?”

Hearing the voice, Granny Maple had originally thought Hojo Akitoki’s claim of a great yokai was deception.

But now, seeing for herself, it was real!

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“We must warn them immediately!”

Without hesitation, Granny Maple anxiously looked toward the peaceful village in the distance.

That village was the one she had protected for half a century!

Yet before she could act to alert the ignorant villagers or perhaps Kagome, who might still be suppressing Inuyasha—

Suddenly, from behind her, within the Hojo family military camp, dogs barked, roosters crowed, and oxen bellowed.

In an instant, the once silent camp stirred as these dormant beasts awakened!

“Truly the tradition of Toudai, it is effective after all.”

Standing amid the bustling camp, surrounded by well-trained soldiers methodically taking their battle positions, Hojo Akitoki stood side by side with Akechi Mitsuhide on the command platform, his ears attuned to the ongoing cries of the animals.

In truth, even Hojo Akitoki himself was uncertain whether bringing these dogs, roosters, and oxen would have any effect.

After all, the traditions of Toudai had it that such animals could serve as early warnings against yokai or spirits.

But that was Toudai, and this was Japan.

What if the tradition, like wielding a sword from a previous dynasty against the current regime, didn’t suit this land?

Therefore, Akitoki had prepared a backup plan: draping the entire camp with fabric.

According to intelligence, the hair of the reverse-strand Kiroro could render one invisible, but physical contact would still leave traces.

If the animals failed to warn, then the only hope was that when the enemy’s hair brushed against the fabric, the cloth would reveal compression marks.

Fortunately, Toudai did not disappoint.

“This is both inevitable and expected,” Akitoki chuckled softly, recalling the reverse-strand Kiroro, who could, in a sense, be classified as a kind of spirit.

Thus, the animals he had brought were suitably matched to the task.

“My lord!” Mitsuhide said, hearing Akitoki’s low murmurs, overwhelmed with admiration.

Gazing at the empty air beyond the camp, and recalling that without the animals’ warning, their great army might have been wiped out silently, Mitsuhide felt a sour pang in his teeth.

“What shall we do next? The enemy is a yokai invisible to the naked eye—should we...?”

“Yes, begin,” Akitoki nodded with a refined smile.