harleyscars Page 223
Page 223
They've long since started a hundred schools of thought contending.
Although Natsuhiko was indifferent to the shrine's report, the Goddess of Fate seemed to care a lot about it.
They even take it more seriously than the shrine on Mount Okusan.
After all, although the shrine on the mountain is large and magnificent, it has no worshippers!
To ensure that the shrine could reliably provide him with the power of faith, the god of marriage decided to stay and perform a series of "miracles" for the foolish villagers, harvest a crop of leeks, and then return.
And he begged Xia Yan to keep the white wolf as an assistant.
Although I'm a little annoyed that this silly boy has no morals, he's the one I chose, so I can only spoil him.
After leaving the white wolf and the spirit of the union at the Natsuhiko Shrine in the nameless village of Okusansan, Natsuhiko did not choose to return to Okusansan, but instead headed northwest of Okusansan.
He planned to visit the market set up by monsters and continue his unfinished exploration mission.
As a sly character, he was never one to sit still, and establishing a base was simply to make it easier for him to travel around.
Having stayed at my hometown for over a month, I naturally wanted to take a good look around after coming down the mountain.
As a yokai market on the outskirts of Heian-kyo, it would be impossible for those Onmyoji masters not to know about this place.
To put it bluntly, the existence of this market is tacitly approved by both monsters and humans.
Existence is reasonable.
In this country, monsters have become a special and indispensable part of society.
Many Onmyoji with average skill levels want to capture monsters like Pokémon to become shikigami and strengthen themselves, or to accomplish things that Onmyo magic cannot.
Some monsters have even become beings similar to the ninja beasts in Naruto.
Although this is a world that is mixed with many things related to monsters, at present, the general worldview is still based on the Onmyoji as the main framework.
According to the plot of the Onmyoji world, it is basically a group of monsters who are busy saving the world, while humans are mostly just background characters and the source of all evil. Takamagahara is the worst of the worst.
The protagonist, Abe no Seimei, is himself a half-demon born from a fox and a human.
The only human who could be considered to have a real presence was Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the head of the Minamoto clan, who held the belief that humanity was paramount.
Of course, Minamoto no Yorimitsu was just a little brat at the time.
As one of the few great demons at the time, Xia Yan was naturally very fast. Although he wandered around leisurely, he arrived at his destination in no time.
A sparsely populated wasteland located on the outskirts of Kyoto.
Of course, these are just appearances.
In Xia Yan's eyes, the seemingly empty wasteland in front of him was actually a market full of monsters.
He blinked and took a step forward.
The next moment, he vanished into thin air, as if he had never been there at all.
When I looked up, he was already standing at the entrance of the market.
The surrounding area was a lively and bustling scene.
The stalls, displaying all sorts of miscellaneous goods such as vegetables, fruits, fabrics, wood carvings, tables and chairs, were neatly arranged along the roadside, resembling a flea market from a bygone era.
Despite it being winter, the market was still bustling with activity, and the roads were neither covered in snow nor muddy.
In some ways, it is even cleaner and tidier than most streets in the world today.
After all, demonic power is so convenient, and the preferences of demons are incredibly diverse.
Some brooms that have become tsukumogami (spirits) even find pleasure in cleaning.
Xia Yan looked around with great interest.
All around, creatures in various poses came into view, making it seem not much different from humans strolling through a night market.
Many of the monsters also have 520 large and small demon horns growing on their heads.
However, the fact that they have horns does not necessarily mean that they are all demons. After all, horns are a relatively common feature of monsters, and not all demons have horns.
This thing has little to do with strength.
After all, Shuten-dōji, who was at the top of the Oni race, did not have horns, but Ibaraki-dōji did have horns, and they were asymmetrical.
This thing is actually somewhat related to personality; generally, horned monsters don't have very good tempers.
When many monsters go berserk, demon horns will grow on the top of their heads.
Xia Yan didn't have any particular fondness for demon horns, since he hadn't encountered any beautiful girls with horns on their heads yet.
In comparison, the animal ears and tail were more attractive to him.
—After this stroll, I'll go find the White Wolf and give him a good rub.
After all, it has taken on a new form after being instilled by me, but it has not yet been developed.
It would be even better if Fairy Lingyue were also willing, but given her personality, she'd probably find it hard to open up. We'd need to talk to her privately and help her adjust...
We'll have to carefully compare the differences between wolf demons and dog demons then.
At the same time, Lingyue Xianji, who was planning the development of Mount Osan, suddenly felt a chill.
Chapter 336 The Beautiful Boss Lady
While planning how to persuade his wife to throw him a party when he got back, Xia Yan strolled around like a retired old man, playing with his pipe pouch.
As I passed a butcher stall run by a pig-headed man, I glanced at it slightly.
Unlike other vendors who loudly hawk their wares and try to attract customers, the pig-headed man simply kept his head down and deftly chopped the meat filling.
The clanging sounds continued incessantly.
The pig-headed man's appearance is unremarkable, and there's not much to say about him.
With a fat head and big ears, a mouthful of ferocious fangs, and a body full of bulging flesh, it would occasionally grunt and groan. It looked quite similar to Pigsy from Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.
If you remove the part that belongs to the pig, it looks like a greasy middle-aged butcher in his forties or fifties.
Judging from its features, this so-called pig-headed man is not actually a "pig," but rather a monster transformed from a "pig."
In island nations, "pig" generally refers to wild boar, which is a symbol of bravery.
Pigs, on the other hand, are the kind of dull-witted, carnivorous animals.
Although the pig-headed man didn't shout out, there was a fairly long queue in front of his stall, and a few of the pigs looked quite cute.
However, most of them were filthy and disgusting, and some of the monsters even emitted miasma.
However, what caught Xia Yan's attention was not the pig-headed man's appearance, nor the long queue in front of the shop.
Instead, it was a gleaming human thigh hanging from the iron hook above the pig-headed man's head.
The foot part has been cut off, and it looks like a prepared pork knuckle.
Ha, pigs are selling human flesh.
This wave is called a two-level reversal.
It is because of these man-eating monsters that Mount Okusan is so desolate and uninhabited; those outside cannot get in, and those inside cannot get out.
However, Xia Yan had no intention of meddling in other people's business.
After all, he is now a monster and has no right to speak out for humanity.
Moreover, such markets have been tacitly allowed to exist for quite some time, and since humans themselves don't care, he naturally wouldn't bother with them.
"Excuse me, may I pass by?"
Xia Yan walked past a somewhat handsome rabbit-man, smiled and nodded at him, providing the rabbit-demon girl with material for her dream that night.
Then he walked toward his goal.
When he first saw the market, he had already observed the entire market and identified the most popular shop in the entire monster market.
A tavern.
"Meow~"
As soon as he entered, the white cat greeted him and rubbed against his legs affectionately.
This instantly improved Xia Yan's mood considerably.
Although he really likes the white wolf in all its forms, and he also has a positive attitude towards Lingyue Fairy, the great demon of the dog clan, he is actually a cat lover; he just doesn't dislike dogs.
The white cat very sensibly led Xia Yan to an empty table.
Clearly, this is a monster that has not yet taken human form.
Perhaps because it was still early, although there were already customers in the tavern, most of the tables were still empty.
"Sir, you look a bit unfamiliar, it seems like this is your first time here~ Would you like some of the shop's signature dishes?"
A gentle voice sounded.
"Okay, go ahead and see."
Xia Yan said casually, while glancing at the proprietress who came to place her order.
She wore a very ordinary indigo blue undergarment and linen trousers, with a red belt around her waist, adding a touch of liveliness to her overall outfit.
With her long, flaxen hair, which was meticulously wrapped in a headscarf for work convenience, she looked very capable.
She has delicate and beautiful features, looks to be around twenty years old, and has a gentle smile that can heal the soul.
Its transformation was quite perfect, almost indistinguishable from a human, and it didn't even leave behind any demonic markings.
However, the obvious demonic aura emanating from her still betrayed her identity.
Of course, this only revealed her identity as a monster. Even though Xia Yan's Byakugan could see through human bodies, he couldn't tell exactly what kind of monster she was.
After all, there are all sorts of strange and wonderful monsters in this world.
Take the Guhuoniao for example. At first glance, it looks exactly like a bird demon, and its physical structure is no different from that of a bird demon, but it actually has nothing to do with birds.
It is a monster formed from the resentment of a deceased pregnant woman.
That is to say, Xia Yan has the ability to foresee things; otherwise, if she hadn't said anything, who could have guessed it?
Even if she is caught by an Onmyoji, there is no way to forcibly turn her into a shikigami if she is unwilling.