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What about making the land desolate?

Well, if it’s used in a place that doesn’t mind being desolated, there’s no problem at all.

Moreover, as for organic nutrients, if you boost the soil’s fertility using fertilizers, it won’t be an issue. In the past, the only option might have been guano, but nowadays, there’s chemical fertilizer to rely on.

In other words, if you manage it well, you can create a very efficient hideout.

However, there’s a hitch: this wasn’t something Jinseong obtained directly from the ruins; it was Iarin who got it and sent a picture to herself.

“Surely, if I can know this, others must know too.”

Jinseong texted Iarin.

“Where did you obtain the scroll among the photos you sent?”

“I got it from the warehouse of a certain politician’s clan.”

Upon receiving that response, Jinseong nodded.

“This is something that shouldn’t be used carelessly.”

There was a high probability that this politician, or his family, was already using the ‘Yamamabo’s Shade’ magic.

In other words, managing the risks would be tricky. It’s a spell that might require some heavy cost if misused, so it’s wise to save it for later.

With that thought, Jinseong began to check the other photos.

What he saw next was recorded on bamboo.

The bamboo bore a handwriting that couldn’t even be called good, with crooked letters that looked as though someone forced a sharp object in their palm to scratch into the bamboo.

“Survival on the battlefield is closely related to mastery. They say martial arts should focus primarily on mind cultivation, yet in troubled times, surviving itself represents achieving the way. O blessed one, record my life and its realizations on this bamboo…”

Jinseong read up to here and snickered.

What was inscribed on the bamboo was about martial arts, not magic.

Curious, he examined the other photos but, upon looking here and there, they all contained only martial arts. Not just that, but methods for survival in war, subtle ways to sacrifice others in a chaotic battle, and how to not be hunted by farmers after becoming a defeated warrior were all written there.

“This could come in handy for Iarin later.”

With that thought, Jinseong turned to the next photo.

The last remaining photo.

A book made of hanji (traditional Korean paper).

Jinseong gazed at it with a glimmer of hope, and upon seeing the captured image, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

Not because of the content, though.

The illustrations nestled between the written content were connected to the shivers he felt upon entering Japan for the first time.

The illustrations were typical Japanese-style drawings. Some depicted people, some resembled yokai, and others showed animals. But upon a closer look, unlike the flat letters on the ground, these drawings had a strangely three-dimensional quality, bursting with life as if they could leap off the page at any moment.

Not only that, but the photos displayed these illustrations in absurd clarity, as if they were shouting at him to pay attention.

“Clearly, this has been patched together, but… ha! This is quite odd! Quite odd indeed!”

This was a result of drawing on a white paper layered over behind hanji. Plus, it was evident that ‘very special materials’ had been mixed in, not just simple ink or pigments.

Jinseong immediately texted Iarin.

“A book made from hanji. Who did you get it from?”

Replying as if she had been waiting for him, the message returned.

“From the politician Uchikawa Ryosuke.”

“Send me a picture as well.”

Since it was a name unfamiliar to him, Jinseong requested a photo from Iarin. But as soon as he received the image, he hit his knee with a clap, suddenly reminded of someone from his memories.

“It’s that guy.”

Not long ago, during the incident where water ghost charms were used to charm politicians en masse in Japan, it was the politician who performed the necromancy to summon a water ghost in his place.

Thanks to following the countermeasures provided, he wasn’t enchanted by the water ghost and ended up with the spirit vision he desired.

However, he had an insatiable desire for power that was willing to crush others to climb higher, acting solely for his benefit without any regard for even past benefactors, not to mention his appearance that screamed avarice—Jinseong figured he’d have to deal with him soon…

“Already making moves?”

He still considered him useful for the moment.

Muttering to himself, Jinseong quietly examined the photos.

Then, after copying the kanji from Iarin’s text and searching it online, he found several articles.

Some showed a recent image of Ryosuke, and Jinseong scrutinized each one carefully.

In one photo, oil glistened on his face.

In another, an unknown malice radiated from him.

In another still, he held onto his tie as if trying to slip out of a collar.

In another, while his appearance seemed ordinary, the star floating above him spoke directly to Jinseong.

The star in the photograph whispered to him, the scattered brightness of a shattered glass-like star, the light of that star captured in the photo, seemed to murmur.

That fool who doesn’t know his place should be offered as a sacrifice.

Jinseong gazed at the star captured in the photo and looked up.

Darkness had quietly enveloped the mountain.

The air was laced with cold, causing the branches to sway as if ghosts were waving their hands, trying to choke him with rustling leaves.

From the ground, it felt as if the dead were crawling up from the depths of the underworld, and if you stared closely at each tree, they began to bend strangely into figures resembling humans in the darkness.

And in the center of it all, Jinseong saw a faintly shining star in the less polluted sky.

Dimly glowing nearby an artificial satellite, twinkling just faintly enough to need a spell to enhance his vision to see.

As he soaked in the eerie atmosphere of the mountain, absorbing the cold threatening to throw him into fear deep down, Jinseong became one with nature, standing like a sturdy tree, gazing upward to absorb the essence of the star.

And how long did he stay like that?

A white light began to filter into the spot where Jinseong stood.

At first glance, it looked like the moon escaping from behind the clouds, shining down on him, but there were undoubtedly dim stars in the pathway of that light.

Seizing the moment, Jinseong reached out his palm to expose it to the starlight, observing the dark shadows dancing beneath the swaying branches and clouds above, creating patches of darkness. The shadows continuously covered his palm before disappearing, reshaping over and over until finally solidifying into intricate forms.

After creating shapes a few times, it seemed to have said all it needed to and withdrew its light, vanishing, and only then did Jinseong lower his hand and pick up his smartphone again.

“Let’s see. A knife stabbed from behind, a pack of wolves, an assault accompanied by fire, and the half-moon signals.”

The knife from behind meant Ryosuke harbored other intentions.

The pack of wolves indicated that the swinging knife wasn’t only Ryosuke’s strength but that he was drawing others in as well.

Fire and moon represented opposing Yin and Yang.

This surely spoke of the Onmyoji.

However, the half-moon also indicated that it was still far from realization.

With that in mind, Jinseong looked at the drawing on his smartphone once again.

“A food spirit, huh.”

Jinseong texted Iarin.

“It seems Uchikawa Ryosuke is trying to stab me with a dagger. I think it’s time to take him down, so inform the politicians to keep him in check. However, this should appear as jealousy and discontent rather than a perceptible betrayal.”

After sending the text, a brief moment passed before a reply came back.

“How dare he forget the Deity’s grace and show his teeth!”

Iarin’s reply seemed to brim with anger with each character.

“And that fellow Ryosuke, despite being the type to bow down to the strong, has done something like this. It’s clear he perceives us as unfavorable, so do find out who has approached him recently. And thoroughly investigate what is happening with the politicians.”

After sending that text, Jinseong put his smartphone away.

Then, he activated teleportation in quick succession and moved.

The destination was the mansion.

 

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