Hogwarts Summoning Guide

At this moment, a younger man stepped forward from the crowd, bowed to Bai Lin, and said, "Takeda Shoji, the second son of the Takeda family, begs Lord Shangzhu to show mercy. It's all a misunderstanding!"

Bai Lin took one look and saw that this second son was quite handsome and didn't seem unreasonable, so he said, "Take me to see the old general's body. If it was indeed the work of demons, there would definitely be traces left behind." The Takeda clan was subordinate to the Minamoto clan and had a bad relationship with the Bureau of Onmyō. The death of Takeda Chikayane was initiated by the Bureau of Onmyō, not by the Takeda clan. Therefore, Bai Lin and Seimei had already discussed it on the way. Seimei, relying on his status, would not get out of the sedan chair, and Bai Lin would handle everything. If necessary, Seimei could step in to smooth things over.

Takeda Shūji glanced at his elder brother, who was rubbing his arm and stomach. Takeda Kiichi was too afraid to speak, so he nodded to Shirō Rin and led him into the mansion.

"My father loved swords and traveled extensively to visit renowned craftsmen. He kept dozens of swords at home and played with them every day." Takeda Shoji said as he walked, "The day before yesterday, after dinner, my father went to the room where he kept the swords alone and never returned. Yesterday, my brother and I searched everywhere and found that my father had been murdered..." As he spoke, Takeda Shoji's eyes reddened.

Takeda Shūji led the group through several inner gates to the shrine in the inner courtyard. A sorceress was performing a ritual around a large urn, while many women around her were weeping and wailing.

Takeda Shoji didn't waste any time. He dismissed the women and the sorceress with a few words, walked to the large urn, lifted the lid, and said, "Gentlemen, please take a look."

Bai Lin peeked inside and, to his astonishment, saw neatly cut chunks of meat, each two inches square, with smooth edges that looked as if they had been cut with a laser sword from Star Wars.

Bai Lin was a veteran of many battles and had seen many dead people, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone cut up so cruelly. He just managed to hold back from vomiting on the spot.

With tears in his eyes, Takeda Shoji said, "My elder brother reported this to the General's Mansion yesterday, and the Mansion also sent a coroner. The coroner said that it was not the work of a human, but rather the work of a demon."

Bai Lin nodded and said, "This doesn't seem like swordsmanship that could be performed with ordinary swords; it must have involved magic... Take me to where the incident happened!"

With a heavy heart, Takeda Shōji closed the lid and knelt down to bow three times. Because it involved family secrets, he took Hakurin alone to the other end of the mansion.

Beneath the Takeda family mansion lay a massive underground chamber. Takeda Shoji, leading Bai Lin, groped their way through several layers of iron gates in the dark. Bai Lin noticed that the gates had been damaged from the inside out by a tremendous force, likely caused by a monster escaping. After some searching, the two finally reached the hidden chamber.

Takeda Shūji lit the oil lamps in the secret room, and the room was immediately illuminated. There were more than a dozen bright bronze mirrors hanging around the room, so just lighting a few oil lamps was enough to illuminate the entire room.

The room was in complete disarray, as if a skilled swordsman like the Corrupted Monk had shattered all the furnishings into pieces. The central open space seemed to have been slightly cleared, presumably where Takeda Chika's body parts were located, and there were still many black bloodstains on the ground.

At least dozens of sword fragments were scattered around. Judging from the steel of the fragments, they should all be rare and good swords. Although they could not be called divine weapons, they were extremely rare in this era.

"These were all my father's collections, and they were all destroyed..." said Takeda Shūji.

Bai Lin carefully circled the secret room. He had no clues at first, but when he looked at the traces left by the sword energy, he suddenly thought of the battle with Fujiwara Ichiura in the waters near the Ryukyu Islands that day. That incomparably powerful demon sword, if he hadn't activated his disordered elemental energy, would have had no chance of winning against the opponent's Soaring Dragon Forbidden Fall Slash.

"I wonder if the old general has recently acquired a divine weapon?" Bai Lin asked.

Takeda Shoji pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Now that things have come to this, I won't hide it anymore. My father did indeed obtain a divine weapon, a work by the master Tianguo..."

"No offense intended, but the works of the Heavenly Kingdom are probably not something the Takeda family can easily obtain..." Bai Lin said.

Takeda Shūji gritted his teeth and said, "I hope Bai Dayun will not spread my words... This sword... This sword was obtained by my father from the palace; it was a gift from the royal family..."

Bai Lin glanced at Takeda Shoji and said with a hint of amusement, "I thought the Takeda family was under the Minamoto clan, but it turns out they have a close relationship with Michinaga-kun..." Michinaga-kun is the respectful title for the powerful minister Fujiwara no Michinaga, who was the Empress's father and the head of the imperial relatives. The entire palace was basically his territory.

Takeda Shūji's face was quite grim. If this matter reached the ears of the Genji, Takeda Chikasuke would not only have died in vain, but the future of the Takeda clan would also be over.

Bai Lin shrugged and said, "I am only handling cases and will not get involved in court affairs. Second Young Master, please rest assured. However, this matter is quite serious. I'm afraid the Demon Blade has other targets. It would be best for the Takeda family to restrain their clansmen and keep a low profile in the near future."

Takeda Shūji nodded vigorously, his brow furrowing with even more worry.

Seeing that Bai Lin had completed the survey so quickly, Qingming was somewhat surprised. On the way back, the two discussed it. Perhaps neither Bai Lin nor Qingming realized that they had only known each other for a day, yet they already had the tacit understanding of old friends.

"The demon sword, Heavenly Kingdom's Edge? It's actually this sword..." Seimei pondered for a moment.

"You've heard of it too?" Bai Lin asked through the curtains of the sedan chair, riding on horseback.

"This sword is quite ominous. It is said to bring misfortune to its owner, and several of its previous owners died by sword," said Seimei.

"I've heard of the legend of the demon sword, that it turned into a monster after consuming human blood. Why would it harm its master?" Bai Lin was somewhat puzzled. If divine weapons have spirits, they should be helping their masters. If killing many people can turn a weapon into a monster, then there would be countless demon swords in the world.

"If it were merely a battle between two soldiers, or the slaying of an enemy, it would naturally not transform into a monster. However, the origin of this sword is quite convoluted." Seimei recounted in detail: "Master Tenkoku had a daughter late in life and cherished her dearly. He originally intended to retire from sword making and never forge another sword. However, a daimyo, drawn by his reputation, came to force Master Tenkoku to forge one last sword. Master Tenkoku reluctantly forged it, but while smelting the iron, his daughter accidentally fell into the furnace and perished."

"Is this really true? Then the vengeful spirit of the young girl must be residing in the demon sword?" Bai Lin asked.

"If it were just an ordinary wronged soul, that would be one thing. But when Master Tenkoku learned of his tragic death, he was devastated. However, the daimyo threatened him with his clansmen, forcing him to forge the precious sword. After obtaining the sword, in order to prevent Master Tenkoku from forging weapons for other daimyo, the daimyo personally murdered Master Tenkoku's entire family." Seimei's voice trembled slightly, clearly showing his anger as he spoke.

Bai Lin seemed to see the vengeful spirit of the girl residing in the demon sword, witnessing the tragic scene of the daimyo using her to kill his loved ones one by one, and the resentment born from this was enough to give birth to a demon.

"I see..." Bai Lin sighed.

"Let's go to the left, to Liqiao." Qingming didn't continue the conversation, but instead instructed the sedan chair bearers to change direction.

Bai Lin glanced at the setting sun, the sky growing darker, and a faint, ethereal aura of darkness slowly spread through the streets of Heian-kyo…