He was completely assimilated now.
Whether in attire or the aura around him, he was similar to a Fusang ronin.
"Lord Yaksha."
The Bamboo Demon was very humble and respectfully said, "They are foreigners who drifted here after a storm."
"No anomalies have been discovered so far."
Though he himself was also an outsider, having come to Fusang just a century or two ago, this Yaksha acted like a local mastermind, arrogantly saying, "Understood."
"Report to me immediately if there’s anything unusual!"
In these times, a foreign monk reads scriptures better.
After Buddhism spread to Fusang, it quickly developed, and even the Yaksha rose with the tide, becoming a leader among the yokai.
There weren’t too many spirit monsters on Kyushu Island here.
They also loved bustling and lively places, and in fact, more yokai gathered near Fusang Kyoto. These yokai hid in the realm of humans, sharing a resemblance to early coexistence with gods, with rumors of powerful yokai even claiming mountains as kings.
But Fusang is only so big, and the yokai couldn’t stay active for too long, being driven away on a large scale by the end of the Heian Era.
"Although there are quite a few mountain spirits and wild monsters, their strength feels quite ordinary."
"It’s unlikely that they supported the mythological recession."
Most of these mountain spirits and ghosts were not as strong as Tree Spirits and Banshees, let alone the Nymph Fairies. The Essences of Avalon were much stronger than them.
Midnight arrived.
After the nearby mortals fell asleep, the night’s darkness here began to stir with activity.
It suddenly had a bit of the Night Parade of Hundred Demons vibe.
——Ghost Fire (without Mark).
——Paper Umbrella Demon (one star).
——Rain Woman (two stars).
——Bridge Princess (one star).
——Yanyan Luo (two-star silver-gray).
Many mountain spirits and ghosts crawled out from various corners.
Under the corner of a certain house’s wall, a paper umbrella in the style of the Tang Dynasty automatically opened, floating into the hands of a seductive woman emerging from the mist. She bared a bit of her chest, holding a dark green smoking pipe, puffing smoke towards the other side.
Underneath a stone bridge not far away, a pale figure appeared, her hair covering her face, dripping wet. After crawling up the shore, she began to doze off, idly removing water plants from herself.
Not far from her, there was another woman holding an umbrella, under the night sky, a fine drizzle seemed to sprinkle down.
"Isn’t this just an ordinary drowned ghost?"
"Why does she have a trace of faith’s aura?"
Duncan’s expression was surprised. The Bridge Princess was just a Water Ghost, yet seemed to have enjoyed some incense sacrifice, making her slightly different from ordinary Water Ghosts.
In Fusang, a Bridge Princess was a kind of banshee appearing by bridges, a divinized yokai or deity, belonging to Japanese Water Demons and Water Gods. Infatuated with someone but unable to be with her beloved, she would leap into the water from the bridge to her death. If a man crossed the bridge at night, she would appear and draw him into the water to drown, while if a woman crossed, she would forcibly pull her into the water.
Sometimes, locals would offer sacrifices to them.
"If you calculate like that, eight million Divine Spirits aren’t many!..."
Whether out of fear of being harmed or because of local customs, these mountain spirits and ghosts bore slight traces of sacrifices.
Roughly speaking, it’s like, I nurture you with incense so you won’t bother me in the future.
"However, none are noteworthy."
"They’re all too weak!"
No wonder Fusang has stories of warriors wielding famous swords and slaying yokai. Wielding a cross sword blessed with Holy Water, even the Holy Hall of the Hermitage could slaughter them on a grand scale.
Still, Duncan confirmed one thing, Fusang indeed had its distinctiveness.
The mythological era’s recession here was later.
"The native belief must be Shintoism, right? The area behind the Bird House is a place similar to the Otherworld?"
"Can such a small population support an Otherworld?"
Duncan felt it couldn’t be sustained.
Otherwise, the many mountain spirits and ghosts wouldn’t cohabit with humans.
Crack!
After others slept, Duncan controlled his avatar to break the prison door. Since he was already here, he might as well search for any notable yokai.
Actually, he had somewhat guessed which major yokai was active in this era.
After all, it was the Heian Era.
The most famous yokai was just a few, among which one was particularly renowned, and especially frivolous.
This frivolity was in an ancient sense, much like Liu Bang praised Widow Cao.
——Wood Spirit (spirit monster) (one-star silver-gray).
Duncan didn’t deliberately seek out those wandering ghosts, but as he walked through a small alley, a large tree in an abandoned courtyard suddenly shivered, even the branches blocking the alley quietly retracted.
"Good, very polite."
Duncan nodded in approval, showing no intention to trouble these small yokai.
After walking out of this town, the active mountain spirits and ghosts around reduced significantly; only about a dozen ghosts lived among the area’s ten thousand people.
As Duncan identified directions, suddenly a bald, short old man appeared in the distance.
He was a well-dressed old man, wearing a black haori with a tachi tucked at his waist, radiating quite an air of authority.
——Slippery Ghost (great yokai) (four-star silver-gray)!
Finally, something interesting appeared.
The bald old man, standing about one meter and fifty centimeters tall, was visibly shocked upon seeing Duncan’s avatar. He seemed intent on fleeing but finally stopped, bowing respectfully, "My Lord."
"I wonder if there’s anything I can assist with!"
Duncan pondered for a moment, nodding with satisfaction, "Take off your clothes, and give me the tachi."
"Leave the money pouch too."
"By the way."
"Where is your home? I plan to pay a visit."
.........