Chapter 45: The Oiran of Vengeful Spirits

Night fell heavy over the city, but beneath the brilliant lights, it remained bright as day.

The mysterious woman's laughter mixed with the strings of the shamisen, accompanied by the scent of sake drifting from the brothel.

The all-night city thrived with endless song and dance, its allure captivating. Yet hidden behind this opulence of wine-soaked dreams lay countless layers of blood and tears.

-

"Jōkan-ji Temple is right up ahead," said Tsuki, pointing towards the eerie, silent temple in front of them. "All the geisha from the brothels and former Oiran are buried there."

Unlike the lively red-light district with its endless lights, this place was nothing but desolate.

It felt like two completely opposite worlds.

"There's such strong resentment here... This must be where it's coming from." As she looked at the temple, waves of resentment rose into the sky...

During the day, the temple's Buddhist light masked it all, but now that night had fallen, the light seemed to fade away instead.

"Are there any priests at this temple?" How could there be so much resentment? Even seeing a kikyō flower was rare these days. She turned to Tsuki for an answer.

(TL Note: otherwise known as the Platycodon grandiflorus or the bellflower. A purple flower that is reminiscent of a star.)

"No, only countless women from the brothels who were hastily buried here."

"I see..."

The geisha and former Oiran were simply buried in this temple without ceremony. It wasn't much different from a mass grave...

No wonder there was such strong resentment—it came from those vengeful spirits.

"The one who gave me my curse must have been a monster formed by the resentment of the souls buried in Jōkan-ji Temple," Tsuki mused. A look of fear flashed across her face as she remembered.

As someone working in the brothel, becoming an Oiran was naturally her goal too.

But no matter how hard she tried, Tsuki fell short of being an Oiran. She lacked that certain unique charm.

And it wasn't something easy to come by—there were many beautiful, hardworking women in the brothel, not just Tsuki alone.

But Tsuki refused to give up...

One night, she stumbled upon Jōkan-ji Temple, where countless predecessors were buried. Her refusal to accept her fate attracted a monster.

A beautiful woman ghost appeared—a former courtesan whose soul had transformed into a monster from pent-up anger after death.

This monster enhanced Tsuki's allure with its own seductive power.

However, there was no such thing as a free lunch...

"Too many vengeful spirits..."

The moment Yae Sakura stepped foot in Jōkan-ji Temple, she noticed numerous female ghosts lingering about.

"Watch out..." Kikyō drew her bow from her back and stood beside Yae Sakura.

Yae Sakura kept her spiritual blade tightly gripped; it was quite effective against these spirit monsters.

As for Higokumaru, the little fox wore an unconcerned expression—her fox fire wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Only Tsuki, though scared, stuck close behind the two humans and the fox.

Once Yae Sakura's group fully entered Jōkan-ji Temple, they discovered... that this burial ground, which had seemed lifeless at first glance, was now filled with wandering vengeful spirits gracefully dancing all around them.

The temple had completely transformed into a lavish flower pavilion and a path lined with blossoms.

Inside the pavilion, resentful spirits seemed lost in dreams of their past.

Before long, an enormous figure dressed in ornate robes appeared before them. The figure was about ten meters tall, resembling a high-ranking courtesan, but with blue skin and a head full of snow-white hair.

This was the collective spirit of women who had died with lingering regrets, forming the image of a courtesan...

"Beauty fades quickly; true love is hard to find..."

It turned out to be... a powerful vengeful spirit...

Bounty Quest: Guide the Vengeful Courtesan Spirit

Objective: Resentment and dissatisfaction have eroded what little joy remained for these trapped souls. Awaken their dream-stricken minds and guide them to the other side.

Reward: 200 Crystals, 30 Mechanical Experience Chips (Purple), 50 Skill Points, 100,000 Gold Coins

Accept?

"Kikyō, can you help them move on?" Yae Sakura asked, turning to the girl.

"Sending off a great yokai level resentful spirit is tricky. It mainly depends on how strong their obsession is," Kikyō replied uncertainly. Sending off spirits isn't like driving them away.

"But if we break her obsession by making her remember what happened before she died, it should be fine."

"Break her obsession?" Yae Sakura was taken aback.

"Just...just hurt her enough!"

"You should've said that earlier... But this resentful spirit is too weak anyway. Higokumaru, you handle it!" Yae Sakura looked at the little fox sitting on her shoulder, not planning to deal with it herself.

This was a spiritual monster. While Yae Sakura's spiritual blade and sword energy could control it, fighting it wouldn't be easy. The main problem...was that Yae Sakura couldn't quite bring herself to attack this particular monster.

"Don't worry, Big Sister! Leave it to me!" Higokumaru accepted immediately. Seeing the huge vengeful oiran before them, the little fox left Yae Sakura's shoulder and instantly transformed into one as big as the ghost.

"Don't actually destroy her—just make sure she can't fight back." Afraid Higokumaru might go overboard, Yae Sakura hurriedly added a warning.

"I understand!"

Higokumaru transformed into a fire fox and stood majestically before the vengeful oiran. Her body blazed with intense fox fire, making the surroundings unbearably hot.

"Who are you...?" The vengeful oiran began to ask as Higokumaru suddenly appeared, but before she could finish her sentence, the flaming fox leaped at her.

In an instant, a colossal pillar of fire erupted from the ground, centered around Higokumaru. It shot up towards the sky, illuminating the entire Bungo region!

Underneath this massive inferno, Jōkan-ji Temple was reduced to ashes in seconds.

The towering column of flames pierced through the clouds, casting its glow over all of Bungo!

If Higokumaru hadn't been careful about avoiding Yae Sakura and Kikyō, even they might have gotten hurt along with Tsuki.

Whoa! Yae Sakura watched, stunned by Higokumaru's actions.

I told you not to harm them! Why did you use such a powerful move right away?

"My goodness..." Kikyō quickly set up a sealing barrier. Even though Higokumaru tried to avoid them, the heat was still intense. Yae Sakura and Kikyō were okay, but Tsuki, being just an ordinary person, wasn't faring so well.

"Ah..."

The enormous pillar of fire engulfed the vengeful oiran. As a resentful spirit, she already feared fire, let alone the powerful fox fire. Even some great yokai-class resentful spirits would struggle to withstand it.

However...

"The resentment is dissipating in the flames..."

Kikyō watched in amazement as the vengeful oiran burned within the fire. As it screamed miserably... the resentment in its body was being purified by the flames...

Higokumaru's fox fire could truly burn away resentment...