Tales of the Onmyoji of Heian-kyo I

The original title of this work: “A Dreamlike Life: The Tale of the Yae Cherry Blossoms” [This book has been officially published by Hunan Angel Culture Co., Ltd.]↓ There are stores on Taobao with copies in stock. Feel free to click through... Please ignore the cover... I find it pretty embarrassing too... I recommend choosing a Taobao Mall verified seller to ensure you get an authentic copy... [The published edition differs from the online version. The online version is nearly 260,000 words, while the published book is just over 160,000 words.] [Of these, 100,000 words are from the original story (with revisions), and 60,000 are new material. It also includes two bonus side stories, “Wine-Red Peach Blossoms” and “The Twilight of the Gods.”] What is an onmyoji? During the reign of Emperor Tenmu, when the imperial court was most fervently devoted to the Way of Yin and Yang, the government bureau known as the Onmyoryo was formally established. Besides its highest-ranking official, the Onmyo no Kami, it had one professor of Yin and Yang, six onmyoji, one professor of astronomy, one professor of calendrical studies, and two timekeeping professors. An onmyoji was a court official responsible for divination, conducting rituals, and observing the heavens. Simply put, an onmyoji could be called a diviner or an illusionist. They not only knew how to read the stars and understand physiognomy, but could also interpret directions, perform divinations, draw talismans and chant spells to kill, and practice illusions. They understood the invisible forces of the world, such as fate, souls, and spirits, and possessed the skills to control these supernatural powers. She is an ordinary modern girl, yet possesses an innate ability to foresee good and ill fortune. After an accident, she joins a strange young man at a shrine lake, where they activate the mysterious golden Twelvefold Bellflower Seal left behind a thousand years ago. She crosses a thousand years of time and is reborn as a child born at the same time as the ninth daughter of Emperor Daigo, famed in the Heian period as “Chidoriba.” A thousand years in the past, she was none other than a divine priestess of the legendary Star Clan. The mysterious young man in purple, Xie Che, who brought her across a thousand years of time, turns out to be the clan head of the Star Clan, though he claims to have nothing to do with it. In the Heian period, beneath a sky filled with falling cherry blossoms... Abe no Seimei, an onmyoji as elusive as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze, whose stunning beauty hides a bizarre past passed down through the ages; Shuten Doji, the king of a thousand demons, whose beauty is as striking as a flower and whose name strikes terror into all, yet whose face is identical to that of the older brother she has in the present day. The solemn grandeur of Ise Grand Shrine, the glittering prosperity of the Heian capital, the many twists and turns of fate and karmic ties; Kamo no Tadayuki’s words left unspoken, Ashiya Doman’s soaring ambition, the grand night revels of the Hyakki Yako; The awakening of the divine priestess’s powers, the blood-red lament of peerless beauty, the sorrow of memories across the six realms of reincarnation; Longing for a distant land across the sea, the fateful encounter with Kinashi no Yasunori, the fox chasing the rabbit over a thousand miles; Abe no Seimei’s celestial fox blood, his mother Kuzunoha’s thousand-year-old vermilion pearl, the seal totem of the celestial fox clan; Shuten Doji’s yin-yang demon bell, the spying betrayal of Hoshikuma Doji, the upheaval of a hundred demons and a thousand monsters choosing their master; The soul-burial flute of the Star Clan, the selfish persecution by shadow spirits, the shadow shikigami Hane giving its life in exchange; The unwavering loyalty of the Twelve Divine Generals, the inscrutable strangeness of the Dragon God, the cunning wisdom of the Ise priestess; All of this is inextricably linked to her. There is no untying the knot, and no making sense of it. Beneath the tree where the Yae cherry blossoms fall, what was the promise made a thousand years ago? Can it be fulfilled? Was this encounter across time destined to happen, or was it all a dream beneath the locust tree? The murmuring waters of the Grudge Bridge, the dreamlike Heian-kyo, are like the most dazzling cherry blossoms of spring, awaiting the moment the curtain rises. Calm as still water, a thousand things transform Cherry blossoms multiply, butterflies dance through the night Seimei enchants, dancing in robes of rainbow and feather When tomorrow’s dream fades, the moon of the past returns to memory Beauty blooms like a flower, a dance of reflected blossoms and moonlight for seven nights; A flushed face, a flute’s lament, unable to hide the ghostly charm; Three thousand worldly entanglements, fireworks and dreams entwine a lifetime; A simple silk robe cannot do justice to a thousand charms; Gentle breeze and drifting clouds, an illusory journey across a thousand years; A red-gold fan cannot conceal a thousand alluring graces; In the elegant, splendid Heian period, humans and spirits coexist; The mysterious onmyoji, Abe no Seimei; The peerlessly elegant king of a thousand demons, Shuten Doji; The bamboo flute cannot play all the tender longing The poems cannot tell all the amorous tales The darkness cannot dispel all the wandering confusion The Grudge Bridge’s flowing waters never run dry A thousand years of devotion, a thousand years of waiting; The moon is no longer the moon of old, and spring is no longer the spring of old. Even if every blossom falls, the spring waters have already flowed east. This body alone remains unchanged, still the same as it was before. Friendly warning: This story is entirely fictional... and since this is my first attempt at writing, it is full of potential pitfalls, so proceed with caution. (Leng Yue Qing has set up a reader group for anyone interested: 82842674. The password to enter is: “A whole bunch of demons.” [You won’t be admitted if you don’t enter the password...]) [History buffs who demand strict accuracy, beware: I have made changes for the sake of the story...] Also, this story has absolutely nothing to do with the work by the author Zhi Huo Zai Dang Xia. It is neither fan fiction nor a sequel, but a completely different story. As for the “ninth daughter” in that author's work, according to the Nihon Shoki, she really existed, but she did not become “Chidoriba” [details are explained in Part Two]... If you don't like it, please just leave and close the page... After all, I wrote this in my youth, so of course it has plenty of pitfalls... I hope you enjoy reading. Author: Huan Die Wu Yue May 17, 2009. Part One is now complete. If you’d like to keep reading, click on Part Two! Here’s the link to Part Two: (Click the pink text below) Heian-kyo: The Tale of the Onmyoji II Premise: