Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 23 – The Punished Renka
“Kagami Lily, Her Highness summons you,” a female guard said, opening the cell door.
“Yes.” Lily followed the female guard to the courtyard where Rakshasa-Onna lived.
“Her Highness is in the back room; go in by yourself,” the guard instructed.
Lily knew the way since she’d become familiar with the area. She walked through the courtyard corridor to the back room.
“Mmm… Hmm…” As she approached the door to the back room, she heard m.u.f.fled female whimpers coming from within.
Lily was surprised and thought it might not be appropriate to disturb them, so she decided to head back to the courtyard.
“Kagami Lily? Come in!” Rakshasa-Onna’s voice called from inside.
“Eh?” Since Rakshasa-Onna had called her, Lily didn’t dare disobey and opened the door.
Inside, the lighting was dim, but a feminine scent filled the room.
“Uh… Hmm…” In a dark corner, there appeared to be a female warrior prostrating on the floor. The flickering candlelight illuminated her towering curves. If the lighting weren’t so dim, everything would be visible from behind.
Rakshasa-Onna mercilessly struck the towering area of the woman in the darkness. Her hands were tied behind her back, and her face was pressed to the floor. She seemed to be biting on a piece of bamboo, her expression showing pain as she let out whimpers and m.u.f.fled grunts from time to time.
Lily then realized that the one being beaten was none other than Captain Renka. Her heart raced, and she couldn’t help but glance toward Renka’s rear, noticing the lash marks.
Rakshasa-Onna was unusually furious and harsh, not holding back on her strikes.
Renka, who was suffering, opened her eyes and saw Lily, feeling extremely ashamed. Her eyes filled with indignation, and she resented Lily even more for seeing her in this state.
Lily felt embarra.s.sed at the sight and stepped back, turning her head away. She said, “Since Your Highness is currently disciplining your subordinate, it’s best if I don’t disturb you. I’ll take my leave for now.”
“No need. I called you here to take a look. Turn around and watch carefully. You’re not allowed to look away,” Rakshasa-Onna said sternly.
Rakshasa-Onna’s words made Renka feel even more ashamed.
Renka hated Lily the most and was often harsh on her, scolding and berating her at every opportunity, always acting arrogant. But she never expected Rakshasa-Onna would severely punish her for speaking out of line today. Worse, Lily saw her in such a humiliating state.
“Lily, this woman holds the position of captain, but her heart lacks integrity. I had to discipline her. I haven’t had to punish her much in recent years, but it seems like she’s acting up again.” Rakshasa-Onna took out the ruler once more and gave Renka a vicious slap.
Lily didn’t gloat over someone else’s misfortune because, as a woman, she understood the pain and shame of being in such a situation. However, she wasn’t in a position to plead for leniency.
“Renka is a captain I appointed, and she’s followed me for many years. But I won’t spare anyone who dares to defy me. Lily, can you tell me why you refuse to hand over your Big Dipper stellar soul?” Rakshasa-Onna asked, her eyes stern.
“This… There’s a reason why I can’t hand over my stellar soul, but I can’t disclose it. However, I can swear not to escape during this operation,” Lily pleaded.
“Hmph, do you really want to be punished like Renka? Do you want me to punish you alongside her before you’re willing to hand over the Big Dipper stellar soul?” Rakshasa-Onna didn’t mind punishing Lily, especially with such a valid excuse.
“No, that’s not…”
“Then why won’t you hand it over?!”
“I…”
“Hmph, it seems that this isn’t enough to intimidate you,” Rakshasa-Onna said, then slapped Renka again. Renka’s mouth was blocked by the piece of bamboo, so she could only twist and groan in agony. The more reluctant Lily was, the harder Rakshasa-Onna slapped Renka, trying to appear more intimidating.
Renka cried uncontrollably, and her hatred toward Lily grew even stronger. She wondered if Lily had done this on purpose!
“Is scaring you not enough? Then I’ll show you something even more severe. Come over here!” Rakshasa-Onna ordered.
Lily made up her mind. Even if she was beaten harshly, no matter how painful it was or how much she cried, she would never reveal the truth. She wouldn’t get beaten to death, so it would be fine. No matter what, she had to endure and keep silent.
Just as Lily was about to step forward, an overwhelming will was transmitted into Rakshasa-Onna’s consciousness.
Rakshasa-Onna was stunned for a moment, then put down the ruler and said, “Is that so? I understand, Madam.”
Madam? In Yomi, this name signified a transcendent existence.
“Escort Captain Renka away and beat her two hundred times to make her reflect!” Rakshasa-Onna ordered loudly.
Several female guards, led by Captain Isshiki, dragged Renka away. She kept shaking her head, eyes wide, but couldn’t speak. She likely had a long, difficult night ahead of her.
Only Rakshasa-Onna and Lily were left in the room. Lily thought she was next to be punished, and she felt very jittery.
Unexpectedly, Rakshasa-Onna put away the ruler and said, “The Madam told me to take special care of you.”
“Eh? Really?” Lily felt grateful to The Madam. It wasn’t the first time The Madam had helped her.
“But…” Nothing in the world comes for free. Rakshasa-Onna glanced down and said, “Take off the underwear you’re wearing and give it to me.”
“Eh?? But why?” Lily blushed with embarra.s.sment.
“This is The Madam’s intention. If you leave your underwear with me, you won’t dare to run away.”
“This… Your Highness, I didn’t intend to run away and have already sworn not to. Is there really a need for this? Besides, this doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s just a pair of ordinary underwear—how will it stop me from running away?” Lily’s face grew hot, and her chest tightened in her clothes.
“This is The Madam’s intention. It’s not something you or I can question. Since The Madam said so, if you leave your underwear behind, you won’t be able to escape. You might not understand the deeper meaning, but if you dare to escape, you’ll find out later. By then, you’ll know the consequences.”
“…”
Lily really didn’t want to hand over her intimate clothing to anyone, and even if she did, she’d definitely want it back. But it wasn’t enough to stop her from trying to escape and regain her freedom. Lily valued her dignity and privacy but also understood the bigger picture. Even so, why would The Madam believe this would work?
“Hurry up and take it off! Unless you want to be beaten like Renka?”
Lily had been determined to get beaten rather than give in. But if she was punished as harshly as Renka, she wasn’t sure if she could handle it. Even if she endured the beating, the issue would remain unresolved, and she risked her secret being discovered.
She had no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils.
Lily’s long hair fell loosely around her, and her willowy eyebrows furrowed slightly in grievance. Her face also blushed with embarra.s.sment.
“I…understand…”
“This is more like it.”
“Then, can I go to the dressing room?”
“No, you might switch it. You have to take it off here!”
Lily sighed, resigned to the situation. She had no choice but to lower her head, bend over, and reach her hand into her skirt…
“Here…” Her slender fingers held up two thin straps, showing a delicate piece of white fabric.
Rakshasa-Onna seemed a bit embarra.s.sed as she took it. She glanced at it, then looked away. “This is The Madam’s intention. Don’t think too much about it.”
“Okay…” What else could Lily say? She had already handed it over.
“Alright, you can leave. Since you’ve left this as collateral, we’re not worried about you escaping. You don’t have to hand over your stellar soul, but you can’t let anyone know about this.”
Lily thought to herself, ‘Why would I want to publicize something like this?’
With the collateral handed over and everything in place, a large group of earth dragons arrived early the next morning.
Under the leadership of numerous Rakshasa guards, the hundred maidens were ready to set off. This time, they were escorted by Isshiki and another young female captain dressed as a nun, known as Tokuan.
“Where’s Captain Renka?” Masako asked.
“Uh, Captain Renka has been feeling unwell these past few days and can’t come. I’ll take her place,” said the powerful nun.
Lily was the only one who still had lingering fears. She had a good idea why Renka couldn’t make it. The hundred maidens boarded the earth dragons, and the large group set off with a rumble. After a while, they left the Rakshasa Dojo and headed southwest.
At this time, on a dark and scorching cliff in the vast Yomi Hirazaka, a tall, beautiful figure emerged from an ancient stone gate.
“This is… Yomi?” Ayaka, her hair tied with a hairband and dressed in thin, translucent celestial maiden feathered garments, had just arrived. After bathing in the blood of the great serpent and training for the past few months, she had reached the s.e.xtuple-soul level.
Ayaka had originally been a talented onmyoji, but because she was focused on saving the heavenly way and partic.i.p.ating in politics, she had neglected her training over the years. Fortunately, after bathing in the serpent’s blood, her physical fitness improved significantly, and her practice in the Cloud Sanctum became dozens of times more efficient. With these benefits, it was easy for her to reach the s.e.xtuple-soul level.
“Because I had to stabilize things back home, I entered Yomi Hirazaka a few months later than Uesugi Rei. I wonder where she is now. In the past few months, she’s only entered the mirror s.p.a.ce twice. It’s been a while since I’ve heard from her, and she didn’t even come to the Cloud Sanctum to practice. But in the vast Land of Yomi, how can she find Lily by herself? Having one more person is an advantage. Even though Lily said we shouldn’t come, she’s probably enduring everything alone. We’ll make our own decisions about this.”
Ayaka was tall and beautiful, and from behind, she looked like a G.o.ddess. As she walked, her silhouette was illuminated by the dim light, and the delicate scarf fluttering around her added a touch of mature beauty to the dark and desolate Yomi Hirazaka.
To prepare for her journey, Ayaka brought many precious treasures with her, including some from Minamoto no Yoritomo, along with items borrowed from Kimiko, Madam Tokiwa, and Mita. You could say that more than half of the Heian Dynasty’s treasures were with her, making her much better prepared than Uesugi Rei.
“Lily, where are you?” Ayaka’s eyes rippled like water, and her lips were as soft as pink jade.
Little did anyone know that, before Ayaka, Shimizu had tried to pa.s.s through the Rash.o.m.on gate again but still couldn’t succeed. Puzzled, she decided to train by herself near the Sinless Domain. Recently, many Yomi rifts had been appearing, with countless demons emerging from within. Shimizu took it upon herself to hunt down any Yomi demons she saw.