Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 316: Ghost of Black Swan Bay (1)

Dragon Raja 3

The winding corridor led deep into the backstage area. Black-suited bodyguards lined the path, bowing respectfully. Each of them wore a brass badge on their chest with the character for “Oni” from the Oni Clan. The badges gleamed brightly under the lights.

Even after losing the underworld war, the Oni Clan still maintained such a powerful force, revealing that the Yamata no Orochi had completely misjudged the Oni Clan’s structure. What had been crushed by the Yamata no Orochi was only the affiliated gangs of the Oni Clan. Their true core, the elite “Oni,” had already infiltrated Tokyo. The Oni were not fierce or menacing; instead, they were respectful, silent, and courteous, like solemn samurai.

At the end of the hallway stood a black wooden door. A young, beautiful woman in a black kimono knelt outside, radiant and elegant. She slid the door open, bowing low to Caesar and Chu Zihang, then closed the door behind them as they entered.

Behind the door was a spacious, brightly lit traditional Japanese room. Outside, the voices of the crowd were still roaring, applauding the thrilling performance. Inside, it was silent and empty. Ruri, draped in a crimson robe, was sitting before a mirror removing his makeup. Half of his face was already bare, revealing a startling contrast between the pale boy and the ghastly painted beauty in the mirror. The twisted beauty was breathtaking.

“Sakura-kun didn’t come?” Ruri, unlike the typical overly-polite Japanese, asked without turning around.

“He seems to be busy with some romance lately,” Caesar said, sitting cross-legged on the tatami. “No time for traditional art.”

“Please wait a moment. I’ll finish removing my makeup before we chat.”

“Are you really Chisei’s younger brother?” Caesar examined the face in the mirror.

Ruri tousled his hair a bit and turned around. “Do I look like my brother now?”

The light was behind him, making it difficult to see his makeup-covered face clearly. Only then did Caesar realize how closely Ruri and Chisei’s facial contours resembled each other. If Ruri donned a long black coat and carried an ancient sword, Caesar would have easily mistaken him for the current head of Japan’s underworld. Ruri smiled slightly, instantly returning to the appearance of a delicate boy. Caesar understood then—the true difference between the two was their temperament. The older brother was sharp and upright, like a katana at a samurai’s waist, while the younger brother was graceful and refined, like a dagger hidden in the sleeve of a noblewoman. Ruri was also a natural-born actor. By changing his hairstyle and outfit, he could transform into someone entirely different.

“You two look more like siblings,” Caesar said.

“When we were young, my brother used to say the same. He’d say that if I were a girl, I’d be quite beautiful,” Ruri chuckled.

“How should we view you? As Chisei’s younger brother? The leader of the Oni Clan? A genius Kabuki actor? Or Japan’s top host?” Chu Zihang asked.

“All of those are my identities, but I assume my role in the Oni Clan is what interests you two the most, right? High-ranking members of the Oni Clan use shogi pieces as their code names. My code name is ‘Dragon King,’ the second-in-command, just below ‘Osho,’” Ruri said as he bit his comb to fix his hair. He was exceptionally relaxed in front of Caesar and Chu Zihang, as if they were old friends with nothing to hide.

“You have quite a variety of interests,” Caesar remarked.

“Kabuki is my passion, while being a host is another part of my life. I enjoy running into strangers, people whose lives don’t intersect with mine, and we share our stories before parting ways again. It’s like Tagore said, a meeting between the bird and the fish.”

“The Chinese say, ‘A noble son does not sit beneath a dangerous wall.’ With your status, being a host seems like a waste of talent.”

“Wasn’t the chosen heir of the Gattuso family also a rising star in Kabukicho’s host clubs? Our industry is truly filled with talent,” Ruri laughed. “I’m someone who gets lonely easily. Whenever I can’t stand the loneliness, I find a host club, sit down, and seek out the loneliest girl of the night. The way their eyes look in the crowd—beautiful and wary like a deer. I sit beside her and ask if she’d buy me a drink.”

Caesar and Chu Zihang could manage to smile in only a handful of ways, but Ruri could smile in hundreds of different ways. At this moment, his eyes sparkled brilliantly, making it hard to imagine any girl refusing such a man.

“If I could choose my life freely, I’d rather be a Kabuki actor or a host. But I can’t. I was born into the wrong family and given the wrong identity,” Ruri said softly. “Saying that I am a mistake isn’t far from the truth.”

“Are you an Oni?” Chu Zihang asked.

Ruri nodded. “That’s right. Although we’re brothers, my brother is royal, and I am an Oni. I’m not only less noble than him, but I’m the lowest of the low. If we had met under different circumstances, you would have probably tried to capture me and lock me away on some deserted island. According to the Secret Party’s Abraham Blood Pact, I’m the type of person born to be isolated from human society, a dangerous individual.”

“Then why did you come to find us? Even though the College has conflicts with the Yamata no Orochi, that doesn’t mean we would turn around and cooperate with the Oni Clan,” Chu Zihang said.

Ruri smiled and changed the topic. “Did you enjoy my performance tonight?”

Chu Zihang paused for a moment. “There’s a floor in Genji Heavy Industries that holds many ancient murals. Your New Kojiki was inspired by those murals. You’ve seen them too, haven’t you?”

“Of course. I’m the second son of the Gen family, one of the few remaining descendants of the inner triad. Before I was judged as a ghost, I had the fortune to see those murals and listen to the priests’ explanations. You’ve seen the murals, but without someone to explain them, you only have a half-understanding. The first gift I’d like to offer you is an interpretation of those murals,” Ruri said as he picked up a slender ebony pipe inlaid with silver and filled it with tobacco. “You remember that large painting inlaid with gold, right? The one where a skeleton hands a bone to a human, and together they form the shape of two fish.”

“Of course I remember. That painting was unique—anyone who has seen it couldn’t forget,” said Chu Zihang.

“Then let’s start with that painting. We shall enter the distant past of ancient Japan… The skeleton represents the deceased White Empress. In Japanese mythology, her name is Izanami, the great mother goddess. The human figure represents Izanagi, the ancestor of the White Empress’ bloodline. The White Empress broke off a piece of her bone and gave it to Izanagi. To the eight families of the Orochi, that bone is known as the ‘Holy Remains,’” Ruri said, lighting his pipe and taking a deep drag before exhaling a swirl of smoke.

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