Last part of Chapter 4.

Shuuei said nothing of his leaving to anyone besides Jyuusan-hime, and he left no written message either. Since was ‘something Shuuei did on his own,’ he would have to tell them after. Leaving something behind would be bad. Even without that, they would all be busy with the locusts and the personnel and Yuushun-dono.
The lamps in the Ministry of the Cave were shining, although it was night. He had heard that the Department of the Cave of the Immortals was an office which was open at night, and perhaps that was rather something to be thankful for. When Shuuei opened the door and stated his business, he was let through right away. He wasn’t questioned much. It seemed somehow that there were many high officials who secretly came during the night to ask something of the Department of the Cave of the Immortals.
“I beg of you, please do not tire out Uu Uu-sama too much.”
When the young official showing Shuuei around said that to him, he recalled something he had heard from Ryuuki.
Recently, it seemed that Uu Uu had been unwell, and thus rarely showed his face at councils.
“…..is his condition bad?”
“Yes. Though, he is indeed coming along in years…. When Riou-sama was here, he took on much of the paperwork, so he was better…. but now he has become busy again.”
While he was climbing the stairs in back of the offices, Shuuei gradually began to feel something odd. He felt as if there were more stories than there appeared to be on the outside. It was as if he were lost deep in an exitless forest, and if he did not reach the top flight, he would never be able to get out again.
(Uwah…..is this how Jyuusan-hime felt when she got lost in Nine Colors Cove….?)
Suddenly, he felt as though something had opened before his eyes, and a peculiar dizziness, as though his internal clock had gone haywire. A long corridor stretched out before him. It was lined with doors on both sides, and his sense of direction had become strange as well.
“Uu Uu-sama is at the end of the corridor. Well then….”
Feeling as though he had been tricked by a fox, Shuuei however went all the way to the back.
When he finally opened the door, there was the scent of medicinal herbs. When he looked inside, he was astonished. In a space as wide as the throne room, there were so many things that it appeared small. There stood mysteriously fascinating lamps, shelves upon which there were thousands of herbs, numerous celestial globes, basins, mirrors, all sorts of measuring instruments. It seemed more like an archive than the archives, with a mountain of books, stuffing three of the walls from ceiling to floor.
In the midst of all of this, the small Uu Uu-sama was sitting.
And, he was not alone. There was someone else he knew. On his forehead was a tatoo, his skin was dark, his face intrepid, and he was one-eyed. Though he seemed to stand casually, there were no gaps in his position.
“–Jin?!”
This was definitely Shiba Jin, who had vanished at Nine Colors Cove along with Shusui.
Jin grinned nonchalantly.
“Yo, Shuuei. It’s been awhile. I heard that you’re unemployed.”
“I’m not unemployed! No, actually…. maybe it would be better if I were.”
If he was Seiran’s underling, maybe it would be better to be unemployed.”
“No, it’s not. W..wh…why are you here, Jin?!?!”
“It’s obvious I’m here for the same reason.”
“You’re going to the Hyou clan? Why?!”
Jin looked exasperated. Shuuei noticed immediately that though he was wearing a black eyepatch, it was not the same as the eyepatch Jyuusan-hime had given him before.
“Um, we’re enemies, so why would I tell you? You really are still a careless ‘young master’ type….”
“Sh-shut up! Uu-sama, why did you let this suspicious person of uncertain origins in here?!
Uu Uu looked over both Shuuei and Jin, tilting his head, while stroke his fluffy beard.
“Hah? A suspicious person? But I have felt a ‘wind’ from him terrible close to blue.”
“Wha? ‘Wind’?”
“Aren’t you a person who possesses the ‘wind’ of the ‘hidden color’ of the Ran and Hyou? [see note] I heard that you didn’t get lost in Nine Colors Cove.
At this time, Jin’s eyes only widened slightly, but Shuuei was startled.
Although Jin was a perfect heir, there was a reason that his father distanced himself so much from him. Although it wasn’t that he had heard this from anyone, Shuuei had always noticed this. It was most in Jin’s appearance that the the truth which could not be hidden was. Jin was the only person in the Shiba clan to have dark skin. The same was true of his eye-catching deeply carved features, melancholy eye, and his thoughtful personality. All of this was out of place in the rough Shiba clan.
It seemed that Jin’s father was irritated that the child he had accidentally conceived with a woman passing by was his eldest son.
Uu Uu-sama had casually spoken of this forbidden topic, which they had never touched on before.
Shuuei was visibly flustered, more so than Jin.
“Wh..what? I didn’t hear anything about that, Jin! No, what’s with that? I thought it was good that you weren’t born with a face like a warrior stinking of sweat, without a trace of elegance, like Ryuu-jiisan!”
Jin was shocked. Shuuei was saying all of this sincerely.
“……Shuuei, really, a face is the most important thing to you.”
“Idiot, you can’t choose your own face! Mostly there’s not problem with what’s in you, though.”
Shuuei was by nature the ‘young master’ sort. From the beginning, he hadn’t had some kind of needless abacus. He didn’t care about how others measured things, but could only believe in what was important to him. That was why he had chosen the king over that Ran clan. To Shuuei, there was truly ‘no problem’ with Jin, whose own father had distanced himself from him, as though he was an enemy.
His half sister, Jyuusan-hime, felt the same. That was why it really was easy for Jin to be with these carefree siblings. Everything would become ridiculous.
Uu Uu once again looked at Jin and Shuuei.
“Besides, I have been asked to do this by someone.”
Someone?! Shuuei looked at Jin. That person was someone whose request was taken seriously by the Department of the Cave of the Immortals.
—The “lord” who had gained Jin’s loyalty.
Shuuei kneeled next to the tiny, adorable Uu Uu-sama. He made as if to whisper in confidence.
“….Who is that, Uu-sama? I won’t tell anyone, so won’t you tell me? I can give you as many trips to the top class luxury hot springs in Ran province, complete with acupuncture and foot baths, as you want.”
“That’s no good. We have a duty to keep things confidential here. Bribes will not be taken.
Uu–sama looked cute, but he was famous for being incredibly stubborn and tight-lipped.
Jin looked at his childhood friend suspiciously. Really, he hadn’t changed from when he was a coddled young aristocrat of ten.
“…He, Shuuei, I think it’s more mysterious that you could be a general so casually than how you’re unemployed now…”
“Don’t say rude things.”
Uu Uu coughed, his white beard waving.
“….I see that you are both here in order to go to the Hyou clan.”
Looking at each other, both Jin and SHuuei nodded.
Uu Uu gazed at both of them for awhile. Behind the two of them, there were two other people standing. One of them was the king, and the other was—
Uu Uu did not ask why they were going. He only nodded as if he had seen why.
“…The “passages” towards the Hyou clan have at present been blocked off from that side. Currently, I can only force them open once. This is a one way only ticket. Do you still want to go?”
Jin was not surprised, as if he had known this already, but Shuuei, who had not known this at all, stood gaping.
“Wha?! So I can only go? What about coming back?”
“Of course, you must ask over there. If they do not open the “passage” for you, you cannot return.”
“Eh? Ehhhhhhh? Who? How?”
“By whatever means.”
At Uu Uu’s low tone, Shuuei closed his mouth.
“By whatever means”
Uu Uu repeated this once more, with words of heaviness and depth.
“Please return after making all of the tightly shut doors of the Hyou clan open, from that side. If you go, then you must have that resolution. If not, then I cannot open the ‘passage.’”
Jin looked at his childhood friend beside him exasperatedly.
“….Hey, you didn’t come to do that?”
“No, I came for a light…no, it’s not light, but I only came to help Shuurei-dono and then come back.–I didn’t even dream that there’s be this heavy duty attached to it.”
If he didn’t attack the Hyou clan, which even the previous king had been unable to do completely, then he couldn’t come back.
To drag out that clan which had shut themselves up—-
That extra task was far too heavy.
“…You’re smart, but really, you’re really all about the face. You’ve always played the stupid young lord, rushing in haphazardly, and then losing yourself. Is it really okay for you to be like this at twenty-six?”
“Sh-shut up. I’ve been able to come this far like that, so it’s okay!”
Shuuei became serious. Actually, the only unes who he revealed this personality to were Jyuusan-hime and Jin. Although he coul do everything properly with others, for some reason everything leaked out in front of this guy.
“Then, Jin, that was your plan from the first?”
“I’m okay with only going, and then something will be done for me. I’ve got a connect for the return.”
Jin shrugged his shoulders disinterestedly.
A small crease appeared between Shuuei’s brows. ….He had known Jin to always have had, behind his outward appearance, a prudent, strategic tendency, and now, that had not changed. Whether it was true or not, Jin would not say. He wouldn’t show even one of the cards he was holding. Considering that he had acted together with Shusui, it was known that somehow he had some connection with the people of the Hyou clan. So, there was probably some truth to ‘I’ll go and something will be done for me.’ He didn’t think that Jin would have any reason to deliberately go to the Hyou clan without being able to return. But, if he had some connection for the return.
“Maybe there are other ‘someones’ who are pursuing Shuurei-chan.”
…..surprisingly, it was right on.
However, Uu Uu-sama had said he could only open the “passage” once. If Jin had used it before him, then Shuuei would have even lost the opportunity to go to the Hyou clan and Shuurei.
–Then, for what reason?
Although he didn’t know what Jin was planning to do at the Hyou clan, if he were able to stop Jin, then the “someone” behind him would have their plans slightly thrown out of whack. The king be able to take a bit of revenge. However.
“….Jin, did Shusui-dono really return to the Hyou clan?”
“Yeah. She opened the ‘passage’ in the shrine Houkyou mountain and went back alone.”
He felt as if there were a faint warmth in the fan in his pocket.
Uu Uu had said that the ‘passages’ had all been sealed from the Hyou clan side. Then, clearly something strange had happened. To the Hyou clan, to Shuurei, to Riou—and to Shusui, who had returned there by her own will.
“—I’ll go and I’ll definitely come back. Uu Uu-sama, please open the ‘passage.’”
Uu Uu’s long beard saved as he sighed.
“…Shuuei-dono, even if you go, it may be that you cannot do anything. Please realize that you cannot ignore Shuurei-dono’s will and force her to come back here with you. Even if that is the king’s order.”
“Uu Uu-sama?”
“However, when you are able to return, that will definitely be a sign that one of the doors of the sealed Hyou clan has opened….. Always, whenever our sealed clan in the sky has changed, it has been when people with airs of the ‘outside’ have come. Even if not everything is changed, they go having left a small but definite change, like ripples spreading from a small stone. You two may be one of these slight ‘changes.”
Then, Uu Uu held out both of his hands. Above them, something appeared as if it had been floating there. This was a pair of swords. Seeing them, both Shuuei and Jin widened their eyes.
“….’Kanshou’ and ‘Bakuya’? Why are they here? Don’t the king and that military official have them?”
“His majesty and Officer Shi came and left them here separately. They said that if someone with so much spare time that it’s as if he were unemployed came here alone saying he wanted to go find someone at the Hyou clan, if this was useful to him, to hand it to him. It seems they said ‘Go quick and come back quick. Please.” Shuuei-dono.”
Shuuei looked up. At the same time, he felt like he wanted to laugh. At this time, the last hesitations he had about whether it was okay to leave the king here and go alone melted away.
“Please”
Go for us—–
Uu Uu tilted his head a bit, and looked down at the two swords troubledly.
“However, actually these swords have been completely empty since the last time they were used……Now, I think they’ll only be able to ring when there’s a strange presence….. Will you two take them?”
“Saying ‘you two,’ could you mean that you want to give one of them to Jin, Uu-sama?!”
“Yes. They’re empty, so I think it should be okay……Just in case.”
Jin, brimming with deep interest, looked carefully at “Kanshou” and “Bakuya.” It was his first time seeing them up close.
“….I heard that only a few people can use both of them, with King Senka being the foremost.”
“Yes. Your grandfather Shiba Ryuu-dono was one of those few. And that was only ‘borrowing’ them, those who have ‘used them’ are even fewer. Only one person used them up all the way from when they were completely full, and that is the “Black Wolf.” He posseses incredible mental energy and strength of heart, so they easily followed him, without any reaction of rejection. Even so, I hear when he used them only once, his heart stopped.”
Jin remembered the “Black Wolf” he had met at Kiyou. He had easily showed he could get at Jin from the back. At Nine Colors Cove, he had seen his face. Now Jin knew “who” the “Black Wolf” was. Scratching his cheek, he stole a glance at his childhood friend. He sympathized with him greatly.
(…..That’s his rival in love. He’s chosen someone he’s got no chance against…..)
“His heart stopped? What does that mean?”
Not knowing he was being pitied, Shuuei was in shock. Certainly, he had heard that usually they couldn’t be used.
“These swords were originally forged to destroy demons, so that ordinary people who couldn’t do magic could fight demons like magic users….. In other words, they are like using magic. In return for being able to manipulate enormous power, the users energy is sapped. When they are all full, that is the most dangerous stage, and then even drawing them causes the user’s energy to be sucked in. Therefore, those without mettle cannot use them. Then, when the user’s energy is all used up, then they change to using up their life force , so if the user is not skillful, the day they use them will be their last.”
“Uu-sama! Aren’t these cursed swords? These aren’t demon destroying swords, they’re cursed swords!”
Shuuei had said something very true. Jin grinned as he was poking curiously at the swords.
“You can’t use them if you don’t have any guts, Shuuei. It’s a good thing they’re empty.”
“What do you mean by that?!?!”
Shuuei was angered and definitely made no move to touch either sword. It seemed he was aware of them.
“When they’re empty, it’s the same as if they’re sleeping, so food is not necessary to them. So, you can touch them without any worries. Nothing happened to his majesty or Officer Shi, so other people should be able to use them.
Shuuei had also seen Ensei draw one in Sa Province.
“Also, each has a character corresponding to yin and yang, so if you two each take one, when you are both lost, they will be very useful for finding the other person!”
“…Like a cat’s bell. Well, I’ll take this one.”
“Hey, Jin! It’s not being given to you! After that, return it!”
Shuuei took the yang “Kanshou, and Jin took the yin “Bakuya,” without any hesitation. When Uu Uu saw that, he thought this was a little unexpected. He had thought it would be the other way around.
Uu Uu’s eyes moved for a second towards Shuuei’s chest. Where he had placed Shusui’s fan.
“—-The ‘outside’ has certainly changed Riou-dono. And, the destiny of a priestess. ….Really, I should be going. However, I cannot…..go yet. —Well then, I will open the ‘passage’ and send you on your way. Please go into the circle.”
Shuuei and Jin looked at the magic circle, but neither of them moved. They knew that both of them were thinking the same thing. Shuuei looked at Uu Uu, with “Kanshou” in one hand.
“….However, Uu Uu-sama, you had said this before. Using magic is like using this sword. That you use energy and life force. When you said you could only open it once, that…”
That meaning.
It was at this time:
“….That’s correct. I’ll do it instead.”
Both Jin and Shuuei put their hands to the hilts of their swords, and turned with a start. —They had not noticed this presence. Shuuei went blank when he saw the person who had suddenly appeared from nowhere.
“….Ryuuren?!”
After they had come back from Nine Colors Cove, his brother had disappeared.
“Why are you here—?”
Ryuuren slowly turned his face towards Shuuei. His glance was like the watery depths. He sensed there was something was different about him from the normal Ryuuren.
No, it was not something.
“….Ryuuren….?”
“—–Yes. “Ryuuren” is the one who observes. Ryuuren must not do anything. You should go instead.”
The room was filled with a reverberating sound like bells ringing. “Kanshou” and “Bakuya” rang, and all of the divine instruments in the room sounded with them. It did not seem that Ryuuren was trying to do anything. He did not even play his flute as usual. He simply lightly crossed his arms and stood there. There was nothing strange about it. However, that in itself was most strange. There was not a shred of Ryuuren’s particular eccentricity, which always floated around him—-and, nor was there any humanity. Beyond the sound of the echoing bells, loud enough to split one’s head, the last thing that Shuuei saw was the wordless gaze of ‘someone’ with Ryuuren’s face.

Uu Uu stared in disbelief at the youth who had easily opened a “passage” without moving a finger. He had not even used a magic circle.
Uu Uu found he was shivering with fear—at the absolute difference in power.
“You…my lord….”
“It wasn’t out of pity. You helped Red in the past. I came to return the favor, just this once. There won’t be a second time. Your leash on life is short. It would be unfortunate if you were to waste it here and die.”
“…..I am greatly thankful…..”
The young man took a good look at Uu Uu, who was sitting quietly in the middle of the circle. He reached out with both hands, and lifted Uu Uu up as though he were a cute doll.
“You have a fine coat of fur for a human. I like the small size too. You’re also big enough to be a decoration.”
Coat of fur? Decoration? Uu Uu was astonished, and the young man petted him as though he really were a doll.
“It would be too bad if I were to let you die here like this. Can I freeze you and decorate you?”
“Th,that’s not good! If you do that, I’ll die!”
“That’ll be sooner or later. How about this, in exchange for you becoming my decoration, I’ll grant you a wish. You’ll use up your life all the same, so don’t you think it’s a good idea? I am the ‘seer of dreams,’ the one who oversees time. You must have one or two things in your past you’d like to do over again, right?”
Uu Uu reacted with a start.
Indeed, “Ryuuren” was the oracle of the Ran clan. The name was allowed to one who possessed the unusual body and spirit which could house an immortal while living, although there was a price. Such a person was allowed to use a portion of the power of the Blue Immortal, the ‘seer of dreams.’
The great ruler of “time,” who could control all aspects of it, who saw both present and future while dozing. The Blue Lord.
It was said that, if he wished to, he could grasp everything–the past, present, future, when and what all humans were doing in three thousand worlds–in a second, and intervene. That was the reason that if there was not a human who could tolerate such a vast amount of information, “he” could not descend.
Having glimpsed a shred of his power before, Uu Uu had a feeling that he could truly even change the past.
Something in his past he wished to do over again.
There were, if he looked back, numerous things.
He felt that he had come to only regret the past. And even now, more so.
Despite this, Uu Uu opened his small mouth.
“No.”
At this single word of reply, the young man smiled, somewhat happily.
“Hmph, and you really did have such a good coat of fur. It’s too bad. You’re really trying hard. Of course, we will not help you. We will only watch, as always. You must pay your bills by yourself.”
The young man narrowed his eyes and looked at Uu Uu.
“You’ve shaved off your body until you’ve become this small. Well…. then I shall allow you some rest.”
Before he could reply, Uu Uu’s body was attacked by a heavy exhaustion, and he lost consciousness.
The young man patted Uu Uu, who was sleeping in his arms. When he took a deep breath, he could see the color of Uu Uu’s life. It was the color of twilight, which struck the breast deeply, as if it were brimming with tears. What was such a color?
“You’ve had a long road. And your life has not been easy. However, you said you didn’t want to redo it, and those words are most noble. I’d like to make things easier for you, but you probably don’t wish for that yet. Eh, Shi Shou.
Shi Shou, who had appeared there, looked at the sleeping, exhausted Uu Uu, and momentarily made a face as though he had been left behind.

Notes:
On the colors: Usually, I translate ‘ran’ as blue, but it really is ‘indigo.’ Hyou really is also a color, light blue, to be exact.

Previously, Uu Uu opened the gate to send to Shouka off to the Hyou clan, where he freed Bara-hime. I think that’s why Ryuuren the Blue Immortal is thanking him. The Blue Immortal has been previously mentioned in the last Gaiden.

Commentary:
Finally, this long, long chapter is over. Personally, I’m beginning to like Uu Uu more and more, and would like to see a gaiden focusing on him. To be honest, I also want more gaidens focusing on Senka and his relationship with Ki-hime, and on Ou Ki’s earlier life, and how Senka met Shou Taishi and the others, and about Enjun and Eiki…

This adds some mystery to the matter of Jin’s master. Whoever this person is, they are respected by Uu Uu. Jin is so far one of the most mysterious people in the series. I kind of like the subtlety of how Shuuei being a well… coddled rich kid actually does have its positive sides: he never gives up, and he lives according to his own values, rather than following what society says. Anyway, why should anyone care what Jin’s father thinks? We’re talking about a man who stalked and slaughtered a woman, and then tried to rape a thirteen year old girl, who was his own son’s fiancee.

As for the mystical stuff here, I suppose I’ll randomly share my speculation. The original name of the Shi (purple) clan is Sou, which is a shade of blue. The Ran clan’s color is indigo. The Hyou clan, who descend from the first emperor’s sister and are described as being the counterpart of the imperial clan, have as their color light blue. Here, we learn that both the Hyou and Ran clans have a ‘wind’ of a ‘hidden color.’ This allows them to visit Nine Colors Cove without getting lost. We also learn in this chapter that “Ryuuren” is the name given to the living host of the Blue (or should that be Indigo?) Immortal.

The fact that all of the aforementioned clans are shades of blue, and that the Ran clan possesses a kind of mystical power shared with the Hyou clan, and “Ryuuren,” makes me wonder if the imperial clan doesn’t originally descend from the Ran clan anyway? It seems that the Ran clan has some kind of power that the rest of the clans don’t: the Kou clan and the Sa clan, who seem to show up in the story the most, don’t really show any hints of themselves having such powers, nor do they host immortals on a regular basis.

Also, it does seem rather weird that after all of the craziness in Ran province, no one tried to do something about the fact that Ruka had well, tried to assassinate the king.