Yokyu Castle (IV)

Yokyu Castle, the Fox Tribe's residence.

The Fox Tribe lived in the south and ruled the monsters of the Southern Lands. They had come to the Western Lands only because their leader's daughter insisted on marrying Sesshomaru, and had therefore purchased a temporary residence in the castle. The Fox Tribe maintained a neutral distance from the Dog Clan and had little desire to arrange a marriage with the eldest son of Toga, who had made countless enemies. Yet their leader's precious daughter was adamant, leaving him no choice but to agree.

The southern Fox Tribe claimed descent from the Celestial Fox, though most of its members were white or black foxes. Jiang Hui, the current white fox leader, had defeated the black foxes to become the tribe's ruler. It was said, however, that the moment he took power, the black foxes cursed him: none of his offspring would ever be born.

To break the curse and bear Jiang Hui a child, his betrothed secretly traveled to the Celestial Realm and stole and ate a Divine Child Fruit. Just as she was about to escape, the Celestial God discovered her and struck her back down to the Mortal Realm. Gravely wounded and forced to choose between her own life and her child's, Jiang Hui's wife used the last of her Demon Power to bring his offspring into the world, sacrificing her own life. This was why Jiang Hui treasured his only daughter so dearly.

Jiang Hui's daughter was named Yan Luo, born after her mother consumed the Divine Child Fruit. The fruit was said to be what celestial gods used to conceive children. It contained extraordinary divine power, which passed in full to the next generation along with the mother's own power, making all celestial gods immensely powerful. Thus, Jiang Hui's daughter was born with an exceptionally vast reserve of Demon Power and remarkable intelligence. Within just two years, she had awakened her ability to take human form and become a Fox Tribe beauty renowned far and wide. The monsters called her the Daughter of the White Fox, meaning the daughter of the entire white fox clan, rather than Jiang Hui alone. There were even rumors that this Daughter of the White Fox might succeed Jiang Hui as the Fox Tribe's next ruler.

At that moment, the Daughter of the White Fox, famed for her beauty and wisdom, reclined on a high branch of a cherry tree. The fair-skinned girl studied her slender fingers in the sunlight, her white skin almost translucent beneath its brilliant rays. Pleased with her own beauty, she curled her lips into a smug smile.

"Your Highness, that human woman has come out." A brown-haired fox monster cautiously approached the tree where the leader's daughter rested, dropped to one knee, and said softly, "Lord Sesshomaru is with her."

"Hmph." Yan Luo gave a cold laugh and lightly flicked her long nails. Since that woman dared to appear again, she had better be prepared to die. As far as Yan Luo remembered, there were no other women at Sesshomaru's side at this point. That woman probably wasn't anyone important, she thought carelessly.

The brown-haired fox was named Ryosuke. He held his breath, not daring to look directly at the vicious expression on the leader's daughter's face. The Daughter of the White Fox was famous, and her strength was every bit as unfathomable as the rumors claimed. Nothing about her suggested a newborn fox; she was unbelievably mature. She also had an exceptionally firm will, if one wished to put it kindly. But... Lady Yan Luo seemed uninterested in training, caring far more about other matters, such as Sesshomaru, the eldest son of the Dog Demon clan's late ruler. Of course, as the clan's future ruler, Sesshomaru was certainly qualified to marry a fox monster. Still, everyone was baffled that a female fox monster was determined to marry into a clan with which they had almost no dealings. In the end, they could only explain it as Lady Yan Luo's desire to obtain the Dog Demon clan's power. That was the explanation Jiang Hui's trusted ministers had given the monsters who followed Lady Yan Luo all the way to the Western Lands.

Moreover, Lady Yan Luo was highly skilled at manipulation, befitting her intelligence. When she first raised the proposed marriage with Sesshomaru's mother and Sesshomaru refused, she became all the more determined to have him. But Sesshomaru left without saying goodbye. Lady Yan Luo was furious and nearly went after him. Fortunately, he soon returned to Yokyu Castle, though a girl who looked like a human miko was now at his side.

After careful consideration, Lady Yan Luo immediately had people spread quiet rumors throughout the castle that a human miko was seducing Sesshomaru. Just as she expected, the castle erupted, and the monsters grew deeply anxious. With the Dog General's fate as a warning, they feared Sesshomaru might likewise become so infatuated with a human that he lost all reason and threw away his life. And Sesshomaru had no offspring yet! Were they supposed to let the Dog General's child with a human woman-that half-demon-rule the Western Lands? No monster was willing to accept that outcome.

As the situation developed exactly as Lady Yan Luo intended, even the normally indifferent monsters began to resent the girl. Some even proposed secretly killing her. But none could guarantee doing so without Sesshomaru finding out, and none dared provoke his wrath, so the matter reached a stalemate.

For some reason, however, the Bathhouse's owner, a monster named Yū, suddenly began defending the human girl. Everyone knew that this female monster had once loved the Dog General. Although Yū held his wife in great respect, she detested Izayoi and, by association, all human women. Thus, when Yū publicly declared that the girl was not actually human, all the monsters believed her. Yū would never defend a human; that was something they all agreed on. Lady Yan Luo's plan was derailed, leaving her to wait in secret for another chance to eliminate the girl.

To be fair, Ryosuke (the brown-haired fox monster's name) was not truly loyal to the Daughter of the White Fox. His allegiance lay only with the Fox Tribe's ruler. As a brown-furred fox, he had been forced to choose a side to survive the struggle between the white and black foxes. And as he had witnessed, Lord Jiang Hui had indeed emerged victorious. Lord Jiang Hui was generous in spirit. Despite being a formidable great monster, he treated ordinary monsters like them fairly and never dealt harshly with them. Thus, when Lord Jiang Hui asked him to protect Lady Yan Luo, he agreed without hesitation.

But Lady Yan Luo's personality was the exact opposite of Lord Jiang Hui's. At their first meeting, her eyes had been filled with disdain and contempt for her servants. Perhaps she believed she concealed it well, but as mottled fox monsters who had survived for years between the white and black foxes, they could naturally see the true expression in her eyes. Lady Yan Luo demanded that all of them address her as "Your Highness." They obeyed, of course, though inwardly they were somewhat unimpressed.

Until Lady Yan Luo displayed her extraordinary Demon Power.

Lady Yan Luo might not have been diligent about training, but she delighted in displaying her strength and authority.

Mizuho was truly one of his own kind, another brown-furred fox. Unlike the powerful white and black fox clans, brown and gray foxes had limited strength despite their considerable numbers. They were the opposite of the rare but astonishingly powerful Red Fox, Golden Fox, and Silver Fox clans. They were even subjected to the humiliating name "mottled fox monsters." Disrespected even within the Fox Tribe, they had no choice but to depend on the powerful white or black fox clans.

Mizuho was naturally older than Lady Yan Luo, but her Demon Power fell far short of Yan Luo's, who had been born through the Divine Child Fruit. As a brown fox, Mizuho also depended on the white foxes, so being selected to serve Lady Yan Luo was nothing remarkable. But while Lady Yan Luo remained fairly respectful on the surface toward those Lord Jiang Hui had sent, she was far less forgiving toward the servants chosen from among the brown foxes.

Lady Yan Luo would never discipline her servants in front of retainers like them. Yet whenever Ryosuke visited Mizuho, he often saw wounds on her body that were just beginning to heal. Mizuho said Lady Yan Luo had merely waved them aside, but Ryosuke understood. The intense Demon Power Lady Yan Luo made no effort to restrain when she waved her hand was enough to seriously injure a weak brown fox.

Later, Ryosuke brought it up as though in passing, but Lady Yan Luo replied without even looking up, "They have only their own weakness to blame." Her merciless indifference chilled him to the core. From then on, he never dared underestimate the leader's daughter, young as she actually was.

As Ryosuke knelt beneath the tree, a sheen of cold sweat had crept over his back without his noticing.

"Come. Take me to see what sort of woman dares stand beside Sesshomaru." Yan Luo jumped down from the tree, dense Demon Power surrounding her and allowing her to land lightly.

"Yes." Ryosuke lowered his head and answered obediently.

Leaving most of the attendants assigned by her father at the residence, the beautiful Daughter of the White Fox took only two followers with her. Although Sesshomaru had a servant like Jaken beside him, she remembered that he did not seem to enjoy having many people around.

Even though Sesshomaru had all but explicitly rejected the marriage she proposed in the Fox Tribe's name, that had to be because he had never seen her. She knew he was not someone who cared about beauty, but she had considerable confidence in her looks. Sometimes she even became hopelessly enthralled by her own beauty. Coming from a dazzling, bewildering era, she had seen countless beautiful women. Perhaps she had once been a drab little ugly duckling, utterly unremarkable and unable to measure up to even a finger of those beauties, but everything was different now! Of everyone she had ever seen, past or present, not one face could compare with hers now! She also possessed extraordinary strength, Demon Power that her father in this life called nearly perfect!

What sort of girl did Sesshomaru like? An innocent, pure one.

That was the definitive answer.

No one in the world knew that answer better than she did, and no one would believe it.

Who would believe that the proud Dog Demon Sesshomaru would eventually fall for that sort of innocent little girl?

Seeing three figures approach in the distance (Jaken included), Yan Luo gritted her teeth. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, suppressing all her resentment and trying to appear just a little more innocent, a little purer.

At least I have the advantage in age, Yan Luo thought confidently. Compared with that girl, who looked fifteen or sixteen, she appeared only twelve or thirteen, closer to the type Sesshomaru liked.

The silver-haired Dog Demon was walking toward her. A shy blush rose involuntarily to her cheeks, her eyes grew soft and limpid, and she lowered her lovely head slightly.

This was her first time facing Sesshomaru directly, rather than secretly glimpsing him in Rinyō's rear hall when she first arrived in the Western Lands.

Sesshomaru was just as handsome as she had imagined, flawlessly so. Just as Naraku had said, he was a monster with perfect Demon Power. Like her.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I am Yan Luo of the Demon Fox Tribe." Her heart pounded violently in her chest, and she involuntarily clutched the front of her robe.

She waited for Sesshomaru's response.

What would he say? "I am Sesshomaru." "The Demon Fox Tribe?" Or "Yan Luo?"

Then how should I answer? Yan Luo rehearsed a thousand possible replies in her mind, yet still could not find the right one.

Sesshomaru walked past.

He passed her without touching her, only air between them.

As though he had heard nothing.

Yan Luo raised her head in shock, only to see Sesshomaru leaving without looking back. He had not spared her a single glance.

In that instant, rage filled her heart. She was beside herself with fury.

How could he?! How dare he?!

She watched the Dog Demon's silver hair and white robes recede into the distance, a fierce sense of humiliation rising within her.

For the first time since she had transmigrated, tears welled in her eyes, and her nose stung unbearably.

The girl beside the Dog Demon quietly glanced back at her, but seemed startled by her dark, baleful eyes. She turned and tugged at the Dog Demon's robe. He slipped an arm around her shoulders as if to reassure her, then lowered it a moment later.

Sesshomaru hadn't pushed her away! Sesshomaru had put his arm around her!

Yan Luo glared at the girl's pale fingers, still clutching Sesshomaru's sleeve, her eyes all but burning.

It had to be her! It had to be her! If not for her, why would Sesshomaru have ignored me?!

"Go." Her hands clenched into tight fists inside her sleeves. Tears fell, and she viciously wiped them away, forcing out that single word.

The attendants behind her followed silently, as though they did not exist, not daring to make a sound.

Not far away, Han was still saying softly to Sesshomaru, "That little girl was talking to you just now." When he did not respond, she recalled the tears in the girl's eyes and added, "She looked like she was about to cry." She had not noticed the malice behind those tearful eyes.

Sesshomaru shook his head. "Ill intentions," he said, as though delivering a final verdict. Even while walking ahead, he could feel the naked ambition and possessiveness in that fox girl's eyes. She was probably the prospective bride his mother had mentioned, the one the Demon Fox Tribe wanted him to marry. But they had underestimated him. He, Sesshomaru, would never compromise over something like this.