Xu Zhiqiu Feeds Him Soup

Xu Zhiqiu spent the entire day killing demons, cutting down wave after wave. The demons hated her as much as they hated Kikyo.

Only toward evening did the demons settle down a little, finally giving her a moment to catch her breath.

Xu Zhiqiu changed out of her blood-soaked clothes. Her Barrier only protected her when she came under physical attack. If she was not in danger, the Barrier within her jade would not appear, so some of the demons' blood inevitably splattered onto her.

She put on blue clothes and tied her thick black hair into a high ponytail with a ribbon, leaving only her bangs and two locks framing her face.

After washing her clothes, she hung them on the wooden rack in the courtyard, then went inside. The soup in the clay pot over the fire pit was already bubbling, its fish aroma rolling out into the air. She lifted the pot aside and waited for the soup to cool.

She found a vegetable basket and a wooden bowl, set the bowl in the basket, and ladled soup into it. Once it was full, she covered it, tucked a few other things into the basket, and picked up a spare thin quilt a villager had given her before setting off for her destination.

On her way out, she met Kikyo, who had just returned from slaying demons. "Kikyo, why are you only getting back now?"

"There were quite a few demons over there," Kikyo explained. "Inuyasha and I had some trouble dealing with them."

"I see. As long as you made it back safely."

Holding her bow and arrows, Kikyo saw the vegetable basket and quilt in Xu Zhiqiu's arms and understood what she intended. "Qiu, are you planning to spare his life?"

Xu Zhiqiu looked up at the sunset glow on the horizon. "He'll be lying there for the rest of his life anyway. Letting him die outright would be letting him off far too easily. Better to leave him clinging to his last breath, living a life worse than death."

Kikyo frowned but said nothing.

"I'll be going, then," Xu Zhiqiu said softly.

"Stay safe." Kikyo watched Xu Zhiqiu leave, then turned to her own work.

Xu Zhiqiu reached the cave entrance and clicked her tongue a few times as she gazed into its gloom. This really was no place for a person to live.

A chill of revulsion ran through her, and she walked inside with a frown.

The light of an oil flame sprang up in the dim space, instantly breaking the darkness.

Once she could see her surroundings clearly.

Xu Zhiqiu spread out the quilt and covered him with it.

Onigumo, who had slept for an entire day and night, sensed someone arriving. A weight settled over him, sending a startling stab of pain through his entire body. He lifted his eyelids and saw Xu Zhiqiu in her lovely clothes.

His dark eye rolled, laying his emotions bare.

"Qiu, is that you?"

His vocal cords had been burned away in the fire caused by the explosives, leaving his voice hoarse and grating.

"No," Xu Zhiqiu answered with a stony face. Holding the bowl, she picked up the spoon, scooped up some soup, and thrust it toward his mouth.

"Heh, heh, I never thought... cough, cough..."

The moment Onigumo opened his mouth, Xu Zhiqiu shoved the spoonful straight in.

Without any warning, Onigumo was force-fed a mouthful of soup.

His eye shifted, and he opened his mouth again, only for Xu Zhiqiu to feed him another spoonful. She clearly did not want him talking. He knew better than to push his luck, so he stopped trying to speak and obediently opened his mouth to be fed.

Once the bowl of rich soup was empty, Xu Zhiqiu put it back in the basket and stood to leave.

"Qiu." Seeing that she was leaving, Onigumo hurriedly called out to stop her. The pain left him unable to move, so he could only give up, fixing his lone eye on her profile. "Aren't you going to catch up with me?"

Xu Zhiqiu turned to look at the man lying on the ground. After a moment of silence, she crouched beside him after all. "Say what you have to say."

"You're getting prettier and prettier." As Onigumo spoke, his gaze gradually drifted downward and settled on Xu Zhiqiu's chest.

Xu Zhiqiu clenched her fist, a smile curving her lips as she said chillingly, "Do you want me to blind your other eye too?" His lower body no longer even worked, yet he still wanted to take liberties with her. Was he really bent on dying beneath the peonies, a debonair ghost even in death?

At her words, his already blinded eye inexplicably began to ache. But Onigumo knew Xu Zhiqiu would not do it. He admired her angry expression-utterly beautiful. Even in anger, a beauty looked so lovely. "I never thought I'd see you again before I died," he said, entranced. "But I still have some regrets."

Xu Zhiqiu unclenched her fingers and snorted. "You deserve it."

Heh, heh.

Onigumo gave a rasping laugh, calling her Qiu again and again.

He made it seem as though the two of them were close.

Xu Zhiqiu narrowed her eyes. "I don't recall ever telling you my name."

"Was it that hard to find out? Who doesn't know there are two priestesses guarding the Shikon Jewel?" Onigumo admitted.

So it was because of the Shikon Jewel after all.

Xu Zhiqiu picked up the basket and stood. "I advise you not to set your sights on the Shikon Jewel. Its harmful effects aren't nearly as simple as they appear."

"So what? As long as I can get stronger, I don't care about anything else," Onigumo said hysterically, his harsh, ruined voice echoing through the cave.

Xu Zhiqiu snorted. "Stronger? You're already incredibly lucky just to be lying here and saying a few words."

The woman had struck a sore spot, and Onigumo's eye rolled even faster. Xu Zhiqiu was right, but he simply could not reconcile himself to it.

His gaze followed her graceful figure as she left, until she disappeared.

He drew his gaze back and stared into the sinister cave. His loneliness and dark emotions slowly swelled, and he suddenly broke into a rasping laugh.

After returning, Xu Zhiqiu fed the rabbits, then finished the food in the clay pot.

Once she was full, she went out for a walk.

As she wandered, she found herself at the village ancestral shrine.

She stood at the entrance, hesitating over whether to go inside, when the jade on her wrist grew warm.

She pushed open the door and entered.

A lamp inside the shrine illuminated the room.

The jewel placed in the middle, glowing purple, was particularly eye-catching.

Purifying the Shikon Jewel had always been Kikyo's responsibility. Xu Zhiqiu generally only handled slaying demons, and this was her first proper encounter with the Shikon Jewel.

When it had first been placed in the shrine, it had been tainted with black energy. Now Kikyo had purified it thoroughly.

At least, it looked clean on the surface.

Xu Zhiqiu raised the jade on her wrist and compared it with the Shikon Jewel.

The Shikon Jewel represented four souls. The people of this island nation believed in four souls, while where she came from, people spoke of three souls and seven spirits. Never mind-there was no need to get into all that now. It was enough to understand it herself.

The Shikon Jewel contained Naohi and Magatsuhi. In the story she had watched, Magatsuhi, who represented evil, would later emerge through Naraku's body and wreak havoc.

Then did the jade on her wrist also contain a jewel spirit?

Xu Zhiqiu raised her hand and brought it closer for a look, but all she could see inside was a uniform blue-green, revealing nothing.

After standing there for a while, Xu Zhiqiu yawned and walked out.

As she closed the door, black energy appeared within the previously pure, flawless Shikon Jewel, then quickly vanished again, as though it had been nothing more than an illusion.