Onigumo, who offered his soul to demons

"No, Xu Zhiqiu can only be mine." Hysteria filled Onigumo's cries.

Just then, a red spider appeared at the cave entrance, then quickly disappeared again.

Frightened by the sight of Onigumo like this, Kohaku picked up her things and hurried away.

Once she returned, she immediately told Xu Zhiqiu what Onigumo had said to her.

Xu Zhiqiu, who had been exhausted half to death, sat bolt upright in a daze upon hearing this.

No way. No way.

She had merely helped save that sleazy bandit in Kikyo's place, and now he had fallen for her.

Did he have those sleazy thoughts about anyone who saved him?

When Kikyo heard Kohaku's words, her cool expression shifted too, and she glanced at Xu Zhiqiu several times.

Goosebumps rose all over Xu Zhiqiu. "Don't get the wrong idea. Him liking me is his business. I certainly won't like him."

"Qiu, are you really not going to find a man to marry?" Kikyo changed the subject.

Xu Zhiqiu gave her three outright refusals. "Don't want one, won't find one, won't marry one. Being alone is perfectly fine."

Kikyo frowned. "You're still pretty now, but once you grow old, no one will want to marry you."

Clearly, having fallen in love herself, Kikyo wanted Xu Zhiqiu to plunge into the river of love too.

"If no one marries me, so be it. Won't I still have your children to see me off when I die?" Xu Zhiqiu answered them with a smile.

The truth was this: one would die at eighteen and remain that age forever; the other, having lost an eye and shouldered the responsibility of protecting the village, would spend her life alone.

Unable to persuade her, Kikyo left her with only, "Give it some proper thought," before taking Kohaku home.

After watching them leave, Xu Zhiqiu sat at the table and studied herself in the mirror. With rouge and powder smeared over it, her face looked a little unreal.

She wiped away the lipstick and brightening powder with a towel, revealing her entire face. A faint pink showed through her fair cheeks, and her lips were lightly pressed together. She was still herself.

Yet her face had not changed in the slightest from how it had looked at the beginning. Kohaku's face had matured considerably compared to previous years, and even Kikyo's had changed a little, while hers remained exactly as it had been when she crossed over into this world.

Time here seemed to have no effect on her. Her appearance had stayed frozen at twenty-one.

Should she be grateful that, at her age, she went to bed without staying up late, cared for her skin regularly, and had her parents' genes to thank for such a pretty face?

If she married some man here, he would gradually age while she remained unchanged, unable to bear children. It would be a miracle if she wasn't treated as a demon. Why take that risk? She might as well enjoy every day.

If she truly had no other choice, she would fake her death, leave this place, and live somewhere in Shan Ye.

Having sorted out her thoughts, she considered what Kohaku had said.

She frowned. Onigumo's affection had shifted to her, so he probably wouldn't go after Inuyasha and Kikyo now, would he?

If Naraku, an amalgamation of demons, wanted to eliminate Onigumo's lingering attachment, he would certainly come after her. She had the Jade to protect her, so he probably wouldn't be able to hurt her.

Still, Naraku would definitely be interested in the Shikon Jewel. She would do everything she could to prevent that tragedy.

The next day, Xu Zhiqiu went to see Onigumo and found a spiderweb across the cave entrance. Without a word, she brushed it aside with some grass, then went inside.

For some inexplicable reason, the cave was colder than it had been on her last visit.

"Qiu, you're here." Onigumo called out when he saw Xu Zhiqiu arrive.

"If you have something to say, just say it. Stop calling me Qiu so intimately every other breath." As Xu Zhiqiu spoke, she took the things out of her basket.

Onigumo pressed his lips together, his eye fixed on Xu Zhiqiu as he tried to confirm his suspicions. "I heard that child say you seem to be getting engaged to another man. Is that true?"

Where on earth had that come from? Had Kohaku ever said anything like that?

Xu Zhiqiu's eyelid twitched. "There's no such thing."

Just as Onigumo's mood began to improve-

Xu Zhiqiu abruptly changed tack. "But how do you have the nerve to say you like me?"

Onigumo's pupil widened. Every word Xu Zhiqiu said struck his soul. Yes, how did he have the nerve?

He couldn't move at all now. He couldn't do anything to Qiu and could only lie on the ground for the rest of his life. Watching... watching his Qiu marry someone else, then abandon him, leaving him to die in this dark cave and be gnawed on by animals. Until his consciousness faded and he died completely.

When Xu Zhiqiu pushed the spoon toward his mouth, Onigumo turned his face aside as though angry. "I don't want to eat today."

"Oh, then don't." Xu Zhiqiu set down the bowl and picked up her basket.

When she reached the cave entrance, she turned to look at the man lying on the ground. Onigumo's lone eye was looking back at her, and Xu Zhiqiu could read a trace of hurt in it.

She fell silent for a moment, then finally walked back, crouched down, and picked up the bowl from the ground. She scooped up a spoonful and held it to his lips. Seeing his teeth tightly clenched, she said irritably:

"I'm sorry. I was too harsh. But hearing you say you like me really scares me. You're a sleazy bandit who's committed every kind of evil. You must say that sort of thing all the time."

Hearing Xu Zhiqiu call him sleazy again, Onigumo felt deeply uncomfortable, even though she wasn't wrong. He opened his mouth, about to speak, only for her to pour a spoonful of thick soup, already gone cold, into it. He could only accept Xu Zhiqiu's feeding.

Once she finished feeding him, Xu Zhiqiu left.

After Onigumo watched Xu Zhiqiu leave.

He blinked, watching the cave entrance gradually darken. He didn't want to remain this crippled. He wanted to return to how he had been before, so he could embrace and kiss his Qiu. The further his thoughts wandered, the stronger his desire to become a whole man again grew.

In the darkness, something suddenly called to him. When he came back to his senses, a red spider with three eyes glowing red had appeared on his body.

The evil spider said it was a demon and could grant his wish.

A wish?

Xu Zhiqiu's face suddenly appeared in Onigumo's mind. His resolve grew even firmer, and he told the demon, "I want a body that can move freely, so I can obtain the Shikon Jewel and make Xu Zhiqiu mine."

The spider agreed, then continued, "In return, we will take your soul." After it finished speaking, several pairs of eyes appeared around him, then more and more.

Amid Onigumo's delighted howls, an endless stream of demons devoured his soul.

Come on. Eat, eat. All he wanted was a body that could move.

Qiu.

Flames soared inside the dark cave, burning him away.