Naraku

That night, Xu Zhiqiu had trouble sleeping. She had no idea why; she simply couldn't fall asleep and kept tossing and turning.

In the end, she lit a lamp and fetched a jar of pickled peaches from the cellar, eating them while teasing the rabbits in their nest.

These rabbits were her winter food reserves. She still needed two more, and she planned to give one to Kikyo and roast the other.

The more Xu Zhiqiu looked at the plump rabbits, the more pleased she became, chewing through the wild peaches in the clay jar one by one.

As Kikyo fell in love, some things seemed to change. Her spiritual power, for instance, was gradually weakening. At first, she had been able to shoot down many demons with a single arrow, but now she needed two to finish them off.

The Barrier around Kaede's Village was no longer as sturdy as before, either. A great swarm of demons suddenly flew over the village, yet Kikyo hadn't even noticed.

Xu Zhiqiu found it strange. Kikyo was only falling in love, so why was her spiritual power weakening? For Kagome, love had made her stronger.

Fate really did make fools of people.

The demons came charging in with a clear objective: to steal the Shikon Jewel.

Xu Zhiqiu used the Jade Blade to slice through the demons ahead of her, then leaped to Kikyo's side to help deal with the monsters surrounding her. Seeing Kikyo still standing there in a daze, she shouted, "Kikyo, what's wrong with you?"

Kikyo snapped out of her thoughts about her declining spiritual power. She raised her head, tightened her grip on her bow, and aimed at the approaching demons. "I'm fine, Qiu. Hurry and protect the others."

Kikyo fired a Purifying Arrow, piercing four or five demons with a single shot.

Only then did Xu Zhiqiu feel somewhat reassured and go to help the villagers ahead.

But shortly after leaving, she seemed to remember something.

She turned to look back at Kikyo.

"Ah!" Kohaku's pained scream rang out.

A demon had lunged at Kohaku. Although Kikyo reacted swiftly and shot it, something from the monster still pierced Kohaku's eye.

!!

Xu Zhiqiu clenched her fist, picked up speed, and attacked with her jade.

A man wearing the Baboon Garb stood atop a tree, taking in the scene below. When he saw that familiar face, his heart gave a sudden, predictable jolt.

Only a sharply defined jaw showed beneath his baboon-head mask. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and he reached up to clutch his wildly pounding heart.

Images of Onigumo and that woman surfaced in his mind. The corners of his mouth twitched again, and in the end, he chose to leave.

As the baboon-clad man departed, the demons attacking Kaede's Village gradually dwindled.

Xu Zhiqiu sliced through the last batch of monsters, wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, and walked toward Kikyo and the others.

Inuyasha came running from the other direction as well. He had seen Xu Zhiqiu slice through the demons several times; her attacks covered an even wider range than his Blades of Blood.

His gaze flicked toward the piece of jade Xu Zhiqiu wore on her wrist. Was that the jade's doing?

"It hurts," Kohaku's voice reached him.

Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts and ran toward Kikyo.

Kohaku's right eye really was blind. No medicinal herbs could restore it.

A heavy air of sorrow filled the room.

After comforting them for a while, Xu Zhiqiu realized she was covered in blood and decided to go home to change.

When she pushed the door open and stepped outside, Inuyasha was leaning against the wall. Seeing her emerge, he asked, "Hey, Qiu, do your powers come from that piece of jade on your wrist?"

He hadn't smelled any demonic scent on Xu Zhiqiu, nor had he detected any spiritual power in her. Yet the blades that appeared when she attacked carried powerful spiritual energy.

"Yes. Why?" Xu Zhiqiu admitted it, having no intention of hiding it from them.

"It's pretty powerful. A little like the Shikon Jewel," Inuyasha muttered to himself.

Xu Zhiqiu raised an eyebrow. "What, do you want my jade?"

At that, Inuyasha's golden eyes shifted for a moment. He had originally wanted to say he did, a little, but then he thought of Kikyo and immediately denied it. "No!"

"Oh. You'd better not." Xu Zhiqiu couldn't stand the bloody smell clinging to her and didn't want to waste any more words on him, so she hurried home.

Only after changing into clean clothes did Xu Zhiqiu finally feel like herself again.

She lay on the bed for a while, hoping to close her eyes and take an afternoon nap. Although she was very tired, she still couldn't sleep.

She wondered why those monsters had all attacked from the same place in such perfect coordination. It didn't look like the demons had acted on their own; it looked more like someone had been issuing orders behind the scenes.

For some reason, the man in the Baboon Garb suddenly appeared in her mind.

Had Naraku appeared?

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. She immediately slapped the floor, pulled on her clothes, and quickly tied up her hair. Pouring the little bit of porridge left over from breakfast into Onigumo's dedicated bowl, she put it in a basket and carried it toward her destination.

She arrived below the cave where Onigumo was hiding. Before she even climbed up, Xu Zhiqiu smelled the thick stench of blood and burning wafting out from within.

It seemed that, in the end, Onigumo had still sold his soul to those demons.

The newborn Naraku had already emerged.

Xu Zhiqiu held the basket in her left hand and gripped the jade with her right, making her way up step by step. But before she reached the top, she chose to turn tail and run. Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing was the best!

The truth was, she really was afraid of Naraku, that final villainous boss. Admiration was one thing; fear was quite another.

She hadn't run far when a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

It exuded a dense demonic aura, and Xu Zhiqiu reflexively sent the Jade Blade slashing toward it.

A ripping sound rang out.

The Jade Blade hadn't cut the figure in two, but it had sliced his Baboon Skin in half.

"Heh." A low, hoarse chuckle sounded.

Xu Zhiqiu lifted her eyes to him. After she cut through the Baboon Garb, the man's lean, powerful hand caught its lower half, leaving his upper body bare. He had long hair like seaweed, with a few strands falling over his chest, and red eyes with blue beneath them. His shapely lips curved upward, tracing a lifeless smile.

"Qiu," he murmured, mockery coloring his voice. He studied the woman before him closely. Was this the woman Onigumo wanted to possess for himself? She really was beautiful.

So beautiful that he wanted to destroy her.

Heh heh.

As that thought crossed his mind, Onigumo's heart began pounding again. Clearly, he cared a great deal about this woman.

Xu Zhiqiu lowered her hand and looked at him warily. "Who are you?"

"I am Naraku, born when the despicable Onigumo offered his soul to those demons and merged with them."

"Naraku?" Xu Zhiqiu blurted out, looking stunned.

"That's right." As Naraku spoke, countless tentacles immediately sprouted from his body and lashed toward Xu Zhiqiu.

A woman to possess for himself? Wouldn't it be better if she died?

As the tentacles attacked, Xu Zhiqiu leaped a step aside and swept her hand toward them. A white blade of light appeared, instantly severing every tentacle in front of her.

Naraku frowned, then relaxed his brow. So that was how it worked. He withdrew his remaining tentacles and looked at the wary woman, his lips curving upward. "Qiu, we'll meet again another day."

With that, his figure flickered and vanished.