Xu Zhiqiu shook her head helplessly and continued applying medicine to her wound. Once she had applied enough, she took off her outer clothes, then lay down on the bed and went back to sleep.
In the middle of the night.
Xu Zhiqiu suddenly woke. She rubbed her eyes, threw back the covers, and got out of bed. After dressing, she slid the door open and stepped outside. The corridor was silent, almost unnaturally so.
"Naraku?" Xu Zhiqiu called from outside Naraku's room. When she received no answer, she slid the door open and went inside. Only a single candle burned in the room, and several wooden dolls with hair tied to them sat on the small table.
No one was there.
Walking into the courtyard, Xu Zhiqiu looked up at the sky. The night was pitch-black, and even the moon was hidden behind the dark clouds.
Something was wrong.
Xu Zhiqiu frowned at the demonic aura drifting overhead. It looked more like miasma.
She leaped out of the lord's residence, only for a Barrier to block her way.
Last time, it had surrounded the courtyard. Now it surrounded the entire residence. What exactly was Naraku doing?
Xu Zhiqiu did not dwell on it. She had slept more than enough that day and was wide awake now.
As it happened, she was hungry again and wanted a midnight snack.
She headed in the direction the servants usually came from when bringing meals. Just as she rounded a courtyard, she caught the scent of a thick demonic aura. It seemed to be Naraku's.
Xu Zhiqiu followed the demonic aura to its source and found Mōmō Bees nearby, blocking her path.
There really was something going on.
Xu Zhiqiu did not force her way through. Instead, she left. After finding the kitchen, she lifted the lid of a pot and discovered half a roast chicken inside. By then, it had gone cold.
She could eat it once she heated it up.
Xu Zhiqiu licked her dry lips, rolled up her sleeves, and picked up some kindling nearby. She struck sparks with a flint, then put the kindling into the stove once it caught fire. She poured water into the pot and set the steamer containing the roast chicken inside.
Once the chicken's skin was hot, Xu Zhiqiu stopped feeding the fire, washed her hands, and picked up the half chicken to gnaw on it. After finishing it, she disposed of the bones, cleaned away all traces, and headed back.
The sun was already high.
By the time Xu Zhiqiu got up, the Barrier outside had been opened.
She changed into a navy-blue top and gray hakama, tied her sash in a bow, slung her bundle over her back, and took hold of her sword. Coming out of her room, she looked toward the room at the other end of the corridor. After a moment's hesitation, she went over.
There was no one in the room.
She came back out and headed elsewhere.
"My lady."
"Where is Indara?"
"The lord is handling official business in his study."
"Oh. Take me there."
"Yes."
Led by the servant, Xu Zhiqiu arrived where Naraku was. As she approached, several retainers happened to be coming out.
They offered their greetings.
Xu Zhiqiu gave a perfunctory acknowledgment, dismissed the servant guarding the door, and went inside alone.
She saw Naraku kneeling before a desk piled with documents.
Naraku was quite pleased to see Xu Zhiqiu come in, but when he noticed how she was dressed and equipped, his smile faded. "Qiu, where are you going?"
"I'm going back to see an old friend. I don't know when I'll return, so I came to let you know."
"To see Kikyo?" Naraku asked.
Xu Zhiqiu answered vaguely, "Mm, more or less. I'll bring you the Shikon Jewel that Inuyasha and the others have, so don't go making trouble for them."
Hearing that Xu Zhiqiu was doing this for Inuyasha and the others, Naraku gave a casual, cold chuckle, his voice low and deep. "Qiu, this is no longer a question of whether I make trouble for them. They've already learned something about what happened fifty years ago. Do you think Inuyasha and the others will let me off?"
When Xu Zhiqiu said nothing, Naraku continued, "Even if they let me off, when it comes to fighting over the Shikon Jewel, they and I, Naraku, stand on opposing sides."
Xu Zhiqiu pressed her lips together and nodded. "All right, I understand. You want to grow stronger, and you want the Shikon Jewel. I'll find it for you."
As Xu Zhiqiu prepared to leave, Naraku stood, and his tentacles emerged. He wrapped one around her waist and pulled her before him. Studying her beautiful face, he reached out to stroke it. "This had nothing to do with you in the first place, Qiu. Why do you want to help me?"
Xu Zhiqiu kept a stern face. "The Shikon Jewel has shattered into so many pieces now. No matter which demon holds them, they'll nurture evil. I might as well put them in your hands."
Naraku smiled. "Qiu, aren't you afraid I'll nurture an even greater evil? After all, I'm the one who most wants the Shikon Jewel to be tainted."
"No," Xu Zhiqiu said, offering nothing more.
The tentacle around her waist withdrew.
Once she was free, Xu Zhiqiu glanced at Naraku, then turned and left.
After Xu Zhiqiu was gone, Naraku let out a low, cold chuckle. Not make trouble for them? He would do precisely that.
After leaving the castle, Xu Zhiqiu dealt with the Mōmō Bees following her, then headed toward where Kikyo was staying.
Kikyo was a kind person. Even though her body was now made of clay and she relied on Soul Collectors to sustain her, she remained charitable, helping as many people as she could.
With just a few inquiries, Xu Zhiqiu learned where she was.
When Xu Zhiqiu found Kikyo, she was gathering medicinal herbs in a grassy field. Seeing her in her white top and red skirt, with loneliness radiating from her, Xu Zhiqiu felt that they had only been apart for ten or twenty days.
She sighed softly. "Kikyo."
At the sound of her voice, Kikyo stopped gathering herbs and looked up toward her. When she saw Xu Zhiqiu's face, she froze. "Qiu."
The weather was clear that day, with blue skies and white clouds.
Xu Zhiqiu and Kikyo sat together on the short grass, looking down at the village below.
"Qiu, did Naraku take you away back then? What exactly happened?" Kikyo asked her.
Xu Zhiqiu propped up her chin, toying with a blade of foxtail grass. "My Jade took me away back then. Afterward, some things happened, and I slept for fifty years. I only woke up within the past month."
"So Naraku wasn't the cause," Kikyo said softly.
"What about you, Kikyo? Why did you become like this?" Xu Zhiqiu turned to look at Kikyo beside her.
A faint sadness appeared on Kikyo's cool face. "Fifty years ago, Inuyasha wounded me, and I chose to die with the Shikon Jewel. I never expected someone to summon me back fifty years later. This body was made from my ashes and grave soil, and I sustain my life with the souls of the dead."
As she spoke, a note of mockery crept into her voice.
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