Taking Kikyo Back to Kaede's Village

The next morning, they returned to Kaede's Village.

At this point, Inuyasha and the others were probably still on their journey to collect the Shikon Jewel.

"Kikyo? Qiu?"

Kohaku woke early and saw two familiar faces. Thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her, she rubbed them, but the two women were still standing before her.

"Kohaku, we're back." Seeing Kohaku's aged face, Xu Zhiqiu sighed inwardly as she spoke.

"You... you two, weren't... weren't you...? Kikyo, I'm sorry." As Kohaku spoke and looked at Kikyo, tears welled up in her clouded eyes.

Seeing her younger sister cry, Kikyo sighed. They were sisters by blood, after all. She rested a hand on Kohaku's shoulder. "It's all right. Kohaku, thank you for all your hard work over the years."

Inside the house, the three of them sat around the hearth and began reminiscing about their time together.

Kohaku bowed her head, her face full of guilt. "That body was made of clay. I saw your soul emerge from Kagome's body. I'd never seen you so furious before, so I thought you were a vengeful spirit. That's why I said those things."

"Kikyo, I've grown old. Sometimes my mind fails me, and I speak without thinking."

As Kohaku spoke, she looked up at Kikyo, who was dressed in pink, then shifted her gaze to Xu Zhiqiu beside her. Neither of their faces had changed in the slightest, yet she had grown old. How quickly time had passed.

At Kohaku's words, Kikyo looked slightly taken aback. "I was forcibly summoned back then, and I lost control a little. I'm sorry, Kohaku."

"Kikyo, Kohaku has missed you so much."

After fifty years apart, Kohaku and Kikyo embraced.

Xu Zhiqiu sat beside them, watching. Moved by the sight, she nearly shed tears herself, but held them back.

Once that tender moment had passed, they began explaining their circumstances.

When Kohaku learned that Xu Zhiqiu had merely disappeared into the Jade, she was astonished. "Qiu, we thought Naraku had taken you away. I never imagined that wasn't what happened."

Xu Zhiqiu propped her chin on her hand. "No. When I came out of the Jade, I ran into Naraku, too."

"Then are you with Naraku now?"

"I stayed at his place for a while, then left to gain experience on my own. Later, I heard that the Shikon Jewel had been shattered and its fragments scattered everywhere, so I began collecting the Shikon Jewel Shards."

"Then why don't you have any Shikon Jewel Shards on you?" Kohaku asked.

"Ahem, I gave them to Naraku." Xu Zhiqiu coughed, her expression calm.

Kikyo froze as well. She studied Xu Zhiqiu with a probing look. "Then you're still in contact with Naraku, Qiu? You know full well what an evil half-demon he is, yet you still gave him shards of the Shikon Jewel."

Xu Zhiqiu shrugged. "Rather than let some unrelated demons have them, I'd rather give them to him for safekeeping. Besides, once he's collected most of them and gained the power he wants, I'll take them back from him and make the Shikon Jewel disappear forever."

Seeing Xu Zhiqiu like this inexplicably reminded Kikyo of her former self. Back then, she had also hoped to use the Shikon Jewel to turn Inuyasha into a human, never imagining things would come to such an unexpected end.

Kikyo lowered her eyes, trying not to dwell on those events, then looked steadily at Xu Zhiqiu. "Then how much do you know about Naraku?"

"Only a little. But Kikyo, please believe me. If there's truly no other choice, I'd rather sacrifice my life than fail to take the Shikon Jewel back from him." Speaking of something so important, Xu Zhiqiu's expression turned solemn.

Rather than answer her, Kikyo asked, "Qiu, do you like Naraku?"

Like him?

Xu Zhiqiu froze. That kiss suddenly surfaced in her mind. Maybe I do, a little?

When Xu Zhiqiu said nothing, Kikyo took in her expression and recalled what Inuyasha had said back then. She sighed softly. "All right, I believe you. I hope you can judge things for yourself and won't..." Follow in her footsteps and repeat the same mistakes.

"Yes!" Xu Zhiqiu nodded.

Kohaku, who had been sitting quietly beside them and listening, spoke up. "Kikyo, I heard about what happened back then from Inuyasha. He never hurt you, but being shot by your arrow provoked him, and that led to his terrible mistake afterward. We also concluded that Naraku's scheme caused it all."

"I don't know much about what happened back then, either. If I'd been there, perhaps I could have learned how it all came about. Right now, the most important thing is collecting the Shikon Jewel shards."

As she spoke, Xu Zhiqiu stood up. "All right, I'll go take a look at my house. Kikyo, you two take your time talking."

"All right."

"Inuyasha fought Sesshomaru and was badly wounded. I heard it was because Naraku gave Sesshomaru a human arm embedded with a Shikon Jewel shard..." Kohaku told Kikyo.

Xu Zhiqiu stood in the doorway and listened for a while, then left, following the path to her house.

Fifty years had passed. The fence around her yard had become increasingly overgrown. Withered vines wound around nearly rotten wooden posts, and wood ear mushrooms had sprouted from the wood.

Stepping into the yard, she looked at the vegetable plots on either side. Weeds ran rampant, reaching her calves. Uninhabited for years and battered by wind and rain, the wooden house was covered in dust.

Perhaps everyone had thought she would never appear again, never return, and so they had stopped tidying her house.

She pushed open the door and went inside.

A stale, musty smell filled the house. Everything inside was still arranged as it had been, but cobwebs covered it all.

Xu Zhiqiu opened her cellar. The food she had preserved fifty years ago was still there. Besides the peaches and other things she had pickled, she had also stored several jars of flower wine.

Taking out those small jars, Xu Zhiqiu opened one. The moment she broke the seal, a rich scent of wine wafted up to her nose.

Xu Zhiqiu happily took a sip, only for bitterness to fill her mouth. Well, the winemaking was a failure.

She searched around and found that her clothes and other belongings were no longer usable.

She stood for a long while, looking at the house with a hole in its roof. Then she went outside, picked up her sword, and slashed toward the roof without hesitation. Properly wielded, sword energy could ignite flames.

Smoke surged skyward from the wooden house.

Smelling smoke, Kohaku and Kikyo hurried outside and saw the burning house.

At the sight, Kohaku asked Xu Zhiqiu, "Qiu, why did you burn the house down? You could still live in it after tidying and cleaning it up."

Xu Zhiqiu walked over to them, a faint smile of release on her lips, and explained, "The house isn't usable anymore. I might as well burn it down."