Kanna

At Xu Weiqiu's request, Kanna instinctively looked up at Naraku on the spiderweb. Once he gave his permission, she stood, pinched her clothes, and moved her stiff limbs to turn in a circle before Xu Zhiqiu.

Her white dress fluttered with her movements.

Xu Weiqiu held her shoulders and gathered Kanna into her arms. "She looks a little cold, but she's so cute."

"Hmph." Naraku snorted coldly at Xu Weiqiu's words.

Xu Zhiqiu picked her up. "I have a few more outfits in my room. I'll take you to try them on."

Kanna blinked her vacant eyes and looked toward Naraku again. Before she could receive his signal, a pair of slender, strong hands turned her back around, nestling her into the woman's warm embrace.

"It's fine. Your daddy Naraku will agree. Won't you, Naraku?" Xu Zhiqiu said, looking toward him.

The corner of Naraku's mouth twitched, his tone rather helpless. "Qiu, she's merely an incarnation of mine. I still need to see what abilities she has."

He had created his incarnations only to use them as tools, not for Xu Zhiqiu to dote on them like daughters.

Xu Zhiqiu stroked Kanna's back and pressed her lips together. "You have a point, but that doesn't stop me from changing her clothes, does it? Once she's picked out something suitable, I'll bring her back to see you."

"Suit yourself."

Xu Zhiqiu immediately carried her out of the dungeon.

After ordering the servants to heat some water, Xu Zhiqiu personally gave Kanna a hot bath, washing the unidentified liquid from her hair. She also noticed a spider mark on Kanna's back, much like the one on Naraku's.

Once Kanna was washed and dressed in clean, comfortable clothes, Xu Zhiqiu held her before the dressing mirror and gently dried the girl's damp white hair with a towel.

As Xu Zhiqiu watched this excessively quiet girl, she recalled what she knew about Kanna.

Kanna, Naraku's first incarnation, had no expression, no emotions, and no demonic aura. The Death Mirror she held could absorb and control souls, and even had a live broadcast function that let her monitor others' movements. She was utterly loyal to Naraku, too, but began to betray him after her younger sister Kagura died.

She held the still slightly damp white hair between her fingers. Now that Kanna had appeared, Kagura would soon follow.

Kagura was a girl who did not want to work under Naraku and longed for freedom.

In the anime, Kagura was about my height. She should be able to wear some of my clothes, right?

Although Naraku had created quite a few incarnations, almost all of them betrayed him later on. Ultimately, he simply could not win their hearts, treating them only as tools and remaining utterly indifferent to whether they lived or died.

As people online put it, he had a doctorate in psychology but was an idiot at management.

Once she had finished rubbing Kanna's hair mostly dry, Xu Zhiqiu let go, held the girl's shoulders, and asked softly, "Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

Kanna looked at Xu Zhiqiu expressionlessly, her gray eyes devoid of emotion. She said nothing, merely shaking her head.

Xu Zhiqiu stood, crouched by the wardrobe, and rummaged through the smaller clothes she had sorted earlier. She picked out a deep red kimono. "How about trying this one?"

Kanna looked at the garment and shook her head. She raised a finger and pointed to the white outfit she had worn earlier.

Xu Zhiqiu understood what she meant. "You like white clothes, do you? I'll look again."

Xu Zhiqiu went over to the wardrobe and found a white outfit.

Seeing that the clothes were white, Kanna obediently let Xu Zhiqiu dress her. With her white hair and white clothes, even her stiff expression could not keep her from making people want to cuddle and squeeze her.

Xu Zhiqiu thought she looked good. After helping Kanna dress, she sat down, settled the girl on her lap, and held her in her arms. She fastened two white flowers to either side of Kanna's hair, making the overall look much more pleasing.

Kanna shifted, tilted her head up, and raised her chin to look straight at Xu Zhiqiu. Her voice was ethereal. "Naraku said we can go see him now."

"It's so cold there. Do you want to go over now, too?" Xu Zhiqiu asked her.

Kanna shook her head and answered softly, "I don't feel it."

Perhaps this was one of the advantages of being a demon.

Xu Zhiqiu fell silent. She set Kanna down, took her little hand, and headed toward the dungeon.

The servants in the residence could see only Xu Zhiqiu, not Kanna.

Once they returned to the dungeon, Kanna released Xu Zhiqiu's hand and walked toward a shadowy corner inside.

Seeing the demons there, Xu Zhiqiu ultimately decided not to follow, remaining at the foot of the stairs instead.

She picked up the Baboon Skin from the floor and draped it over her shoulders, sitting down in her previous spot. She glanced toward Naraku and suddenly called, "Naraku."

"Hmm? What is it, Qiu?" Naraku opened his eyes, which had been closed, and looked at Xu Zhiqiu as he asked.

"Nothing. Just calling you." Xu Zhiqiu closed her eyes, leaned her back against the wall, and folded her arms. With the Baboon Skin draped over her, much of the chill was driven away. She felt warm.

Xu Zhiqiu frowned, pondering something: lately, she always wanted to sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, as long as her mind settled, she could slip into dreamland with ease. She remembered never being this sleepy before. As long as she did not stay up late and kept regular hours, she had plenty of energy all day.

Yet she had already slept for two days straight, and even now, she could fall asleep simply by closing her eyes. During those two days, she would not have woken at all if she had not been hungry. It was as though something inside her body was absorbing her strength, but, afraid she would notice, it did so silently, leaving her enough energy to move freely.

It was not taking her life.

This seemed to have started after her Jade disappeared.

Where exactly had I been for those fifty years? How did I appear out of thin air? Whose little girl's voice did I hear before I lost consciousness?

As Xu Zhiqiu pondered, she drifted into sleep again. When she awoke, Kanna was already kneeling beside her with a mirror in her arms.

Xu Zhiqiu pressed her throbbing temples and braced herself against the wall to stand. Suddenly, rapid bubbling sounds came from an upright jar nearby.

A moment later, the jar burst apart from within, and a powerful gust of wind shot straight toward the head on the spiderweb.

Xu Zhiqiu drew her sword and flung a streak of sword energy that way, destroying the wind blade.

She sheathed her sword and saw a naked girl standing there, black hair resting on her shoulders. She had pointed, elf-like ears and large, red eyes, and looked only sixteen or seventeen. A fan rested in her hand, and impatience showed on her face.

Seeing that someone had nullified her attack, she looked startled. She lifted her chin slightly toward Xu Zhiqiu. "You."

Xu Zhiqiu took the Baboon Skin off her shoulders, walked over, and draped it around the girl whose face bore a wild, defiant look. "Mind you don't expose yourself."