"Elders, it was Chris Smith. He betrayed the family and fled with our supreme treasure, the Shikon Shard! The crash of my private plane may well have had something to do with him! He might have planned it all along!"
Javier spoke in a low voice.
He was trying to clear himself of blame.
After all, the plane that crashed was the one he had arranged. If he did not clear himself now, the family's leadership could easily suspect him of engineering everything to obtain the Shikon Shard.
"Chris betrayed the family?"
One elder frowned in disbelief, his voice rising sharply.
He was an elite member of the family whom their generation had watched grow up, one of the most outstanding of the younger generation. How could he betray them? The Smith Family would be handed over to them sooner or later!
"Elders, after mobilizing all of our family's resources in Tokyo in the Island Nation, we have confirmed that Chris is still alive! He appeared near the coast, where a local fisherman caught a fleeting glimpse of him!"
Standing behind an elderly man, Javier Smith spoke with absolute certainty.
With the family's resources, they had quickly uncovered evidence that the man was still alive.
Everyone aboard the plane had died in the crash except him. And despite surviving, he had refused to return to the family, vanishing without a trace instead. It could hardly have looked more suspicious.
"How could that be? Impossible! Elder Lorne and I raised him ourselves. He should be utterly loyal to the family!"
"Exactly. Our family gave him everything. Why would he abandon it all and betray us? Besides, he knows perfectly well how powerful the family is. How could he dare oppose us? Isn't he afraid we'll hunt him down?"
The two elderly men who had been smoking cigars both stubbed them out in their ashtrays.
Just then, someone quietly interjected:
"Could it be the influence of the Shikon Shard?"
At those words, the core family members gathered in the hall fell silent.
Of course they knew how uncanny the Shikon Shard was.
If someone who obtained a Shikon Shard harbored any ambition, embedding it in their body would not only cause their strength to soar, but also make that ambition swell dramatically.
That would explain why Chris had betrayed the family.
"Most likely, Chris obtained the Shikon Shard, but the plane crashed for some unknown reason, forcing him to use the supreme treasure's power to save himself! Once he survived, he discovered that he had suffered fatal injuries and could only sustain his life through the jewel shard's power! Without the shard, he would die on the spot! That was why he chose to defect..."
Elder Lorne imagined an elaborate explanation for his adopted son's actions.
And it all sounded perfectly reasonable.
Everyone fell silent at his words.
After a long while, an elder seated on a sofa asked:
"Has the plane's black box been found?"
"No! I sent a large number of people to search everywhere within two nautical miles of the area, but they found nothing! I imagine it was either swallowed by the sea or taken away by Chris..."
Javier answered respectfully.
Beneath his lowered face lurked an indescribably complicated expression.
"What about that boy from the Peninsula Li Family, Li Xia?"
"His cultivation wasn't high. He was only at the beginner level, so surviving a plane crash like that would have been difficult! According to the professionals investigating the scene, he likely died in the crash along with everyone else aboard. His body was probably vaporized by the intense heat!"
A middle-aged man reported the facts.
"We mustn't be careless. Continue secretly monitoring his businesses in Tokyo and his family on the peninsula and in Huaxia! Report any unusual developments immediately!"
It was just as Li Xia had predicted.
The Smith Family would not let the matter rest.
However, as long as he did not show himself, his father in this life, his eldest sister, and his second brother would remain safe.
Meanwhile, with Li Xia and Kagome.
Early that morning, the two prepared their supplies, then headed together to the Bone-Eater's Well.
"Mr. Xia, I'm entrusting my granddaughter's safety to you!"
"Mr. Xia, please look after my daughter..."
"Brother Xia, please take care of my sister!"
Of the family of four, the grandfather, mother, and younger brother all earnestly entrusted her to the boy, who possessed a measure of supernatural ability.
Although Kagome never told her family about the dangers there whenever she returned from the Warring States Demon World beyond the well, they were no fools. At the beginning, they had witnessed the Centipede Hag break through the seal over the well, followed by Yura of the Hair. Later, her grandfather had personally encountered the Flesh-Bodied Human Face, while Souta had seen the little evil spirit Mayu.
According to Inuyasha, those were merely the most common demons.
If even the most common demons were so troublesome that they had nearly killed them, how dangerous must the more terrifying demons beyond the well be?
Why hadn't the family tried to stop Kagome? First, there was a sense of responsibility. After all, Kagome had shattered the Shikon Jewel with her arrow. If she did nothing to make amends, their daughter and granddaughter would spend the rest of her life in guilt. Second, she had the half-demon Inuyasha's protection. His abilities were quite astonishing to ordinary people, and knowing he would protect Kagome offered them some reassurance.
Now Li Xia, who had saved her grandfather's life, not only knew about the well but had also expressed his desire to travel to the world beyond it to slay demons. Furthermore, he had explained that he was fleeing pursuit by the Evil Cultivator Family.
It turned out that the modern world they lived in only appeared peaceful. Beneath the surface, it was anything but calm.
"Kagome, make sure you get along with Mr. Xia!"
The beautiful woman encouraged her.
Given Li Xia's circumstances, she naturally had no objection to her daughter having another classmate as a companion.
Once she understood the thought and care he had put into this, she had even less reason to refuse his proposal to cross through the ancient well together.
He was going there to slay demons and escape terrorists hunting him down. If their family refused, wouldn't they be standing by while bad people took revenge on the man who had saved her grandfather? Wouldn't they be letting the Shikon Shard fall into those people's hands? At that point, they would not merely be repaying kindness with cruelty. They would also be bringing disaster upon this modern world, which was peaceful on the surface, at least!
And so.
Early that morning.
The family gathered beside the dry well inside a wooden hut, offering reminders as they watched the boy and girl cross through time and space together into the world beyond the well, a place they were deeply curious about but could not visit themselves.
"Sis, now you've got Brother Xia protecting you as well as Brother Inuyasha. Your little brother can finally worry a little less..."
Little Souta offered his well wishes with an innocent expression.
Amid a glow of deep blue light, the two vanished along with the large packs on their backs.
On the other side of the well was another dry well.
However, the opening here differed from that of the Higurashi Family's well in the modern world.
First, the Higurashi Family's well was enclosed in a small hut and never saw sunlight, while dazzling light shone from above this well.
Second, the surface of the Higurashi Family's Bone-Eater's Well was nothing but stone, with no moss, vines, or other vegetation. The well in the Sengoku Era, however, had plenty of trailing vines growing along its walls, giving it a distinct sense of vitality.
Third, the Higurashi Family's Bone-Eater's Well stood on a hillside.
The well in the Sengoku Era stood on level ground in a forest.
"So this is the world beyond the well?"
Taking a deep breath according to the cultivation method provided by the Li Family, Li Xia immediately sensed the magical power that had lain dormant within him growing increasingly active.
It was like rain after a long drought.
Like a stagnant pool infused with fresh vitality.
His half-dead body seemed to come alive again at that moment.
The feeling was incredible!
And when he spotted the Sacred Tree nearby, with a large bare patch on its trunk, he became even more certain.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing something unusual about him, the girl asked with concern.
"Nothing..."
Li Xia first shook his head, then flashed his white teeth in a grin:
"I've just never felt better!"
Before you continue