Following a woodland path, the two soon emerged from the forest.
Just then, a boy with long silver hair and a pair of white dog ears on his head appeared before them.
"Kagome, what's going on? Huh? Who's this human?"
This boy with white dog ears was none other than the male lead of the original story.
A string of purple-red Subjugation Beads hung around his neck. He wore a fiery red Fire-Rat Robe over a snug white shirt, with matching red, sash-tied baggy trousers below, and his feet were bare!
At his waist hung a sword with a battered, decaying hilt. Presumably, that was Tessaiga, the hidden "true protagonist"!
When Inuyasha saw Li Xia standing beside the girl, he frowned, his expression wary.
Seeing this, Kagome stepped forward and explained:
"Inuyasha, this is my classmate, Li Xia!
"He comes from a family of spiritual practitioners and is a pretty capable mage. He's already agreed to help us collect the Shikon Shards, so from now on, we'll be companions!
"Oh, right! A demon my ancestors sealed away hundreds of years ago at my house recently used the power of the Shikon Shards to break free. Its escape caused a fire in the storehouse, and my grandpa was pinned beneath a fallen roof beam. The flames were about to engulf him! Luckily, Mr. Xia arrived just in time. Not only did he seal that demon again, even though it had already obtained several Shikon Shards, but he also saved my grandpa!"
The girl's account made the half-demon Inuyasha see Li Xia in a new light.
After all, anyone who could seal a demon possessing several Shikon Shards had to have some skill. His strength couldn't be all that bad.
Besides, he had saved Kagome's grandfather, the old man who had left a good impression on Inuyasha. That goodwill extended to Li Xia, softening his hostility considerably.
Of course, seeing Kagome together with Li Xia still left him feeling a little uncomfortable.
He had the absurd feeling that something belonging to him was about to be snatched away.
Hearing Kagome praise him, Li Xia hurriedly responded with modesty, while slipping in a message of his own:
"My skills are nothing special. I only managed to seal that demon because it had just broken free and was still weak, without a physical body of its own. It hadn't had time to absorb the Demon Power in the Shikon Shards and strengthen itself, either! With my current strength, I can lend a hand, but charging out in front would still be too much for me!"
"Besides, I'm not the sort to kill every demon I see! As far as I know, there are kind demons and half-demons in this world, too! If I hadn't happened upon that Flesh-Bodied Human Face trying to hurt people and attack her grandfather, I wouldn't have intervened!"
He made both his level of strength and his attitude toward demons and half-demons clear.
That combination won him even more goodwill from Inuyasha, who had rarely harmed humans since the day he was born.
"You don't have any prejudice against half-demons?"
Inuyasha murmured.
For a moment, many unhappy childhood memories seemed to stir within him, and the look he gave Li Xia was filled with complicated emotions.
No one knew that this half-demon, who seemed so carefree and indifferent to other people's attitudes, was actually acutely sensitive to prejudice.
Half-demons were the offspring of humans and demons.
Yet in this world, neither humans nor demons truly accepted them.
Half-demons could not live among demons. If they appeared without the strength to protect themselves, they would immediately be killed and eaten. Even those strong enough to defend themselves were subjected to contempt and disdain.
Humans, meanwhile, feared demons.
In the eyes of most humans, demons were man-eating monsters.
That hatred naturally extended to half-demons, whose veins carried demonic blood, leaving them subject to severe discrimination and prejudice.
Inuyasha's scarred childhood had been spent fleeing demons and enduring the curses of countless humans.
Now another human had appeared who did not discriminate against him, and even accepted him. He was genuinely happy.
He simply wouldn't say it aloud.
Although Li Xia's arrival caused far less excitement in Kaede's Village and the surrounding villages than Kagome's arrival as a reincarnated priestess, he still greatly improved the villagers' living conditions.
First, he improved the village's two newly built waterwheels using technology he had brought from the modern world. (See episode two of the original series. The Island Nation's villages really were backward during this period.)
Next, he taught the villagers who went out to the fields carrying hoes how to plow with oxen. He introduced saddles, stirrups, and horseshoes to those who owned horses. He also established two experimental plots beside the river and had several farm women help select, soak, and germinate the seeds he had brought along. By the end of the month and the beginning of May, they could sow them in two selected fields.
They would see results the following year.
He could have done more, but Li Xia was in no hurry to empty out his "reserves."
Limited by her experience as a third-year middle school student and her innocent nature, Kagome had never considered-or had deliberately chosen not to use-the accumulated wisdom available to modern people to advance this era's civilization. But he was different from her.
There were many things he wanted to obtain.
For now, gaining the trust and assistance of Kaede's Village was his top priority.
Once he earned their trust, he could naturally establish himself in the surrounding villages.
He clearly remembered that, after the incident involving Yura of the Hair, Kaede's Village rarely suffered widespread destruction. Even the big boss, Naraku, seemed to deliberately avoid the place. He had come here once to target Inuyasha and collect the Shikon Jewel held by the Protagonist Group. After that, his next visit was during the finale, when he turned into a gigantic flying spider and came to wreak havoc.
Yet even on those occasions, casualties among the village's ordinary inhabitants had been remarkably few.
Without a doubt, in this Warring States Demon World, Kaede's Village and the five surrounding villages were relatively safe.
As for his decision to join the Protagonist Group?
Integrating into the team early was the result of careful consideration.
There was no denying that traveling with them in the early stages would be fraught with danger.
For instance, on the approaching new moon night, Inuyasha would lose all his Demon Power. Facing swarms of low-level Spiderhead demons and their leader, he had nearly met his end!
On a new moon night, the demonic blood within the half-demon Inuyasha would fall completely dormant, turning him into an ordinary mortal.
At that point, Li Xia would be the strongest fighter in the party.
As for Kagome, who was still only a half-trained priestess, and the little fox demon Shippo? Neither could be relied upon.
But wasn't that an opportunity for him?
An opportunity to build trust and bonds with relative ease!
Before long, the second male lead, the monk Miroku, would join them, followed by the second female lead, the demon slayer Sango, and the little cat Kirara. Then the half-demon Inuyasha would no longer have to face new moon nights alone as an ordinary human! By then, earning their trust and forging bonds would be much harder for Li Xia!
Fortune rests upon disaster, and disaster lurks within fortune. Isn't this an opportunity for me?
Li Xia thought to himself.
The early benefit of forming a party-or rather, laying a solid foundation for their bonds ahead of time-was naturally the protection of sticking together.
Although Inuyasha was only a half-demon, and the official guidebook rated his Demon Power in that form at just two stars, a two-star demon was already fairly capable. Besides, Inuyasha's two-star Demon Power came from a demon king's bloodline.
His actual standing had to be raised another notch.
With Inuyasha charging ahead, things would undoubtedly be much easier for him.
Later on, the favor would become truly priceless.
Just look at Sango, the demon slayer who only joined the party near the middle of the story. How powerful had she become in the late stages after receiving the indirect benefits of Inuyasha's status as the son of a powerful demon?
After the demon immortal Medicine Elder Poison Immortal enhanced Sango's Hiraikotsu with poison, it could shatter even the big boss Naraku's body and temporarily suppress his cockroach-like resilience, preventing him from regenerating for a long time! It was practically a temporary account ban!
Li Xia wasn't asking for that kind of treatment, but surely receiving guidance from the Demon Spirit Great Sage wasn't too much to ask?
Even early on, wouldn't he gain a great deal if he could receive guidance from Swordsmith Totosai?
"We've already rested for two days. Where should we go next to look for Shikon Shards?"
Kagome asked.
"Let's head east. We haven't explored that area yet."
Inuyasha suggested.
As luck would have it, the east was precisely where the Spiderhead demons were active.
Before you continue