After leaving the volcanic region, Li Xia and Inuyasha headed straight back to Kaede's Village.
Once they returned, he took a close look at their new companion, Miroku.
He was a monk.
Although he was usually lecherous and seemed rather frivolous, he was extremely dependable when it mattered.
His right hand bore a curse from the big boss, Naraku, which manifested as a strange ability called the [Wind Tunnel]. Once opened, it would suck everything into it like a black hole. (However, sucking in anything highly poisonous would harm his body.)
Moreover, the Wind Tunnel in his right hand would gradually expand with time and repeated use, until it finally swallowed Miroku himself.
Yet the curse would not disappear with him.
After Miroku's death, the curse would reappear on the hand of a child he had fathered before dying. It would pass down from generation to generation until Naraku, the source of the curse, was utterly destroyed.
The curse had begun with Miroku's grandfather, Mihō, and Miroku had personally witnessed his own father being swallowed by the Wind Tunnel. That had left him with considerable childhood trauma.
To end the Wind Tunnel's curse, both for his own sake and for his descendants, he had joined this group dedicated to collecting Shikon Shards, indirectly embarking on a journey to oppose the big boss, Naraku.
"Miroku, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Li Xia, and I come from the same place as Kagome! I'm honored to have you as a companion! I look forward to working with you..."
Li Xia spoke very courteously.
As he sized up the young Miroku, Miroku naturally sized him up in return.
"Likewise, likewise..."
In his initial interactions with the group, Miss Kagome, a priestess, had struck him as kind and pure, while the half-demon Inuyasha had given him a first impression of courage and candor. As for the little fox demon Shippo, he was one of those rare demons who felt close to humans. Miroku had seen through those three at a glance and was certain they were all simple, straightforward souls.
But when he faced Mr. Xia, it felt like looking at flowers through a fog. He could never get a clear picture of him.
Perhaps they were alike, both men with plenty of schemes up their sleeves:
"Mr. Xia, I look forward to working with you too!"
"Yes, let's help each other and keep each other motivated."
Li Xia was full of goodwill.
And that goodwill came from the heart.
Precisely because of that, the warmth Miroku felt from his new companion finally put his lingering worries to rest.
"Mr. Xia, you've been traveling all this time. Do you need to rest in the village for a day?"
Kagome asked.
After learning that the two of them had traveled all the way to the volcanic crater where Totosai lived, she was concerned for her companions and did not want to set out again so soon to search for Shikon Shards.
"He shouldn't need a rest, should he? Mr. Xia isn't as delicate as you!"
Inuyasha muttered.
Of course, Inuyasha was not trying to cause trouble. He simply said whatever came to mind. In his view, Li Xia's physical condition was outstanding by human standards, and once he put on that mask, he was even more impressive. They had only spent two days traveling, after all. That was hardly enough to wear him out completely.
But Inuyasha's tone displeased the girl, and she snapped:
"Mr. Xia only has an ordinary human body, not that ironclad half-demon body of yours!"
Li Xia naturally understood that Kagome was concerned for him.
So, after thanking her for her kindness, he explained outright how important their next move was:
"We have to move quickly, or something unexpected might happen!"
"I don't need to explain the value of Shikon Shards. Most demons can't possibly resist their immense allure. Even great demons would find it hard to remain unmoved by the jewel!
"As I've already explained to everyone, there's very likely an exceptionally troublesome demon outside the area we've been active in! Just like us, he's rapidly collecting Shikon Shards!
"If the Demon Slayers of the Demon Slayer Village obtain a shard or two while going about their usual work of exterminating demons, possessing that treasure alone will make them targets, innocent though they are!
"A clash between the two sides will be inevitable!"
"By the same token, we'll run into that demon sooner or later too!"
Li Xia paused there before continuing:
"If we keep searching for Shikon Shards one step at a time, we'll be out in the open while our enemy remains hidden! That's a terrible position to be in, because he could lead us around by the nose at any moment! One small oversight could cost us everything!"
"As the old saying goes, a thief can plot for a thousand days, but no one can stay on guard against him for a thousand days!
"Since the Demon Slayer Village is there in plain sight, we can use it as an opportunity to wait behind the hunter and turn the tables! We'll trade places with our hidden enemy! At the very least, this battle will let us discover who we're up against!"
Those words thoroughly convinced Inuyasha and Shippo, while Miroku was both surprised and strongly in agreement.
Kagome, however, still worried about his condition:
"Mr. Xia, is it really that urgent?"
After all, he had spent two straight days traveling with a mortal body, and most of that time had been spent on the road. Otherwise, they could never have returned from Totosai's place so quickly.
"The sooner we get there, the sooner we can prepare!"
Based on the original timeline, after Demoness Urasue came:
At least a day for the return journey...
At least two days around the time they met the monk Miroku...
Two or three days dealing with the Painter's troublemaking...
Two days for the encounter with Sesshomaru...
Three or four days for the Wild Wolf Incident!
Two days for Kikyo and Kagome's second clash!
Two days for the Demon Slayer Sango to slay a demon, obtain a Shikon Shard, and return to the Demon Slayer Village!
Only after that would Naraku's plot unfold!
Only then would Inuyasha's group be lured to the Demon Slayer Village and framed, meeting the second female lead, Sango, for the first time!
In other words, setting all outside factors aside, in the original plot, Naraku incited a horde of demons to attack the Demon Slayer Village at least half a month after the Urasue incident!
Right now, however, only eight days had passed since Urasue kicked the bucket!
They still had at least six or seven days to travel and make their preparations!
Thus, as long as Li Xia's group moved quickly enough, they could absolutely arrive before the demon horde attacked the Demon Slayer Village, thwarting one of Naraku's schemes.
Although the Demon Slayer Sango was among the strongest in the entire village, the others, including her father and two uncles, were no pushovers either.
If even one of them had kept an eye on Kohaku, the eleven-year-old boy among the younger generation whom Naraku had taken control of, the tragedy would have been difficult to bring about.
Unfortunately, the world offered no such abundance of what-ifs.
Meanwhile, with the group.
With Grandpa Myoga leading the way, after another afternoon of swift travel, they were at most a few hours away from the Demon Slayer Village.
As chance would have it.
Some time after the group left Kaede's Village, a young nobleman with long, silvery-white hair falling over his shoulders and a crescent mark on his forehead came to see Kaede.
He stated plainly that he was looking for Inuyasha.
Armed with the clever plan Li Xia had given her in advance, Kaede decisively redirected the conflict:
"You're saying they went to find the one secretly collecting Shikon Shards? And if I collect thirty Shikon Shards and obtain a gemstone from Hōsenki that leads to the Demon Graveyard, Inuyasha will willingly hand Tessaiga over to me, his elder brother, to study for half a year?"
"That's right!"
Kaede answered with absolute certainty.
Although she did not know why Li Xia had told her to say those things upon meeting this nobleman, even Inuyasha had agreed, so she had no reason not to cooperate.
"What else did Inuyasha say?"
After receiving her confirmation, the young nobleman, who had two red Demon Markings on each cheek, brushed back the silver hair beside his face and asked curiously.
"Inuyasha has always taken pride in the demon blood within him. He wants to become a perfect full demon, but transforming a half-demon body is no easy feat! Besides, no one ever helped him as he grew up, and he never knew he had an elder brother!
"So he could only depend on himself and rely on his own efforts!"
This was an appeal to emotion.
Whether it would work was anyone's guess.
They might as well play that card first.
"Fifty years ago, after learning of the Shikon Jewel's existence, Inuyasha hoped to use the power of the Shikon Jewel my sister guarded to fulfill his wish and become a perfect great demon! He wanted to strive for the heights his father had reached! Unfortunately, some bastard lurking in the shadows plotted against him!"
"Oh, and Inuyasha also asked me to tell you that if you want to surpass your father and stand on your own, you must never rely entirely on the Tessaiga he left behind! You have to forge your own path!
"His goal is to forge a weapon from his own fang that can rival Tessaiga!
"He asked me to ask you: as his elder brother, just how great are your aspirations?"
At Kaede's words, Sesshomaru, whose brilliant golden eyes and bearing radiated nobility, abruptly narrowed his eyes:
"He wants to take my measure?
"He wants to surpass Father?
"Hmph!
"He doesn't know his own limits!"
Yet even Kaede could see that the young nobleman before her was anything but calm inside.
Before you continue