Demon Slayer Village!

"What's wrong, Mr. Xia?"

Miroku was the first to notice the change in Li Xia's expression, so he spoke up.

With everyone gathered around, watching him, Li Xia almost blurted out that the Castle was a trap set by the big bad, Naraku.

But the problem was:

How did he know Naraku existed?

And how had he guessed that it was one of Naraku's traps?

Besides, if he stuck his neck out this time, would Naraku single him out when he went after the Protagonist Group later?

Every member of the Protagonist Group-Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango-had deep ties to Naraku in the original timeline:

Fifty years ago, Naraku had viciously set Inuyasha up, nearly getting him killed. Their feud could only end with one of them dead.

Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation. Who she was determined whose side she stood on.

Miroku's grandfather and father had died from the Wind Tunnel created by Naraku's curse, making them mortal enemies as well. Unless Miroku killed Naraku, he would follow his father to the grave within a few years.

Sango's grudge ran even deeper. Naraku had controlled Kohaku with his spider silk, making him kill their father and the other older men in a surprise attack, then gravely wound her. The entire Demon Slayer Village had also been wiped out by a horde of demons Naraku sent. Not even all the waters of the five great lakes could wash away that hatred.

Originally, with these main fighters out front drawing most of the big bad Naraku's attention, he only needed to follow Shippo, Grandpa Myoga, Aba, Kirara, and the others' example and keep a low profile. He could coast all the way to the late game!

But if he stepped forward here and appeared too clever, Naraku would most likely find an opportunity to ambush him and eliminate him!

Just as he had schemed to kill the Miko Tōko!

The current [Naraku] was not the [Narak-poo] of the late game, who wanted nothing more than to die!

So he had better keep as low a profile as possible!

He couldn't afford to catch Naraku's eye, much less become a priority target!

At least until he had the means to escape and stay alive, he shouldn't deliberately seek the spotlight or show off.

After all, people really could die.

Then how could he resolve the crisis facing the Demon Slayers heading to Naraku Castle, along with the crisis facing this Demon Slayer Village?

Li Xia's mind raced!

Then, still thinking, he answered his companions:

"Miroku, I'm a little worried about the Village Chief and the village's elite fighters!

Any demon that requires every expert in the Demon Slayer Village, including the Village Chief, to go after it must be formidable! With so many experts heading there, they probably have a good chance of eliminating it in one fell swoop, but we should still prepare for the worst!"

Showing some concern for the Demon Slayers shouldn't count as standing out, right?

"Yes, you have a point, Mr. Xia!"

Miroku nodded, then abruptly changed tack:

"Besides, I've heard that the Village Chief's daughter, sixteen-year-old Miss Sango, is beautiful, gentle, and gallant. Despite her young age, she's already highly skilled, one of the very best in the entire Demon Slayer Village!

I'd love to meet such a wonderful girl right away..."

Hearing that, Li Xia gave a pleased smile.

Sure enough, only girls could motivate Miroku.

Seeing his smile, Miroku gave him a look only another man would understand.

Sango, huh? Please don't disappoint me!

Since the two of them had decided to make the trip, the others naturally had no objections. At most, they grumbled inwardly a little.

"Mr. Xia, I just sensed four Shikon Shards in this village. With all its experts away, the village is at its weakest right now! If demons attack, the villagers could suffer needless casualties and heavy losses! Shouldn't we stay until the Village Chief and the others return?"

Kagome made the suggestion.

She genuinely had the villagers' welfare in mind, rather than any designs on those Shikon Shards.

But Li Xia firmly waved his hand:

"Higurashi, your suggestion is good in principle, but it isn't suitable right now!"

"Why not?"

Kagome asked, puzzled.

Li Xia tilted his chin toward the visibly unhappy Inuyasha beside them.

As it turned out, thanks to Kirara and Grandpa Myōga, most of the people in the Demon Slayer Village had accepted the little fox demon Shippo and Inuyasha.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the village was so tolerant. As a half-demon, Inuyasha still faced prejudice from some villagers. Their wary, contemptuous looks of rejection cut him deeply.

There was little they could do about that.

"Higurashi, Inuyasha is our companion. We can let outsiders down, but we shouldn't make our own companions suffer! At least, I can't stand by and watch one of our own endure dirty looks and humiliation here!"

Li Xia spoke solemnly and earnestly.

The look in his eyes at that moment was genuine.

Inuyasha took a deep breath and said nothing more.

The others all fell into thought.

Of course, Li Xia had two other considerations he hadn't voiced:

First, if they hurried to Naraku's Castle now, they might still arrive in time to save one or two of the expert Demon Slayers.

(If the corpses of the Demon Slayer experts remained intact, reviving them all with the power of the Shikon Shards was also an option. Later, once they formed a united front with Sesshomaru, they could remove the Shikon Shards and have him revive them with Tenseiga, making a seamless transition.)

The other consideration was that if Naraku realized he could no longer use the destruction of the Demon Slayer Village to drive a wedge between Sango and Inuyasha's group, he would very likely kill Sango outright!

Yes, Sango was in grave danger right now!

If Naraku could no longer use Sango to scheme against the Protagonist Group, that meant she had no value to him! People normally threw useless trash far away rather than keeping it around!

Li Xia didn't want Sango to die because of that.

After all, when facing Naraku, who was as hard to kill as a cockroach, the more experts they had on their side, the better.

"Should we warn them? The Shikon Shards could attract demons!"

Kindhearted Kagome still tried to help.

For Inuyasha's sake, she had already abandoned the idea of staying.

But she couldn't bear to see innocent villagers suffer because of the Shikon Shards, either.

"We certainly should warn them!"

Li Xia nodded.

As he spoke, he stroked the well-behaved little Kirara's head:

"Kirara, Sango and the others have gone to the Castle, leaving the village more vulnerable than ever. If the nearby demons hear about it and gather to take revenge, you won't be able to protect the villagers-or the Shikon Shards here!

How about this...

You and Grandpa Myoga could bring out the village's Shikon Shards and entrust them to Kagome, who is a Miko, for safekeeping! Once your mistress Sango, the Village Chief, and the others return, we can discuss what to do with the Shikon Shards.

You should know very well that keeping those Shikon Shards in the village isn't a good thing!"

"That's a great idea!"

Inuyasha nodded enthusiastically.

Grandpa Myoga thought it over and agreed as well.

The others felt this was suspiciously close to stealing, but extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. The people of the Demon Slayer Village couldn't protect these Shikon Shards. The shards would only bring disaster upon them. Thus, no one objected.

Finally, Kirara bobbed her little head and took Grandpa Myoga deeper into the village. Before long, she returned with four shards.

Once he saw all the shards safely in Kagome's hands, Li Xia made his own decision:

"Higurashi, I'll entrust my shards to you too!"

To avoid becoming Naraku's target, he had no choice but to err on the side of caution.

If he needed them, he could simply ask Kagome to lend them back.

"Mr. Xia, are you sure?"

"I can rest easy with you carrying them!"

Then came the matter of the village.

"Grandpa Myoga, Kirara, are there any caves nearby? If there are, I can set up a simple temporary barrier. If demons really do attack the village, the villagers might be able to take shelter inside and escape disaster."

"A cave?"

Kirara and Grandpa Myoga both thought of the same place.

And that was exactly what Li Xia had intended.

He couldn't conveniently bring up Midoriko's Cave himself.

But if Grandpa Myoga and Kirara pointed it out, that would be a different matter altogether.