"Don't make me laugh, Naraku. That girl called Kagome doesn't even know she's been cursed. What's so worthy of my attention about her?"
"Tch, because you said she was Kikyo's reincarnation, I thought she must be strong! But she's just a half-baked little girl!"
What a letdown.
"Naraku, don't underestimate my curse."
"I've already used that little girl's blood to deepen the corruption in this Shikon Shard. With her blood as the medium, every Shikon Shard she carries will resonate with it, even from hundreds or thousands of miles away..."
Black Miko Tsubaki explained smugly.
With the Shikon Jewel's support, her curse was guaranteed to work as long as the target was within a thousand miles.
In Kaede's Village, over a hundred miles away.
Grandpa Myoga and Kaede were examining Kagome's condition.
"Well? Did you find anything wrong?"
Inuyasha asked the two of them.
Kaede shook her head. She had little experience with curses; before the curse took effect, she could not see anything amiss.
Old Myōga, however, looked thoughtful.
He had just taken a small sip of Kagome's blood. Though the girl's blood was as delicious as ever, something different had appeared within it. It was like a drop of ink staining a clean sheet of white paper:
"Something is definitely wrong with Kagome. The taste of her blood has changed.
But many things could cause that change. I can't say exactly what it is.
Mr. Xia probably discovered something. That's why he went after it.
By the way, did Mr. Xia leave any instructions before he left?"
At the old man's words, Inuyasha and the girl exchanged a glance.
"Mr. Xia didn't say anything directly, but before the Poison Flood Dragon left, it pointed at the Bone-Eater's Well. It seemed to be telling me to go back