Crossover: A Different Inuyasha.

Wolfy suddenly raised his head, his eyes still red-rimmed, and said with great joy, "Lord Inuyasha, I'll lead the way right away!"

He scrambled to his feet, turned, and pointed in the direction he'd come from. "That way! Head west. They can't walk fast with so many civilians with them; we can keep up!"

At this point, Lang Yegan grinned menacingly, "As instructed by the adults, we've been keeping to the pace of the common people the whole way, traveling at a leisurely speed."

"How fast can those exorcists run now, dragging around such a huge burden?"

"What's there to be happy about? Those people are all Inuyasha's property."

Jieluo slowly walked out of the house.

With just a glance from her, Lang Yegan felt as if he had been doused with cold water, and dared not even breathe loudly. He quickly turned around and led the way.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain path, the morning mist had not yet dissipated, leaving people damp and clinging to the ground.

Master Fengxue raised his head and glanced at the sparse crowd that filled half of the hillside. His face was so dark it was almost dripping with water.

"It's almost half gone."

"In just one night, a team of nearly two thousand people... was wiped out by half."

Upon hearing this, the exorcists, monks, and priestesses all fell silent.

Some people turned their heads away, some clenched their fists, and many more stared at the civilians huddled by the roadside, their faces filled with exhaustion and fear, unable to utter a word.

"It would have been better to let the demons take them away..." a young exorcist muttered under his breath, "At least so many people wouldn't have disappeared."

Upon hearing this, a monk soldier with bandages still wrapped around his shoulder suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot.

"What do you mean by that? We shouldn't have saved them? We made a mistake in saving them?!"

"That's not what I meant!" The young exorcist exclaimed, his face flushed. "I just meant... we risked our lives, but so many people were still lost..."

Seeing that the scene was about to descend into chaos again, Master Fengxue took a deep breath and stood up.

That's enough.

His voice wasn't loud, but it silenced the surrounding arguments abruptly.

In the demon-slaying community, strength equals power. Facing the Wind Cave Mage who contributed the most last night, everyone was willing to give him face as long as it didn't involve themselves.

Master Fengxue's gaze swept over everyone present, his face showing the exhaustion of a sleepless night, his eyes dull and gray. With his first words, he defined the nature of the matter.

"If we don't intervene, none of these two thousand people will leave those mountains alive. The monster is forcing them eastward; do you think they're going to enjoy themselves, or become the monster's food?"

"Even if the rumors of 'Forging the City' are true, how many of them could survive the intense labor and the constant threat of monsters?"

"We are already incredibly fortunate to have saved a thousand people."

A morning breeze blew across the mountain path, swirling up the withered yellow leaves of late autumn, which landed in the middle of the crowd, and the demon hunters fell silent.

Among those present, two or three knew perfectly well that this was just an excuse.

They only thought about how to exorcise the demon and save people, but they didn't think about how to save people after driving away the demon.

Now that the Wind Cave Master has spoken up, it can reduce their inner guilt.

Master Fengxue looked around and, seeing that everyone's emotions were gradually calming down, softened his tone.

"This place is not safe yet; we are still in danger. Let's eat something, rest a bit, and continue our journey."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the direction where the shrine maiden was tending to the wounded, his figure appearing somewhat desolate in the morning light.

The people behind him sprang into action—some took out dry rations and distributed them to the civilians, some squatted by the stream and washed their faces with water, and some silently tightened their loose leg wraps.

In a tense yet orderly atmosphere, the group began to move again, but they were already in poor condition, and their pace slowed down as if they were dragging heavy iron chains.

When the sun was high in the sky, Inuyasha, who had been chasing from behind, stood on a high ridge and scanned the surroundings—several corpses lay scattered on the hillsides.

Some were curled up in the bushes, while others lay across the stream, stained with blood.

Some were remains torn apart by wild beasts, and some wounds still retained demonic energy, as if they had been casually killed by passing monsters.

Several others fell to their deaths at the foot of the cliff, presumably because they couldn't see the path clearly at night and lost their footing.

The Wind Cave Monk's group was further ahead. With Inuyasha's eyesight, he could vaguely see their long, trailing shadows, like a tattered hemp rope wriggling along the mountain path.

Inuyasha turned his head away expressionlessly and glanced at Wolf.

Lang Yegan tensed up, cold sweat pouring from the back of his neck, and as if struck by a sudden inspiration, he spat out a pack of gray-black wolves.

"Don't worry, Lord Inuyasha!"

Wolf Mountain's voice was urgent and loud, as if he feared he would lose his life if he spoke too slowly, "The rest of the people, the younger ones, will be found one by one, and brought back without a single one missing!"

"That's for the best."

Inuyasha withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward. Yura followed behind him, glancing at the corpses scattered on the hillside before casually looking away.

"Yura." Inuyasha's voice drifted from the front, filled with anger, "Don't let them die too easily later."

"Understood, Master Inuyasha."

Jieluo responded with a soft voice, as light as a breeze ripples across water, yet it carried a chilling undertone in the afternoon sunlight.

As the sun sank behind the western mountains, the horizon turned a deep red.

Master Fengxue walked at the front of the group, his tense nerves finally relaxing a little.

The exit of the forest can be faintly seen ahead. After another half hour's walk, we will reach a town with inhabitants.

At that time, these more than a thousand people will finally be able to rest.

He exhaled, raised his hand to rub his sore temples, and was about to turn around to encourage the team and say, "Keep it up, we're almost there," when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

As dusk fell, the Wind Cave Mage's eyes widened—above the winding procession behind him, several figures were slowly rising into the air, as if being pulled up by invisible threads.

The monk Mengxin on the stretcher, a seriously injured monk, and two young exorcists whose names they hadn't even memorized yet.

Their heads were bowed, their chins rested on their chests, and their limbs hung limply at their sides.

In the blood-red twilight light, they looked like little teru teru bozu dolls suspended on strings, swaying gently in the wind.

"Everyone be careful! Master Mengxin and the others are being controlled by the hair!"

A witch sensed something was amiss, her voice shattering the silence of the twilight.

The demon hunters all looked up in unison, their gazes sweeping over their companions suspended in mid-air, then over the treetops above them, the rocks on either side, and the mountain path behind them—

I can't see anything.

Those people's bodies were suspended there, as if they were being supported by the air itself.

Then, without any warning.

Streams of blood spurted from their limbs, shoulders, backs, waists, and abdomens.

Blood gushed into the air as fine droplets, scattering and spreading out in the dark red light of the sky, forming a brief but intense rain of blood.

Warm, sweet-smelling blood droplets landed on the stunned faces of the crowd below!

At the time of twilight—

Monsters are out!