Crossover: A Different Inuyasha.

Inside Rashomon, the lingering aroma of alcohol mixed with the aftertaste of roasted meat hung stickily in the air, refusing to dissipate even after a whole night.

Inside the spacious hall, countless monsters lay sprawled about.

Dong Lan leaned against a thick wooden pillar, arms crossed, long hair cascading over her shoulders, head tilted slightly to one side, her brows no longer displaying their usual cold arrogance, but instead showing a rare gentleness.

After the defeat and death of the Great Lord's kin, the fate of the entire clan rested on her shoulders. Although Donglan took this as motivation, the accumulated pressure was still becoming unbearable for her.

Especially when you're in the hands of the dog clan, you may appear calm on the surface, but inside you're suffering terribly. Last night's relaxation was like letting the floodwaters burst through a dam after a torrential downpour.

Not far from her, the two sisters, Chunlan and Xialan, huddled together like two kittens warming each other.

Chunlan's tail wrapped around Xialan's waist, and her head buried in Xialan's shoulder.

Xia Lan had one arm draped over Chun Lan's back, while her other hand gripped a half-eaten bone, her claws clenched tightly, as if she were still fighting someone for food in her dream.

Qiu Lan lay sprawled on the cushion, face up, limbs outstretched, snoring loudly.

Wolf Wild Dry's head rested on the belly of an unknown little demon, one leg was draped over the shoulder of another demon, and a glistening line of drool hung from the corner of his mouth.

A green blob moved.

Evil visions struggled to emerge from under Wolf Wild's thick calves.

He propped himself up on his arms, rubbing his aching back, and shook his groggy head. The mess that greeted him left him stunned for a while before he remembered what had happened last night.

"Young Master Sesshomaru..."

Where are you...?

Jaken's first thought was to find Sesshomaru.

He always felt something was missing and felt uneasy when he didn't see Lord Sesshomaru.

The little monster trudged through the shards of wine jars and scattered bones, stepping over the bodies of the still-sleeping monsters, and finally exited the hall.

The morning light rushed in.

The north wind blew into my collar.

The frigid air, like an ice scalpel, instantly shattered most of the remaining intoxication.

Jaken squinted, stood on the steps, and rubbed his dry eyes hard a couple of times until his vision gradually cleared.

A thin layer of frost covered the courtyard, shimmering with a delicate silvery sheen in the morning sun.

The servants were bending over, sweeping up the debris left over from last night. The soft rustling of the brooms across the stone slabs echoed gently in the quiet morning breeze.

Xie Jian took a deep breath, patted his face, calmed himself down, and stepped down the stairs to the nearest servant.

He straightened his back, assumed a fighting stance, and raised his head to speak, "Hey, servant, where is young master Sesshomaru?"

The servant stopped sweeping, pointed in a direction, and spoke respectfully.

"Human guests reside in the right wing of the front courtyard, while yokai guests reside in the left wing of the front courtyard."

Xie Jian nodded and took a step.

"This lord's mansion is huge. I wish young master Sesshomaru could have one too."

They asked for directions twice more along the way, and on the third stop, they happened to meet the Nine-Nine Toad, who was preparing to return to his territory to start the new year's work.

"Young Master Sesshomaru?"

Hearing the little monster's question, the Nine-Nine Toad thought hard for a moment.

Jaken gestured, "It's a dog demon as handsome as Inuyasha!"

"I remember now!"

This reminder seemed to make an exclamation mark appear on the forehead of the Nine-Nine Toad.

"You can go look for that house with the plum tree in the front yard."

Xiejian walked quickly down the corridor.

The morning light between the columns was cut into thin strips of light by the wooden lattice windows, falling on the floor like a thin layer of gold leaf.

"A plum tree, a plum tree, I've got it!"

The little monster hurried past the courtyard with the plum tree, stopped in front of the lattice door, raised its hand to knock, but suddenly stopped.

"Hmm, I can't disturb Lord Sesshomaru's sleep; his morning grumpiness is deadly."

Xie Jian listened intently for a moment, but the room was quiet and there was no sound at all.

He lowered his hands, sat cross-legged in the hallway outside the door, leaned against the door frame, rested his head on his knees, buried his face in his arms, and muttered something.

"...Since young master Sesshomaru hasn't woken up yet, let's sit for a while longer."

Xie Jian smacked his lips, rubbed his head against his knees, and mumbled incoherently.

"And last night was truly absurd—Lord Sesshomaru not only drank alcohol, but also passed out drunk, and was carried away from the main hall by Lord Inuyasha..."

The more he thought about it, the more outrageous it seemed. He couldn't help but click his tongue twice, and was about to continue his rant—

The lattice door behind me was pulled open with a "whoosh".

A morning breeze carrying frost rushed out from inside the door, making the wind chimes under the porch ring wildly.

Before Xiejian could turn around, a gaze that seemed capable of killing pressed down on his back—like being doused with a bucket of ice water, freezing him from his neck all the way to his tailbone.

Xiejian's lips trembled slightly as he slowly turned his head, tilting his face upwards—

Sesshomaru stood inside the door, his moon-white robes still somewhat disheveled, his silver hair falling to his shoulders, clearly indicating that he had just woken up.

But those golden eyes were frighteningly clear at the moment, without a trace of a hangover. They looked down at Xie Jian, who was curled up outside the door, with displeasure in their eyes.

"...Sesshomaru-sama! You're awake!" Jaken's voice suddenly rose, and his previously curled-up body sprang up with a "whoosh," standing up on his hands and feet.

"The weather is perfect, the day is bright and sunny, it's the perfect time to set off!"

"Would young master Sesshomaru like to have breakfast? I'll go and inform someone to prepare it right away—"

Sesshomaru coldly stared at the trembling Jaken. After a long while, he finally shifted his gaze to the towering pavilion in the backyard of the mansion.

Jaken remained bowed and hunched over, like a snail retreating into its shell, hoping that as long as he couldn't see Sesshomaru, that murderous gaze wouldn't fall upon him.

"It's all Inuyasha's fault!"

"What a waste of time and energy! Why make young master Sesshomaru drink sake!"

"And then they did something so outrageous!"

The little demon thought about it more and more and felt that the blame should be placed on Inuyasha. His mind was in turmoil, but his body remained motionless.

He waited and waited, until he almost thought he was about to be killed to silence him, when he heard a very light, cold snort from above.

"...He's gone."

Xie Jian quickly straightened up and followed behind the moon-white figure, only secretly glancing at his master's profile—his handsome face was expressionless.

But the little demon, who was practically a mind reader of Sesshomaru, knew all too well that the other party was furious and about to explode!

"Hopefully nothing bloody will happen during the Lunar New Year."

Xie Jian secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his heart pounding.