The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Because it was a mystical technique, her body, though formed from ashes and grave soil, still possessed sensory perception no different from that of an ordinary person. Su Qi watched from behind as she stumbled and struggled to maneuver her weak body through the mountains, her hair disheveled. He couldn't help but feel a mixture of admiration and pity for her resilience and stubbornness.

As dusk fell and the forest grew completely dark, Kikyo, who hadn't even left the mountain yet, had no choice but to stop. She found a patch of woodland nearby and sat quietly on a rock, lost in thought.

Soon, night fell, the vast sky was like a canopy, and countless stars, like shattered diamonds, filled the night sky. A white moon hung silently in the clouds. The surroundings were dark, with shadowy trees and occasional chirping of birds, beasts, and insects, as well as the flickering of eerie green beast eyes. Beneath the seemingly calm surface, a restless undercurrent seemed to be hidden.

Kikyo sat sideways on the rock, leaning against the rough tree trunk, staring intently at the darkness before her, listening to the sounds around her, a slight unease creeping into her heart.

She was now more fragile than a teenage girl; let alone a monster, even a slightly larger wild animal could easily kill her. She wasn't afraid of death, but she didn't want to fall here before she could complete her revenge.

Snap...

Just then, a strange noise came from not far to the right, followed by the rustling of the grass, and something could be vaguely seen emerging.

"Who?"

She instinctively questioned him, only realizing after the words left her mouth that if it were a wild animal, it wouldn't understand her.

But soon, as the distance between them closed, they could see that it was a human figure.

At the same time, someone's voice rang out, "It's me, Kenshin, the ally of justice! How about that, are you surprised? Unexpected?"

It's that strange man...

Kikyo instantly realized what was happening and felt a strange sense of relief. With that guy around, at least she wouldn't be torn to pieces by monsters or wild beasts tonight.

After exchanging greetings, Su Qi didn't say anything more and started a fire to cook.

Two days before leaving the dojo, he anticipated that he would often be sleeping outdoors in the future, so he specially sought out an expert to learn from. In addition, with his keen insight, darkness did not pose an obstacle for him, so although he could not be described as smooth and effortless, he was able to resolve the two matters smoothly step by step.

About half an hour later, Su Qisheng lit a fire, skinned and gutted the two wild rabbits he had caught on the way that afternoon, cleaned them, and then roasted them over the fire.

“You’re too slow…” He pinched off a bit of the precious seasonings he had collected and blended over the past two months, using the distinctively flavorful Turkish classic salting method to infuse the rabbit meat with its essence, and said, “Are you planning to go this way again tomorrow?”

Kikyo gazed silently at the campfire, remaining silent.

Su Qi didn't mind and continued, "Let me ask you another question. Where are you planning to go? Judging from the direction you were heading this afternoon, is it to Granny Kaede and Inuyasha's village?"

Yes...where can I go? As a dead person, I'm homeless, I have nowhere to go...

Kikyo's eyes flickered slightly, a sense of melancholy and loneliness rising in her heart. In truth, she herself didn't know where she should go; in the afternoon, she had merely moved forward instinctively, which was why she had subconsciously headed towards the place where she used to live.

It's all because of you, Inuyasha... Because of you, I've become this inhuman, inhuman creature...

Thinking of this, her heart was immediately filled with resentment and anger, which instead diluted the melancholy and loneliness she had felt earlier.

Seeing the cold expression on Kikyo's face, Su Qi remained silent for the time being. Only after he finished his dinner alone, while practicing his footwork to aid digestion, did he say, "Kikyo, you hate Inuyasha, but you've hated the wrong person."

When this issue came up, Kikyo finally broke her silence.

She stared at Su Qi and said coldly, "What do you want to say?"

"It wasn't Inuyasha who killed you fifty years ago, but Naraku. Your mutual betrayal was also his doing."

"Naraku... I've never heard of that name before."

"He also had a name when he was human, which you must be very familiar with—Onigumo."

"Onigumo?" Kikyo frowned slightly. "The bandit I treated? But he was burned all over and couldn't even move. How could he be the culprit?"

"Because he harbored evil thoughts towards you and was deeply jealous of Inuyasha. His intense malice attracted demons who hated you. In order to obtain a body that could move and to possess you, he did not hesitate to sacrifice himself and was devoured by hundreds of demons. The demon that was eventually born was Naraku."

"I see." After hearing this, she remained expressionless, neither confirming nor denying.

"you do not believe?"

"I've said it before, I don't trust you."

"I can take you to find the evidence."

"No need." Kikyo leaned against the tree, slowly closing her eyes. Beneath her seemingly calm tone lay an intense resentment. "I am still stuck in the moment when I died hating Inuyasha. In my heart, there is only one thought: to die together with Inuyasha."

She didn't say another word all night after that.

The two finally emerged from the forest the following afternoon and reached a road where people were traveling.

"Be careful, I'll go look around for a way to get around."

Unable to tolerate the current snail's pace any longer, Su Qi said goodbye and quickly left. He wasn't worried about anything happening while he was away. First, this was an area frequently visited by humans, and it wasn't dark yet, so there were unlikely to be any monsters or wild beasts. Second, he had a save function, so even if something unexpected happened, he could easily make up for it.

Kikyo remained unmoved, simply watching Su Qi leave before immediately turning in another direction and heading in the opposite direction.

She didn't trust the man who seemed to know everything and exuded a strange aura. So she preferred to increase the risks on herself rather than travel with him.

Chapter 54 The problem isn't me, it's the world.

However, it seemed as if fate was playing a cruel joke on Kikyo. She had barely gone far when she ran into trouble.

A strange cry came from ahead, and then a group of bandits, trailing dust, rode past her on ponies. But they didn't go far before turning back and running in circles around her.

Kikyo frowned slightly, coldly observing them. The men were all unshaven, filthy, and ugly, wearing mismatched and haphazard armor; they looked like a motley crew.

However, even such a rabble was beyond her current capabilities. Moreover, for a beautiful woman, such a mob was far more frightening than a disciplined regular army.

"Tsk, this woman isn't afraid at all? How disappointing."

The bandits jeering, whistling, and laughing loudly for a while, but when they saw that Kikyo remained calm and composed without any sign of panic, they gradually stopped, feeling that they had been slighted.

"Woman, are you a witch?"

The bandit leader rode up alone, looking down at Kikyo with undisguised desire and greed in his eyes, his gaze roaming over her body without restraint.

"Please step aside," Kikyo said expressionlessly. "This body is merely a fake made of ashes and grave soil, and cannot satisfy your desires."

She was already used to men looking at her like that, and her heart remained unmoved.

"Ashes and grave soil?"

The bandit leader raised an eyebrow, dismounted, grabbed her wrist, and sneered, "Hmph, I didn't expect a witch to lie. Although she's a bit colder than ordinary women, isn't she smoother to the touch than a typical prostitute?"

"open."

Kikyo frowned slightly and tried to twist her arms, but she couldn't break free.

"Hehe, it's rare to meet such a good woman, how could I let her go so easily?"

Seeing the hint of disgust on her face, the bandit leader's eyes burned even hotter.

With a casual tug, he pulled the limp Kikyo to his side.

Is there no way to escape...?

Kikyo didn't struggle, because she no longer had the strength. But she was even less likely to submit to these lowly bandits, so she had already made up her mind... to commit suicide.

This body is now an inanimate object; if not for her lingering resentment, it would have long since turned to ashes and grave dust. So, if she wanted to die, it would be incredibly easy. She only needs to give up, simply relinquish the will to live, and this body will crumble into dust in the next instant.

But she wouldn't easily end her life until the very last moment. Because she still harbored resentment, bitterness, and an unwavering determination to live.

"Heh, woman, you're quite sensible."

The bandit leader was surprised by Kikyo's powerlessness and calmness. He pulled her to the front of the horse and was about to put her on its back when a strange voice suddenly rang out from behind, "On the contrary, you are very disobedient."

who!?

He was startled and was about to turn around when he noticed that the scenery in his field of vision suddenly rose and spun, and then... he saw a headless corpse standing next to the horse.

That looks familiar... Wait, isn't that my... body...?

The last thought vanished, and consciousness was plunged into darkness.

boom!

The headless corpse had just gushed blood from its neck cavity when Su Qi kicked it into the band of bandits.

Suddenly realizing what had happened, they immediately spurred their horses toward Su Qi, shouting as they charged.

"He killed the boss!!"

"Kill him, avenge our boss!"

"Let's all attack together!"

"Don't be afraid, he's all alone!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Qi drew his sword and swung it. Exactly seven sword energies shot out, cleaving the remaining seven bandits in two.

Then his gaze narrowed slightly, and he skillfully used his sword intent to unleash his killing intent. The galloping horse that was charging towards him was immediately startled and stopped in its tracks, neighing loudly.

Ignoring the bandits writhing on the ground in pain, he sheathed his sword with a flick of his wrist and turned to Kikyo. "How are you? You're not hurt, are you? Aren't you touched by my timely rescue?"

A strange glint flashed in the latter's eyes. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Otherwise what?" Su Qi sighed softly, his face conveying an expression that said, "I was unaware of my own actions, I didn't do it on purpose, so don't blame me." He continued, "Do you expect me to criticize you for being too suspicious, lacking self-respect, leaving without saying goodbye and immediately getting into trouble, leaving me to clean up the mess? Please, that would lower my opinion of you. I even wanted to ask for your help in dealing with Naraku, how could I dare to criticize you?"

"..."

Kikyo was speechless, but her favorability towards Su Qi did not decrease; instead, it slightly reduced her wariness of him.

First, she was aware that her previous actions were indeed somewhat overly cautious, as Su Qi had said, and she wasn't so petty as to lack the magnanimity to admit her mistakes. Second, if the other party really wanted to lull her into a false sense of security, use her, and soften her guard, they should be trying to please her, not the other way around.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the other party is insightful and deliberately does the opposite of what she wants, so she will still have some reservations and continue to observe.

"If I were you, I would wait until I regained my basic mobility and self-defense capabilities before trying to escape."

After saying this, Su Qi turned and walked towards the lingering herd of horses, silently adding the second half of his sentence: Otherwise, if something like the Miko Muzan incident happened, I'm afraid I'd be torn to shreds by Kikyo fans from another dimension. However, the reason this happened seems to be because of me… This part of the story wasn't in the original work. If I hadn't given her the straw sandals, she probably wouldn't have encountered these bandits. But the appearance of the bandits was unexpected… Hmm, so the fault isn't mine, it's the world's.

With that in mind, the man put the matter aside with a clear conscience and began to select the best horse from among several to use as a means of transportation.

Meanwhile, most of the bandits whose bodies had been cut in two were dead, with only one lucky survivor managing to crawl to Kikyo's feet.

"Save me! Shrine Maiden, please save me! I have a wife and son at home, I don't want to die!"

Under the threat of death, the bandit who had just been the perpetrator reached out his hand and begged for his life from the victim without any dignity.

Kikyo glanced down at him. The man had been cut in half at the waist, with blue intestines trailing behind him; he was clearly beyond saving. But her eyes could see that Su Qi was carrying a shard of the Shikon Jewel.

If it's the Shikon Jewel, it can even revive the dead who are just bones. So, extending this man's life is no problem. So... should we save this lowly, shameless bandit who just tried to attack us?

Chapter 55 This is... the smell of an experience pack.

After a moment of silence, Kikyo knelt down on one knee and took the hand that was covered in blood.

Then, he placed a finger on the man's brow, squeezing out the last bit of spiritual energy from his body, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, you won't die."

Incredibly, the man's face, which had been filled with fear and pain, gradually calmed down, and he said with a bitter smile, "No need to comfort me, priestess... I know... I'm about to die."