The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

"Wh...what conditions?"

At this moment, Du Le stepped forward and stood in front of his younger brother.

Her face flushed red as she looked up at Su Qi. Although there was a hint of fear in her eyes, she still puffed out her chest and tried her best to appear fearless, saying loudly, "If you can help us take our home back, I'll do anything you ask."

"elder sister!"

"No need to be so nervous." Su Qi reached out and patted the little girl with animal ears on the head, a meaningful smile on his face. "We just wanted you to give us a ride, it's not a difficult problem, right?"

Du Le shuddered, feeling a strange chill in his heart.

……

Then, as night fell, Su Qi rode Dule and Kikyo rode Shishimaru, and the two of them and the two demons went straight to the village closest to the shrine.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Divine Mirror of Wonderful Insight

"It's too hard, which is seriously unacceptable as both a loli and a mount."

Upon reaching the village entrance, Su Qi shook his head with regret after dismounting from Du Le, who had transformed into a komainu.

"Hmph, it's made of stone, so of course it's hard."

The latter transformed into human form, her rosy cheeks puffed out, her face full of resentment. Little did she know that it was precisely because she was unsuitable as a mount that she escaped a calamity; otherwise, Su Qi might have actually found a way to kidnap the brother and sister and turn them into pets.

After all, compared to them, who were monsters, the two horses temporarily left elsewhere were far inferior in terms of endurance, intelligence, speed, and combat power.

Ignoring their bickering, Kikyo walked straight past them and came to a crooked old tree at the entrance of the village. She slowly looked up and saw several mummified corpses dressed in monks' robes or ascetic attire hanging from the tree, swaying slightly in the night breeze.

"Who are they?"

“They must have been passing by, or people who came to exorcise the demon after discovering something amiss.” Shishimaru walked over, clasped his hands in a bow, and whispered, “That demon bewitched the villagers, ordering them to capture any shrine maidens, monks, sorcerers, or priests they encountered and send them to the shrine. Those captured were all devoured of their souls and essence by the demon, turned into mummies, and hung at the village entrance.”

“If we hadn’t been physically strong, we might have been caught by them back then. Later, although they would give warnings when they encountered them, some people still passed by unknowingly and were caught by them.”

"That guy's got a big head on his shoulders." Su Qi walked over and looked at the mummified corpses. "I don't know if it's stupidity or overconfidence."

"Lord Kenshin, what should we do next?"

He glanced at Kikyo, thought for a moment, and said, "That guy is in the shrine, right?"

"Yes, but there is a protective barrier around the shrine, so we don't know where it is hiding."

"When are there the fewest people at the shrine?"

"Well... from our observation, the villagers in the vicinity go to worship at night and only come back to work during the day, so there are probably fewer people during the day."

"Then let's go tomorrow during the day."

After saying that, Su Qi turned to look at the dark village not far away. "There shouldn't be anyone in the village now, right? I haven't had dinner yet, so I'll go in and find something to eat."

"Huh? But this... doesn't seem a bit right?"

"Don't worry, I'll pay."

……

After that, the group headed towards the village.

Su Qi walked along the country path, looking around in the moonlight. He noticed that many fields seemed neglected, overgrown with weeds. He even saw several hoes lying in the fields, not retrieved.

Upon entering the village, he was surrounded by darkness and deathly silence. A night wind blew, and every house closed its doors and windows, which creaked softly, making it seem like a ghost village. But he was fearless, of course, and walked straight to the center of the village, intending to find the richest family and "buy" a dinner.

"what?"

Suddenly, Su Qi stopped outside a house.

"What's wrong?" Kikyo, who was following behind him, asked softly.

"There are still people who stayed behind."

After saying this, Su Qi turned around and went inside. He found an old man covered in blood and filth, looking emaciated, on a straw mat in the room.

As if hearing footsteps, the old man slightly turned his head and said in a trembling voice, somewhat indistinctly, "Kusa...Kusa, is that you...back?"

Su Qi paused slightly, about to step forward, when Kikyo suddenly grabbed him from behind, shook her head, and then slowly walked over, her figure revealed in the moonlight shining through the window. She said softly, "Old man, I am a shrine maiden who happened to be passing by. I heard the sound and came in to take a look."

"A... a priestess? Run... run!"

The old man suddenly became agitated and struggled to get up.

Kikyo quickly went to help him up, and after some comforting and questioning, she learned what had happened.

It turned out that a little over a month ago, a young man in the village accidentally found a beautiful bronze mirror in a nearby stream. After that, the young man's behavior became strange.

He used to be one of the most hardworking people in the village, but after that, he stayed at home and never went to the fields again. It wasn't until several days later that he finally went out, but he was pale, his eyes were sunken, and he had lost a lot of weight.

The villagers were whispering behind his back, saying he was bewitched by a fox, and some even discussed going to the city to find an exorcist. After all, if a monster really entered the village, the others would be in danger.

At that moment, the man presented the mirror to the village chief. Soon after, the village chief also began acting strangely, welcoming the mirror into the shrine and calling it the Myōken Rei-kyō-gami (myōken spirit mirror). He also inexplicably ordered the two komainu (guardian dog) statues in front of the shrine to be tied up and carried away, intending to throw them into the river near the village.

However, just as they were about to tie up the stone statues, the two komainu suddenly transformed into monsters and escaped.

Next, the village chief appointed himself as the head priest of the shrine and vigorously summoned the villagers to worship the so-called Myōken Reikyōjin. After worshipping, everyone who returned became a follower of Myōken Reikyōjin and enthusiastically promoted the benefits of becoming a follower to their relatives and friends. In just a few days, almost all the villagers in the village became followers, and the influence even spread to other nearby villages.

At the same time, the spirit mirror deity also issued a divine decree, ordering the villagers to attack passing priestesses, sorcerers, and the like, capture them all, kill them at the shrine, and they would receive a reward... The old man had thought of this earlier, which was why he wanted Kikyo to leave quickly.

As for himself, he was extremely wary because he had been deceived by a fox spirit before, and refused to worship under any circumstances, making him the only non-believer in the village.

“They all say that as long as you become a believer, you can enter the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has everything, and you can eat rice and meat until you’re stuffed. Humph, I don’t believe that kind of thing exists. That god... must be a monster.”

"And what about Kusata? Is he your son?"

“That good-for-nothing kid… was tricked just like everyone else… He only thinks about going to the divine kingdom to enjoy himself and doesn’t even do any work… If this continues… even if he doesn’t get eaten by monsters, he’ll starve to death at home.”

At this point, the old man slowly rose, and despite Kikyo's attempts to dissuade him, he laboriously bowed and kowtowed to her. "Miss Kikyo... I can see... that you are all capable people... If possible... please save Sota... I beg you!"

After all, he was experienced. After this short conversation and observation, he could tell that Su Qi and the others were no ordinary people. They might be targeting the monster who was disguised as a god.

Kikyo glanced at Su Qi, remained silent for a moment, and then said slowly, "I... will do my best."

……

The next morning, Su Qi, who was sitting cross-legged in the corner practicing meditation, opened his eyes and saw Kikyo gently stroking the old man's face, helping him close his lifeless eyes.

He died, likely from tetanus caused by an infected wound. He hadn't eaten properly for several days since the onset of the illness, and his body was already weak. Even with Kikyo's constant care throughout the night, without medication, it was too late to save him; and just now, he finally succumbed to heart failure and passed away.

Su Qi stood up, walked to Kikyo's side, looked down at the corpse on the ground, and suddenly said, "The one who killed him should be Sota."

Chapter Fifty-Eight: There Is Only One Truth

"why?"

Until just now, Kikyo was focused on taking care of the old man, so she didn't notice some of the details.

“First, there’s the motivation,” Su Qi said slowly. “Everyone in the village is a fanatic, so it’s only natural that the only outcast would be persecuted. As the son and a fanatic of the outcast, Kusata is naturally under immense pressure and is likely to vent that pressure on the culprit… namely, his own father.”

As he spoke, he squatted down, carefully examining the numerous bruises and wounds on the old man's body, and said, "Secondly, there are the wounds. Judging from the marks and methods used, these wounds were basically inflicted by the same person, and a relatively strong young man, taller than the deceased. The wounds appeared at different times, indicating that the beatings lasted for several days... If it were a group attack, the location and force of the wounds wouldn't be so regular. In addition, given the long-term and continuous violence, it would naturally be easier for people living together."

At this point, he stood up again, walked to the corner, picked up a thick, hard wooden stick, the tip of which was almost soaked in blood, and examined it repeatedly. "Finally, this is the murder weapon. The wounds on the deceased's body match this wooden stick perfectly. Obviously, the crime scene is right here. Besides, if the perpetrator wasn't Sota, as the deceased's son, would he have placed the stick that injured his father in such an easily accessible place?"

"Even if he was forced to, no one would care about losing a stick. So the reason this stick could be used repeatedly must be because he himself was dissatisfied with his father, right?"

Su Qi casually tossed the wooden stick back into the corner, pushed up his non-existent black-rimmed glasses, and said with a glint of shrewdness in his eyes, "So, in conclusion, there is only one truth... The culprit is the deceased's son, Sota! The reason Sota abused and tormented his father was probably to force him to become a believer, but he couldn't succeed, so he became more and more violent, which eventually led to his death."

"I see."

Kikyo stood up, her tone as calm as ever.

"Wait a minute! This reaction is way too bland, isn't it? Shouldn't they first be shocked by Sota's utter depravity, and then praise me by saying, 'Kenshin, you're amazing! I want to go fight Naraku with you!'"

“This kind of thing is not uncommon…” she said as she slung her bow and quiver over her shoulder. “Besides, he’s already dead, so the truth no longer matters.”

In Kikyo's view, such things were indeed quite common. This was Japan's Sengoku period, not five hundred years later in modern times, and for someone who grew up in this era, she had heard far too many similar stories.

Su Qi replied, "No, the truth is always important."

He casually placed his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist, and smiled slightly. "I've decided. If I run into him, I'll just chop that scumbag down. After all, the most important thing in life is to be happy, and seeing scumbags living well makes me feel uneasy."

Kikyo paused, "But his wish is for Sota to live a good life."

"What does that have to do with me, a cold-hearted wanderer?"

She frowned slightly. "In his view, the continuation of his bloodline is more important than his own life."

"If forgiveness were effective, what would be the point of the law? Even if the victim forgives the perpetrator, the fact that the perpetrator committed the crime remains unchanged, and shouldn't one pay the price for committing a crime?"

"But beyond the law, there is also human sentiment."

"Who can guarantee that such scum won't commit crimes again? Is the deceased's sentiment more important, or the living's reality?"

"You cannot be certain that he will continue to do evil."

"But can you trust someone who killed his own father? Like you trusted Onigumo back then?"

Kikyo remained silent.

“Compassion is a good thing, but being too compassionate to some people is cruelty to many more… Kikyo, I hope you understand this.”

She shook her head slightly. "All of this is just your guess, and he may have been bewitched by that mirror demon."

"What if my guesses are true?"

"Can I stop you?"

“Of course,” Su Qi smiled. “Compared to a minor unpleasantness, you, my companion, are more important. So, if it’s your request, letting him go isn’t out of the question. Are you sure you want me to let him go?”

Noticing the undisguised probing in the other person's eyes and words, Kikyo felt slightly displeased and then, unusually, hesitated.

If he were an innocent person, she would save him without hesitation, even if it meant bowing down to Su Qi; but he was a villain who had abused his father to death, so what should she do?

What she truly cared about wasn't owing Su Qi a favor or bowing down to him, nor was it whether Cao Tai should be punished for his crimes. Rather, it was the deceased's last wish and whether he would commit more sins in the future.

Back then, Onigumo was burned all over his body and could not move for the rest of his life. He was in a living hell and could no longer do evil. Sota's situation was different, so she couldn't help but think of what Su Qi had said before - "Compassion for some people is cruelty to many more people".

I'm sorry, I may not be able to fulfill your last wish...

After hesitating for a long time, Kikyo finally said, "Do as you please... Besides, we are not companions, we are just traveling together temporarily."

After saying that, he left expressionlessly and went outside alone.

Was I really wrong in what I did before?

She stood under the tree, gazing up at the rising sun gradually emerging from the horizon, a hint of bewilderment flashing in her eyes.