The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

However, the latter remained unmoved, only turning his gaze to Naraku's back.

The next moment, a flash of light appeared, and his lower body was completely severed. His tentacles instantly collapsed, turning into ordinary soil scattered on the ground.

"who!?"

Naraku was startled. As his upper body fell from mid-air, he turned around and saw a young ronin dressed in blue clothes and black hakama appear behind him at some point.

"Sorry, I personally hate tentacle monsters, so I couldn't help but accidentally touch them."

Su Qi, who was saying sorry but showed no remorse on his face, held his long sword and walked to Naraku's fallen upper body.

"It's you……"

The latter recognized him; he was the man she had seen before.

"That's right, it's me, the handsome and upright swordsman, Zhizhi Xiongjianxin." Su Qi looked down at Naraku, slashing off the baboon mask on his face with his sword as he said, "Judging from your words, you seem to recognize me. So, you can see me through those insects?"

As he spoke, he noticed that under the baboon mask, only the lower half of its face was visible, just like in the original story. He couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity. If only the real thing had come."

"Hehe, no need to rush, we'll meet again soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Naraku's remaining upper body disintegrated, leaving only a broken wooden puppet with hair wrapped around it stuck in the mud.

Tsk, looks like my plan to take everything in one fell swoop won't be so easy to accomplish...

Su Qi's heart sank slightly. He then sheathed his sword, walked up to Kikyo, and gave her a hearty smile. "We meet again, Kikyo. Aren't you very touched by my timely rescue? Seeing Naraku's smug look, don't you want to say to me, 'Partner, I want to beat up Naraku'?"

Kikyo remained silent, only slowly closing her eyes before suddenly collapsing into his arms. It turned out she had already reached her limit; her actions in front of Naraku were merely a forced effort. Now, as she relaxed, she temporarily lost consciousness.

……

Night falls, a campfire burns, the forest is quiet, fireflies dance, the Milky Way twinkles overhead, and a bright moon shines over thousands of miles.

Su Qi stood under the moonlight, practicing his daily, uninterrupted basic swordsmanship. The gleaming blade sliced ​​through the night, creating silvery fan-like patterns that cut through the air at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, producing a continuous hissing sound. Its flashes resembled a half-moon, flickering and uncertain.

Kikyo lay quietly under a large tree not far away, with clothes spread out beneath her. Occasionally, dead soul insects would fly over, dropping a ball of light that would enter her body.

As the moon rose higher and the night deepened, Kikyo finally slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" Su Qi asked while brandishing his sword.

Kikyo didn't turn around, but just watched him practice quietly. After a while, she suddenly said, "You want to kill Naraku?"

"And there's the jewel to purify the Shikon Jewel."

"why?"

"That's a long story..."

I also hate tentacle monsters, well, it's definitely not out of envy...

Chapter Seventy-Three: Strawberry May Not Win

Su Qi started a conversation, then fell silent, his expression distant, as if lost in a long-forgotten memory.

Kikyo: "..."

Su Qi: "..."

Kikyo: "..."

Su Qi: "..."

“Speaking of which…” After a moment of silence, Su Qi finally said, “Shouldn’t you have said ‘make a long story short’?”

Kikyo gazed at him quietly and said softly, "We have plenty of time. If you'd like, you can go into more detail."

"Uh, never mind, I'll just make it short..."

So Su Qi sheathed his sword, sat down opposite her, and started making up a story while watching the flickering campfire.

The story begins several hundred years ago in the Heian period, when there was a powerful shrine maiden named Midori.

She was skilled in a powerful spell that extracted the four souls of a demon, purified them, and stripped the demon of its power. The demons hated and feared her because of this, and in order to fight her, just as hundreds of demons devoured Onigumo to give birth to Naraku, they all possessed an evil man who secretly loved Midori and fought against him.

The battle lasted for seven days and seven nights. Midori was exhausted and her lower body was devoured, but she still used her last bit of strength to extract her own soul and the soul of the demon, which was the original Shikon Jewel.

According to Su Qi, his ancestor was another samurai who secretly loved Midori and had also participated in that battle, surviving under Midori's protection. After Midori's death, he vowed to fulfill Midori's last wish and purify the Shikon Jewel, so he traveled around searching for powerful priestesses, sorcerers, and priests.

However, the negative spiritual power of the Shikon Jewel was too strong, and no one could completely purify it. In the end, the news was leaked, and it was stolen by a demon. It then wandered the world, causing one bloody storm after another.

On his deathbed, the samurai deeply regretted his lack of ability and left a will that his descendants would take it upon themselves to purify the Shikon Jewel and never give up until the task was completed. Thus, the inextricable bond between his clan and the Shikon Jewel has continued to this day.

"And what about Naraku?" Kikyo asked upon hearing this, "Why are you so obsessed with Naraku?"

"Fifty years ago, the Shikon Jewel suddenly disappeared for a short period of time. In order to investigate its whereabouts, my father left home more than ten years ago..."

With a faint trace of reminiscence and sadness on his face, Su Qi's eyes dimmed slightly as he said in a low voice, "But not long after that, news came that he had been killed by Naraku. To be honest, more than a decade has passed, and my father's image in my mind has long been blurred, and the sadness has faded; but no matter what, a son should avenge his father, so... Naraku must die!"

At this point, the two fell silent again.

Su Qi wasn't worried that his fabricated story would be exposed. First, the events surrounding Cui Zi were hundreds of years ago, making it impossible to verify anything. In the original work, she was merely a background character with a very vague and limited background. Second, just as vampires don't remember how many loaves of bread they ate, Naraku directly or indirectly caused the deaths of so many people, so of course he couldn't possibly remember the details of each individual.

Finally, Kikyo is still unaware of the origin of the Shikon Jewel, but what Su Qi said is true. After verifying the two, it is half true and half false, so naturally there is no doubt that his identity is problematic.

After a while, Su Qi took the initiative to ask, "So what about you? You should have already met Inuyasha, right? Are you still clinging to your previous ideas?"

"As long as that woman is by his side, I can't kill him."

Despite saying this, the resentment in Kikyo's tone faded.

As the saying goes, one should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane after a second attempt and be completely exhausted after a third. This applies to morale as well as resentment. First, she was pestered by Su Qi for more than half a month, then she learned the truth, was rejected by Inuyasha, and was forced to retreat by Kagome... After these repeated setbacks, the resentment that had been rising since her resurrection finally gradually subsided.

Moreover, compared to that false resentment, what she cares about most now is something else, or rather, another person—Kagome.

Kikyo is ultimately a woman, and she will inevitably feel resentful about losing to another woman. However, she also knows very well that she is already dead and cannot bear all the responsibilities of being a woman. Therefore, compared to Kagome, she simply cannot possibly win.

So what should she do now? She herself was very conflicted and confused, but two things were certain—she still had attachments to the present world, and she wished she could personally send Naraku to hell.

The deeper the longing, the deeper the resentment. If it weren't for Naraku, perhaps she could have found happiness like an ordinary woman. But now, all that awaits her is loneliness and despair, and all of this is because of him!

The lack of a direct answer raises the question: is it because they don't want to talk about it, or do they still harbor resentment...?

Su Qi couldn't see through Kikyo's thoughts, and he didn't care too much. What he cared more about was whether she could become a qualified teammate.

"So what are you planning to do next? Are you going to join me in hunting down Naraku?"

He asked directly, and Kikyo replied, "I... will travel with you for now."

……

While the two were discussing how to deal with Naraku, the latter was also thinking about them.

In the dimly lit hall, which was covered with bamboo curtains, only an oil lamp was lit. Naraku was still sitting in the shadows, holding the Shikon Jewel in his hand. Looking at the lamplight, he murmured, "Shishio Kenshin and Kikyo, huh? Two troublesome guys have met. I'll have to be careful from now on."

In his mind, Su Qi and Kikyo's combination was indeed a greater threat than Inuyasha's group. The former were not only stronger, but also had less information and displayed a more mature mindset, completely overwhelming the latter in every way. Therefore, he immediately focused more attention on Su Qi and Kikyo.

Furthermore, he could feel the Onigumo's Heart stirring within him, urging him to take Kikyo away. He naturally suppressed it, ignoring it completely, but he was inevitably affected to some extent.

"Heh, Naraku, this show of weakness isn't like you."

The woman speaking leaned against the window railing, holding a folding fan. She wore a white kimono with deep red stripes and wide sleeves, tied with a yellow sash. Her eyes were blood-red, and her medium-length hair was tied up with a feather headdress. Her face was cold and alluring, and her words showed no respect for Naraku.

"Oh..." Naraku wasn't angry. He just glanced at her and said calmly, "Then Kagura, what do you think I should do?"

"Use any means necessary to eliminate the threat as soon as possible." Kagura opened her folding fan, covering the lower half of her face, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "Isn't that what you're best at?"

Are you implying that I never engage in direct combat with the enemy?

“I didn’t say that.”

"Hmph, if I were as stupid as you, I would have been killed hundreds of times over by now." Naraku sneered. "Time is on my side. The longer I delay, the stronger I will become. So I just need to keep an eye on them for now and probe their strengths. When I see through all their tricks, that will be their death day."

Chapter Seventy-Four: The Old Schemer Steals a House

A dozen days later, in a small mountain village.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

The ground shook, and the wooden houses trembled as if they might collapse at any moment.

"Run! A monster has entered the village!"

Amid cries of alarm, villagers scattered and fled from the village entrance.

Immediately afterwards, a gigantic demon, over three zhang tall, with a dark blue-black body, a leather skirt around its waist, two horns on its head, and blood-red fangs, emerged from the forest like a small mountain, marching towards the village. Sunlight shone down from above, startled birds scattered around it, and large shadows were cast on the ground.

But at that moment, a white streak shot out and struck its right leg.

With a loud bang, amidst the flying blood and flesh, a huge hole appeared in the giant demon's leg, which was thicker than an elephant. It let out a miserable howl and fell to the ground.

The next moment, another figure shot out, leaping up and rushing up its back. In the blink of an eye, it reached the neck, drew its sword and slashed out. A flash of sword light, like lightning, and the huge ghost head immediately slid off, blood gushing out like a waterfall from the severed neck.

Not long after, the village chief came with a group of people to express his gratitude and presented them with silver as a thank-you gift.

"I must thank you both for your help. Otherwise, this mountain demon would have come every day, and all the women in our village would have been eaten."

He walked up to Su Qi, whose sleeves were stained with blood, his face pale, and carefully bowed to express his gratitude.

"No need for thanks. You provide the money, and we provide the labor. It's just an equal exchange."

The latter wiped the Shikon Jewel, which he had just taken out and was still stained with blood, clean it while giving a perfunctory reply with a blank expression. After saying a few more meaningless words, he impatiently took his leave and left the village with his companions.

“The sixth piece…” On the road outside the village, Su Qi held the Shikon Jewel fragment in his hand, admiring its eerie and mesmerizing glow, and smiled, “Kikyo, thanks to you, I was able to collect four Shikon Jewel fragments in such a short time. It’s true that having radar makes finding lost items much easier.”

Kikyo, who was positioned slightly behind, had grown accustomed to her companion's occasional strange remarks. She didn't reply, but simply observed him quietly with her clear, mirror-like eyes.

Su Qi was already used to his companion's silence and didn't care. While putting the fragments into the small bag he used to store the Shikon Jewel, he muttered to himself, "It's just a pity that we still haven't found out Naraku's location. And we killed a few more of the most powerful monsters today. It's obvious that Naraku, that old schemer, is still monitoring us and could cause trouble at any time. The enemy knows everything about our actions, but we know nothing about the enemy's movements. If this continues, we'll run into problems sooner or later. We need to find a solution as soon as possible."

This time, Kikyo finally spoke, saying, "Before that, we need to solve your problem first."

"What's wrong with me?" Su Qi was slightly taken aback. "What's wrong with me?"

"Haven't you noticed? In the past few days, your personality has become more cold and impulsive, you've become increasingly obsessed with the Shikon Jewel shards, and you've even acquired a fierce aura. The fact that those people were still afraid of you even though they knew you wouldn't hurt them is proof of that."

Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly. Kikyo's words gave him a jolt, and he immediately realized what she meant, feeling a sense of lingering fear.

Indeed, looking back now, I realize that I have been acting strangely these past few days. However, these changes were subtle and gradual, so much so that I didn't even notice them myself; or perhaps even if I did notice them, they were distorted by some force, and I didn't pay attention to them...

Su Qi's mind raced, and he immediately thought of the most likely source of the problem: "Is it the Shikon Jewel?"

“The more Shikon Jewel shards gather, the stronger their power becomes,” Kikyo explained. “Previously, your spiritual power and willpower were enough to temporarily isolate you from the influence of the Shikon Jewel, but as the number of shards increases, you will inevitably be eroded when you come into close contact with them.”

Su Qi's eyes flashed, and he calmed down to sense his spiritual power. Sure enough, he found that there was a faint trace of an obscure foreign power in it. When he sensed the Shikon Jewel fragments on his body, he found that their spiritual power fluctuations seemed to be merging and resonating, increasing the efficiency of polluting his own spiritual power several times over.