The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Suddenly his mind went blank, and in that instant when his self-awareness seemed to be compressed into a single point, Naraku seemed to hear a sound.

That was the sound of the dam of reason that he had been trying his best to maintain being breached by the raging tide; that was the sound of his humble love, which he had been denying and concealing, being shattered by a cold arrow; that was the sound of his last remaining self-respect being trampled on before his death; that was the sound of his selfish soul, which he would rather die than give up, burning and tormented in the fire of resentment.

I will curse you all!

Naraku's face was contorted with rage, his features twisted, as he stared intently at Kikyo before him. His eyes were bloodshot, now a deep crimson, as if he had gone berserk, filled with an endless venomous resentment that even the waters of three rivers could not wash away.

"I curse you to a miserable life! I curse you to die a horrible death! I curse you to be loved in every lifetime, yet never to be together in harmony! From this day forward, until the end of time, my hatred and curse will forever entwine your souls, keeping you trapped in an abyss of resentment! Our karmic entanglement will never end!!"

Naraku roared, his voice suppressed to the extreme, filled with resentment and rage. Every word was like a knife cutting and axe carving, like fire scorching and ice carving, deeply imprinting that chilling curse into everyone's hearts.

But Kikyo didn't back down. She just stared blankly into his burning eyes and said coldly, "Is that all you've got to show such an ugly side? What about me? What kind of curse should I utter to you to vent all the resentment in my heart? Naraku, you're too ugly. This time, I truly believe that being loved by someone like you is a disgusting thing!"

"Platycodon grandiflorus!!!"

Naraku roared in fury, about to say something more, but was suddenly thrown out by Su Qi, who swung his sword and slashed him.

Swish! !

The head was easily split open, revealing the Shikon Jewel hidden within the skull. The next moment, the tip of the blade pierced in and flicked, pulling it out and grabbing it in his hand.

"Qu Ling, I want to make a wish!"

Even with his head split in two and falling to the ground, Naraku was still alive and roaring.

"Screw you! Get the hell out of here and eat your lunchbox!"

Seeing that he still wanted to cause trouble, Su Qi directly swung his sword, slicing open the Netherworld Path and swallowing his head.

In the underworld, Naraku's eyes were wide open in anger, his lips opened and closed, but he could not utter a sound. In the end, he could only be swallowed by darkness with endless resentment and unwillingness, and his consciousness and the last part of his body were destroyed in the world.

"it's over……"

Gazing at the fading Netherworld in mid-air, Su Qi sheathed his sword and let out a long breath.

That bastard Naraku is so damn good at hiding. I reloaded the save so many times to take him down. Even he is feeling a bit tired by now, it's mental exhaustion.

"Is it finally... over...?"

As Kikyo gazed at the distant white mist gradually dissipating and the sky becoming clearer, her expression softened, and a faint white light slowly emanated from her body.

"Wait! Kikyo, are you leaving?"

Noticing the anomaly, Su Qi quickly spoke up to stop it. After being companions who had helped each other for so long, he would naturally want Kikyo to continue living if possible, but if Kikyo insisted on ending her life, he would respect her wishes.

"Now that Naraku is dead, I can finally be free from this tragic fate."

"And what about the Shikon Jewel? Don't you want to purify it yourself and bring this karmic entanglement to a complete end?"

"..." Kikyo's expression wavered slightly.

"Besides, fallen leaves return to their roots. In the end, don't you want to go back to the village for a visit?"

"..." Kikyo frowned slightly, a hint of hesitation in her eyes.

"My journey will not end until the Shikon Jewel is purified. How about you accompany me, your companion, on my final journey?"

Kikyo gazed at Su Qi, pondered for a moment, and finally nodded gently, "Then let's wait a little longer. As your companion, I will accompany you to the end."

Good, at least we've managed to continue things a bit, but getting Kikyo to change her mind will probably be very difficult...

Su Qi breathed a sigh of relief and was about to call Kikyo away from the battlefield littered with corpses and rivers of blood when Kagura walked over with a somewhat awkward expression.

"Um... Mr. Kenshin, thank you for helping me get my heart back, but... why did you help me?" She looked at Su Qi, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "We don't seem to have any connection, do we?"

"Well..." Su Qi rested his chin on his hand, looked Kagura up and down, and said in a serious tone, "In the end, it's because you're good-looking and a woman. Otherwise, if you were an ugly man, I probably would have killed you the first time we met."

After killing Naraku and venting his anger, this guy's instinct for trash talk was itching to kick in again.

Upon hearing such a realistic statement, Kagura was immediately stunned. Although she appeared to be a woman, as a youkai, she had almost never seen herself as a woman.

"Ah, I'm sorry, what I said before was a joke." Su Qi then said, "Actually, the real reason is that you saved me once in the battle of Renjian City. Although your intentions may not have been pure and you did something bad with good intentions, you still saved me once. So as a way of repaying you, I will save your life as well... You should be able to accept this reason, right?"

"I see, but thank you anyway for your help."

Kagura nodded slightly, but for some reason, she inexplicably felt that... perhaps those jokes from earlier were the real reason.

"Alright, that's the end of our score. In short, Kagura, cherish your hard-won life and freedom, but from now on, don't let me find out that you have any reason to kill someone other than to protect yourself."

The image of Su Qi's battle flashed through her mind, and Kagura's heart trembled. She nodded solemnly in agreement. After bidding farewell to the two, she rode on white feathers and flew into the sky. Looking down at the boundless earth and vast mountains, a faint smile gradually appeared on her face. She clutched her full chest and whispered, "I'm free. I'm really free. Where will I ride the wind next?"

……

With the help of Shunfeng'er, the human-shaped Baidu, Su Qi and his companion quickly collected the remaining fragments of the Shikon Jewel and set off for the location of the last Shikon Jewel fragment.

The last fragment of the Shikon Jewel is located at the border between the mortal and underworld worlds, in the grave of the dog's father. Because the demon thief had stolen the Tenseiga's demonic power, they easily defeated the Ox-Head and Horse-Face guardians of the underworld gates and entered the edge of the two worlds through the underworld entrance of the Land of Fire.

The next demon, Bao Xian Gui, was no problem for Su Qi now. He eventually subdued it by force and took the last Shikon Jewel fragment it was keeping.

"Come and make a wish."

White mist drifted, bone birds danced, and above the massive corpse of Inu no Taisho, Su Qi handed the complete Shikon Jewel to Kikyo, saying, "Wish for the Shikon Jewel to disappear. This is the only right wish."

Chapter 114 Missing DLL File

The Shikon Jewel, after fifty years, has finally returned to its own hands...

The deep purple Shikon Jewel rested quietly in his palm, shimmering with an eerie glow.

Compared to fifty years ago, the Shikon Jewel is even more corrupted. Is it Naraku's resentment...?

Kikyo gazed at the Shikon Jewel in her hand, her brows furrowing slightly, and said, "Shikon Jewel, I wish to make a wish upon you."

Suddenly, the Shikon Jewel shone brightly, as if it had heard her request and was responding.

"disappear……"

As Su Qi instructed, Kikyo was about to finish expressing her wish when, halfway through her sentence, the Shikon Jewel in her hand suddenly flashed, its bright light engulfing her and Su Qi beside her.

……

I saw a flash of purple light, and when I could see things clearly again, I was in another place.

Here, the sun shines brightly, the grass is lush and green, and the surrounding trees create a tranquil and beautiful scene. Not far away is a wooden well curb protruding from the ground. Because it was built so long ago, several green vines have grown on it, and the curb is full of traces of wind and rain erosion.

The village I once protected, and the bone-eating well behind it...

In an instant, Kikyo recognized where she was and saw two figures standing opposite each other in front of the well, gazing at each other with affection.

“Kagome, the wind vent on Miroku’s hand has disappeared, so Naraku should be dead.”

"Hmm, it seems we're close to achieving our goal."

Her face flushed slightly under Inuyasha's gaze, and Gowei lowered her head shyly.

"Kagome..."

"Inuyasha..."

"Kagome..."

"Inuyasha..."

"Kagome..."

"Inuyasha, what exactly do you want to say? If you don't speak up, I'm going home!"

"I..." Inuyasha's face stiffened. After hesitating for a moment, he finally took a deep breath, gently pressed the girl's shoulder, looked down into her eyes and said, "Kagome, even after everything is over, don't leave me, okay?"

Kagome trembled, looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, and remained silent. After a long while, she took half a step forward, nestled into his arms, her face flushed, and murmured a soft "Mmm."

Inuyasha's tense expression immediately relaxed, and he silently embraced the girl in his arms. The two stood together in the sunlight on the green lawn, a scene as beautiful as a painting.

However, what they couldn't see was that Kikyo was standing right in front of the well, beside them, quietly watching them embrace and fall in love.

"It's so unfair." A human face formed from a ball of green will-o'-the-wisp appeared beside her at some point and said in a low voice, "You were the one who came first, you promised to live with me, you worked so hard and went through so much trouble to kill Naraku, yet they can get happiness so easily... Kikyo, don't you feel resentful?"

The sound seemed to be audible only to Kikyo. Inuyasha and Kagome, who were nearby, ignored it and continued to embrace each other, quietly enjoying the happy time spent with their loved ones.

Kikyo remained expressionless and coldly asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Qu Ling, the will that controls the Shikon Jewel. I can grant you any wish, even if it's to be resurrected or to live with Inuyasha forever."

"You should have known about my wish before. It was because you were afraid of that wish that you used all your strength to pull me into this illusion, trying to create a flaw in my mind, wasn't it?"

"But don't you yearn for it? Don't you yearn to live again and live happily with Inuyasha? I can sense that when you saw them embracing just now, your heart stirred, so you really want to replace Kagome, don't you?"

"Yes, I also had that longing. I also thought it would be great if I were the one there, but it's too late now, I've let it go."

Is it a genuine letting go, or is letting go the only option?

She remained silent.

"So make a wish, Kikyo! Make a wish to me! Wish to live again and to receive Inuyasha's love!"

Gazing at Inuyasha and Kagome standing embracing each other, Kikyo remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Alright, Shikon Jewel, I will make a wish upon you..."

……

Rewinding time slightly, just as Kikyo was pulled into the illusion, Su Qi also returned to a familiar place.

On the fifth floor, in a bedroom of about fifteen square meters, the floor is covered with wood-grain tiles. To the right of the entrance is a built-in wall cabinet. In front of the cabinet is a large wooden bed. Opposite the door, by the window, is a black computer desk with a laptop on it. To the left is a four-legged square table brought from the old house, its white paint peeling off, showing signs of age.

The square table was piled with various reference books and comics, chewing gum, noise-canceling headphones, toilet paper, wife figurines and other small items, and of course, that extra-large transparent thermos cup filled with boiling water to brew goji berries.

As if he had just taken a nap, Su Qi opened his eyes and found himself back in his own bedroom. The glass window opposite was half open, with rows of residential buildings outside and the streets below bustling with traffic, horns blaring and voices clamoring. A night breeze occasionally rushed in, tugging at the curtains and brushing against his face, bringing a refreshing coolness.

"I'm shocked. Could it be that everything I experienced before was just a dream?"

Su Qi looked down at his computer screen with an exaggerated expression of shock. He realized that it was still around 8 p.m., and the post he had made had only just appeared in the comments section.

"Delete it! It must be deleted! How could such intolerant and subjective comments be published and insult people's privacy? How ugly I was before!"

His eyes glistened with tears, and he had the look of a prodigal son returning home, suddenly filled with remorse. He quickly moved the mouse and deleted the comment he had just posted.

"Ah, that's good."

He then let out a satisfied sigh, got up and left the bedroom, walked into the living room, glanced around the room, took a few cans of soda from the refrigerator, and sat back down at his computer desk.

"Sigh, I only realized how great modern entertainment is after experiencing it myself."

As Su Qi spoke, he opened a can of soda and held it in his hand. While moving the mouse, he opened the folder named "Battle of Mount Akina" in the Entertainment E drive of My Computer. He then tilted his head back and took a big gulp, and then... his brows furrowed slightly.

"Something about the taste is subtly off. Is it really because a DLL file is missing?"

He shook his head, put down his soda, and opened the subfolders under "Battle of Mount Akina" in turn, including "Car Models," "Japanese Cars," "Non-Horse-drawn Vehicles," and "Beautiful Car Appreciation," and randomly selected a video file to play.