Don't force me to use my right fist.

"To be honest, I've been curious all along how you knew I was here to collect these things, and why you acted like we knew each other so well?"

After confirming that the Saigyou Ayakashi was completely dead, Kikyo turned around and asked Saya the question that had been bothering her.

She always felt that Saya seemed to have a special trust and goodwill towards her, but this was completely without reason. She could guarantee that she had absolutely no memory of having any interaction with Saya before.

"Well, well, it's because a certain fox demon once told me about a priestess who was dealing with matters related to the Shikon Jewel, and she even met you."

Saya, who had betrayed a certain fox without hesitation, rubbed his nose and explained.

Chapter 431 Change the Request

A handsome Onmyoji, far away in Heian-kyo, sneezed and frowned as he looked in the direction of Saya.

The harvest prayer ceremony is almost complete; all that's left is to build up the buzz. I estimate it'll take a few more days of promotion, and I'm really too busy to attend to anything else.

Without even thinking, it's obvious that the strange black-haired boy is thinking about me. I wonder how things are going on his end.

The monsters lurking there are quite troublesome, but with the help of that old swordsman guarding the place, he shouldn't be in too much danger, right?

"Hold on for a few more days, and I'll come help you as soon as I'm free."

Completely unaware that she had made a scapegoat for Saku, Tamamo-no-Mae continued to play the role of a reconciling Seimei, silently encouraging Saku in her heart.

In her opinion, letting Sawaichi handle things there alone was a very risky thing to do. She would never have suggested that he go there unless he asked for it himself.

As for Sasuke, after throwing out Tamamo-no-Mae as a smokescreen, Kikyo immediately showed an expression of sudden realization.

She still had some impression of Tamamo-no-Mae, who was completely different from ordinary man-eating yokai. When she talked to her, she noticed that the yokai didn't seem to have any malice towards humans. On the contrary, she seemed to be very enthusiastic about protecting the humans around her.

That's why Kikyo remembered her. She looked up and met Saya's gaze. Does that mean Saya is one of that fox's subordinates?

"What's your relationship with Tamamo-no-Mae? As far as I know, she's been busy collecting faith lately, hasn't she?"

As expected of a powerful priestess who has always been active, she even knew that Tamamo-no-Mae was secretly collecting faith. It's no exaggeration.

"In terms of relationship, I'd say we're friends? She was partly responsible for the reason I came to deal with this monster; it was kind of a request from her."

"So, this proves that I genuinely want to communicate with you? I really just want to work with you to solve the monsters."

"Excuse me, could you change your request? It would be good if you could return the Shikon Jewel fragments to me, but I also hope that you can stop getting involved in these matters. It would be good for both of us."

Kikyo shook her head, equally unsure how to explain to Saya that it wasn't a matter of trust, but rather that she couldn't accept such a request.

"Alright then, I'll choose another one. If it's alright, could you please take me to Higurashi Shrine? I'd like to go there to pray for something." whl

Saya sighed, no longer dwelling on the issue, and chose another request that was currently the most crucial to him.

Instead of waiting here for Tamamo-no-Mae to become a god and whether she can give him an answer, Saya thinks that going to the Bone-Eater's Well near Higurashi Shrine might be a good choice.

Whether it will be successful is another matter, but we should at least try, right?

"Higurashi Shrine? Why are you interested in this place?"

Kikyo, puzzled that Saya would bring up the shrine where she lived, exchanged a confused glance with him. She simply couldn't understand why Saya's requests were all so strange.

"So, if I'm not mistaken, this is the place that nurtured a shrine maiden like you, Kikyo-san, isn't it? I want to see what a shrine that can train such a powerful shrine maiden looks like. I think that's a good enough reason?"

"If it's possible, I could also pay a visit to the shrine. I don't think Miss Kikyo would refuse me for something like that, would she?"

Saya looked earnestly into Kikyo's eyes. His demands had been lowered again and again, until now, and she had no reason to refuse him.

“I myself need to transport these contaminated Shikon Jewel fragments to the shrine for purification. If Mr. Saya's request is only this, then I can grant your request.”

After a slight hesitation, Kikyo could sense that Saya's purpose was definitely not as simple as he had just said, but she did not detect any malice in his words. She still nodded her chin slightly and agreed.

To be honest, there's nothing in the shrine that Saya would covet. She carries the purified Shikon Jewel shards with her, so even if he went there, there's nothing he could do.

Moreover, this actually rules out the possibility that Saya is Naraku's subordinate, since that guy knows the location of Higurashi Shrine very well, and there is no need for him to go through such trouble to get to such a place.

"It was a pleasure working with you. Thank you so much."

Sōyū snapped his fingers. Since she had agreed, he no longer needed to worry about it. When he discovered that this world overlapped with the world of Inuyasha, he had been thinking about whether he could return through the Well of Bones. Now he could finally take action.

"No need to thank me. To put it bluntly, this is just a reward for you eliminating the monsters here and returning the Shikon Jewel to me. In fact, if all I'm doing is doing this, I'm the one who's benefiting from you."

Kikyo shook her head, knowing full well that dealing with this demon would not be easy, but she could simply take Saya to the Higurashi Shrine as repayment, which was a great bargain.

"If we shouldn't delay, how about we set off now? Or is there any monster you still need to deal with? Just tell me, and I'll prove my strength to you. Maybe then you'll change your mind, right?"

After leaving a few simple messages on a wooden plaque in the abandoned house for Tamamo-no-Mae, who might not arrive for some time, Saya looked excitedly in Kikyo's direction, patted his chest vigorously, and said...

"There isn't a specific monster to deal with, but it seems like some troublesome fellow is on their way." w.hl

Chapter 432 The New Guest

Saya hadn't expected that at this point, there would be other uninvited guests. However, judging from Kikyo's reaction, it was clear that the people who came this time didn't have good intentions; otherwise, she wouldn't have launched an attack directly.

When Saya turned around to see who had caught Kikyo's attention, he was genuinely shocked by the ugly shadow in front of him.

Its three-meter-tall body was as ugly as a shaved purple rat, but two large horns resembling bull horns grew from its head, along with a gaping maw with fangs.

"You dare say another word about my appearance? I'll chew your bones to pieces!"

The monster, as if chewing up a snack, chewed up the arrow it had bitten into and swallowed it, then looked at Sōyū and spoke in a human voice, issuing a malicious warning to him.

"No, I haven't even said you're ugly yet, how come you're so self-aware?"

Sawa, who was about to say it was ugly in a novel way, paused for a moment. How did it know he was going to say it was ugly? Could it have gotten the first move?

"Be careful, if I'm not mistaken, this monster is probably an incarnation of the Naraku you're looking for."

Seemingly sensing the distinctive, foul stench of Naraku emanating from the monster before her, Kikyo drew an arrow from her quiver and aimed it at the creature.

-While reminding Saya.

In my memory, Naraku's incarnations were all either handsome men or beautiful women. Is there really such an ugly creature as this? wwhl

Sōyu pondered the matter concerning Naraku's clones, but because the memories were from so long ago, he couldn't quite recall them clearly.

But as he pondered, the monster that had been poised to launch a surprise attack on him and Kikyo showed a surprised expression on its face.

"Who exactly are you? Why do you know so many secrets about Naraku?" The gaping maw with fangs opened towards Saku, and the three-fingered claws pulsed rhythmically toward Saku, as if planning how to eliminate him.

Saku was surprised by its words. The first time, one could say it had a premonition, but now, before he had even spoken, it knew that he knew so many of Naraku's secrets. This could only mean that it had a mind-reading ability.

"Then I'm sorry, you'll have to die here first. Spying on people's most important privacy, I can't let you live."

Saya gave the monster what he considered a fairly friendly smile, and then vanished from the spot in an instant.

His thoughts are incredibly private; if this thing could read them all out, it would be no fun at all. Therefore, Zuoyou can't let this potential threat remain in the world.

"What you just said is exactly what I wanted to say to you. Although I don't know how you know so many secrets about Lord Naraku, you're going to take him now..."

Saya's outstretched fist grazed the monster's horn, which it dodged. At the same time, the monster's sharp claws swept towards Saya's location.

An arrow imbued with spiritual power forced the monster back, and Kikyo's words of warning Saya reached his ears.

"Tsk, mind-reading things are really troublesome."

Sawa, quite distressed, withdrew his intention to continue throwing punches. He found these kinds of yokai, capable of reading minds, truly disgusting, especially for someone like him who preferred close combat.

When to punch, when to dodge, and even from where to dodge and attack all require thought. But this very thought reveals one's intentions, allowing the body to always prepare in advance before it even moves.

What's even more disgusting is that, despite its enormous size, this thing doesn't seem to be much slower than Sawa.

"Do you find it troublesome? Once I twist your head off, you won't find it troublesome anymore."

The ugly monster wouldn't give Saya a chance to catch his breath. After dodging Kikyo's arrows with a few fluid turns, it continued to read Saya's thoughts and instantly appeared in front of him.

The sharp claws in its hand, accompanied by a foul gust of wind, swung down towards Saya. If hit, even with Saya's physical strength, he might be cleaved in two. Fortunately, Saya reacted in time—he sidestepped the claws, and before he could regain his footing, its massive jaws, filled with fangs, snapped at him. The claws were merely a feint; the monster's true intention was to wait for Saya to dodge, then, while he was momentarily disoriented, unleash its deadly attack to kill him instantly.

Kikyo, who was standing nearby, noticed this as well. She once again released an arrow filled with spiritual power, but it was knocked away by the monster's other claw.

The ability to read minds isn't limited to Saya alone; even Kikyo's attacks were within his expectations.

It can be said that it has calculated everything.

Even if something blocked its way, it would be useless. It knew exactly how sharp and hard its teeth were; whatever it was, once it bit down, it was as good as done. The monster, 1000% confident in its teeth, closed its mouth, but there was no expected spurt of blood. The monster, having bitten into nothing, stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the black-haired youth who had escaped and regained his footing.

How did he manage to dodge his own attack? He didn't even have time to read his thoughts.

"Don't overthink it. Your ability to read thoughts is impressive, but the problem is that your body's mental speed also needs to keep up. Don't think you're fast enough; you're still far from it."

The sudden burst of speed made Saya's body feel slightly sore, but he still gave the monster in front of him a middle finger full of contempt.

Chapter 433 How come you're still alive?

Saku wasn't bothered by the appearance of this thing for long. Once he realized that its speed wasn't overwhelming, the battle was essentially over.

"I said, if you could really read my mind, what you should do right now is turn around and run away, but that would be too late anyway, so you might as well just wait to die."

With his eyes narrowed, Saya revealed a clock-shaped magic circle in his hand and gave the grotesque-looking monster a "kind" smile.

The monster almost instantly understood Saya's thoughts, knowing the effect of the magic he was about to use, and also sensed Saya's almost tangible killing intent.

"No, how could an ordinary human possibly possess such an ability? Controlling time is almost impossible..."

The demon, convinced that Saya was merely fabricating a plan to deal with him in his mind to avoid being read, charged at Saya as if it didn't believe him, and once again opened its blood-red maw and roared at him.

But the next moment, Zuoyou raised his head, and the magic circle in his hand emitted a dazzling light, turning him and the surrounding environment gray and white, as if he had fallen into the world of photographic negatives.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fool you. It's just that your knowledge is too limited, so don't blame me."

Sōyū calmly escaped from the monster's sharp teeth, took out the Tsukuyō Blade from his backpack, and pointed the blade at its head.

"If you have to blame someone, it's because you know too much. You're not some green-haired girl in a steel helmet. Given how ugly and unattractive you are, it would be very difficult for me to spare your life."

After the Jade Moon Blade was drawn with a wisp of cherry blossom-like light, Sōyu sheathed it again. He wouldn't mind testing his newly learned swordsmanship skills against this monster should it change its abilities.

The problem lies with its damned skill. Zuo You doesn't want anyone to read his dark history, so for the sake of privacy, he has no choice but to ask it to die first.

Saya snapped his fingers and walked back from behind it. After arriving at Kikyo's side, he clapped his hands and released the frozen spacetime.

It has to be said that time-based abilities are terrifying at first glance. Even if the opponent is on guard, as long as they do not have the resistance to time stop, they will be completely manipulated.

Just like in the current situation, Saya had already come to Kikyo's side and pressed down her hand that was about to draw the bow again. Only then did the ugly monster show a surprised expression because it had bitten empty air.