My personal opinion on Gensokyo

He answered casually, and even though his heart was pierced by a short blade filled with demon-destroying spiritual power, the young man's calm expression remained unchanged.

"Whether it was the two demon-breaking arrows or this knife, you should have done the same fifty years ago."

After answering slowly, Shang Yang reached out and grasped the handle of the short blade. He directly pulled out the short blade that had pierced his heart from his chest.

As the short blade left the pierced heart, more and more dark blood suddenly flowed out, gradually soaking Shang Yang's clothes completely...

After pulling out the short blade that was stuck in his heart, Shang Yang let go of the short blade stained with his own blood without caring.

...clang.

The short blade fell on the rocks on the ground, and a crisp sound echoed in the depths of the forest.

Looking coldly at Shang Yang, who still had no expression on his face, and casually pulling out the short blade that pierced his heart, Kikyo's cold face revealed a cold irony.

"...Are you trying to tell me that no matter how much I hate you, I can't kill you..."

"...Uh, that's not what I meant."

Hearing this, Shang Yang shook his head helplessly, speaking slowly.

"I've already told you this. These are all things I owe you in the past."

While explaining this, Shang Yang casually withdrew his hand, and faced with the weak figure and cold expression of Jie Geng, who was holding the ancient bow and arrow tightly in his hand, without any vigilance.

"If you think this isn't enough, or if using a few more Demon-Breaking Arrows will allow you to calm down and talk..."

Faced with Shang Yang's unguarded attitude, Jiegeng naturally understood what Shang Yang meant. However, it was precisely because he understood Shang Yang's intention that the sarcastic expression on Jiegeng's cold face became more obvious.

"Heh...paying for sins? To you who won't die, what meaning does this have?"

"How could you, a noble demon 'highness' who has lived in the human world for thousands of years, still have such boring 'leisure and elegance'?"

The witch's tone was bitterly cold.

"You've already said everything that needs to be said about the past fifty years."

Beneath the bone-chilling tone, there was apathy devoid of any emotion...

"There is no need for you and me to talk anymore."

…That’s not the truth.

Although he wanted to tell this to the cold-faced witch in front of him, after meeting her cold and indifferent gaze, Shang Yang could only sigh again, shake his head slightly, and retract his gaze from the witch's cold eyes.

Deep within those beautiful, clear eyes, there was only icy indifference, and... one could almost see the deeper loneliness and heartache hidden beneath the indifference...

She was hurt too deeply by herself...

Facing the cold sadness all around her, the weak witch still faced herself calmly and stubbornly.

In any case, Shang Yang could not make self-defense such as "what happened in the past was not the truth."

No matter what the reason is, no matter what their wishes are, for Shang Yang and Kikyo, the truth of the matter fifty years ago, that is, fifty years ago, in that heavy snow, the encounter between the kind human priestess and the unique young "half-demon" was a lie from the very beginning.

The young man who grew up in his hometown of Tangtu is not a pure utilitarian, and he may not believe that the result is everything.

This is an idea that is difficult to be accepted in this country today.

"I lied to you in order to save you."

Young people will not accept this kind of ugly self-justification.

If you put yourself in her shoes, Shang Yang can definitely feel Platycodon's sadness and pain...

The person she would least have suspected was the young man with gray hair who often wore a gentle smile. When she was at her weakest and wanted to rely on him the most, he betrayed her the most painfully without any warning...

The belief in protecting the Four Souls Jade, the responsibility to protect the people of Maple Village, the desire to protect his only relative, and even the wish to protect him, were all destroyed by the cold and cruel "Ancient Great Monster" who revealed his true face...

After returning to this world, with what kind of mood and what kind of obsession did Kikyo support this fake clay body and stay in this world again...

If the magic-breaking arrow and the sword could really dispel a little of the sorrow and pain hidden deep in Kikyo's heart, Shang Yang wouldn't mind letting Kikyo do it...

But what does this mean to Kikyo?

By harming Shang Yang, Platycodon would not gain any pleasure of revenge, nor would she feel any relief from her resentment, nor would any sadness or pain disappear from her heart.

This doesn't make any sense.

Volume 6: Thoughts Across Time and Space: Chapter 374: Doubts

Facing Kikyo's cold gaze, even Shang Yang, the eldest daughter of the Gu Mingdi family who has been known for her ability to see through people's hearts for nearly a thousand years, and who was commented on and ridiculed by Miss Gu Mingdi Jue as "very good at pleasing girls", felt at a loss for a moment when facing this cold-looking witch.

Fifty years ago, two people who trusted each other the most, fifty years later, were lost in the deep forest in the dead of night, trapped in an incomprehensible stillness and silence...

However, compared to the young man with gray hair who didn't know how to start, the witch with a cold expression, after seeing the young man with gray hair who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, she subconsciously felt a little puzzled and frowned slightly.

……eccentric.

Although Kikyo was indeed filled with intense resentment when she first discovered that Shang Yang, the object of her hatred, had reappeared before her, even so, when subconsciously dominated by painful resentment, Kikyo still noticed the obvious sense of disharmony with the ancient monster before her...

Whether it was the two arrows that called him back to the world, or the action of allowing the short blade to pierce his heart this time, these two actions that seemed to be playing with his own emotions, performed by the "Commander-in-Chief of the Monsters in the World" who was the one hiding the deepest conspiracy fifty years ago, showed an extremely obvious sense of incoherence and weirdness.

Intuitively, Kikyo felt that when facing her, the young man with gray hair seemed to really have a sincere apology towards her...?

Why do you feel sorry?

Kikyo didn't understand.

Moreover, as if to express his apology, as a demon 'highness' who had lived on this land for a long millennium, he was completely defenseless when facing himself, a deceased person who had died decades ago...

The confusion caused by all the inconsistencies and strange feelings also made the weak witch even more confused.

If fifty years ago, this ancient great monster simply wanted to obtain the Four Souls Jade and disguised himself as the "half-demon" of fifty years ago... then what was his motivation now...

The shrine maiden Kikyo is not Inuyasha who always finds it difficult to see the situation clearly. Kikyo knows very well that if the ancient great monster in front of her calls her back again after fifty years and really needs to use her for a certain goal, no matter what the ancient great monster wants to use her for, she is just a dead person living in a false body and has no room to resist the will of this "monster commander-in-chief".

...In other words, if he truly only needed to utilize himself, now deceased, to accomplish some purpose, then the ancient great monster's current bizarre behavior would be practically meaningless...

Although it is difficult to rule out the possibility that there are hidden reasons behind this seemingly meaningless action, these doubts do not represent all the puzzles in Kikyo's heart.

In addition to these, another point that puzzled Kikyo was the matter of the Four Souls Jade...

Since returning to the human world fifty years later, Kikyo has learned, intentionally or unintentionally, that after her death fifty years ago, the Four Souls Jade also disappeared strangely. For a full fifty years, the Four Souls Jade has not appeared on this land again.

Just recently, shortly before she returned to the human world, the Four Souls Jade, which had disappeared for fifty years, strangely reappeared in Maple Village. Then, before many little monsters could rush to Maple Village to snatch the Four Souls Jade, it was said that the Four Souls Jade strangely shattered into countless pieces, scattering across the land...

……

"I don't have any desire to obtain the Four Souls Jade. The Four Souls Jade is useless to me."

"All I care about is its future."

The big monster with gray and white messy hair had a cold and sarcastic smile on his expressionless and indifferent face. He looked at himself who was in a state of confusion and couldn't even hold the Zi bow.

The master of the monsters was indifferent to himself, a weak human.

"As long as this Four Souls Jade exists forever, the fighting surrounding it will never stop."

"Humans and monsters who desire the Four Souls Jade will fight and die forever."

"Kikyo, I know you want to purify this Four Souls Jade and put an end to this sad future that seems meaningless to you."

The ancient monster with gray and shaggy hair spoke indifferently.

"But, from our perspective, why should we end it? Kikyo. Don't you think this future is very interesting?"

"Whether human or youkai, they all lost their minds and killed each other for the sake of the Four Souls Jade."

The young man with gray and shaggy hair, who is the Lord of Monsters and rules over the countless monsters in this land, seems to have finally revealed his indifferent nature.

In his memory, the face of the gentle young man who always had a soft expression disappeared completely from the same face in front of him.

All that was left was the ancient monster with the same appearance as the young man, who was at the top of all the demons and monsters in the world. He looked at weak humans and living beings with indifference that naturally emerged from his nature.

"The strong become swords, the weak become prey. The Four Souls Jade is this future, the perfect seasoning. From the mountains of corpses and seas of blood where humans and monsters slaughter each other, countless evil, dark, and terrifying monsters will be born."

"So, Kikyo, give up..."

"The Four Souls Jade doesn't need you to protect it. It's destined to be passed around in the hands of one human and monster after another, each one craving its terrifying power."

……

Fifty years ago, on that snowy winter day, the cold words of the ancient monster once again surfaced deep in Kikyo's memory.

Although recalling that day of heavy snow fifty years ago was extremely painful for Kikyo, it was also this very painful memory that led to a difficult question...

Even if one denies all the words spoken by the ancient monster, there is one thing that Kikyo can be sure of: its authenticity.

That is what the ancient great monster said, that the Four Souls Jade would be of no use to him.

As the shrine maiden who guarded the Shikon Jade in the past, Kikyo understood the essence of the Shikon Jade, and naturally understood that for an ancient monster like him who had existed for thousands of years, the Shikon Jade itself was indeed useless.

According to the words of the ancient great monster fifty years ago, his purpose was to take away the Four Souls Jade that he was guarding, and let it circulate again in the hands of dark monsters and evil people who coveted the power of the Four Souls Jade, so that the dark and bloodthirsty monsters and evil people would kill each other, giving birth to more numerous, darker, crueler, and more powerful evil monsters.

However, after his death, the Shikon Jade was not pursued by the cruel monsters who longed for the power of the Shikon Jade as the ancient great monsters wished. Instead, it disappeared for fifty years and was not obtained by any monster or human who was obsessed with the power of the Shikon Jade.

The ancient great monster did not realize the future he spoke of.

These strange doubts have caused Platycodon grandiflorum to have a lot of confusion and puzzlement.

My original resolve after leaving the village where I had been living seemed to be slightly shaken by some confusion...

The 'truth' Kikyo had witnessed fifty years ago seemed to have become a little blurry under the strange behavior of the gray-haired young man before her...

...However, even though she was keenly aware of the obvious disharmony and doubts just by watching the strange behavior of the young man with gray hair, the witch's gaze was still filled with coldness.

...In any case, the actions of this ancient monster fifty years ago were all of his own will and there is no excuse for it.

This fact is beyond doubt.

His cold and indifferent gaze fixed unwaveringly on the gray-haired young man with strange behavior in front of him.

...This is the only thing that is absolutely unforgivable!

Volume 6: Thoughts Across Time and Space: Chapter 375: Determination

Fifty years ago, amidst the falling snow, the painful memory of Maple Village being engulfed in flames resurfaced in the depths of the miko's memory, as if it had happened only yesterday...

Closing her eyes, Kikyo tried hard to suppress the sadness and pain in her heart brought about by the painful memories of fifty years ago. She tried hard to maintain a cold face and still stared coldly at the young man with gray hair who seemed a little "at a loss" in front of her.

...trouble.

Faced with Platycodon's unmoved and indifferent attitude, Shang Yang also felt extremely difficult.

Kikyo's heart is still filled with resentment towards herself. This strange silent confrontation is largely because Kikyo knows that her spiritual power and the Demon-Breaking Arrow will have no effect on her and cannot hinder her at all, so she shows a restrained attitude.

If there is even a slight possibility of getting rid of herself, then, even if it means risking her remaining life, Kikyo will not hesitate to drag herself into hell with her.

With Kikyo's keen sense, she must have noticed the suspiciousness of her current actions a long time ago. But for Kikyo, her actions fifty years ago were completely of her own will. Based on this alone, Kikyo will never give up on revenge against her. For her, this is a fact that she can never forgive.

"...It seems that I expected it to be too simple. Explanations alone will not have any effect on Kikyo, who will definitely not believe my words."

Thinking about this, Shang Yang slowly shook his head, and put aside his original intention of explaining everything to Kikyo for the time being.

Although Kikyo may feel confused and puzzled about his strange behavior, her attitude will not change.

If he were to explain to the indifferent Kikyo now, it would probably make Kikyo even more suspicious of his "evil intentions", which would make the situation even more difficult.

However, even if he put aside the idea of ​​explaining it clearly for the time being, Shang Yang was not disappointed.

Although both Ms. Komeiji Jue and Ms. Shana commented that Shang Yang was "very good at pleasing girls", in fact, Shang Yang preferred direct action over sweet talk.

Now realizing that simple explanations seemed to be of no use, the gray-haired master of the Cloud Courtyard calmly broke the current cold standoff between the two.

　"Sorry... huh?!"

Just when he was about to use his power, which far surpassed Kikyo's, to subdue the cold and indifferent witch, an unexpected situation caused Shang Yang to stop unexpectedly and restrain his almost imperceptible tiny movements.

The sharp arrow tip flashed with cold light, and almost before Shang Yang could move, it touched the snow-white neck of the indifferent witch, right at her throat.

"...Uh, there's no need to go that far, right? I'll stop."

Shang Yang was really surprised when faced with the cold-blooded witch who pointed a sharp arrow at his throat without saying a word the moment before he made a move, and he slowly spread his hands.

"…How did you find out?"

"It's just a subconscious response..."

Calmly holding the sharp arrow, the tip of the arrow pressed against her snow-white neck, a hint of cold irony flashed across the frosty face of the weak witch.

"After putting on a show, you then brazenly attack the 'enemy' when they're least prepared. Isn't that your usual method?"

"Then... As expected, the reason they called me back to the human world is because they can still use my remaining soul and this fake body for some ulterior motive."