"I want to see an old acquaintance and settle some past grievances." Kikyo gazed at the swaying shadows of the trees outside the window, a hint of distant memory flashing in her eyes as she suddenly spoke, breaking the silence of the treehouse.
"Inuyasha?" Retsu raised an eyebrow with undisguised curiosity.
"Speaking of which, I've always been curious. Inuyasha is with Kagome now, but Kagome is your reincarnation. Do you think he's always been in love with the same person, or has he moved on and is now playing both sides?"
[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name; for reliable Taiwan novels, look for us.]
"..." Kikyo turned her face away, giving him a faint glance, her lips pressed tightly together in silence.
Clearly, this question had also plunged her into silence, leaving her with no answer.
Retsu, however, didn't notice the subtle change in her expression. His "straight man" trait from being single across two lifetimes was fully active as he grew more enthusiastic about the topic:
"Hey, since Kagome is your reincarnation, which one of you is the real 'you' now?
If Kagome ends up with Inuyasha, would that count as you continuing your past romance after reincarnating, or has Inuyasha long forgotten the deceased you and turned to love someone else?"
He threw out a series of questions to himself, completely failing to notice that Kikyo's face had already darkened:
"If I successfully help you resurrect, do you plan to fight Kagome for Inuyasha, or will you choose to let go? But then again, fighting your own reincarnation for a man—isn't that just competing with yourself?"
This "death-seeking" interrogation almost made Kikyo lose her cool composure. She quietly clenched her fists, her knuckles turning slightly white, feeling a strong urge to punch him.
But in the end, she held back, only rubbing her aching forehead. She simply ignored him, stood up, and walked straight toward the door.
At the same time, several pure white Soul Reapers flew out from the forest, landing lightly beside Kikyo and steadily lifting her body.
"Do you need me to go with you?" Seeing Kikyo about to leave, Retsu finally stopped his questioning and asked.
"No need." Kikyo paused in mid-air and turned to look at him, her voice still cold but firm. "This is a grievance between him and me; I should settle it personally. Rest here; I will come find you later."
With those words, the Soul Reapers carried her away, and her figure soon disappeared deep into the dense forest.
"Going to see Inuyasha and Kagome without taking me? That won't do!" Watching her receding back, Retsu's lips curled into a sly, mischievous smile, already planning to "cause some trouble."
Or perhaps influenced by his past life, after spending these few days together, he realized he seemed to have fallen for this tragic Priestess.
To prevent Inuyasha from falling into the pain of playing both sides, he decided to go and salvage the ship.
He remembered that in the original plot, in the evening, Kikyo would encounter Kagome, who had accidentally entered her Barrier, along with the waiting Inuyasha; the three would have their first face-to-face meeting.
In that instance, Kikyo even silenced Kagome.
He felt this was too unfair to Kagome. How could Big Sister Leader Kagome suffer such a grievance?
However, he wasn't in a hurry, because when he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Kikyo into the treehouse last night, he had quietly left a Flying Thunder God Mark on her.
No matter where she was, even if she set up layers of Barriers, as long as the distance wasn't too great, he could instantly reach her side.
He had originally planned to take a stroll nearby during this time, but a thought suddenly struck him:
"Wait, Kikyo no longer needs to rely on dead souls to maintain her body now. The plot has long since deviated from its original track."
Thinking of this, Retsu gave up the idea of wandering around. He leaped down from the treehouse entrance, his figure darting through the forest as agilely as a leopard, quietly following behind Kikyo.
"Speaking of which, I really need a flying mount for traveling."
As Retsu moved through the forest, recalling the sight of Kikyo being carried by the Soul Reapers, he suddenly thought of that cat demon, Karan.
"I forgot to ask if Karan can fly. Logically, since Sesshomaru can fly as a Dog Demon, Karan, being from the Panther Tribe, should be able to fly too."
But imagining the scene of himself standing on Karan while flying felt strangely hilarious, so he quickly shook his head:
"Forget it, I shouldn't bother that cat demon. Even if I made her transform into her leopard cat form, she probably wouldn't want to be a means of transportation. When I have time later, I'll just catch a gentler flying demon."
---
Meanwhile, in an open space by the river, Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippō were sitting together resting.
On a small path not far away, a Young Monk was slowly walking while supporting the injured Master Harumi.
After Kikyo and Retsu left last night, the two were taken back to the Village by the villagers to have their wounds simply bandaged; after staying for one night, they set off early this morning for a nearby Castle Town to find a doctor for treatment.
The Young Monk spotted Inuyasha's group resting by the river and, assuming they were ordinary travelers, didn't pay much attention, continuing to support Master Harumi as they walked forward.
But as they passed by Inuyasha's group, he instinctively turned his head to take a look.
At that moment, he suddenly spotted the woman from last night among the group. His face instantly turned pale, and he let out a terrified scream: "Ah—!"
The sudden scream startled Kagome and Shippō. Kagome quickly pulled Shippō into her arms and hid behind Inuyasha, looking at the screaming monk with a face full of terror.
Miroku also immediately raised his khakkhara, his expression becoming alert.
Inuyasha was stunned for a moment. Watching the two frantically fleeing while pulling Master Harumi along, he exchanged a glance with Miroku and immediately leaped after them: "Hey! Why are you running?"
Since they were carrying an injured monk, the two weren't running very fast and were soon blocked by Inuyasha.
The Young Monk's legs gave out, and he fell to the ground along with Master Harumi. His face was filled with terror as he stammered, "D-Demon..."
"Let me handle this, Inuyasha," Miroku said as he caught up.
Under Miroku's patient questioning, the misunderstanding was gradually cleared up.
The group sat back together, and Inuyasha was the first to ask, "You said you encountered a demon?"
"Yes," Master Harumi said after catching his breath, his gaze falling on Kagome with a complex expression. "One of them looked very much like this young lady."
"Does the Master mean that the demon resembles Miss Kagome?" Miroku asked from the side.
"Yes, she appeared to be a Priestess, yet she was surrounded by a dense evil energy. She is a truly terrifying existence."
Master Harumi's face was still pale as he recalled the scene.
"A Priestess? A Priestess who looks just like me..." Kagome was shocked.
"Was your injury caused by her?"
Miroku looked at the wound on Master Harumi's chest and asked with concern.
"Not by her personally, but by one of her subordinates."
Master Harumi recalled the man's two attacks, his eyes full of gravity.
"He was a man dressed as a Samurai, incredibly strong—he defeated me almost instantly. But he was definitely not human; he's likely something like a Shikigami that the Priestess had tamed."
"Since he wanted to kill you, how did you escape?" Inuyasha asked curiously.
"That Shikigami was already about to deliver the killing blow when the Priestess spoke up and stopped him." Master Harumi paused, then as if suddenly remembering something, he quickly added, "Oh, and her name is Kikyo."
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