They could only sense those lingering traces of human life.
In their eyes, this was a priestess who had killed seven people in the middle of the night, and was now standing in the corpse-ashes as if nothing had happened.
Tsubaki's words echoed in their minds—
Kikyo's lips parted, but seeing the anger in Momiji's eyes and the fear in Botan's, she confirmed that such looks could not be changed by a few words.
Because they had already 'confirmed' everything they had heard from their senior sister.
Preconceived prejudices, combined with the so-called 'evidence' they had witnessed with their own eyes.
Explanations were futile.
"..."
Kikyo did not speak; she simply tightened her grip on her longbow, a faint chill flashing through her pitch-black eyes.
And further away on the southern mountain path.
In the shadows of the bushes, Tsubaki stood there, her gaze passing over the shoulders of her two junior sisters to look at Kikyo.
She smiled.
A silent, smug smile.
The first step.
Was a success.
But Tsubaki's smugness lasted only a second.
Because the next second... Kikyo suddenly drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and fired it straight at her!
Explanations were useless.
However, a priestess never needed to explain; she only needed to... exorcise demons.
In the words of Kanbe Hikaru, the demons in one's heart are also demons.
They must be exorcised.
Tsubaki: "!?"
Pfft—!
The arrow grazed the trunk of an ancient pine on the ridge of the northern hill, and the moment it struck, the spiritual power exploded, blasting the bowl-thick pine tree in half.
The broken trunk crashed down, kicking up a sky full of pine needles and debris.
Momiji and Botan turned back simultaneously, their faces full of astonishment.
They didn't understand why Kikyo had suddenly fired an arrow into the mountain forest behind her—there was nothing there, at least nothing within their range of perception.
But the next second.
A sharp cry came from deep within the bushes.
A figure was thrown out by the residual spiritual power from the falling pine tree, tumbling and scrambling as she fell onto the gravel slope of the hill.
White robe, red hakama.
Priestess attire.
On her beautiful face, that carefully cultivated composure shattered into pieces.
Tsubaki knelt on one knee on the gravel, her left hand supporting her on the ground, her right hand clutching her shoulder, which was numb from the shockwave of spiritual power. Her wide sleeves were covered in pine needles and dirt, and a few strands of black hair were plastered to her forehead, which was damp with cold sweat.
That face, which could still be considered exquisite, now, paired with her extremely disheveled appearance, actually looked somewhat comical.
But in this moment, Tsubaki only felt lingering fear.
That arrow just now—if she hadn't set up a Barrier where she was, she would have been severely injured on the spot, if not killed.
She looked up and saw Kikyo standing in the clearing thirty zhang away.
The longbow was still held in the shooting posture, the vibration of the bowstring not yet fully ceased.
Those pitch-black eyes were looking at her coldly, from a position of superiority.
There was no anger, no questioning, only a calmness that sent a chill down Tsubaki's spine.
No, that's not right, it shouldn't be like this!
Kikyo is very powerful, Tsubaki admitted that, but in her impression, this woman was also lonely, longing for recognition... She shouldn't be so composed...
Could it be because of that demon!?
"Sen... Senior Sister?"
Momiji's voice was the first to break.
She looked at the disheveled figure on the gravel slope, and then at Kikyo's calm, unruffled face.
The inertia of the thinking that had originally formed in her mind began to crack.
Senior Sister said Kikyo was a fallen priestess, said she was colluding with demons.
But Senior Sister—why was she hiding in the forest?
Why not stand out openly and honestly?
Why, when forced out by Kikyo's arrow, was the expression on her face not anger, but—guilt?
"Senior Sister, are you okay!"
Botan was more direct, lifting her hakama and preparing to run up the slope.
But Tsubaki had already stood up, quickly adjusting her expression.
This woman's talent for deception was indeed far beyond that of ordinary people—in just a split second, concern and anxiety reappeared on that beautiful face, as if the dishevelment from just a moment ago had never happened.
No matter what, she had to continue!
"Momiji, Botan!"
Tsubaki's voice was urgent and earnest, carrying the unique tenderness and concern of a senior sister for her junior sisters.
As she brushed the dirt off her clothes, she walked quickly down the gravel slope, approaching the two junior sisters.
"Are you two hurt? I was monitoring nearby just now, and sure enough, Kikyo—"
She raised her hand and pointed to the ashes.
"Do you see? What remains in those ashes is the aura of humans!"
Tsubaki even squeezed out a trace of tears, her voice trembling, like a bystander who had witnessed a tragedy.
"She used her spiritual power to burn seven people to ashes... I wanted to stop her, but she discovered me—"
"She wanted to kill me to silence me!"
These words were said with tears and sorrow.
If one hadn't seen with their own eyes how she was hiding in the bushes peeking just moments ago, anyone would have been moved.
Momiji's fists clenched.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between Tsubaki and Kikyo.
Her senior sister's words and the scene before them did indeed match up in part—there was human aura in the ashes, which was a fact she could perceive; Kikyo had indeed fired an arrow, and Tsubaki had indeed been injured.
But the other part—
If her senior sister had come to stop her, why not appear directly?
Why hide in the bushes?
What was the difference in posture between a priestess who came to 'monitor' and one who came to 'peek'?
Momiji couldn't say.
But that sense of dissonance, like a thin thorn, pricked at her intuition.
"Is what Senior Sister said true...?"
Botan also asked in a low voice, her tone clearly wavering.
She wanted to believe her senior sister, but the way she had rolled out of the bushes just now—really didn't look like a righteous monitor.
Kikyo watched it all.
Those pitch-black eyes swept over Tsubaki's feigned sorrowful face, then landed on Momiji and Botan's confused eyes.
Tsubaki was waiting for her to refute.
Waiting for her to explain in a fluster.
Waiting for her to show a flaw.
Then she would use another round of rhetoric to twist all defenses into'sophistry'.
This was the battlefield Tsubaki excelled at—the battlefield of language, the battlefield of manipulation.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"