"S-Sorry! I'll excuse myself for a mont..."
She said a bit flustered, then quickly turned around as if fleeing the scene.
"..."
"..."
In the tranquil forest clearing, only the two of them were left once more, and the air returned to quietude.
"She must care a lot about those children, but only when the Clanging Cauldron falls silent can her soul briefly leave that vicinity. Let her have this night..."
Gu Mo watched as Naoki's figure disappeared down the serene path, awkwardly chuckling as he spoke. Naoki's soul seed bound near the Clanging Cauldron like an earth-bound spirit. The Power that protected her also restrained her, and naturally belonged to the Clanging Cauldron.
So it's not entirely impossible to leave the vicinity of the Clanging Cauldron—
According to external ti, it's once every fifty years; by Penglai Island's ti, there's only one day each year when the Great Cauldron falls silent and its clanging ceases. At this mont, the Power of the Clanging Cauldron vanishes, making the Ti Barrier unable to be maintained.
And since the Power of the Clanging Cauldron vanishes during this brief day, Naoki's soul can naturally temporarily free itself from its bonds... Therefore, during this ti, they can take Naoki's soul to find a new body, and Naoki can move more freely on the island this night.
But—
The Witch seed not to intend to engage with Gu Mo's attempt at small talk.
She stood silently, long eyelashes drooping, without uttering a word since earlier.
"Um... Kikyo, about earlier..." Gu Mo stood in place, took a deep breath, thought it over carefully, and figured there was no avoiding it, so he seriously began to speak.
"... Don't talk about it, it's in the past now."
Kikyo finally showed so reaction, coldly raising her eyes to glance at him, speaking in a tone without the slightest inflection.
She instinctively tightened her grip on the longbow behind her.
If before she was rely displeased and agitated over so thoughts... now, she truly felt an urge to pin the other person to a tree with an arrow.
......
...
In the lakeside village.
"Is it really... Sister Naoki?"
A group of half-demon children surrounded the Witch dressed in a swordsman's attire, with a Cross Star Headband on her head, speaking with a trembling yet hope-filled voice. These harsh days had also been enough for them, and now they finally saw the dawn of better days.
With the Four Fighting Gods turned to ashes...
Even Sister Naoki, who had died long ago to protect them, ca back to life... Even in a different body, there was nothing better than this...
"It's true, I'm back... I'm sorry, everyone, I couldn't protect you." Tears glimred in the corners of her eyes, Naoki's smile mixed with tears as she looked at the remaining children, feeling deeply distressed. Seeing the rows of densely packed houses around, the feeling intensified.
When Penglai Island flourished, there were villages of countless people...
But after the slaughter by those brutal demons, only these few children were left alive on the island now.
"Kikyo?"
A clearly astonished voice ca from afar.
Naoki instinctively looked toward the entrance of the village, discovering a group of strangers standing there, with a man and a woman at the forefront staring at her in bewildernt.
It was, of course, Inuyasha and his group returning toward the village, bewildered after realizing Long Luo had completely vanished and having spent a long ti fighting with air, just in ti to witness this scene...
......
"Boring..."
Farther away on the mountain, observing the happening in the village, Sesshomaru seed rather uninterested, giving his evaluation, and turned to leave, his silver-white hair swaying gracefully in the night wind.
He was quite annoyed with the events of the night. Initially, he ca with the intention to redeem his past sha, but the Four Fighting Gods had t such an unexplainably frustrating end, vanishing without any grand and honorable battle expected. Naturally, this left this noble young man feeling like he'd punched into cotton.
"Lord Sesshomaru, wait for ..."
The girl in the kimono hurriedly pattered her small feet to catch up closely behind him.
Xie Jian also quickly led the reins of the Two-headed Dragon Demon Beast's mount, hurrying to follow. The group's silhouettes gradually faded into the night.
......
...
On the other side.
In the still tranquil forest, though the atmosphere had grown quite subtle, rather cold and oppressive, there's an awkwardness lingering more.
"About the previous matter..." Gu Mo spoke earnestly.
"I told you not to talk about it!" Kikyo furrowed her brows.
Gu Mo seed to either not hear or simply didn't care, and he continued to deliberate and organize his words: "I could actually make excuses, no—I could actually explain..."
"I said stop talking!!" The Witch's brows knitted tightly, coldly staring at the oblivious man. The matter had passed, why must he ntion it repeatedly... moreover, earlier he was clearly unnatural, attempting to act as though nothing happened.
Yet now, he suddenly seed like a changed man, shalessly revisiting old topics... Why could he grow so thick-skinned so quickly!
This left her bewildered and powerless, unsure of how to handle him.
"I had no choice, whenever I talked about anything else, Kikyo, you just ignored ..." Gu Mo finally paused, looking squarely into the eyes of the Witch, spreading his hands, "Only by ntioning this topic do you react, so I naturally keep talking about it."
Earlier he attempted many topics, perhaps bearing a "final confession" ntality, rambling on one thing after another.
From the Four Souls Jade to the Elixir of Immortality, and even all intel about that troubleso Naraku...
Yet it seed pointless; the Witch showed no reaction, and eventually, Gu Mo realized he was performing solo and, after frowning and staring at her for a while, straightforwardly switched topics, starting with the earlier issue.
And now—it's the current situation.
Emmmmm, but it's quite effective...
Isn't it?
Kikyo coolly stared back, and after a long pause, she finally sighed softly, slightly lowering her eyelids: "I heard everything you just said... I'll be cautious, so you don't need to worry too much..." She spoke slowly, as if each word needed determination.
"There are other things that don't need ntioning... you shouldn't... do anything out of pity for ."
After saying this, the Witch lightly turned her head away, no longer looking at him.
"This isn't pity..." Gu Mo frowned, but got cut off after just a sentence.
Kikyo's words seed buried in the falling snow, quietly rging into the darkness, like a soft murmur: "Also, I should thank you, during this ti... I... if you wish to leave, don't carry any burden, after all, what you sought is achieved, is it not?"
He raised an eyebrow in surprise.
At this mont, Kikyo hesitated slightly, then gently added, "Be kinder to Miss Naoki..."
"..."
"..."
A brief silence.
He looked at the Witch before him as if he finally understood sothing, suddenly bursting into laughter: "So it's already fulfilled? I truly didn't know... But since you put it that way, I'll take it as if you agree, Kikyo."
What?
The Witch was slightly stunned, looking at him in bewildernt.
Only to see him extend his hand toward her as if sincerely making yet another invitation.
"Let's go together."
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