"Is it an undead spirit?"
Kikyo slowly walked up to Retsu's headless corpse. Her cold gaze swept over the body on the ground. Sensing the aura of the deceased emanating from him, she murmured softly.
"Was it resurrected by the power of the shikon jewel?" Her gaze fell upon the ninja tool pouch at Retsu's waist.
Even when she was still in the Village, she had sensed the presence of something carrying the shikon jewel's aura approaching her.
As the Priestess who guarded the shikon jewel during her lifetime, she could clearly sense its aura.
Once it got close, she noticed the death energy on its body, which did not belong to a living being. It must be an evil entity coveting the power of the shikon jewel, so she shot a Demon-Slaying Arrow without hesitation to completely purify it.
Kikyo squatted down, and her slender fingers reached into the ninja tool pouch. After fumbling for a moment, she pulled out a bamboo tube. The aura emanating from inside was unmistakable; the shikon jewel was hidden within.
"Hmm?" Just as she was about to open the bamboo tube, her brow suddenly furrowed. "Why is there still the aura of the shikon jewel?"
Puzzled, she reached into the ninja tool pouch again. A moment later, she pulled out an identical bamboo tube.
She opened the first bamboo tube and poured its contents into her palm. Several fragments shimmering with faint light met her eyes. "This is... a shard of the shikon jewel?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Kikyo's eyes as she muttered to herself, "Why? Why did the shikon jewel, which should have vanished with my death, reappear? And why is it shattered like this?"
She casually tossed aside the empty bamboo tube and opened the second one. The moment the tube opened, a dense wave of evil energy surged out.
"A polluted shard of the shikon jewel? Was it sealed?" Kikyo looked at the severely contaminated shard in her palm, frowning even harder.
She immediately channeled the pure Spiritual Power within her body. A soft white light appeared at her fingertips, and the shard, corrupted by evil energy, was quickly purified, restoring its original clarity.
"Why did the shikon jewel become like this..." She looked at the eight fragments in her palm, her eyes filled with confusion.
The memories of her life intertwined with the reality before her, making it difficult for her to sort out her thoughts.
She put the fragments back into the bamboo tube, closed the lid, and was about to tuck it away when a cold hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her movement.
"Taking other people's things without permission isn't a good habit, Miss Priestess."
A mocking voice came from the "corpse" on the ground. Kikyo was startled, and a large amount of Spiritual Power instantly erupted from her palm as she tried to force the other party back, while simultaneously looking up sharply.
She saw that the head of the "evil entity," which had been shattered by the Demon-Slaying Arrow, had actually reformed. Only parts of its cheek were still missing, rapidly healing as the surrounding grayish-white dust gathered.
At this moment, the person was looking at her with interest through a pair of gray-black eyes, which were full of amusement.
As Kikyo's Spiritual Power erupted, the person took the opportunity to release her wrist.
She seized the chance to quickly stand up and retreat, but suddenly felt her hand empty—the bamboo tube she had been holding had been snatched away by the other party with extreme speed.
Without time to think, she immediately pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back, notched it to her bow, and aimed it at Retsu, who had already stood up from the ground.
At this moment, he was unhurriedly placing the bamboo tube back into the ninja tool pouch, his expression calm, as if the person whose head had just been shattered was not him.
"Who are you?" The bow and arrow in Kikyo's hand steadily locked onto the target, her tone icy cold.
"You were the one who attacked me first, and now you're asking who I am?" Retsu sized up the Priestess before him, a flash of admiration in his eyes. Hearing her question, he retorted irritably.
This was the first time he had seen this legendary, ill-fated Priestess with his own eyes. Her cold, stunningly beautiful face, framed by the red and white Priestess robes, made her look both holy and distant.
Aside from the vastly different hairstyle and temperament, her appearance was very similar to Kagome's. It was no wonder Grandma Kaede and Inuyasha mistook Kagome for Kikyo the first time they saw her.
"As a Priestess, isn't it normal for me to eliminate a demon like you?" Kikyo sneered, not lowering her guard, and continued pointing the arrow at him. "I could sense the death energy and evil energy on you from far away."
"Heh heh." Retsu chuckled softly, his tone malicious. "If I'm a demon, then what are you? The evil energy and resentment on you are far heavier than mine. Isn't that right, Miss Priestess... no, Miss Kikyo?"
Hearing him call out her name accurately, Kikyo's expression shifted slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure: "I don't know how you learned my name, but what I must do as a Priestess is to send you, who clings to the mortal world, back to where you belong."
Before her words finished, the bowstring in her hand suddenly released, and the arrow transformed into a shooting star, carrying immense Demon-Slaying Power, shooting straight towards Retsu's face.
Facing the whistling arrow, Retsu simply raised his hand slightly. The next second, a pale blue Susanoo arm appeared out of thin air.
With a light flick of his wrist, the arrow, imbued with the Priestess's Spiritual Power, was easily knocked away, embedding itself into a distant tree trunk with a "thunk," its fletching still vibrating.
"You talk as if you weren't resurrected from the dead yourself." Retsu looked at her, his tone slightly mocking. "We are both the same. Your obsession with the mortal world is no weaker than mine."
The hand Kikyo used to grip the bow paused slightly, and the aura around her dimmed a little.
Just as the opponent had said, her current identity was merely that of a deceased person clinging to the world.
"I just want to live peacefully in this Village. Don't bother me." She put away her bow and arrow, her expression returning to its usual coldness, and turned to walk towards the Village.
How could Retsu let her go?
If he remembered correctly, Kikyo wouldn't stay in this Village for long. She would soon encounter Inuyasha and Kagome while collecting dead souls, and the ensuing love triangle drama between the "current and former" could be more interesting than any play.
He certainly couldn't miss such an entertaining scene.
He remembered that in the plot, the resurrected Kikyo was utterly defeated, and Big Sister Leader Kagome called the dog back with one dominating shout.
Thinking of this, a wicked smile curled his lips, and he quickly followed her. "I really don't mean any harm! How about this: I'll follow you temporarily to prove I'm a good person."
"Absolutely not!" Kikyo suddenly stopped, raised her bow and arrow again, and watched him warily. "You are an undead being; staying in the Village will frighten ordinary people. Furthermore, you have collected so many shards of the shikon jewel; I absolutely don't believe you are a good person."
Hearing this, Retsu immediately took out the bamboo tube containing the shards of the shikon jewel from his ninja tool pouch and tossed it casually toward Kikyo. "I'll let you keep this for now. Surely you believe me now?"
Kikyo subconsciously reached out and caught the bamboo tube, standing frozen on the spot. She never expected the other party to hand over the shards of the shikon jewel so easily.
One must know, this was a treasure sought after by countless demons and humans alike.