Chapter 18: Spirit and Flesh, Human and Demon
The sun crested the horizon the following morning, its pale golden radiance piercing the thin mist that clung to the remote village in Musashi Province.
Hikaru pushed open the wooden door of the guesthouse, stepping out into the crisp air. It was cool, tinged with the scent of damp earth and morning dew. Last night's yokai raid already felt like a distant memory; farmers, carrying hoes and baskets, were already walking toward the fields in twos and threes.
As they passed the guesthouse, they saw the young man standing at the door. He wasn't wearing his hideous crimson Oni mask. His skin was pale, his hair a loose fall of white, yet the face was undeniably that of a young human.
The villagers' steps faltered. Their eyes darted away, a mixture of fear and curiosity warring in their expressions. In the end, they settled for stiff, jerky nods of greeting before hurrying on their way. Life had to go on.
Hikaru paid them no mind. He lifted his head, his gaze drawn toward the shrine.
Above the vermilion torii gate, the leaves of the colossal sacred tree rustled in the morning breeze. On the platform beneath it, a figure in white robes and red hakama stood facing the rising sun.
It was Kikyo.
She was not holding her bow. Instead, her hands were crossed, holding a kagura suzu—a sacred bell adorned with long white paper streamers.
Jingle—
The crisp, clear ring of the bell traveled far in the morning silence. Her eyes were closed as she began to move, treading the sacred Yūho steps, her form flowing in time with the bell's chime.
With each movement, the wide white sleeves of her robes rose, appearing nearly translucent in the morning light, faintly outlining the slender yet supple lines of her shoulders and back. Every time she turned, her crimson hakama swirled open like flowing water, clinging for a stunning moment to the undulating curve of her waist and hips before the hem fell, the shape vanishing back into the deep shadows of the folds.
This was not a dance. It was cultivation.
Hikaru could sense it, a vague and blurry perception at the edge of his awareness. With her movements, infinitesimal specks of faint, drifting light were gathering, drawn from the world around her and merging into that seemingly slender body. There, they were transformed into the vast, scorching power that made every yokai recoil.
That was the source of her spiritual power. Pure, immense, like the sun hanging in the sky.
Hikaru stood there watching for a long time.
It was beautiful. Not just the woman, but the circulation of that power. From his perspective, it was an energy that moved in perfect harmony with heaven and earth—an experience utterly different and entirely opposite to the turbid, chaotic nature of Yao Qi.
He simply watched. And waited.
A few moments later, the sound of the bell gradually ceased. Kikyo lowered the kagura suzu, slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air. The energy surging around her stilled, returning to a state of calm.
She turned, her gaze traveling across the long stone steps to land on Hikaru below.
He started up the stairs. Twenty-seven steps, covered in an instant.
"Morning," Hikaru greeted.
Kikyo gave a slight nod. "How did you sleep last night?"
"I am a yokai; I don't need to sleep," he replied flatly.
Kikyo paused, a flicker of surprise in her eyes as if she had genuinely forgotten. But looking at the human appearance of the 'young man' before her, it was an easy mistake to make.
Hikaru continued, "Of course, if you mean the recovery of my Yao Qi, then thanks to you, I am quite full." He spoke the truth. That offering last night had indeed been very 'filling'.
Kikyo didn't pursue the topic. She simply looked at him, her gaze quiet, seemingly waiting for him to state his purpose.
But Hikaru hadn't come to her with a purpose—he had been more interested in the Shikon Jewel's favorability. Now, however, watching her cultivate, a thought had suddenly sparked in his mind.
A somewhat absurd thought.
He didn't waste time. "I want to learn."
The Oni Samurai, in his human guise, pointed to the kagura suzu in Kikyo's hand, then gestured to her as a whole.
"I want to learn spiritual power."
The wind died.
In Kikyo's cold, clear eyes, an emotion she rarely showed—astonishment—surfaced once again.
"You are a yokai," she stated, her voice sharp and immediate. "Spiritual power is the power to exorcise demons. It is the natural enemy of Yao Qi." She looked at him as if he were a madman. "If spiritual power were generated within a yokai's body, it would be like swallowing burning charcoal. It would serve no purpose other than self-destruction."
"That is for ordinary yokai," Hikaru countered, his expression unchanged. "Although this body is a demon's, my mind, my consciousness, is still human." He shrugged. "Besides, who says water and fire can't coexist? Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. I need to understand how this stuff works, so the next time you shoot an arrow at me, I can at least dodge a few more."
Kikyo fell silent. The reasoning was bizarre. But…
She studied the young Oni Samurai before her. His eyes couldn't be called clear, but they held no malice. There was only pure, unadulterated curiosity. She had seen many human mages and priests who lacked that kind of look.
And yet, he was a demon. A yokai. A very strange yokai.
"Consciousness is indeed the key," Kikyo said after a long moment. She placed her kagura suzu on the stone platform nearby. As if she had already agreed to his request, she began to explain, "The 'Qi' between heaven and earth is divided into the pure and the turbid."
Her voice was cold and clear, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, echoing in the stillness of the empty shrine. Hikaru listened with intense focus. These were theories the original story had never explained in such detail.
"Turbid Qi sinks, gathering to form demons. It governs the physical body, desires, and obsessions. Pure Qi rises, condensing to form spirits. It governs the soul, the will, and faith."
Kikyo looked at Hikaru. "Ordinary demons have chaotic souls and know only how to kill and devour. Thus, they can only absorb Turbid Qi to strengthen their demonic bodies. You are… different."
"Your soul… is very complete," she observed. "It is even more resilient than that of most ordinary people."
It was the truth. As a transmigrator who had already experienced death and rebirth, his mind had been tempered. If it hadn't been stable, he would have collapsed long ago.
"So, I want to try," Hikaru said.
Kikyo pondered for a moment, then seemed to reach a decision. "Reach out your hand."
Hikaru extended his right hand.
Kikyo raised her own, not touching him directly, but hovering it three inches above his palm. "Close your eyes. Perceive your 'intent'."
He closed his eyes as instructed.
The next instant, he felt a warm current of Qi flow from above his palm, drilling into him and traveling up his arm. It was Kikyo's spiritual power.
Hiss—
Hikaru's brow furrowed. It truly hurt. It felt like having boiling water poured directly onto his nerves. The Yao Qi within his body instinctively surged, wanting to counterattack, but in the face of that incredibly pure spiritual power, it was instantly and completely suppressed.
"Don't resist," Kikyo's voice sounded in his ear. "That is the body's instinct. Use your 'intent' to control it."
Hikaru gritted his teeth, forcibly quelling the urge to fight back.
"This isn't right."
Kikyo suddenly took a step forward. She was very close now.
Amidst the breathing his Yao Qi simulated, Hikaru could smell the faint scent on her body. He didn't need to breathe, but he could, just as a corpse shouldn't be able to move, yet he did. The scent on Kikyo wasn't the rouge of ordinary women. It was the lingering fragrance of burnt incense mixed with the clean breath of morning dew. It wasn't perfume, but it was clean to an extreme degree.
A hand pressed against his lower abdomen.
Through his tattered armor and clothing, Hikaru could still clearly feel the warmth of that hand, as well as the distinct shape of her palm. Slender, yet strong.
"Your Qi is too chaotic," Kikyo's voice was devoid of any fluctuation. "The Yao Qi is running wild. Your 'intent' has not unified it."
She raised her other hand and pressed it against his back, creating a pincer-like hold. Two streams of spiritual power surged into him simultaneously, forming a circuit within his body.
"Feel this path," she said.
Hikaru opened his eyes.
He was met with her stunningly beautiful face, mere inches away. Her porcelain-white skin was flawless, and her long eyelashes were lowered, hiding the emotions in her eyes. Their breathing almost intertwined—and though his was simulated, it still existed.
He was a head taller than her. As he looked down, his gaze slipped uncontrollably. Past the slightly open collar of her robes, he saw a glimpse of her delicate, almost transparent collarbone. Beneath that… the snow-white curves of her chest, tightly wrapped in her white kosode, trembled slightly with each breath.
Further down was her hand, pressed against his lower abdomen. Because she was so close, the fabric of her red hakama bunched up against the side of his thigh. He could vaguely feel the warmth and softness of a woman's leg beneath that layer of cloth. He could even imagine the long, firm limbs hidden deep within the hakama, shrouded by layers of fabric, and the deep shadows they would cast.
Hikaru's Adam's apple bobbed.
He was a normal man. Even if his body was cold, his heart was still hot. This posture, this distance… to say he had no thoughts would be a lie.
But his face remained a perfect mask. Not even his eyes betrayed the slightest flicker. The Oni Samurai's deadpan attribute was playing a crucial role at this moment.
"Focus."
Kikyo seemed to notice the slight disorder in his breathing and looked up at him. Her glance was faint, but it was also incredibly sharp, as if it could see right through the skin to the romantic thoughts stirring beneath.
"Your demonic power is flowing too fast," she pointed out.
"Spiritual power entering the body is… stimulating," Hikaru lied without a change in expression. "It hurts a bit."
Kikyo did not expose him, nor could she. Perhaps in her mind, this was indeed just the demonic body's natural rejection of spiritual power. She did not withdraw her hands. Instead, she increased the output of her spiritual power, guiding that faint trace of "Pure Qi" to circulate within Hikaru's body.
"Then let's continue," Kikyo said. "Close your eyes and try to perceive it yourself."
Hikaru closed his eyes again. This time, without her direct guidance, he could only grope blindly, relying on the feeling from that brief instant.
It was difficult. Very difficult.
That Pure Qi was like stars in the night sky; he knew it was there, but he couldn't grasp it no matter how he tried. All the while, the Yao Qi within his body constantly interfered with his perception.
Time passed, bit by bit. The sun gradually rose higher in the sky.
A dull throb started at Hikaru's temple—a side effect of the clash between his Yao Qi and the spiritual power.
"Enough," Kikyo's voice finally sounded. "Let's stop here for today."
Hikaru opened his eyes. He could feel that his physical condition was terrible. The Yao Qi in his body felt like it had been violently stirred, and it was now running wild through his system.
"Your Yao Qi is in chaos," Kikyo said. "You will need to rest for a few days to recover."
"...Mn." Hikaru nodded.
Though he had failed, he didn't feel disappointed. He hadn't expected to succeed on the first try anyway. And that period of time just now…
Cough.
Better not to think about it.
"Go back and rest." Kikyo stood up and brushed the non-existent dust from her clothes.
"Shall we continue tomorrow?" Hikaru asked.
Kikyo glanced at him. "You still want to continue?"
"Of course," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I already said I want to learn. How could I give up after just one try?"
Kikyo was silent for a moment.
"...Suit yourself."
She turned and walked toward the main shrine hall, her white robes and red hakama particularly striking in the sunlight.
Hikaru watched her retreating figure.
While his purpose for learning spiritual power was indeed to become stronger, if it meant he could be in such close contact with Kikyo every day…
Then it wouldn't be a loss.
He shook his head, suppressing the thought, and turned to walk back toward the empty house at the edge of the village.
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