"I'm heading back to the village..."

Kikyo covered the basket again and said blandly.

"Let's go together, it seems there are no demons on this mountain peak." Gu Mo looked at the sky and then stood up resolutely, brushing off the grass and dust on his clothes.

The witch glanced at him calmly and said nothing, she merely turned and slowly walked towards the village. Already familiar with Kikyo's way of doing things, Gu Mo didn't mind, naturally following her at a distance of several paces, moving towards the village one after the other.

Unconsciously, the sun had begun to slightly incline from its highest point, not very obvious yet, but indicating the time had already passed midday, transitioning into the afternoon. Half the day seemed to have gone by like this, and he appeared to not have done much.

While feeling leisurely, he also had a sense of unavoidable anxiety.

It wasn't that he felt like he was wasting time, but that he hadn't accomplished anything, made no substantial progress... Of course, it wasn't about gaining experience from fighting demons; Gu Mo wasn't impatient in that regard. What he was truly conflicted about was Kikyo.

He glanced quickly at the witch ahead, then withdrew his gaze, sighing inwardly.

Unlike Hidechika, who was so easy to lean on back then, Kikyo was presently hard to bring into the team. Hidechika didn't want to engage with the world purely because he was used to a solitary lifestyle, due to habit. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been easily persuaded to set on a path sweeping through the Warring States.

But Kikyo is different, her current mindset is apparent... avoidance.

Like an ostrich, somewhat like covering one's ears while stealing a bell, thinking the village can accommodate her, planning to live here serenely forever, ignoring everything outside... whether it be the Four Souls Jade she can't let go of or the people she deeply resents.

If it really were possible, such a tranquil life might be considered a form of compensation by fate for her...

But that's impossible, after all, just as the trees desire peace yet the wind doesn't stop, the Four Souls Jade is a massive whirlpool no one can escape from, let alone someone like her who's entwined in its cause and effect and whose fate with the Jade is doomed to be eternal. As long as she's in this world, even in death she can't escape this destiny...

Hmmmm... as long as she's in this world.

Gu Mo seemed to have thought of something, raising his eyes to look at the witch's back ahead, a strange gleam passing through his eyes.

"Is there something you want?"

Her inspiration being overly sharp, although her normal sensory perception was just at a human level, Kikyo stopped ahead and turned to look at him, slightly furrowing her brow, "Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"There's something I would like to mention..."

Gu Mo maintained his composure, his mind quickly turning over various thoughts, while outwardly appearing to be seriously contemplating and carefully considering.

"Go ahead and speak..." Kikyo said calmly, then seeing his hesitant demeanor, after a bit of pondering, she seemed to have thought of something as well, "Are you planning to leave?"

Gu Mo blinked, then nodding in agreement, "I am considering it. Recently, the demons coming to this village have decreased, unlike a few days ago when there were so many; those able to sense the Jade's presence must have mostly come and gone by now..."

He was intending to probe Kikyo's thoughts.

Was it truly this matter? The witch still slightly furrowed her brow. She didn't want to leave the village, but it was hard to watch someone leave with the Four Souls Jade Fragment and do nothing... But what could she do? She couldn't ask him to hand over the fragment, nor could she take it herself.

First, she subconsciously avoided it, always unwilling to deal with matters of the Four Souls Jade, feeling that by stepping in, she'd deny her original thoughts, exposing her habit of avoidance; secondly, it's her character, she's too reasonable, too principled, holds herself to too high a standard.

Just as Gu Mo thought, his current relationship with the witch was quite delicate—

They weren't enemies, so they couldn't clash; yet they weren't quite friends either, making it impossible to make demands.

"..."

"..."

The witch was clearly pondering something, and Gu Mo said nothing, patiently waiting; he mainly wanted to see her current considerations and plans, see if there was a chance to lure her away... he didn't deny having selfish motives, after all, who doesn't?

"...Are you going to search for other Four Souls Jade Fragments?" After a long, serious reflection, Kikyo slowly asked.

"Depending on the situation, if we happen to come across them..." Gu Mo shook his head, not particularly obsessed with the Four Souls Jade. Besides, the thing has shattered into countless pieces, appearing in the story as twenty-two fragments, with others unknown that fell into Naraku's hands.

It seems plenty, but scattered across the lands, the density makes it particularly daunting. Specifically searching for them would be like looking for a needle in a haystack... He didn't have the main cast's time, and honestly, if he was to treasure hunt, there were better treasures than the Four Souls Jade Fragments.

It's not that the Four Souls Jade isn't good, but unless all fragments are gathered to form a complete version, it couldn't compare to many equally mythical artifacts... though those too tend to be just as troublesome to locate, difficult to find.

Even though he vaguely remembered the plot, the plot didn't equate to knowing the exact map, so there was no way he could find the corresponding location just based on the scenes in his mind within the real world.

Take for example, he knew about the existence of Maple Village and many things that happened there, but... where exactly was Maple Village? Never having been there, he only knew of its existence but not where it actually existed.

This was quite a frustrating matter. Even though he knew the Cloudy Fang was lying in the shrine of Himura Kagome's house gathering dust, not knowing where Maple Village was meant he couldn't find the Bone-Devouring Well, so he could only keep it as a thought.

The witch lowered her eyelids slightly. The other party hadn't outright refused, which meant they would still go searching for the Four Souls Jade fragments.

"It's best not to do that. With each Four Souls Jade fragment, the power it brings grows stronger, and likewise... the more the corruption intensifies, the heavier the backlash you'll have to bear."

She said this softly and then raised her eyes to look directly at the young man opposite.

The person opposite nodded slightly as well: "I know this... but actually, Kikyo, you should understand too, the fragments of the Four Souls Jade are attracted to each other. Even if I don't go searching for the other fragments, others will inevitably come with different fragments. Even if I stayed in this village and didn't go out, it would be the same."

At least this time, it wasn't just an "Oh" in response.

The witch casually released her delicate hands from the tightly gripped bow, yet she couldn't help but feel a bit irritated by the other party's sharp words.

It was indeed such a reasoning. Even if this person didn't collect fragments, other ambitious individuals would be collecting them, and eventually, one day, the peace of this village would be broken...

"If you really can't let it go, how about we head out together, Kikyo? You can purify the Four Souls Jade too. We can partner up, and this way, it's like you're watching over the jade so its power won't be misused..."

At this moment, Gu Mo spoke in a joking tone, issuing an invitation that was somewhat half-truthful.

He had been carefully observing the subtle changes in the witch's expressions and eyes. Although she still maintained a calm and cold demeanor, he could clearly detect a ripple in her emotions, perhaps a wavering of her original thoughts. It seemed like a good opportunity, so he boldly extended the invitation, conveniently clicked on the team-up option under the witch's ID.

This option was actually of no practical use. He had tried it many times. The system's criteria for team formation were if the target intended to join his camp, to accompany him and fight alongside, within a certain range, then the system would consider joining the team.

Regardless of its utility, at least there was a psychological effect. Like how some people like to chant spells, set up arrays, or burn incense and bathe before drawing cards, believing it would increase their luck and allow them to draw SSRs in one shot... Gu Mo had this same mentality, hoping that clicking once would get Kikyo to join the team.

Unfortunately, like people who put in a lot of useless effort yet still shipwreck, it was the same for him.

"I have nothing to let go of!"

Upon hearing Gu Mo's words, the witch's expression changed slightly. She spoke coldly and turned to walk forward, no longer lingering.

"..."

"..."

"...Is she mad?" Fisting his hand under his chin, Gu Mo watched Kikyo's distancing back and was a little uncertain. Though his words were probing, they shouldn't have been overboard, right? Given Kikyo's temperament, could she be angry so easily?

Or... is she mad at herself?

......

The following journey was somewhat silent.

Gu Mo didn't know what to say. The witch seemed to have lost interest in conversing further; she stopped discussing the previous topic and didn't inquire if he was leaving the village... Though it seemed unchanged from usual behavior, the distant and cold demeanor seemed even more pronounced.

Messed up...

But did Kikyo have such a vulnerable side too? That she would think about escaping, deceiving herself, refusing to face reality...

With these thoughts stirring in his mind, Gu Mo sighed softly inside and dismissed the unrealistic ideas he had. Perhaps because he wasn't holding high expectations, he didn't feel too disappointed now. After all, some things couldn't be forced. If it can't be done, then so be it.

In a couple of days, he'll set off, first take a look at this world, then see what he can do here...

Musing internally, Gu Mo calculated what he could accomplish. Because of the Four Souls Jade fragments on his body, wandering around might lead him to encounter the protagonist team or Naraku, but it shouldn't be a big deal. At this point, Inuyasha probably couldn't even perform the basic "Wind Injury".

As for Naraku, at the moment, he still had to stay undercover, because his collection of Four Souls Jade fragments wasn't extensive, and his transformation wasn't completed. Unlike later when he was audacious, and each clone could nearly wipe out the protagonist team, so it probably wasn't much of a problem.

If things didn't go well, they could wait until nightfall for a proper showdown...

That's what Gu Mo thought.

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