Higurashi Shrine was located atop a small hill within the Tokyo city limits.
It had been passed down for at least three to four hundred years and was the residence of the heroine, Airi (Kagome).
When Li Xia arrived, one of the wooden buildings in the shrine compound appeared to have caught fire, and thick black smoke was billowing into the sky.
"What's going on?"
Li Xia froze for a moment before quickly climbing the dozens of steps leading up the hill toward the Higurashi Shrine.
The fire was secondary. What mattered most was confirming whether this world was truly the Inuyasha universe he suspected it to be.
Once he reached the top of the hill, Li Xia looked toward the rising smoke.
There, a wooden house with a partially collapsed roof was gradually being consumed by flames. Though the fire was still small if left unchecked, it would soon engulf the entire building—and possibly spread throughout the whole shrine.
Seeing this, Li Xia immediately shouted, trying to alert anyone inside the shrine.
However, it seemed no one was home. Airi's family appeared to be out, as no one responded to his calls. Yet he saw the front door of the two-story main building was left ajar—something that wouldn't happen if the family had gone out. People don't usually leave their doors open like that.
Given the period—1996, to be exact—handy communication tools like cell phones hadn't become common yet.
So calling for help with a mobile device was out of the question.
That left only one option: the landline.
Without hesitation, Li Xia bypassed both the building with the sealed well and the half-collapsed, burning warehouse and rushed toward the two-story house.
On the way, he passed by a sacred tree over twenty meters tall.
On its trunk, he saw a scar the size of a washbasin that hadn't yet fully healed.
The moment he laid eyes on the sacred tree and that familiar scar, he was certain:
This was indeed the Inuyasha universe he knew.
But with that confirmation came a flood of confusion.
"What's going on? If this is the Higurashi Shrine from Inuyasha, why is it suddenly on fire?"
"If it wasn't an accidental fire… could it be a youkai's doing?"
"But in the manga and anime from my past life, there was no incident of the Higurashi Shrine being attacked or burned like this…"
Puzzled, he rushed into the Higurashi home through the open front door, found the landline in the living room, and called the fire department—quickly describing the situation.
After the call, he soaked himself from head to toe with cold water, then grabbed a metal basin filled with water and ran back to the burning warehouse, preparing to fight the fire the old-fashioned way.
To be precise, to rescue someone.
As expected, the Higurashi family wasn't absent—they were likely trapped inside the burning warehouse.
And by now, Li Xia had a pretty good idea of when this was taking place.
The Higurashi family had indeed been attacked through the Bone-Eater's Well by Centipede Woman and Yura of the Hair in the early episodes of the series. However, those attacks had caused minimal damage.
The real threat in the modern world came from a different youkai—the Flesh-Faced Monster (Niku Menmen).
Sure enough—
Just as Li Xia approached the burning warehouse and splashed the basin of water onto the flames, a floating mask emerged from the fire and, swaying in the air, suddenly gave up its original target and flew straight at him:
"Give me a body… Give me a body…!"
That mask was the true form of the youkai known as Flesh-Faced Monster.
Its stiff, sinister face had a long scar across its right eye and a deep cut across its left mouth—a terrifyingly eerie appearance.
"So it is this creepy thing…"
The moment Li Xia saw it, his expression turned serious.
In his past life, this particular youkai had left a deep psychological scar on him when he first watched the Inuyasha anime as a child.
For a long time after, he couldn't even look at masks without feeling uneasy.
And now, that childhood nightmare was flying straight at him in real life. How could he possibly stay calm?
If he remembered correctly, this youkai's abilities were extremely dangerous to normal people:
It could fly freely, giving it a massive advantage against humans.
Its face could split open down the middle, revealing rows of sharp fangs—its primary method of attack.
It could latch onto someone's face, consume their brain, and take over their body. After possessing enough bodies, it could split and multiply, turning its slimy form into a devouring mass.
The more it ate, the stronger it became.
Fortunately, this version of the Flesh-Faced Monster hadn't yet found a host body.
So it couldn't multiply or devour others yet, and its combat ability was currently limited and one-dimensional.
He could ignore point three for now.
"Watch out! Don't let that mask stick to your face!"
From within the burning wooden house, a weak, elderly voice called out.
It was Airi's grandfather.
The old man had noticed the warehouse was on fire and rushed to check. But he discovered that the fire had been caused by a sealed mask youkai that had been imprisoned by his ancestors.
For some unknown reason, the ancient seal had suddenly failed, allowing the youkai to break free—and then it attacked him.
Amid the struggle, Airi's grandfather had been pinned down by a collapsed beam, trapping his leg and leaving him helpless to do anything but wait for rescue.
He had honestly thought he was done for—until someone noticed the fire and rushed over.
Although he couldn't see what was happening outside, he could hear sounds of movement, and so he did his best to call out a warning.
Li Xia, on his end, had no time or energy to respond. He quickly pulled out six talismans he had previously crafted and carried close to his body. These six talismans were:
Power Talisman (大力符)
Agility Talisman (迅敏符)
Exorcism Talisman (辟邪符)
Divine Wind Talisman (神风符)
The Power Talisman, as the name implied, could significantly enhance his strength—he slapped this onto his right arm.
The Agility Talisman used to boost reflexes and attack speed, he placed on his left cheek.
The Exorcism Talismans, which could repel evil to some extent, he used in two places:
One on his right cheek, to guard against being possessed by the Flesh-Faced Monster.
Another on his metal washbasin, so that if things got out of hand and he couldn't beat the mask demon, he could use it to cover his face and protect himself.
After all, there's no shame in being a turtle hiding in its shell when survival's on the line.
Finally, the two Divine Wind Talismans, which greatly increased speed and mobility, stuck onto his legs.
Using five talismans in one go was a clear sign of how seriously Li Xia took his first encounter with a demon. And at the same time, he was quietly heartbroken—after all, it had taken him nearly ten years to gather just a little over a hundred usable low-tier talismans.
As the demonic mask flew straight at his face, Li Xia didn't retreat—instead, he charged forward, meeting it head-on.
Raising the washbasin, he swung it fiercely at the Flesh-Faced Monster.
Though his talismanic techniques weren't fully mastered, his physical strength was nothing to scoff at.
For one, the elders of the Li Clan in the peninsula didn't just train their descendants in talismanic arts but also placed heavy emphasis on physical conditioning.
And for another, Li Xia himself had always understood how important a strong body was—he knew well the weaknesses of mages. That's why ever since building his foundation at the age of five or six, he'd never slacked off, diligently following the Li Clan's body-tempering methods.
By the time he was twelve or thirteen, his foundation was solid, and he even increased his training load.
When it came to techniques, he might not match the elite of his generation.
But in terms of physique and agility, he could easily hold his own against any so-called family prodigy.
So—
The freshly unsealed Flesh-Faced Monster, who had just battled Airi's grandfather and had nearly depleted its demonic energy, was at its weakest.
And then—smash.
"THUMP!"
The sinister mask was struck head-on by the heavy blow from the washbasin, its form visibly warped from the impact.
At the same time, the Exorcism Talisman attached to the basin ignited in a burst of flame, turning to ash.
The masked demon groaned in pain.
"Give… me… your body…"
Still trying to possess him, the Flesh-Faced Monster lifted off the ground and made another dive for Li Xia.
A cold chill ran down his spine.
In a flash, Li Xia flipped the washbasin, mouth-side facing the oncoming mask.
Then, with a sudden motion, he slammed the basin down onto the ground, trapping the mask underneath.
Next, his right arm tensed, and he threw a heavy punch at the bottom of the basin, denting it inward with brute force.
And he didn't stop there—
He pulled out more Exorcism Talismans and Power Talismans from his pocket.
He lined the basin's edge with the Exorcism Talismans.
He slapped a pair of Power Talismans onto his legs.
Then, planting one foot firmly on top of the washbasin holding the monster, he used the other to stomp down again and again, viciously.
"Eat this, you creepy freak…!"
Deep down, he was terrified—but at the same time, a strange surge of thrill and adrenaline was taking over.