"Today we've got grilled sea bream, and udon—the kind you said you wanted last time."
Retsu set Xia Lan down on the chair beside the table and took the prepared food out of Kamui space.
He had gone to the nearby town early that morning to buy everything, even asking the shopkeeper to add extra sauce. He had long figured it out—this panther-cat girl not only loved fish, she also had a weakness for rich, heavy flavors.
The moment Xia Lan saw the steaming dishes on the table, her eyes lit up.
By now, she was completely used to Retsu pulling things out of another dimension. He had even taken her into Kamui space once to satisfy her curiosity.
With most of her yokai energy restored, Xia Lan picked up her chopsticks. A faint red flame flickered in her palm as she reheated the slightly cooled udon and grilled fish.
Then she started eating with abandon, not even bothering to invite Retsu.
She already knew this guy didn't need to eat anyway.
Watching her devour the food, Retsu couldn't help but smile. He was quite satisfied with this gluttonous cat-yokai summoning beast.
"By the way, I'm leaving soon," Xia Lan said after finishing the udon in just a few bites. She set down the empty bowl and looked up at him.
"Going back to the Panther Cat clan?" Retsu paused as he tossed the empty dishes into Kamui space.
"Yeah." She nodded. "I've been out for too long. Big Sis will start worrying."
"Alright. Be careful on the road," Retsu said calmly. "If you run into danger, just summon me. I'll come right away."
"Hey! You did that on purpose, didn't you?!"
Xia Lan suddenly slammed the table and glared at him with blazing red eyes.
"Did you forget? You promised to tell me about the Shikon Jewel! Don't tell me you thought I'd really forget!"
"Aha, haha, of course not!"
Retsu laughed awkwardly. He hadn't expected this "silly cat" to actually remember.
"I mean, Xia Lan is so smart—how could you forget? I just… accidentally overlooked it."
"That's right!"
Xia Lan lifted her chin proudly, her tail swaying happily behind her.
"Then hurry up and explain! Why won't you give me the shards?"
Retsu put away his playful expression. He took out a pale-pink Shikon Jewel shard and gently placed it on the table.
It shimmered softly in the sunlight, releasing faint but pure energy.
His face grew serious.
"This is a Shikon Jewel shard. It contains enormous power. If a yokai gets it, their strength will skyrocket. More than that… it can even revive the dead."
"It can really bring people back to life?"
Xia Lan's eyes widened. She leaned over the table and carefully poked the shard with her clawed finger.
This was exactly why her big sister had sent her out.
Other yokai had spread rumors that the shards could revive the dead.
They wanted to use it to resurrect the Panther Cat Lord and reclaim the Western Lands from the Inu-demons.
Xia Lan herself hadn't believed it.
But she still carried out her mission faithfully.
Suddenly, she looked up at Retsu with suspicion.
"Wait… were you revived by this thing?"
As a yokai, she had long sensed the aura of death around him. She just hadn't asked.
"I'm not alive," Retsu admitted calmly, "but I wasn't revived by the Shikon Jewel."
He shook his head.
"I'm here because of a forbidden technique."
"Oh. Okay. Go on."
Xia Lan nodded and went back to fiddling with the shard.
Retsu ignored her and continued.
"But behind this seemingly perfect power is a deadly trap."
His voice grew heavy.
"The Shikon Jewel endlessly amplifies obsession and negative emotions. In the end, it controls its owner with evil energy.
"And if you try to use it to fulfill a wish, it deliberately twists your path… until it devours you completely."
Xia Lan's finger froze.
She jerked her hand back as if burned and leaned away from the table.
"You mean… it's alive? It has its own will?"
"I don't know if it's truly sentient," Retsu replied, "but it's definitely cursed."
He shook his head.
"Almost everyone who's possessed it—human or yokai—has met a terrible end."
"Oho? Sounds interesting. Tell me more."
Xia Lan propped her chin on one hand, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"I don't know all the details," Retsu said slowly. "I only know that it's extremely easy to corrupt. Once polluted, it becomes far more vicious.
"And when that happens, it turns on its owner and drags them into darkness."
He paused, recalling the story.
"To suppress its evil, you need a powerful priestess with pure spiritual power.
"The last one who guarded it—Kikyo—ended up dying full of resentment because of it."
"Kikyo?!"
Xia Lan's eyes flew wide. She scooted even farther away from the shard.
"I've heard of her! The strongest human priestess fifty years ago… She was killed by the Shikon Jewel?"
Even someone like Kikyo had fallen.
What chance did a cute little cat-yokai like her have?
Thinking about how she had just been playing with this terrifying thing like a toy, Xia Lan's tail puffed up instantly, her fur practically standing on end.
Retsu noticed her sudden fluffing and found it strange, but cats were always a little jumpy, so he didn't think much of it.
Imitating her earlier动作, he casually nudged the shard.
"And it's extremely easy to corrupt. Once that happens, purification becomes incredibly difficult. Only the strongest priestesses can cleanse it."
As he spoke, he took out a sealed bamboo tube from his pouch.
He opened it and removed another shard.
This one was completely different.
Its interior was stained with eerie purple-black patterns, like ink soaked into crystal, radiating thick malice.
Just looking at it made one's chest feel tight, as if countless dark emotions were surging in the mind.
Xia Lan reacted even more violently.
She bared her fangs, hair and tail exploding outward, staring at the corrupted shard with fierce vigilance.
The sinister aura alone was enough to make her instinctively bristle.
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