Kaede's Village.
A small settlement nestled in the mountainous wilderness of Musashi Province. Had it not produced the renowned Shrine Maiden Kikyo, this poor little place would likely have gone unnoticed.
Yet it was precisely because of Shrine Maiden Kikyo that this village managed to survive stubbornly through the brutal Warring States period.
It was now midday during the off-season for farming. Villagers resting in the fields spotted Kikyo returning and immediately exclaimed with delight:
"Ah, it's Lady Kikyo!"
"Has Lady Kikyo finished her morning prayers?"
"Lady Kikyo, my back's been hurting terribly today - has my old injury flared up again?"
"Lady Kikyo..."
Kikyo calmly exchanged greetings with the villagers, even helping solve minor ailments treatable with herbs, before following the dirt path back to her home at the village's highest point.
Pushing open the creaky wooden door, Kikyo immediately saw her younger sister Kaede sitting barefoot beside the irori.
The so-called irori was a square pit deliberately dug in the centre of Japanese folk houses, layered with ash and filled with firewood or charcoal for cooking and warmth.
Hence, it was also called the ground hearth.
At this moment, Kaede was crouched beside the pot suspended over the irori, watching the flames while occasionally stirring the medicinal herbs inside.
Seeing her sister, Kikyo's lips curved slightly:
"I'm home, Kaede."
"Sister! You're back!"
Kaede, her face smudged with ash, scrambled up from the floor and trotted over to Kikyo, announcing proudly:
"Look! I finally learned how to make wound medicine today."
"Let me see." Kikyo patted Kaede's back, walked to the irori, set down the wolf pelt, then stirred the herbs to check their colour and smell:
"Hmm... the quality seems adequate. We can try small amounts on injured villagers later."
As she spoke, Kikyo smiled gently at Kaede:
"You've done very well, Kaede."
"As a reward, how about I sew you a quilt in a few days?"
"A quilt?"
Only then did Kaede notice the wolf pelt Kikyo had brought back. Her pupils contracted slightly as she asked nervously:
"Did sister encounter yokai again?"
The smile on Kikyo's face faltered momentarily before she nodded:
"I did."
"Ever since sister took charge of that Shikon Jewel thing, you keep meeting yokai every day..."
Hearing Kaede's words, Kikyo abruptly changed the subject, instructing her:
"Kaede, there have been many yokai about recently. Don't leave the house unless necessary. If you must go out, break the strand of hair I gave you, and I'll accompany you."
"Oh..."
At her sister's familiar warnings and the prospect of being chaperoned, Kaede immediately lost interest in dwelling on Kikyo's latest encounter with a yokai.
Yet mentioning yokai suddenly reminded Kaede of something, and she began to explain:
"Sister, the village chief came again earlier. He said the daimyo of Musashi Province has sent you a letter, requesting you to guard the daimyo's residence. Apparently, more and more people are being attacked by yokai recently, and the daimyo hopes you can assist at the residence..."
"The daimyo..." Kikyo felt a pang of unease at the mention of that title.
As the regional lord, Kaede's Village naturally fell under the daimyo's jurisdiction. If it truly were the daimyo's wish, Kikyo would find it difficult to refuse.
But in the current circumstances, she couldn't bring herself to leave Kaede's Village without worry.
After a moment's hesitation, Kikyo finally said:
"I'll speak to the village chief about this later. Kaede, you needn't concern yourself with it."
"Oh." Kaede nodded obediently and fell silent.
Meanwhile, Kikyo found it strange:
The daimyo had already sent five letters this month, almost one every few days. Were there truly so many yokai appearing near the capital?
Oddly enough, the Shikon Jewel—an object that attracts yokai—was clearly in her possession, yet the trouble was happening in the main city.
"Something feels... off."
As Kikyo frowned in confusion, her expression suddenly changed. She turned sharply toward the shrine's direction:
"Demon Power?! Oh no!!"
...
"The Shikon Jewel... human flesh..."
A giant wolf, as large as an elephant, fixed its gaze on the red torii gate ahead, its eyes brimming with greed and desire as it stared at Luo Shu, who stood behind the gate.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu, who had just entered the torii only to be blocked by a yokai, looked equally puzzled:
"Less than 20 minutes since arriving, and already two yokai attacks in a row. Are the yokai in the Warring States period always this bold?"
Luo Shu had only intended to stop by Kikyo's Shrine to rest while waiting to meet up with Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue. Yet here he was, blocked by a yokai the moment he stepped through the torii—what rotten luck.
He was starting to wonder if he had some sort of yokai-attracting constitution.
"Hey, yokai. Judging by your looks, you must be related to that wolf from earlier, right?"
Hearing this, the elephant-sized grey wolf narrowed its eyes slightly, clearly intelligent.
It glanced down at Luo Shu, giving him a cold, dismissive look before raising its head to study the torii.
Seeing the barrier Kikyo had placed on the torii, the grey wolf's expression flickered with wariness.
But remembering that the wolf cub it had sent out should be able to delay Kikyo for a while—and that the Shikon Jewel, which could make it stronger, was right inside the shrine—the grey wolf's gaze hardened.
'First, seize the Shikon Jewel and grow stronger. Then, kill that annoying Kikyo.'
With that thought, the grey wolf raised its massive paw.
"Can't understand human speech, huh..."
Luo Shu pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply in exasperation.
He looked up, his black pupils reflecting the enormous, muscular frame of the grey wolf.
—Calamity Bestowal!
In the next instant, under the clear sky, a flash of lightning streaked down.
The bolt descended from the heavens, engulfing the elephant-sized grey wolf.
A few seconds later, the thunderclap roared.
Staring at the charred, twitching wolf, its body steaming with black smoke and the scent of burnt flesh, Luo Shu remarked with mild surprise:
"Terrible luck, huh? Ended up with a random lightning strike."
The Calamity Bringer's Calamity Bestowal, unless Luo Shu specified from his stored calamity database, would randomly inflict a natural disaster.
And judging by the results, the grey wolf had been exceptionally unlucky—struck by lightning, a misfortune that had instantly left it severely wounded.
Luo Shu studied the convulsing wolf and stroked his chin.
"Hmm, looks like it's paralysed from the shock..."
"Well then, perfect timing to resume the intel gathering that Kikyo interrupted earlier..."
With that, he stepped forward and reached out, touching the wolf's charcoal-like nose.
In the next moment, the charred wolf instantly reverted to its original state.
The grey wolf, which had been lying on the ground drooling uncontrollably, jolted awake in shock. Seeing Luo Shu standing right in front of it, it roared furiously:
"Human, I'll devour you!!"
Luo Shu's expression turned cold before he smiled.
"Bestowal!"
The temperature plummeted instantly. Within moments, the grey wolf was encased in frost, its body stiff and trembling.
After four or five seconds, Luo Shu touched the wolf again. "Calamity Absorption."
"Human, you—"
The grey wolf snarled in outrage.
"Hmm?" Luo Shu hummed a note.
Immediately, the grey wolf fell silent.
Seeing the finally subdued wolf, a faint smile appeared on Luo Shu's face:
"It seems we can finally have a proper conversation."
With that, Luo Shu began his interrogation of the grey wolf with a smile.
A while later, Kikyo arrived at the Shrine, dishevelled and missing one of her wooden sandals from her hurried journey.
There, she witnessed an enormous grey wolf the size of an elephant lying on the ground, wailing and crying like an eight-year-old child:
"That's all I know! Kill me, I beg you, just kill me!!"
"Stop tormenting me! Eek!"