Days passed by, and every afternoon Xiao Xiangyi would come to check on Sesshomaru. Sometimes he brought meals prepared by his master, and other times he went hunting himself, catching rabbits and wild pheasants to roast for him.
Though the rabbits and pheasants in these mountains had suffered from the disaster, Xiao Xiangyi's culinary skills had been thoroughly honed. From the half-raw disasters of the beginning, he had now mastered the exact right heat. Not just rabbits and pheasants, but fish and mushrooms as well—Xiao Xiangyi could roast them all quite well. Watching Sesshomaru gracefully eat the meat he had roasted, Xiao Xiangyi's heart swelled with pride and satisfaction.
In the afternoons, Xiao Xiangyi would search for wild fruits to bring to Sesshomaru. It was the turn of summer and autumn, and raspberries, mulberries, wild grapes, and wild persimmons were everywhere. Sesshomaru ate the raspberries the most, but Xiao Xiangyi discovered that Sesshomaru actually liked mulberries best. The first time he brought them, Sesshomaru ate a great many, only for the boy to later discover that when he ate them, his hands, mouth, and teeth were stained a deep, bruised purple. The handsome man had seemed to freeze right where he stood, secretly touching his own lips, and upon finding the purple-black traces on his hand as well, he had spent that entire afternoon scrubbing fiercely with a cloth. Ever since then, he stopped eating mulberries altogether.
Xiao Xiangyi also frequently brought pastries and candies made by his master's wife. Lord Sesshomaru had never seen pastries shaped like flowers and various little rabbits. The first time he laid eyes on them, Xiao Xiangyi clearly caught a look of wonder and fondness in his eyes.
Slowly, a month passed. Sesshomaru went from his initial awkwardness to growing accustomed to the various foods given to him by this human cub, occasionally even feeling a slight anticipation within his heart.
Over this month of recuperation, the Demonic Power within Sesshomaru's body gradually grew much stronger. He had been born with extraordinary Demonic Power, but this past month was a level of weakness he had never experienced before. The explosive Demonic Power belonging to Tessaiga continuously roamed through his veins and entire body, preventing him from drawing strength from his bloodline to heal his wounds. He could only absorb the scant spiritual energy from the air and food, slowly converting it into his own Demonic Power, bit by bit stripping away and eliminating the destructive Demonic Power within him.
A month had passed... Today, he could finally feel the power in his bloodline once again, and draw upon the Demonic Power within his body.
Sesshomaru slowly stood up. As he rose, the bones inside his body cracked and popped. With the circulation of his Demonic Power, his transformed armor and garments gradually restored his left sleeve to completeness, and his shattered armor was also mended as good as new.
Feeling the increasingly surging power within his body, Sesshomaru reached up and yanked at his clothes. His upper garments were half-stripped and hung loosely around his waist, revealing his fair and muscular upper body, which was covered in dense, crisscrossing scars that looked as though they had been carved by sharp blades.
Sesshomaru raised his right hand. With his lift and his breath, the muscles on his body tightened, his chiseled abdominal lines distinct. Mighty power gathered within his body, waiting to burst forth at any moment.
Sesshomaru closed his golden eyes tightly. Green Demonic Power began to gather around him, and his long, silver-white hair fluttered wildly amidst the rising storm of demonic aura.
When Xiao Xiangyi arrived, this was what he saw: Sesshomaru, bare-chested with silver hair flying, enveloped as if within the vortex of a storm. He stood there, completely unshaken by the gale, his face—so handsome it hardly seemed human—filled with utter detachment. And the scars upon his body were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This was the first time Xiao Xiangyi clearly perceived that Sesshomaru truly was not human. He slowly came to a halt, standing quietly as he watched him.
Sesshomaru had long since noticed the human cub's arrival, yet he did not stop what he was doing. For some reason, he felt a slight urge to know: once he confirmed with his own eyes that he was a yokai, would this human fear him?
Once all the wounds on Sesshomaru's body were completely repaired, the storm of Demonic Power slowly subsided. His long, silver-white hair draped smoothly and softly across his fair back, and the demonic markings on his cheeks and the Moon Mark between his brows grew even more vivid. He slowly opened his golden-bright eyes, turned his head, and looked at the human not far away.
Sesshomaru watched as the human tilted his head up slightly to look at him, still holding the meal he had presumably prepared for him today. In his eyes, there was no fright or fear whatsoever—only... appreciation, or perhaps praise?
For a moment, Sesshomaru was somewhat puzzled. If not fear, shouldn't there at least be reverence? Why... such emotions?
Before Sesshomaru could figure out the human's complex emotions, he saw the child, who was growing increasingly affectionate toward him, dash right up before his eyes in the blink of an eye, calling out his name in a joyous tone.
He was standing far too close; the heat from the human's breath brushed against his chest. Sesshomaru furrowed his brow slightly, unaccustomed to such closeness.
He took a few steps back, his face resuming its cold and arrogant expression. A Great Yokai had no need for human companionship, and he would never forge unnecessary bonds with humans, unlike his father and that damned hanyo.
With this thought, Sesshomaru raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together with green Demonic Power gathering between them. Reaching out, he touched the very center of the human's forehead. A brilliant hexagram formed and materialized in mid-air, sinking straight into the boy's brow.
Seeing Sesshomaru's action, Xiao Xiangyi did not dodge. He felt Sesshomaru's slightly cool fingers press against his forehead, and along with the gesture, a warm power seemed to sink into his body. Before he could figure out what felt different, a clear, cool male voice echoed in his mind—it was Sesshomaru's voice. The language he spoke was still incomprehensible to Xiao Xiangyi, but he could miraculously understand the meaning of his words.
"Human, this is the protective seal of my clan. I am leaving. Should you find yourself in danger henceforth, I shall appear and save you once..." Sesshomaru said. Ignoring the momentary look of disappointment in the human child's eyes, he raised his hand to adjust his clothes, then moved in a flash, instantly soaring into the sky.
Hearing these words and watching him leave without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Xiangyi stood holding the meal he had brought, an unmistakable look of disappointment written across his eyes. What he had brought today was chicken simmered by his master for a long time; he hadn't even eaten much of it himself, bringing out a full, large bowl. Yet Sesshomaru was leaving before he could even taste it.
Watching Sesshomaru soar into the air until his figure was about to vanish from sight, Xiao Xiangyi tapped his toes lightly and instantly sprang up to the treetop, seeing that Sesshomaru's figure had already reached mid-air.
Sesshomaru felt a faint premonition and looked back at the human once more, a fleeting, strange sensation suddenly stirring in his heart before vanishing just as quickly.
Seeing Sesshomaru look back, Xiao Xiangyi's disappointment suddenly faded. He perked up, waved at Sesshomaru in the sky, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Sesshomaru, I'm so glad I met you! Take good care of yourself and don't get hurt this badly again!"
Sesshomaru's flight faltered, and he wanted to shout something back to him, but in the end, he said nothing. He circulated his Demonic Power and flew straight west, intending to see precisely where this place was and whether flying straight west would allow him to reach the Western Country. Just as he was thinking this, Sesshomaru saw dark clouds gathering in the sky, with lightning flashing amidst them. Suddenly, Sesshomaru sensed a strong threat. He halted his flight, vigilantly circulating his Demonic Power to protect his entire body, yet he felt that the crisis... was coming from above the dome of heaven.
The very instant Sesshomaru stopped, a bolt of thunder suddenly plunged from the sky, instantly reaching right in front of him and striking straight for his face. Sesshomaru's eyes flashed fiercely. With no time for deep thought, he swept his right hand forward, his Poison Claw carrying Demonic Power to fend off the lightning strike; however, his right hand was instantly scorched with a blackened wound by the bolt.
Before Sesshomaru could heal the injury, nine bolts of thunder instantly gathered in the dome of heaven. Sesshomaru's gaze narrowed slightly, and he instantly executed the Light of Migration, his figure shifting in a split second to dodge five bolts of lightning hurtling straight at him. Missing their target—this yokai from another world—the lightning bolts simply dissipated in the air, causing no harm to the mountain forests or objects within them.
The remaining four bolts of thunder were even faster. Sesshomaru's Demonic Power had only partially recovered; having just taken one head-on and dodged five more, he truly could no longer evade these four stronger and faster bolts. Three bolts of lightning struck Sesshomaru's body, instantly stiffening him. He could only watch helplessly as he plummeted straight toward the ground, while the final bolt closely pursued him from behind.
Sesshomaru stared fiercely at the vault of heaven, once again feeling the threat of a razor-thin line between life and death. Today, was I, Sesshomaru... destined to perish in a place like this?
Before Xiao Xiangyi even had time to feel melancholy over Sesshomaru's departure, this sudden change erupted, with thunder gathering in the sky and pursuing Sesshomaru. Without time to ponder further, he gathered his lightness skill and rushed toward the scene. By the time he arrived, he saw Sesshomaru plummeting stiffly toward the ground, pursued by one last bolt of thunder from behind. Unable to help himself, he cried out in anxious alarm, "Sesshomaru... watch out!"
Hearing the human's voice, Sesshomaru shifted his gaze slightly and saw the child throwing himself recklessly toward him.
Seeing this, Sesshomaru mustered all his strength to gather his very last bit of Demonic Power, and shouted coldly through the protective seal to the child, "Get away from here!"
Xiao Xiangyi paused slightly, but instead of heeding him, he continued rushing toward the spot.
Just as Sesshomaru uttered that cry, the Tenseiga at his waist trembled slightly, instantly erupting with a blue light that enveloped his entire body.
Sesshomaru felt the threat being warded off. At the same time, he heard a cold female voice speaking to him: "Young Lord Sesshomaru, I am the spirit of Tenseiga. During that critical moment back then, I tore open a dimensional passage and accidentally arrived here. You are no longer in your original world, and the Heavenly Dao of this world does not acknowledge your existence. Only this human can see you; if you leave his side, you will be detected by the Heavenly Dao. Young Lord Sesshomaru, once you understand the meaning of my existence as Tenseiga, I will be able to tear open the passage once more and return to the Western Country..."
Sesshomaru crashed heavily onto the ground, carving a huge crater into the mountain forest. Lying at the bottom of the crater, he watched the thunder dissipate above as the human approached, pondering the words spoken by the sword spirit.
Xiao Xiangyi looked at Sesshomaru lying at the bottom of the crater, anxiously leaping down into the pit. When he saw the scene inside, he froze in place, somewhat at a loss.
Lying in the crater was merely a small dog with completely charred fur, and right beside it lay a familiar sword—the very blade that had hung at Sesshomaru's waist.
An incredible thought flashed through Xiao Xiangyi's mind. Looking again at the little dog, noting the familiar, disdainful golden eyes and that small patch of unblemished white fur, he made an astonished guess: this white dog must be Sesshomaru.
Xiao Xiangyi stepped forward, scooped up the white dog, picked up the sword beside it, and ran back to the place where Sesshomaru had previously healed his wounds.
The next two months were spent once again in recuperation for Sesshomaru. During this time, the Demonic Power inside Sesshomaru's body was completely exhausted; not only was his entire body stiff and immobile, but he could only manifest his true form.
Unable to set his mind at ease, Xiao Xiangyi simply brought him back to Yunju Pavilion. At first, Xiao Xiangyi wondered how he would explain this to his master, but he soon discovered that whether it was the white dog in his arms or the sword in his hand, his master seemed completely unable to see them. Only he could perceive the existence of Sesshomaru and everything related to him.
Thus, Sesshomaru was washed clean by Xiao Xiangyi and placed on his own bed. While giving Sesshomaru a bath, Xiao Xiangyi carefully lathered him with soap from head to toe, washed him until he smelled fragrant, and then used his internal energy to dry his fur. Midway through, the little dog in his hands tried to resist, but could only let out weak "woof" sounds. Since Xiao Xiangyi couldn't understand them at all, he simply ignored the protest.
After making that sound, Sesshomaru tightly clamped his mouth shut as well. A trace of shame flashed in his golden eyes, but he had no choice left other than to let the human handle him.
During these two months, fearing that Sesshomaru would be bored, Xiao Xiangyi would bring his studies to the bedroom after finishing his martial arts practice, studying while keeping Sesshomaru company. Sometimes, he would blatantly bring Sesshomaru right out into the courtyard so the yokai could accompany him while he read.
Gradually growing unsatisfied with this, Xiao Xiangyi began hatching a plan in his heart. Ever since he learned that Sesshomaru could now understand the meaning of his spoken words, Xiao Xiangyi decided to start teaching Sesshomaru how to read Daxi characters and speak the Daxi language. In the evenings, he would bring the Three-Character Classic, Thousand-Character Classic, and Thousand Family Surnames before Sesshomaru, teaching him to read and speak character by character.
From Sesshomaru's initial closed-eyed rejection to later pretending not to care while standing at strict attention whenever the human approached with a book, only one brainstorming Xiao Xiangyi stood between the two states.
With the handsome, noble Great Yokai reduced to a harmless, adorable little white dog, Xiao Xiangyi's heart constantly itched with mischief. Seeing that Sesshomaru was unwilling to learn characters, Xiao Xiangyi would roll his eyes, first stuffing his favorite pastries into Sesshomaru's mouth, then cuddling the dog and muttering in his ear that since he was bored anyway, he might as well study lessons together. When such actions failed to move Sesshomaru at all, Xiao Xiangyi resorted to reverse psychology, asking whether a Great Yokai as mighty as him could really be incapable of learning human language.
When Xiao Xiangyi said this, he put on an act of talking to himself, but the corner of his eye kept glancing sideways at the little white dog on the bed. Sure enough, the moment those words left his mouth, he caught sight of the fierce, imposing glare within Sesshomaru's slightly narrowed golden eyes.
When Xiao Xiangyi brought the book over the next day, he indeed found the lying little white dog with its eyes half-open, casually pretending to glance at the book in his hands. Its ears were pricked up as well, clearly listening intently to his words and teaching.