Xiao Xiangyi brought out the wine, served food for Sesshomaru and himself, and set out the chopsticks. After pouring a cup of wine for each of them, he picked up a cup and handed it to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru raised his hand to take it, lowering his gaze to find the human looking at him with eyes full of smiles.
Seeing the look in Sesshomaru's eyes—so different from the coldness of the past few months, his gaze now filled with gentleness—Xiao Xiangyi felt even more cheerful. He raised his wine cup and offered a sincere blessing, "Happy New Year, Brother Sha! I wish you good health, safety, and smooth sailing in everything!"
In the biting cold of the winter wind, the human beside him was offering such heartfelt wishes...
For four hundred years, Sesshomaru had seen many humans and yokai look at him with reverence, fear, and submission. He had received many well-wishes from people, including his mother, his attendants, and his subjects, who prayed from the bottom of their hearts for him to grow ever stronger...
Yet this was the first time someone simply and plainly wished him—a powerful yokai—good health, safety, and smooth sailing.
Sesshomaru silently gazed at the human. Watching Li Xiangyi happily drink the wine in his cup, he suddenly thought of a word his father had mentioned. That word was... happiness.
This human had always carried the scent of purity and sunshine. He was not afraid of him; he said he wanted to be friends with him; he was genuinely happy to see him. In the radiant smile directed at him, Sesshomaru could always feel something called warmth.
A yokai had a yokai's heart, which would not easily waver or fear like a human heart, much less develop attachments lightly. In the realm where the strong preyed upon the weak, the human heart was the most insignificant thing of all.
Back then, even when heavily injured, his father had insisted on leaving. Sesshomaru had watched his resolute retreating figure, unable to understand why such a powerful yokai had grown a human heart. He had not tried to stop him, only demanding that his father leave behind Tessaiga and Tenseiga. But his father had refused, asking him instead if there was anyone in his heart he wished to protect.
At the time, Sesshomaru had only found his father's question ridiculous. He had always been deeply puzzled: why would a father whom he had revered for his immense power abandon his country, his subjects, and his responsibilities, only to die for such a ridiculous reason?
Looking at the cup of wine in his hand, Sesshomaru suddenly thought of the guardian mark he had involuntarily placed upon this human. At the time, he had only assumed it was because, as the heir to the Western Country, he never liked to be indebted to anyone...
Yet later on, facing this human's approach, he had always found himself unable to refuse or push him away. From when he did not know, he had simply wanted to protect him.
A yokai's life was too long... and too lonely...
Protection? Sesshomaru's heart stirred slightly, and the Tenseiga at his waist trembled faintly. Lowering his gaze under the human's clear eyes, Sesshomaru raised his head and drank the cup of wine in his hand—the very first cup of wine in his four-hundred-year yokai existence.
Sesshomaru had never been an indecisive yokai. A yokai's life was long; if so, what harm was there in forging such a bond in this land?
Sesshomaru found today's meal exceptionally delicious, and this substance called wine tasted quite good as well. After finishing the meal, the Great Yokai half-leaned against the tree trunk, drinking cup after cup of wine while leisurely watching the human busy himself back and forth...
Having set out the fireworks and firecrackers, Xiao Xiangyi turned to look at the Great Yokai, who was so vastly different from usual. His gaze was soft, his golden-yellow eyes shimmering like autumn water...
Water... shimmering like autumn water? Xiao Xiangyi rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He couldn't help wondering if this great yokai was already drunk. But according to Sesshomaru himself, he was four hundred years old. Although four hundred years for a yokai did not even reach the age of a human capping ceremony, still... in his four-hundred-year yokai life, surely he couldn't have gone without tasting a single drop of wine... right?
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Xiao Xiangyi waved at Sesshomaru sitting nearby and called out, "Brother Sha, let's set off firecrackers for the New Year to drive away evil and pray for peace!"
With that, he used a flint to light the firecrackers and fireworks one by one...
And thus, Sesshomaru experienced yet another first in his four-hundred-year yokai life.
For the first time in four hundred years, he witnessed the beautiful sights of a human New Year. The crackling of firecrackers and the brilliant display of fireworks unfolded before his eyes. Amidst the bright sparks, the human's smile was warm, and lingering in the air of fireworks were the human's repeated, earnest wishes for him...
Finally, the human walked up to him, smiling as he held out a wrapped package and said once more, "Happy New Year, Brother Sha! May everything go your way!"
Sesshomaru looked levelly at Li Xiangyi standing before him, feeling for the first time that forming a bond with the human in front of him might not be such a troublesome thing after all...
Sesshomaru took the gift handed to him. Upon opening it, he found a soft, smooth white brocaded robe with an exquisite hexagonal plum blossom pattern embroidered along the collar, cuffs, and hem, making it look exceedingly noble and magnificent.
Feeling the cool, silky fabric in his hands, Sesshomaru suddenly remembered a fleeting moment of envy he had felt toward that hanyo, because during the summer, he really was terribly hot...
Aside from this white brocaded robe, there was also a plain silver hairpin. Looking at the gift, Sesshomaru suddenly understood why this human child had been working so hard hunting these past days...
Seeing him gaze at the hair crown, Xiao Xiangyi felt a bit embarrassed. "Brother Sha, I didn't have enough money left, so I could only buy this ordinary one. Once I can go down the mountain and earn some money, I'll buy you the most magnificent hair crown."
The human speaking these words wore a radiant smile. Sesshomaru's ears twitched slightly, and his eyes filled with a hint of a smile!
With a barely perceptible "Mn," Sesshomaru raised a hand and made his original robe vanish. Standing up, he took the garments from the hands of the human who had once again frozen in a daze, flicked his wrist, and put on the gift the human had given him.
Xiao Xiangyi recovered from his daze after only a brief moment, already accustomed to the fact that this great yokai possessed no sense of human modesty. Watching him strip bare and change into the clothes right there, he saw that upon standing, Sesshomaru stood well over eight feet tall. The white brocaded robe suited him perfectly, making him look like an immortal god!
With his wide robes, flying sleeves, and long silver hair bound atop his head by the silver crown, his otherworldly, handsome features and sharp, piercing golden eyes made him look truly formidable, dangerous, noble, and beautiful all at once...
Before Xiao Xiangyi could finish marveling, he saw Sesshomaru—who was looking down at him with a shifting gaze—break into a faint smile. Gazing at him gently, Sesshomaru reached out his right hand and gently rubbed the top of his head...
Xiao Xiangyi froze instantly on the spot. This great yokai really must be drunk...
Before his doubt could even take root, Xiao Xiangyi saw Sesshomaru flick his sleeve. In an instant, all the clothes vanished from the Great Yokai's body, transforming him instantly into a massive white dog. Immediately afterward, the giant beast looked at him, a flicker of contemplation flashing through its beastly eyes. It slightly shrank its form, lay down on the ground, and with a swipe of its right front paw, dragged the dumbfounded Xiao Xiangyi over and pinned him beneath the thick fur on its belly...
There was no need for doubt anymore! Xiao Xiangyi could be certain the great yokai was truly drunk... Though he was happy about Sesshomaru's closeness, being pinned beneath a long-haired giant beast weighing at least several hundred catties was truly more than he could bear...
Struggling with all his might and channeling his internal energy outward, Xiao Xiangyi finally broke free from Sesshomaru's confinement. Standing with his hands on his hips and panting heavily, he stared at the steadily breathing canine yokai and let out a long sigh. Who would have guessed this four-hundred-year-old great yokai would act like this when drunk!
Looking at the massive dog, whose very breath exuded a heavy aroma of wine, Xiao Xiangyi dutifully folded Sesshomaru's discarded clothes and placed them to one side, all the while praying that Brother Sha wouldn't remember a single thing about tonight once he sobered up. Otherwise, given his notoriously prideful personality that cared far too much about saving face...
"It's the dead of winter, and I really, really don't want to take an ice bath," Xiao Xiangyi thought to himself, packing up his things and returning to Yunju Pavilion with a trace of lingering melancholy.
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast, Xiao Xiangyi skipped his usual practice for once and sprinted over to see Sesshomaru. Seeing that Sesshomaru was wearing the new clothes he had given him and showed no unusual expression on his face, Xiao Xiangyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He ran up to Sesshomaru and handed over a fierce giant dog wooden carving that he had spent months carving. "Happy New Year, Brother Sha ~"
Sesshomaru looked at the ferocious miniature of his true form in the boy's hand for a long time before finally raising his hand to take it. At the same time, he retrieved the soft snake-scale armor from the Netherworld—armor he had begun refining the moment he woke up—and placed it into Xiao Xiangyi's empty hand.
This was defensive armor forged from the body of the first great yokai he had ever slain, kept in his Netherworld as a trophy.
Looking at the soft armor that had suddenly appeared in his palm, Xiao Xiangyi asked in a rare moment of dazed foolishness, "Brother Sha, is this your New Year's gift for me?"
Without a word, Sesshomaru turned around, leaving the foolish question unanswered, while thinking that if it were currently summer, he would definitely throw this human straight into the water for a good soaking!
Gazing at the wooden carving in his hand, the corners of Sesshomaru's lips curved slightly as he stored it away in the Netherworld. And the moment Li Xiangyi accepted Sesshomaru's gift, the gathering thunderclouds high above the vault of heaven instantly dispersed. Gazing up at the sky, the Great Yokai could suddenly feel the breath of birds and beasts once more...
Days passed by one after another. Sesshomaru slowly grew accustomed to this peaceful life of occasionally traveling out into the world with Li Xiangyi and his master. The clothes Li Xiangyi bought for him in the Netherworld grew increasingly numerous, while Li Xiangyi received a gift from Sesshomaru every year on his birthday and New Year...
Sesshomaru's Netherworld had never held vulgar treasures like gold and silver; it contained only trophies from vanquished great yokai—such as the sharp claws and fangs of beast yokai, or the wings and tendons of avian yokai. None of those items were suitable for a weak human, and the only one that was suitable had long since been given away...
Yet the noble Lord Sesshomaru disdained merely accepting tribute from a human. Moreover, he genuinely wanted to give him something, because every time he received a gift from him, the smile on the human's face was especially warm...
Therefore, later on, whenever Sesshomaru saw the human practicing his martial arts, he would condescend to use silent teleportation to accompany him in practicing his footwork, or suppress his Demonic Power to spar with him, helping him refine the sword techniques and internal cultivation methods he had created himself...
He would also fly him up to mountain peaks and oceans unreachable by humans to admire the moon and scenery, and take him soaring and playing amid the clouds. When the human pestered him with questions about the world of yokai, he would tell him about his Western Country, his subjects, his attendants, and his fierce beasts...
As his bond with Li Xiangyi deepened, and his bond with this mortal world grew stronger, Sesshomaru could increasingly feel the breath of this world...
Sesshomaru's Demonic Power was gradually suppressed deep within his body, leaving him with less and less power he could freely wield. Whenever he attempted to use it by force, thunder would immediately gather across the vault of heaven. His demonic moon marks slowly faded, and he began to lose the ability to freely transform into his yokai form. His eyes and hair color also began shifting more and more toward human appearances, though he did not reveal these changes to Li Xiangyi...
Sesshomaru knew that his power had not been lost; it was simply that the Heavenly Dao of this realm had begun to acknowledge him, bringing with it the suppression of worldly rules...
At fifteen, Li Xiangyi possessed handsome features and an upright posture. Amidst the bright days of spring, he was the warmest and most radiant ray of sunshine in the spring season.
With his sword strapped across his back, Li Xiangyi smiled at his master and said in a clear, ringing voice, "Master, this time I've surely passed the test!"
Looking furiously at the broken wine gourd in his hand, and then at the breezy, lighthearted brat before him, Qi Mushan waved a hand impatiently. "Fine! Get down the mountain with your senior martial brother!"
Seeing his master finally relent, the upright young hero beamed with vibrant energy. "I will surely use this ShaoshiSword in my hand to uphold justice, protect the weak, become a pillar of strength, and bring glory to our sect!"
Looking at this disciple and thinking of the perils of the rivers and lakes, Qi Mushan couldn't help putting his hands on his hips to give a parting admonition. "I don't need you to be any pillar of strength! I just want you and your senior brother to eat well, drink well, and stay alive!"
Seeing the brat didn't take his words to heart, he couldn't help nagging him once more. "Remember now, when you come back, you'll compensate me for my wine gourd and bring me a jar of fine wine!"
With their disciple about to leave the mountain, Qin Po and Qi Mushan knew that although his martial arts were formidable, he had never truly stepped into the martial world. As elders, how could they not worry?
Though Qi Mushan spoke words of disdain toward the brat, he still prepared a spirited white horse for him, along with five hundred taels in silver banknotes, and shoved a cyan jade token into his hands. " Brat, this is the jade token of the Tianji Manor's money house. Keep it safe. When you need money later, just go draw it yourself."
Qin Po patted the shoulder of the disciple who had grown much taller than her, handing him the prepared bundle of luggage while showering him with earnest instructions. "Xiangyi, take good care of yourself out there, avoid getting too many injuries, eat well, and remember—if you're ever unhappy, just come back to Yunyin Mountain!"
At that moment, Li Xiangyi felt a pang of reluctance, but an even greater sense of soaring ambition. He nodded solemnly and looked at his master and martial mother. "Martial Mother, Master, just wait and watch Xiangyi make his name known across the world!"
Qi Mushan and Qin Po nodded, their hearts filled with gratification as they looked at their high-spirited disciple. People of the martial world knew that fledgling eagles would always have a day to spread their wings and battle the sky, so they refrained from putting on overly sorrowful airs.
Qi Mushan gave the brat a light knock on the head. "Remember to bring back fine wine to compensate me!"
Li Xiangyi chuckled. "I know, I know, Master~"
Li Xiangyi had already told Sesshomaru yesterday that he would be leaving the mountain today. Sesshomaru had fallen silent for quite a while before telling him that he would wait for him in advance at the foot of the mountain. Therefore, after packing his luggage and bidding farewell to his master and martial mother, Li Xiangyi led the fine steed prepared by his master and prepared to descend the mountain.
Meanwhile, Sesshomaru was awkwardly using the lake's surface as a mirror to examine his current appearance. The reflection in the lake clearly showed a human form: his hair was black, his eyes were brown, he had human-like ears, and the demonic moon marks had completely vanished...
Sesshomaru pressed his lips tightly together, feeling a chill unlike anything he had experienced in four hundred years. Raising his right hand, he gathered a cluster of Demonic Power in his palm. At his movement, rumbling began to echo across the vault of heaven overhead.
Casting a fierce glare at the sky and thinking of those nine bolts of lightning, Sesshomaru gritted his teeth and dismissed the gathered Demonic Power in his hand. With the rare frustration of a great yokai, he bent down to pick up the white outer robe that had fallen to the ground. Donning it casually and tying the belt with one hand, he bent his knees slightly and leaped into a towering tree with a single instantaneous shift. His white figure flickered in and out of view among the dense forest as he hurried all the way toward the foot of the mountain.
At least it was only his appearance that had turned human; his inner body remained a formidable yokai...