Inuyasha’s Journey to Immortal

The exorcism talismans stuck to the washbasin burned one after another, turning to ashes in an instant.

But in the end, two of them didn't ignite.

The nearly flattened iron basin no longer showed any signs of struggle underneath.

Yet even so, even though the Flesh-Faced Demon beneath the basin remained motionless, Li Xia didn't let his guard down for a second. Instead, he stayed on high alert and kept pounding away for another thirty seconds.

Only when the buffs from all the talismans on his body had completely worn off did he finally stop?

"Whew…"

He exhaled a long breath, pushing down the surge of adrenaline and trying to calm his racing heart.

Then, he took out all the exorcism talismans he had left and slapped them onto the surface of the basin, one by one.

He was well aware that this demon had a Shikon Jewel shard embedded in its forehead.

And it was precisely that shard resonating with the other fragments left at home by Airi that triggered this entire incident.

After all, any demon empowered by a Shikon shard was not something to be taken lightly.

"That should do it… right?"

But in the next moment, two distinct impressions suddenly appeared on the washbasin—a pair of vicious bite marks, clearly left by the demon's sharp teeth as it split open along the bridge of its nose.

Even an iron basin had been nearly torn through.

The exorcism talismans instantly burst into flames, most of them burning away in a flash.

Worse still, the basin itself began to heat up rapidly, turning red-hot like a branding iron.

There was no doubt now—the demon's earlier silence had been an act.

It was trying to lure him into lifting the basin so it could strike.

Unfortunately for it, Li Xia may have been a novice spellcaster, but he had a cautious temperament.

Perhaps realizing its trick had failed or sensed the growing power of the talisman seals, the demon gave up on deception and went for a final desperate counterattack.

"Hmph!"

Li Xia gave a cold snort and, though it pained him, pulled out a Frost Talisman from inside his robe.

This was no ordinary talisman, but one crafted by a senior member of the Li Clan—something he had begged from his grandfather. It was mid-grade, beyond what he could currently make, and one of only four he possessed.

But considering he was about to acquire a Shikon fragment, and possibly his first shikigami, he couldn't afford to be stingy.

When it's time to act, you act.

If one talisman isn't enough, use two!

With the Frost Talisman activated, the burning-hot basin rapidly cooled, ice forming across its surface and spreading several meters outward in a circle of frost.

Then came another round of furious stomping.

Ten stomps… twenty stomps… thirty stomps…

By the end, the basin was smashed into an irregular sheet of metal, and Li Xia could feel that the mask underneath had been completely flattened.

"Woooo… woooo…"

In the distance, the sound of fire truck sirens drew closer.

Li Xia frowned. He had originally planned to keep smashing for another few hours.

But with the firefighters about to arrive, it was best that he wasn't seen here.

So he forced himself to stop.

Even then, he didn't lift the basin entirely.

Who knew how much strength the demon still had left?

Instead, Li Xia carefully peeled away just one-tenth of the basin.

At first glance, he didn't see the demon's face—just charred darkness—so he peeled a bit more.

Now, he caught a glimpse of the cracked edge of the mask, likely its left cheek.

Taking two talismans from the edge of the basin, he quickly stuck them onto the exposed part of the mask.

Based on the mask's position, he estimated where the shard should be—right around the forehead scar.

He adjusted the angle of the basin, revealing only the demon's forehead while keeping the rest covered.

This way, the talismans on the mask would both suppress its demonic energy and serve as an alarm if they burned again. The iron basin, meanwhile, would help physically restrain it.

Double-layered security—just to be safe.

Then, pulling out a small fruit knife from his pocket, Li Xia began carefully scraping at the demon's forehead.

He was in luck.

After just a few cuts, he found the Shikon Jewel fragment embedded beneath the surface.

Feeling Li Xia's true intent, the masked demon could no longer stay calm.

But no matter how it struggled, the iron weight pressing down on it was like a mountain, rendering its resistance useless.

"Give me… a body…"

That was the last pitiful cry of the Flesh-Faced Demon.

In truth, without a body to control, this mask demon was weak. Even in the original story, it couldn't handle a middle-school girl like Airi with just its mask form.

Let alone someone like Li Xia, who was fully prepared.

Had this demon already possessed multiple police officers, the situation would've been completely different.

Li Xia wouldn't have dared to confront it head-on.

He'd have run as far away as possible.

"The First Shikon Jewel Fragment!"

After extracting the pale purple fragment, Li Xia felt the demonic energy within the mask weaken drastically. The struggling force vanished instantly—

As if it had lost its life force.

Even so, Li Xia remained extremely cautious. He bent and twisted the iron washbasin into shape, wrapping it tightly around the mask. Then he peeled off the exorcism talisman from his face and firmly stuck it onto the now-deformed hunk of iron.

Without the Shikon fragment and under such a layered suppression, if this masked demon could still break free and cause trouble, Li Xia would honestly have no way to deal with it.

He simply didn't have any large-scale offensive talismans.

To quickly and thoroughly eliminate this monster in a short time was honestly too much to ask of him.

"Woooo… woooo…"

Just as he tucked away the Shikon fragment, the firetruck's sirens stopped at a fixed location.

The firefighting team had arrived at the base of the small hill where Higurashi Shrine stood.

"That was fast—they got here in four or five minutes!"

Although the fire station wasn't far, this kind of speed still impressed Li Xia.

But that also meant—he didn't have much time left.

Glancing at the warehouse that was now engulfed in flames, he took a deep breath and ran back toward the two-story house where Airi's family lived.

There, he quickly soaked his clothes, covered his mouth and nose with a wet towel, then grabbed a large bucket of water he had earlier filled at the kitchen sink, and charged toward the burning warehouse.

With the Flesh-Faced Demon no longer a threat, he plunged straight into the fire.

Inside the worsening blaze, he scanned the area quickly.

At a glance, he spotted an elderly man trapped in the corner, one leg pinned under a fallen wooden beam.

It was none other than Airi's grandfather.

Thankfully, the beam wasn't too thick and had rotted through before it collapsed. Otherwise, had it landed in full force, the old man likely wouldn't have survived.

The fire was now getting dangerously intense.

Naturally, Li Xia didn't just stand there.

After splashing the old man with a bucket of cold water, he lifted the snapped wooden beam and hoisted the elder onto his back, sprinting out of the burning house.

The fire was too intense—they couldn't stay any longer.

As he exited the burning warehouse, several firefighters and a panicked woman rushed over.

"Someone help me here! I'm calling an ambulance—there's an injured person!"

Upon seeing the woman, Li Xia took the initiative and called out.

As expected, this beautiful woman was likely none other than the mother of the anime's heroine, Kagome Higurashi.

"Dad!"

The woman gasped upon seeing the unconscious old man. The bag of vegetables and meat she was holding dropped to the ground with a thud.

She hurried over to support the old man, eyes full of worry.

"Dad, wake up..."

Watching this, Li Xia silently confirmed his guess.

Then he slipped quietly back into the Higurashi house.

While calling for the ambulance was one reason—his real goal was to retrieve the seven Shikon fragments hidden in Airi's bedroom.

Well—not all of them.

He left one shard behind for Airi.

"Aren't I generous?... Yeah, right."

Before leaving, he glanced at the open window.

"If I hadn't come today, would the Flesh-Faced Demon have left the shrine so obediently as in the original plot? Would it have ignored these fragments lying around the house?"

His instincts told him—not.

To a demon like that, the temptation of these fragments would override everything.

If he hadn't shown up, there's no doubt the demon would've deviated from the original timeline and seized the shards directly.

There'd be no need to wait until nighttime to launch a sneak attack when Airi was home.

The so-called plot armor logic would no longer apply.

P.S.: Did any of you notice that early on, every time Airi (Kagome) traveled through the Bone-Eater's Well, it was always with the help of a Shikon shard?

(Even shards placed near the well seemed to work!)

Meanwhile, Inuyasha never seemed to have that kind of restriction…

This is even mentioned at the end of Episode 19 of the anime—once Airi loses the shard, she's unable to pass through the well anymore.

(End of Chapter)