"We have grilled sea bream today, and the udon you said you wanted to eat last time."
Retsu placed Karan on a chair by the dining table and took out the prepared food from the Kamui Dimension.
He had specially gone to the nearby Castle Town this morning to buy these, and even asked the shopkeeper to add extra sauce. He had long since figured out that this leopard cat girl not only loved fish, but also particularly enjoyed rich sauces.
Karan looked at the steaming food on the table, her eyes instantly lighting up.
She was already used to Retsu being able to take food out of an alternate dimension. Retsu had even taken her for a tour inside the Kamui Dimension before to satisfy her curiosity.
Having recovered most of her Demonic Power, Karan reached out for her chopsticks, a small cluster of weak red flames igniting in her hand.
She heated the slightly cold udon and grilled sea bream for a moment before devouring them greedily, with no intention of inviting Retsu to join her.
She already knew that this guy was fine even without eating.
Watching Karan gorge herself, Retsu couldn't help but smile. He was quite satisfied with this gluttonous cat demon summoned beast.
"By the way, I'm getting ready to leave in a bit," Karan said, swallowing the udon in a few bites, putting down the empty bowl, and looking up at Retsu.
"Back to the Panther Clan?" Retsu asked, stunned for a moment as he tossed the items on the table into the Kamui Dimension.
"Yeah, I've been out for so long. If I don't go back, the Big Sister Leader will worry." Karan nodded, clearly concerned about her clan's situation.
"Alright, then be careful on the way," Retsu didn't try to make her stay. "If you encounter danger, use the Summoning Technique to call me. I'll be there whenever you call."
"Hey! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" Karan slammed the table, her red eyes glaring at him, her tone full of displeasure.
"Did you forget? You promised to tell me about the shikon jewel! Did you think I'd actually forget?"
"Ahaha, how could I!"
Retsu quickly laughed it off. He hadn't expected this "silly cat" to remember this. He had thought he could just gloss over it.
"Karan is so smart, how could she forget? It was just a momentary lapse on my part."
"Of course!"
Karan lifted her chin proudly, her tail wagging happily behind her. She was clearly in a great mood after being coaxed by that compliment.
"Then hurry up and tell me! Why won't you give me the shard of the shikon jewel?"
Retsu tucked away his playful look and took a pale pink shard of the shikon jewel from his ninja tool pouch, placing it gently on the table.
The shard shimmered with a crystalline luster in the sunlight, emitting a faint but pure energy. He spoke with a serious expression:
"This is a shard of the shikon jewel. It contains immense power. If a demon gets it, their Demonic Power will surge dramatically. More amazingly, it can even bring the dead back to life."
"Can this thing really bring the dead back to life?"
Karan's eyes widened instantly. She leaned over the table, extending a finger with a sharp nail to gently poke the shard of the shikon jewel on the table.
Her mission to investigate information about the shikon jewel was because the Big Sister Leader had heard from other demons that the shards of the shikon jewel appearing lately could resurrect the dead.
She wanted to use it to resurrect the deceased Leopard Cat Lord and reclaim control of the Western Land from the dog demons.
However, she didn't believe such an incredible thing as resurrecting the dead was possible, but she would do her best to complete the task the Big Sister Leader assigned.
Suddenly, she looked up, her eyes searching as she looked at Retsu:
"You wouldn't happen to have been resurrected by this thing, would you?"
As a demon, she had long since sensed the aura of the dead around Retsu's body, she just hadn't asked.
"I am indeed not a living person, but I wasn't resurrected by the shikon jewel."
Retsu shook his head. "I can exist in this form because of the effect of a forbidden technique."
"Oh, then continue." Karan nodded, lowering her head again to keep poking at the shard of the shikon jewel for fun.
Retsu glanced at her and ignored her, continuing, "But behind this seemingly perfect power lies a deadly trap."
His voice grew heavy.
"The shikon jewel infinitely magnifies the holder's obsessions and negative emotions, eventually causing the holder to be controlled by evil energy.
Furthermore, if you try to use it to fulfill a wish, it will deliberately lead you in the wrong direction, eventually resulting in you being consumed by the shikon jewel."
*Swish—*
Karan's hand poking the shard suddenly froze. She pulled her hand back as if burned and moved away, looking at the shard on the table in shock:
"You mean... it's alive? It has its own thoughts?"
"I don't know if it has independent thoughts, but it is definitely an ominous thing."
Retsu shook his head and continued, "Almost every human or demon who has ever possessed it has met a bad end."
"Hmm? There's a story? Hurry up and tell me." Karan's eyes lit up. She propped her chin on one hand and looked at him excitedly.
"I don't know the specifics either. I only know that the shikon jewel is easily tainted by negative emotions, causing its evil nature to surge. Once tainted, it will backfire on the holder, dragging them into darkness."
Retsu recalled the plot and spoke.
He paused and continued, "To suppress its evil energy, a powerful priestess is needed to purify it with pure spiritual power.
The previous priestess responsible for guarding and purifying the shikon jewel, Kikyo, ended up dying full of resentment because of the shikon jewel."
"Kikyo?" Karan's eyes widened, and she subconsciously backed away even further from the shard on the table.
"I've heard of her! The strongest human priestess fifty years ago... I didn't expect her to be killed by the shikon jewel..."
Even a powerhouse like Kikyo fell at the hands of this thing. A cute cat demon like her would probably die even more miserably.
At the thought that she had just been poking such a vicious thing like a toy, Karan's tail instantly puffed up, and she felt her fur stand on end.
As he was speaking, Retsu saw Karan suddenly puff up her fur and stare intently at the shikon jewel on the table. He found it a bit strange, but since cats were often neurotic, he didn't take it seriously.
Mimicking Karan's earlier action, he reached out and gently poked the shikon jewel on the table, continuing:
"And the shikon jewel is very easily tainted. Once tainted, it's difficult to purify. Only a very powerful priestess can purify the shikon jewel."
As he spoke, he took a sealed bamboo tube from his ninja tool pouch, opened the lid, and took out another shard of the shikon jewel.
This shard was completely different from the one on the table. Its interior was a strange purple-black, as if stained by ink, emitting a dense, evil aura.
Just staring at it made one's chest feel tight, as if countless negative emotions were churning in one's mind.
Karan's reaction was even more intense than before. She instantly bared her sharp fangs, her tail and hair all puffed up, staring warily at that tainted shard, clearly stimulated by this evil aura.