“My beautiful priestess, this strange flower is a treasure I happened to find in the mountains.
If you like it, one pouch of silver will be enough.” Seeing Kikyo ask about it, the stall owner’s eyes lit up at once.
His face filled with enthusiasm as he began trying his hardest to sell it.
Standing behind Kikyo, Kamamara listened as the stall owner kept boasting about how extraordinary the strange red flower was.
He could not help letting out a soft laugh, then mocked him openly.
“Heh.
You don’t even know what this thing is, yet you dared to bring it down from the mountains.
Now you’re even trying to sell it and harm people.
That’s almost impressive.” The stall owner’s expression darkened at once, and he was about to argue.
But when he caught sight of the huge, heavy iron club on Kamamara’s shoulder, his words instantly stuck in his throat.
His tone weakened immediately.
“If you don’t want to buy it, sir, then you can leave.
I’m just an ordinary man selling mountain goods.
How can selling a treasure I finally managed to obtain be called harming people?” The strangely vivid red flower had already drawn many passersby to stop and look.
Now that the stall owner and his customer had begun arguing, the surrounding crowd immediately gathered closer, craning their necks to watch the commotion.
Kikyo held the clay pot in her hands and carefully examined the flower planted inside.
Then she raised her head and looked at the pale-faced stall owner.
“Ever since you obtained this plant, have you grown weaker day by day?
Every morning when you wake up, does your whole body feel sore and drained?” Meeting Kikyo’s sharp gaze, the stall owner looked away in panic.
His words also became hesitant and uneven.
“I… I’ve just been too tired lately.
That’s right.
I’m only tired.” The onlookers were not fools.
Seeing the stall owner’s pale face and evasive eyes, they instantly understood that the priestess was right.
There had to be something wrong with this flower that looked like a treasure.
Low murmurs immediately broke out.
“Could there really be something wrong with that beautiful red flower?” “Good thing it was expensive.
I almost bought it.” “No wonder he didn’t keep such a pretty treasure for himself or offer it to the lord.
Instead, he brought it here to sell by the roadside.
Something was obviously wrong with it, and he was afraid the buyer would come looking for him later.” “I… I’m not selling it anymore…” As rumors spread around him, the stall owner’s expression grew uglier.
He glanced fearfully at Kamamara, who was watching him with a teasing look, and in the end, he did not dare get angry.
He hurriedly reached out, trying to snatch back the clay pot from Kikyo’s hands.
Kikyo lightly avoided his hand.
Rising to her feet, she looked at him and said, “If you don’t want to be gnawed down to bare bones, then let me deal with this flower now.” “Give it back…” The stall owner anxiously stepped forward to grab it.
But the next second, “Boom!” The massive iron club landed directly in front of him, almost brushing the tip of his nose.
The stall owner swallowed hard.
His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground.
“No need to explain so much to him.
Hurry and get rid of that thing.
We still need to travel.” Kamamara rested the iron club back on his shoulder and urged Kikyo on.
Kikyo glanced at the stall owner, whose entire body had gone stiff with fright.
Although the process was a little different from what she had expected, the matter had been resolved smoothly enough, so she said nothing more.
She gripped the clay pot.
Dense purifying power surged from her palm, covering both the pot and the red flower.
In the blink of an eye, the beautiful scarlet flower began writhing and twisting.
“Bzzzz.” After a faint buzzing sound, the vibrant red flower in the clay pot suddenly transformed into countless tiny crimson insects.
They gathered into a cloud of red bugs and shot straight into the air, trying to escape.
“No way, it turned into bugs!” “So that beautiful red flower was actually made of insects?” The area instantly erupted into chaos.
Cries of shock rang out from the crowd, and the onlookers backed away in panic, leaving a large empty space around the stall.
Just as the red insects were about to flee, the spiritual power in Kikyo’s hand suddenly spread outward, completely enveloping the swarm in midair.
The next moment, the dense cloud of tiny insects rapidly vanished under the purification.
“Lady priestess, please save me!” At this point, the stall owner finally understood that the red flower he had treated as a treasure was actually something evil.
He hurriedly threw himself to the ground and begged Kikyo for help.
His already pale face had now lost every trace of color.
“Don’t worry.
You only had too much blood drained from you.
Rest for a few days and you’ll recover.
But from now on, don’t bring home things you don’t recognize just because you found them in the mountains.” Kikyo placed the empty clay pot back on the stall and gently advised him.
“Thank you, Lady Priestess.” Hearing Kikyo’s words, the stall owner let out a breath of relief and quickly thanked her.
Kikyo nodded.
Under the reverent gazes of the surrounding people, she left the town together with Kamamara.
After the three of them had put some distance between themselves and the town, Kaede looked up at Kikyo behind her and asked curiously, “Sis, what were those red bugs just now?” Kikyo looked at Kaede and explained patiently, “They are a kind of yōkai called Kara.
They gather together and transform into beautiful treasures to tempt humans.
Strange flowers, jewels, and other dazzling objects are their usual disguises.
“Once someone greedy takes them home, they turn back into insects late at night after everyone nearby has fallen asleep, then secretly drink human blood.
“At first, these yōkai don’t cause much harm.
They only make people feel extremely weak when they wake up in the morning.
But…” At that moment, Kamamara deliberately lowered his voice and continued in a frightening tone.
“But once these insects fully mature, they lay eggs inside the body of the person whose blood they have been drinking.
After the eggs hatch, the larvae eat the host until only a skeleton remains.
Then the new larvae transform into all kinds of treasures and hide themselves again.
“That is why villagers are sometimes found dead in their homes for no apparent reason, with only white bones left behind.
Around the body, all kinds of treasures will be scattered.
This yōkai is the cause.
“And there will always be greedy people who secretly pick up those treasures and hide them away, repeating the cycle.” Kaede’s little face turned pale with fright after hearing his explanation.
Seeing the mischievous smile on Kamamara’s face, Kikyo felt rather speechless.
She reached out and gently stroked Kaede’s head, then warned her seriously, “These yōkai are indeed that sinister.
They use human greed to reproduce.
So from now on, if you ever see an unknown treasure of unclear origin, you must be careful.” “I understand, Kikyo-nee.” Kaede immediately nodded seriously.
“Treasure transformed by this kind of yōkai is very well hidden.
If one doesn’t observe carefully, it’s almost impossible to discover.
Kamamara, how did you notice it?” Kikyo looked at Kamamara with curiosity.
Kamamara smiled and explained, “The smell.
As a half-demon, although my nose isn’t as sharp as a dog yōkai’s, it’s still much stronger than a human’s.
“Even though those Kara had hidden their demonic aura, after drinking blood, the remaining scent of blood was still obvious.
“When I passed by the stall just now, I smelled it.
That made it easy to find them.” Hearing his answer, Kikyo showed a look of understanding.
The three continued chatting casually as they traveled onward.