Time slowly passed through the day-to-day curse practice. Unknowingly, winter arrived.

The villagers at the foot of the mountain had already begun to prepare for the New Year Celebration. Reiko had to treat many people who came to the shrine to pray for blessings every day. Horii had not seen Mao for a long time, she heard that Mao had gone out to sharpen her ability. Horii looked at the big tree outside the shrine and sighed.

Right now, only she was idle.

"Masu, when Mao will be back?"

"Probably after the New Year Celebration."

"Not even before the New Year Celebration …" Horii raised her head. The winter sunlight pierced the branches of the tree and fell on her face.

"Masu, this winter is really cold."

…

The dull life did not last long.

The day before the New Year eve, Reiko’s Shiki (Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony) brought the latest news about Mao.

"Lord Mao died together with and the Yokai."

Horii tightly covered her ears, but Shiki's voice still rushed in through her fingers.

How is that possible?

How could that seemingly arrogant but awkward girl die so suddenly?

Horii thought this must be a joke of the Shiki (Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony). However, everyone knew that Reiko's Shiki would not do anything other than convey information.

Reiko accepted the truth without saying any word.

In fact, two days ago, before the tragedy happened on Mao, Reiko had already divined for Mao. The trigrams were extremely fierce. At that time, Reiko only thought it was a divination mistake, but now it seemed that there was not the slightest mistake.

Lingzi's mood had only been low for two days before she regained her composure and stepped up her training for Holly.

Reiko had a faint premonition that she would not be able to live long, and only Horii would be able to take on the responsibility of guarding the village after she died.

The boring practices repeated over and over again, and this situation continued until the summer of the next year.

At that time, Horii was just 13 years old.

…

On a summer night, the moonlight was very bright.

The cicada in the daytime just stopped noising but the frogs in the farmland began singing at night.

Suddenly, the wind stopped.

The noisy frog also seemed to have been choked by someone, instantly losing its voice.

Two shocking strands of demonic energy appeared one after another in the back mountain, awakening the sleeping Horii. She opened her eyes and grabbed her coat. Just as she was about to rush out to look for Reiko, she lifted the curtain and saw that Reiko was standing at the door, smiling at her.

She put on the beautiful figured coat, and her long black hair, which had always been scattered behind her head, also be tied up. Her appearance was dignified and solemn.

"Lord Reiko …"

Horii said in a daze. She really couldn't understand Reiko's actions. The Yokai had come, so why was Reiko dressed so seriously instead of preparing for the battle?

Reiko shook her head with a chuckle and interrupted Horii, "Can you accompany me to meet an old friend, Horii?"

What kind of old friend would visit in the middle of the night?

A faint doubt appeared in Horii's mind. However, when she thought of the two Yokais that had suddenly appeared, she suddenly understood.

If Reiko's friends were those Yokais, then her relaxed behaviour could be understandable.

Horii thought like this but did not ask anything. She nodded silently and changed into a witch dress to follow behind Reiko.

The night was quiet.

The silver full moon hung high up in the night sky, and the moonlight illuminated the path to the back mountain.

From afar, Horii could see two figures, one tall and one short. The same silver hair loosened behind his shoulders, reflecting the moonlight as if there were waves of water flowing in it.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, the taller man turned around first.

That was undoubtedly a very handsome man. He wore a brocade robe with bamboo flowers and was covered in armour. Two swords were attached to his waist. His sharp ears and two blue demon patterns showed his inhuman identity.

It was supposed to be a cold and arrogant image, but it softened because of the smile on his lips.

He chuckled, "Long time no see, Reiko."

"It's been a long time since we parted ten years ago, Great General Dog," Reiko replied with a smile.

"The Yokai from the west direction have calmed down quite a bit recently. I came to see you when I was passing by." Said the Dog General.

As he spoke, he turned to look at the youth who was half a head shorter than him, his eyes filled with pride as a father.

"This is my son, the Sesshoumaru."

"Sure enough, he is very similar to you."

"This should be the first time you've seen him, right?"

Reiko nodded, "This is indeed the first time you meet him, right?"

Horii stood behind Reiko and stole a peek.

The young man’s facial features seemed to be even more exquisite than his father’s. There were two demonic red patterns on his fair jade-like faces. A crescent appeared on his foreheads. His cold temperament was matched by a white-backed eighth-level red cherry-patterned luxurious dress. People couldn't help but think of such descriptions of a noble young master.

However … his demonic aura seemed to have a faint sense of familiarity.

Horii gently sniffed. The cold and clear aura was like the first snow of winter … It seemed to be the demonic aura she had sensed in Maple Village

When she was distracted, her gaze lingered for a long time.

Sensing her peeking, Sesshoumaru, who had not given his face since they met, suddenly raised his head. He had inherited the golden eyes of the Dog Race, but they weren't as gentle as the Dog General's. Instead, they were as cold as his temperament.

A weak human.

After seeing clearly that it was only a human staring at him, Sesshoumaru withdrew his gaze.

Horii was swept a glance by his gaze, and his mind was instantly blank.

There was probably no one in the world who could grow to such a peerless beauty. That was not the beauty that a human should have.

No, even a monster wouldn't have such a face. Horii thought.

Perhaps it was because she was too impressed at first sight that she recalled this scene over and over again during the two hundred years that she was sealed.

She remembered that shocking glance.

Of course, this was another story.

Apart from being stunned by the ‎Sesshoumaru, the current Horii could also feel the pressure coming from his body-it was because his strength was far superior to hers.

For some reason, Horii suddenly felt a little thirsty for power.

She raised her hand to cover her chest.

Horii’s heart was pounding, and Horii’s blood seemed to have been ignited by this inexplicable desire, burning and boiling.

She wanted power …

She wanted to … become as powerful as the Sesshoumaru.