However, before he even swallowed the first bite, Aoki stopped chewing and looked over at Nori, who had hung the torch on the wall and was sitting to the side.
“Have you eaten?”
“Of course I have, Master,” Nori replied mischievously, shrugging and picking her teeth with her fingernail. “I only gave you some because I was full.”
“You little fox.”
Aoki chuckled at the response, thinking that Nori probably wasn’t very hungry due to her yokai power. He then resumed devouring the meat eagerly.
He ate quickly, barely tasting what kind of meat it was, though it was very tender.
After so many days, feeling something solid in his stomach again filled him with happiness and laziness.
He took the water Nori handed him, took a sip, and sat down comfortably on the ground.
“Where did you hunt this meat? What kind is it?”
Suddenly curious, he wondered since all the animals on the mountain had disappeared.
“Hunted on the mountain. Can’t you tell?”
Nori answered matter-of-factly.
“On the mountain? I can’t tell what kind it is.”
“It’s from a small wild boar, very young. Didn’t you think it was tender?”
“It is indeed tender.”
Aoki picked his teeth with a twig, nodding.
Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, “Did you also give them meat?”
He meant the four men outside.
“Um… yeah…” Nori nodded absentmindedly, frowning.
“What’s wrong?”
Though full, Aoki’s mind still felt foggy from the long hunger. It took him a while to notice Nori was acting strange.
When Nori came back, she had started the fire; the campfire’s warm light illuminated the cave.
Nori sat beside the fire, the gentle glow casting soft shadows on her face.
The fox spirit’s charm was beginning to show, even with her tattered blue dress.
But on some parts of the blue dress, there were obvious bloodstains splattered.
Aoki had seen Nori hunt before; after becoming a two-tailed fox spirit, her power had increased greatly.
She imitated Aoki’s ki state, throwing stones to catch small prey and using tools for larger game.
But the blood splattered on her neck, legs, and sleeves—what kind of prey had caused that?
Could Nori really be fighting in close combat?
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing Aoki approach, Nori pulled her legs in and the red gleam in her black eyes flashed.
She no longer scared herself into showing fox ears or tails like before.
But her nervousness was still clear.
Aoki felt a bad premonition.
He left the cave and loudly called the four men, but there was no answer.
For over a month, the four men had always stayed outside the cave no matter what.
Where were they now?
“Where are they?”
Aoki asked Nori inside the cave.
“I don’t know, maybe they left?”
“They left? Where to?”
“Out of the village, I guess?”
“With the plague, bandits, and famine outside, would they leave?”
Aoki realized Nori was lying.
He hurried back into the cave and demanded, “When was the last time you saw them?”
“On the mountain, I think? They went hunting with me.”
Nori began to stammer.
“On the mountain? Take me there.”
Aoki commanded, grabbing Nori’s arm firmly.
“I…” Nori hesitated, unwilling to get up.
Aoki pulled her up forcefully, making her cry out softly, “Hey!”
“What’s wrong with your leg?”
Only then did Aoki notice Nori was limping.
“I hurt it while hunting.”
“Take me there.”
“No…”
Nori still refused.
But under Aoki’s scolding, she eventually relented and limped along with him up the mountain.
Aoki was equally unsteady, his spirit weak.
After a long time trekking through the woods, they reached a clearing.
Aoki saw blood covering the ground.
Nori said it was wild boar’s blood, but Aoki didn’t believe it.
In fact, Aoki had never taught Nori to lie.
He was determined to raise her to be as good a yokai as possible.
First, Nori was neither high nor low rank and hadn’t done many bad things, so she wouldn’t be punished by experts.
Second, if Nori was lucky enough to become a great yokai, keeping some kindness would prevent her from doing evil.
“Those four men… are they dead?”
Nori hadn’t cleaned the scene, and Aoki saw a severed hand under a tree.
Faced with his question, Nori finally gave up and replied dejectedly with a humph.
The sound made Aoki frown and close his eyes.
He asked, “Why?”
“I…”
Nori hesitated, unable to explain.
“Ugh…”
Aoki suddenly understood.
He gagged, knelt down, and tried to vomit but couldn’t.
He dug at his throat with his hand, but only dry heaves came out.
That meat… that meat was…
“What kind of meat is that?!”
Aoki spun to face Nori and shouted.
“Master… I can’t say.”
Nori looked away.
Aoki stood up angrily and staggered over.
He grabbed her by the chest, but Nori collapsed uncontrollably to the ground first.
Aoki also sat down heavily.
Nori gasped for breath, clutching her leg, while Aoki’s rage was uncontrollable.
“Can’t you break your habit of eating people?! Didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t do this anymore?
Did you kill them and then eat their flesh?”
“Waa…”
Nori suddenly burst into tears, explaining between sobs, “It’s not like that, not like that.
I heard they wanted to eat you and me, so I tricked them up the mountain and attacked first.
It’s not how you said it was.”
Hearing this, Aoki’s mind cleared slightly.
The explanation wasn’t far-fetched—people starving to death would do anything.
In those four men’s eyes, he and Nori were just a weak man and a young girl.
But the shame and rage from cannibalism made Aoki frown.
Even so, it shouldn’t have been—
Aoki didn’t know how to put it.
He clenched his fists, trying to force himself to throw up again.
“Master?”
Nori suddenly called out.
She trembled, gripping both sides of her skirt.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly pulled it up.
A pair of slender legs were gradually exposed—the knees and then…
Aoki’s eyes went wide in shock.
His pupils shrank sharply, his breathing grew rapid.
Her left leg was intact, perfectly sculpted.
But a huge chunk of flesh was missing from her right thigh.
Aoki only dared glance once before looking away, feeling suffocated by a heavy pressure in his chest.
Seven or eight taels… seven or eight taels of flesh…
The thought flashed through his mind.
Suddenly, he felt a burning heat in his belly.
A fire named guilt and remorse blazed through him.
“It’s… it’s my… my flesh, Master.”
Nori stammered through tears.
Now Aoki understood—the grief behind her crying was injustice.
“My flesh?”
Aoki murmured.