Carefully placed were four large, triangular, reddish-orange stone slabs along the border of the village. They represented the four cardinal directions and were positioned to point inwards. It was meant to show that the soul must go and travel its own way to be rejoined with the Great Spirit but only if the gateway (i.e., the mind) is properly cleansed. Once the soul is able to leave, it will travel north, south, east, or west. Homes and the Shinto temple with rooftops all painted either red, orange, or a cross between peach and coral were built around the center of the village where a water fountain was built and surrounded by cobblestones. Those prominent slabs circumjacent to red glass cuttings in the shapes of arrowheads were the landmarks of the holy city, Ketsueki Shirudo, and the rising sun gave the village a proud, fiery glow. During the fall season, which was only a few months away, the holy city was its most breathtaking by landscaping alone. Red rose petals and red maple leaves decorated the streets, and a young male child was chosen to perform the ceremonial purification of the mind so that souls may be released from their bodies and enter the heavens.
Meioshi could see that the day was just beginning for the civilians. Gongs were ringing to signify the morning hour of the red dawn. Priests were chanting and purifying the borders with incense or incantation. It was hard to believe that Shanwang terrorized this place once, but his destruction made the town much stronger against the likes of demons with his strength. The village has found peace for nearly a century with each new master of the king ogre growing stronger. Trees that he once burned were as green as ever, rose bushes that he pulled up were blooming with color, and tea leaf trees he once devoured or peed on were abundant with produce. Apple blossoms were almost complete with their blooming and fruit was practically falling off their branches. The blossom festival in the spring in Ketsueki Shirudo was a sight to behold. This year's celebration was probably the most decorative she had seen yet. She could practically smell new tea mixes being made. The famous rose tea of the village was as sweet-smelling as ever!
Hell's arctic frost didn't affect the holy city in the slightest, but the little wolf sleeping still had a coolness flowing around the boat. It needed that cold breeze to withstand the weather of the living world, and the summertime was no climate for an arctic dweller. The bird didn't seem bothered by the cold winds either. She, too, was asleep. Truly asleep. Both little ones were. Meioshi could only guess that the two could never get a moment's peace being where they were. Their souls were tired. While she knew the wolf had to travel with her due to the blood bond, she wondered if she could leave the bird to rest on her boat. The bird seemed more aggressive than her furrier counterpart, but she was also the weariest. The doctor wanted to wake both little ones up so they could see the holy city for themselves and admire the gorgeous array of warm colors and the smells of tea and goat meat, but she felt it was best that they simply enjoy a proper day of rest. She'll show them the true magic of the city when their souls are ready. That's a spectacle worth saving for them to see.
Seeing travelers waving at her from below, she lifted her hand and returned the greeting. Blowing a kiss to some family friends and receiving one in return. This small gesture sort of reminded her of Sesshomaru. Unlike her friends, they responded well to kisses. Why was he so volatile towards it? Maybe Yuko was right about him in her whirlwind of questions that tormented poor Jaken. He might have chosen a life of celibacy for a reason. It didn't necessarily have to be for religious reasons. Celibacy is often a conscious choice to show devotion to a particular way of life much like a vow of poverty, which is what Meioshi took in becoming a doctor, and if battle is Sesshomaru's preferred lifestyle then guardianship should be respected. Maybe she should apologize for the offense if that's the case. She truly meant no harm by it. Yuko was young, however, and she learned that she enjoys her romantic life with her husband as a wife should. Though she's bolder about the details, Yuko often feels awkward around her mentor when she gets too descriptive about things. It tickles Meioshi when Yuko shows genuine curiosity about her sex education materials.
Meioshi used to reserve her sex health services for prostitutes when she started nursing, but she realized that couples often suffered from infertility and other obstructions that hindered their ability to reproduce. The mental destruction of such a significant part in marriages opened her eyes to do more than just treat sex workers. Thus, she extended those services to couples interested in having children as well. As time went by, her anatomical studies also proved to be beneficial, and she started getting approached by more men who wanted to please their lovers and older women who wondered if their bodies were normal for their men. She giggled to herself quietly when she remembered having a woman burst through her door to accuse her of stealing her husband. She was prepared to cut her hair and all! At that time, Meioshi had shaved her hair and it hadn't grown back to the long tresses that returned presently. The husband stepped in, however, and showed his wife the paperwork Meioshi had written for him. He lacked a certain nutrient that made sex painful for him, so she prescribed a drink mix to restore it. She showed the wife the testing procedure she had done and the diagrams she made to conduct her diagnosis. Once the wife was convinced, she had calmed down and the two left so the husband could start his treatment. Unfortunately, they came back unable to stop touching each other in the clinic while a young teenage boy was asking a question about masturbation. The husband tried to diagnose the boy with a lack of nutrients, but the boy had no such sickness and Meioshi instead gave the couple an aphrodisiac and rubbing oil to experiment with.
Though she enjoyed the work, her materials were highly taboo and they were often destroyed or burned in favor of more "proper" education. Yuko, unfortunately, had to witness that event and became bitter towards others who would restrict such important information. Meioshi, however, taught her to not show hatred or fear. This line of work was going to be dirty, and she would have to be ready for anything and everything as her apprentice. Meioshi began to smile. Yuko was such a fiery spirit much like the red of the holy city. She would also have to see Ketsueki Shirudo one day. Perhaps, when she returned to show these two lost souls the holy city, she could take Yuko here as well.
Directing the boat downward, Meioshi steered it to the temple and landed it in a cloistered garden. Deep green shrubs with pink flowers danced in the winds of her mianyi as she anchored the boat above the ground. Reaching out for a pillow, she lifted the bird off her, who cooed with a small stir, and placed her atop it so she could continue to rest. She adjusted the blanket on her body and let the little one sleep. It's funny seeing herself sleeping so peacefully. Quietly leaping off the boat, Meioshi landed delicately on the soft grass and heard one of her fighting instructors practicing his tai chi in the Circle of Red Sand. She smirked and quietly snuck up on him. He was a monk of about forty-eight to fifty-five years in age. His movements were always so mesmerizing and magnetic to her. The fluidity of his hands and flexibility of his limbs made the human body a spectacle for her.
Finishing the last parts of his routine, he smiled and said without having to turn, "You're earlier than I predicted, doctor."
"Shishou!" Meioshi called, running up to him and tackling him in an excited embrace that knocked him on his back. While he may have been prepared for many an attack, he was always thrown off-guard by Meioshi's zealous hugs. She then said in his robes, "I missed you!"
"Oh?" he said, laughing with glee. "It's hardly been a year since the festival. What could you have missed?"
"That big, hearty laugh!" Meioshi said with a bright smile. She kneeled to get up and held out a hand to help her teacher stand. He gingerly took her hand and was surprised at her growing strength. She lifted him with less effort this time! She then asked, "You predicted I'd be here?"
"Of course, I always make predictions of your coming and going," the master replied, folding his arms and nodding his head back. "Same way I predicted you were going to get into trouble again. And that your final transition is approaching."
"What?" Meioshi questioned with a long stretch of the vowel sound. "How so?"
"You're a Jigoku girl. It's in your blood," the monk said with a smirk and a quick point of a finger before returning his hand to the folded arm position. "Now, what specific trouble are you in to where you needed to make a blood pact with a lost soul?"
Meioshi nervously chuckled, scratching her cheek with some embarrassment, and answered, "Well, see, I was trying to offer some help to it and it just turned out like this."
"Are you sure?" the master asked with evident suspicion in his voice.
"Alright, alright! Don't give me that face!" Meioshi whined, waving her hands on her sides. It looked like she was flapping. She then explained, "As you know, Kako Seigi sent me on a mission into Koridetudi. While I was there, I found a sword underneath a lake of ice called the Baohu qi Voluptatis and its protector. It followed me into Heiwa and threatened me to return it. Kako Seigi, however, wants me to purify the protector, and the protector only granted me five days to find the true guardian of the sword. Naturally, I started hunting for this person, but an Arrow of Judgement led me to this strange bird. She didn't say anything about the sword, but she wants to find her master as well. I'm thinking that both the wolf and that bird are protectors of the sword and - "
"You would be correct," the monk said, interrupting Meioshi. "Baohu qi Voluptatis was wielded by a man named Honoseiken, a foot soldier in the Nameless General's army, who was well-known to be pure of heart. He, Honoseiken, and a starving youth were traveling on a war campaign that had ended during a harsh winter. Many soldiers were lost and runaways died from starvation or the frost. The Nameless General had a dream that warned him of an impending danger coming for them and, during the night, he carved an incantation into a dagger he found lodged in the snow. The following day, the group were being baited by a lost child in the snow. The starving youth was plagued with a demon's song, but Honoseiken stopped the boy and guarded him. With his dagger, the Nameless General released a striking blow that startled the lost child and revealed the snow demon, a woman who fed on the lost soldiers. Because of the purity in his heart, Honoseiken took the dagger from the Nameless General and cut a black wall that was in between the woman and child. Reuniting them, the youth was set free from the song and Honoseiken was gifted with a treasure."
"The divine arctic sword," Meioshi whispered in response.
The monk nodded and said, "Honoseiken was Baohu qi Voluptatis' last true guardian. He died nearly two centuries ago. The wolf and bird must have been chosen to carry on the responsibility before their untimely deaths. What I can't fathom is why you found it in hell. It should have returned to its resting place."
"That's the problem. The bird was in it," Meioshi said, sighing and holding a hand up before placing it on her belt. "But the bird was given a riddle to find the birthplace of the sword. She said the resting place is a stone with the face of the moon. The face will be your eyes to find the True North. Take the path of the True North to find the birthplace of ice and snow. Now, I guessed that the bird was the stone because she doesn't have eyes in her natural form. A curse was placed on her to not see the sky. The wolf is a little different. It has a curse that forces her not to be able to speak the name of the true guardian."
"You're in bigger trouble than I thought," the monk then said. "There are no stones that change faces. Not in the way the moon changes. You don't need the moon to see the stars either. Look at the new moon. It doesn't have a shred of light on its face, but you can still see the stars surrounding it. Snow comes from clouds and ice from no heat. The birthplace of ice and snow had nothing to do with the sword. If you had followed that riddle literally, you would've never found the true guardian. This riddle is for something else entirely."
"So then..." Meioshi started, furrowing her brow. "Alright, you said the sword was a treasure, a gift, from the lost child who had been reunited with his mother. Those lost souls are now freed. Honoseiken would've been the new guardian of the blade. But he's not the true guardian because the child should've been. The child doesn't have a name, right? So, the curse is pointless on the wolf. It can't speak what it doesn't know. But the child was separated from his mother like the wolf and bird are separated from their master, so... Oh no..."
The monk watched the color leave from Meioshi's face and grew concerned. She must have figured something out. He probed, "What?"
"That wasn't a riddle for the birthplace of the sword. It was a riddle for a demon that was hunting for it! The black wall!"