Chapter 21 - Dead

Dead is Saiyuki's twenty-first chapter.

Summary
As Chin Yisou prepares to target Sanzo, Hakkai remembers who Chin Yisou is. When Goku warns Chin Yisou not to harm Sanzo, Chin Yisou responds by throwing mahjong counter projectiles at Goku, impaling them into his already painful, broken leg. As Gojyo jokingly checks out Goku's leg, Hakkai suggests to Sanzo that they should split up as Gojyo and Goku aren't functioning at 100% capability with their injuries. Sanzo agrees.

Sanzo shoots at Chin Yisou in a surprise attack, but Chin Yisou safely vanishes and reappears a short distance away. Hakkai follows up Sanzo's attack with a chi blast which sends Chin Yisou flying off into the trees. Sanzo and Hakkai dash off after Chin Yisou, leaving Goku and Gojyo behind and unable to keep up with them. Perching in the treetops, Chin Yisou says he realizes that Sanzo and Hakkai wanted to lure him away from the others. As Chin Yisou threatens their lives, Hakkai notes that the fog is beginning to clear. But the memories of the past continue to assault him...

In Hakkai's memory, he sees himself as Gonou. Kanan lies dead within her prison cell, having just committed suicide. Chin Yisou approaches from behind and taunts him for having fallen in love with his own sister. Gonou turns and attacks Chin Yisou with his sword, but Chin Yisou blocks it with his own blade. Chin Yisou comments that Gonou hardly seems human, and then quickly slices Gonou's belly with a slash of his blade. As Gonou's wound sprays blood, Chin Yisou wonders aloud whether the legend about becoming a yokai after bathing in the blood of a thousand yokai is really true.

Back in the present day, Hakkai and Sanzo have lost Chin Yisou in the trees. As Hakkai and Sanzo stand with their backs against a tree, they speculate that Chin Yisou is likely nearby as his desire is to kill Sanzo right in front of Hakkai. As Sanzo smokes a cigarette, Hakkai asks whether it is really okay for him to be here. Sanzo replies that the question is stupid and that Hakkai won't betray him.

Meanwhile, Gojyo carries Goku on piggyback as they try to catch up to the others. Gojyo says he worries about Hakkai's sanity, but Goku says he will be fine because as long as he has someone who believes in him, Hakkai will protect himself. Gojyo picks up the pace, and they continue.

Back at the tree with Sanzo and Hakkai, the two notice that the forest has become unnaturally quiet and they know that Chin Yisou is nearby. As Sanzo points his gun in the direction of a rustling sound, a barrage of mahjong counters shoot down from above and impale the ground all around their feet. They look up to see Chin Yisou in the tree directly above them. Chin Yisou says that the Sanzo-ikkou all seem to know about Hakkai's past and the lives he took. Sanzo replies, "What about it?" Chin Yisou says that such good friends are truly something to lose. Hakkai responds that he will never let Chin Yisou lay a ginger on them. Chin Yisou counters that he will just have to use someone else's fingers.

Chin Yisou's eyes take on a hypnotic pattern as he attempts to control Hakkai's mind. Hakkai screams and clutches his head in his hands. Hakkai tells Sanzo to stay back, and then suddenly lunges at him, knocking Sanzo to the ground. Hakkai wraps his hands around Sanzo's throat, saying that he cannot control his own arms. From behind them, Chin Yisou comments that it is so easy to sneak into the crevices of a fragile creature's heart, and that it should be no problem for Hakkai to add one more death to the lives he has already taken.