Chapter 45 The Encounter Between Tamayo and Yoriichi

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—".

Tamayo dared not linger. Not long after she ran out, it soon became dawn, and she was forced to hide in a cave to wait for nightfall.

She felt the complex mechanisms of her body's rapid recovery, knowing that the blood had played a role, and Yan Sheng's face flashed through her mind.

Tamayo huddled in the cave, the dense vegetation obscuring her view, and she tried to catch her breath. Strands of her disheveled hair blocked her vision; she could hear voices talking, but they were too indistinct to make out what they were saying.

"The ghost... was killed..."

"Over there...how does it feel..."

As Tamayo listened, her tension grew increasingly high. She absolutely could not be exposed now; she was completely exposed and had nowhere to escape.

"Shh shh shh—".

The sound of leaves rustling grew closer, and Tamayo covered her mouth tightly, beads of sweat slowly trickling down her forehead. Just as they were inches apart, a familiar voice reached Tamayo's ears.

What are you doing?

When Yoriichi Tsugikuni passed by, he sensed Tamayo's presence. When he arrived, he saw two Demon Slayer Corps members searching the area. This made him wonder if Lady Tamayo was being hunted down.

"Lord Rizhu?"

One of the members clearly recognized Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and bowed to him before speaking.

“We’re checking if there are any ghosts. My teammate has a very keen sense of smell; he just caught a faint whiff of a ghost.”

"Oh, I see. How is the situation? How are you all doing?"

Yoriichi looked at the group, his red eyes revealing a hint of concern, his face expressionless.

"Ah, it's nothing, there's no problem. Thank you for your concern. Lord Rizhu's presence here is probably just a misperception. We'll go ahead and carry out our mission."

After bidding farewell to Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the group headed towards their destination. Watching them grow smaller and smaller until they disappeared from sight, Yoriichi Tsugikuni finally spoke up to inquire.

"Ms. Tamayo, are you alright?"

Tamayo loosened her hands from her mouth, took a breath, and hurriedly replied.

"I'm fine, Mr. Yoriichi, thank you."

"Shh shh shh—".

Yoriichi carefully parted the vegetation covering his body, then went inside and immediately tidied it up. Because the cave was small, Yoriichi could only kneel down. He looked at Tamayo, who was somewhat disheveled inside, and his eyes revealed a hint of worry.

“You don’t look well, Miss Tamayo.”

Indeed, Tamayo looked as if she had rolled around in the mud several times, completely disheveled. She hurriedly smoothed her hair, which was obscuring her vision, and looked at Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

"Mr. Yoriichi, it's been a long time. Unfortunately, something unexpected happened."

Are you injured?

Yoriichi noticed the large bloodstains on the other person's kimono and his eyes narrowed, but he didn't smell a particularly strong bloody odor, and the bloodstains seemed to be almost dried.

"It's recovered, there's nothing serious."

Tamayo looked down at her kimono, shook her head, and sighed as she looked at Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

"Mr. Yoriichi, it's a pity we met here."

"It's okay, it's the same everywhere."

"Mr. Yoriichi, Muzan has recently organized a team composed of powerful demons. Please be careful."

Tamayo suddenly remembered that the person in front of her was someone even Muzan Kibutsuji was afraid of, and fell silent for a moment.

“But it makes no difference to Mr. Yoriichi, however…” Tamayo paused before continuing, “I met your brother; he must be the demon from that organization.”

"Is that so..."

Yoriichi lowered his eyes. He had already learned that his brother had become a demon, and he had mixed feelings about his brother.

"Brother, are you alright? How are his injuries...?"

Thinking of the harm he had caused Iwakatsu, Yoriichi Tsugikuni lowered his head. The dim environment shrouded his face in shadow, making it impossible to see his expression.

"He's injured? He looks alright, but he seems to have lost his memory." Tamayo's brow twitched slightly as she recalled, "It must be that Muzan tampered with his memories, you..."

Yoriichi Tsugikuni's eyes widened, and he abruptly raised his head. His hands instinctively clenched into fists, and a chilling killing intent spread out.

Tamayo got goosebumps; she felt an aura even more terrifying than when she was facing Muzan Kibutsuji.

"You're saying that my elder brother has lost his memory?"

His red eyes remained completely expressionless, his face grim. This was the first time Tamayo had seen Yoriichi Tsugikuni's expression change; he had remained unmoved even when facing Muzan Kibutsuji.

"Kibutsuji Muzan, I'm going to kill him."

Yoriichi's voice was icy, carrying a chilling intent. Tamayo almost burst out laughing at the sight.

Muzan Kibutsuji, of all people to mess with, it had to be him.

“Mr. Yoriichi, I will convey any information I notice to you as soon as possible.”

"Okay, thank you, Ms. Tamayo. Please feel free to contact me if you need any help."

After thanking Guo Yuan, he carefully left the cave and headed west. His intuition told him that he should go there.

—The Infinite City After a Long Time—

Yan Sheng carefully wiped his illusory body clean. After it was returned to his body last time, he took it out again, now restored to its original state.

The good news is that his injury has healed, but the bad news is that he's even hungrier now; he feels like he could devour someone.

While he was still pondering whether he should go out and eat some flesh and blood, he heard a sound coming from not far away.

"Oh dear, Lord Akaza, why are you ignoring me?"

Doma's voice came through, laughing and joking. It seemed that Akaza had encountered Doma when he finished his mission and was reporting to the boss.

Iwakatsu stood up and, with a few leaps, saw the two below. Doma, holding a golden fan, was chattering incessantly beside Akaza, persistently trying to strike up a conversation with him.

Iwakatsu watched as Akaza's face grew increasingly dark, veins bulged on his forehead, his hands clenched into fists, and fire seemed to shoot from his blue eyes.

"Your Excellency, Lord Akio~".

When Doma stepped forward again, Akaza finally couldn't hold back and punched him so hard his head was smashed open. His fist pierced through Doma's skull, and blood dripped down.

"roll!"

Akaza clearly knew the other party wasn't dead, and turned away in annoyance. If he didn't have to wait for Muzan-sama, he would have left right now.

"Well, well, Lord Akaza has quite a temper."

Domo tilted his crippled head and sighed deeply, which only made Akaza even more annoyed.

"Do you want to die?!"

Akaza glared fiercely at Doma, his anger flaring even more. Iwakatsu, watching Doma's self-destructive behavior, clicked his tongue in amazement, sensing that Doma actually liked Akaza.

"Doma, what are you doing here?"

A wooden door suddenly appeared, and Muzan Kibutsuji's voice came from inside the slowly opening door.

"Oh dear, Lord Muzan."

Doma looked at the appearing Kibutsuji Muzan, turned his head with a grin, and his previously damaged head was restored.

"It seems that Lord Akaza doesn't really want to talk to me, so I'm going to start a bloodline war."