Chapter Fourteen
With her hands behind her back, Chika walked forward, step by step, following Sanemi's shadow.
She glanced sideways at the owner of the shadow out of the corner of her eye, then quietly pulled Xuanmi back two steps.
"Let me ask you something. I think your brother is pretty good, so why don't you learn breathing techniques from him, but instead want to learn... abilities from me?"
Xuanmi blinked. "Because I can't learn it. My body prevents me from learning any kind of breathing technique."
"Huh? Aren't you worried that you won't be able to learn this either?" Qianxia leaned closer to him, nudging him with her elbow, and laughed carefree.
Xuanmi sighed, "It's better to give it a try than to have no chance at all. If your method doesn't work, I'll try other methods. There's bound to be one that works for me."
As he spoke, he lowered his head. "Actually, I already have a method, but... it's too dangerous. If possible, I hope we don't use it."
"Huh? What method? Is it dangerous?" Chika's curiosity was instantly piqued, and she leaned forward again. "How dangerous?"
Xuanmi didn't speak. He scratched his head, as if he was thinking of a suitable way to put it.
Suddenly, Chika stopped in her tracks, halting in place.
Xuanmi was startled by her and stopped in his tracks. "What's going on?"
Qianxia gripped his sleeve tightly, her eyes darting around as she surveyed the surroundings, her expression cold. "How...how did we get here?"
Having spent more than a day or two with Chika, this was the first time Genmi had seen her with such a solemn expression, as if she were facing a formidable enemy.
"We just came out to do a mission. You and I both accepted a mission."
Xuanmi didn't know what she was nervous about, so he glanced around.
Oh! The dense, pervasive village atmosphere, with the red moon hanging high overhead, could be a little frightening for girls.
"Don't be afraid! I'm here..." He was about to pat his chest and assure her.
"What mission?" Qianxia suddenly turned to look at him, her brows furrowed. "Who's with whom?"
Xuanmi swallowed hard. "You're coming with me?"
Chika pressed further, "How many people?"
Genmi: "Two."
"Shit!" Qianxia cursed.
"You're a reserve member, and I'm not even a reserve member. What kind of mission are we going to take?"
Xuanmi's eyes widened immediately. "Oh right! We're not official team members yet, we don't have the right to take on missions, so... what is this...?"
Chika's eyes were sharp as knives. "So in other words... there shouldn't be just the two of us here. Who are we doing a mission with right now?"
Xuanmi's mind went blank when he was asked the question, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
"My brother!" He grabbed Qianxia's hand, suddenly realizing, "We came out with my brother!"
"What about your brother?" Qianxia countered. "Didn't we just forget about that?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth and nose, her voice muffled in her palm, "This fog is problematic! It can disrupt memories!"
Xuanmi belatedly realized what was happening and quickly covered his mouth and nose, but then, as if remembering something, he took a deep breath.
Qianxia looked astonished: "Are you alright? I don't have any Liuliumei in my hand."
Xuanmi took a deep breath. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
"Xuanya? Chinatsu!"
Suddenly, the thick fog in front of them dissipated, and a faint figure appeared.
With his white hair bristling and his eyes sharp, it was none other than Shinazugawa Sanemi.
"What are you doing here? Hurry up and catch up, the mission is almost complete."
He shouted sternly, his Nichirin Blade still dripping dark liquid, and several wounds on his body were oozing blood, clearly indicating that he had just been through a fierce battle.
Genmi frowned, his feet rooted to the spot, and he even quietly pulled Chika behind him.
"Something's wrong, be careful!" Xuanmi whispered a warning, nodding at him.
He didn't need to remind her to know there was a problem.
She patted Genmi's hand and asked in a loud voice, "Brother Shimi, tell me, how old am I this year?"
—
Meanwhile, on the other side of the thick fog.
Sanemi frowned deeply as he looked at "Chinatsu," who was clutching a doll and looking terrified.
"Sanemi-nii, I'm so scared~~~ Why are you so far away from me?"
"Chika" raised her hand and waved at him, her voice affected and pretentious.
"Brother Sanemi~~~"
Sanemi frowned as he looked at her, because he was a little unsure whether this person was real or fake.
Suddenly, Chika looked up at him, her eyes wide open, "Sanemi-nii-nii, do you know how old I am this year?"
How big?
Sanemi thought for a moment and replied, "Eight...eighteen?"
Sanemi didn't know how old Chinatsu was, but he was very clear that regardless of whether this "Chinatsu" was real or not, he would still cut her with his Nichirin Blade.
Once you cut it, you'll know if it's real or fake. So, if you want her to reveal her weakness, you have to provoke her first.
—
"How many?"
Upon hearing the answer, Chinatsu completely exploded. She stared intently at "Sanemi" in front of her, her eyes blazing with fury that seemed to be burning.
"Sanemi" blinked, his tone serious, "Eighty-eight."
He had gotten this answer from Shinji Miyako, and even he himself found it absurd when he said it aloud.
He is a demon newly promoted by Lord Doma. "Mist Mirror" is his Blood Demon Art, which, as the name suggests, uses dense fog to create an area and simultaneously mirrors a person trapped in the fog.
Take advantage of their mutual trust, get close, and kill them.
Today, four people entered the fog. One of them broke out of the illusion, leaving the other two holding hands tightly, making it difficult to separate them.
He had no choice but to impersonate both "Sanemi" and "Chinatsu" to try and provoke them separately.
However, things didn't go smoothly from the start; he felt like he hadn't checked the almanac before going out today.
When the number eighty-eight was mentioned, not only the girl opposite him, but even he himself began to doubt whether there was a problem.
Fortunately, he had other ways to deal with such a wary person.
The move is called "Mutual Killing".
Sure enough, as soon as the number eighty-eight appeared, the anger in Qianxia's eyes exploded, and she raised her hand to unleash a blinding bolt of lightning!
The evil spirit was prepared and instantly vanished into the thick fog, leaving only a thunderclap in its wake.
They then dispelled the thick fog that had enveloped the three of them.
"Sizzle—"
Sanemi was struck squarely by the lightning, his whole body trembled violently, and he staggered back a few steps. In an instant, he drew his sword, his eyes as fierce as a wolf's.
"You really are an evil spirit?!"
"You devil my foot! I'm eighteen this year, you say I'm eighty-eight? I don't care if it's true or not, go to hell!"
With a furious roar, Chika leaped into the air, her body crackling with tiny sparks of electricity, her fist wrapped in pale blue lightning as she prepared to smash towards Sanemi.
Sanemi's eyes suddenly turned cold. He assumed that the demon was pretending to be crazy in Chika's appearance. With a flick of his wrist, his Nichirin Blade was already blocking his jaw, the blade reflecting his blood-stained white hair.
"A monster spouting nonsense! Breathing of the Wind, Fifth Form—Autumn Breeze!"
As the shout fell, a fierce wind blade suddenly exploded!
The airflow instantly condensed into a sharp arc of light, like a mountain wind in late autumn carrying shards of ice, sweeping across the ground, tearing the surrounding thick fog to pieces, and even the air itself felt bone-chillingly cold.
Chika felt a sharp pain on her cheek from the wind blades, and the airflow shaved away a layer of soil beneath her feet, startling her so much that she jumped back to dodge.
"You wretch! Where have you taken my brother and Chika?! Tell me!"
Sanemi pressed forward relentlessly, his blade spinning again, the wind intensifying, his killing intent almost solidifying into a tangible form.
Qianxia felt a tightness in her heart from the pressure of this fierce aura and hurriedly grabbed Xuanmi's wrist to pull herself back.
"Something's not right... How can someone among the demons use the Breath of Wind? This technique, this aura, it's exactly the same as a real person!"
Xuanmi was also startled. He cautiously tugged at her sleeve, his voice barely audible, "This looks like...it really is my brother."
Chika's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot in an instant. She lowered her voice, gritted her teeth, and the veins on her forehead were throbbing.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Xuanmi looked completely innocent: "I just guessed it too!"
"Damn it! Does that mean I've been exposed? How am I supposed to slack off in the Demon Slayer Corps from now on?!"
Chika was furious. How could a younger brother not recognize his older brother at a glance? It was obvious that they were not on good terms.
On the other side, Sanemi's brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a mosquito. He looked at the two people chatting quietly in front of him, and no matter how he looked at them, they seemed to be his younger brother and Chinatsu. But then Chinatsu's move just now...
It's really strange.
Thinking this, Chinatsu suddenly turned her head around.
"Heh! Heh! Heh!" She grinned mischievously, her shoulders bouncing up and down on purpose. "Now that you've found out, don't blame me for not giving you a chance."
Her gesture of rubbing her nose with the back of her hand was extremely lewd, and she deliberately spoke in a hoarse voice, drawing out her words.
"The young lady and young man are lying in my cave right now. I'm going to eat them in a bit. If you've got the guts, come and kill me... us..."
Xuanmi, standing next to him, was completely dumbfounded, his eyes wide open.
What's going on here? How come all of a sudden, Qianxia... started talking nonsense? Did the lightning strike her brain and mess it up?
Seeing that he was standing still, Qianxia quickly nudged him hard with her elbow, lowered her voice, and spoke very fast.
"If you want to learn my abilities, you have to help me keep it a secret from your brother. What are you standing there for? Can't you act? Can't you even do the demon act?"
Xuanmi snapped out of his daze, hurriedly pursed his lips, and tried his best to imitate the appearance of the evil spirits he had seen before, frowning and glaring.
But his slightly trembling fingertips and stiff expression made him look like a student being punished by the teacher, without a trace of ferocity.
Sanemi frowned even more as he looked at the two people in front of him, one a complete idiot and the other trying too hard to look fierce.
This art style is so bizarre...
Qianxia knew she couldn't just stand there and act; her eyes suddenly sharpened, and with a light snap of her fingers, she shouted, "Thunderstorm—Piercing Sun!"
A blinding flash of lightning burst through his palm, shooting straight at Sanemi in the mist like a silver arrow, causing the air to crackle and pop.
Sanemi's doubts deepened, but with the attack already underway, how could he sit idly by and wait to die?
"Wind Breathing, First Form - Dust Whirlwind, Slash!"
Without further hesitation, he charged toward the source of the lightning, his blade swirling with violent vortexes, the sharp wind blades forming a cyan barrier as they cleaved through the thick fog with unstoppable force.
The wind and thunder collided suddenly, creating a deafening roar. The thick fog was violently shaken and the ground trembled slightly.
In the blink of an eye, Sanemi's sword had already cut through the lightning and was heading straight for Chinatsu's face.
Xuanmi gasped in shock, completely terrified. "Brother! No..."
The strong wind blew away all the golden bangs on the girl's forehead, revealing her wide-open eyes.
Clear, clean, and vibrant, with a hint of astonishment...
Meeting a pair of clear eyes and hearing the shout, Sanemi slightly opened his eyes, flipped his wrist, rotated the hilt of the sword, and instantly turned the sharp blade inward.
With the knife about to fall on her neck, Chika couldn't tell whether it was the blade or the back of the knife, and she was so terrified that she almost screamed.
For some reason, Sanemi froze in mid-air for half a second.
Chika's eyes lit up.
"Lightning speed!"
In an instant, her entire body was enveloped in blue and white arcs of light, as if she were surrounded by a dazzling lightning bolt.
"Sizzle~"
The figure vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving the thick fog far behind, and even the wind couldn't catch up with the lightning bolt that was so fast it was almost blurry.
Genya was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth, and Sanemi's pupils also shrank.
He had never seen such incredible speed, whether from a human or a ghost.
"Sizzle~"
Another crisp sound rang out as a blue arc of lightning exploded.
Chinatsu appeared beside Sanemi like a ghost and kicked him hard in the wrist holding the sword.
"Clang!"
The Nichirin Blade was kicked away instantly, and she followed up with another kick, sending Sanemi staggering and falling to the ground.
Shimi immediately sensed something was wrong and was about to get up when a barrage of fists rained down on him.
Chika straddled him and started beating him mercilessly, her fists crackling with electricity as she pounded on Sanemi's back, all the while yelling at Genya.
"Disciple! What are you standing there for? Come and help! Let's beat up the Demon Slayer Corps together!"
Xuanmi stood there helplessly, watching his older brother being beaten to the ground and groaning, and then looking at Qianxia's "I'm acting, don't expose me" look, he was so anxious that his face turned red, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, and he didn't know whether to step forward or back.
What... what kind of situation is this...?
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