Chapter Six
In the dimly lit room, the damp air was filled with all sorts of unpleasant smells of sweat and mildew, making each breath feel incredibly difficult.
The demon with its neck severed resembled a piece of shredded paper stained with flames, slowly burning and turning to ashes.
"It stinks! Do all evil spirits smell this bad?"
The smell was exactly like swill that had been piling up for a month or two; it was disgusting.
Qianxia pinched her nose, gagged twice, her delicate eyebrows and eyes twisted into a mess, and she kicked her dissipating head away in a fit of anger, her fluffy rabbit ears suddenly freezing.
The same style of plush rabbit slippers were tinged with wisps of smoke, the tips of the originally snow-white plush were curled and charred, looking just like dandelions that had been struck by lightning.
Chika was instantly dumbfounded.
Xuanmi's gaze remained fixed on the girl's waist as she sheathed her sword, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.
He had witnessed far too many Demon Slayer swordsmen's slashes.
The elegant arc of Water Breathing, the violent lightning of Thunder Breathing, and the scorching trajectory of Flame Breathing.
But I've never seen such...casual killing.
There is no tension of anticipation, no rhythm unique to breathing techniques, and even the most basic breathing is omitted.
The girl in front of him, who was not even as tall as him, frowned slightly, and with a hint of impatience, the blade had already drawn a perfect crescent moon.
The posture didn't resemble slaying a demon, but rather casually slicing open a ripe watermelon in the courtyard.
"Eeya—!!!"
The screams were like rusty iron scraping against glass, making the villagers huddled in the corner tremble and shrink their bodies even more violently.
Xuanmi pressed his buzzing right ear and watched as the girl, who had been murderous just a second ago, suddenly knelt on the ground, holding her slippers with teary eyes.
"Limited edition...I had to queue for three days to get it..." Nobody told me that this burning demon actually had warmth.
"......."
Xuanmi clenched his teeth, the metallic taste of rust seeping from between them. He felt that what had just happened was either a hallucination or that the girl had just hit the jackpot.
How could a child who isn't even as tall as me possibly do this? How could he possibly do this? He didn't even need breathing techniques; he just chopped off the demon's head with a single stroke.
This made him seem like a joke.
The tattered paper door rustled in the night wind, and cherry blossoms outside the courtyard twirled and fell, but no other demon appeared for a long time.
Has the evil spirit outside the door disappeared?
The moonlight meandered through the tatami mats in blood-red patterns. Genya glanced at the girl who was still sobbing.
She curled up barefoot, clutching her slightly dirty shoes tightly to her chest, large tears falling like raindrops, looking very vulnerable.
That must have been my imagination. How could that idiot possibly have chopped off the demon's head in one blow?
Ah, that must be it.
Otherwise, why would she have been arrested and brought here as well?
Xuanmi kept questioning himself, grinding his back teeth in frustration. A burst of anger swirled in his chest, but he couldn't get to the bottom of it. He could only grit his teeth and stride toward the courtyard.
We should leave this cursed place as soon as possible and seek help from the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Where are you going?" A cold voice came down to the ground, and her sleeve was grabbed without warning.
So fast! Without a sound! When did it happen?
Xuanmi shuddered, a chill running up his tailbone to the top of his head, as if a faint electric current was crawling down his spine.
The string called reason snapped.
"You bastard! Don't get too cocky!"
He spun around and leaped up, his five fingers spreading wide, carrying a gust of wind as he aimed straight at the girl's head. "What are you pretending for!"
The moment it touched the hair on the top of the head, the indigo light suddenly exploded, and arcs of electricity condensed in the air like a spider web.
"Sizzle—"
The crackling sound of an electric arc shattered the deathly silence. Xuanmi staggered backward, staring at the girl in disbelief.
She was still clutching that rice-like slipper, tears still faintly visible at the corners of her eyes, but in those tear-filled eyes, there was—
The killing intent was like a knife.
His knees buckled uncontrollably, and he fell heavily to the ground, the fear of death creeping over him.
This was the first time he had ever felt such pure killing intent in a person.
In his understanding, this killing intent was always directed at evil spirits.
At that moment, he also confirmed something else—
She definitely didn't use breathing techniques.
She killed the demon by means of something else.
Memories flooded back like a tidal wave, carrying a pungent, metallic scent. The images of my family's gruesome deaths flashed before my eyes, my own powerless and desperate cries echoed in my ears, and my brother's lonely yet resolute figure stood before me.
Genmi fell silent.
Chika was absolutely certain that this person had just tried to hurt her; his anger seemed genuine, and the veins on his forehead were still throbbing.
With a slight movement of her fingertips, blue arcs of light surrounded her, accompanied by a series of explosive sounds.
In her mind, cunning humans are no different from evil spirits.
Killing him is no loss.
Then--
"Thump—"
The dull thud of the skull striking the tatami exploded in the deathly silence. The boy's hands were clasped over his forehead, his posture as devout as if he were worshipping a god.
"Please, teach me the way to exorcise demons."
His voice was hoarse and trembling, yet it carried a resolute determination, as if he had nothing to lose.
Moonlight leaked in through the tattered paper door, casting his hunched back into a distorted silhouette, like a broken knife.
His family had all died at the hands of evil spirits, and he survived only because of his brother's protection. The word he once used to call his brother "executioner" now festered and maggots in the scar on his Adam's apple.
Every breath he took was a slow, agonizing torture.
He had knelt countless times before the trainer's door, listening to the sounds of breathing techniques breaking through the air and feeling the chilling killing intent, but he could not enter.
The days when his physical constitution kept him out of every breathing technique had long since rusted into his bones, slowly eroding his pride.
Unable to fight alongside his brother, unable to vanquish all the evil spirits in the world, this was his lifelong regret.
And today he finally saw hope—
A hope to slay evil spirits without using breathing techniques.
"Please..."
Outside the empty courtyard, only clusters of cherry blossoms fell, creating an eerily quiet atmosphere.
Xuanmi raised his head after receiving no response for a long time.
The night wind swirled up the ashes of the fallen demon, making them spin a few times in the air before quietly dissipating.
There was no one in sight.
......
"Ah, it's red!"
"Ah—so red!"
QAQ
What kind of place is this? How do I get out?
Chika tilted her head back, her pupils reflecting the endless red bricks and tiles. In the maze-like corridors, every corner seemed familiar to her.
The vermilion beams and pillars, the scarlet roof tiles, the identical upturned eaves, and even the inscriptions on the lintels are exactly the same, perhaps because she can't read those characters.
The courtyard is winding and the stone steps meander like snakes, each step stained dark green by years of moss.
She ran barefoot down the road, clutching a pair of rabbit slippers. "This place is strange, both the evil spirits and the people are strange. I'd better leave as soon as possible."
I wonder if Sanemi discovered any clues she left behind.
If we don't find her soon, she'll get lost inside.
"Find them quickly, they must still be inside the church."
Noisy footsteps could be heard in the distance, and figures of all kinds carrying lanterns and torches moved through the courtyard.
The flickering firelight illuminated the entire space.
Ugh—this is so troublesome.
At worst, we can just fight our way out; it only takes a bit of Nen power. But then there's Sanemi, that meal ticket... that's not good...
She should adhere to the standard: be weak and easily bullied, and wait for someone to rescue her.
While pondering, Qianxia, her entire body shrouded in the aura of concealment, moved swiftly along the corridor pillars. As she turned the seventh corner, a paper door, emitting candlelight, appeared before her.
Chika shrank her neck, feeling a chill on the back of her neck for no apparent reason.
With wolves in front and tigers behind, two fists can't fight four hands.
We still don't know what secrets this desolate place holds, nor do we know what's going on with Sanemi.
She decisively opened the door in front of her.
In the flickering candlelight, two pairs of eyes looked over, one pair cloudy and dim, the other sparkling like iridescent glass.
Those murky eyes were pressing down on Liuli.
Chika's face darkened: "Damn it! How can such disgusting things happen in this world!"
......
The dim candlelight cast flickering shadows on the wall.
Tong Mo leaned against the candlelight in the room, turning the gilded iron fan between his fingertips, refracting tiny specks of light.
As the fan ribs open and close, they create airflow, stirring up the ashes that have been burned away on the ground.
The ashes of the grass and wood rustled and swirled, revealing a string of dark red beads engraved with obscure Sanskrit characters.
"Oh?" Doma picked up the prayer beads with great interest.
The moment my fingertips touched the bead, an indescribable, strange sensation swept over my entire body.
As if some invisible shackles had snapped open with a "crack".
The oppressive power of the Ghost King, which had been a constant companion for so long, vanished, and an unprecedented feeling of comfort instantly filled my limbs and bones like a warm current.
"Um?"
This feeling of lightness, so free from control... is unprecedented.
With a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, he silently murmured to himself, "Kibutsuji Muzan?"
The aura dissipated without even causing a ripple.
silence.
Absolute, deathly silence.
Nothing happened.
"Eh~~" Douma drawled, a playful smile curving his lips. "Interesting~"
Without further hesitation, he twirled his fingers, letting the scalding hot prayer beads slide slowly and deliberately across his cold fingertips and pale palm, finally wrapping around his slender wrist bones.
"Sizzle..."
The moment flesh and blood came into contact with the prayer beads, a piercing burning sound rang out as if from a living creature. The skin visibly charred and carbonized, and wisps of smoke carrying a burnt smell rose up.
"Oh my~~~"
The burning pain made Douma squint his eyes in pleasure, and a satisfied sigh even escaped from his throat, as if it were not the wailing of flesh and blood, but the supreme sacred sound from the other side of bliss.
"Ah—so good~~ What wonderful stuff is this?"
He dragged out the last syllable, stretching his body like a lazy feline, every bone making a soft, audible crack.
"Rustling sound—"
Just then, the old man who had been lurking in the shadows for a long time suddenly rushed out like a cornered beast.
"You evil spirit! Give me back the lives of my wife and children!"
His hoarse roar was filled with deep-seated hatred, and his scarlet eyes burned with the flames of despair as he viciously rammed his body, along with the short sword in his hand, into Doma.
"Oh my!"
Doma let out a weak, insincere cry, letting that withered, emaciated body knock him heavily to the ground.
With a soft "thud," the cold blade sank deep into his pale shoulder blade.
Doma did not stop him, but considerately reached out to support the old man's trembling body to prevent him from falling.
"Didn't you make a wish to me that your wife and son would disappear?"
Domo tilted his head, his seven-colored pupils reflecting the old man's tear-streaked face.
“You said your son always stopped you from gambling, and your wife didn’t want to help you earn money by entertaining guests. Look, they won’t stop you anymore.”
He sighed with pity and gently wiped away the tears from the old man's eyes with his fingertips.
"I've fulfilled your wish, isn't that good?"
"No! Not this kind of disappearance! Not this kind!! Ahhh—"
The old man roared in despair, his turbid tears mixed with saliva spurting out and dripping onto the blood-stained collar of the doma.
With his hands restrained, he opened his mouth, revealing his gleaming white teeth, and bit down hard on Doma's shoulder.
"Snap—!"
A sickeningly painful sound of flesh tearing rang out.
Blood gushed out instantly, staining half of the old man's hideous and distorted face red.
"Whoosh—"
In the instant of the bloody tearing, a cool breath rushed in fiercely, then suddenly stopped.
The old man who bit someone: "......"
Doma, who was bitten: "......"
Chinatsu, who opened the door: "..."
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