Chapter 29 Accidental Injury
A purple blade flashed, a purple crescent-shaped blade with large and small dark blue crescents sliced through a large swath of trees and continued forward.
Yan Sheng was on edge, his eyes fixed on the figure rapidly approaching.
He's gambling.
As Yoriichi Tsugikuni moved, he could clearly feel that Muzan Kibutsuji's bloody aura vanished in an instant, replaced by that familiar aura.
Not only that, but in his clear vision, Yoriichi saw that incredibly familiar purple figure, wielding a sword, overlapping with the figure in his memory. Perhaps due to the reflection of the moonlight, Yoriichi couldn't see his face clearly, but his red pupils contracted sharply the instant he saw him.
The purple blade light approached, and before Yuichi Tsugikuni could even process it, his body instinctively ducked to avoid the large area of purple blade. The familiar, ghostly blue crescent moon that followed caused his grip on the blade to loosen slightly, and the red color representing the Crimson Blade quickly faded.
"Brother?!"
Kokugenichi's mind went blank with alarm bells, but his body moved with a swift, powerful swing of his hand, and the flames, reduced by half, slashed into Iwakatsu's chest.
"cough--."
So fast, so fast that even though Yan Sheng could see it, he had no time to react. The blade slashed a long bloody gash across his chest, and the scalding air following him forced Yan Sheng to cough up blood, sending him flying backward.
Yan Sheng was fully conscious. He gritted his teeth, controlled his body, and pressed his legs to steady his steps. The tremendous force caused his wooden clogs to leave long marks in the mud, and his back slammed violently against the open wooden door frame.
"Bang—".
"Cough cough cough—".
Yan Sheng felt a sharp pain in his back, and his internal organs throbbed with agony. The illusory God slipped from his grasp and fell into the Infinite City. Yan Sheng raised his hand to cover his mouth and coughed a few times, then quickly used his other hand to prop himself up and fall to the left and back, his entire body landing in the Infinite City.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni froze the moment the sword struck him, the blade slipping from his hand without any support. He stared blankly until the wooden door closed rapidly and disappeared, a crack appearing on his previously expressionless face.
His hand trembled as he touched his cheek, his fingers carefully making contact with the warm liquid.
It was blood, not his own; he wasn't injured at all.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni stood there, surrounded by broken trees and bloodstained scratches on the soil.
What had he done? Yoriichi Tsugikuni looked at his hands in disbelief, the bright red blood on them a stark reminder of his actions.
He brandished his sword at his elder brother. It wasn't a practice spar; it was with murderous intent, and he even wounded his elder brother.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni had never been so flustered. He had always respected and loved Iwakatsu. That elegant and kind moon, he knew he could have controlled it, he knew he had sensed it.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni squatted down helplessly, looking at the severed purple cloth on the ground, with black lines like snake scales on it.
He reached out and picked up the piece of cloth stained with blood. It felt comfortable to the touch, with a slightly cool feel, but the part soaked in blood was extremely rough.
Yoriichi's eyes darkened, his hands gripped the fabric tightly, and he looked up at the moon, which was gradually being obscured by dark clouds.
He recalled his conversation with the newly appointed young lord not long ago.
He had only been separated from Rengoku Shujuro for two days when he received a message from his young master. Kasugai, who was supposed to have a new master when he left, had found him after a long journey.
"Yoji, the young lord wishes to see you."
Yoriichi's Kasugai crow was an old man. Although he was always a bit dizzy and couldn't keep up with Yoriichi's speed, he could accurately find Yoriichi's location.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Akane."
After seeing Akane off, Yoriichi Tsugikuni headed towards the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters. He hadn't expected that after so many days, they still hadn't moved to the new location.
The new lord is the youngest child and only son of the previous lord. At only six years old, he is dressed in a black kimono embroidered with subtle gold patterns. He sits upright, trying to appear mature, and offers Yoriichi a cup of chrysanthemum tea.
“Mr. Yoriichi, you must have heard about Mr. Iwakatsu’s murder of my father.”
He sat there, his dark eyes calmly looking at Yoriichi Tsugikuni, his tone as indifferent as water, as if the murdered person was not his own family.
"...I feel very sorry for my elder brother's behavior."
Ji Guoyuan held the teacup in both hands, his eyes dimmed and his voice became hoarse. After opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally uttered these words.
The other person remained silent, slowly sipping his tea for a long time. He closed his eyes, looked at Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and spoke solemnly.
“You don’t need to feel guilty or sorry. This was your father’s choice. He had a premonition and chose it himself.”
He raised his head, looked at Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and spoke clearly, word by word.
“Mr. Yoriichi, my father once told me that he was sacrificed for the future, and he didn’t have much time left anyway.”
"But it was also because of my elder brother that our lord was brought forward..."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni's tone suddenly became agitated; he had always found it difficult to remain calm when it came to matters concerning Iwakatsu.
“Mr. Yoriichi, there is no perfect solution to every problem, and I think you are aware of that.”
The young lord seemed to have thought of something and lowered his eyes. He took a few more sips of tea before continuing to talk to Yoriichi.
“My father told me to tell you after he passes away: Don’t worry about my death, and don’t take things too absolutely. If possible, I hope you can find Yansheng and have a good talk with him.”
The young lord propped himself up and spoke very seriously to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
"This cup of tea was brewed exactly the same for Mr. Iwakatsu on the night my father passed away, because my father said that of all the teas, Mr. Iwakatsu liked the sweet taste of chrysanthemum tea the most. So you have to believe that neither my father nor I hate you or Mr. Iwakatsu."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni looked at his young lord, nodded solemnly, and stood up to bow to him.
"I understand. Thank you for the invitation. I hope you take good care of yourself."
...
After that incident, Yoriichi Tsugikuni went from being confused to having two goals: to find Iwakatsu and to kill Muzan Kibutsuji.
He wanted to find his elder brother and have a proper talk with him face to face. He wanted to apologize to his brother for not staying by his side when he was seriously injured.
With this goal in mind, he searched for a long time and finally found it, only to ruin it himself.
Without saying a word, he slashed at his elder brother with a knife, injuring him and causing him to cough up blood.
I'm truly a failure; I always mess things up.
Ji Guoyuan stood up, took out the pink cloth bag from his collar, took out the rough bamboo flute inside, and started playing an off-key tune.
"Can you hear me? You said you would come to me after you blew the horn. You wouldn't lie to me, would you? I really want to see you, brother."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni raised his head, still holding the rough bamboo flute, and played it over and over again towards the crescent moon. The moonlight shone on him, illuminating him like a stage light.
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