New Direction
A few days later, in the Butterfly House.
Shiro's body had recovered from the exhaustion of the battle at the Swordsmith Village, but the tension in the air hadn't dissipated. She knew that Muzan's full-scale counterattack could come at any moment.
Shinobu Kocho walked in carrying an exquisite medicine box, with a rare complex expression of excitement and solemnity on her face. Her eyes swept across Giyuu and Bai in the room, finally landing on Bai.
"Shiro, we've made a breakthrough in our research on your and Nezuko's blood." Shinobu tried to keep her voice steady, but her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her anxiety. "Based on the notes left by Ms. Tamayo and our repeated verification, we've successfully formulated... a potion that may be able to transform demons back into humans."
The air seemed to freeze.
Bai's pupils suddenly contracted, and a turbulent wave of fear surged in her dark eyes. Turning back into... a human? This word, which she had long since stopped dreaming of, now exploded in her ears like thunder.
She almost subconsciously turned her head and looked at Yiyong beside her. His deep blue eyes were also filled with shock, but more of a deep calmness, waiting for her decision.
After a brief silence, Bai took a deep breath and looked at Kocho Shinobu, his tone unusually calm: "Miss Shinobu, this potion...what is the success rate?"
"Honestly, I can't be sure." Shinobu shook his head, his purple eyes frank and serious. "This is an unprecedented attempt. Your physique is special, and Nezuko is an exceptional case among exceptional cases. The theoretical basis of the potion is to reverse the process of demonization, but the risks involved are... enormous. It may be extremely painful, or even... fail."
Bai's gaze returned to Yiyong's face again. She looked at him, and every little detail of their acquaintance flashed through her mind - their first encounter in the snow, their teachings in the courtyard, their vows under the moon, their tender wedding days... and the belly that her fingertips had unconsciously touched, where there had been a vague and secret expectation of new life.
An extremely clear thought, like the breaking morning light, dispelled all the fog.
"I want to try." Bai's voice was soft, but it was filled with unwavering determination. She took a step forward, facing Yiyong, tears glistening in her eyes, but with an extremely gentle yet resolute smile:
"Giyuu-senpai, I want to become a human. Not because this ghost body has caused me so much pain and trouble, but because... I want to be with you as a real human. I want... to bear a child for you, a child that belongs to both of us, in a dignified manner."
This was the purest and strongest desire in her heart. To break away from all ties with Muzan, to love him as a complete and pure person, to continue their bond.
Yiyong's body trembled slightly. He looked deeply at Bai, seeing the resolute expectation in her eyes, and his Adam's apple rolled. He reached out and gently held her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb, his voice low and hoarse:
"Bai, you don't have to make this decision for me. Whether you're human or ghost, you're still you." His eyes were gentle and serious. "Your will is what matters most. Don't force yourself just because you want to do something for me. I just want you to be safe."
Bai's tears finally fell, but she shook her head vigorously, her smile growing brighter. "This is my own will, husband. I want to have a complete family with you. This is the future I want for myself."
She turned to Shinobu Kocho and held out her hand, "Please give me the potion, Miss Shinobu. I will accept it, no matter what the outcome."
Shinobu Kocho looked at the couple in front of her, a flicker of emotion in her eyes. She solemnly opened the medicine box, revealing a potion emitting a strange, soft glow.
Bai took the potion and drank it all in one gulp without hesitation.
It felt cold at first, but the moment the potion slid down his throat, it was like a flame ignited! Intense pain instantly exploded from his abdomen, sweeping through his entire body! It felt like every inch of flesh and blood, every cell, was being forcibly torn apart and reassembled. The demon blood from Muzan frantically resisted, colliding violently with the potion's power!
"Ah--!" Bai curled up in pain, cold sweat instantly soaking her clothes, her silver hair stuck to her pale cheeks, and her body trembled violently uncontrollably.
"Bai!" Yiyong's face suddenly changed. He immediately stepped forward and hugged her tightly, trying to use his body heat to soothe her trembling. He could feel her body temperature rising strangely, as if countless tiny insects were wriggling and struggling under her skin.
"Hold on... Bai, look at me!" Yiyong's voice was filled with unprecedented panic. He hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear over and over again, as if to pass on his strength to her, "No matter what you become, no matter whether you are a human or a ghost, you are my Bai... I just want you to be alive, as long as you are by my side..."
Bai's consciousness was floating in the pain, and Yiyong's voice was her only anchor. She clutched his collar tightly, her nails almost digging into the fabric.
This thrilling battle within her body lasted for what felt like an eternity. Shinobu Kocho watched nervously from the sidelines, ready to rescue at any moment.
Eventually, however, the violent reaction began to subside.
Bai's trembling gradually subsided, and the abnormally high temperature in her body faded, leaving only a sweat-soaked weakness. She wearily opened her eyes, her pupils still the pure inky black, but... they lacked the vibrant glow of a human. She subconsciously moved her fingertips, and the subtle, powerful self-healing power of a ghost remained.
The effect of the medicine disappeared.
The conversion...failed.
The room was completely silent. A hint of disappointment flashed across Bai's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it. She leaned against Yiyong's chest, feeling his still steady and strong heartbeat, and smiled weakly but relievedly.
"It seems...it still doesn't work."
Yiyong didn't say anything, but simply tightened his arms, holding her deeper in his embrace, his chin gently resting on the top of her head. His embrace conveyed his feelings better than any words could—whether we succeed or not, you are my most precious treasure.
Just as the heart-wrenching pain gradually subsided and the feeling of loss from the failed transformation just emerged, a fragment of memory that had been buried by long years and pain suddenly floated to the shore of Bai's consciousness like the fragments of a shipwreck.
It was in the dim and cold laboratory shortly after she was transformed into a demon by Muzan. Muzan, with his handsome yet cold appearance, stood before her, his eyes gleaming with an undisguised, almost greedy desire for inquiry.
"Not afraid of sunlight...a perfect life..." he whispered, and then, to Bai's horror, he did not give blood or instructions like he did to other ghosts, but... stretched out his hand and tore off a piece of flesh from her arm!
Immediately afterwards, amid Bai's screams, Muzan swallowed the piece of flesh and blood that contained special powers.
However, the next second, something strange happened!
Muzan's perfect face twisted instantly, and he let out a low roar of pain and fury. His body seemed to ignite, emitting an ominous red glow, and even tiny scorch marks appeared on his skin, as if burned by the sun! He violently spat out the piece of undigested flesh, looking at Bai with unprecedented fear and even deeper anger.
"Damn it... rejection reaction... even I can't bear it..." His cold voice was filled with a hint of incredible weakness. "It seems that directly swallowing it won't work..."
This brief and terrifying memory had been buried deep in Bai's heart because of the extreme pain and forgotten self-protection mechanism. Until this moment, under the stimulation of similar intense pain in an attempt to reverse the ghost transformation, it finally broke through the blockade and reappeared clearly.
Bai's breathing suddenly became rapid, and she grabbed Shinobu Kocho's hand fiercely. Her fingers trembled slightly because of weakness and excitement.
"Miss Shinobu... I remember now..." Her voice was hoarse, yet filled with an urgency to grasp a key clue, "Back then... Muzan... tried to devour my flesh and blood directly to gain the ability to resist the sun..."
She described the horrifying scene intermittently and as clearly as possible - the violent rejection and burning reaction that occurred from within after Muzan devoured her flesh and blood.
"...He failed, and...seems to have suffered some kind of...backlash?"
Shinobu Kocho's expression, originally heavy due to the failed transformation, changed instantly after hearing Bai's narration! Her purple eyes suddenly lit up, like a scholar who had discovered a rare treasure, filled with shock and ecstasy!
"Internal... rejection... backlash..." Shinobu chewed on these words over and over again, his speech speed getting faster and faster, "I understand! I have always overlooked this point! Our research with Miss Tamayo has always focused on how to 'purify' or 'reverse' the demon blood from the outside, but we forgot the most fundamental point-"
She stood up excitedly and paced quickly around the room.
"Muzan's blood is the source of the curse, it aggressively corrodes and transforms everything. And Shiro's blood is a 'mutation' produced by this erosion, it inherently contains qualities that repel Muzan's original blood! This repulsiveness will be infinitely amplified within Muzan's body, preventing him from directly merging with the other, and may even backfire!"
She suddenly stopped and looked at Bai and Yiyong, her eyes shining brightly:
"This means that we may need to adjust our previous direction! Perhaps, we don't need to go through the trouble of completely transforming Bai back into a human. The key lies in how to utilize the 'repulsiveness' and 'specialness' in her blood!"
"If we can refine and enhance this quality, perhaps we can create a potion that doesn't just 'cure ghosts,' but specifically 'targets Muzan,' 'disintegrates Muzan!' A 'poison'... that can cause him to collapse from within!"
This bold conjecture, like a flash of lightning that cuts through the darkness, instantly illuminates the way forward!
The shadow of the failed transformation was swept away by this new, more strategic possibility. Bai's uniqueness was no longer just her personal fortune or misfortune, but could become the unique weapon to ultimately defeat Muzan!
Yiyong held Bai's hand tightly. He looked at his wife in his arms. Although she was weak, her eyes brightened up again because she provided key information. His deep blue eyes were filled with unspeakable pride and deeper love.
Her past, her pain, has now become the cornerstone of hope. This road may be more difficult, but the direction is clear.
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