Chapter 25 How do you want to be decent?
"Biologically speaking, I'm no longer human. However, I'm not the same species as man-eating ghosts or cursed spirits. I don't eat people, nor do I harm them. I believe in not offending others unless they offend me."
Cheng Xiaoyu didn't think it was strange that Ubuyashiki Yoya knew that he was not human.
Honestly, her appearance and the power she displayed when she ran into Rengoku Kyojuro certainly didn't seem human. She'd actually find it strange that anyone could think she was human.
"I see. And please rest assured, the Demon Slayer Corps won't confuse you with those evil spirits." Ubuyashiki Kōya smiled slightly. "One more thing. My wife, Amane, has been a priestess for generations. She is quite sensitive in certain areas. She sensed that there is a difference in your power and Haibara Yu's..."
"Madam Ling's bloodline allows her to possess a higher level of inspiration. Even though she has never been a priestess, she possesses an innate sensitivity to mysteries."
Cheng Xiaoyu roughly understood what they wanted to see her for and nodded to signal Ubuyashiki to continue.
"I know this question is a bit absurd, but I still dare to ask you," Madam Tianyin asked. "Is Miss Ghost Shadow somehow connected to demons, devils, evil spirits, or similar beings?"
"In your world, I belong to the devil and the demon... I think they mean the same thing. I don't know what evil spirits and gods are."
Ever since hearing that Tianyin was born into a family of priests, Cheng Xiaoyu guessed that this might be the case, so he simply laid it out directly.
People with high inspiration are born with the ability to perceive mysterious beings far beyond that of ordinary people. Even if they have never received formal induction and training, or even have no talent for magic, this keenness will not be affected.
Simply put, they have a stronger sixth sense and intuition, which makes it easier for them to trigger the "I can tell at a glance that you are not human" situation.
Even though they knew that the person sitting before them was a genuine devil, the expressions of the Ubuyashiki couple remained unchanged. Ubuyashiki Kōya even asked:
"Since you are a demon, can you please execute a deal that uses human souls as a bargaining chip?"
Selling one's soul or something important to make a deal with an unknown entity is a legend that exists in many cultures.
Cheng Xiaoyu's expression turned serious. "Yes, but I won't accept souls as payment for debts, and I can't execute transactions that exceed the value of the item being traded. Especially the latter. Since you have connections to the priest family, you must be aware of the negative consequences of the latter, right? And what happens to the souls that are betrayed... you know what happens."
"I understand. But even so, that is the last contribution my dying body can make to killing Muzan Kibutsuji." Ubuyashiki Kōya coughed up blood, his curse deep in his bones. "If you agree, I will discuss a mutually beneficial contract with you."
Cheng Xiaoyu had no immediate plans to accept overtime work from outsourced contractors, so she decided to politely decline the offer by pointing out the high risk. "The contract is mandatory. Once signed, neither I nor you can change its contents. I'm not questioning your resolve to die. This mansion is already filled with explosives, and I think you've already prepared for your own death. But even after death, your soul can still enter the reincarnation cycle of this world and return to this world in the future to reunite with your family and friends."
"But what you're asking for is to wipe out a life. One life for another is an unchangeable law. You will not be able to participate in the cycle of reincarnation in this world."
The afterlife always holds the last bit of hope people have in the midst of pain.
Being unable to enter reincarnation and having one's soul completely destroyed is undoubtedly the most despairing thing for those who are connected to the priests and have been cursed since birth.
But Ubuyashiki Kōya still smiled gently. "I've already heard about these risks from Amane. As long as there's even a slight chance of reducing the casualties among the children of the Demon Slayer Corps, I'm happy to do it."
Brother, do you really want me to take this outsourcing?
Cheng Xiaoyu reiterated the risks of the deal, hoping the other party would back down. "Aren't you afraid I'll set you up with a Yin-Yang contract? The credibility of my people is practically negligible. Countless legends should tell you what happens to those who make deals with demons, right? Do you really trust me so much?"
Ubuyashiki Kazuya: "I believe you."
In Ubuyashiki Kōya's eyes, the harm of selling one's soul to the devil is far less than that of Muzan Kibutsuji.
After all, demons strictly abide by the contract. Both parties are aware of the content of the contract before signing. Problems arise in stories where there are loopholes in the contract or one party wants to go back on its word and get something for free. Overall, it is indeed fair.
Even demons take contracts more seriously than some humans. They will not and cannot violate them.
Things like signing contracts are no big deal for the patriarch of the Ubuyashiki clan, who is extremely good at business. As long as he can ensure that the contract will not affect anyone other than him, and as long as he can weaken Muzan to the greatest extent and reduce the casualties of the Demon Slayer Corps, Ubuyashiki Kōya has nothing to fear.
“........”
During this period of time, I have been dealing with a bunch of hypocritical and taciturn old idiots in the world of curse. Suddenly, I met such a sincere and straightforward person, and Cheng Xiaoyu was silenced.
Could it be that she is the most filthy person here?
She seemed to know why that colleague spoke so highly of his former company after leaving the Demon Slayer Corps... Damn it, why didn't she have such a conscientious boss when she was still alive!
Cheng Xiaoyu's silence had another meaning in the eyes of the Ubuyashiki couple.
Why won't people do business with you? It must be because you're not paying enough!
Ubuyashiki Kōya had already seen that Cheng Xiaoyu wasn't particularly interested in his business, and he didn't expect a dying, cursed human soul like his to be worth the life of Muzan Kibutsuji. It didn't sound fair. If the other party had agreed directly, it wouldn't be a deal; it would be charity.
You are not related to me and you just met me for the first time. Why should I do charity for you? I am a demon, not a bodhisattva. What's more, bodhisattvas accept incense and offerings.
"I understand that I may not have paid attention to exchanging Muzan Kibutsuji's life, so I just hope to reduce some risks for the other members of the Demon Slayer Corps and provide some convenience in killing Muzan Kibutsuji. If this is not enough, the intelligence is also..."
Just when Ubuyashiki Yoya was about to change the terms of the deal to one he could afford, Tianyin, who had been sitting beside him, firmly grasped his scarred hand.
"If I add my soul, will that be enough?"
"Amane!" A rare flash of panic crossed Ubuyashiki Kōya's dull eyes, but Amane remained unmoved. She explained, "I carry the blood of a priest, and my soul and flesh are far more valuable than those of ordinary people. Since you've decided to burn yourself out for the Demon Slayer Corps, please at least allow me to follow you."
Ubuyashiki Kōya was silent for a long time, then slowly and carefully took his wife's hand. "...I understand. Thank you, Amane."
"Sorry, please wait a moment. We don't offer automatic sales." Cheng Xiaoyu wondered why she was just daydreaming and the price was automatically raised. "I never said I wanted to do business with you. I have a main job and don't want to outsource sales! I don't even plan to have any business talks!"
The Ubuyashiki couple didn't know what "sales" and "outsourcing" meant, but that didn't stop them from understanding what they meant.
"You don't want to make a soul contract?" Tianyin was a little dumbfounded. This scene contradicted the teachings passed down by her family. "Aren't you a demon? Signing a soul contract with a human is not the duty and purpose of demons entering the human world."
Besides, don’t you know everything you should know and sign a contract? Why don’t you want the performance when it’s right at your doorstep?
Cheng Xiaoyu: "Oh, because I changed jobs and I don't want to work in sales anymore."
The Ubuyashiki couple's pupils trembled. They didn't understand what sales meant, but they were still deeply shocked. "But don't you also have the ability and knowledge to sign a contract?"
Cheng Xiaoyu: "There's no rule that says you have to work in a related industry after you graduate from a certain major!"
"...I'm deeply sorry," Ubuyashiki Kōya said after a brief silence. "I shouldn't have defined you and your people based on the stereotypes in the legend. It was truly disrespectful."
"It's okay. This isn't a stereotype for most demons. I'm just a bit rebellious," Cheng Xiaoyu said. "The Demon Slayer Corps has been battling Muzan Kibutsuji for millennia, but until today, they've been unable to make any meaningful progress. Your time is running out, and as a leader, you'll want to use every opportunity to kill Muzan Kibutsuji... I can understand your motivations."
The most important point that Cheng Xiaoyu didn’t mention is that the senior members of the Demon Slayer Corps have a good attitude!
When asking someone to do something or negotiate a deal, some people use moral blackmail to shirk responsibility and try to profit from it, while others just keep a straight face and say what they want to do without bargaining... No matter who you are, everyone would be happy to deal with the latter!
"Although I understand your difficulties, I can't help the Demon Slayer Corps right now because I have other things to do. This concerns the survival of this world."
It’s not that Cheng Xiaoyu doesn’t want to take down Muzan Kibutsuji, the despicable guy who is hated by both humans and gods, with a combo of attacks, but she really doesn’t have the hands free.
The turbulence in space and time still showed no sign of abating, which was clearly abnormal. Considering that the Demon Slayer Corps' world had also been merged, it was very likely that this space and time had infiltrated from another world, and she had to deal with it.
Since Ubuyashiki Kakuya was the first to speak directly, Cheng Xiaoyu thought that it didn't matter if he had already revealed his cards a few times, so he simply repeated to Ubuyashiki Kakuya what he had said to the top leaders of the magic world.
Ubuyashiki Kazuya exclaimed: "To think there is such a thing."
As the lord who, bearing a generational curse, leads the Demon Slayer Corps in battle against demons possessing the strange power of blood demon arts, Ubuyashiki Kōya is highly receptive. Even though he had never heard of concepts like "quantum mechanics" before, he quickly grasped everything after a few simple inquiries.
When he discovered that Haibara Yu came from the future, Ubuyashiki Kōya had an uneasy premonition - with such an outrageous problem, could it be that something is about to happen in the world, or has already happened?
Now Cheng Xiaoyu's explanation further confirmed his guess.
Since this concerns the safety of the world, Ubuyashiki Kōya promised that the Demon Slayer Corps would also help keep an eye out for information about infiltrations from other worlds.
Madam Tianyin was worried: "But if Muzan Kibutsuji also got wind of this news, he would probably get involved."
According to the eyewitness information of Muzan Kibutsuji provided by Cheng Xiaoyu and Tanjiro Kamado, Muzan Kibutsuji is not averse to accepting new things and he can be described as studious.
On the contrary, in order to overcome the sunlight and survive, Muzan Kibutsuji can be described as studious. He has studied chemistry, physics and even foreign languages, and actively researches various new things.
If it was just a simple object that fell, it would be fine. A dead object that didn't move wouldn't necessarily be noticed. But Cheng Xiaoyu just said that there might be other intelligent life forms, and intelligent life forms of unknown camp and power running over...
Cheng Xiaoyu smiled: "Then let him try, I guarantee he will be very eager to see the sun the next day."
If Muzan Kibutsuji doesn't behave himself, she will bury him directly.
If intelligent creatures team up with Muzan Kibutsuji to cause trouble...
Her job is just to deal with the infiltration points. As for how to "deal with" them, that depends on whether the other party is decent and whether they intend to be decent.
She helps those who are dishonorable to become decent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
