Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Chapter 19
A raven brought an urgent message, informing A-Zhi that they needed to evacuate immediately; the news came very suddenly.
The cause and effect of the matter were not explained; it was as if the decision was made suddenly. The raven that carried the message probably didn't stop for a long time, and when it arrived, the whole raven was dejected.
When Azhi received the letter, she was afraid that it would lose its soul as soon as it opened its mouth, so she fed it a lot of water and food until it recovered.
Azhi nodded the raven's fluffy head, her mind shrouded in mystery. Even the slow-witted Azhi could sense that something was different from usual.
[That was so sudden.]
There were absolutely no signs.
Compared to the still bewildered Azhi, 000 expressed strong agreement: "The timing of this announcement was perfect."
Although confused, her decision to leave coincided with 000's recent urging. Once Tomioka Giyuu arrived at the pleasure quarters, she could leave with him under the guise of being redeemed.
Aori was also quite happy. If Giyu came to help, even if the demons in the geisha district were powerful, they should be able to be dealt with quickly, and Tanjiro and the others wouldn't be in so much danger.
Well, thinking about it that way, everything that follows will be good.
Ah Zhi always tends to think things through simply, and her mood lightened accordingly.
I estimated he could arrive before dawn. I hadn't expected it to be so urgent, but luckily she didn't have much stuff in the room, so it wouldn't take too long to pack.
She packed a small package, leaving the rest of the items for the landlady to give away; the important thing was to say goodbye to her friends here.
Saying it was a farewell was really just a simple way of telling Koi Natsu that she was leaving.
Tonight, with Sister Li Xia out to greet guests, it's incredibly lively outside, with a large crowd of onlookers. Azhi decides to wait until Li Xia's event is over before informing her of her departure.
Thinking about this makes me a little embarrassed. The last time we discussed this topic, she was surprised that Koika-neechan was about to leave. I never expected that she would be the first to leave Tokitoya.
000 suddenly spoke up: "Why don't you go outside and wait for her?"
"Huh?" The girl paused, then stopped what she was doing, not quite understanding 000's suggestion. "Why?"
To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, she never goes out.
000's tone was calm, but the content was a truly terrifying horror story: [The demon hiding in Yoshiwara likes to prey on people who are alone in a room...]
Azhi shuddered, feeling a chill creep down her spine.
The male customers gathered on both sides of the road where the courtesan paraded, watching intently.
The nights in Yoshiwara are filled with ever-burning glass lanterns and exquisite ukiyo-e prints. The air is thick with the scents of perfume and sake, creating a decadent and languid atmosphere.
Looking at the massive crowd, Azhi stared blankly, her voice trembling with shock, as if she'd never seen anything like it before: "As expected of Koika-neechan!"
There are way too many people here!
She watched the bustling crowd flow by, rested her head on her arm and leaned on the railing, gently waving her fan. The coral beads hanging from her slender wrist clinked together with the movement of her arm, making a crisp sound.
As she prepared to leave the scenery she had witnessed for several years, Azhi felt a strange, indescribable sense of melancholy.
After arriving in this world, she briefly stayed at the Butterfly Mansion before coming to Yoshiwara.
According to the rules, courtesans are not allowed to go out freely. It is no exaggeration to say that Aori is already very unfamiliar with the outside world. The place she is most familiar with is the Tokitoya in Yoshiwara.
Azhi couldn't imagine the outside world; a hint of unease, imperceptible to herself, flickered in her eyes. She then asked, "I wonder what the outside world is like now?"
000 keenly sensed this emotion.
000 knew how difficult it was for Azhi to adapt to the environment. When she first arrived here, she was so afraid that she couldn't sleep well for a long time, and she became quite haggard.
Just like a plant that has been transplanted to a new environment, it always has to go through the process of adapting to the new soil, temperature and humidity, a process that is both difficult and long.
However, it had expended countless amounts of energy for various reasons and had been in a dormant state for a long time, so it could not be of much help. In the end, Sabito discovered that she was not in good condition.
Now that she's about to leave Tomorrow House for a new environment, she'll probably be uneasy for a long time.
000 still prefers the bright, pure light in a young girl's eyes; she's better suited to a simple, happy look: "After you leave, you can go out and see for yourself; things are going very well outside."
On a positive note, it can be considered an immersive experience of the customs and traditions of different eras.
Even though there are ghosts here.
Azhi lazily rested her chin on her hand, looking somewhat listless: 【Okay.】
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All Aori knows is that she needs to evacuate as soon as possible, for reasons unknown, and the specific arrangements afterward are still unknown. However, with the mission issued by the system, she cannot be too far away from Tomioka Giyuu.
However, she was now free from the red-light district and much more independent. She hadn't yet explored the outside markets, but she should have the opportunity to do so in the future.
She was looking around aimlessly when her gaze inadvertently swept across the street corner and she noticed someone who seemed out of place with his surroundings.
He was a straight-backed man, wearing a perfectly tailored dark suit, walking alone. Even though it was nighttime, he was wearing an elegant Western-style hat, and most of his face was obscured by shadows.
Azhi felt that this person was a bit strange.
After all, few people would dress so formally in a suit and tie on the red-light district; most people would wear casual clothes to eat, drink, and have fun. Moreover, this person was wearing a hat late at night.
Although the flower houses on both sides of the street are lit up, they are not very bright. Instead, their dim, yellowish light makes the whole place feel dreamlike.
So won't it be hard to see clearly like this?
Azhi subconsciously glanced at him again, and even called out to 000: "Look at that person."
Before 000 could respond, as if in response to her gaze, the man in the distance suddenly raised his head, his eyes under the brim of his hat precisely catching her position.
Tsukihiko—no, it should be Kibutsuji Muzan disguised as Tsukihiko—had already sensed it the moment the outsiders' gaze fell upon him.
Some glances were fleeting and unintentional, which annoyed him but didn't require much attention. However, if the gaze lingered for a while longer, Muzan Kibutsuji would have to find out the reason for such lingering.
However, no matter the reason, as long as it annoys him even slightly, or if it just happens to coincide with a bad mood, he only needs to order the nearby ghosts to deal with this person for him.
Nip any budding signs in the bud—this is how he has been able to perfectly conceal himself in human society for so many years.
Muzan Kibutsuji recalled the boy he had encountered on the street that day, who wore a sun-shaped earring and had been rude to him but had not yet been killed. An uncontrollable rage surged through his heart.
He didn't try to suppress his anger. He paused, raised his head slightly, and stared directly at the human who dared to be so rude.
Azhi was startled.
Anyone would be startled if they were caught staring at someone, so she quickly looked away to cover her face, gently raising her painted fan to conceal half of her cheek.
However, this brief interval was enough for Muzan Kibutsuji to see Ori's face.
“…”
Kibutsuji Muzan's eyes widened, and his handsome yet excessively pale face suddenly twisted in pain.
A sudden surge of extreme astonishment welled up within him, and his face became filled with disbelief, as if he had witnessed something beyond his wildest imagination.
A face that had become somewhat unfamiliar due to the passage of time, but felt strangely familiar upon reunion, suddenly appeared before my eyes. At that moment, memories sealed away for hundreds of years surged forth.
That was not a pleasant memory for Muzan Kibutsuji.
The twins were torn apart by his scheme, one embracing the light and the other plunging into darkness, becoming irreconcilable enemies; he fed demon blood to a human woman who was like an ant, using her as a catalyst, and should have had victory in the bag...
However, the woman vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace.
All plans were ruined, which directly led to a series of disastrous consequences.
Enraged Yoriichi Tsugikuni pursued him like a madman, but Kokushibo, now a demon, broke free from the blood ties and escaped control. With a cold, furious roar, a blade gleaming with cold light and the aura of blood rushed towards him...
Many chaotic images flashed through Kibutsuji Muzan's mind, and the face that was deeply imprinted in his bones reappeared once again.
At that moment, the old wounds on his body, inflicted by the Nichirin Blade hundreds of years ago and which had not yet healed, began to ache faintly.
Muzan Kibutsuji's teeth were grinding together, veins bulged on his forehead, and his breathing became unusually rapid, like a manic patient experiencing a sudden onset of illness.
—That woman!
If it weren't for that woman!!!
After Azhi looked away, she could still feel the increasingly cold gaze directed at her, as if it had locked onto its prey, making her feel a chill run down her spine.
She couldn't help but look back, and in just one glance, Azhi's heart sank to the bottom.
What a look that was! Dark, vicious, and terrifying, like a venomous snake lurking in a corner, ready to bite at any moment.
Despite being in the midst of a bustling parade, surrounded by a throng of people, Azhi felt uneasy and clenched her hands tightly. The back of her clothes gradually became soaked with cold sweat, sticking coldly to her skin.
The moment their eyes met, she felt as if she were isolated from the bustling world around her, dragged into a darkness filled with terror and horror.
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No matter how you look at it, those eyes are blank and confused. Although she is very scared now, it is obvious that she does not recognize him. Kibutsuji Muzan made this judgment.
That's right, that woman has probably been dead for hundreds of years, this is just a person who looks similar.
As before, Aori reminded Muzan of unpleasant memories. Muzan, who was always cruel and acted solely on his whims, should have simply made her disappear from this world.
That's exactly what he thought.
However, just as he was about to give the order, he suddenly felt it would be a pity to simply kill her, after all, this person and that woman really looked exactly alike.
It might have unexpected effects.
Muzan Kibutsuji narrowed his eyes, his pale and cold face revealing a sense of novelty at seeing something interesting, along with an increasingly intense fervor, his red pupils almost dripping blood.
Azhi wanted to scream, but her throat seemed to be clamped shut, and she couldn't make a sound.
She stared blankly at the terrifying man, her mind unable to process anything. Her slender white fingers unconsciously dug into her palms, leaving deep crescent-shaped marks, yet she remained completely unaware.
Azhi was so terrified that her hands and feet went numb. Overwhelmed by extreme fear, her eyes quickly welled up with tears, and she almost cried as she turned to her most trusted confidante, 000, for help: "I'm scared."
000: I'm quite scared too.
Although it had ended its hibernation, it was still in a state of low energy, and in order to conserve energy, it narrowed its monitoring range, so much so that it did not discover that Muzan Kibutsuji was so close.
The moment 000 saw Muzan Kibutsuji, its core program experienced a tsunami-like shock; its processor nearly failed to function properly, so...
Why is Muzan Kibutsuji here?
Why did Muzan Kibutsuji "know" Ori?
A note from the author:
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[doge][doge][doge]
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