Chapter 53 "You...you didn't say it was someone else's..."
People used to live here.
It was a place with about two or three houses. The wooden parts had long since rotted and turned to dust, and the remaining parts were deeply entwined by vines rooted nearby, making it almost impossible to tell what it originally looked like.
The desolate and decaying scene was so obvious that it was somewhat terrifying at first glance. However, this discovery also gave Sabito a glimmer of hope.
Sheyun Mountain is very large. Compared to searching the entire mountain like a headless fly, searching directly here obviously greatly narrows the scope and reduces the workload.
Of course, this is a very idealized situation.
After confirming that there were no potential dangers in the vicinity, the rabbit returned the way it came and rejoined the team, then led them to this place.
The girl didn't say much the whole way, her eyelashes slightly lowered, which made Sabito a little worried.
He ruffled Azhi's hair, unsurprisingly making it a little messy, then straightened it a couple of times as if to put on a serious face, and looked straight ahead: "Don't feel too much pressure, it's okay even if you can't find it."
For the Demon Slayer Corps, this was just a minor setback, and they were never afraid of failure.
The flesh-haired swordsman, gentle as water, smiled.
Azhi looked up at him, blinked, and then slowly extended a finger and pointed in a direction.
Just a short while ago, Azhi chose to hear the good news first. She felt that if she had good news to hear, she wouldn't be so sad when she heard bad news later.
This is her consistent approach; even when the good news isn't so good, but the bad news is really bad, she stubbornly makes this choice.
However, under 000's watchful eye, bad news that cannot be handled usually does not occur.
The girl held her breath nervously, concentrating all her attention, afraid of missing a single word.
000 wasn't surprised. It slowly said, "Just follow him forward."
This usually means that it will be in full command from now on. Azhi doesn't need to think. She trusts 000 very much and obediently follows behind the flesh-haired swordsman.
They waited until they stopped at the spot that the rabbit had discovered beforehand.
000 suddenly spoke up: "Look to your left. Next to that big rock, isn't there a small mound of earth? The good news is that the secret they want to know is hidden underneath that."
Now, tell them to start digging.
Every word and phrase couldn't be clearer.
It was like an exam; 000 directly told the test taker, Azhi, the final answer, almost as if she were about to snatch the pen and write it on the exam paper.
Azhi was a little stunned; what she heard was indeed very exciting good news.
In fact, 000 has indeed become somewhat reckless and given up.
By now, Azhi should have raised some doubts in everyone's minds, and it senses that what is about to happen will only cause them more confusion.
This has become an unstoppable fact.
Fortunately, unless A-Zhi reveals the truth herself, based on their current understanding, the target of the mission would never think of the existence of a system, and therefore would not directly violate the rules.
000 never imagined that it would one day be reduced to finding bugs to complete tasks. Since it would take some time to uncover the secret, it simply sighed in escapism.
[Bad news... well, I'll tell you later.]
Its words made Azhi's heart leap into her throat, but after frowning and hesitating for a moment, she gave up. 000 must have its reasons for doing so.
In comparison, it's more important to share the good news with everyone first.
After a brief exchange of glances, Azhi pointed to the small mound of earth and said with certainty, "It's right below here."
The moment those words were spoken, they attracted everyone's attention. Ah Zhi was so overjoyed that she didn't realize her tone sounded like she wanted praise.
Sabito felt a slight tremor in his heart. He didn't look in the direction Aori was pointing, but instead looked at the girl without revealing his expression.
Even Yoshiyuki Tomioka, who was preparing to inspect the ruins, stopped and looked over with a frown.
********
To be honest, digging in this place easily makes people think of a certain thing.
Based on common sense, even if there are no inscriptions around this small mound to prove it, people can more or less guess that it might be a solitary grave.
In other words, they were going to dig up the graves of unknown people.
Giyu Tomioka and Sabito paused for a moment, and after a quick and simple thought, they looked at Ori with a puzzled expression for the first time.
"…………"
After a long pause, Azhi tilted her head and asked, "?"
Compared to others, Azhi is far too lacking in this kind of common sense.
Strictly speaking, she had never seen a dead person, and had never had the opportunity to talk about such topics, so how could she know that a small mound might be an unmarked grave?
All she knew was that a secret was hidden below.
Azhi's eyes were determined: Dig quickly, we're about to succeed!
Seeing this, Sabito sighed: "Are you sure?"
Azhi actually thought about it seriously for a moment: "I'm sure."
She didn't realize how serious the situation was.
Tanjiro Kamado scratched his head and said with great difficulty, "Isn't this a bad idea?"
Seriously, did Mr. Sabito really only agree because Ms. Ori was too cute?
Zenitsu Agatsuma clutched his head and howled, "No! What if vengeful spirits come after us in the dead of night?! Oh wait, it's already the dead of night! I've heard that the resentment in the deep mountains is even stronger. What if they come after us during the day too...?"
Kubihira Inosuke: "The pig advances suddenly!"
Tokito Brothers: "..." It doesn't matter, it's fine no matter what.
Yesterday's heavy rain seems to have reached this area as well; the soil is still damp, making it particularly easy to dig.
Azhi's task was to hold a flashlight for illumination. She squatted to the side, hugging her knees, acting as a mascot, watching everyone sweat profusely as they dug deeper and deeper...
That must be over a meter long.
Azhi stared at the gaping, dark pit that had been dug out, a hint of doubt appearing in her clear eyes. She slowly asked, "Are you sure this is the place?"
000: [Of course, it's here.]
Actually, 000 was also a little confused just now, because it remembered that it wasn't buried that deep back then.
However, so many years have passed, and the terrain has changed considerably; it may have sunk even deeper.
Azhi's doubts quickly disappeared.
The reason is that what was hidden deep in the soil was finally exposed through everyone's efforts, exactly as everyone had expected.
At first she didn’t pay attention. The thing first revealed a small stone corner, but then slowly revealed its rectangular shape. Suddenly, a chill ran down Azhi’s spine.
Her pupils dilated, and her voice rose sharply, almost stammering: "You...you didn't say it was someone else's..."
She opened her mouth wide in disbelief, her large, dark eyes filled with unmistakable terror. In that instant, Azhi suddenly understood the collapse of the blond boy from before.
She was so startled that she almost fell to the ground, and only managed to steady herself by supporting herself with one hand on the ground.
Compared to the girl, 000 displayed complete composure. Its tone was indifferent, showing no sign of finding anything wrong with its actions: "At this point, what's wrong with digging him out?"
000 used the subtle word "he," which made Azhi feel even more terrified. Her mind was filled with chaotic images, which, although without specific figures, were enough to make her tremble with fear.
Her eyelashes trembled as she realized she was the instigator of this evil deed. She asked blankly, "Won't any vengeful spirits come after me?"
The girl's voice trembled at the end, as if she was about to cry, and her face turned pale, making her bright black eyes look even more pitiful.
—That's absolutely wild imagination, and it's all wrong.
000 Avoiding the main point: 【It's okay.】
There won't be any vengeful spirits. To put it more bluntly, how do you know the person involved doesn't want you to dig anymore?
The sky hangs low, a long wind sweeps across the valley, and the dense forest is faintly visible. Occasionally, small insects fly up and down, their light shimmering.
Before long, even the buzzing of the insects stopped.
With a dull "click," the coffin lid was slowly pushed open by several strong hands.
Because she had already made many mental associations, Azhi shuddered and for a moment didn't know whether she should cover her eyes with her hands to avoid seeing the terrible scene, or cover her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.
She instinctively held her breath, her heart pounding. In fact, it wasn't just her; everyone else felt the same way.
Even now, with many questions still unanswered, they sincerely hope to find something to help "eliminate the ghost."
However, the stone coffin contained no treasures, only a skeleton from hundreds of years ago...
A deathly silence filled the surroundings. Everyone was stunned by what they saw and speechless.
Of course, A-Zhi saw it too.
The fingers holding the flashlight trembled slightly, causing the only light source to flicker, allowing the viewer to see everything from beginning to end.
Lying in the center of the stone coffin was none other than a complete "person".
The tall swordsman was dressed neatly in a red haori, the thin garment revealing his smooth muscle lines. His long, dark red hair was disheveled and spread out at the bottom of the stone coffin, and a knife was placed to his right.
With the help of the dim light, one could barely make out the facial features of the person in the coffin. His features were deep, with flame-like markings spreading from his upper left temple, and he wore familiar sun-shaped earrings.
Apart from the excessively pale exposed skin and the fact that the chest did not rise and fall with breathing, the person in the coffin was practically no different from a normal person.
His face was serene, his eyes closed, as if he were simply asleep and would open them at any moment.
This is just too bizarre.
"…………"
His deep blue eyes seemed to be filled with frost, and Giyu Tomioka suddenly shouted, "Tokito!"
Not knowing which of the twins was being called, Azhi was still stunned and unable to react when a figure suddenly appeared in front of her, and the next second something wrapped around her waist and dragged her back a few steps.
At that moment, Tokito Muichiro stood in front of her to protect her.
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Author's Note: Don't be afraid, he really wants to be dug up. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2023-06-10 13:17:45 and 2023-06-11 14:38:46!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Little Lazy Pig (53 bottles); Duan Jiujiu (9 bottles); Sili and Shashasha (2 bottles each); Granvit and Zaza Rabbit (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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