Looking at the leaving figure of the girl in front of him, the evil spirit felt a little confused.
He wanted to catch up and make a sneak attack, but as soon as he took a step, he fell to the ground and found that his legs had melted.
It melted without any awareness!
"What...what's going on?"
He looked at his body with some horror, and found that his whole body was beginning to collapse and melt, as if it was turned into ashes when exposed to sunlight.
Sometimes death is not scary. What is scary is knowing that death is approaching but there is no way to avoid it.
The shadow of despair shrouded the ghost in an instant.
He could no longer support his body, so he fell to the ground and struggled to reach out his hand towards the departing figure. But the outstretched arm was also constantly melting.
His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something.
Maybe it's a plea for mercy or maybe it's a curse.
But no one will know what he wants to say, because he has lost the ability to speak and can only wait quietly for death.
The girl's light figure rose from the ground, leaped to the edge of the building, and came to the dark figure.
"already solved."
Butterfly Ninja sat gently on the edge of the building, with his feet dangling in the air and a faint smile on his face.
"Well done. You have successfully found your own path. It seems you no longer need my protection."
Xuanhao nodded lightly.
He has watched the growth of Butterfly Ninja.
This girl is naturally weaker than normal people. With a height of 151 and a weight of 37 kilograms, she is like a doll. Xuan Hao has personally felt her weight. To be honest, there are no alchemical weapons that he has ever used in the dragon world.
Heavy.
This kind of physique resulted in her extremely poor talent in strength. Cutting off the neck of a ghost was a difficult task for her. Even though she had mastered the full concentration of Changzhong, she could not increase her strength to the level that she could compete with
Standards compared to other 'column' levels.
However, Butterfly Ninja is very smart. She knows that her natural shortcomings cannot be made up through hard work, so she thought of other ways to make up for the gap in strength.
Since you can't cut the ghost's neck, then don't cut it.
Because her parents are engaged in medical work, she has been interested in medicine since she was a child and thought of using medicine to kill ghosts.
By studying wisteria flowers, she extracted toxins fatal to ghosts and used them in battle.
The Nichirin Sword is unique. It abandons the blade used for chopping, making the blade slender, light and convenient for her to swing without strength. There is a sharp barb at the tip of the blade. Every time it is put into the scabbard, it will pass through the sheath.
The mechanism injects poison into the blade.
Once this toxin is injected into a ghost's body, it will begin to decompose the ghost's body.
The ghost just now died from the poison on the tip of her knife.
"I didn't need your protection in the first place."
Butterfly Ren glanced at the man next to her.
Now she has successfully hunted fifty ghosts and was successfully promoted to the pillar. Even when faced with the ghosts at the end of the Twelve Ghost Moon, she is confident that she can attack them independently. Why does she need this man to follow her every day like a baby?
In fact, in Xuan Hao's eyes, Butterfly Ninja, who is not yet eighteen years old, is no different from a child. "If I hadn't promised your sister, I wouldn't bother to follow you."
When Butterfly Ren had veins on her forehead, this guy would use his sister to press her down, but there was nothing she could do.
"Don't show such an expression. Your sister said you should be polite to me and keep smiling, do you understand?"
Xuanhao leisurely looked at the tangled expression on Butterfly Ninja's face. That expression where he was obviously very angry but had to force out a smile was so cute.
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. If you want to cry, just cry. If you want to be angry, just be angry. If you want to laugh, just laugh. It's very tiring to control your emotions all day long, right?"
This girl with a straightforward personality is extremely competitive and gets angry easily, but she always pretends to be mature in order to reassure her sister, which is not good.
It was precisely because of this that Kanae asked Xuanhao to help watch her.
"You guy..."
The Butterfly Ninja wanted to retort, but was interrupted by a crow suddenly flying from the sky.
"quack--"
"This is……"
She gently stretched out her hand, and the dark crow landed on her arm, waving its wings anxiously and continuing to call.
"The swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps——ga——"
"Head to the snowy mountains of the north!"
"Several hunters were eaten on the mountain!"
"They were all eaten by ghosts! Ga—evil ghosts will be killed!"
"Destroy evil spirits!"
After listening to Xuan Ya's message, Xuan Hao slowly stood up.
"I have work to do again. Let's go. I'll accompany you one last time."
The butterfly ninja stood up without any retort. Although she often talked back to this man, when she thought that this was the last time they would perform a mission together, she could not help but feel a sense of loss in her heart.
"No one will protect you anymore, Butterfly Ninja, you have to be strong and don't let them worry."
She kept telling herself this in her heart.
The man's figure had disappeared from the spot, and when she reacted, he had already appeared on the edge of the building in the distance.
Butterfly Nin lightly jumped up and flew between the buildings like a butterfly.
She knew that she was still very weak, because if he hadn't been waiting for her, this man would have come and gone without a trace.
So she quickened her pace.
The two figures disappeared into the dark night.
…
Suyi Zhong near the snow-capped mountains in the north.
The eaves are covered with thick white snow.
Perhaps because of the snow, there were not many people in the market during the day. There were only scattered guards with weapons patrolling in the snow.
In a somewhat old medicine shop, a butterfly ninja wearing a printed kimono and a butterfly haori sat on the tatami and counted the medicinal materials presented by the boss.
Because she needs to develop poison to deal with ghosts, her knowledge of drugs is one of the few in the Demon Slayer Squad, and she also needs a lot of medicinal materials for research. Of course, the drug store here this time is not entirely to buy medicinal materials, but also to collect them.
Some clues about the ghosts appearing in the snowy mountains.
"This guest sleeps so soundly. I have some unpleasant medicinal herbs here, and not many people can sleep soundly here."
The owner of the medicine shop was an old woman over sixty years old. She looked at Xuan Hao, who was leaning against the wall and had fallen asleep out of boredom while waiting for Butterfly Ninja to buy medicinal materials, and said with a smile.
"Don't worry about him..."
An awkward smile appeared on Butterfly Ninja's face.
This guy clearly promised to help her collect clues, but he started fishing as soon as he arrived at the destination.
"Mother-in-law, let's continue talking about the man-eating bears you just mentioned to me, right?"
"We here call man-eating bears 'caveless bears'."
A denless bear refers to a bear that cannot find a den and cannot hibernate. It is a poor beast that has no place to go and no family, so it can only wander alone in the mountains in winter.
The old woman sighed, "Oh...I heard that many 'yougui' were eaten on the mountain."
"No wonder... I felt that the atmosphere in Suyi was quite tense when I came here." Butterfly Ninja smiled and nodded.
She recalled that on the way here, she and Xuan Hao saw many armed guards patrolling the streets. They were probably afraid that "man-eating bears" would break into the lodge and harm humans.
"This guest... I advise you to leave here as soon as possible." The old woman reminded with some worry, "It is very dangerous to go in and out of the snowy mountains recently. If you want to collect medicine... winter is not the time."
"Thanks for the reminder, mother-in-law, but it's rare for us to have time to come here, and there are some medicinal materials that we can't ask anyone to buy for us. Plus...because of work, I'm very interested in the bile of man-eating bears."
The butterfly ninja looked at the old woman in front of him jokingly, "If you have any in stock, please be sure to sell it to me."
"Um..." The old woman smiled awkwardly, thinking that young people nowadays are really not afraid of anything.
"Okay, it's time for us to say goodbye. Thank you for the hospitality."
Butterfly Ninja stood up with a smile, picked up the long package wrapped in floral cloth beside him, and picked up the medicinal materials packed by the old woman.
"Guest, go slowly." The old woman smiled and waved to the girl in front of her.
Butterfly Ninja bowed slightly, and then walked towards Xuan Hao, who was sleeping beside him.
She gently touched Xuan Hao's nose with the belt bag hanging from the rope.
Xuan Hao rubbed his nose that was filled with the smell of medicinal herbs, yawned and stood up slowly, "Are you done talking?"
"Well, take it."
Butterfly Ninja nodded slightly and threw the medicine bag to him.
"Why should I take it?"
Xuanhao held the rope with some disgust.
"Because you don't have anything in your hands."
The butterfly ninja confidently pointed to the package he was holding in his hand.
It contained her Nichirin sword, and this man... seemed to have never carried a weapon with him since they met.
It's great to be so powerful that you don't need to use weapons. The Butterfly Ninja turned around and walked outside the house.
"You are nakedly envious."
Xuanhao followed helplessly.
As soon as the two people walked out of the house, they heard the noise outside.
"Are you going up the mountain alone again!?"
Several middle-aged men dressed as hunters gathered around a girl holding a dog and scolded her.
From their anxious tone, it sounded like they were worried that something might happen to the girl going up the mountain alone.
"I'm not alone!"
The girl turned her head and retorted. As she spoke, she tugged on the dog leash in her hand, "Taro is also with me!"
"But... Taro is a dog!" The middle-aged man pointed to the Shiba Inu on the ground with some annoyance, "Leave the matter of revenge for Matazo to us adults!"
"Who is she?"
Butterfly Ninja gently asked the drugstore owner who came to the door after hearing the noise outside.
"Are you asking that girl?"
The old woman pointed at the girl surrounded by several men, "She is the daughter of Matauki Matazao. Her name is Yae. It is said that she witnessed her father and his companions being attacked by a man-eating bear... Later she went to the town to buy...
Outside of work, she often goes to the snowy mountains to look for her enemies. She is a very pitiful girl."
"Is that all?"
The butterfly ninja frowned slightly.
Walking in the direction of the girl.
"What? Are there any clues about ghosts?"
Xuanhao quickly followed.
"Isn't it clear just by asking this girl?"
The butterfly ninja smiled and continued walking in the direction of the girl.
But he stopped as soon as he took two steps.
Not only the Butterfly Ninja, Xuan Hao was also slightly stunned.
Because an unexpected figure suddenly appeared behind the girl.
"Why are Mr. Tomioka here?"
Butterfly Ninja asked in surprise.
"Probably because he is also nearby, he received the same mission as us."
Xuan Hao held Butterfly Ninja's shoulders, "Let's see what he does first."
The hunters seemed to have nothing to do with the girl. They could only watch the girl ignore them and turn around and leave.
Tomioka Giyu suddenly appeared and approached the girl's back before they could react.
"Hello……"
Tomioka Giyuu stretched out his hand to hold the girl in front of him.
But when the outstretched hand was about to touch the girl, he hesitated. It seemed that he felt that men and women were not being intimate, and finally he just grabbed the barrel of the shotgun on the girl's back with his hand.
The barrel of the gun was caught, Yae's advancing figure paused, and then the expression on his face instantly turned ferocious.
She turned around angrily and slapped the hand holding the barrel of the gun with her backhand.
"Snapped--"
"Don't touch other people's guns casually..."
But when she turned her head, she was stunned. She thought it was the hunter uncles she knew who were going to take away her shotgun, but what appeared in front of her was a stranger she had never seen before.
The man looked at her expressionlessly. He was wearing a black uniform with contrasting feather fabrics of different colors on both sides.
"Who are you?" Yae's face looked a little confused.
"Are you Yae?"
The man introduced himself expressionlessly, "I am Tomioka Giyu from the Demon Slayer Squad. Please tell me the details of the time when you were attacked by a demon."
"!??"
"!!??"
Watching this scene, Butterfly Ninja and Xuan Hao were both stunned by Tomioka Giyu's operation.
"Is there really no problem for him to ask so straightforwardly?" Xuan Hao was a little confused. He remembered that the Demon Slayer Corps was not a secret organization? Could it be that everyone knew about it after hundreds of years?
"..." Butterfly Ninja smiled awkwardly, "I seem to be in trouble now..."
"Ghost? What is that?" The hunters looked at each other, "Isn't it a bear that attacks people? What is this guy talking about?"
"Excuse me...are you a policeman?" A hunter stepped forward and asked Tomioka Giyu.
"……no."
Tomioka Giyu seemed to be unable to lie and answered honestly, "I am a member of the Demon Slayer Corps."
"Demon Slayer Squad? What is that?" Orion was still puzzled, "Are you a government official?"
"No, we are an unofficial organization."
"Unofficial organization..." Orion took two steps back and looked at Tomioka Giyu's waist with some vigilance, "So...what is hanging on your waist...?"
"..."
Tomioka Giyu raised the Nichirin sword in his hand with an expressionless expression.
He seemed to realize that something was wrong, but... he didn't know how to explain it to these people.
The hunters were nervously surrounding Tomioka, and some even raised their shotguns, "He carries a knife and he is not a government official... Who is this guy? Should we call the police?"
"That makes sense!" Another person echoed, "Go find the rope quickly, I'll control him first!"
As he spoke, he stepped forward with a gun and snatched the Nichirin Sword from Tomioka Giyu's hand.
Another person quickly found a rope and tied up Tomioka Giyu.
The kidnapped Tomioka Giyu himself seemed to be a little embarrassed, looking down and thinking about something, perhaps thinking about how to explain it to these people.
As Hashira of the Demon Slayer Squad, his mission is to protect humans, and his sword cannot be wielded against humans.
"Sigh... I wish I had asked Qiong Usagi or Makoto to come with me." Tomioka Giyuu thought like this.
But the two people said nothing and were unwilling to act with him, "No, Yiyong, you are already a pillar. You must learn to deal with problems on your own and communicate well with others."
"Am I being disliked? No, I shouldn't be..." Recalling the adult-like speeches of Makoto and Qioto before setting off, Giyong felt a headache.
Although he had worked very hard to carry out tasks independently, Tomioka Yoshiyuki found that he was still not good at dealing with people other than his teacher, Makoto and Soto.
"Mr. Tomioka..."
stamp.
stamp.
Tomioka Giyu's thoughts were interrupted. He felt as if someone was poking him in the back, and turned around with some doubts.
"Mr. Tomioka, what a coincidence that I meet you here." Butterfly Ninja held the package in his hand and looked at the dazed Tomioka Giyu with a smile.
"Butterfly……"
Tomioka Giyuu stared blankly at the girl who suddenly appeared. This was his colleague, the "Insect Pillar" Butterfly Ninja, who was also the Demon Slayer Pillar.
He doesn't hate Butterfly Ninja, because Butterfly Ninja often talks to him.
"I feel relieved when I see that you are still so arrogant." Butterfly Ninja said jokingly, "If you don't mind, let me explain the situation?"
"No problem...I think I have to solve the problem."
Tomioka Yoshiyuki hesitated.
"No...I don't think you can solve the problem by yourself."
Butterfly Ninja covered his mouth and looked at the tied up Tomioka Giyu.
"Mr. Tomioka should make more efforts to communicate with others. That's why you are hated by everyone."
"No...I'm not hated."
"..."
The hunters nearby looked a little confused as the beautiful girl suddenly appeared and chatted with the tied man.
But the girl didn't dress like a bad person, which made them wonder if they had made a mistake.
Yae on the side couldn't stand it anymore.
"I said...even though I don't know what's going on with you, if nothing happens...just run away..."
Yae's breathing was a little rapid, and his words seemed very laborious.
Just when she wanted to get these people out of the way, she suddenly fell to the ground.
"!? Yae!"
The hunters stepped forward anxiously.
But they found that Yae had fallen into a man's arms.
"It's okay, I just have a fever." Xuan Hao said lightly, stroking the girl's forehead.
"Of course it doesn't matter to you..."
The butterfly ninja glared at him. This man was so strong and his physical condition was the most abnormal among all abnormal. Of course he would think that having a fever was a trivial matter. "This is near a snow-capped mountain. We must find a warm place for her to rest."
"That's right..." Xuan Hao was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that he had been too negligent. Speaking of which, the medical level in this world is still at a relatively backward stage. Whether they are in the snowy mountains or not, fever should not be a problem for them.
What a small problem.
"Mr. Tomioka, don't be in a daze, come here and help."
The Butterfly Ninja looked at Tomioka Giyu who was still in a daze and commanded.
"oh……"
Tomioka Yoshiyuki responded softly, and then with a slight force on his hand, he broke the rope on his body while the hunters looked at him in stunned silence.
There happened to be a medicine shop next to it, and everyone hurriedly carried Yae into the medicine shop.
After some 'explanations' from Butterfly Ninja, the misunderstanding was finally resolved.
Xuan Hao and others also learned about the past of this girl who fell into a coma due to fever.
This girl named Yae is the daughter of Matauki.
The so-called Yougui are organized hunting groups, usually composed of men. It is forbidden for women to go up the mountain for hunting, because it is said that the mountain god is a woman, and people believe that she will be jealous of other women who go up the mountain, which will lead to misfortune.
Yae's mother passed away very early. Because she was worried about Yae's safety, her father taught Yae how to use a shotgun, but this was only to enable her to protect herself. As for hunting, no one had ever allowed her to follow her.
Go up the mountain.
So now that Yae's father was killed again, she secretly took Taro up the mountain to get 'revenge'. The other hunters were worried that she would be in danger, so they scolded her.
Soon, the sky gradually darkened.
The comatose Yae finally woke up.
She opened her eyes in confusion and saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
"here it is……"
"Ah, you're awake!?"
A gentle voice sounded in Yae's ears before she could react.
A beautiful face with closed eyes gently came closer.
Yae felt the warm touch on his forehead and the breath that was so close that it was almost touching his lips. A bright red appeared on his cheeks that had just gone away from the fever.
As if she was half a beat too late, Yae pushed away the Butterfly Ninja who was leaning over to check if she was still having a fever.
"Hehehe... please don't shoot."
The butterfly ninja was raising his hands and smiling awkwardly.
Because the girl named Yae was holding her shotgun in a panic, seemingly unable to react to the current situation.
"Great, it seems you are fine."
The butterfly ninja breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the girl's energetic appearance.
"Where is this?"
Yae reacted and put down the shotgun in embarrassment.
"This is a medicine shop. The place where you fainted is just right." Butterfly smiled and brought up a glass of unknown liquid, "You look like you are very tired? I heard that you are the daughter of 'Yougui'? Yougui is looking for prey.
Can you stay in the mountains for several days in a row?"
"What does it have to do with you..." Yae frowned.
"It has nothing to do with me," Butterfly Ninja handed her the cup, "But with your current physical condition, revenge is impossible. Please drink this first and cheer up."
"..."
Yae blankly took the cup handed over by the Butterfly Ninja.
She looked at the beautiful girl in front of her with some confusion. Her identity and what she wanted to do seemed to be known to this person. Those annoying uncles must have said something while she was sleeping.
Looking at the unknown liquid in the cup, I could smell the unpleasant smell as soon as I got closer.
Yae swallowed, "Um...what was added to it?"
Hearing the girl's question, Butterfly Ninja's face suddenly became kind, "Don't ask so many questions, you can just drink it anyway."
"Okay... okay." Looking at the dangerous smile on the girl's face in front of him, Yae raised his head and endured the bitter taste and drank the potion in the cup in one gulp.
"What a fuss..."
Hearing the noisy voices of two girls in the next room, Xuanhao sighed slightly while drinking hot tea.
And Tomioka Giyu next to him was... being bitten by a dog.
It's the dog named Taro.
Perhaps Tomioka Giyuu had scared his master before, but at this moment Taro was extremely brave, fighting Tomioka Giyuu for 300 rounds without losing.
"You are really...in some ways very popular..."
Xuan Hao looked speechlessly at Yiyong who was entangled by the dog.
He knew Tomioka Giyuu, the new "Water Pillar" of the Demon Slayer Corps.
A few years ago, he saw with his own eyes Tomioka Giyuu being seriously injured by a ghost while trying to save Masaki during the final selection, and he even took action to save them.
What surprised Xuanhao was that it was not the boy named 'Qiu Rabbit' who became the water pillar. Even though Tomioka Giyu's strength has improved rapidly in the past few years, Qiu Rabbit should not stagnate.
However, after listening to Ubuyashiki Yoshiya's explanation, Xuanhao suddenly became enlightened.
The reason why Tomioka Giyu became the water column seems to be because he was forced to take the position.
Not only because his strength is sufficient, but also his teacher, Zhen Xiang and Qiang Tu all agreed that he should take the position of 'Water Pillar'.
As for why...it's probably the so-called 'love'?
Tomioka Giyuu has not been good at talking since he was a child. He seems to be unable to communicate with other people except his teachers and the two people he grew up with, Masaki and Soto.
Therefore, these people all felt that this was not going to work and that such a socially anxious child must be exposed to society, so they made him a pillar, perhaps hoping that this would allow him to communicate with more people and make more friends.
Many friends.
"I...wasn't popular."
Tomioka Giyuu refuted Xuanhao's words while shaking off the hand bitten by Taro.
Although he often says that he is not disliked, he knows very well in his heart that he is not actually popular.
As for the dog...it was obvious that he wasn't welcoming him.
Throw, throw...
Can't get rid of it!
"well……"
Xuanhao looked helplessly at Tomioka Giyu who was entangled with Taro again. Isn't this considered popular? Both teachers and friends care about you.
"Taro! No! Taro!"
Yae, who rushed over after hearing Taro's barking, apologized somewhat apologetically to Giyu Tomioka.
"Sorry, it's usually very close to people..."
"Ah, don't worry about it," Butterfly Shinobi who followed behind smiled happily, "Aren't Mr. Tomioka and Taro very close?"
At this time, Taro had successfully defeated the Demon Slayer's water column, and lay on Tomioka Giyuu, who had given up resistance, and bit his head.
"Okay, stop making trouble and let's talk about business."
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Xuan Hao put down the hot tea in his hand and spoke calmly.
"OK."
The expression on Butterfly Ninja's face became serious, and Tomioka Giyu also got up from the tatami.
The strangest thing is that after Taro heard Xuan Hao's voice, he suddenly became quiet and lay on the ground obediently, wagging his tail.
Seeing the suddenly serious atmosphere in the room, Yae was a little nervous because she had no idea who these people were.
"Miss Yae, we came to you to ask you about what happened to your father and the others." Butterfly Ninja explained.
"About what happened to my father and the others..." Yae's eyes became a little wary.
"Yes, we guess that what they encountered may not be a bear, but a ghost."
"What are ghosts? Who are you?" Yae frowned.
She had heard this group of people mention this title more than once.
"Ghosts are monsters that eat human flesh and blood. They are intelligent and can hide themselves skillfully." Seeing that the girl was finally willing to listen to the explanation, Tomioka Giyu said, "They have amazing vitality, even if their hands and feet are cut off or...
Even if the body is penetrated, it can regenerate immediately. Its only weaknesses are sunlight and a special weapon called the Nichirin Sword."
As he spoke, he placed his sword on the table.
This is the first time he has successfully communicated with someone, but there is one thing that Fukuoka Giyuu doesn't quite understand. Didn't he want to explain the same thing to this girl before? Why did he fail... And this time the same topic went very smoothly.
Good luck, which link did the problem occur?
"The ones who have learned the skills to kill ghosts, and have been silently hunting ghosts and protecting humans for hundreds of years... are us, the Demon Slayer Squad." The butterfly ninja continued Tomioka Giyu's words and explained with a smile.
"Demon Slayer Squad..." Yae lowered his head and didn't know what he was thinking, "Will all the ghosts be killed by you?"
"oh?"
Seeing the girl's reaction, Xuan Hao and the other two looked at each other.
It seems that this girl does know something, otherwise she would not act so strangely and ask such questions.
"Don't talk about us like executioners..." Xuan Hao said with a smile, "We only kill evil spirits."
"Yes," Butterfly Ninja agreed, but her eyes became a little dangerous, "If there is a ghost that has never eaten people and would rather starve to death, I will be responsible for taking care of it and take care of it with love until the last moment.
…”
"well……"
Seeing the Butterfly Ninja's suddenly gloomy expression, Xuan Hao sighed.
She knew that this girl's parents died at the hands of ghosts, and that her sister was also blind because of ghosts, so she didn't have any good impressions of ghosts.
However, there may be ghosts that don't eat people in this world. If possible, Xuanhao doesn't want to meet such a ghost again, because he knows what it means. He has met such a ghost before, except for the sadness.
Nothing can be seen outside.
"Sorry, I haven't seen the ghost you mentioned."
Perhaps noticing the gloomy expression on Butterfly Ninja's face, Yae turned his head and said.
"It doesn't matter, even if you are not a ghost, if Ms. Yae needs help, we can also help hunt bears." Butterfly Ninja said with a smile.
"No need..."
Yae picked up the shotgun beside him and stood up slowly.
"I am Yougui, and I will avenge myself. I'm sorry for causing you any trouble. I'll take my leave."
With that said, she took Taro and left without looking back.
"This girl... is lying." Butterfly Ninja said.
"I know, we are not stupid." Xuan Hao picked up the tea on the table again, "It's cold..."
"What are you talking about?" Butterfly Ninja frowned, "Are we just going to watch that girl die?"
"Didn't someone stop me already?"
Xuan Hao gently held the tea cup in his hand, and the tea that was supposed to be cold became steaming again for some reason.
He smiled slightly and said, "Although some people are the stupidest, they are very diligent in their actions."
"Ah? Mr. Tomioka?"
Only then did the Butterfly Ninja realize that Tomioka Giyu, who had been sitting next to him, had disappeared at some point.
"It's best not to go out at night."
Tomioka Giyu, who was standing in front of Yae, reminded him expressionlessly.
"There are no ghosts here." Yae pulled the dog leash around Taro's neck and walked away from Tomioka Giyu, "I am a Mata ghost. Is there anything wrong with hunting bears?"
"If you want revenge, why do you go up the mountain alone? We can help you." Tomioka asked directly, "Is there something you are hiding from us?"
"You're very annoying!" Yae angrily pushed away Tomioka Giyu who was standing in front of him, "What does my matter have to do with you? Get out of the way!"
"..."
Tomioka Giyuu was silent for a while, looked at Yae's leaving figure, lowered his head and murmured softly, "At least... I have never seen anyone be able to return to their original appearance."
"..."
When Yae heard Tomioka Giyu's voice, he was slightly stunned as he moved forward, but soon quickened his pace again and disappeared into the wind and snow.
"You seem to be hated again?"
Xuanhao chuckled and came to Tomioka Giyu and joked.
"I... wasn't hated."
Tomioka Giyu sat in front of the house and slowly shook his head as he watched the girl go away.
"Isn't that very clear to you?"
Xuan Hao raised his eyebrows.
He didn't understand why Tomioka Giyu couldn't communicate with others normally. This guy's heart was as clear as a mirror.
Tomioka Giyuu knew in his heart that the girl named Yae didn't hate him, she just didn't want them to get involved in this matter.
"Because it seems like I'm going to do something to make her annoying."
Tomioka Giyuu stood up slowly holding the scabbard in his hand.
"Where's the butterfly?"
"She is changing clothes." Xuan Hao replied.
"Then I'll go first..."
With that said, Tomioka Giyuu's figure disappeared from where he was.
Seeing Tomioka Giyu disappear, Xuan Hao shook his head slightly, "Young people are just impatient."
"Click——"
The door to the room was slowly pushed open.
After changing into the Demon Slayer uniform, the Butterfly Ninja came to Xuan Hao holding the Nichirin Sword in his hand.
She looked around and found that there seemed to be one person missing.
"Where's Mr. Tomioka?"
"He left first in a hurry."
"What a clumsy person..."
Even Butterfly Shinobi couldn't help but sigh, "Shall we follow too?"
"Um."
Xuan Hao nodded slowly, "If we don't let that girl figure out the situation, Tomioka will be hated for the rest of his life, right?"
…
Falling snow almost covered the entire snow mountain.
The cold wind howled and disturbed the dark mountain forest, blowing through the trees and making a sound like a beast.
There was a crisp barking of dogs and the sound of heavy footsteps in the snow.
"Woof woof woof——"
Taro walked clatteringly in front of the snow-covered mountain road to clear the way for the girl behind him.
Yae's body was shivering due to the cold wind, and he kept blowing the hot air into his hands to keep warm.
Her steps up the mountain were a little difficult, but she didn't know what was supporting her, making every step she took extremely firm.
Walking on this familiar mountain road reminded her of the time she went up the mountain with her father.
"A bear's whole body is full of treasures. The meat, fur, gallbladder, and fat are all treasures it has bestowed upon us."
The father gently stroked the fur of the bear lying on the ground, "Here, you can touch it too."
The young Yae put her hand on the bear's fur doubtfully, and she only felt a warm feeling at that time.
"Yae, we Matauki live by them. Since we kill animals... we must live..."
"Woof woof woof woof——"
The rapid barking of dogs awakened Yae from his memories.
She raised her head and looked ahead in surprise.
Suddenly, the barking sound stopped.
An ominous premonition filled Yae's heart.
She held the shotgun in her hand and ran as hard as she could in the direction of the sound.
A touch of bright red in the pure white snow looks particularly winking.
Yae's pupils shrank sharply because she saw Taro's head.
Tears poured out of her eyes unconsciously, because next to the head she saw a scene that made her even more desperate.
She suddenly recalled what Tomioka Giyuu said when she left just now——
'At least, I haven't seen anyone restore it to its original appearance.'
A slightly older figure was lying on the ground, greedily eating the corpse of Taro, with a ferocious look on his face that made people feel frightened.
Horns sprouted from his forehead, and his face was stained with blood.
"Dad...have you really turned into a ghost?"
Even though the facts have been placed in front of Yae, she still finds it difficult to accept it.
She always hoped that she had seen it wrong. She wanted to find her father again and ask him why he did such a horrible thing, so she did not hesitate to deceive everyone and eat her father and those ghostly "caveless bears".
But now she realizes she was wrong.
There is no Caveless Bear at all. His father has turned into a man-eating evil ghost. It was his father who ate his companions who were also ghosts. Now because of her persistence, Taro, the only one who accompanied her in the end, was also eaten.
.
"sorry……"
Yae didn't know who he was saying sorry to.
She raised the shotgun.
Aiming at the head of the evil spirit in front of her, she used the method her father taught her.
Once you find prey, don't panic, quickly raise your gun and locate it. Take two deep breaths, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Aim at the key point of the target, and then...
There were tears in Yae's eyes.
Because what she was aiming at right now was her father's head.
"Pull the trigger..."
It seems like my father's teachings are still echoing in my ears.
The muzzle flash lit up the night.
The next moment, bullets from the shotgun spurted out, blowing away the ghost's head that was eating Taro's corpse almost instantly.
"Woo..."
A whimpering sound came from Yae's mouth.
She covered her eyes, not daring to look at what was happening in front of her.
He squatted in the snow holding a shotgun and cried bitterly.
"Why...why did my father turn into a ghost?"
"Why do you want to eat everyone?"
"Why? Why on earth..."
"Why did you rush out of the house as if you were running for your life? Why didn't I also..."
The crying Yae heard the sound of running in the snow.
She looked at the figure running towards her with tearful eyes.
That was her father. Even though his head was smashed, he was still not dead.
"It turns out that you...have really turned into a ghost!"