--Blue Spider Lilies!!
The small town at the foot of Mount Kumotori has been bustling with activity lately, like it's Chinese New Year.
The townspeople were all beaming with joy, repeating the same phrase to everyone they met:
"Have you heard? A miracle doctor has come to town!!"
Three days ago, a young doctor who claimed to be a traveling doctor arrived in this dirt poor town.
He spoke in a refined manner, had a gentle demeanor, wore an impeccably clean white lab coat, and paired it with gold-rimmed glasses; anyone who didn't know him would mistake him for a noble young master straight out of a magazine.
Moreover, his medical skills were simply miraculous.
"Miracle Healer!! Please save my leg!!"
In the lobby of the inn, in front of a makeshift stage, a burly woodcutter stood with a mournful face, pointing to his injured leg, which was swollen like an elephant's leg, his voice filled with despair.
"I got bitten by a poisonous snake while chopping firewood in the mountains! The old doctor in town says this leg... can't be saved!!"
The "miracle doctor" Yaoshi, surrounded by a crowd, wore a gentle smile that seemed to reflect the kindness of a bodhisattva.
He didn't even bend down; he just glanced at it casually from two meters away.
"The hemotoxic toxin is mixed with a little neurotoxin, but it's not a big problem."
His nonchalant demeanor made the surrounding townspeople worry for him.
But what happened next completely stunned them.
The Yaoshi took out a set of gleaming silver needles from his obviously expensive leather medicine box. His movements were so fast it was dazzling, like a circus act, and he quickly inserted more than a dozen needles into the swollen leg.
The whole process was incredibly smooth, taking less than ten seconds.
"Alright."
The Yaoshi put away the silver needles and slowly wiped his fingers, which were completely dry, with a snow-white handkerchief.
"The toxins will break down on their own in half an hour, and the bruising will dissipate. You'll be able to go up the mountain to chop firewood again tomorrow."
"Huh? This... this is done?"
The woodcutter was completely bewildered. He looked down at his leg, and the burning pain seemed to have lessened considerably!
"Next."
The Yaoshi smiled and gestured for the next patient to come forward.
In his heart, however, he recorded today's "clinical notes" with a chillingly cold tone.
[Medical Record No. 250]
[Experimental subject: A physically strong but simple-minded local native.]
[Symptoms: Bitten by a forest snake of extremely low venom content, roughly equivalent to a drop of expired soy sauce. It has absolutely no research value.]
[Treatment plan:...]
[Conclusion: The vitality of lower organisms can sometimes be infuriatingly tenacious.]
"Dr. Healer! My child... he has food poisoning! He's been vomiting and having diarrhea for days, he's dying!!"
A frantic woman, carrying a baby with a sallow face and barely breathing, squeezed to the front.
The Yaoshi's smile grew even warmer, as if he were glowing.
He even reached out and, very kindly, touched the child's forehead with the back of his hand.
"Don't worry, it's just acute gastroenteritis, plus a bit of dehydration. I'll prescribe some medicine; take it and get some sleep, and you'll be fine."
He comforted the woman in the gentlest voice while scribbling down a prescription on a piece of paper.
[Medical Record No. 251]
[Experimental subject: A clearly malnourished human infant.]
[Symptoms: Ingestion of unclean food, leading to digestive system flora imbalance. A typical symptom of poverty.]
[Treatment plan: A basic, low-cost herbal remedy for regulating the digestive system was prescribed; anything is better than nothing.]
[Note: I just touched his forehead, and his snot got on my sleeve. My expensive white lab coat, which cost 300 yen, is now ruined. o()o]
The Yaoshi's smile froze for a moment, a slight twitch appearing on his lips.
He resisted the urge to immediately go back and wash himself ten times from head to toe with disinfectant, continuing to maintain his flawless "miracle doctor" persona.
The reason he condescended to come to this godforsaken place to conduct this kind of "free medical consultation" that has no technical content whatsoever was purely out of a scientist's rigor.
Things like "Blue Spider Lilies," which only appear in legends, most likely grow in places that are deserted but have some outdated customs.
The best way to get information out of these foolish and xenophobic villagers is to become their "god".
A merciful god who could hold their lives in his hands.
As it turned out, his method was extremely effective. In just three days, the name "Hua Tuo reborn" was known to everyone within a hundred miles.
Exactly! These stupid villagers have caused him countless troubles, making his blood pressure skyrocket.
"Divine Doctor! I've been having trouble sleeping and having vivid dreams lately. Could you please tell me if I'm being haunted?"
"Honorable healer! My cow hasn't been eating grass lately. Do you also do veterinary work?!"
"Divine Healer! I..."
The Yaoshi's smile was still textbook perfect, but the veins on his forehead were starting to throb uncontrollably.
He felt like he wasn't conducting any great scientific research at all; he was just doing free volunteer work in a giant open-air mental hospital!
Just as his patience was wearing thin and he was about to pack up, a clear and energetic young voice came from outside the crowd.
"Excuse me! Could you please move aside? I'm looking for the legendary healer!!"
The crowd automatically parted to make way.
A boy carrying an empty basket on his back, with a noticeable scar on his forehead and some charcoal ash on his face, ran in, panting.
This man was none other than Tanjiro Kamado, who had just finished selling charcoal and was returning from town.
As soon as he entered the town, he heard everyone excitedly discussing the "miracle doctor."
Tanjiro's first thought was of his father, whose health was deteriorating day by day.
Without a second thought, he dashed off.
"Mr. Miracle Doctor!"
Tanjiro ran to the platform, looked at the doctor who was only a few years older than him but had a scholarly air about him, and bowed deeply.
"I heard from the townspeople that you've cured so many people! You're truly a remarkable doctor!!"
The Yaoshi looked at the boy in front of him.
The purity and sincerity emanating from those wine-red eyes were so clean that it made him feel physically uncomfortable.
He hates people like that.
This kind of naive kindness, both inside and out, and that cheap optimism... of an idealist.
But on his face, the warmest, most friendly smile immediately appeared.
"Hello, I wouldn't dare accept the title of 'miracle doctor.' What can I do for you?"
"Yes!"
Tanjiro looked earnest.
"My father has always been in poor health, and I'd like to... I'd like to buy some medicine from you to help him improve his health!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
The Yaoshi nodded, but only one word came to mind: boredom.
[Potential medical history: A rural coal farmer, chronically overworked and malnourished. His symptoms are nothing more than a cough and general weakness. Utterly boring.]
He was just about to write a random prescription to get rid of the boy when a sudden inspiration struck him.
Suddenly, the Yaoshi's face adopted a perfectly fitting expression, one that conveyed a sense of embarrassment and regret.
"Treating your father is no problem, of course. It's just..."
He sighed, his voice full of concern for the patient.
"To be honest, I'm researching a highly effective medicine that can cure many terminal illnesses, but it's still missing one crucial ingredient. That's why I came to Mount Kumotori this time."
"A medicinal ingredient?" Tanjiro's attention was indeed drawn.
"Um."
A hint of thirst for knowledge flickered in the Yaoshi's eyes.
"It's a very special flower; it only blooms at a specific time of day, and its petals are blue—it's extremely rare."
As he spoke, he secretly observed Tanjiro's reaction out of the corner of his eye.
In the past few days, he has asked at least 80 to 100 people with the same question, but the answers he got were either "never seen it" or some nonsense.
He thought this time would be the same. But...
"Blue flowers?!"
Tanjiro's eyes lit up instantly!
"Divine Healer, are you referring to the 'Azure Sky Illusion Dream' that grows next to our ancestral graves on the mountaintop?!"
Boom--!
The Yaoshi felt as if his mind had been struck by lightning!
His heart, numb from seeing so many patients, suddenly started pounding wildly!
But he is, after all, Upper Rank Seven, a top-tier "performance artist" who can completely outmaneuver the Demon Slayer Corps.
He forcibly suppressed the overwhelming joy that would have made him jump for joy, his face showing a mixture of surprise, delight, and disbelief.
"Azure Sky Illusion Dream? You know this flower? Does it really exist?"
"Of course I know!"
Seeing the divine doctor so excited, Tanjiro also became excited and, without any guard, told him everything he knew.
"That flower field is right next to our family's ancestral graves! I used to see it all the time when I was a child!"
"It only bursts into Full Release during the hottest days of the year, at midday when the sun is at its strongest!"
"Blue-green, very beautiful!"
"But as soon as the sun begins to set in the west, it withers immediately, leaving not a single petal! That's why we call it 'sunflower' or 'Azure Sky Illusion Dream'!"
Exactly the same!
It's exactly the same as his boldest and wildest conjecture!!
"Ha ha ha ha..."
The Yaoshi finally couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He quickly lowered his head, covered his forehead with his hand, and pretended to be overjoyed, as if he had found a rare medicinal herb.
This action perfectly concealed the twisted and ferocious look on his face caused by excessive excitement.
"That's great... that's really great..."
He looked up at Tanjiro with a grateful gaze.
"Kamado- kun, you've done me a tremendous favor! With this medicine, I can save so many more people!"
"I'm happy to be able to help you!" Tanjiro was genuinely happy for him.
"Divine Physician, my home is on the mountaintop. Shall I take you there now? I know a shortcut!"
"No, no rush."
The Yaoshi immediately waved his hand; he had no desire to climb the mountain under this damned sun.
He took out several packets of common herbs that he had prepared beforehand from his medicine box and stuffed them into Tanjiro's hand.
"This is medicine for your father. Take it back and let him take it."
"After I finish what I'm doing and take care of the other patients in town, I'll go up the mountain to find them myself after dark."
He rejected Tanjiro's "fatal" invitation in a tone that emphasized "the greater good."
"Yes! You're such a kind person, Doctor!!"
Tanjiro's admiration for the Yaoshi reached a new level.
He took the medicine, bowed deeply to the Yaoshi at a ninety-degree angle, and then happily turned and went home.
The Yaoshi stood there, watching the innocent boy disappear around the street corner.
The gentleness and refinement on his face, like a mask, finally shattered with a crash.
Instead, a twisted laugh, a mixture of greed, ecstasy, and boundless killing intent, appeared.
"Tanjiro Kamado..."
He murmured the name as if savoring a delicacy about to be devoured.
"He's such a... kind person, it makes you want to... slice him up piece by piece and study him... he's perfect material."
He looked up and glanced at the sun in the sky, which was radiating scorching light.
A flicker of disgust and fear flashed in his eyes.
All that remains is the final madness and anticipation of a gambler before revealing his last card.
"Blue Spider Lily..."
"Wait for me!!"
(Forgot about Tanjiro's "dog nose"? Don't worry! Watch me patch it up.)