Asakusa at night is practically an ocean of light.
Countless electric lights illuminated the streets as brightly as daytime, the colorful shop signs and the lights of passing cars blending together in a chaotic yet bustling scene.
Giyu and Sabito had just come out of an udon noodle shop, their stomachs full and their bodies warm.
"Burp~ So delicious!"
Sabito let out a satisfied burp, rubbing its round belly with a blissful expression.
"I didn't expect the udon noodles in this big city to taste so authentic! It's just a bit pricey!"
He clicked his tongue in amazement, yet couldn't help but savor the delicious taste of the noodle soup he had just eaten.
Giyu didn't say anything, just walked silently beside him. His gaze slowly swept across the bustling crowd, his icy blue eyes appearing even deeper under the lamplight.
Although the task assigned by the Oyakata-sama was to "investigate," finding a ghost who knew how to disguise himself in this crowded "devil's den" was like finding a needle in a haystack.
"Oh dear, how are we supposed to find it?"
Looking at the densely packed crowd before him, Sabito was also troubled. His intuition, which had always been reliable in the mountains, was like a malfunctioning compass here. The air was thick with the smell of people, and the noise was deafening, making it impossible to concentrate.
"If a ghost is determined to disappear into a crowd, we wouldn't be able to find it even if we looked until we were blind."
With a pained expression, he finally shrugged helplessly, patted Giyu's shoulder heavily, and placed all his hopes on his "monster" companion.
"There's no other way, Giyu!"
He looked solemn and spoke with a heavy heart, as if he were entrusting someone with some grand, enduring legacy.
"The glorious mission of maintaining world peace and finding the lost evil spirit is entrusted to you!"
Giyu glanced at him, his eyes full of disdain that said, "You're so useless."
However, he also knew that in this environment, only his own "Transparent World" could truly come in handy.
He took a deep breath, preparing to concentrate and filter out all the noise in his field of vision, when a lively sound, mixed with broken Japanese hawking, suddenly came from the street corner.
Grand Opening Special! Huge Grand Opening Special! Don't miss out! Exotic and rare items from the West, all 10% off! 10% off!
The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a crowd gathered in front of a newly opened shop.
It was a shop with a very unique decor. The huge glass window displayed all sorts of novel and beautiful trinkets that they had never seen before.
A blond, blue-eyed Western merchant was standing at the door, energetically calling out in broken Japanese.
The Sabito's curiosity was immediately piqued.
"Western gadgets? Come on, Giyu, let's go take a look!"
He pulled Giyu along and squeezed into the crowd.
Giyu wasn't particularly interested in the commotion, but when his eyes inadvertently swept across the shop window, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
In the most prominent position in the shop window, there is a row of exquisitely made butterfly hair clips.
The hair clips came in all shapes and sizes, and some were made of glass, shimmering with a dreamlike light under the lamp, while others were pieced together with colorful feathers, making them light and delicate.
The very center piece is carved from a single piece of pale purple crystal, with the patterns of butterfly wings clearly visible. It is also inlaid with small gemstones, sparkling under the light, making it seem otherworldly.
Giyu's breath stopped at that moment.
A gentle, smiling face uncontrollably popped into his mind.
He seemed to see Kanae wearing that familiar team uniform, gently pinning the purple crystal hair clip to her cascading black hair.
Under the lamplight, the light from her hair clip and the tenderness in her eyes intertwined.
It will definitely be... very good, right?
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Giyu's heart skipped a beat.
He snapped back to his senses, a flicker of panic crossing his icy blue eyes.
Wrong.
Why would I think about these things?
This is simply... to express my gratitude for her kindness in mending my haori.
Yes, it's just a simple thank you.
Buying a gift in return is perfectly reasonable.
Having found a perfect reason, Giyu quickly calmed down. He glanced at the dazzling array of goods, then at the large-denomination check in his pocket, and made an extremely decisive decision.
He pushed through the crowd and walked directly to the Western merchant who was still enthusiastically hawking his wares. In his usual calm and even tone, he uttered a sentence that left everyone present speechless.
"I'll take them all."
"What?"
The Western merchant's smile froze. He picked at his ear, thinking he had misheard.
The onlookers were stunned and turned to look, wondering which rich and foolish young man was spouting nonsense.
Giyu didn't repeat himself, but simply took out a wad of banknotes from his pocket and handed it over.
Is that enough?
The Western businessman stared at the banknotes, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. He hurriedly took them, checking them repeatedly, his face flushed with excitement, and he began to stammer.
"Enough! Enough! That's enough! Sir! You are my God! My deity!"
He almost knelt down before Giyu.
Sabito, standing nearby, was completely dumbfounded.
He stared, mouth Giyu, at Yi Yong, then at the gesticulating Western merchant, feeling utterly bewildered.
You want... all of them?
Just for a butterfly hair clip?
Giyu, when did you become such a spendthrift?!
Half an hour later.
Sabito, carrying a huge box made of planks taller than himself, followed behind Giyu, his steps unsteady, tears welling in his eyes. o(╥╥)o
"Giyu... I hate you..."
His voice was filled with grief and indignation.
"Why do I have to carry your things?! Did I owe you something in my past life?!"
"And what are you doing buying so much stuff? Is our Demon Slayer Corps going to become resellers?!"
"Being near the water tower means you get the moon first, but that's not how you do it! Are you trying to buy her entire dowry all at once?!"
He followed behind, chattering on and on, his words coming out like a machine gun.
Giyu walked ahead without saying a word, but his ears turned a little red.
Just when Qiantu wanted to continue complaining, Yiyong's footsteps suddenly stopped.
"Shut up."
The voice was cold and clear, carrying an undeniable air of command.
Sabito's complaints stopped abruptly. He looked at Giyu's retreating figure with a puzzled expression, and also sensed that something was amiss.
Giyu's body tensed slightly, and his right hand had already quietly rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
A feeling of being spied on, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around the back of his neck.
That wasn't just ordinary curious observation; it was a gaze that... was scrutinizing, inquisitive, and even contained a strange longing that even Giyu couldn't understand.
Giyu turned his head sharply, his icy blue eyes instantly becoming as sharp as knives!
"Transparent World!"
The bustling, noisy streets instantly lost their color and sound in his eyes.
The dazzling lights have turned into monotonous black and white shadows. The endless stream of people has become a series of blurry gray outlines.
His gaze pierced through the crowd, precisely locking onto the shadow of a telephone pole across the street.
There were two people standing there.
One tall and one short.
The tall one was a woman, dressed in an elegant purple kimono, with her hair styled in a traditional woman's bun. She was dignified and beautiful, with a gentle and graceful demeanor, but her brows carried a trace of sorrow that she could never erase.
Beside her stood a short boy with striking light green short hair. He was staring intently at them with an extremely wary and hostile gaze.
The instant Giyu's gaze met the woman's, he clearly saw a fleeting look of shock and... panic in her eyes?
The woman, like a startled rabbit, almost immediately grabbed the green-haired boy beside her, turned and left without hesitation, turning into a dark alley and disappearing in an instant.
That decisive action, that abnormally fast speed of movement...
Giyu's pupils suddenly contracted!
With his left hand, he suddenly pushed forward, and the hilt and scabbard collided with a crisp "click".
A cold glint flashed in his eyes!
"Ghost!"
The dark alleyway reeked of damp, musty smells.
Yushiro was pulled forcefully by Tamayo, and in a few quick movements, they reached the end of a dead end.
"Tamayo! What's wrong? Why are you running?"
He shook off Tamayo's hand, his face full of confusion and anxiety.
"I checked those two people with my Blood Demon Art. They didn't have the slightest aura of a powerful expert. We have no reason to be afraid of them!"
"No..."
Tamayo leaned against the cold wall, her face frighteningly pale. She raised her hand to cover her chest, her beautiful eyes filled with lingering fear and horror.
"He's no ordinary person..."
"What?" Yushiro was stunned.
Tamayo's body was trembling slightly.
She closed her eyes, and the scene from earlier replayed in her mind.
The moment her gaze met that of the boy wearing a half-red, half-white haori.
An unprecedented hunger, rising from the depths of my soul, erupted like a volcano!
That wasn't a thirst for blood.
That was... a primal, insane urge to devour the other person, skin and bones, and make them a part of oneself!
This feeling is terrifying and so unfamiliar!
It took her hundreds of years to break free from Muzan Kibutsuji's curse and suppress all her "demon" instincts through her own willpower and medicine.
Even when faced with Marechi types, she can remain calm and composed.
Just now, after only a glance, her rock-solid defenses almost completely collapsed!
That boy... his very existence seemed to be an ultimate temptation.
His flesh and blood, his soul, seemed to her more "delicious," more... deadly, than anything else in the world.
"Tamayo?"
Yushiro looked at her pale face and called out worriedly.
We must leave here immediately.
Tamayo suddenly opened her eyes, her voice filled with barely suppressed fear.
That boy... is dangerous.
"He's too dangerous for me."