Love Breathing

After Han Zhiqi said he wouldn't do anything, Nohime sat quietly beside him, continuing to draw circles on the ground with a twig.

She was incredibly bored right then. It was good that Han Zhiqi was with her, but he never spoke, which made her quite uncomfortable.

She wanted to start a conversation several times, but each time she turned to look at Han Zhiqi's cold face, she could only swallow her words back.

She was afraid her abruptness would disturb Han Zhiqi.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the forest below, and Nohime looked up curiously.

Just as she had thought, the dark mass in the forest below looked like an opening to another world. If anything were to come out, it could only be from there.

Sure enough, a round, plump thing emerged from the tree's shadow, almost touching the ground.

The "thing" turned towards the two of them on the stone platform. As it met Nohime's gaze and sensed it might have been discovered, the "thing" quickly retreated back into the shadows of the trees.

"Han Zhiqi, there's something down there."

Nohime pointed with one finger to where the "thing" had disappeared and shook Han Zhiqi with her other hand.

"What is it?"

Actually, Han Zhiqi had already sensed the approach of demons, and not just one. Besides the one hiding in the shadows below, there was another hiding behind a nearby rock.

These two should just be ordinary demons, relatively weak. The stronger demons had gone off to hunt for a big meal. Who would be running around in the mountains, trying to pick up scraps?

Their cowardly appearance showed they wanted to attack but were afraid they couldn't win, so they could only hide in the darkness, restless and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

If they were truly powerful demons, they would likely have been unable to contain their restlessness by now and would have attacked multiple times.

"It... it looked like a head." After saying that, she felt something was off. If it was a head, why was it crawling on the ground?

"Congratulations, you've met your first demon of the night, and the first demon of the assessment."

"Demon...?" Nohime looked at Han Zhiqi in surprise.

"Is there any need to be so surprised? Isn't it normal to encounter demons here? It would be abnormal not to, right? You haven't seen a demon before, have you?"

Seeing Nohime's expression, Han Zhiqi became even more certain of his thoughts. He wondered what kind of treasure he had found.

A Demon Slayer Corps assessment, hadn't seen a demon, super gluttonous, yet she didn't bring any food. She was truly a treasure of a girl, someone who could be developed at any time and always bring surprises.

Nohime felt embarrassed by Han Zhiqi's gaze. She lowered her head and stammered, "I... I have seen them. How could I not have? Aren't all demons transformed humans? They should look similar to humans, right?"

You're asking me? Thank you for telling me!

"Not similar to humans, similar to you."

"Ah..."

"What 'ah'? You're as stupid as you are," Han Zhiqi said impatiently, reaching out and lightly tapping Nohime's forehead.

Nohime rubbed her forehead, pouting her rosy lips, her expression slightly shy. "You... you're teasing me again."

"I'm just speaking the truth, how is that teasing?"

Han Zhiqi picked up the Nichirin Blade beside him and handed it to Nohime. "Didn't you say you wanted to protect me? Take your Nichirin Blade and go chop off its head. That way, I can see your strength. I can't have you eating so much of my meat and vegetable pancakes for free."

Mentioning the meat and vegetable pancakes, Nohime felt she really should do something. She carefully took the Nichirin Blade and looked at Han Zhiqi with a troubled expression. "Chop... chop off its head? That's not good. I have no enmity with it, why should I chop off its head?"

"Demons only die when their heads are severed. If you don't kill it, it will eat you. Didn't you join the Demon Slayer Corps because you wanted a job where you could eat your fill? This is your future job. Go."

Nohime bit her lip tightly. Under Han Zhiqi's urging, she slowly walked down the stone platform and finally reached an open space, facing the spot where the demon had appeared earlier. She glanced back at Han Zhiqi.

Han Zhiqi waved his hand, indicating she should hurry.

Not long after Nohime landed, a naked demon crawled out from the shadows behind the trees.

This demon was relatively small. Perhaps the food on Mount Fujikasane wasn't good, as it looked like skin and bones.

Its hair had all fallen out, its head was bald, its mouth was open, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and a strange "woo woo" sound came from its throat.

Although demons were transformed humans, they were more akin to beasts.

Fear meant weakness.

When humans are afraid, their bodies secrete certain hormones. Beasts, with their keen sense of smell, could judge whether it was suitable to attack based on this.

Demons also possessed this ability; it was probably a beast's instinct.

"This... this is a demon?"

Aren't all demons transformed humans? Why... why does it look so terrifying?

Nohime was startled. Trembling, she drew her Nichirin Blade, shouting at it not to come closer, and slowly retreated, looking at Han Zhiqi on the stone platform with pleading eyes.

Han Zhiqi's expression was cold, and he showed no intention of intervening.

Suddenly, the demon moved.

Its body pressed close to the ground, it let out a strange cry and rapidly closed in on Nohime at an extremely fast speed. In almost the blink of an eye, it was less than a meter away from her. The next moment, it might pounce.

"You... you don't come any closer, I'll hurt you."

Nohime screamed in fear. In this critical moment, she closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Han Zhiqi suddenly stood up, his right hand gripping the scabbard. His thumb flicked open the guard, revealing a small section of the blade. Cold air was already seeping from the scabbard, forming a small cloud of white mist around them.

He was ready to make a move, but at this moment, Nohime's voice rang out from the open space below.

"Love... Love Breathing, Form Five: Wavering Love's Claws."

Love Breathing? What kind of breathing technique is that? Is there a breathing technique like this among the Five Great Breathing Styles?

Nohime was seen frantically shaking her wrists. The Nichirin Blade in her hand, which was originally straight and rigid, suddenly seemed to melt, becoming soft and slender, as if it were no longer a blade. To be precise, it was more like a whip.

As Nohime shook her wrists, the Nichirin Blade moved with extreme speed, breadth, and strangeness, like countless cat claws dancing wildly in front of her. The attack seemed to blend all possible moves in an instant: thrusts, slashes, chops, cuts, and more.

Han Zhiqi immediately saw that this move could be used for both defense and offense.

Nohime wasn't using this move randomly out of desperation; it was clear she had a certain amount of combat experience.

With this move, let alone one demon, even two or three more would likely be unable to break through her defense head-on. Instead, they might be severely wounded by the irregular, formless attacks.

Just like the demon before them, it made a perfect lunge, leaping directly into the dense net of blades woven by Nohime. Instead of getting a meal, it ended up getting thoroughly thrashed.

Accompanied by a shrill scream, its naked body, especially the area from the chest upwards that had first charged into the blade net, was splattered with blood. In an instant, wounds covered its entire body, turning it into a bloody demon.

In the end, it was Nohime who voluntarily stopped, allowing the demon to escape the net of blades. Dragging its heavily wounded body, it abandoned any thought of food and disappeared into the depths of the forest, howling all the way.