You Two Can't Stay

Nohime trudged up onto the stone platform and stopped in front of Han Zhiqi. She kept her head lowered at first, hesitated for a moment, then finally gathered the courage to look up and meet his icy eyes just as she was about to speak.

"No." Han Zhiqi did not give Nohime a chance to say anything.

"I... I haven't even said anything yet."

"I know what you want to say. In any case, those two can't stay here."

Just as Nohime had expected, Han Zhiqi had no intention of taking them in. If he had truly wanted to, he would have done so when Kimura invited him earlier. To him, more people meant more unstable factors; being alone was far more reliable.

"They're injured. If they go out now, they'll definitely be eaten by demons."

"Before coming here, who wasn't prepared to be eaten by demons? If we take those two in, what if another two come begging you to take them in? What about ten?"

Nohime was left speechless. "I... I didn't think that far ahead."

Han Zhiqi looked up at the two people in the clearing. Yuka deliberately put on a friendly smile.

Han Zhiqi only found the woman hypocritical. She did not dare come over herself, yet she had coaxed kind-hearted, simple Nohime into pleading for them.

If not for the fact that, at the very last moment when they had been surrounded by four demons, she had desperately tried to push Nohime away, he would never have let them linger here.

"You saw the strength of that Bouncing Demon. We don't know how many special demons like it there are on this mountain. There's probably more than one, right? How many do you think you can handle with your strength? You don't even dare kill demons, yet you want to protect them?"

Nohime lowered her head, unable to say a word. Taking favors from others made it hard to refuse them; she herself still needed protection, yet she was pleading on behalf of those two. It was simply asking for humiliation.

"If they die outside, it's because they aren't strong enough. At most, they can resent us in their hearts for being cold-blooded and unwilling to help. But if they stay with us and die, then it'll be your responsibility for failing to protect them. Are you sure you're capable of bearing that responsibility? If you can endure endless remorse and regret in the future, then you can let them stay."

Nohime could not help trembling. This was something she had never considered. She had only wanted to simply plead for the two of them, without ever thinking about what would happen afterward.

Han Zhiqi's words completely extinguished her desire to plead for them.

Han Zhiqi was right. Keeping those two meant that they were placing their lives in her hands, and she could not bear such a heavy burden.

Though she could not bear it, Nohime already had her answer. Realizing that the two truly were not suited to remain here, she turned and walked down from the platform.

Better to suffer for a moment than for a lifetime.

Seeing Nohime's sad, dejected back, Han Zhiqi's heart softened. How could there be such an innocent girl in this world? Unable to bear seeing her caught in such a dilemma, he added, "Tell them we can take them to the wisteria grove halfway down the mountain. But if they want to follow us through the Demon Slayer Corps assessment, they can forget it."

Hearing this, Nohime was suddenly overjoyed. This was a great idea! Why hadn't she thought of it? They could send them down the mountain. That way, the two would not have to die, and they themselves would not have to carry such a heavy burden. There could not be a more perfect solution.

"Han Zhiqi, how are you so smart? You're really too smart." With that, she hurriedly ran toward the two people in the clearing.

Seeing Nohime's jubilant expression, the two thought it had worked out and immediately smiled happily as well. But when they heard Nohime say that they could be escorted down the mountain but could not stay, the smiles vanished from their faces at once.

They wanted to stay because they hoped to rely on those two to pass the Demon Slayer Corps assessment. Clearly, that boy was not easy to fool; he had seen through their intentions at a glance.

After fighting through half the night, they were truly unwilling to flee down the mountain in such a sorry state. But if they did not go down, without the protection of those two, they could only face the risk of being eaten by demons.

Yuka tried to ask Nohime to plead for them again, but Akino beside her stopped her.

Akino shook his head. He saw things more clearly than Yuka did. With the strength of the two of them, staying would only hold the others back.

Those demons were far too powerful. No matter how strong that boy was, if he had to face several demons attacking him at once, he probably would not be able to get away easily. At that point, he might not even be able to protect himself, much less anyone else.

The fact that they were willing to escort them down the mountain was already the greatest help they could offer. Asking for more would be pushing their luck.

Time passed second by second. After the brutal fighting in the first half of the night, the latter half seemed to have been relatively uneventful. Every now and then, a scream would come from some patch of forest, only to quickly fall silent.

No demons appeared again until dawn. They had made it safely through the night.

The sky gradually brightened, and a damp, bloody smell filled the air.

Han Zhiqi opened his eyes from meditation. In such a tense environment, his use of "Total Concentration: Constant" seemed to have become even more natural.

The two girls had chatted through the entire night and now seemed like close sisters. With dawn approaching, they both knew it was time to part.

Nohime and Yuka walked hand in hand at the front, Akino walked in the middle, and Han Zhiqi followed at the rear, escorting the two all the way to the starting point halfway down the mountain.

A long drag mark stretched across the ground and disappeared into the forest. It was not hard to imagine what had happened here last night.

Yuka recalled that the first scream they had heard last night seemed to have come from this direction. Three male participants had stayed here then. They had thought staying here would be safe, but...

"All right, Nohime. We'll stop here. It's safe now. No more demons will appear."

"Mm~"

The two held hands like lovers reluctant to part.

"Nohime, you must be careful. We'll wait for you down the mountain."

Nohime nodded firmly.

After their farewells were over, Han Zhiqi did not return by the same route. Instead, he headed down another path in the opposite direction—the route Kimura and the others had taken yesterday.

As he passed Yuka and Akino, Han Zhiqi turned to glance at them, then at the backpacks in their arms. Without saying anything, he walked away.

Nohime waved to Yuka and hurried after him.

"Do you think he noticed?" Akino asked as he watched the two retreating figures.

"Probably. That boy's gaze is far too sharp. He's both cautious and clever. Nohime is truly fortunate to be with him."

"Have you made up your mind?"

"I have. I had already made up my mind before coming here. My family was all killed by demons. Since I'm alive, I want to do something for them."

"Then let's go."

"You didn't have to stay behind with me."

Akino smiled gently. "I wanted to."

Nohime quickened her pace to catch up with Han Zhiqi, tilting her head as she said happily, "Thank you, Han Zhiqi."

"Thank me? For what? For saving those two?"

Han Zhiqi turned to look at Nohime and gave a cold snort. "No need. As long as you don't hold me back, I'll be grateful."

Nohime knew Han Zhiqi was only speaking out of anger. She stuck out her tongue at him and deliberately pulled a mischievous face.