The people who rushed in were not only the Daimyo's samurai, but also members of the Demon Slayer Corps!
Muzan had known it. He and Jikou had definitely drawn the Demon Slayer Corps' attention, and he suspected they had already begun to guess his identity.
Jikou looked at Muzan. He knew his boss did not like slaughtering innocents. As for the Demon Slayer Corps—people whose lives were almost all tragic, yet whose natures were steadfast and admirable—Muzan did not like laying hands on them. If he could let them go, he would.
Although the Demon Slayer Corps stood opposed to them, at this point, without Breathing Styles, even if Nichirin blades could kill demons by beheading them, none of Muzan's demons were weaklings. The Demon Slayer Corps posed almost no threat.
Muzan had actually been waiting to see—if his demons did not kill people recklessly as they had in the original story, would the Demon Slayer Corps still have an endless stream of new recruits?
In the end, even if only the Ubuyashiki Family persisted, what use would that be?
When the time came, he could even visit the Ubuyashiki Family estate and mock the head of the Ubuyashiki Family.
(ಡωಡ)
Only a few years had passed so far. Things would change with time.
But regardless of what the future held, this Daimyo's actions displeased Muzan greatly.
Several whip-like tentacles extended from behind Muzan. The samurai trying to protect the Daimyo were all swept away in a single strike, their abdomens hit by tremendous force and their ability to resist instantly crushed.
The others saw Muzan's savage, terrifying crimson tentacles whipping through the air and went weak in the legs. Some of the samurai had already started backing away, wanting to flee.
Muzan did not know what exactly was going on, or why the Demon Slayer Corps had joined forces with the Daimyo.
Like a knife slicing through tofu, a tentacle smoothly pierced the Daimyo's chest. Not wanting to waste anything, Muzan transformed one hand into a giant beast and swallowed the Daimyo whole, his face filled with terror and regret.
He chewed and swallowed him right in front of the Demon Slayer Corps.
The Demon Slayer Corps members tried to stop him, but Jikou blocked them all.
Muzan's arm returned to normal, while the dancing tentacles easily sent every surrounding Demon Slayer Corps member and samurai flying.
He casually picked a nearby Demon Slayer Corps member, hooked his collar with a tentacle, and lifted him before Muzan.
Ignoring the man's vicious glare and futile struggles, Muzan patted his face and smiled. "I wasn't even planning to eat anyone. You were the ones who got the Daimyo killed.
"Pass a message to Ubuyashiki. Don't get too cocky. Just because I can't be bothered to kill you doesn't mean I won't."
The Demon Slayer Corps member suspended in midair by the tentacle ground his teeth. "Stop spouting that twisted nonsense! I'll definitely kill you!"
Muzan indifferently flung him aside, then glanced at Jikou. Jikou gave a slight nod.
He casually tossed away the samurai he had been holding.
Muzan's tentacles lifted Jikou, and the two vanished, leaving behind only Demon Slayer Corps members and samurai sprawled across the ground, unwilling yet powerless to pursue them.
In the courtyard, the head of the Ubuyashiki Family reached out and caught the descending crow. He gently stroked it a few times, his expression somewhat grave.
The future was becoming more and more chaotic.
The darkness shrouding the world had become illusory.
The Muzan he knew—the shortsighted, selfish, cowardly Muzan—seemed to have changed. Demons had begun disguising themselves as physicians, while ordinary people and even Daimyos profited from war.
Demons seemed to have divided into two kinds.
One kind slaughtered humans freely and fed on them. The other hid among humans and controlled wars.
Yet the Demon King Muzan was taking a demon with exceptional medical skills around to save people?
What exactly did Muzan want?
And why was he showing mercy to the Demon Slayer Corps?
Although some demons still killed wantonly and showed no mercy toward the Demon Slayer Corps, the demons hidden among humans and the Demon King himself had, at some unknown point, begun to "avoid" the Demon Slayer Corps.
In the future he had seen, there was endless battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and demons. Yet for some reason, he increasingly felt that battle had become meaningless.
Why?
Killing demons could not possibly be meaningless!
Ubuyashiki let out a heavy sigh. He would not waver in his resolve and will to exterminate demons at any cost!
Demons who killed freely and had already lost their humanity should not exist in this world. Only by killing the evil demon of this world, Muzan Kibutsuji, could they prevent more innocent people from losing their loved ones to demons!
This was their responsibility!
But confronting the Demon King required careful planning.
Perhaps the threat from that day had worked. Even after Muzan and Jikou's identities were exposed, no Demon Slayer Corps members came to disturb him.
Time passed quickly. Muzan, who possessed several centuries of Scum Boss's memories, did not find a few decades particularly long.
A life without counting the days was somewhat dull, but also pleasant.
What delighted Muzan was that he seemed able to enter the Clear World state. However, it was highly unstable. Around a dozen years ago, Muzan had entered the Clear World for the first time, and since then, he had only succeeded another five or six times.
He always felt that he lacked some sort of opportunity.
So be it. It was not as though he could die. He could take it slowly.
More than a decade ago, after wandering around to his heart's content, Muzan had settled down in a village.
The demons under him would deliver books and meat.
And after settling down, Muzan successfully became a physician under the alias Kibutsuji Xu Ming, relying on the knowledge he had accumulated in his mind over the decades.
Although the villagers all found it strange that this physician never came out during the day, they respected him greatly.
The last traces of sunlight retreated from the earth, and a full moon hung high in the sky. The gates to Muzan's courtyard stood open. Holding a book, he lay lazily in a rocking chair by the entrance, gazing at the stars.
He missed the sun a little. He had barely seen it for seventy or eighty years. Hurry up and let him find the Blue Spider Lily!
He wanted to bask in the sun!
A retired old man several centuries old like him could not even fulfill the simple wish of basking in the sun. Sigh!
The rocking chair swayed back and forth. Muzan simply basked in the moonlight instead. With the book in his hand covering his face, his thoughts gradually sank into stillness as he lay in the chair.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly noticed something poking his arm.
Muzan narrowed his eyes, lifted the book from his face and set it beside him, then turned to look at the human child poking him.
A tiny little boy stood there with two other children behind him. When Muzan looked at him, the boy who had poked him shrank his neck.
Muzan found it rather amusing. He could not help smiling as he reached out and rubbed the little fellow's head. "What is it?"
Seeing that Muzan was quite gentle, the boy became bolder. He and his two little followers found stones to sit on.
"Uncle, why don't you bask in the sun during the day?"
Muzan reclined in his chair, swaying leisurely. "Uncle is sick. He can't bask in the sun."
The little girl asked anxiously, "But aren't you a physician, Uncle?"
The little boy chimed in, "Can't Uncle cure himself either?"
The other, taller boy cried out, "Impossible! Mom said Uncle's medical skills are amazing!"
Muzan smiled. "No matter how skilled a doctor is, there are illnesses he cannot cure. Uncle can't cure his own illness either."
"Then teach me how to cure illnesses! I'll cure Uncle!"
Hearing the little boy's words, the other two little followers also called out, "Me too! Me too!"
Muzan found it amusing. Then, all of a sudden, an idea occurred to him. Should he teach a student for fun?
Before you continue