A Hundred-Year-Old Elder

Chapter 48: An Old Man of a Hundred Years

Gyutaro was unhappily forced by Muzan to put on one piece of clothing after another.

Koinatsu watched from the side, giggling.

After washing up, Gyutaro still had black spots all over his face and his waist was abnormally thin, but he looked much cleaner.

Muzan tossed him a dry towel. "Dry your hair."

Gyutaro took the towel, pouted, and walked over to carefully dry Koinatsu's hair, who hadn't dried hers yet.

Koinatsu sat on a stool in her newly bought clothes, obediently having her hair dried.

By the time the two of them were ready, the sky had completely darkened.

"Let's go, I'll take you to meet your brother."

Muzan pulled one small child by each hand. Because it was dark, the three of them passed through the town and entered the forest. The scene before them changed slightly, and the two children unknowingly traversed space.

They arrived near another small town far from the Entertainment District. Emerging from the forest, Gyutaro remained vigilant of his surroundings, as well as Muzan.

If this guy made any wrong moves, he'd kill him!

"Where are you taking us?"

Gyutaro still didn't put down the two scythes in his hands. Although he was wearing clean clothes now, the worn and somewhat dirty scythes were still clutched in his grip.

He looked at Muzan and asked in a hostile tone.

What annoyed him was that despite this guy looking weak, he didn't seem bothered by Gyutaro's fierce glare at all, acting completely unconcerned.

It was so annoying!

"We're almost there."

Muzan replied casually.

Soon, Muzan brought the two little ones to the fence of a house.

It was a simple house, not very large, but not too small either. It was enough for three or four people to live in. The simple wooden house was surrounded by a crude wooden fence, as if there was no worry about wild beasts or bandits breaking in.

Judging by the clean doorway and the footprints on the dirt ground, someone lived there. But as it was late at night, the house was completely dark.

Muzan acted as if he were entering his own home, leading the two children through a gap in the fence.

He stood at the doorway and knocked twice.

Rustling sounds came from inside the door, followed by footsteps.

Creeeak—

The door, showing its age, let out a long groan. At the entrance stood a tall man with long black hair, the tips of which were tinged with red.

Although the red markings on his forehead were a bit intimidating, he had a gentle aura, dressed in white clothes with a red haori draped over him.

"Muzan?"

Yoriichi, awakened by the call, looked at Muzan, whom he hadn't seen in decades, with a blank expression.

Muzan chuckled twice and patted the two small children on his left and right.

"I brought your little brother and sister to see you."

Upon hearing this, Koinatsu and Gyutaro looked at Muzan and then at Yoriichi in disbelief.

What the heck?!

Yoriichi looked down at the two children. He could piece together some of what had happened and then cast a suspicious glance at Muzan.

"You have this much free time?"

"Let me in first, let me in first. Standing outside in the middle of the night talking to you?"

Muzan said, and without waiting for Yoriichi to move aside, he squeezed past him into the house and sat down on the tatami, looking around.

"Your house is quite cozy."

Yoriichi helplessly closed the door and looked at the two silent children. "You two sit down too."

He then looked at Muzan. "Speak. What are you here for?"

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

"Do you have anything to eat here? Prepare something for them."

Yoriichi: "..."

He's really pushing his luck!

He turned and went to the kitchen to find some sweets, placing them on the table in front of the two children, and looked at Muzan.

Koinatsu leaned closer to Gyutaro, looking enviously at the sweets on the table. Gyutaro hesitated.

Muzan looked at the two of them and patted Gyutaro's head as he sat beside him. "It's okay, eat."

Gyutaro hesitated for a moment before picking up a sweet and handing it to his sister.

Seeing this, Muzan then turned his gaze back to Yoriichi.

"I just thought you, an old man over a hundred years old, were too lonely, so I brought these two children to keep you company."

Gyutaro and Koinatsu: "???!"

A hundred years old?!

Yoriichi: "..."

Then what about you, an "old man" who's seven or eight hundred years old?!

Seeing Yoriichi stare at him speechlessly with dead fish eyes, Muzan pouted:

"Fine. These two children are from the Entertainment District, and they don't have parents, so I took them in. I'm too lazy to raise them myself."

Yoriichi: "..."

Yoriichi remembered his five years being raised by Muzan. Although nothing bad happened, he had to cook his own meals, clean his own room, and do everything himself.

He didn't know if these two children were suitable to be raised by Muzan, who could practically lie in a rocking chair motionless for most of the year.

In the end, as Muzan had predicted, he sighed, "Alright, these two children can stay with me."

"Ah, I knew you'd soften up!"

Muzan blurted out his thoughts without reservation.

Yoriichi: "..."

Yoriichi was speechless. Looking at the two children eating unceremoniously, he couldn't help but pat their heads, inheriting Muzan's habit.

"You two eat first. I'll talk to him. Don't wander off."

With that, he opened the door and walked outside.

Seeing this, Muzan followed him and closed the door.

"Tell me about these two children."

Knowing they were orphaned, Yoriichi was afraid of upsetting them and carefully avoided their presence.

Inside, Gyutaro hesitantly put down the food in his hands. He watched the two leave and cautiously pushed the door open a crack.

Seeing that neither of them was looking their way, Gyutaro opened the door wider, slipped out, and hid behind the well in the courtyard to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Yoriichi and Muzan had naturally noticed Gyutaro the moment he opened the door, but seeing how worried he looked, they decided to let it be.

At least it would put his mind at ease.

"These two are children from the Entertainment District. Their mother was likely a prostitute, but she died of syphilis. As for their father, I'm not sure.

When I found them, the girl, Koinatsu, was working as an Oiran in Aoya. As for the boy, Gyutaro, he probably had a difficult childhood because he wasn't good-looking.

He used to make a living collecting debts, and he has a lot of pent-up resentment."

Yoriichi nodded thoughtfully. He now understood why Muzan had sent these two children to him.

Their difficult childhood experiences must have twisted their personalities. Muzan was certainly too lazy to deal with them, so the task fell upon him, the idle one.

But, as Muzan had said, he did seem to have a slight desire for a child to keep him company.

Decades ago, he had finished his travels. After helping an old man, he stayed there after the old man died.

He had felt lonely for decades.