Benevolence of a Healer

Tsugikuni Kuuga flashed the shopkeeper a friendly smile, took the dorayaki, and said, "Let's continue—how much was this again?"

"Many thanks for saving me, Young Hero. These are on the house!" the shopkeeper said with a laugh.

With that, the shopkeeper began packing up his stall. Today's situation was no longer suitable for selling dorayaki. Tsugikuni Kuuga wasn't the type to refuse, so he simply accepted.

Shinobu Kocho walked over, grabbed Tsugikuni Kuuga by the ear, and dragged him aside.

"Ow! Ease up! I was just helping the downtrodden and fighting the wicked—doing a good deed!"

"If you'd hit any harder, he'd have been in the afterlife. Killing someone is a crime!" Shinobu scolded.

"He looked at someone he shouldn't have and ran his mouth. Not cutting him down was already generous!" Tsugikuni Kuuga said, unconvinced.

He knew the Demon Slayer Corps was an unofficial organization unrecognized by the government, so they usually kept a low profile. But those thugs had touched his sore spot—how could he stay low-key?

"Watch yourself next time. I'll let it slide this once," Shinobu said.

"Alright, it's over. Try one—the shopkeeper's dorayaki is really good!"

Tsugikuni Kuuga grinned and stuffed a dorayaki into Shinobu's mouth. Her eyes lit up. It really was delicious.

"By the way, did you find anything out?" Shinobu asked.

"Uh... well, I was too busy fighting evil. I think I forgot," Tsugikuni Kuuga said innocently, poking his fingers together.

"I figured. Even if you'd asked, you probably wouldn't have gotten anything. Everyone in this town seems to be deliberately avoiding something," Shinobu said seriously.

"Is that so?" Tsugikuni Kuuga rubbed his chin, thinking.

In the end, he decided to try asking that shopkeeper. The man seemed kind-hearted.

Tsugikuni Kuuga immediately grabbed Shinobu's hand and chased after him. Soon they spotted the shopkeeper's figure. Waving, Tsugikuni Kuuga called out, "Shopkeeper, I'd like to ask you something."

Murata Hiroshi saw Tsugikuni Kuuga coming and set down his cart. His family had always valued repaying kindness.

"What can this humble one do for you, benefactor?"

"I was wondering if anything strange has happened in your town—like people going missing, or dismemberment cases?" Tsugikuni Kuuga asked.

Hearing Tsugikuni Kuuga's question, Murata Hiroshi grabbed his arm and made a shushing gesture.

"Benefactor, keep your voice down. If anyone hears you, you'll be taken away!" the shopkeeper said gravely.

Tsugikuni Kuuga knew there was something fishy here. He'd asked the right person.

"Shopkeeper, I'm someone who handles these matters. Please, tell me about it!" Tsugikuni Kuuga pleaded.

"Sigh... come home with me. The Murata family always has to grant our benefactor one request," Murata Hiroshi said with a sigh.

Soon the two followed the shopkeeper to his home. On the way, he stopped at a pharmacy to buy medicine, but Tsugikuni Kuuga noticed the shopkeeper looked perfectly healthy.

This was another ability Tsugikuni Kuuga had gained after awakening Tai Chi Sense. When he activated it, he could see black and white qi swirling around each person. If the two were balanced, the person was healthy; if the black qi was excessive, they were ill.

"Shopkeeper, is someone in your family sick? I might be able to help," Tsugikuni Kuuga mentioned.

"What! You say you can cure them?"

The shopkeeper spun around and gripped Tsugikuni Kuuga's arms tightly, excitement blazing in his eyes.

"I said 'might.' Let's take a look and find out," Tsugikuni Kuuga explained.

He hadn't expected such a casual remark to provoke such a strong reaction. It must be someone important who was ill.

The three arrived at a residence close to the town's entrance. So this was the shopkeeper's home. It looked pretty wealthy!

"Please, make yourselves comfortable in the main hall. I'll put the cart away and be right with you. Apologies for the poor hospitality!" the shopkeeper said politely.

"No problem. We're the ones intruding."

The shopkeeper cheerfully went to store his cart. Once in the main hall, Shinobu questioned, "You're not lying to him, are you?"

"I said 'might.'"

As he spoke, Tsugikuni Kuuga raised his right hand. A sphere of light, half black and half white, slowly coalesced. Two koi fish, one black and one white, swam across its surface.

"Wow, what's that?" Shinobu asked, stunned.

"No idea. Looks like my healing ability evolved."

Tsugikuni Kuuga genuinely didn't know. He had no clue where the healing power came from—it was just innate. But it seemed to consume more Mental Power now.

He immediately dismissed the sphere. Just then, the shopkeeper entered and quickly poured them tea.

"Shopkeeper, take me to see the sick person first. I'll do my best," Tsugikuni Kuuga said.

Without a word, the shopkeeper led them to a room. The moment they stepped inside, they were engulfed by the thick smell of medicinal herbs.

A pale little girl lay on the bed. Hearing the noise, she turned her head. To others, she was just a frail child, but to Tsugikuni Kuuga, she was shrouded in excessive black qi.

"This is my daughter. The doctors have never been able to diagnose her illness. Her mother passed away from the same disease," Murata Hiroshi said, his eyes dimming.

"I'm sorry. We brought up painful memories," Shinobu said.

Tsugikuni Kuuga said nothing. He walked over to the girl's bedside, sat down, and raised his right hand. The taiji-like sphere of light appeared once more.

"Big Brother, are you here to save me? Suzuko doesn't want to die."

The little girl blinked. Every word was soft, yet carried an extraordinary weight.

Tsugikuni Kuuga revealed a warm smile and said, "Little girl, don't be afraid—I'm here to save you!"

Warm light radiated from Suzuko's chest, spreading outward through her body, but beads of sweat as large as beans appeared on Tsugikuni Kuuga's forehead, his face pale. Clearly, the little girl's condition was more severe than he had imagined.

Thus, the treatment consumed an extraordinary amount of Mental Power, but Tsugikuni Kuuga could see the black-and-white aura gradually balancing out, and Suzuko's pallid face was regaining color.

Tsugikuni Kuuga now felt as though something was constantly drawing from deep within his brain, while the black-and-white aura around the little girl's body was on the verge of reaching equilibrium.

A headache began to pound in Tsugikuni Kuuga's skull, and a wave of fatigue surged over him. The moment Suzuko's aura achieved balance, he collapsed outright.

Fortunately, Shinobu Kocho had been by his side the whole time, wiping his sweat, so she caught Tsugikuni Kuuga as he fell.

Then, Suzuko actually sat up in bed. Seeing this, Murata Hiroshi dropped to his knees on the spot—his daughter hadn't risen from bed in five years.

"Benefactor! Please accept my bow!" Murata Hiroshi directly kowtowed to Tsugikuni Kuuga.

Tsugikuni Kuuga wanted to stop him, but he had no strength left to do so.

Shinobu Kocho's face was full of worry, tears nearly spilling from her eyes. In a voice tinged with sobs, she whispered, "You need to take care of yourself!"

Tsugikuni Kuuga smiled. This was the first time he had saved someone—a living, breathing life. A word he had never fully understood before was now slightly clearer to him: Benevolence of a Healer.