Time Flies

A gentle voice came from behind. Tanjiki subconsciously looked back, and the tension on his face slowly turned into surprise.

Pale golden sunlight fell on Yuko's profile. Her fair skin seemed to glow, and the burnt skin had inexplicably become smooth and flawless. A faint white mist still rose from her body, appearing hazy and beautiful in the refracted light.

Tanjiki's surprised voice rang out, "Miss Yuko, you..."

Yuko turned her head and smiled, "Mm, it seems I succeeded."

Miyare pounced forward, looking up at her with sparkling eyes, "Sister Yuko is so pretty."

Can I see her face?

Yuko looked down, even leaning her head out a little to see Miyare's small head.

Yuko's chest, those two pounds of flesh, even if not a D, were at least a C+.

She gently rubbed Miyare's head, "Is that so?"

Miyare squinted her eyes in enjoyment, "When I grow up, I want to marry Sister Yuko."

Snap~

Tanjiki turned completely black and white.

He flustered, "No, Little Rei, that would put Sister Yuko in a difficult position."

Miyare tilted her head and asked innocently, "Why?"

"Because... because..." Tanjiki racked his brain to explain to her.

Yuko and Tamiko, who had come out from the inner room, watched the father and daughter's interaction with smiles.

Evening, after dinner.

Tanjiki tried to persuade them, "Won't you stay a few more days?"

"Mm, if I go back late, Older Brother will worry."

Miyare waved her hand, bidding farewell, "Goodbye, Sister Yuko~ Come play again~"

Yuko smiled and waved goodbye to everyone, "Goodbye, Little Rei."

Regarding the matter of the Lycoris radiata, Yuko told them not to worry and to just eat it like ordinary wild vegetables.

Noon. Yoriichi was swinging his Nichirin Blade in the courtyard, completing his day's training.

Yoriichi, now middle-aged, did not look much older, still appearing to be in his early twenties despite being in his thirties.

Knock, knock, knock~

Suddenly, the gate was knocked.

Yoriichi wiped his sweat, put away his Nichirin Blade, and walked towards the door.

After the Tsugikuni family's decline, the siblings had returned to live here for a long time without attracting the attention of the townspeople. They had no friends in the city to speak of.

Yoriichi was somewhat curious about who was knocking.

He opened the gate, and a ripple suddenly appeared in his calm eyes, a ripple that was rapidly expanding.

"I'm back."

"Yuko, you..." Yoriichi looked at his sister in astonishment, unable to speak.

Yuko stood in the sunlight and smiled, "I succeeded."

The surprise on Yoriichi's face gradually softened, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly, "It's good that you're back."

Yuko smiled, "Mm, I'm back."

Having overcome the sun, even Yoriichi wielding a Nichirin Blade could not pose a deadly threat to her.

Even if her head were severed by a Scarlet Blade, Yuko could recover in an instant.

Fundamentally, even a Scarlet Blade only stimulated the sun's energy within the Nichirin Blade.

And Yuko, who had overcome the sun, no longer feared its derivatives.

Whether it was the Nichirin Blade, the Scarlet Blade, or the regenerative inhibition of Sun Breathing, none of them had any effect on her.

In her complete form, the Nichirin Blade was just an ordinary Katana.

However, this did not mean she was invincible.

Although she no longer feared the sun, she was still no match for Yoriichi in combat.

Even though Yoriichi could not inflict effective damage on her, Yuko also could not defeat Yoriichi.

It was like a noob with an invincibility cheat still unable to touch a professional player.

Moreover, Yuko discovered that she was not truly invincible.

Although she had overcome the sun, regeneration still consumed stamina.

In other words, if Yoriichi were to kill her repeatedly, she could still be worn down to death.

After ignoring the special effects of the Nichirin Blade, Yoriichi's training for her was essentially at full power.

Thirty is the prime of a man's life, when physical abilities reach their peak.

If he had encountered Muzan during this period, the latter would have had no chance to escape; he would have shattered him into eighteen hundred pieces in an instant.

As Yuko gradually adapted, Yoriichi's intensity was also maxed out.

He cut Yuko to the point where she almost doubted her life.

The main thing was, she could genuinely feel herself getting stronger.

But no matter how much stronger she got, Yoriichi could always instantly defeat her when he got serious.

No matter how wide her sword's range was, Yoriichi could always find an opening to advance.

As a demon, she didn't possess Muzan's formidable power.

As a human, she lacked Yoriichi's innate talent.

She felt that if Muzan had her cells within him, he would be stressed out every single day.

He would see the scene of Yoriichi ruthlessly beheading her every day, with the same scene replaying 365 days a year without repetition.

A demon's life is not easy, Yuko sighed.

However, this joyful time did not last long.

One year, two years, five years...

Yuko could clearly feel the people around her slowly aging.

"Why doesn't Yuko-neechan age?" When Yuko heard Miyare ask her father this from outside the door, she knew it was time for her to leave.

Tanjiki's explanation was stiff: "Perhaps Yuko-neechan takes good care of herself."

Eternal life was something every emperor dreamed of.

But for a sentimental person, the pain brought by eternal life was absolutely unbearable.

The feeling of everyone around you slowly aging, slowly approaching death, while you alone remain young was agonizing.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed.

Since that day, Yuko had never visited Tanjiki's house again.

Yoriichi was already over fifty.

Even Yoriichi had grown old; streaks of white hair appeared on his head, and his physical strength was gradually weakening.

Yuko had long since become independent and was often away.

She couldn't bear to watch her loved ones grow old with her own eyes.

Yuko began to dread returning home.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death were the natural order for humans, but she could no longer die.

Did she really have to wait hundreds of years for Tanjiro and the others to defeat Muzan together?

In reality, it probably didn't matter whether she was there or not, right?

Reaching middle age, worries began to sprout in her heart, and Yuko occasionally had such thoughts.

But she could no longer die.

Neither the Nichirin Blade nor the sun could destroy her.

A lone moon hung high in the sky, illuminating a solitary figure on the ground.

Yuko walked slower and slower; a journey that should have taken only a few days, she deliberately stretched out to half a month.

She had wanted to go home and see them.

The clearer she understood this, the more her feet refused to move.

The brightly lit city was already close at hand, yet Yuko froze in place, unable to move.

This couldn't be described as "near-home jitters."

She was scared.

Afraid to see Yoriichi's even more aged face.

She had been away from home for over three years.

Perhaps her decision back then was wrong; she shouldn't have tried to overcome the sun.

If she hadn't, even if she couldn't grow old with her loved ones, she could at least have died with them.

She had never been a strong person.