Snow Mountain Temple

It was winter, and heavy snow was falling.

Everything was blanketed in white, and every mountain wore a silver coat.

"Phew~"

Yuko arrived at the small town at the foot of the mountain, a faint mist of white breath escaping her mouth.

"It's really cold. This weather..."

Even her lungs felt as though they were about to freeze solid.

Fortunately, using the proper Breathing Technique could ease the discomfort brought by the bitter winter.

The cold air did affect Breathing Techniques, but with the right breathing method, one could avoid most of the discomfort caused by the cold.

The information Yuko had received was that a man-eating monster had appeared on the mountain behind the town, coming down every night to abduct women and children.

Several people had already gone missing.

Yuko glanced around. The information seemed to be true.

The sun had not even set, yet the streets were already deserted, with every household keeping its doors and windows tightly shut.

Yuko left the street and reached the foot of the mountain, where a residence stood.

Stacks of firewood surrounded the house. It should have belonged to a woodcutter.

In front of the house, a thinly dressed man was sharpening a knife.

His body trembled constantly as he sharpened it, as though he were afraid of something.

"..."

Yuko walked over and gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ah!" The man shuddered and spun around, screaming and waving his woodcutter's knife as though he had gone mad.

Then he froze in place.

Yuko caught the blade in one hand, stopping it from advancing even a fraction. Looking at the dumbfounded man, she asked softly, "Excuse me, do you know of anywhere in these mountains where someone could hide?"

The evil spirit had chosen to abduct people instead of killing them outright, which meant it had its own lair somewhere in the mountains.

The man continued staring blankly.

Yuko had no choice but to rephrase herself. "I heard an evil spirit appeared here. That's why I came."

The blank look in the man's eyes shifted slightly. The muscles in his face could no longer hold together, and tears began spilling uncontrollably.

All the strength seemed to drain from his body. His woodcutter's knife fell, and he braced himself on the ground as tears rolled down his face with soft, rhythmic drops.

"Eko... Eko, she..."

His choked sobs gradually grew louder.

Yuko stood there without speaking, quietly waiting.

Even through a computer screen, she had been able to sense how loathsome demons were.

After experiencing it firsthand, it was even more so. In the two years since joining the Demon Slayer Corps, Yuko had already witnessed more than ten tragedies caused by evil spirits.

Was she sad?

Of course she was. No one could encounter something like this without feeling pity and sympathy.

But after seeing too much of it, all they could do was slay the evil spirits. There was nothing else they could do.

The man cried for a while before slowly calming down. His voice still choked with grief, he said, "A temple... There's a temple in the mountains. The evil spirit is there."

Yuko furrowed her brow. "You've been there?"

A trace of despair filled the man's eyes. "Yesterday, the town organized a group to enter the mountains... Everyone died. Only..."

Only he had fled after realizing something was wrong.

"I understand. Stay here and wait through the night. That thing isn't something you can deal with." Having obtained accurate information, Yuko did not linger. She turned and left.

"Wait!" The man suddenly called out to her after she had taken only a couple of steps.

Yuko tilted her head slightly.

The man pushed himself upright. "The temple is deep in the mountains. It's easy to get lost if you've never been there. I can take you."

Yuko glanced at the sky. The sun still had about an hour before it set.

"Then I'm sorry for the trouble."

The man asked nervously, "C-can you really kill that evil spirit?"

Yuko smiled faintly and patted the Nichirin Blade at her waist. "This isn't just for show."

A trace of hope burst into the man's eyes. "Please, follow me."

Without another word, he led Yuko into the mountains. Wind and snow swept through the forest, turning everything in sight into a vast expanse of white.

The man was right. Anyone who had never been here could easily get lost.

After walking through the wind and snow for more than half an hour, Yuko saw a temple hidden deep within the mountains beyond a stretch of towering trees.

A thick layer of snow covered the temple roof. Though dilapidated from years of neglect, the temple possessed a hint of ancient charm.

Yuko did not have Tanjiro's exceptional sense of smell, but the moment she stood at the temple entrance, a strong stench of blood rushed toward her.

The man seemed not to notice. Pointing inside, he said, "This is the place. Yesterday, everyone..."

His voice faltered as he stared at the severed limbs scattered across the courtyard, unable to continue.

"Urgh~"

Yuko surveyed the temple without changing expression and said calmly, "Go back down the mountain while the sun is still up."

The man froze for a moment, and even much of the discomfort in his heart faded.

"Then you..."

Yuko cut him off. "If I haven't come down by sunrise tomorrow, it means I'm dead. Wait here and don't throw your life away. Someone else will come and deal with it."

"...I understand." The man nodded woodenly. After taking a long look at Yuko and the villagers' corpses, he turned and descended the mountain.

Ever since becoming a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, Yuko had long since put life and death aside.

She was not as powerful as her two elder brothers. It would not be strange if an evil spirit ate her one day.

With the last rays of the setting sun at her back, Yuko walked into the temple.

The severed limbs in the courtyard could vaguely be pieced together into the remains of five or six people. All of them were men, and there were no obvious bite marks.

Combined with the information she had received earlier...

A demon that only ate women and children?

Yuko followed the source of the blood to the main hall. Several Buddha statues she did not recognize were enshrined on the central altar, and that was where the sense of incongruity came from.

Normally, in such a broken-down temple, no one should have been cleaning the Buddha statues. Yet the statues before her were so clean that they looked as though someone swept them every day.

More importantly, an intense stench of blood surged toward her.

Abruptly, without the slightest warning.

The Buddha statue in the center, with several arms growing from its body, suddenly moved its eyes and looked down at Yuko, as though examining her.

"What? The Demon Slayer Corps?" The Buddha statue spoke.

"But you're actually a woman. A woman who knows swordsmanship?"

"Can you even wield a sword?"

"I've never eaten a female demon hunter before. I wonder what you taste like?"

"The flesh of those men was far too tough. It was unpleasant to chew. Women and children are much fresher and more tender."

"Hee hee hee hee..."

The shrill laughter rang in Yuko's ears. She spoke calmly. "Where are the people you abducted?"

The Buddha statue's eyes rolled. "Guess."

Clang!

The guard of Yuko's Nichirin Blade was lightly pushed aside. A wisp of golden breath escaped from the corner of her mouth, transforming into a streak of golden lightning that shot straight toward the Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue's pupils suddenly contracted, as though it had never imagined that Yuko could move so quickly.

"Guess your mother's—" An incomprehensible Chinese phrase echoed in the Buddha statue's ears, followed immediately by a low voice.

"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."

A golden lightning slash cut straight through the air and severed the Buddha statue's head.