Kibutsuji Muzan, the Abundance Demon, and the Abundance Monstrosities (Please Recommend and Follow)

Dan Lei saw Daki, but he was deeply disappointed.

He couldn't help it. Even though Dan Lei had spent a long time in Japan in his previous life, he still couldn't appreciate the look of a courtesan, with her face covered in white makeup and special eyeshadow.

Besides, the heavy scent of cosmetics did indeed cover up the demonic smell on Daki. Even standing face-to-face with her, Dan Lei hadn't noticed anything amiss.

But while cosmetics could mask a demon's scent, they couldn't conceal the cruelty in her expression. Even now, Daki's smile was perfectly professional.

Since Dan Lei needed to stall for an hour, he didn't fly into a rage when he saw Daki. Instead, he took two rubies from his sleeve, placed them in front of her, and said,

"No wonder you're the top courtesan. You're quite pretty. These two gems are yours. If you serve me well, there'll be more rewards. Hell, I might even buy your freedom, young lady."

Dan Lei put on the air of a pampered, high-ranking young master. It eased some of Daki's suspicions about his aura. She assumed he was simply used to eating too well, which made his aura resemble that of a powerful beast.

Daki generally didn't eat high-ranking young masters whose disappearances might cause trouble. As long as they didn't provoke her, that was. It could jeopardize the Entertainment District as a hunting ground.

So Daki picked up the gems and examined them. Once she confirmed they were genuine rubies, she greeted him with a beaming smile.

"Thank you for the compliment, young master. What would you like to do next? Shall I play the koto or dance for you?"

What Daki meant by playing music or dancing was that she would bewitch him. Afterward, a man would pass out and indulge in fantasies within his dreams. She could even make him lose control of his bladder in an instant.

After all, she had no intention of actually serving humans, and bewitching men was one of her natural abilities, not a Blood Demon Art.

Dan Lei knew what she was up to, so he couldn't simply ask her to play music or dance. If she tried to bewitch him and realized it didn't work on someone empowered by the Memory Destiny, that would be awkward.

So Dan Lei said,

"No need. I've had my fill of singing and dancing at home. I came out today to drown my sorrows. Warabihime, have a drink with me!"

With that, Dan Lei downed a cup of sake.

Then he put his storytelling skills to use, rambling on about the pressure of being born into a super-rich family and how little freedom he had.

There was a special word for Dan Lei's behavior in the Chinese internet of later generations: humblebragging.

Daki was dumbfounded. She'd never encountered a customer like him.

He'd come to drink with a courtesan, chosen the best one, and then done nothing but complain to her and guzzle alcohol.

As he drank, he kept tossing around gems and jewelry to show off his wealth. At this rate, he didn't even need to be bewitched; he'd pass out on his own once he'd had enough.

For the next half hour, Dan Lei kept knocking back sake. Given his constitution, drinking the sake of this era was no different from drinking water.

Shinobu Kocho and Giyu Tomioka arrived right on time. As soon as the half hour was up, they charged in, shouting as they "searched for their husband."

Women barging into the Entertainment District to make a scene while looking for their husbands was practically a time-honored tradition. So even when Shinobu Kocho and her "guards" threw every person from the Kyogoku House out onto the street, it didn't cause much of a commotion.

The Demon Slayer Corps' Kakushi even started clearing the area with their swords. People nearby simply assumed some big shot had been caught cheating by his wife, and that the place was being cleared to keep a family scandal under wraps.

But as soon as the area was cleared, Shinobu Kocho didn't wait for the hour to pass. She kicked open the door to Dan Lei's room and rushed straight at Daki. Her Nichirin Blade flashed from its sheath, and she used Insect Breathing: Dragonfly Dance—Compound Eye Hexagon to land twelve thrusts, punching twelve clean holes through Daki's body.

Daki wasn't truly an Upper Rank. Faced with Shinobu Kocho, empowered by the Hunt, she couldn't react in time. She spat out a mouthful of blood.

Then she stared at Dan Lei in disbelief and murmured,

"A Hashira—and a female Hashira, at that. Are you from the Ubuyashiki Family? How is that possible?"

But before Dan Lei could answer, Shinobu Kocho asked,

"Dan Lei, are you sure you've got this right? This demon isn't an Upper Rank. How could an Upper Rank be this weak?"

Shinobu Kocho's words enraged Daki. She roared,

"What are you talking about, woman? I am an Upper Rank!"

As she screamed, Daki revealed her first form. The makeup vanished from her face, and blocky cracks appeared across her pale skin. The markings in her eyes, Upper Rank on the left and Six on the right, were now unmistakable.

At the same time, the sashes behind her shot toward Shinobu Kocho like the legs of a nimble spider.

But the sashes were too slow. Shinobu Kocho flipped through the air and dodged them.

Daki was too busy watching her head to guard her rear. Giyu Tomioka burst in through the window from outside and cut off her head with Water Surface Slash.

Seeing this, Dan Lei simply swapped in his Nichirin Greatsword and struck Daki again, cleaving through her body in an attempt to force Gyutaro out.

Sure enough, as Dan Lei brought down his blade, a blood-red sickle emerged from behind Daki and blocked his strike.

But the floorboards of the Kyogoku House couldn't withstand the force of Dan Lei's full-power blow. They shattered instantly, and Gyutaro, who had just emerged halfway, was sent plunging down with Daki by the slash.

Dan Lei stood rooted to the spot, looking astonished, and didn't pursue them.

That was because he had clearly sensed the power of the Abundance Destiny on Gyutaro's sickle just now.

The power of the Abundance Destiny wasn't weak. It wasn't as strong as his own, but it had kept his blow—delivered with seventy percent of his strength—from breaking through.

A moment later, Dan Lei had a rough idea of what was going on.

The Abundance Destiny had clearly entered this world alongside the Path of the Hunt.

Dan Lei still didn't know that Xa had been observing him all along, which was why this world, previously unnoticed by any Aeon, had been exposed to the Paths of the Hunt and Abundance.

He assumed that the Hunt's attention to this world had drawn the attention of Abundance. After all, these two Paths were entangled at the level of causality, so it wasn't strange for them to appear together.

So Dan Lei jumped down into the hole and looked at Daki, who had already recovered completely.

"Daki, you really are weak. But why does the demon who came out from behind you have the power of the Abundance Destiny, while you don't?"

Daki had a flamboyant personality, along with one of the worst flaws common to villains: she answered every question.

So Dan Lei deliberately provoked her into replying.

Sure enough, she immediately roared,

"None of your business! My brother is one of the few Upper Ranks who learned a new power alongside that great one! And what's the Abundance Destiny?"

Daki's words revealed two things: Kibutsuji Muzan had also acquired the power of the Abundance Destiny, and not every Upper Rank had learned the ways of Abundance.

But Dan Lei was now looking at Gyutaro with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

A demon with the power of the Abundance Destiny—wasn't that a textbook Abundance Monstrosity? Killing Abundance Monstrosities counted as following the Path. The more he killed, the deeper his understanding of the Path of the Hunt would grow, and the stronger he would become.