"Thank you, young man. If you hadn't helped me, I'd have gone hungry and cold today."
"Please, think nothing of it. I'm the one imposing on you."
"That's all right. It's just one more bowl and pair of chopsticks."
Suzuki Mufeng carried a huge bundle of firewood on his back as he followed the short old man. As for why he was carrying so much wood, he'd happened upon the old man on the mountain road to town. The old man had exhausted himself chopping wood and had trouble walking.
He'd happened upon the old man on the mountain road to town, exhausted from chopping wood and struggling to walk. Being kindhearted, Suzuki Mufeng couldn't simply stand by and do nothing. After splitting the firewood for him, he'd even carried him partway down the mountain, eventually reaching the town where the demon had been appearing under the old man's directions.
As Suzuki Mufeng walked through the town, he noticed that there were hardly any women on the streets. Some houses even seemed completely empty. It was as if the town had lost all its life.
"I don't have much to offer you, child. Have some fruit to tide you over. Dinner will be ready soon."
The old man shakily picked up the firewood one stick at a time and tossed it onto the bonfire in the middle. Suzuki Mufeng couldn't bear to watch, so he took over the cooking.
"Thanks for your help today, young man. What a pity. If my granddaughter were still here, I'd introduce you to her."
As Suzuki Mufeng stacked the firewood, he caught the scent of a demon. "Grandpa, could you tell me about your granddaughter?"
"Well, it's nothing new around town. For some reason, starting a week ago, young women walking along the streets here began disappearing. Whenever a woman vanished, her tongue was left behind where she'd been. And my poor granddaughter... Sigh. I can't talk about it anymore."
The old man's face was weighed down with grief. She had been his own flesh and blood. They might have said the women had vanished without a trace, but the tongues left behind all but confirmed that they were probably dead.
Suzuki Mufeng stroked his chin as he thought. No wonder he'd seen so few women in town. The empty houses were probably left behind by families with women who had fled to escape the danger.
The demon was targeting women in particular, but leaving only their tongues behind. It definitely wasn't the Swamp Demon, but what did this demon want with the tongues?
"Grandpa, I'm full. I'm going out for a walk. Get some rest early."
"It's already dark, child. The night is dangerous. Make sure you come back early."
The sun had completely set, and darkness descended over the town. With no one about, it seemed to have become a den that devoured human lives.
Suzuki Mufeng held his Nichirin Swords in both hands, their tips dragging slowly over the ground with a gritty scrape.
"Ever since he arrived in this town, he'd sensed a strong smell of blood. He could tell the demon had only recently turned, rather than having come from somewhere else. A demon that had eaten many people wouldn't leave so many clues behind."
Suzuki Mufeng suddenly raised his sword and spun around, slashing horizontally behind him. The person behind him hurriedly crouched. The Nichirin Sword skimmed his scalp, cutting off only a strand of hair. Crouching on the ground with his hands over his head, he shouted,
"Don't kill me! Begone, demon! Begone! I haven't found a wife yet! I'm going to die! Am I really going to die?"
Looking down, he realized it was Zenitsu Agatsuma, one of the three boys. He'd sensed someone behind him and thought it was a demon. Thankfully, he hadn't actually killed Zenitsu, or the original story would have gone off course.
Zenitsu was now cowering on the ground with his hands over his head, looking tearful. Judging by his ordinary clothes and his black hair, he probably hadn't become Jigoro Kuwajima's disciple yet. After this incident, Suzuki Mufeng could take him to train in Thunder Breathing ahead of time.
"I'm not a demon, kid. What are you doing here so late?"
"A Nichirin Sword! You're a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, right? You must be incredibly strong! You can protect me from demons, right? Please protect me!"
Zenitsu lunged forward and clung tightly to Suzuki Mufeng's leg, sobbing and begging desperately.
"Get off! You're going to get my pants dirty. If you're so scared, what are you doing here?"
"I—I have a fiancée. I gave her all my savings, and we filled out the marriage registration forms. She promised that I could come get her today, and that we'd be together for the rest of our lives. Even if there are demons, I had to come. She must still be waiting for me."
Suzuki Mufeng couldn't talk Zenitsu out of it, so he reluctantly took him to the woman's house.
Sadly, Zenitsu was bound to be disappointed. The woman had probably already fled, or she'd been killed by the demon.
"How could this happen? Damn it! I'll chop that demon into a thousand pieces! Senior, please, you have to kill it! This is the greatest favor I could ever ask!"
When Zenitsu saw the empty house, grief and anger overcame him. He turned to Suzuki Mufeng and bowed in a full prostration, pleading with him.
"No need. I can do it right now."
What did he mean, right now?
Before Zenitsu could react, he was lifted off the ground. Suzuki Mufeng held him at his side and dodged onto the roof.
"Demon Slayer, you're pretty quick. I've only been at this for a few days, and you've already found me."
A demon with horns on its head emerged from the ground where they'd been standing. It stared up at the two on the roof, but when it saw Zenitsu, it seemed to recognize something and shouted,
"It's you! So you're my brother! Demon Slayer, you're lucky this time. For my brother's sake, leave now, and I'll let you go."
"Brother? Sigh. Friend, do you mind explaining this to me?"
Seeing the suspicion in Suzuki Mufeng's eyes and the Nichirin Sword gleaming in his hand, Zenitsu immediately grew agitated.
"Who's your brother? Don't slander me! Senior, I'm completely innocent. Hurry up and cut it! Chop off the head of this demon that's slandering me!"
Zenitsu flailed about in a panic. He even looked like he wanted to jump down and chop off the demon's head himself.
"Brother, you don't know the truth yet. Let me tell you!"
The demon pulled out a pile of bills from inside its clothes, along with a few blurry photographs.
The moment Zenitsu saw them, he was dumbstruck. "Miori-chan... Who's the man beside her?"
"That woman was a fraud. She tricked us into marrying her, tampered with the paperwork so we'd take out loans from loan sharks, then kept deceiving us until she'd taken all our money. In the end, she slipped away in secret.
"You were deceived just like I was. I was already desperate. My family sold a cow and a few eggs, and spent everything we had. I didn't regret it, because I wanted to be with her.
"But what happened? I was left with nothing. Thankfully, that great person appeared, so now I'm going to kill all those frauds and cut out their tongues. Then they'll never be able to deceive anyone again."
This demon had completely lost its mind. There was no saving it.
Zenitsu fell silent for a moment, then clenched his lower lip and shouted angrily, "Senior, please kill him for me. Avenge Miori!"
"Water Breathing."
Suzuki Mufeng appeared in front of the demon and slashed horizontally with both swords at once.
First Form: Water Surface Slash.
Before you continue