Hakuji

After mooching a meal, Muzan went over to Yanagisawa Jiyuki's place.

As for Yoriichi, he had finally come to terms with things and set off to wander the world with a Nichirin Blade and an ordinary sword, killing any Half-Demons he happened across along the way for Muzan.

With two swords hanging from his waist, he looked like a dual-wielder.

Muzan was very unhappy with the progress of Tamayo's research.

How many years had it been?!

She still hadn't figured out how to overcome wisteria!

So he was going to bring Yanagisawa Jiyuki over to help her work it out.

Yanagisawa Jiyuki was enjoying a leisurely afternoon nap when Muzan's arrival woke him. He rolled over and groggily climbed off the tatami, only to find a whole Demon King standing right in front of him.

He was wide awake in an instant.

After decades without seeing him, Muzan had suddenly appeared before his eyes.

"Let's go!"

Seeing that he was awake, Muzan hauled him out of his bedding, then appeared at Tamayo's house with him still in his grip.

Tamayo had been taking an afternoon nap too. This fellow she hadn't seen in decades startled her awake, making her jolt in fright. Like some ghost, he stood outside her window holding another demon, calmly watching her.

Tamayo got up, draped a coat over herself, opened the door, and looked at Muzan.

"Boss, what are you here for this time?"

Muzan set Yanagisawa Jiyuki down. "Your research is too slow. I've found you an assistant."

Finally back on the ground, Yanagisawa Jiyuki straightened his clothes, held out a hand, and forced a smile. "Hi..."

Tamayo: "..."

Fine, that was on her. Even after decades, she still hadn't figured out why wisteria harmed and repelled demons.

Looking as though he were entrusting them with a vital mission, Muzan solemnly patted both of them on the shoulder. "Keep at it! I have faith in you! No slacking off."

With that, he vanished.

At most, wisteria could weaken and poison demons; it couldn't inflict fatal damage. Since he was no longer afraid of sunlight either, it really wasn't much of a threat.

Besides, Tamayo had once told him that if he was truly worried, he could start eating wisteria ahead of time. After a few years, he would naturally overcome it. Optimistically, he might even stop being vulnerable after eating it just a few times.

The process would just be very painful.

Muzan had no intention of putting himself through needless suffering. Let Tamayo tear her hair out over it!

The best support had already come over to his side. How could he let that go to waste?

After giving the two their instructions, Muzan began attending to another matter.

One of the demons under his command had already found someone who seemed to be Hakuji.

In the Edo area, a young boy and his father depended on each other to survive, but the father was gravely ill and bedridden.

The boy survived by stealing. He had been taken to the Magistrate's Office and punished many times, but because he was still young, he hadn't been executed.

If one of Muzan's demons hadn't heard rumors while passing through, they would never have found him.

Judging by the description, his circumstances were almost identical to Akaza's experiences as a human in the original story.

By the time Muzan arrived, the boy had become notorious throughout the area for stealing everywhere and being branded with a criminal's mark. Muzan learned plenty without much effort.

The boy really was named Hakuji!

"That fellow lives right here. What do you want with him?"

Hakuji's neighbor pointed at his house and gave Muzan a puzzled look.

Muzan smiled. "I'm a doctor. I heard there's a child here whose father is seriously ill."

"All right, then. Some people really are too kind for their own good..."

The man muttered to himself, shook his head, and left.

Some other passersby came along. Seeing that this stranger, Muzan, seemed to be looking for Hakuji, one of them approached with a worried expression, clearly having missed what he had just said.

"Hello? Are you here to see that boy, Hakuji?"

Muzan gave the elderly woman approaching him a curious look. "Yes. Why?"

The elderly woman sighed. Instinctively assuming Muzan had come to reclaim something stolen from him, she tried to persuade him.

"That boy's father is seriously ill, and he's always trying to find ways to earn money for his medicine. He's a poor soul too. Please don't blame him too harshly."

Muzan understood what she meant.

"Don't worry. I'm a doctor. I just came to see whether I can treat his father."

Relieved to hear that, the elderly woman hurriedly led Muzan toward Hakuji's house.

She pushed the door open. The courtyard was empty, and through a half-open wooden door, they could see a man leaning against the wall, coughing violently.

The elderly woman hurried over, poured him a cup of water, and introduced Muzan.

"He's a doctor. He came specifically to examine you."

The man's coughing finally stopped, and he looked weakly toward Muzan.

Muzan nodded in greeting, then approached and examined him.

He had learned quite a bit of medicine from Tamayo and Yanagisawa Jiyuki. With their memories as well, he was perfectly capable of treating an illness. Besides, Yanagisawa Jiyuki's ability was healing to begin with.

After examining him, Muzan was fairly certain it was just bronchitis. But prolonged neglect and a lack of money for medicine had made it severe, to the point that even treatment had become difficult.

In truth, it wasn't difficult for him. Muzan could resolve it with a single use of his healing ability.

But for his own purposes, he decided to speak with Hakuji first.

Soon after the elderly woman left, Hakuji ran home carrying a small packet of medicine.

Hakuji's clothes were made from coarse, grayish-brown rags, little more than a piece of cloth roughly stitched into something wearable, with a strip of black cloth tied around his waist to hold it in place.

His clothes were covered in patches, their edges already unraveling. The black cloth around his waist was tattered too, and the straps on his wooden sandals had clearly been reattached several times.

Marks from beatings were visible on his wrists, ankles, and along his neck.

His short black hair was a little disheveled too, but as he held the medicine in his hands, Hakuji was all smiles.

When he saw the stranger sitting inside the house, his first reaction was wariness.

Muzan gave him a gentle smile. "Hello. I'm a doctor."

Hakuji relaxed at that, then hesitated, wanting to speak. He wanted the doctor to give his father a thorough examination and treat him, but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to pay.

Muzan continued, "I'd like to treat your father, and I won't charge you anything. But I need to speak with you alone."

Muzan hoped to turn Hakuji into a demon, but he wouldn't force him because of that. What he was doing now was really more out of sympathy for the characters in the original story.

He felt that, since he had come to this world, he ought to help the characters whose suffering in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba had broken his heart in his previous life whenever he could.

After closing the bedroom door, Muzan looked at Hakuji in the courtyard and said,

"I examined him just now. Your father's illness is only bronchitis. It shouldn't have been difficult to treat, but it's been left too long..."

Hearing that, Hakuji hurriedly asked, "Is there a way to treat it?"

Muzan nodded. "Yes, though it'll be a little troublesome."

"As long as you can treat my father, I'll do anything!"

Hakuji, who was only in his teens, stood before Muzan and spoke urgently.

"No matter how much it costs, I'll find a way!"

Muzan smiled. "Don't worry. You don't have to pay. I can prepare the medicine."

Hakuji looked startled, then said, "Then what do you need me to do?"