Recently, a strange rumor had surfaced in Fushui Village.
Every night, a scarecrow would appear in the fields where the corn had just been harvested.
They said the scarecrow wore an oversized coat and looked very much like the son of a farming family who had gone missing a while ago.
Sometimes the scarecrow stood in the eastern fields; sometimes it was planted in the soil to the south.
The next day, large quantities of bird feathers and bloodstains would appear in whichever field the scarecrow had occupied, leaving it filthy.
One bold farmer decided to pull it out and throw it away, so he approached under cover of darkness...
The next day, people found that farmer's bloodstained clothes in the field.
Now the entire village of Fushui was gripped by panic. The local police sealed off the village and announced that this was a case of deliberate murder.
At nightfall, a white-haired swordsman arrived in Fushui Village.
A parrot perched on his shoulder, talking to him.
"Just hearing what happened is enough to tell you a foul demon has been eating people. Why didn't Headquarters send a swordsman sooner?"
Haruto surveyed the farmland before him. Corn and sorghum filled the fields. Some had already been harvested, but the police cordon had prevented the rest from being gathered, leaving it to rot where it stood.
It was daytime, and many police officers had gathered here, smoking and chatting as they idly watched the crops.
Cang Kong replied, "Because the police took over before the Demon Slayer Corps even heard about it. Though officials in some areas will reluctantly cooperate with the Corps, across Japan as a whole, we're still classed as 'subversives and destabilizing elements.' Naturally, we don't want too much contact with the police."
At a loss for words,