Plans for what came next

Ye Chen felt utterly at ease as he walked along. Muzan had been driven off, so at least for the time being, no one could decisively overpower him. As for whether Muzan would double back for another attack? He could guarantee that he absolutely would not.

Never mind that Trash Boss was cautious to a fault and would never act rashly without confidence in his chances. His splitting technique was certainly powerful as an escape method, but it had to have aftereffects.

In the original story, even after Tamayo's drug aged Muzan, the scars Yoriichi Tsugikuni had left on him were still there. That showed just how incredible Yoriichi Tsugikuni was, but it also suggested that Muzan's fragments probably suffered badly when struck. Ye Chen's physical abilities and Breathing Style likely fell short of Yoriichi Tsugikuni's-after all, Yoriichi Tsugikuni used Sun Breathing, which specifically countered demons-but it still showed that Muzan's splitting technique was not entirely unbeatable.

Ye Chen reckoned that Muzan would not recover within six months. And even if he did, it would be damn well useless, because he would not dare make a move.

Ye Chen smiled. Although he had only killed two Lower Rank demons this time, used up quite a few resources, and revealed some of his tricks ahead of schedule, he did not feel he had lost out at all. In terms of his long-term plans, this had absolutely been worth it.

"Hm? This place..." As Ye Chen walked, he suddenly paused, realizing that he seemed to be close to the town where Tamayo lived. After a moment's thought, he changed direction, deciding to visit her first and give her the blood he had collected while he was at it.

"Change of direction, Xiao Hua. Let's visit Tamayo first."

"Meow." Xiao Hua scratched its head and followed Ye Chen without a second thought.

Having been there before, Ye Chen remembered where Tamayo lived. Before long, he reached the end of an alley and took out a talisman bearing a strange pattern. An entrance appeared before him.

"Blood Demon Arts really are amazing."

Ye Chen could not help marveling at the sight. At the very least, his Breathing Style could not do anything like this. Naturally, the talisman in his hand was one Tamayo had left him.

"You again. What exactly are you doing here this time?" The first person he saw upon entering was none other than the legendary simp, Yushiro. Naturally, Yushiro looked anything but pleased to see Ye Chen. In fact, this guy never looked pleased to see anyone except Tamayo.

"Hello there, we meet again, si... Yushiro." Ye Chen did not mind Yushiro's thoroughly rude greeting in the slightest. Instead, he greeted him with a grin.

At Ye Chen's words, veins bulged on Yushiro's forehead. He naturally knew that Ye Chen had almost called him a simp again, because Ye Chen had already called him that to his face several times!

Although Yushiro did not know what "simp" meant, hearing it always made him deeply uncomfortable.

"Didn't I tell you? Don't come here unless you have business! Lady Tamayo is very busy!" Yushiro shouted at Ye Chen again, his attitude showing not the slightest regard for him as a guest.

"Hmm... I did collect quite a bit of demon blood!" Ye Chen took out several vials of blood and waved them in front of Yushiro.

"Hmph! You collect some random demon blood and come bother Lady Tamayo? You really have no sense at all!"

"Ah, true. Blood from the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki is too low-grade, after all. How presumptuous of me." Ye Chen tapped his forehead in feigned frustration. At the mention of the Twelve Kizuki, Yushiro's heart jolted. Holy shit, this guy actually collected blood from the Twelve Kizuki?

"Then I suppose this Trash Boss's blood won't be good enough either." Making a show of rummaging through his clothes, Ye Chen took out the vial of Muzan's blood he had collected earlier. The blood was red too, but it seemed almost alive, still churning constantly inside the vial.

"When you say 'Trash Boss,' you mean..." The instant Yushiro saw the vial, he knew this blood was anything but ordinary. But he did not know who Ye Chen meant by "Trash Boss," so he could not help asking.

"Muzan Kibutsuji, of course. But it looks like this blood is still too low-grade. I'll come visit again once I find something better."

Ye Chen scratched his head sheepishly, seemingly apologizing for failing to bring a sufficiently sincere offering. In Yushiro's eyes, however, the guy was absolutely playing dumb on purpose.

But was this really Muzan Kibutsuji's own blood? If it was, wasn't that terrifying? It hadn't even been two months since Lady Tamayo asked him to find blood! What kind of freak was this guy? Had he really brought back Muzan's blood?

Seeing Ye Chen give a somewhat "apologetic" smile and start to turn back, Yushiro could not help shouting:

"Wait!"

"What is it? I'll go back and fight some higher-grade demons, then bring you their higher-grade blood."

Ye Chen turned his head to speak to Yushiro, but did not slow down, continuing toward the exit.

"Wait!" Seeing that Ye Chen really intended to leave, Yushiro jumped in alarm, landing right in front of him to block his way out.

"...I was wrong. The blood you brought should genuinely be useful to Lady Tamayo."

Forcing down the twitch in his brow, Yushiro softened his attitude toward Ye Chen and spoke quietly.

"Hm? What are you apologizing for, Yushiro? It's my blood that's too low-grade. Once I find something better, I'll definitely give it to you. Definitely." Ye Chen looked at him in apparent surprise as he spoke.

"I..." Yushiro broke into a sweat. You've brought back Muzan Kibutsuji's blood. What higher-grade blood could you possibly get? Don't tell me you plan to capture Muzan Kibutsuji himself for us to study?

"That's enough, Ye Chen. Stop teasing Yushiro. He's still a child." While Ye Chen was secretly chuckling to himself, a beautiful woman in a kimono emerged nearby. It was Tamayo, whom he had met before.

Ye Chen spread his hands and stopped teasing the simp. He said to Tamayo, "All right. I came back this time to take part in the Final Selection, but since I was passing by, I thought I'd give you the blood I collected earlier."

Taking the vials Ye Chen handed over, Tamayo studied one of them, her gaze growing grave. "Is this really Muzan Kibutsuji's own blood?"

"I think so. I don't believe any demon besides Trash Boss could be so powerful." Ye Chen smiled and shrugged.

"You fought Muzan Kibutsuji?"

Tamayo's beautiful eyes widened as she looked at Ye Chen in surprise. Although Muzan Kibutsuji was the person she hated most in her life, she had to admit that his strength was absolutely terrifying. Yet this young man had not only survived fighting Muzan, but had even obtained his blood? It was simply unbelievable.

"Hmm... I know what you want to ask. In terms of raw strength, I definitely can't beat him. But using a little trickery and getting some blood in the process is still within my abilities." Ye Chen winked mysteriously. Seeing that, Tamayo asked no further questions, knowing it was his secret.

"By the way, I also wanted to ask whether you have any wisteria poison here." Ye Chen thought for a moment before asking Tamayo another question.

"I have quite a lot, but why do you ask?" Tamayo looked at him curiously. Wisteria poison was naturally a bane to demons, but since Ye Chen could fight Muzan, his strength was probably no lower than that of the Demon Slayer Corps' Pillar-level Members, and might even surpass theirs. Wisteria poison's effect on high-level demons was already quite limited, so why would someone of his strength be interested in it?

"I just wanted to borrow some from you. The more, the better. It's important for some plans I have coming up. This is going to be something big." Ye Chen's eyes glinted as he spoke quietly.