The three little girls immediately crowded around Su Chen.
"Su Chen, you finally woke up!"
"When you suddenly fell over this morning, you scared me! I thought you were hurt, Mr. Su Chen!"
"Waaah! Su Chen, I thought you would never wake up again!"
"How long was I out?" Su Chen sat up, holding his head.
It seemed he had overworked his brain earlier.
Su Chen still could not freely control prolonged use of Bullet Time.
He looked around.
Shinobu Kocho was nowhere in sight.
Just then, Kiyo said, "Su Chen, did you know? Lady Shinobu came back this morning."
Su Chen feigned surprise. "Really? That's wonderful."
Aoi Kanzaki picked up a handkerchief and handed it to Su Chen.
As Su Chen washed his face, he listened to her say:
"Lady Shinobu spent the whole day looking after you this morning."
The three little girls hurried to add:
"Lady Shinobu was so frightened when she saw the wound on your back!"
"I've never seen Lady Shinobu look so anxious!"
"That's right! Su Chen, be more careful next time you train. I've never seen such a big wound!"
Hearing this, Su Chen felt his back.
He found that someone had indeed treated it.
Several layers of bandages were also wrapped around his waist, carrying a faint scent of wisteria.
Su Chen smiled faintly. "Then where's Shinobu now?"
"Lady Shinobu went to see the Master!"
Aoi Kanzaki did not notice the change in how Su Chen addressed Shinobu Kocho.
She said, "She also said to tell her the moment you woke up, Mr. Su Chen."
"That's right! Su Chen, let me tell you!"
Just as Kiyo was about to speak, Kanao Tsuyuri suddenly stood up.
She shielded Su Chen behind her like a mother protecting her young. "Stop talking, all of you. Su Chen needs rest!"
This was the first time Kanao Tsuyuri had spoken loudly.
Aoi Kanzaki and the three little girls were instantly dumbfounded.
Seeing the looks in the younger girls' eyes, Kanao Tsuyuri immediately came to her senses.
Her little face flushed scarlet in an instant.
She had only felt that they were being too noisy and wanted to stop the younger girls.
But even she had not expected her reaction to be so strong.
In the end, Su Chen smoothed things over. "It's fine. Kanao, sit with me for a while."
"Kiyo, Sumi, Xiao Caihui, and Aoi, you can go back to what you were doing."
Although the little girls still wanted to stay,
Aoi Kanzaki knew how to read the situation and saw that Su Chen wanted to be alone with Kanao Tsuyuri.
So she led the children out.
"We'll head out first, then, Mr. Su Chen. Get some rest."
Su Chen smiled and nodded. "All right. Thank you."
With a creak, the door closed.
Only Su Chen and Kanao Tsuyuri remained in the room.
Su Chen quietly watched Kanao Tsuyuri.
The girl's face was already bright red, and when she noticed Su Chen staring at her, she nearly fainted.
"Kanao," Su Chen called softly.
Kanao Tsuyuri was still lost in her own world and did not hear him.
Su Chen's voice remained gentle. "Kanao?"
"Ah!" Kanao Tsuyuri turned her head and looked at Su Chen shyly.
Su Chen said slowly, "I'm really sorry I broke your Nichirin Blade yesterday."
"It's... it's fine." Kanao Tsuyuri hurriedly waved her hands, lowering her head and not daring to look at Su Chen.
"Is it really all right?"
At some point, Su Chen had leaned closer.
The distance between them rapidly shrank.
The boy's eyes stared straight into hers.
Kanao Tsuyuri jumped like a startled fawn.
Su Chen's hot breath burned her little face crimson.
It made Kanao Tsuyuri even more embarrassed.
Su Chen gave a mischievous smile.
I'd better stop teasing her.
Still, he asked, "Kanao, will not having a Nichirin Blade affect you a lot?"
Kanao Tsuyuri did not respond.
Just as before, she stood rooted to the spot in a daze.
Who knew what was going through her little head?
"Ah!" Kanao Tsuyuri suddenly came to her senses. "Su Chen, what... did you say?"
Su Chen waved a hand. "Nothing."
He thought he might as well forge a Nichirin Blade for Kanao Tsuyuri himself later.
Learning a little when the time came probably would not be a problem.
At that thought, Su Chen suddenly remembered something.
The Hashira's training ground!
The sun blazed fiercely.
The Flame Hashira's training ground.
The brothers Kyojuro Rengoku and Senjuro Rengoku stood straight beneath the sun, having waited for a long time.
Finally, Senjuro could no longer hold back. "Big brother, why do we have to keep waiting for that guy named Su Chen?"
Kyojuro Rengoku opened his eyes wide and replied spiritedly, "Because we're waiting for Mr. Su Chen to arrive!"
Hearing such a forceful reply,
Senjuro was utterly stunned.
He really is my own brother!
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Senjuro could not help asking, "But do we have to stand in such strong sunlight while we wait?"
"Of course!" Flames seemed to flare in Kyojuro's eyes. "Because this is training!"
The blazing sun shone on Kyojuro, making his figure look exceptionally tall and straight.
Just as Senjuro was about to give up,
two small figures finally appeared in the distance.
"You took way too long."
Once the two sides met, Senjuro spoke with some dissatisfaction.
"Sorry, something held me up today."
Su Chen offered a brief apology, then looked at the Flame Hashira beside him.
Kyojuro Rengoku!
He wore the Demon Slayer Corps uniform beneath a red-and-white cloak.
Thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a bright, piercing gaze.
That was Su Chen's first assessment of Kyojuro Rengoku.
Su Chen lowered his head.
Sure enough, his sword guard was shaped like a flame too, just as in the original story.
"Hello, what are we training in?"
A girl's voice suddenly rang out.
Only then did the Rengoku brothers notice Kanao Tsuyuri behind Su Chen.
Originally, Su Chen had not planned to bring Kanao Tsuyuri.
But Kanao Tsuyuri had insisted on coming.
When he asked why, she would not speak, merely following behind Su Chen in a daze.
Seeing the persistence in her large eyes, Su Chen thought, Forget it.
Bringing a girl along would not be any trouble.
He might as well bring her to train with him.
However, Su Chen had not expected Kanao Tsuyuri to dare speak to strangers!
She stammers when she talks to me, so how can she speak so naturally to other people?
Su Chen had originally thought Kanao Tsuyuri had yet to recover from her emotional troubles.
But now, even Su Chen did not know what was going on.
"We won't train today. Instead, we'll be conducting a test on Mr. Su Chen," Kyojuro first answered Kanao Tsuyuri's question.
Then his body, which had stood beneath the sun for several hours, finally moved.
He looked at Su Chen. "Mr. Su Chen, long time no see."
Before you continue