The winter mountains were utterly silent. Only nature's storms shook the trees, sending snow rustling down, and scattered flakes landed on Tanjiro's forehead.
The melting cold slowly roused him.
His blurred vision gradually cleared. A young man sat beside him, smiling down at him.
"You're awake. The surgery was a success. You're a girl now."
"Huh?!"
Tanjiro snapped fully awake and hurriedly straightened up. Only when he saw Lu You's face did he remember what had happened that day.
Then immense grief swept over him again.
So the deaths of his mother and younger siblings hadn't been a dream... They had really happened.
"Nezuko!"
He abruptly looked beside him. Nezuko lay fast asleep in the snow, a long black robe draped over her.
Only at the sight of Nezuko did Tanjiro breathe a sigh of relief.
While he had been unconscious, that man hadn't killed her.
"Sir?"
"Just call me Lu You. Tanjiro, Giyu already told me about the man-eating demons. I'm sorry about your family. My condolences."
Lu You gently patted the boy's shoulder.
Giyu Tomioka stood on a treetop nearby and said to Tanjiro:
"Tanjiro, if you want to save your sister, go with him to Mount Sagiri and find an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki. He'll teach you Breathing Styles.
"Remember, never expose your sister to sunlight."
"Mount Sagiri..."
Before Tanjiro could process this, he was about to ask a question, but Giyu Tomioka had already vanished swiftly from sight.
"There's no need to overthink it. Just keep moving forward. Calm down first, Tanjiro. Once you've buried your family, we'll set out."
Several hours later, after burying his family himself, an exhausted Tanjiro stood before their graves, repeatedly opening his mouth only to fall silent.
"Mom, everyone, I'm leaving. I'm sorry. I'll find a way to save Nezuko."
Before long, holding the hand of the numb, vacant-eyed Nezuko, he turned and followed Lu You away.
The wind and snow gradually subsided, and the mountain returned to its usual silence. But no one would know that a few lonely graves now stood there, gazing toward the north.
Several days later.
Nezuko curled up, shrank, and crawled into the basket Tanjiro had made, swaying with the bumps in the road.
Lu You followed leisurely behind, admiring the rural scenery of modern-era Japan.
Paths crisscrossed the fields, and farmers in plain cloth clothes passed along them, carrying hoes as they prepared to work.
Gentle sunlight spilled onto the country path, filtering through the dense canopy of the roadside trees and leaving patches of shade.
"Big Brother You, they said Mount Sagiri isn't far ahead. We should get there in another half a day or a day."
Tanjiro finally showed a smile as warm as the sun. Over the past few days, he had walked until he could barely feel his legs and feet.
"Let's find somewhere to rest tonight. It wouldn't be good to meet the trainer in your current condition."
That was Lu You's suggestion.
Although Sakonji Urokodaki would certainly accept Tanjiro, the trials that followed could be deadly. Resting properly now would make things easier when the time came.
Of course, Lu You's physique far surpassed Tanjiro's, and he didn't feel tired.
Besides, he didn't need to undergo any trials anyway.
Throughout their journey, he had been pondering the two skills he had newly acquired.
Reverse Cursed Technique and Malevolent Shrine.
He hadn't even noticed time gradually slipping by.
"I'll do whatever you say, Big Brother You. I'm so glad you're here."
Tanjiro's eyes brimmed with tears of gratitude.
"Protecting the weak is the duty of the strong. I believe that one day, you'll be able to protect me too."
[Synchronization Value +1%]
As the two chatted, the brilliant setting sun disappeared behind the mountains. Darkness gradually enveloped the world, with only scattered lights marking the locations of villages.
After another half hour of walking, several wooden houses flickering with candlelight appeared deep in the mountains.
"A travelers' lodge... Big Brother You, it looks like an inn. We can rest here. I still have..."
Tanjiro felt around for the money he had brought from home, calculating how much it would cost for two people and whether he had enough.
Lu You raised his eyes toward the wooden houses halfway up the mountain, their lights flickering like fireflies. A faint chill passed through his heart.
"Tanjiro, quiet your mind. Do you sense it?"
The low voice doused Tanjiro's enthusiasm like cold water. Goosebumps rose all over him, and his nose twitched.
A faint smell of blood drifted from afar.
He swallowed, then said uneasily, "Big Brother You, there's a smell of blood. That place..."
"Either there's been a murder, or there's a demon."
The former meant killing between humans; the latter, a feast for a man-eating demon.
Neither was good news. Perhaps everyone there was already dead.
The plot seemed to have changed.
In Lu You's memory, Tanjiro hadn't encountered these events on his way to Mount Sagiri. There had indeed been a man-eating demon, but things hadn't been the same.
"Could it be a difference in timing? Has the accumulated delay caused by my appearance made us miss the demon we were supposed to encounter?"
A vague understanding dawned in his mind.
"Then, Big Brother You, should we go over?"
Tanjiro's face was slightly pale, and his voice trembled a little.
"Yes. There might still be someone alive."
Lu You's voice was cold and low. In truth, he knew this wasn't the best choice, since he had no idea what level of demon it was.
The demon that appeared in the original story was weak. Even Tanjiro could exchange a few blows with it. But now...
If it was a mutated demon, one with a Blood Demon Art, or even a Lower Rank or Upper Rank demon, he would be no match for it.
The best choice, of course, was to wait until he had learned a Breathing Style or unlocked most of the template's skills before fighting demons.
But there were things one must not do, and things one must do.
At worst, with his current strength and speed, he could still run away.
As for Tanjiro, he didn't believe the chosen one would die here.
"Yes!"
The two jogged toward the inn halfway up the mountain. Soon, several timber-framed houses came fully into view, with tall banners hanging beside them.
The smell of blood in the air grew stronger.
Lu You scanned his surroundings, his entire body tensing. His muscles were like engines running at full power, surging strength filling his limbs as white mist curled around his lips with each breath.
Crunch, crunch...
The chewing was loud. Following the sound, Lu You instantly pinpointed its location inside the house.
He kicked a pebble with his toes. Shooting out like a bullet with a shrill whistle, it hurtled straight toward the source of the noise.
Squelch!
"Aaaah!!!"
A furious roar of agony rang out, followed by undisguised footsteps from inside the house. A demon emerged into the moonlight.
It had a pointed mouth and sharp fangs, with human blood still flowing from its mouth and savage, slit-pupiled eyes. Two blue criminal tattoos marked each arm, and blood spurted from a gaping wound in its chest.
"Who was that?! Who threw that stone?!"
It really was a man-eating demon!
Tanjiro's pupils quivered, and his fingertips trembled slightly. He swallowed nervously and took a deep breath.
"So it's still you."
Lu You breathed a sigh of relief. The demon before him looked exactly like the one in the original story.
But that made sense. Demons rarely gathered densely in a single area, except in the Infinity Castle.
This was probably the only man-eating demon near Mount Sagiri.
"What's that supposed to mean, you brat? Huh? Are you looking down on me? I'll twist your head-"
Before it could finish-
Boom! A roaring, explosive punch blasted toward it like a missile, instantly reducing the demon's waist to a mist of blood!
"What a lot of blabbering."
At some point, Lu You had appeared right in front of it. His expression was calm as he casually shook the blood off his fist.
"Watch out!" Tanjiro suddenly shouted.
The demon's remaining head abruptly sprouted arms and grabbed Lu You's shoulders, opening its bloody mouth like a wild beast.
"You damned brat!!!"
Lu You cast it a cold glance, closed his fingers around its arm, and wrenched hard. Its flesh tore apart like paper.
He grabbed the demon by the hair and held it dangling in one hand.
"Tanjiro, where's your axe?"
"Yes! Right here!"
"Help me chop it to pieces."
"Huh?"
Before you continue