Hundreds of miles away.
In a small wooden cabin nestled in the mountains.
Muzan lifted a stool and placed it by the window.
Then I sat down and admired the snow scene outside the window.
Inside the house, it was a scene straight out of hell.
The entire family of three lay dead in pools of blood.
Because of what happened last night, Muzan was in a bad mood.
I originally planned to donate less blood, but I couldn't resist today and donated even more blood than yesterday.
That's enough to make an ordinary demon become a Lower Rank.
After a long while, there was still no movement from inside the house.
Muzan sighed softly, got up, and walked outside.
"Another wasted trip today... Looks like I'll have to give less tomorrow. Luckily, Kokushibo was able to take care of that Demon Slayer today."
Creak--!
As the wooden door opened, Muzan stepped outside.
"Roar--!"
Meaningless roars echoed from behind.
Muzan stopped Muzan as he was walking outwards, slowly turning around to look at the figure twisting and crawling up from the ground.
He was a middle-aged man, dressed in a plain-colored kimono, with black hair and black lines on his face.
Seeing that someone could get back up, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Muzan's eyes.
"I didn't expect to find such a promising talent today!"
"Roar--!"
The figure roared, then bent its hind legs slightly, as if it wanted to pounce on Muzan, the Muzan living person in the room besides itself.
"Um?"
Muzan's gaze narrowed slightly, and he uttered a low groan. An invisible aura emanated from him, pressing down on the figure.
The pressure from his bloodline forced the figure to kneel on the ground immediately.
An overwhelming sense of fear filled his heart.
Accompanied by intense fear, his mind, which had been somewhat out of control after becoming a ghost, cleared up a bit, but he now had no memory of anything.
Thump! Thump!...
Muzan slowly stepped in front of the figure.
"Lift your head up!"
The cold words came from Muzan's mouth, and upon hearing the command, his figure immediately raised his head from the ground.
"Excellent! You've absorbed so much of my blood at once. Now that Lower Rank Two's position is empty, you can fill it!"
Accompanied by cold words, a hand loomed larger and larger in the figure's pupils.
"Ah--!!!"
Screams erupted from inside the house and lasted for quite some time.
Muzan skillfully pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the blood from his hands.
"Very good! From today onwards, your name will be Rokuro!"
"Yes!"
The Rokuro buried its head in the ground and responded in a low voice.
Without tending to the new Lower Rank, Muzan turned and walked towards the door.
With Muzan's departure, Rokuro's consciousness, which had been somewhat cleared by the fear of his bloodline, was once again swallowed up.
He turned to look at the two corpses still lying on the floor inside the room.
The next moment, it suddenly pounced.
The sound of tearing and biting came from inside the house, and tears involuntarily streamed down the face of the Lower Rank Two.
After leaving the house, Muzan headed straight towards the town.
They ignored the human tragedy inside the house.
Compared to gaining immortality, simply eating one's own kind seems like a much better deal than becoming a demon, right?
At least that's what he thinks!
" Lord Muzan!"
On the dimly lit path, Nakime's voice echoed in Muzan's mind.
"Hmm, what's wrong?" Muzan.
" Kokushibo..." Nakime hesitated halfway through her sentence and did not continue.
"What happened to Kokushibo? Didn't I send him to deal with that Demon Slayer? How did it go? Did he take care of the Demon Slayer?" Muzan asked.
Nakime replied, "No, Kokushibo hasn't dealt with that Demon Slayer yet. The Demon Slayer's strength broke through during the battle, and the two of them are probably evenly matched now. It's almost dawn, what do you think?"
Nakime's words immediately darkened Muzan's expression, completely ruining his initial joy at finding a new Lower Rank.
It's not just because Kokushibo failed to defeat that Demon Slayer.
What's even more surprising is that someone among the Demon Slayer has emerged who can rival Kokushibo?
Being able to contend with Kokushibo means that he alone can pose a threat to me, right?
He also saw the Demon Slayer; he's still very young.
If I train for a few more years, am I supposed to hide for decades again, just like when I encountered Yoriichi Tsugikuni?
Anger burned Muzan in Muzan's heart.
"Send Kokushibo back to the Infinity Castle!"
"Also, teleport the other Upper Rank to the Infinity Castle!"
Nakime replied, "Yes!"
"A natural barrier to talent...?"
Kokushibo repeated Teiichi's words in a low voice, then his pupils suddenly widened as if in disbelief.
"No..."
"Must..."
There must be a way!!!
Just as Kokushibo was about to step forward and continue his attack, Muzan's voice rang in his mind.
" Kokushibo!"
Kokushibo's movements paused abruptly as his mind returned to normal.
" Lord Muzan!"
Muzan said, "Come back first!"
Kokushibo replied, "But..."
"Come back now! It's almost dawn. Are you planning to do what Akaza did and make me wait until the sun is shining on you before Nakime teleports you back?"
After a moment of silence, Kokushibo replied, "Your subordinate... dare not!"
"Then come back first, we can talk about the Demon Slayer tomorrow night!"
"... yes"
"Zheng..."
As the melodious sound of a pipa echoed through the woods, a warm yellow door reappeared in the forest.
Unlike yesterday, when the door appeared directly at Akaza's feet, this time it appeared in front of Kokushibo.
Kokushibo looked up at the Demon Slayer standing in the distance, their eyes meeting in mid-air.
Then he finally took a step and walked towards the door.
Teiichi stood quietly in the shadows not far away, his gaze calm and undisturbed.
He did not go to stop Akaza in the same way he had stopped Kokushibo yesterday morning.
Under Teiichi's watchful gaze, Kokushibo slowly descended into the warm yellow doorway.
As the door closed, Teiichi slowly closed his eyes and stood quietly, adjusting his physical state.
a long time.
The snow that had fallen all night finally stopped with the sunrise.
Teiichi opened her eyes and brushed the snow off herself.
He then searched for the other half of his severed blade in the ravaged forest.
The original plan needs to be changed; we can't stay here any longer.
Kokushibo didn't kill himself today, Muzan Kibutsuji might come tomorrow.
We need to leave this place during the day.
Teiichi, then inserted the broken blade he had found into the scabbard, followed by the part he had been holding.
Go straight back to the Butterfly Mansion?
Then, Kanae can share information about Upper Rank One and Three with the Demon Slayer Corps.
Can...
Looking down at the massive knife wound that ran across his chest, Teiichi abandoned the idea of going straight back.
I'll go back closer to Chinese New Year...