Wisteria House
Teiichi, Kanae, and Nezuko sat quietly in a fairly spacious room.
The interior furnishings are simple yet cozy. The wooden floor gleams softly in the light filtering through the windows, and several antique paintings with faded brushstrokes and colors hang on the walls.
Besides the three people, a team member dressed in a camouflage uniform was standing upright inside the room.
The hidden team member first glanced at the three people, finding the composition of the personnel who had come to carry out the mission somewhat strange.
A boy, a girl, and a little girl.
It's one thing if there's only one wearing Demon Slayer Corps uniform, since according to the information we received, this is the Flower Hashira.
But what does it mean to bring a child?
Without aloud expressing his thoughts, Kanae bowed deeply to Nakamura, the only one wearing Demon Slayer Corps uniform, and respectfully introduced himself:
"Lord Flower Hashira, hello! I'm Nakamura, and I'm here to brief you on this mission!"
"Yes! Thank you for your help!" Kanae turned her head slightly, smiled gently at Nakamura, and nodded lightly.
"You're welcome, it's what I should do!"
Nakamura straightened up, replied earnestly, then cleared his throat and began to explain in detail.
"The sect in Sanyo City is called the Eternal Paradise Faith."
"This is a religious sect that only emerged in Sanyo City a little over a decade ago."
Their doctrine is: This world is full of suffering, but the other shore is bliss!
"The sect is small. According to our investigation, at its peak, it only had a little over three hundred members, and now it only has a few dozen left."
"..."
"This world is full of suffering, but the other shore is the ultimate bliss..." Teiichi murmured the teachings of the Eternal Paradise Faith while silently listening to Nakamura's report.
After a long while, Nakamura finally finished his introduction. Teiichi raised his head slightly and asked:
"When was the last time you taught so many people?"
Upon hearing Nakamura, Nakamura instinctively cast a probing glance at Kanae, and only after seeing Kanae nod slightly in acknowledgment did he slowly turn to Teiichi and say:
The peak number of people was about eight years ago!
Eight years ago? That doesn't match the timing of the ghost's contraction activity.
Teiichi silently muttered something to himself, then continued to ask:
Have you investigated the circumstances surrounding those missing persons?
Nakamura nodded. "Yes, their family members have gone to the Master's trading company to buy things. The shop assistants have casually inquired about it, but they were always vague, only saying that they were working outside, and wouldn't say anything more!"
Teiichi firmly, lowered his head, crossed his arms, and began to think seriously.
Seeing Nakamura, Nakamura didn't say anything to disturb Teiichi anymore, and the room fell silent for a moment, with only the occasional rustling of Wisteria being blown by the wind outside the window.
After a while, Kanae leaned forward slightly, looked at Teiichi, and asked softly:
"Do you feel it's Doma?" Her voice was soft and delicate, yet it sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
Teiichi frowned slightly and slowly shook his head. "It shouldn't be. Although their family members' answers were vague, they did give a reason! The fact that they gave a reason means there was some follow-up work. Doma shouldn't be so free to deal with follow-up matters!"
"Are those other ghosts?" Kanae asked softly.
Teiichi, then said, "It's possible."
"Should we go somewhere else and have someone else handle this here?" Kanae asked.
Teiichi moment and slowly shook his head.
"The demons who know how to clean up the mess are probably not much weaker than Lower Rank demons, and it's not like it's impossible for it to be Doma. Anyway, we're not in a hurry, we can just investigate them one by one!"
"Okay! I'll do as you say!" Kanae nodded gently.
Nakamura listened to their conversation from the side, somewhat bewildered.
He only received a notification that Flower Hashira would be coming, and that he should come over here to explain the situation.
That's why he bowed to Kanae, the only person in the room wearing a Demon Slayer Corps uniform, as soon as he entered.
But now...
Why does Lord Zhu have to listen to others?
"Do you have the address and schedule of this sect's activities?" Teiichi asked Nakamura.
The sudden words brought Nakamura back to his senses. Seeing that Teiichi was looking at him, Nakamura quickly replied:
"I know! I know! This sect is in the west of the city, and they have an event tomorrow night!"
The next day.
The night was as dark as ink, enveloping the headquarters of the Eternal Paradise Faith in the western part of Sanyo City.
This house, which covers an area of four or five hundred square meters, is quite large, but it is hard to hide the traces of time.
The house is an old wooden structure with only two floors, and most of the surrounding houses are similar in style.
This is probably because the area is not near the sea and there aren't many resources available to utilize in the surrounding area.
Therefore, compared with the prosperity of metropolises like Tokyo, this place seems to have been forgotten by the times, and its development is slow.
At this moment, thirty or forty people were gathered in the spacious hall of the house.
Inside the hall, the dim candlelight flickered, casting shadows on the walls and floor.
The shadows swayed slightly with the flickering candlelight.
Everyone inside the room knelt on the ground, closed their eyes, bowed their heads, clasped their hands together, and murmured prayers. The sound of their devout prayers echoed in the room, as if they were pouring out their inner desires and requests to the gods.
After a long silence, it was broken by a soft clapping sound.
Riko slowly opened her eyes and looked up.
Suddenly, a tall, thin man dressed in a long black robe appeared in front of them.
The man had a thin face and deep eyes; his black robe gleamed faintly in the dim candlelight.
Riko knew that this was the church's vice-chairman, and that most of the church's affairs were usually handled by men.
The cult leader can only be seen at a few important events. Occasionally, when a believer makes a petition, that believer will be taken to see the cult leader. Otherwise, it is very difficult for believers to see the cult leader.
The vice-leader, with a gentle smile, slowly swept his gaze over the crowd and said softly:
"Alright, that concludes the prayer. Did everyone gain anything today?"
The sound was soft, yet it could be clearly heard in the quiet hall.
As soon as the words were spoken, a man dressed in coarse linen clothes quickly raised his hand and said excitedly:
"I felt extremely tired when I came here today, but after praying, I felt so much lighter! It must be that God smoothed out the wrinkles in my soul while I was praying, which is why I felt so relaxed after praying!"
"Me too! I just heard God whisper in my ear, and my heart immediately calmed down!"
"Me too! Just now I felt God embrace me, warming my body which had been ravaged by the cold!"
"..."