"They sold more grain? That must be because the harvest was better, right? That shouldn't count, should it?"
Kanae looked at Shinsuke with some confusion.
Shinsuke smiled somewhat awkwardly upon hearing this:
"Uh... it doesn't seem to count! But apart from that, there doesn't seem to be anything unusual! Or maybe there might be something unusual, but I don't know!"
Kanae nodded slightly, not surprised by the result.
After all, this mission specifically required that any doubts be raised and the report submitted immediately!
It would be strange if the information were too detailed!
"But it's really great that everyone's harvest will be better! Don't you think so, Nezuko?"
Kanae smiled happily at Nezuko, as if she herself was experiencing the joy of the harvest.
"Yes! That's great!" Nezuko nodded earnestly.
Opposite them, Teiichi slightly, his eyes closed, his mind processing what Shinsuke had just said.
The Harvest Cult, the Vanished Child, the Villagers Speaking in Unison, the Surplus Grain; The Harvest Cult, the Vanished Child...
At one moment, Teiichi's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
He seemed to have thought of something, and the keywords in his mind suddenly changed their order.
Harvest Cult, surplus grain, a missing child, villagers speaking in unison...
The Harvest Cult, the Harvest, the Surplus Grain, the Missing Child, the Villagers Speaking in Unison!!!
Teiichi slowly opened his eyes.
The sunlight shone on him, Teiichi only felt a chill in his body.
The bountiful harvest must be due to the demon's Blood Demon Art, which can promote plant growth, and only in this way can a village that is not rich to begin with suddenly have a lot more food.
Then... the missing child, the villagers speaking in unison...
In other words...
Are the villagers trading children with ghosts for a bountiful harvest?
Even Teiichi, who had experienced similar events before, was startled when this thought popped into his head.
What I experienced before could be attributed to the malice of one or two people, but if what happened here is true...
Then it's likely that the vast majority of people in the entire village cannot be considered innocent!
Teiichi slowly turned his head to look in the direction the donkey cart was going, his gaze seemingly passing through one mountain after another until he saw the village at the end of the road.
The evil spirit itself wasn't difficult to deal with, but what would happen to the villagers after it was dealt with?
and...
Teiichi slowly turned his head to look at Kanae sitting opposite him.
If Hui were to witness that, it would probably have a huge impact on her.
After thinking for Teiichi, Ding Yi suddenly spoke:
"Megumi, why don't you take Nezuko and go back first?"
Kanae was slightly taken aback by what she heard, Nezuko, who was sitting next to her, also looked over with some confusion.
"What's wrong?" Kanae asked softly.
Teiichi, "The demon here shouldn't be Doma. I can handle it by myself. I'll come find you guys after I've dealt with him!"
Kanae didn't reply, but instead looked at Teiichi and asked:
How do you know this isn't Doma? Did you discover something?
"No, it just suddenly occurred to me that Doma isn't emotionless, but has been pretending to have feelings all along?" Teiichi said.
Kanae nodded slightly.
She still remembers the time she met Doma, when Doma was even dating another girl!
Teiichi continued, "So, he probably won't be here. If he's going to stay, he'll stay somewhere more developed!"
Upon hearing this, Kanae nodded slightly, agreeing with Teiichi's words, but she still smiled gently at Teiichi:
"But what's the big deal? Didn't we handle the last mission together too?"
Looking at Kanae's smiling face, Teiichi opened his mouth, wanting to offer more advice, but couldn't find a better reason.
Sometimes it's not good when your wife is too smart. If you keep trying to persuade her, it will only make Kanae suspicious. Teiichi he couldn't think of a better solution for the time being, Teiichi could only nod slowly.
The donkey cart continued on its way, but suddenly stopped again.
Teiichi was about to ask, he saw Shinsuke point to the mountain path beside him:
"By the way, this might be unusual. When I came to deliver goods that time, I saw the village chief coming down from this side with a few people!"
Having said that, and fearing that the two gentlemen might find it unsurprising, Shinsuke added:
"It was a rainy day, and the road was difficult to walk on. Normally, people wouldn't go into the mountains unless they had a specific reason!"
Teiichi nodded slightly upon hearing this, and looked up at the mountain.
A gentle breeze blew down the hillside...
A moment later, Teiichi slowly lowered his head, his gaze meeting Kanae's pale purple pupils.
"So? Did you find anything?" Kanae asked in a low voice.
Shinsuke blinked, looking somewhat bewildered.
What do you mean by "have you made any discoveries"?
What can you possibly discover by just sitting here?
I told you this information so you could go up and investigate!
What are you all doing sitting here?!
Go investigate!
Teiichi looked at Kanae, thought for a moment, and then slowly shook his head:
"No ghosts!"
Shinsuke was somewhat bewildered by their conversation.
He was initially quite pleased that two Demon Slayer had been sent to investigate.
Why does it suddenly feel like the two adults in front of me aren't as reliable as I thought?
However, the class consciousness deeply ingrained in his mind prevented him from saying anything offensive, and he could only continue on his way with the donkey cart.
After a long while, Teiichi suddenly looked at Shinsuke and asked:
"By the way, how did you and Yuta meet?"
"Well, that all started a few years ago when we were delivering goods..." Shinsuke said as he drove the carriage.
Basically, after he delivered another delivery, while waiting for the team leader to settle the accounts, he found Yuta squatting on the ground playing in the sand.
Then, out of curiosity, she went over and played with him.
From that time on, every time he came to deliver goods, Yuta would come to play with him.
Because of Yuta's background, he didn't mind spending more time playing with Yuta.
Over time, the two became acquainted.
After a long silence, once Shinsuke had finished speaking, Teiichi asked again:
"What does he usually like? Like something he always carries with him?"
Upon hearing this, Shinsuke tilted his head back slightly in thought for a moment, then said:
"Yes! He has a bamboo dragonfly, a toy his father made for him before he died! He's carried it with him ever since his father passed away!!"
"A bamboo dragonfly...?"
Teiichi murmured softly, his mind flashing back to the clothes, bones, and bamboo dragonflies scattered on the mountain earlier...