Under the moon, in the mountains and forests.
Two people dressed in Demon Slayer Corps uniforms were walking briskly, one in front of the other.
Uchida looked at Hase, whose face was resolute, and called out:
"Hey! Hase, stop right there! What are you doing?"
Hase kept walking, his face resolute as he looked ahead, and replied:
"I'm going to kill that ghost tonight!"
Uchida said, "But our Master hasn't sent anyone yet. Should we wait a little longer?"
Hase abruptly stopped, turned to Uchida, and angrily asked:
"Wait? Wait for what! Do you know how long we've been waiting?"
Uchida opened his mouth, then said hesitantly:
"Uh... it's probably been more than a month..."
Hase smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile; rather, it revealed a growing anger.
"You know we've been waiting for over a month! Do you know how many people that ghost has eaten in this past month?"
Uchida opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but seemed to be stopped by something.
Of course he knew how many people that ghost had eaten in the past month or so.
After reporting the task, they weren't just sitting there doing nothing.
During this time, they have also been investigating the situation here so that the next person to take over the task here can get up to speed more quickly.
They followed the clues and found the courtyard where the ghost was.
They didn't dare go inside, so they stayed outside the courtyard, observing the people coming and going to try and find information about the ghost.
According to their observations, the ghosts here eat one person every 15 days.
Since they reported the situation here, that ghost has already eaten two people.
If we start counting from when they received this mission, this ghost has already eaten four people.
And today, it's time for that ghost to eat people again.
Nevertheless, they still waited outside for a long time.
They wanted to see if anyone would come, but to their disappointment, no one had appeared until just now.
This is why Hase couldn't wait any longer and wanted to rush in.
Uchida sighed, and could only say helplessly:
"But our Master has sent word that this is extremely important, and we cannot investigate it on our own!"
Hase stared intently at Uchida and questioned him:
"Since it's so important, then let's arrange for Zhu to come over when we report the task to the higher-ups!"
"Aren't there not many missions right now? Zhu should have some free time, right?"
"Even if they're incredibly busy, it shouldn't be this long and no one has come for over a month!"
"Even when demons were still active, the Pillars weren't this busy!"
Uchida was rendered speechless by Hase's questioning, and could only lower his head to avoid Hase's sharp gaze.
In fact, what Hase said also reflected his own inner doubts.
He also didn't understand why they kept saying it was important, but then kept delaying sending anyone over.
However, compared to Hase, he was more law-abiding and would suppress his dissatisfaction.
Hase stared intently at Uchida for a moment, and seeing that the other party had no intention of stopping him, he spoke:
"Alright, this is my own decision, you don't need to come with me! You can continue to observe from outside. That way, if I die in there, you can pass on the information to the people who come later!"
After saying that, Hase turned around and tried to continue walking forward.
"Wait!" Uchida suddenly called out from behind.
"What's wrong?"
Hase frowned as he looked at Uchida, thinking that the other party was still determined to stop him.
Uchida raised his head and looked at Hase with a determined gaze.
"I'll go with you!"
After staring at each other for a while, Hase burst into laughter.
"Good, that's a true brother! With one of us being Kinoto and the other Hinoe Rank, even if this were the Lower Rank, we're not entirely without a chance!"
"Yes!" Uchida nodded seriously.
The two headed towards the courtyard they had found earlier.
Because today is the day of that sect's activity, there will be followers of that sect on the road.
To avoid arousing suspicion, they did not take the established roads, but instead traveled through the mountains and forests.
I was thinking of sneaking in and seeing if I could ambush the ghost.
Before long, a huge courtyard appeared before the two of them.
There was also a servant at the entrance of the courtyard specifically to greet believers.
The two waited outside the courtyard. After an unknown amount of time, a believer walked from outside the courtyard into the courtyard.
Then, more believers continued to walk into the courtyard.
The two watched the scene unfold silently from the distant woods, planning to sneak in only after everyone else had gone inside.
" Hase, you said that the Master said this place is very important. Could it be that this is the Lower Rank, or even the Upper Rank?" Uchida asked with some concern.
Hase chuckled upon hearing this, "What, are you afraid of dying?"
Upon hearing this, Uchida instantly suppressed his worries and stubbornly insisted:
"Hmph! I wrote my will right after joining the team!"
Hase asked curiously, "Oh? I didn't know you could write a will. Who is it for?"
"Mind your own business!"
Uchida said something a little embarrassed, then suddenly felt that what Hase had just said was a bit strange, and asked curiously:
"Isn't a will required after joining the team? Didn't you write one?"
Hase composed himself, his gaze still fixed on the courtyard entrance, and calmly replied:
"I didn't write anything. I live alone now, and even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know who to write to."
Uchida fell silent for a moment upon hearing this.
He had known for a long time that there were many loners in the Demon Slayer Corps.
He simply hadn't expected that Hase, who was usually so enthusiastic and outgoing, would be like this.
"I'm sorry!" Uchida said somewhat embarrassed.
Hase waved his hand. "What's there to apologize for? It's just a fact, and I'm used to it! It's you guys who always apologize as soon as you hear about someone else's experience; I just can't get used to that!"
Uchida pursed his lips and suddenly said:
"Actually, it's not so bad for you to not have family!"
Uchida's words made Hase's lips twitch slightly, and he looked at Uchida in disbelief.
"Hey! I said I'm used to this, but it's not to this extent!"
"What do you mean it's not bad to have no family? That's not how you comfort someone!"
"I really envy you guys who have families. After completing your missions, you can go back to your families and have them by your side!"
Upon Uchida hurriedly waved his hand in a flustered manner.
That's not what I meant! I really didn't mean that!
Hase clicked his tongue. "I know you didn't mean that, you're just trying to comfort me, right?"
"No, no! I really think so!" Uchida waved his hand in denial.
Upon hearing Hase looked at Uchida as if he were an alien.
"Hey, you bastard, you didn't get turned into a ghost without my knowledge, did you?"