"South-southeast... South-southeast... The next location is south-southeast!"
A black crow flew above Tanjiro's head, its raspy, jarring voice constantly urging Tanjiro to head to the next mission location.
However, this sound was truly giving one a headache.
Tanjiro said, looking defeated: "I know, I know. Just be quiet for a moment, don't say anything else."
Hearing Tanjiro's impatient words, the crow descended from the air, flapping its wings and deliberately cawing loudly right beside Tanjiro.
"Tanjiro, is this the communication tool for your Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Yes, this is a Kasugai Crow used for contacting the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters; every member has one."
Kasugai Crow. It means connecting metal parts.
"Are there many?"
Tanjiro: "???"
"I don't know, there should be quite a few, right!"
After all, every member of the Demon Slayer Corps can have one.
Hearing this, Yang Tao stared at the incessantly cawing Kasugai Crow and said with full malice: "Then, if I were to eat one or two from the Demon Slayer Corps, they shouldn't have anything to say, right?"
Caw?
Hearing Yang Tao's words, Tanjiro's Kasugai Crow seemed as if someone had grabbed it by the throat, and that raspy voice stopped abruptly.
"No, no, no, Sir Yang, its cawing is indeed a bit annoying, but I hope you won't eat it!"
Tanjiro and the Kasugai Crow were both startled.
Seeing the crow stop cawing, Yang Tao wore a kind smile and said: "Look at how scared you are. I'm generally a vegetarian; I wouldn't use boiling water to pluck a crow, then put it on a skewer and roast it slowly over charcoal. And I certainly wouldn't keep brushing it with oil because crow meat is a bit tough, roasting it until it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside before sprinkling it with my secret spices."
Kasugai Crow: "???"
You damn bastard, have you already finished roasting me in your mind?!?
Tanjiro's Kasugai Crow flapped its wings and flew into the high sky. Yang Tao smiled and reached out, gripping the air, and the Kasugai Crow, just about to open its beak, was dragged down by Mage Hand.
Yang Tao stroked its body.
"This crow has such shiny feathers; it looks very healthy! Make sure you don't get sick; sick crows are eaten, you know."
Releasing his hand, the Kasugai Crow was completely limp. It didn't feel for a second that Yang Tao was joking; if it ever got 'sick', the other party would definitely eat it using the process he just described.
"Tanjiro, don't just stand there. Your Kasugai Crow seems to have taken a liking to me; it won't even fly away."
Tanjiro: "..."
He reached out and took the terrified Kasugai Crow, wanting to say something but stopping... wanting to say something but stopping...
However, soon, he had no time to consider the matter of the Kasugai Crow.
A commotion coming from the path in the fields attracted his attention.
He saw a youth in the Demon Slayer Corps uniform, wearing a yellow haori with a triangle pattern over it, with short, medium-length blonde hair and rounded eyebrows, kneeling before a cute girl, grabbing her arms with both hands and pleading incessantly: "Please, please! I don't know when I'll die, so please marry me! Please! Please!"
He was saying it with tears streaming down his face...
"What kind of Miroku behavior is this!"
Even without the exploration value prompt, Yang Tao recognized this guy: Zenitsu Agatsuma, a Demon Slayer from the same class as Tanjiro.
He had a cowardly and negative personality, but when nervous to the limit, he would fall asleep and enter a semi-awakened state, unleashing his original, powerful strength.
He was one of the successors of Thunder Breathing.
But this couldn't change the fact that his previous life was a tragedy.
He was abandoned by his parents at birth and lived alone in the city for fifteen years.
At fifteen, the girl Zenitsu had a crush on deceived him out of a lot of money to elope with another man, leaving Zenitsu with huge debts.
Eventually, someone paid off his debts, but that was just the beginning of his suffering; wanting to become a Demon Slayer swordsman required constant training and fighting.
Tanjiro was confused by Zenitsu's behavior: "This is... what exactly is going on?"
Just then, a sparrow flapped its wings in a panic and flew towards Tanjiro. Seeing this, Tanjiro quickly reached out and cradled the sparrow in his palm.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp..."
"It's so good to see you! That guy Zenitsu is too slack. Not only is he not completing his mission, he's even here harassing a young girl..."
"No matter what I say, he won't listen. I can't persuade him; please help me!"
Kasugai Crow? Kasugai Sparrow?
Zenitsu's communication bird was very unusual. Other Demons Slayer Corps members all had crows; only his was a very clever sparrow.
Hearing the sparrow's words, Tanjiro walked behind Zenitsu. At this moment, he was holding onto the young girl and wouldn't let go. Tanjiro naturally wouldn't indulge him; he reached out, grabbed his collar, pulled him off the girl, and scolded: "What are you doing in the middle of the road?! It's obvious this girl isn't willing! And stop bothering the sparrow too!"
Zenitsu looked at the angry Tanjiro with tears and snot streaming down his face: "Uniform? Were you at the Final Selection..."
Hearing Zenitsu's words, Tanjiro flew into a rage, pulled him directly in front of him, and said even louder: "I don't know someone like you! Absolutely not!"
"Huh? We've met, we've definitely met. This must be a problem with your memory!"
Tanjiro: "..."
He let go, throwing Zenitsu onto the ground like trash, and then walked towards the girl, ignoring Zenitsu completely.
"Alright, it's fine now. You can go home, miss."
The young girl bowed repeatedly to express her gratitude. At this moment, Zenitsu shouted in a breakdown: "Don't get in the way! That girl is going to marry me! She likes me!"
Bang!
The girl punched Zenitsu in the face, then slapped him repeatedly, making Zenitsu beg for mercy.
Seeing this, Tanjiro stepped forward to stop the angry young girl and said: "Miss, don't be angry..."
"When did I ever say I liked you? I just saw that you seemed to be unwell, so I said one word to you!"
Learning the truth, Zenitsu looked incredulous. Tanjiro persuaded the young girl to leave after much effort, then looked at Zenitsu with a disdainful gaze.
Zenitsu: "!!! Hey, don't look at me with that look you use for other creatures!"
Yang Tao stepped forward, took out the Doom Spear from his backpack, rested it on Zenitsu's neck, and said deliberately: "A lecherous worm like this will only make rice more expensive by staying in this world. Better to just finish him off; it'll save some food!"
Zenitsu's body went limp, and he collapsed directly onto the ground.
"No... don't kill me, I haven't gotten married yet! I can't die..."
This kid is hopeless.
Yang Tao retracted the Doom Spear, patted Zenitsu's head, and said to Tanjiro: "Are you going to train this kid, or should I?"
A proper swordsman shouldn't be this spineless.
He needs the tempering of iron and blood!
A one-month tour of the bottom of Nest City!
"Train?"
"Forget it, hand him over to me. You go ahead and complete the mission the Demon Slayer Corps gave you."
Yang Tao picked up the Zenitsu on the ground. He truly felt that the current Zenitsu was too weak, and it was definitely not because Zenitsu, as a simp, eventually managed to win Nezuko over.
Although Tanjiro didn't know what Yang Tao meant by "train," he knew it definitely wasn't anything good. Kind-hearted as he was, he immediately stood up to dissuade him: "Lord, just leave him to me! I will make him better!"