Ji Hao silently kept track of the aura of the person wearing a butterfly-patterned feather robe, and after noticing that she was not moving in one place.
Ji Hao pretended to be passing by, walked down the street, and noticed a wooden sign with a wisteria pattern hanging in front of a house.
"As expected, a house with wisteria blossoms."
Ji Hao understood what was going on, and then pretended to be nonchalant, finding a nearby inn to stay and rest.
The Wisteria House was voluntarily built by people who had been helped by the Demon Slayer Corps. It serves as a place for Demon Slayer Corps members to rest and receive treatment when they are away from home.
It is also the place where most members of the Demon Slayer Corps often stay when they go out on missions.
Since that figure has come here to rest, there must be evil spirits lurking around here.
Knowing that the other party would not act during the day, Ji Hao sat cross-legged in the room and began to circulate his internal energy.
The moment the technique was activated, the energy of heaven and earth began to surge wildly into his body and circulate rapidly through his meridians.
There might be another battle tonight, so getting himself into the right mindset is what he needs to do now.
Soon, night fell. By this time, Ji Hao had already exited the chain repair mode and was enjoying dinner with the food provided by the shopkeeper.
Well, as for how the food is...
All he could say was that at least it was edible.
Looking out the window, once night falls, there are hardly any people left on the streets of this small town.
After all, this isn't a big city like Tokyo, and entertainment options aren't as plentiful. People going to bed early is the norm here.
At this moment, Ji Hao was playing with the blazing Yang Flame Power in his hand while sensing the state of that aura.
Only after he sensed that aura move did he clench his fist, completely extinguishing the Yang Flame in his palm. With a flash of his eyes, he prepared to take action.
He pushed open the window and door, sensed his surroundings, and found that no one had noticed.
Ji Hao also nimbly leaped onto the rooftops, making sure to close the windows before starting to scale the walls and track the departing figure.
Tonight, who knows, we might even see a good show.
...
"Mission objective..."
At this moment, the girl, completely unaware that Ji Hao was following her, was running through a dark alley.
The matter of evil spirits is not something that can be discussed openly.
In addition, because demons cannot be exposed to the sun and can only move at night, the members of the Demon Slayer Corps lived a life that was almost nocturnal.
Avoid being watched by ordinary people, then quickly deal with the man-eating demon, and finally have someone else clean up the mess.
This procedure has become routine for the Demon Slayer Corps members.
The girl who was carrying out the demon-slaying mission at this time was named Kanae Kocho, and she was the Flower Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps.
What is a pillar?
Pillars are the highest-ranking swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps. To qualify for promotion to Pillar, one must either kill one of the Twelve Demon Moons or slay fifty demons.
They are powerful, hold a high position, and possess their own titles.
This is the pillar.
Kanae Kocho's trip was naturally to deal with a target who was suspected to be an evil spirit.
As she swiftly traversed the dark alleyways, her figure soon burst out of the town's streets and into the desolate wilderness.
Around the small town, there are many thatched-roof houses. The place she is going to now is a small village not far from the town.
"The smell of blood..."
Kanae, who was on her way, seemed to smell something. She quickly determined the direction and rushed into the forest not far away.
But she didn't realize that the environment around her was getting colder and colder, and her breath was creating wisps of white mist in the air.
After she broke through the barrier of the trees, the scene before her made her gradually stop.
There stood a young man wearing a red shirt and a black cloak, with long, shoulder-length hair the color of white oak. He was standing amidst the white frost.
And in that white frost lay several humans, their bodies covered in frost, their fate unknown.
"Oh? I'm surprised you arrived so quickly today."
The young man slowly turned around, a gentle smile on his pale face.
His colorful eyes, gazing at Kanae Butterfly, were filled with a gentle light, as if he were a saint reincarnated, so compassionate and merciful.
"Wind the bow..."
But at this moment, when Kanae Butterfly saw his eyes, her purple pupils contracted slightly, and she also exclaimed in surprise.
The Twelve Demon Moons are the twelve strongest demons under the command of Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King.
Based on their own strength, they can be divided into six upper moons and six lower moons.
The Lower Moon demons are significantly stronger than ordinary demons.
The upper string also exhibits a discontinuous strength compared to the lower string.
Let's put it this way: the last Upper Rank demon the Demon Slayer Corps killed was at least a hundred years ago...
And now, appearing before Kanae Kocho is the second Upper Moon One, named Doma.
"The little girl doesn't seem to be very lucky, but on the contrary, my luck seems to be quite good."
Doma smiled gently, but his words sent a chill down one's spine.
"Women from the Demon Slayer Corps would probably be more delicious, and could make me even stronger."
"...If you want to eat me, you'll have to see what you're capable of."
Kanae Butterfly quickly calmed down from her shock.
Her hand was now on the hilt of the katana sheathed at her waist.
If you don't resist, you'll die; if you resist, you might survive.
Moreover, as swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps, they never lack the courage to draw their swords when facing demons!
"Why struggle so much? Wouldn't it be better to just obediently become one with me?"
Doma still smiled gently, but Kanae Kocho didn't want to chatter with him anymore.
"Flower Breathing, Fourth Form, Red Flower Robe!"
As Kanae Kocho shouted, the Nichirin Blade with an orange hilt, a bright green hilt, and a peach-colored hilt, which was tucked into her waistband, was drawn with a fierce motion!
As she charged forward, she instantly closed the distance with Doma, unleashing a swift double slash from above.
The clash of swords began to block all of Doma's escape routes; the swordsmanship was elegant, yet it concealed endless killing intent!
"You're really in a hurry, swordswoman. But, the way you're struggling now makes you even more beautiful."
Despite Kanae's advances, Doma remained all smiles.
He casually pulled out two iron fans from his waist, easily blocking all her attacks. Then, he leaned closer, looked at her struggling expression, and chuckled.
"That's good. The more fiercely it resists, the better the meat might be."