Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

Why isn't he awake yet?

Muzan sat in the dimly lit room, watching the child sleeping on the tatami mat.

Two years have passed, a full two years. Xue Nai has been lying there quietly, breathing shallowly and beating her heart slowly, but she has not woken up.

As a ghost, he remained in a deep sleep.

He had never seen anything like this before.

Those ghosts he transformed either died in excruciating pain or were immediately dominated by bloodlust upon awakening.

No one slept as peacefully as she did, as if time had stopped flowing over her.

Muzan reached out and gently touched Yukina's cheek with his cold fingertips.

It was still so cold, the same temperature as him.

For the past two years, he has been feeding her a little blood every few months to keep her vital signs afloat. But he doesn't know what will happen if this continues, or how much longer she will sleep.

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Xue Nai's fingers suddenly twitched.

Muzan's hand paused.

Immediately afterwards, her eyelashes began to tremble slightly.

Yukina blinked, her eyes still somewhat dazed, as if she had just woken up from a deep dream.

She stared at Muzan for a long time, then slowly revealed a weak smile.

"Father?" Her voice was soft, tinged with embarrassment. "Did I sleep for a long time?"

Muzan did not answer immediately.

He simply watched her quietly, and then noticed that she didn't exhibit the fanaticism that a newly born ghost displays towards blood.

She simply lay there quietly, looking at him with eyes exactly like his, her gaze as clear as a spring stream.

Muzan's brows furrowed slightly.

This is strange.

Xue Nai did not notice her father's suspicion.

Her gaze fell on her and her father's hands.

Her hands were small, while Muzan's hands were large; their hands were very close together, almost touching.

This discovery filled her with a small surge of joy. She carefully and secretly moved her fingers and gently touched Wuzan's fingertips.

It was icy cold, just like her.

Yukina's eyes lit up, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.

She thought she had only slept for a short while, and when she woke up, she found her father right beside her, which made her especially happy.

Then she realized that the room was different.

It was much larger than the previous dilapidated room. Although it was still dark, the tatami mats were clean and the paper windows were intact.

"Did we... change locations?" she asked softly.

Muzan did not answer.

He simply withdrew his hand, a very natural movement, but it dimmed the light in Yukina's eyes.

Yukina bit her lip and quietly moved closer to Muzan. She didn't get too close, just let her sleeve lightly touch the hem of Muzan's clothes.

Muzan sensed it, but he didn't move, merely acquiescing to the subtle touch.

"Are you still sleepy?" Muzan asked, his voice flat.

Yukina blinked and carefully considered her surroundings. She seemed... a little sleepy.

But she was afraid that if she said she was sleepy, her father would leave, so she shook her head: "I'm not sleepy."

Muzan looked at her, a thoughtful expression flashing across his face.

He had never transformed such a small ghost before and didn't know how to deal with it.

Adult demons are usually dominated by a craving for flesh and blood when they wake up, but Yukina doesn't seem to be like that at all.

He thought for a moment, then reached out and gently pried open Xue Nai's mouth.

Yukina was stunned, but soon she thought her father was playing a game with her, so she immediately opened her mouth and looked at Muzan with bright eyes, like a puppy waiting for praise.

Muzan examined her teeth closely. They were small, milky white, and no different from the teeth of an ordinary child, completely lacking the sharp fangs that a demon should have.

He released his grip, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

The absence of sharp teeth meant she couldn't bite through human flesh.

How is she supposed to eat? Does she have to keep drinking blood?

Seeing that her father remained silent, Xue Nai tugged at his sleeve anxiously: "Father?"

Muzan snapped out of his daze, looked at her confused little face, and temporarily suppressed his doubts.

If I can't figure out the reason, then let's leave it at that for now.

After that, give her blood to drink first, and then observe her for a while before making any further decisions.

He stood up, preparing to leave to collect the blood.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Xue Nai subconsciously stood up as well.

Then she paused for a moment, realizing that she was standing very steadily, without any effort at all.

The heavy feeling that used to suffocate her body disappeared, and her limbs felt light and strong, as if she could run and jump.

This discovery made her eyes light up. She jumped up and down on the spot, her movements still a little clumsy, but she did manage to jump.

"Father! Look!" she exclaimed excitedly, turning to Muzan. "Jump! Yukina can jump now!"

Muzan stopped and turned to look at her.

Yukina stood on the tatami mat, her little face beaming with pure joy, her eyes sparkling.

That vibrant appearance was completely different from the sickly child he remembered.

But before he could say anything, Xue Nai had already run to the window.

The sunlight outside was lovely, and a few golden rays shone through the gaps in the paper window.

Yukina wanted to see the outside world and what her new home looked like, so she reached out and opened the window.

The blinding sunlight instantly flooded into the room and shone on her.

"pain--"

Yukina let out a short scream and her small body jerked backward.

Where the sun shines, the skin feels like it's on fire, and terrible blisters quickly appear, then ulcerate and turn black.

She stared blankly at the rapidly spreading wound on her arm, and before she could react, a dark figure blocked her way.

Muzan slammed the window shut.

He moved quickly, but his arms inevitably got exposed to the sunlight.

The skin made a sizzling sound, quickly ulcerated, and emitted white smoke.

The room fell dark again.

Muzan looked down at the wound on his arm, then at Yukina, who was huddled in the corner trembling, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Why did he go to close the window?

That troublesome little brat should be sunburned to death. That way he won't have to worry about how to feed her or be puzzled as to why she doesn't have fangs.

Yukina huddled in the corner, her small body trembling with pain.

The wounds on her arms and face burned with pain, but she had been sick since childhood and was used to enduring pain, so she didn't cry. She just bit her lip tightly and swallowed her sobs.

She looked up and saw the wound on Muzan's arm.

Those festering, charred skin patches were the same as hers.

Yukina's eyes widened suddenly.

Although she didn't understand why this was happening, she knew that her father was injured because she had opened the window.

This realization filled her with intense self-reproach.

Ignoring her own pain, she scrambled up from the corner and stumbled to Muzan's side.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Father..." Her voice trembled with tears. Her small hand wanted to touch Muzan's injured arm, but was afraid of hurting him, so it remained suspended in mid-air. "It's all my fault... I shouldn't have opened the window..."

Tears finally streamed down her face uncontrollably, falling one by one onto the tatami mat.

Muzan looked down at her.

This child didn't cry when he was injured, but he cried when he saw that the other child was injured.

Why?

He doesn't understand.

The way children think is too foreign and incomprehensible to him.

He should be angry.

I'm angry at her recklessness, angry at her for causing trouble for herself.

But looking at that little face covered in tears, his anger inexplicably dissipated a bit.

"Don't cry." Muzan's voice was less fierce. "Your wounds will heal on their own."

Yukina looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears: "Really?"

"Um."

Xue Nai felt a little relieved.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, but because her hand was also injured, the action made her wince in pain.

Muzan looked at her clumsy movements, remained silent for a few seconds, and then reached out his hand.

Gently wipe away the tear stains on her face with your fingertips.

The movements were very light and clumsy.

Yukina was stunned, and then she slowly revealed a smile with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you, Father."

Muzan withdrew his hand without responding. He simply turned and walked to the other end of the room, taking out a small porcelain bottle from a hidden compartment.

"Drink this." He handed the porcelain bottle to Xue Nai. "It will help your wound heal faster."

Xue Nai took the porcelain bottle, opened it, and found a dark red liquid inside.

She smelled a familiar scent, the same scent that lingered in her mouth when she woke up earlier.

The liquid was icy cold and slid down my throat.

Immediately afterwards, she felt her wounds begin to itch, and the burning pain gradually subsided.

Yukina watched in astonishment as the ulcers on her arm healed at a visible speed, the charred skin peeling off to reveal the new skin underneath.

"Wow, that's amazing..." she murmured.