Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

This scene unexpectedly triggered some fragments of memories from Muzan's human past in his mind.

Tormented by illness, I lay in bed, helplessly watching my life slip away, my heart filled with a longing to live.

Then he thought of the idiot who should be in the Blissful Sect right now.

Given her frail appearance before she turned into a demon, she was probably not much different from the boy below when she was human.

Confined to the tatami mat, I watch the sunrise and sunset in solitude, waiting for a tomorrow that may or may not even exist.

Even after becoming a ghost, one is still afraid of being alone...

What a coward...

Wait, loneliness.

He glanced down at the human.

What if...she had a suitable companion?

A companion who, too, was given new life by him, freed from a frail body, and was able to live a long life.

That way, she might not spend all her time thinking about hanging out with someone like Douma who has mental issues.

Muzan silently descended from the rooftop and stood outside the paper door.

He reached out and opened the door.

"Squeak."

Lost in thought, I suddenly turned my head.

His eyes met those plum-red pupils at the doorway.

Muzan stood at the doorway, moonlight streaming in from behind him, outlining his silhouette.

He looked down at the sickly boy on the bed:

Do you want to live?

*

Doma watched with great interest as Yukina practiced writing for quite a while, occasionally offering his comments.

However, Xue Nai kept her small body ramrod straight the whole time, trying her best to concentrate on the tip of the pen, and ignored his words.

Gradually, Douma began to find it somewhat boring.

His eyes darted around, his gaze shifting from Xue Nai's small figure to the pair of teapots beside her, before finally settling back on Xue Nai.

Lord Muzan is not here...

Yukina is engrossed in studying and ignoring him again...

"Ara ara~"

He stretched, slowly stood up, and patted himself off.

"Little Yukina is studying so diligently! Well, Uncle Doma won't bother you any longer. Uncle suddenly remembered that I'm actually a little hungry, it's time to go eat!"

Only after confirming that Doma's presence had completely disappeared did Yukina's tense shoulders finally relax.

She put down her pen, leaned her small body on the low table, buried her face in her arms, revealing only a pair of somewhat dim red eyes.

Even though I know Uncle Doma meant no harm...

But why... could he remember something just by looking at it once when he was a child?

I always write in a crooked and messy way, and I forget what I wrote before after I've written what I wrote at the end...

Am I just too stupid?

If I'm really too stupid and don't perform well, won't the teacher be disappointed?

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became, feeling a dull ache in her heart, as if a wad of damp cotton was stuck inside.

Just then, a warm, furry little head nuzzled her hand that was hanging by her side.

It's a puppy.

It had run into the yard at some point, its bright black eyes reflecting its owner's dejected figure.

It stuck out its tongue and licked the back of Yukina's hand repeatedly, making comforting whimpers in its throat.

The moist, warm touch on the back of her hand brought Yukina back to her senses.

She looked up at the puppy's worried eyes, then stretched out her arms and hugged it tightly, burying her face in its soft, warm fur and taking a deep breath.

"Hmm... little puppy..."

She mumbled a cry from the dog's fur, then lay back on the tatami mat, lifted the puppy up to her face, and couldn't help but chuckle as she watched it innocently tilt its head and stick out its tongue.

When the puppy saw her smile, it immediately wriggled happily and tried to lick her nose and chin.

As Xue Nai laughed and dodged, she played with the puppy, and her earlier frustration was somewhat relieved by this simple play.

"Little puppy, you're so kind!"

She hugged the puppy and affectionately rubbed its ears.

She rallied her spirits and practiced writing for a while longer, until the puppy got tired of playing and curled up in a corner at her feet, purring softly as it fell into a deep sleep. Only then did Xue Nai stop writing.

She figured that Kokushibo would probably be returning to Infinity Castle soon.

She tiptoed to the puppy, knelt down, and stroked its fluffy little head, her voice low:

"Little puppy, I'm going to study with my teacher now. Be good here by yourself and don't run away. I'll be right back."

The puppy seemed to understand; its ears twitched, it stuck out its tongue and licked her palm, then snuggled closer to the warmth and went back to sleep.

After connecting with Nakime through consciousness, Yukina was teleported to the door of the Japanese-style room in Kokushimona's room.

Kokushibo has not returned yet.

This time, Xue Nai didn't wait foolishly at the door. She remembered that the teacher had said last time that she could go in by herself, so she gently opened the paper door and went in.

She sat down at the low table, took out paper and pen, reviewed the writing of the fifty sounds again, and even opened the booklet on the table to look at the parts she had learned last time.

When Kokushibo returned to the Infinity Castle after finishing his business and stepped into his room, this was the scene he saw.

The child sat upright at the low table, head down, holding a pen in his little hand, carefully writing something stroke by stroke. Several sheets of paper beside him were already filled.

What a diligent child.

Kokushibo's six eyes lingered on her for a moment, a faint sense of approval flashing through his mind.

They are more focused and self-disciplined than many children.

He walked in silently and sat down in his usual spot.

When Xue Nai noticed his arrival, she quickly put down her pen, sat up straight, raised her little face, and looked at him with bright eyes:

"Teacher, you're back!"

"...Hmm." Kokushibo replied.

This time, instead of sitting opposite him as before, she quietly moved closer to Kokushibo and sat down next to him.

Kokushibo didn't say anything, but simply pushed the prepared paper and pen in front of her and began his routine review of what he had taught her last time.

Xue Nai took a deep breath and picked up her pen.

She was a little nervous, but she tried her best to calm herself down, recalling what was in her mind, and wrote down the content of the assessment stroke by stroke.

Kokushibo's gaze swept across the paper, pausing for a moment.

"...Very good."

He gave a brief comment.

Upon hearing the praise, Xue Nai's tense face instantly relaxed.

She moved a little closer to Kokushibo.

"It's because the teacher taught so well!"

The subsequent teaching content continued to follow the progress in that introductory book.

Kokushibo first reviewed what she had learned last time with her, and only after confirming that she had mastered it firmly did they begin to learn new things.

His explanation was as clear as ever.

However, when she got to a few points that were also easy to confuse, Yukina's brows furrowed slightly involuntarily, and a look of confusion flashed in her eyes.

She looked up, wanting to ask the teacher, but hesitated for a moment and swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

If you ask...

Will the teacher think that Xue Nai is stupid?

You don't even understand something this simple?

Uncle Doma said he could learn it after just one look...

Maybe... we shouldn't ask anymore.

Think about it again, go back and write it a few more times, and maybe you'll understand.

She pursed her lips, lowered her head, and pretended to listen attentively, suppressing her doubts and planning to figure them out on her own after class.

Today's lecture covered a bit more new material than usual.

Kokushibo originally thought that, based on the child's usual habits, he would ask a lot of questions today.

But today, she was unusually quiet, just burying herself in writing, occasionally looking up, but her eyes seemed to wander.

Was it because what was taught today was too simplistic, and she already understood it completely, so there was no need to ask questions?

A guess flashed through Kokushibo's mind.

After all, they are of Muzan's bloodline. Even if they were not used to it at first, it is normal for them to have a talent that is superior to that of ordinary people later on.

Now that all of today's teaching content has been completed, we are entering the final stage.

Kokushibo raised several questions that involved a combination of old and new knowledge and required some thought to answer.

Yukina was stunned.

Her face flushed red at a visible speed, and she stammered for a long time, the answer swirling around on her lips, but she couldn't form a complete sentence.

The usual smoothness was gone, leaving only stumbling and panic.