Demon Slayer: I am a Demon

Chapter 117 The First Signs of a Perfect Body (4/4)

Warm sunlight streamed through the window of the dilapidated house. The girl, who had slept soundly all night, opened her eyes and habitually turned her head. At the wooden table in the room, her uncle had already gotten up and was sitting there, wiping the blade of a knife with a rag.

Good morning, Uncle.

Su Mu, who was wiping his sword, turned around, looked at Kanao, and smiled: "Good morning, Kanao."

The girl quickly got up, washed up, and then went to her uncle: "I'm going to practice my sword!"

I'll be with you.

He handed the cleaned Nichirin Blade to the girl, then followed her out the door, and picked up a wooden sword that had already been whittled.

The shouts then rang out clearly in the courtyard.

Not long after, the Kamado family also got up and saw the man and girl practicing at the door.

Wisps of smoke rose and then dissipated into the distance with the gentle breeze.

"call----"

Another sword thrust was delivered, and the girl stopped, panting. Su Mu dodged to the side somewhat awkwardly, looking at Kanao, who seemed to have lost control of her strength and was gently rubbing her arm. He shook his head helplessly: "No need to deliberately hold back. You know your uncle will be fine."

"I know, Uncle."

Kanao tilted her head back and gave a sweet smile: "I won't stop next time."

"Ha, I'm afraid it will be the same next time."

Su Mu shook his head, having already seen through Kanao's little trick.

"Let's go eat."

He reached out and took the girl's hand.

The Kamado family had prepared a sumptuous lunch. With good ingredients and Kamado Aoi's excellent cooking skills, everyone enjoyed the meal.

Su Mu also ate some food and drank a few cups of wine. After everyone finished eating, the children went to play, and Mizuko went to the side to look after them. Kamado Aoi went to wash the dishes and chopsticks. Only Tanjiro, Su Mu, and Kanao remained on the mat.

Su Mu poured Tanjiro a cup of wine.

Yesterday's murder made the boy's eyes much calmer, shedding much of his childishness and revealing a sharper edge.

Tanjiro finished his drink and then looked at Su Mu.

"Your father told you about 'breathing' before, but could he have told you about 'sword form'?"

Tanjiro looked puzzled: "What sword type?"

"It seems he hasn't mentioned it, or rather, your father doesn't know either." Seeing Tanjiro's appearance, Su Mu roughly understood.

Tanjiro didn't quite understand.

"The breath your father spoke of to you" is actually the breath of the sun.

"Sun Breathing?"

"Yes, it's also called the Initial Breathing, the breathing style left behind by Yoriichi Tsugikuni, which your Kamado clan has protected for generations," and the breathing style created by Yoriichi Tsugikuni. However, because the energy of the Sun Breathing is too strong and difficult to inherit, the Demon Slayer Corps developed five basic breathing styles for it. Among all the breathing styles, the Sun Breathing is the most damaging to demons, far surpassing the others.

Tanjiro was quite taken aback as this was the first time he had heard of these things.

The "sword shape" is what is paired with "breathing". Pairing with these "sword shapes" can better bring out the powerful energy that "breathing" brings to the body.

"Did our kitchen also inherit that sword shape?"

"Yes, it was inherited. Your father didn't tell you, and he probably never knew, but actually, the sword shapes that correspond to 'Sun Breathing' are hidden in the 'Hinokami Kagura' dance that your Kamado family has passed down through generations. This dance not only contains 'Sun Breathing', but also incorporates the sword shapes associated with it."

Tanjiro's eyes widened, clearly not expecting that his "Hinokami Kagura Dance" contained so much more.

Kanao, who was standing next to her, was also listening attentively.

"Now, Tanjiro, could you tell me about the Hinokami Kagura dance?"

Su Mu took a sip of wine, looked at Tanjiro, and asked with a smile.

"it is good."

Tanjiro nodded without hesitation, which surprised Su Mu. He thought the other party would at least consider it. He couldn't help but glance at Tanjiro and vaguely felt that Tanjiro's subtle wariness of him seemed to have lessened a lot.

"However, sir, why do you know so much about these things, even things that we ourselves don't know?"

Tanjiro didn't immediately begin to explain, but instead asked a question that had been bothering him: "Compared to himself, the demon before him seems to know more about Kamado than he does."

Su Mu naturally couldn't tell them the real reason, but instead joked, "Perhaps I really am a reincarnation of a god or Buddha. Many secrets that are to you are completely known to me, a god or Buddha."

Tanjiro paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said in a low voice, "If you were truly a god, there would be no need for Tanjiro to explain the Hinokami Kagura dance to you."

"ha----"

Upon hearing this, Su Mu couldn't help but laugh, picked up his wine cup and took a sip: "Indeed, if gods and Buddhas truly existed in the world, then demons should no longer exist. Many people have said that Yoriichi Tsugikuni was a god or Buddha walking among humans, but if Yoriichi Tsugikuni were truly a god or Buddha, how could he have allowed Muzan Kibutsuji to escape in the first place, and how could he have ultimately died of old age? In the end, he was just a slightly stronger ordinary person."

"Alright, enough of that. Tell me about the 'Hinokami Dance' that your Kamado family has passed down through generations."

"Um.

Tanjiro nodded: "The Hinokami Kagura dance is a dance performed by our Kamado family at the beginning of each New Year to pray to the Hinokami for peace. It has a total of twelve dance forms, and the first dance form is————"

As he recounted the story, Tanjiro stood up, recalling how his father used to dance this dance, dancing tirelessly all day long.

While Tanjiro was performing the Hinokami Kagura dance, Su Mu silently observed him, and at the same time, he asked Tanjiro to describe how his father used to breathe. Tanjiro was about to stop after performing the Hinokami Kagura dance once, but Su Mu made him continue.

So Tanjiro had no choice but to continue dancing. At the same time, knowing that the Hinokami Kagura Dance contained the sword form of the Sun Breathing, Tanjiro was also pondering it while dancing.

Su Mu squinted, watching Tanjiro's dance rhythm.

A breeze blew in, and the sounds of children playing came from the courtyard. At that moment, Su Mu closed his eyes and began to imagine Tanjiro dancing in his mind. The twelve different dance styles gradually changed his sword-wielding posture.

The rhythm of each step and the amplitude of each wrist tremor.

The rhythm that should accompany breathing.

His breathing suddenly became long and deep, as if the surrounding wind was being drawn to him. He took a deep breath, and a large amount of oxygen was drawn into his lungs. As the oxygen accumulated, the flow of his blood began to accelerate, and his strength began to increase.

Similarly, there is a heat-inducing energy, like that of the sun.

When this energy surges through the lungs, the body instinctively feels uncomfortable; it is the power of sunlight dispelling the darkness within the body.

After a while, he opened his eyes and exhaled a heavy breath, his breath lingering.

"Is this the Breath of the Sun and the sword form that comes with it?"

The memory that lingered in his mind brought a look of surprise and excitement to Su Mu's face. Back then, when he was learning the "Flying Sword Style," it was actually very difficult to truly understand it.

But at this moment, after only hearing Tanjiro's account and thinking about it for a bit, his mind worked quickly, and he understood everything very clearly.

It seemed like all of a sudden—

I've become smarter.

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