Demon Slayer: My breathing technique went awry after Nezuko pushed me down.

"Delicious...delicious..." A hoarse, sticky voice squeezed out of the ghost's throat, filled with uncontrollable ecstasy.

"Bro...you smell so good..."

Having rare blood types automatically attracts monsters, making it a troublesome situation that's impossible to avoid no matter where you go.

Bai Chuanyu mentally complained, but his face remained expressionless as he calmly looked at the other person.

The demon slurped his saliva, and finally shifted his gaze from Shirakawa Yu to Nezuko, whom he was holding in his arms.

"As long as I eat you... and the flesh in your arms..." His words suddenly trailed off, the greedy expression on his face froze for a moment, turning into confusion, "Huh?"

The ghost tilted its head, seemingly unable to process the information before it, and asked blankly, "You...you're holding a ghost, what are you doing?"

Shirakawa Yu did not answer.

He glanced at the direction the ghost had sneaked in; it was the path leading to the village at the foot of the mountain.

"Are you planning to go to that village?" Bai Chuanyu asked, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet night, carrying a chill.

He found it a bit strange. Master Urokodaki cleans this area regularly, so how could there still be fish that slipped through the net and got so close?

The ghost's attention was drawn back, and it let out a strange laugh: "Originally it was... but now that I've met you, there's no need to go."

"Eating you is equivalent to eating a hundred... no, two hundred ordinary people!" His gaze became fiery and crazed again, and thick saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Shirakawa Yu sighed.

To be honest, if he were alone and encountered this ghost, he would really like to have some fun with it.

Try out your normal skills, chat with them, and find out what's so special about this kind of demon that can slip past Urokodaki's nose.

After all, this was the first truly "complete" ghost he had faced alone. (The ghost head in the temple doesn't count.)

but--

He looked down at the little bean in his arms, which was freshly washed, clean, fragrant, and soft.

Sleeping with Nezuko like this at night, even my dreams would be sweet, right?

How could he let this dirty, smelly, drooling demon dirty his Nezuko?

Even a speck of dust is unacceptable.

Shirakawa Yu's gaze calmed down.

He bent down and gently placed the heavy cloth bag in his hands on the roadside.

Then, he adjusted Nezuko's position in his arms, holding her with one hand and slowly grasping the hilt of the Tang sword at his waist with his other free hand.

"Chong-"

The clear, resonant sound of a sword being drawn pierced the night.

The straight blade shimmered with an eerie pink light under the moonlight.

Seeing this, the ghost opposite let out a hoarse laugh: "Ha...you still want to resist? With your skinny arms and legs...and carrying a burden..."

Shirakawa Yu didn't adopt any starting stance. He simply took a deep breath and unleashed a horizontal slash in the direction of the demon, which was quite ordinary.

The movements even looked a bit slow and casual.

The ghost's laughter grew louder, tinged with contempt: "I haven't even gotten close yet, and you're already swinging your knife wildly in fear? You—"

His words came to an abrupt end.

Because on that seemingly slow-moving blade, a sudden change occurred!

A pale pink aura, carrying a slightly ambiguous and sweet fragrance, emanated from Bai Chuanyu's mouth and nose, instantly wrapping around his right arm holding the knife, clinging to the straight blade like a living thing!

Om-!

The blade emitted a low, soft hum.

The pink aura surged!

Solidify! Extend! Shape!

Almost in the blink of an eye, the straight blade, which was originally only the length of an arm, was completely enveloped by a layer of brilliant pink energy that seemed to be burning!

The energy surged forward, expanding wildly, and condensed into a gigantic, unimaginably large object in the forest clearing—

Pink light giant blade!

length......

It looks to be over twenty meters!

"Breath of Color, Form of One, Heroine."

The pink flames formed the outline of the giant blade, dazzling in the night, illuminating the surroundings with a hazy pink glow, and also reflecting on the ghost's face, which instantly twisted and filled with terror!

"Varied......?!"

The ghost only had time to utter a broken syllable.

The giant blade had silently swept across his neck.

Because it was so enormous, the pink giant blade did not have the sharpness to cut in two when it slashed through.

Instead, it resembles an eraser wiping away pencil marks.

The part below the ghost's neck and above its waist vanished without a trace in an instant.

This wasn't a decapitation; rather, most of his body was instantly crushed by the giant blade.

Only a lonely head remained, falling straight down next to two lonely legs.

A moment later, the two turned into black ash together and were scattered by the wind.

Meanwhile, Shirakawa Yu, who had long since sheathed his sword, bent down, picked up the cloth bag, and put Nezuko back into the most comfortable princess carry position.

As if nothing had happened, I started walking and continued up the mountain path.

When they returned to the mountain cabin, Tanjiro was still not back.

Shirakawa Yu put away the purchased items and started a fire to cook a simple dinner.

After quickly finishing his own meal, he served a portion to Master Urokodaki, who had moved to the warehouse for temporary accommodation.

After returning to his side, Shirakawa Yu began making the bed again.

He "naturally" laid out his and Nezuko's bedding very close together.

It was so close that at night, he could simply reach out and pull Nezuko, blanket and all, over.

After laying it out, he nodded in satisfaction, then went out to go up the mountain to call Tanjiro.

From afar, one could hear the rhythmic "clang! clang! clang!" sound.

Upon closer inspection, Tanjiro was covered in sweat, gritting his teeth, repeatedly slashing at the round boulder with his sword, sparks flying everywhere, leaving only shallow white marks on the stone.

"Dinner's ready!" Shirakawa Yu called out.

Tanjiro stopped what he was doing, panting heavily as he turned around. His face was covered in sweat and ash, making him look both disheveled and stubborn.

"Understood...I'll be right down." He wiped his sweat, looked at the unmoving stone with a hint of frustration in his eyes, but his fighting spirit quickly rekindled.

"Hurry up and go wash up first. You're covered in sweat, don't let the stench bother Nezuko."

Shirakawa Yu waved his hand, sending Tanjiro away, while he himself stayed behind.

With a slight push of his feet, he leaped onto the boulder.

He sat down cross-legged on the spot and took out a small wine pot and a packet of peanuts wrapped in oil paper from his pocket.

He opened the wine jug and, under the moonlight and amidst the snow, slowly poured himself a drink.

The peanuts were fried until crispy, making a "crunch" sound when you bit into them.

The sake brought a touch of warmth as it went down my throat.

It was extremely quiet all around, with only the sound of wind and snow.

The pot of wine was quickly emptied, and only a few peanuts remained.

After popping the last peanut into his mouth, Shirakawa Yu carefully put away the wine jug and oil paper, then patted the crumbs off his hands.

He did not get up immediately, but remained seated, his gaze sweeping across the empty space.

“It’s been a year…” He paused, a hint of helplessness in his voice, “Still won’t you come out and talk to me?”

A night breeze swept by, causing the snow accumulated on the treetops to fall in a soft rustling sound.

No one answered.

Only his own breathing could be heard, steady and deep.

Bai Chuanyu waited a few seconds, shook his head with a wry smile, jumped off the boulder, and prepared to leave.

Before he could take two steps, suddenly, a light, delicate voice came from behind him.

"You...you just killed a ghost?"

Bai Chuanyu paused, turned his back to the direction of the sound, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

He slowly turned around.

Under the moonlight, a slender figure appeared at the edge of the boulder, seemingly out of nowhere.

Chapter 17 Makomo Appears!

She was a black-haired girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a pink kimono, with fair skin and a delicate and lovely face.

A smiling fox mask, several sizes larger than her small face, was worn on the side of her head. The two small blue flowers on the mask added to her liveliness and playfulness.

At this moment, her beautiful light green eyes were looking at Bai Chuanyu with a hint of curiosity and timidity.

True wild rice.

We've been waiting for you!

Bai Chuanyu silently recited the name in his heart, a hint of amusement appearing on his face.

"I used breathing techniques; the blade didn't even touch the demon. How do you know I killed it?"

Makomo extended her slender finger and pointed to the Tang sword at Shirakawa Yu's waist, her voice still soft: "It still has a bit of a demonic feel to it... It didn't have that before."