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

Chapter 39 "Tanjiro, your sister and brother are dead."

"Where is my sister? Where is my senior brother?!"

Tanjiro almost lunged forward, but Tamayo slightly dodged him.

"Please calm down."

Tamayo's voice was soft, yet full of reason, "Your sister and senior brother..."

She paused, then lowered her eyes.

Tanjiro's heart clenched instantly. "What happened to them?!"

"It's very likely... he's already dead."

Tamayo raised her eyes and looked directly into Tanjiro's instantly constricted pupils. "In the commotion just now, I sensed Muzan's power. Your senior brother clashed with him head-on."

"Impossible!" Tanjiro practically roared, his voice trembling with excitement.

"My senior brother is incredibly strong! He always kills ghosts in a single move! Even Master says he'll be amazing in the future—"

"You have absolutely no understanding of Muzan's strength."

Tamayo interrupted him, her tone still calm, "Don't even mention that your senior brother is just a new member of the team. Even if he were a Pillar-level powerhouse, the chances of him surviving a one-on-one confrontation with Muzan would be extremely slim."

"I don't believe it!" Tanjiro clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. "My senior brother... he's different!"

"Whether it's a hand demon or a swamp demon, no matter how troublesome the demon is, he can handle it with ease!"

"Master himself said that my senior brother's future achievements will definitely surpass his! How could he possibly—"

"Seeing is believing."

Tamayo sighed softly and stretched out her slender, smooth arm.

As she traced her fingernail across her fair skin, drops of blood slowly dripped onto the ground, quickly spreading into a hazy curtain of light.

"This is how I remember him fighting, hundreds of years ago, when he was still by Muzan's side."

The light screen flickered, and the scene appeared.

It was a deluge of blood-red blades, a terrifying force that tore the entire street apart in an instant, a despair that crushed human swordsmen before they even had a chance to draw their swords...

Tanjiro's eyes widened, and he stopped breathing.

That wasn't a battle; it was crushing, it was a massacre.

"This was only a few hundred years ago." Tamayo withdrew her gradually healing arm, and the light screen dissipated.

"He's only going to get stronger now."

She looked at Tanjiro, whose face had turned pale, and asked, "Do you still think your senior brother can win?"

Tanjiro's lips trembled, and his body shook.

Those images assaulted him, yet the image of Bai Chuanyu kept flashing through his mind.

The senior brother who laughed and ruffled his hair, the senior brother who stood in front of him, the senior brother who hummed a strange tune while holding Nezuko...

“I…” his voice was hoarse, “I’m going to find him, I don’t believe it.”

Tamayo frowned slightly. "If you go out and wander around now, you might die too."

"I'll go even if it kills me!"

Tanjiro suddenly looked up, his eyes burning with unwavering determination, "Even if I die, I will die with Nezuko and my senior!"

Tamayo shook her head and sighed, "Besides throwing your life away, don't you have any other ideas?"

Tanjiro was stunned: "...What...idea?"

"Live on...and take revenge!"

Tamayo took a step closer, her voice gentle yet each word filled with power, “Only by surviving can you avenge your senior brother and sister.”

"By preserving our bodies and increasing our strength, we will have a chance to kill Muzan in the future."

Tanjiro remained silent.

He clenched his teeth, his cheeks tense, tears welling up in his eyes, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

A few seconds later, he turned around abruptly and walked towards the door.

"If you don't even have the courage to go find them..."

With his back to Tamayo, his voice choked yet resolute, "What do I have to talk about revenge for?"

Tamayo looked at his straight but slightly trembling back and gently shook her head.

Just then, the air distorted slightly, and Yushiro's figure appeared in the doorway, blocking Tanjiro's path.

He crossed his arms, looking impatient, and was carrying a dusty cloth bag in his hand.

"No need to go."

Yushiro pursed his lips. "Miss Tamayo already sent me to the scene of the incident."

Tanjiro froze. "...What did you see?"

Yushiro didn't say anything, he just handed the cloth bag forward.

Tanjiro took it with trembling hands.

The cloth bag was a bit heavy and smelled... of blood.

He took a deep breath and untied the rope.

Inside were several broken, straight blades and a bloodstained hilt.

There was also a small, cracked bamboo tube.

Tanjiro's breathing stopped.

He could smell it, and he could see it clearly: this was his senior brother's Nichirin Blade, and this was the little bamboo tube that his younger sister Nezuko carried in her mouth every day.

“Senior brother… Nezuko…” he murmured, his fingers tracing the bloodstains on the hilt of the sword, his pupils trembling.

"Please accept my condolences." Yushiro turned his face away, his tone softening slightly.

"Your senior brother... is pretty powerful. There's not only his blood on the ground, but also Muzan's. That bastard probably hasn't been injured in hundreds of years."

"His senior brother injured Muzan?" Tamayo's eyes widened slightly.

Seeing Yushiro nod, she showed surprise and regret.

"To be able to injure Muzan so soon after joining the team... Such a brilliant talent, what a pity."

Tanjiro didn't say anything.

He held the broken knife and the bamboo tube, and slowly knelt down on the ground.

His body curled up, and his shoulders began to shake violently.

It started as suppressed sobs, then turned into broken whimpers, and finally—

"Ughh ...

howling.

Tanjiro, like a lost child who could never find his way home, clutched the broken sword and bamboo tube tightly to his chest.

Tears and snot streamed down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Yushiro watched, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something sarcastic, but in the end he just clicked his tongue and turned his head away.

Tamayo lowered her eyes and sighed softly.

They've seen this scene far too many times...

So many that it's almost numbing...

Only Tanjiro's heart-wrenching cries remained in the room.

And just as this sorrow was about to solidify into reality—

"All you do is cry, cry, cry."

A voice, clearly panting but still nonchalant, suddenly rang out from the corner of the room.

"How filthy and unlucky! My foolish junior brother."

Tanjiro's crying stopped abruptly.

He suddenly looked up, snot bubbles still hanging from the tip of his nose, his bloodshot eyes wide open, staring at the source of the sound.

In the shadows of the corner, a figure leaned against the wall and slowly straightened up.

Her white robe was torn in several places, covered in dust, and her face was somewhat pale.

But his eyes were still bright and sparkling, and a smug smile was playing on his lips.

Shirakawa Yu.

In his arms, he was still tightly holding a small pink figure, Nezuko in her bean form, her two little hands gripping his clothes tightly.

A pair of large, pink eyes, brimming with tears from the wind, looked at Tanjiro with concern.

Tanjiro's mouth was agape, his jaw dropping to his chest.

Tamayo and Yushiro were also completely stunned, their expressions of astonishment.

Shirakawa Yu caught his breath, wiped the dust off his face, then tilted his head and winked at Tanjiro, who was frozen in place.

"What are you looking at? Do you really think I'm dead?"

Chapter 40 First meeting with Tamayo, teasing Tamayo.

Upon arriving, Shirakawa Yu unceremoniously borrowed Ms. Tamayo's bathroom to take a shower.

The cold sweat from being frightened by Muzan was washed away, and the fatigue from running at full speed was also somewhat relieved.

Luckily, I was quick-witted!

Luckily, I ran fast!

Fortunately, Muzan didn't take him seriously!