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

She tilted her head and thought for a long time, her brows furrowed tightly.

The moonlight shone on her fair face, and the way she tried so hard to remember was rather endearing.

After a long while, she lowered her head in frustration.

"I...I don't remember."

"Things before I became a ghost are all blurry... After I came here, they kept calling me 'Mom'..."

Shirakawa Yu's expression was a little strange...

Are you implying that I should call you "Mom" too?

Thinking about the future... "Mom, pour me a glass of water." "Mom, scrub my back." "Mom, warm my bed." "Mom, stay with me..."

???

Am I really that weird?!

Chapter 59 'Little Branch' and Her Sister's Encounter~

No no no!

The more I think about it, the more something seems off!

Shirakawa Yu quickly banished this 'terrifying' thought from her mind.

Looking at the spider mother in front of him, Shirakawa Yu pondered for a moment, then said, "Let me give you a new name."

The spider mother blinked. "A new name?"

Shirakawa Yu nodded, thoughtfully observing the spider mother's immense advantage...

"Hmm... how about 'Little Branch'?"

Small branches bear abundant fruit~

"Little...twig?" the mother spider murmured, a glimmer of light slowly appearing in her eyes. "I have a name?"

"Yes, Xiaozhi." Shirakawa Yu reached out and ruffled her hair. "From today onwards, you are Xiaozhi, my little maid and experiment number one. Remember that?"

"I remember, I remember!" Xiaozhi nodded vigorously, her tears turning into a smile.

That smile was faint, tinged with tears, and it softened the heart of anyone who saw it.

As Tanjiro watched this scene, the last bit of resistance in his heart dissipated.

He remembered that when Nezuko first became a demon, she was just as small and trembling, curled up in a bamboo basket.

“Little Sister,” Tanjiro crouched down and said earnestly, “if you are truly willing to repent, I… I am willing to believe you this once.”

Looking into Tanjiro's sincere eyes, Xiaozhi felt a lump in her throat again.

She quickly lowered her head and whispered, "Th-thank you..."

"Alright, that's enough chit-chat." Shirakawa Yu stood up and clapped his hands.

"Kozue, tell Tanjiro about the situation in the mountains. Besides you, what other demons are there?"

Xiaozhi's face turned pale again at the mention of this.

She shrank back, her fingers unconsciously twisting together: "And, there's 'older sister' and 'older brother,' and 'father'... The most formidable one is Lei, he's the 'youngest son,' but... but actually he's the one who's in charge of us..."

"Tired?" Tanjiro frowned.

“The fifth of the twelve demon moons,” Shirakawa Yu said.

Tanjiro gasped. Inosuke, too, forgot to struggle in mid-air.

Twelve Ghost Months!

That's a formidable enemy that the entire Demon Slayer Corps must be wary of!

An existence that only a Pillar-level being can deal with!

"You...you want to kill Lei?" Xiaozhi's voice trembled. "No...he'll kill you...his threads are incredibly strong, much, much harder than mine, and..."

"And what?" Shirakawa Yu asked.

"And when he gets angry, he'll..." Xiaozhi hugged her head, unable to continue.

Bai Chuanyu glanced at her frightened expression and didn't press her for more information.

He looked up and released Inosuke from his control.

With a "bang," Inosuke fell to the ground, his boar headgear askew.

"Bastard!!! I'm going to kill you!!!" He jumped up and was about to pounce on Shirakawa Yu.

"Inosuke, calm down," Tanjiro quickly stopped him. "Your senior has his plans..."

"What are you planning! He's going to raise a ghost! You saw it yourself!" Inosuke pointed at the twig. "This disgusting thing should be cut down! Hey, White-haired Girl! Come and fight me! If you lose, I'll chop off your neck!"

Xiaozhi was so frightened that she hid behind Shirakawa Yu.

Shirakawa Yu sighed and suddenly reached out and pressed down on Inosuke's pig-like head.

“Listen, boar boy.” His voice was calm, yet carried a hint of menace.

"Since you prefer to solve things the way you do in the mountains, then I'll tell you now!"

"This little girl is my trophy, and I'm protecting her now. If you want to touch her, you'd better ask the knife in my hand first."

Inosuke froze.

He's reckless, not stupid—the ability to control him out of thin air just now already demonstrated the difference in their strength.

"Tsk!" Inosuke slapped Shirakawa Yu's hand away, angrily crossing his arms. "Then tell me, what are we going to do next? There are other ghosts in the mountains!"

Shirakawa Yu looked around, his gaze falling on the messy footprints on the ground.

Among them, a small female footprint was found.

“Follow me.” He walked in the direction of the footprints. “Kozue, keep up. Tanjiro, watch Nezuko. Inosuke, you can come if you want, but don’t shout.”

"Who, who would shout like that!" Inosuke retorted stubbornly, but still followed after them.

Xiaozhi hesitated for a moment, then jogged to catch up with Shirakawa Yu and timidly tugged at the hem of his haori.

Shirakawa Yu looked down at her.

"If you're worried, just keep going," he said. "Just make sure you don't fall behind."

Xiaozhi nodded vigorously, her fingers clenching even tighter.

The group followed the footprints for about fifteen minutes. The woods gradually thinned out, and the sound of flowing water came from ahead.

It is a small stream.

On the opposite bank, a figure was surprised by their appearance.

She was a very beautiful girl.

Long white hair cascaded down to her chest, the ends tied with round, bright green hair beads that shimmered in the moonlight.

She was wearing the same moon-white kimono as Xiaozhi, with the neckline opened just right, revealing a section of her fair neck and above that, her exquisitely beautiful young face.

At this moment, she was observing the four people on the opposite bank with her light green eyes.

Besides surprise, his eyes held even more scrutiny and wariness.

Ultimately, her gaze settled on the small branch behind Shirakawa Yu.

Then she smiled.

Her smile was beautiful, but chillingly cold.

“Mom,” her voice was hoarse and magnetic, “you’ve brought guests.”

This voice reminded Shirakawa Yu of the 'Black Widow' from his past life.

I must say, it actually sounds pretty good.

Xiaozhi shuddered and gripped Shirakawa Haori's hand even tighter.

"I......"

"Don't stammer, I'm asking you a question." Spider Sister's voice gradually became stern.

"What are these people doing here? Why are you following behind them?"

Xiaozhi opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Good grief, who's the mom here?!

While internally complaining, Shirakawa Yu stepped forward and shielded Xiaozhi behind him.

“Let’s clean up,” he said with a smile. “This mountain is too dirty; it needs to be cleaned up.”

Spider Sister raised an eyebrow and looked Bai Chuanyu up and down again.

"The Demon Slayer Corps?" She tilted her head. "Mom, you've joined the Demon Slayer Corps? That won't do, it'll make you tired and angry."

"I...I didn't!" Xiaozhi said hurriedly, "I just..."

"Just what?" Spider Sister's voice turned cold. "Just that you think following humans is better than following us?"

"Mom, have you forgotten who gave you a 'home'? Who took you in when you were being chased by other ghosts?"

Xiaozhi bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes again.

Shirakawa Yu could feel that the hand holding Yuri was trembling.

"Take them in?" Bai Chuanyu scoffed. "You call that kind of life, where people tear off each other's faces and cut off each other's limbs, taking them in? Your family must be really cozy."

Spider Sister's eyes turned completely cold.

“Humans, you don’t understand.” She slowly walked ashore. “This is how the world of ghosts is, the strong prey on the weak. My mother was too weak, so I had to ‘teach’ her because it was tiring. It’s for her own good.”

"Bullshit," Shirakawa Yu said bluntly.

Spider Sister's face darkened.

She stopped looking at Shirakawa Yu and stared at Koji.

“Mom, I’m giving you one last chance.” Her voice was low. “Kill these people, or at least hold them off. I’m going back to get Lei.”