Demon Slayer: After raising Shinobu, I died in front of her.

“Tetsu’s personality is such that he always likes to keep everything to himself,” Kagaya Ubuyashiki sighed.

Ubuyashiki Amane thought for a moment and said, "Shinobu's birthday is coming up soon, so let's give her a present too."

"Okay."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you to help me prepare."

......

"Master."

After resting in the hospital for two days, Shinazugawa Sanemi finally recovered and arrived at the training base, where he saw Ryoukawa Tetsu sitting by the lake.

Ling Chuanche looked at him: "Are you injured?"

"They're all minor injuries."

Shinazugawa Sanemi scratched his head and smiled, "My senior sister has already taken care of it for me."

Senior sister?

Ling Chuanche's brow twitched slightly. Did Sanemi run into Kanae and Shinobu at the hospital?

"You saw them?"

"Yes!"

Shinazugawa Sanemi seemed not to notice Ayakawa Tetsu's expression and said with a smile, "Both of my senior sisters have taken good care of me. When I first arrived after being injured, it was Senior Sister Shinobu who treated my injuries."

"How are they doing lately?"

"How are they? My senior sisters? They're doing great!"

Ling Chuanche lowered his head and after a long while spoke, "Then go for me again."

He took out a glass hairpin with a wisteria pattern from his pocket: "Today is Ren's birthday, please give this to her for me."

Instead of answering, Shinazugawa Sanemi asked in confusion, "Master, why don't you go yourself?"

Chapter 29 Master and Disciple Meet Again

Ling Chuanche didn't speak, he just looked at him silently, exuding an unquestionable silence.

Sanemi Shinazugawa scratched his head helplessly: "Alright, alright, I'll make the trip for you then."

"Ah."

……

Today is Ren's birthday.

The moonlight outside the window was beautiful, but Ren was not happy.

In previous years, her master and sister would accompany her to cut the cake and make a wish at this time, but this year only she and her sister were left.

Kanae happened to be free of missions today, so the two of them sat in the room with a delicate little cake in front of them, with a single candle sticking out of the top.

She didn't tell anyone about her birthday, just like when the three of them lived together as master and disciple, she didn't want outsiders to disturb them.

That place used to be a little world for the three of them, master and disciple, but now, only she and her sister are there.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, are Kanae and Shinobu inside?"

A somewhat restrained voice came from outside.

Ren frowned instantly: "What's this guy doing here again? Wasn't he already fully recovered?!"

Kanae gently advised, "Go and take a look."

Shinobu stood up, flung open the door, and looked at the somewhat uneasy Shinazugawa Sanemi standing outside. He asked impatiently, "What are you doing here?"

“Ah, um…” Sanemi swallowed hard and handed over an exquisite wooden box with both hands. “Today is your birthday, Senior Sister. This is a gift from Master to you.”

He opened the box, and inside lay a beautiful glass hairpin with wisteria flower patterns, reflecting a warm and translucent luster under the moonlight.

Kanae, who had heard the noise, also came out of the house.

Ren looked at the hairpin, her eyes flickered, and she suddenly asked, "Has Master arrived?"

Shinazugawa Sanemi glanced subconsciously at the outside of the wall, then quickly looked away and said, "No, my master went on a mission and asked me to bring him along."

His little tricks couldn't escape Ren's eyes.

Ren snorted and turned her head away: "I don't want it. You can take it back to him! He doesn't want me anymore, so I don't want his things."

Kanae said softly, "Shinobu, don't talk nonsense." She looked at Shinazugawa, who was standing outside the door, nervous and at a loss, and gently added, "I'm sorry to trouble you to make this trip. Please go back and tell my master that Shinobu and I are doing well now. Thank you for your concern."

"……Um."

Shinazugawa Sanemi blushed and lowered his head.

"Sister, why are you saying so much!"

Ren suddenly shouted loudly, her voice trembling slightly: "Anyway, we're unwanted kids! They were with me for my birthday last year, but they didn't even show their faces this year!"

When we went to Fujishiyama, Sabito was right. Now we've become wild children!

Sister, you were injured not long ago and you're still not fully recovered, right? I wonder if it still hurts... Never mind, sister, no one will listen to these things, and no one will care! Who knows, maybe we'll die somewhere and no one will care!"

"Shinobu, don't talk nonsense!" Kanae stood anxiously to the side, wanting to interrupt Shinobu as she watched her talk more and more outrageous.

Shinazugawa Sanemi lowered his head, frantically chanting in his mind: I'm invisible, I'm invisible...

Ren's gaze was fixed on the wall, as if he could see through it and see the figure leaning against it.

She clenched her fists, her eyes red-rimmed, but stubbornly tilted her head back, refusing to let the tears fall.

Behind the wall,

Ling Chuanche listened to those words that were piercing to the heart and sighed slowly.

He knew that Ren was saying these things to deliberately provoke him into going out.

He knows everything.

But when he heard her say those things with his own ears, that no one wanted her, that Kanae was injured, and the last sentence, "No one will care if I die in the future," he finally couldn't control himself.

Ultimately, the reason he forced himself not to visit Kanae and Shinobu during this period was not only because they were growing up and needed to avoid suspicion, but also because he wanted them to learn to be independent and not overly dependent on him.

But now, after hearing Ren's words, a sudden, reckless thought welled up in his mind.

who cares.

It's just that the master wanted to celebrate his disciple's birthday. What's wrong with that?

He slowly emerged from behind the wall, his dark haori swaying gently in the night breeze.

Looking at that familiar figure, all the grievances in my heart surged out like a flood bursting its banks in that instant.

But she didn't move forward, nor did she throw herself into her master's arms and act coquettishly as she used to.

Instead, she stood still, tilting her head back and staring intently at Ling Chuanche, as if trying to see something tangled in his face. Her tone was full of accusation: "Didn't you say you didn't want us anymore? What are you doing here?"

Seeing her red eyes and stubborn expression, Ling Chuanche remained silent for a moment, then said, "I didn't abandon you."

Seemingly surprised that after thinking for so long, he could only manage such a clumsy sentence, Ren couldn't help but chuckle, thinking that his master hadn't changed at all, still that taciturn blockhead.

She gave a soft snort, turned around haughtily, and walked back into the house, leaving him with her back turned.

"Master."

Kanae walked towards Toru Ayakawa, her face bearing her usual gentle smile.

Ling Chuanche's eyes darted away, especially after hearing Shinobu say that Kanae had recently been injured. He felt even more guilty and dared not look her in the eye.

"sorry......"

“I know, Master.”

Kanae suddenly spoke softly, her gentle smile still on her face, but her eyes had unknowingly turned red and filled with tears.

"You don't need to say anything, I understand."

He clearly cares about Ren and her the most, and misses them more than anyone else, yet he has persisted in not visiting them for so long.

For the sake of our reputation, for the sake of our growth, you are the one who suffers the most in your heart, enduring this torment alone.

But she didn't say any of these words. She suppressed the surging longing in her heart, gently raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said softly, "Please go in and see Ren. Don't be fooled by her stubbornness, Ren misses you terribly."

Ling Chuanche did not move. He just looked at Kanae quietly, his eyes filled with long-suppressed relief and tenderness.

"You are really great."

Kanae was slightly taken aback.

"For almost a year, you've killed so many demons and managed this place so well with Shinobu... I heard you named it 'Butterfly House.' You're really amazing, Kanae." Lingchuan Tetsu's voice was deep and gentle, and every word seemed to strike her heart.

pat!

Despite her efforts to control herself and her self-reminders that she didn't want to cry, Kanae's strong defenses crumbled instantly upon hearing her master's belated affirmation, and she could no longer hold back her tears.

All her hard work and effort during this period was for this moment. She lived alone in the Butterfly Mansion with her younger sister, trying to prove that she had grown up and could stand on her own, just so that he could see her growth.

And now, she has finally waited for it.

"Master..."

Ling Chuanche reached out and awkwardly but gently touched her head, his voice slightly hoarse: "I'm sorry, I made you suffer. Are you badly hurt?"

Kanae could no longer hold back and suddenly threw herself into Ayakawa Tetsu's arms, like a child who had been wronged and finally found someone to rely on, and choked up silently.

Lingchuan Che's hands froze in mid-air before slowly falling. This was the first time in Kanae's life that she had thrown herself into his arms so unreservedly. A gentle smile appeared on his lips as he patted her back lightly, as if soothing a frightened little animal.

The night breeze swept away all the barriers and estrangement, leaving only the long-lost warmth of family.

Chapter 30 Reconciliation

As Kanae pushed open the door, she walked in, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes, with Toru Ayakawa silently following behind. Sanemi Shinazugawa, on the other hand, kept his head down, wishing he could shrink into a crack in the wall and tiptoe in like a transparent person.

Inside the room, Shinobu sat alone in the shadows of a corner, hugging his knees tightly and burying his head between his legs, as if this would shut him out of the world.

Seeing this, Kanae sighed softly, tugged at Shinazugawa Sanemi's sleeve, and led him away.