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

He crouched down, letting Kanae lie on his back, then got up and continued speeding towards the Demon Slayer Corps.

After running for a while, he remembered Tamayo's earlier instructions.

So he took out the bamboo tube from his pocket, tilted his head back, and swallowed some of the contents.

"Well, this way we can get back faster."

Lingchuan Tetsu's body began to show signs of demonic transformation, while he didn't forget to explain something to Kanae on his back.

Kanae didn't speak, but silently stretched out her arms, gently gripped Lingchuan Tetsu's clothes, and pressed her cheek lightly against his back.

Finally, another two hours passed.

As the distant mountains gradually receded and the familiar building silhouette came into view, Ling Chuanche abruptly stopped in his tracks.

His heart began to race, and he took a deep breath.

The Demon Slayer Corps, he's finally back.

Chapter 58 Cangzhu is back

"Halt! Who are you?!"

Suddenly, a wary shout came from afar, and several members of the Hidden Army, holding weapons, looked warily toward Ling Chuanche.

Kanae dismounted from Lingchuan Tetsu's back and said softly, "Master, I'll go and tell them."

Ling Chuanche nodded.

Since I've been gone for a year, going back so abruptly might cause unnecessary panic. It would be better to have Kanae give me a heads-up beforehand.

Kanae walked up to the members of the Hidden Sect and calmly said, "I am the Flower Pillar, Kanae Butterfly."

"Hana-sama?!"

The group stared wide-eyed at the familiar figure before them, unable to believe their eyes.

"Are you really Lord Flower Pillar?!"

From their shocked reactions, Kanae realized that rumors about her murder had probably been circulating within the team for some time.

"I'm sorry, Lord Flower Pillar, because someone spread the news that you had been murdered..." The member of the Hidden faction hurriedly explained, his tone flustered.

Kanae smiled and shook her head: "I'm fine. Please go and inform the lord that Kanae, the Flower Pillar, has returned safely. Also..."

She glanced back at Ling Chuanche, who was standing in the darkness in the distance, and said in a soft but firm voice, "Tell the lord that Cangzhu has also returned."

"Cang...Cangzhu?!"

The hidden members were stunned, gasped in shock, and all turned to look behind Kanae.

Is Cangzhu the same Cangzhu?

Throughout the entire Demon Slayer Corps' history, only one person has ever truly held the title of "Azure Pillar."

But didn't that one die a year ago?

But Kanae was right in front of her; she would never joke about something like that.

The matter was of great importance, and the group's expressions immediately turned serious. They said to Kanae, "Please wait here for a moment!"

"Ah."

Several members of the Hidden Ones hurriedly left, while a few others remained, standing there with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness as they secretly glanced at the figure in the darkness in the distance.

Kanae walked back to Lingchuan Tetsu's side: "It's all done, Master."

Lingchuan Che stood under the tree, looking in the direction of the Demon Slayer Corps. The area was brightly lit, and even in the dead of night, many busy figures could be seen.

Hearing Kanae's voice, he looked away and sighed softly.

"You disappeared for a year. In that year, many new members joined the Demon Slayer Corps. Although they didn't know you, they had all heard about you," Kanae said softly. "The one who went into hiding will probably be back soon."

"Ah."

Kanae looked at her master, hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but ask, "Master, could you... change back to your original appearance first?"

Ling Chuanche's appearance is still in the process of becoming a demon, and going back with this appearance would be too easy to cause misunderstandings.

Ling Chuanche smiled wryly and helplessly: "The time hasn't come yet, there's nothing I can do." He doesn't have complete control over his body yet, and he can't control when the demon transformation fades away.

"...It's alright, Master." Kanae felt a pang of pain in her heart.

Master became like this all for their sake. If they could be more useful and help more, Master wouldn't have had to fight Upper Moon One alone.

Even when facing Upper Moon Two, despite his master's deep hatred for demons, he had to transform into the very form the demon he hated most in order to protect her.

Thinking of what she overheard at the door that night, a shadow of sadness crossed her eyes, but she regained her composure the next moment and slowly clenched her fist.

……

Several members of the Hidden Sect ran frantically toward their lord's mansion.

As they approached the mansion, they were stopped by the night watchman: "What are you doing? Our lord has already gone to sleep."

"Quickly..." the member of the Hidden Sect gasped for breath, shouting, "Let us in! We have something very important to report, it concerns Lord Flower Pillar, and, and Lord Azure Pillar..."

"What? Lord Flower Pillar and Lord Azure Pillar!?"

Upon hearing this, the hidden figure blocking the road suddenly narrowed his eyes and dared not obstruct the way any longer, immediately letting them pass.

Inside the house, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who was already fast asleep with Amane, sensed the hurried footsteps and quietly opened his eyes.

"I'll go take a look."

Amane woke up sometime earlier than Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and gently stroked her husband's thin face: "Sleep a little longer, I'll go check on him."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki shook his head and struggled to sit up: "It must be something very important so late, otherwise they wouldn't bother us so late."

Amane didn't speak again, silently got up, lit the lamp, and draped a coat over Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki pushed open the door and saw the member of the Hidden Sect kneeling in the courtyard, panting heavily.

"What's wrong?" Kagaya Ubuyashiki asked softly.

"Reporting to my lord! We just discovered Lord Flower Pillar while on patrol..."

"Hana-hall? Kanae?" Kagaya Ubuyashiki's breathing quickened instantly. "Really? Kanae is still alive? Did you see it with your own eyes?!"

"We saw it with our own eyes, there's no mistake."

Upon hearing this, Kagaya Ubuyashiki immediately gripped Amane's hand tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Tianyin also breathed a sigh of relief, tears welling up in her eyes.

A few days ago, Kanae went out on a mission, but her whereabouts are unknown.

The Demon Slayer Corps publicly stated that they couldn't draw a conclusion because no body had been found, but everyone knew the truth in their hearts.

The only possibility that the body couldn't be found was that it had been devoured by evil spirits. But no one wanted to accept this cruel reality.

Kanae Kocho, the orphan of the late Toru Ryokawa, the Wind Pillar Sanemi Shinazugawa, and the current Flower Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Because of the deep friendship between Toru Ryukawa and Kagaya Ubuyashiki, Kagaya Ubuyashiki had long regarded Kanae and Shinobu as his own children.

His best friend passed away, leaving behind these children, and Kagaya Ubuyashiki has been taking care of them like a father.

When Kagaya Ubuyashiki learned a few days earlier that Kanae might have been murdered, his grief was no less than anyone else's.

He couldn't even imagine how he would face his dearest friend Ling Chuanche in the afterlife after he died.

When Ling Chuanche was alive, his greatest wish was to watch his two children grow up safely.

Now that his best friend is gone, and as the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, he was unable to protect his child, who was sacrificed on the battlefield... This guilt and self-blame almost crushed him.

Upon hearing the news of Kanae's safe return, the overwhelming joy of finding her again instantly broke down all his defenses.

"Great...cough cough cough...Where is she? Tianyin, come with me quickly..."

Seeing his lord's excited expression, the hidden member hurriedly said, "There's one more thing, my lord..."

When we met Lady Huazhu, she told us to inform you that Lady Cangzhu had also returned!

Kagaya Ubuyashiki was being helped out by Amane when he heard the words of that member of the Hidden Sect, and his body froze.

He slowly turned his head to look at the speaker, his voice trembling: "What, what did you say?"

Chapter 59 Let Me Kill You, Master

In the dead of night, flocks of ravens flew out of the Demon Slayer Corps leader's mansion at top speed, cutting through the sky and flying in all directions.

At this moment, a figure sat alone in the Demon Slayer Corps cemetery, sitting by himself in front of a quiet tombstone.

"Master..."

The cold moonlight shone on Sanemi Shinazugawa's scarred profile and illuminated the name etched into his very bones on the tombstone.

The tomb of Cangzhu Lingchuan Che.

The grave was kept very clean, without even a fallen leaf on it, showing that it was regularly and carefully tended to.

Sanemi stretched out his calloused hand and gently stroked the cool surface of the monument.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"sorry......"

He lowered his head, pressing his forehead firmly against the tombstone, his shoulders trembling slightly uncontrollably.

I was with Kanae and the others when I came last time, so why, why...?

"I'm sorry, Master..."

"I'm so useless. I couldn't protect everything, not even my senior sister. I couldn't do anything..."

I'm already a Pillar, I've become so strong, so why can't I do anything...?

Hot tears streamed down the three scars on his face and dripped into the soil in front of the grave.

This usually irritable and easily angered Fengzhu, who was known as "heartless and tearless," was now like a child who had suffered a great injustice, crying uncontrollably at his master's grave.

"Master, I'm so useless..."

Just then, a series of rapid flapping sounds broke the deathly silence of the cemetery.