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

A raven swooped down and landed on his scarred shoulder, its voice trembling with excitement: "Sanemi! Sanemi! The Flower Pillar Lord is back! The Flower Pillar Lord is back!"

Lord Flower Pillar also brought back someone who appears to be Lord Azure Pillar!

Sanemi's gaze, which had been lost in grief, froze instantly. He abruptly raised his head, staring intently at the kasugata crow, his voice cracking with extreme agitation: "What did you say?! Say it again!"

"Lord Hanahashi has really returned! The members of the Hidden Army saw it with their own eyes. It's right outside the Demon Slayer Corps. Our Master has already gone there, and the others have also received the news and are heading there!"

"boom--"

Sanemi felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind.

Ignoring his injuries, his heavy steps instantly became light, and he transformed into a blur as he sprinted wildly toward the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.

The night wind whistled past his ears, but he felt it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

Meanwhile, at the Butterfly Mansion.

The night was deep, and the entire Butterfly House was shrouded in silence.

Kanao stood quietly in front of a tightly closed door, inside which was her older sister, Shinobu Kocho.

Since Ren came back a few days ago, she has locked herself in her room and hasn't come out since.

Kanao's eyes were filled with uncontrollable sorrow.

In just one year, they lost two of their closest relatives, and now only Sister Ren and she remain.

She stood guard at the door like a statue, clutching the coin left behind by Ling Chuanche tightly in her hand.

Just then, a series of hurried and disorderly footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the courtyard.

Immediately afterward, Tachibana, a former member of the Demon Slayer Corps' medical department who had long since retired, rushed in from outside, stumbling and falling in the flat corridor because she was running so fast. But she didn't care, got up and continued running wildly, her face full of tears of ecstatic joy.

"Ren! Come out now!"

Orange's shout broke the deathly silence of the Butterfly Mansion.

She rushed to Kanao, panting, and shouted, "Quick! Kanao, call Shinobu out! Something terrible has happened! Something incredibly good!"

Kanao was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, the door creaked open.

Shinobu Kocho stood pale-faced in the doorway, her signature smile still on her lips, but her eyes were lifeless: "What's wrong? Why all the noise? Is there some urgent mission again?"

"It's not a mission! Shinobu!" Tachibana was so excited she was almost incoherent. She grabbed Shinobu's hand, her eyes red. "The Lord just sent word! Lady Hanabira is back! Kanae isn't dead! She's back safe and sound!"

Shinobu Kocho's smile froze instantly, and she stood there dumbfounded as if struck by lightning: "You... what did you say?"

"And there's more! And there's more!" Orange wiped away her tears and continued to shout, "Lord Cangzhu came back with Lord Huazhu! He's back too."

Ren paused for a moment, then his expression suddenly turned calm, and he shook off Ju Zi's hand: "This joke isn't funny."

Orange quickly pointed to the shokuya (crows) in the distant sky: "I'm not lying to you, and I'm not joking. Look at those shokuya, those are the shokuya that the Lord sends messages to the Pillars."

This news has been blocked by the Lord. It was someone from the Hidden Members who specifically asked me to tell you this!

How could I possibly joke about something like this with you!

Clang—

Kanao's coin fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Ren stared blankly at the soaring ravens in the sky, and the next moment, her figure had disappeared from the spot.

Seeing her sister leave, Kanao immediately took off running...

Lingchuan Tetsu sat quietly under the tree, waiting with Kanae in the night.

"They should be here soon." Kanae silently calculated the time in her mind and whispered in Ayakawa Tetsu's ear.

"Hmm." Ling Chuanche nodded slightly.

"Master, guess who will come first?" Kanae blinked and asked with a hint of playfulness.

"How would I know?" Ling Chuanche smiled helplessly.

"Who does Master want to come first? Who does Master want to see first?" Kanae pressed on relentlessly, her tone laced with a hint of slyness.

Ling Chuanche was slightly taken aback, and the image of that small, always temperamental figure instantly flashed into his mind.

Will she be the first one?

Just then, a series of hurried and heavy footsteps suddenly came from afar, accompanied by suppressed breathing, growing louder as they approached.

Lingchuan Tetsu and Kanae turned their heads to look at the same time.

A white figure came running wildly through the night, its signature white hair flying wildly in the night wind, accompanied by tears that drifted down its path.

"It's Sanemi," Kanae said with a smile as she stood up.

Ling Chuanche slowly stood up, his gaze fixed on the figure rushing madly toward them from not far away.

Looking at the boy he hadn't seen for a year, his eyes revealed a deep sense of relief and heartache.

A year had passed, and Sanemi had grown considerably taller and looked more robust and muscular. However, his face, which was already covered in scars, seemed to have gained a few more new marks.

"Sanemi," Lingchuan Tetsu called softly, his tone filled with the tenderness of a long-awaited reunion.

However, the next moment, the running figure suddenly stopped, without the slightest hesitation or tenderness, Sanemi directly drew the Nichirin Blade from his waist!

The response to Ling Chuanche's gentle call was a heart-wrenching and resounding roar:

"Wind Breathing - First Form - Dust Whirlwind - Slash!!"

Chapter 60 It's as if I've never left (Third update)

A look of surprise flashed across Ling Chuanche's face as he watched the wind blade, carrying killing intent, rush towards him. He had no choice but to immediately dodge to the side.

He frowned, his face full of confusion and bewilderment.

From the way Sanemi charged at him and the look in his eyes, he could clearly sense that the child really wanted to kill him!

"What are you doing, Sanemi!" Kanae scolded urgently from the side. "What's wrong with you! Can't you tell who we are!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa gripped his Nichirin Blade tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

His face was covered in tears, but he managed a smile that looked even more like a grimace: "Of course I could tell!"

"It's precisely because I've seen through you that I'm even more determined to kill you!!"

He turned around abruptly, gripped the knife in both hands, and stared intently at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before him.

"Master..."

He gritted his teeth, each word like a tear of blood squeezed from the depths of his throat: "Why did you come back! Why didn't you die out there!"

"Sanemi Shinazugawa!" Kanae frowned and shouted sharply, "What are you doing! He's our master, what nonsense are you spouting!"

"My master is the Demon Slayer Corps's Hashira, the one who would rather sacrifice himself than admit defeat in a battle against demons. He's not like that kind of guy!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa's eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down his face. He clenched his fists, his voice hoarse and desperate: "I would rather you died out there than have you chosen to become a demon just to survive!!"

He looked at Ling Chuanche, his eyes filled with extreme pain and anger, and pleaded, "Master... let me kill you before the others arrive, so you can still be Cangzhu. Let me kill you!!"

No one can understand the kind of mental collapse that Sanemi Shinazugawa is going through at this moment.

When he learned that his senior sister and master were still alive, he was overjoyed, thinking that heaven had finally smiled upon him.

But when he first saw his master, he was not greeted with the joy of regaining what he had lost, but with the complete shattering of his faith.

That head of white hair, the strange markings on his face, and the nauseating smell emanating from him—it was clearly the image of the evil spirit he hated most and wanted to exterminate the most in his life!

Why did it turn out like this?!

In his heart, Lingchuan Tetsu was not only his master, but also the one who brought him into the Demon Slayer Corps, gave him a second home, and had long become a father figure in his heart.

This man taught him what responsibility and protection are, and supported him as he walked step by step from hell to where he is today.

But now, the person who supported all his beliefs has willingly degenerated into the monster he hates most.

Sanemi Shinazugawa refuses!

He would never allow anyone to desecrate the name "Cangzhu," not even if the one who desecrated it was Ling Chuanche himself!

Now that you've become a ghost, let me kill you with my own hands.

As long as you die here, as long as no one else sees you, you will always be that towering pillar, not a repulsive demon.

As Ling Chuanche listened to Shinazugawa Sanemi's desperate roar, a helpless yet gentle smile appeared on his face.

"Master didn't become a ghost! He has the constitution of a ghost-devourer!"

Kanae rushed over and grabbed Sanemi Shinazugawa's clothes tightly.

She was genuinely worried that, given Shinazugawa's current state of being blinded by rage, he might actually slash at the unarmed Lingchuan Che.

She might not worry about doing this to anyone else, but Sanemi Shinazugawa is someone who is truly capable of doing it!

"I won't believe such a load of nonsense!"

Shinazugawa Sanemi wouldn't listen to a word. He roughly dragged Kanae's body and approached Ryougawa Toru step by step.

Ling Chuanche sighed helplessly and took something out of his pocket and handed it over.

"for you."

Shinazugawa Sanemi paused for a moment upon seeing the object being handed to him: "What?"

"Hagi mochi, your favorite food."

Kanae hurriedly added from behind Shinazugawa Sanemi, "This was made by my master himself, and he brought it back especially for you!"

Ling Chuanche's actions resembled teasing an angry puppy with a snack.

Looking at the familiar Hagimochi in front of him, Sanemi Shinazugawa's lips twitched violently a few times, then his expression gradually turned ferocious: "You think that by bringing out something like this, you can make me forgive you for turning into a demon!"

Kanae finally lost her temper and jumped up, slamming a fist into the back of Shinazugawa Sanemi's head: "Stop it! Is your master the kind of person who would become a demon just to survive?! Use your brain and think about it, Sanemi!"

Just then, a gentle evening breeze blew by, and the demonic features on Ling Chuanche's body finally began to fade.

His striking white hair vanished instantly, and the lines on his face disappeared as well, returning him to his original appearance.

Sanemi stared blankly at the familiar face in front of him. It hadn't changed at all, just like when they first met.

bang-

The Nichirin Blade in his hand fell limply to the ground.