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

Page 60

Teacher, what should I do...?

Urokodaki Sakonji stared blankly at his disciple.

Seeing this young man, who was so imposing in front of outsiders, now huddled up beside him like a lost child, even though he was heartbroken and in tears, he had to carefully suppress his sobs, afraid of disturbing the others in the room.

The old man felt as if his heart had been squeezed hard, and he was in so much pain that he couldn't breathe.

He had clearly returned alive, but now he was being told that his child might die at any moment. This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for the old man.

After a long while, Urokodaki Sakonji trembled as he stretched out his arms and tightly embraced Ayakawa Tetsuya.

He gently patted his disciple's back with his calloused hands, letting the hot tears soak his clothes.

"Not here anymore..." The old man's voice was hoarse and filled with endless sorrow and determination. He rested his chin on Ling Chuanche's head and whispered:

"Child, come home with me."

Let's go back, you've done enough.

"Let's take Shinobu and Kanao back with us, then head back to Mount Sagiri."

......

Inside the bedroom, the night breeze blew through the window lattice, stirring the gauze curtains. The room was quiet, with only Kanao's even and gentle breathing.

Shinobu and Kanae lay face to face on the tatami mat with their eyes closed. They both seemed to be fast asleep.

"Endure." In the darkness, Kanae suddenly spoke softly.

Are you asleep?

"No, sister, what's wrong?" Shinobu replied in a very soft voice with her eyes closed.

In the darkness, Kanae remained silent for a moment before softly saying, "Spend more time with Master... while we have this time."

"What?" Ren suddenly opened his eyes, his sleepiness instantly dissipating.

Kanae turned around, her gaze falling on the dark ceiling, a gentle smile barely tugging at the corners of her lips: "I was just thinking that Master is not young anymore, and perhaps in the future he will also get married, have children, and start a family."

We will all have to part ways with our master someday, so we should cherish this time with him.

These words struck Ren like a thunderbolt. She sat up abruptly, fully awake.

"Sister, did Master say something to you?!" Ren's tone became urgent, and her voice even rose a few decibels.

"Huh? No, no..." Kanae's eyes darted away slightly.

Although she denied it, Ren still keenly caught the fleeting panic and forced smile on her sister's face.

Something's definitely going on here!

Almost instinctively, Ren threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, hastily threw on an outer garment, and without even putting on wooden clogs, rushed barefoot out of the room.

"Wait, hold back!"

Seeing this, Kanae hurriedly tried to call her back, but looking at the petite figure that had already disappeared outside the door, she could only sigh helplessly and gently raise her hand to her forehead.

'I'm sorry, Master…' she murmured silently, a bitter glint in her eyes. 'I wanted to keep this secret for you, but… I couldn't hide it from you.'

Chapter 77 I'm Sorry, Teacher

The night breeze was slightly cool, and Ren hadn't even had time to put on her wooden clogs, running out barefoot. When she suddenly pushed open the sliding door, she saw Ling Chuan Che sitting on the balcony.

"Master!"

Upon hearing the sound, Ling Chuanche hurriedly raised his hand to wipe his cheek, then turned around and looked at the girl behind him as if nothing had happened: "Why aren't you asleep yet so late?"

Ren rushed to him and, by the moonlight, clearly saw the tear tracks still wet on Ling Chuanche's eyes. Her voice trembled instantly: "Master, you're crying? Could it be that what my sister said is true..."

Lingchuan Che was completely confused. What exactly did Kanae say?

He looked helplessly at Urokodaki Sakonji beside him: "Sensei..."

Urokodaki Sakonji said nothing, but silently got up, leaving the master and apprentice alone, and turned back into the house.

Only Lingchuan Che and Shinobu remained under the eaves. Lingchuan Che looked at the panting little guy in front of him and said helplessly, "What did you hear Kanae say again? Why are you in such a panic so late at night, not even wearing shoes?"

She pursed her lips, her eyes reddening, and said, "My sister told me to spend more time with you during this period. She said that you might get married and have children in the future, and then we won't be able to see each other anymore... Is that true, Master?"

Are you going to abandon me again? Is there something I did wrong?

Upon hearing this, Ling Chuanche breathed a long sigh of relief. It was all a misunderstanding.

Why does Kanae always scare her younger sister for no reason?

He gently reached out and patted Ren's head, saying softly, "I didn't abandon you, not before, and not in the future."

"But you abandoned me and my sister once before..." Ren muttered softly, starting to bring up old grievances.

Ling Chuanche sighed: "That time, I was watching you from the outside the whole time, you know that."

"Just because it didn't happen before doesn't mean it won't happen in the future," Ren stubbornly said.

The next second, she suddenly stepped forward and hugged Ling Chuanche's waist.

Ling Chuanche frowned and instinctively reached out to push her away.

"Master said he wouldn't abandon me, but now he wants to push me away. You never treated me like this before." Ren's muffled voice came from his arms.

Ling Chuanche's hand froze in mid-air, stunned for a moment: "Who taught you these words?"

Ren avoided eye contact for a moment: "No, no one taught me. I learned it myself from books."

What kind of rubbish are these books these days? They're corrupting his child... Ling Chuanche said sternly, his face hardening. "You're not allowed to read them anymore. I'm confiscating them all."

"Oh," Ren said in a muffled voice, his head lowered. "Fine, I won't look then."

Seeing her like this, Ling Chuanche was both amused and exasperated. He said softly, "You should study more pharmacology now. Your insect breathing technique is different from other breathing techniques; it's difficult to kill ghosts without strong poison."

In the future, you may very well encounter evil spirits immune to your poison. Have you thought about what you'll do then?

Ren lifted her head from his embrace and smiled, "With my master helping me, what do I have to be afraid of?"

Ling Chuanche's eyes darkened, and he asked softly, "What if I'm gone?"

Ren's eyes instantly reddened, and she looked at him with teary eyes: "Master really lied! He just said he wouldn't abandon me!"

"This silly child..." Ling Chuanche thought helplessly.

He wanted to tell her the truth about the awakened markings, but he was afraid that she wouldn't be able to accept it and would fall into despair again.

Forget it, let her continue to misunderstand.

Lingchuan Che took a deep breath and said in a serious tone, "Kanae is right. I will have my own family in the future and I can't stay with you all forever."

I also want to get married and have children. You're a girl; can you really stay by my side forever? You don't think about these things now because you're still young, but you'll grow up eventually and face this day sooner or later.

He needed to prepare himself mentally beforehand.

Although it was somewhat cruel for her, no one could say for sure when he would die.

Rather than waiting until that day to let Shinobu face the same despair again, it's better to let her experience the sadness of parting now.

Perhaps when that day actually comes, she won't be so heartbroken.

"No way," Ren snorted softly.

Ling Chuanche became curious instead: "What do you mean I can't? You mean I can't get married and have children?"

“Master won’t leave us!” Ren raised his head, a bright smile on his face. “Every time Master lies, he pretends to be serious and then deliberately avoids my eyes. Master, you lied again just now.”

Ling Chuanche was stunned.

Do I really do these actions when I lie?

Ren hugged him tightly, buried her head in his chest, and whispered, "Don't push me away, Master, let me hug you for a while."

"I don't know if I'll encounter an invincible ghost in the future. Maybe one day I'll die silently on some night. When that happens, there will be no one left for Master to hug me."

Ling Chuanche frowned, then gently tapped her head with his finger: "Don't talk nonsense."

"I've thought about everything Master said..." Ren pursed his lips and said softly.

Ling Chuanche asked curiously, "Oh? What have you been thinking about?"

“You’ll get married and have children.” Shinobu looked up at him. “Maybe in the future we will really defeat Muzan Kibutsuji and reach the day of peace. I’ve thought that Master will get married and have children. But I can help you take care of your children with my sister.”

She smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Master, have a few more children, and my sister and I will help you take care of them."

"You've suddenly become concerned about me." Ling Chuanche glanced at her. "My marriage is none of your business."

Ren's face revealed a sly and triumphant smile: "As expected, Master never thought about getting married!"

Then Master, please don't get married.

What if the master's wife he finds doesn't like my sister and me? Then we'll live together and fight, and the master will be caught in the middle. Hmm... it's better not to get married."

"Well, you actually dared to try and trick your master." Ling Chuanche was amused by her twisted logic.

"Why were you crying just now, Master?" Ren asked, looking up.

Ling Chuanche deliberately looked into Ren's eyes as he spoke: "Seeing your master reminded me of the past, so I felt a little sad."

"Then how about letting the advisor stay here a little longer?"

Ren said, "Let's keep the advisor company a little longer. He's probably bored all by himself in the Misty Mountains."

Ling Chuanche chuckled and said, "You'll have to tell him yourself. Your grandmaster dotes on you, but your master's word doesn't count."

After listening, he immediately ran back into the house.

"Master, please don't go back so early this time. Stay a little longer, okay?"

Urokodaki Sakonji looked at Kocho Shinobu, then at Ayakawa Tetsu standing in the distance, and then smiled at Shinobu: "Hmm."

I was indeed happy after listening to it.

"Alright, go back to sleep now."

Ling Chuanche walked over and patted Ren's head.