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

"Really?" Obanai Iguro's breathing became rapid, and disbelief flashed in her heterochromatic eyes.

“Of course.” Ling Chuan Che nodded with a smile. He could tell that the boy was introverted and not good at speaking, so he added softly, “Remember to come back to the Demon Slayer Corps to find me after the mission is over.”

"Yes!" Obanai Iguro nodded heavily, filled with passion and excitement, and turned to run into the distance.

Watching the boy leave, Ren tilted his head and leaned closer, his eyes full of sly smiles: "Master? Are you eager to take on another disciple again? You've only just accepted one, and you can't wait to take on another?"

Ling Chuanche sighed helplessly: "It's not that I'm so eager to help out talent. I'm just helping out because we're old friends."

Ren pouted and muttered under her breath, "That's for the best. Otherwise, our house will soon become an orphanage, and there won't be enough room for people to stay."

"You talk too much." Ling Chuanche raised his hand and gently tapped her head.

Ren was immediately annoyed and jumped up like a cat with its fur standing on end, wanting to retaliate, but was deterred by a single, indifferent glance from Ling Chuanche.

However, judging from her puffed-out cheeks, the girl was clearly not convinced.

She suppressed her anger only because she knew she couldn't "betray her master and ancestors" so soon.

She stared at Ling Chuanche's retreating figure, secretly clenching her little fist behind her back, and silently vowed in her heart: Wait until later! Hmph!

Before she could finish feeling smug, Ling Chuanche, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and gave her a precise flick on the head.

"Is he muttering 'I am your teacher' again?"

Ren stared in shock, his eyes wide: "Master, do you have eyes in the back of your head?"

Ling Chuanche didn't even turn his head, his tone calm yet certain: "I know what you're doing without you even turning around!"

Ren blinked, then suddenly her eyes lit up, and she asked with a grin, "Since Master knows me so well, why don't you guess what I'm thinking?"

Ling Chuanche glanced at her and bluntly exposed her: "It's definitely not a good thing."

Ren was overjoyed, laughing so hard she was shaking with laughter: "Wow! Master, you really guessed it!"

"You actually admit it!" Ling Chuanche smiled helplessly, amused by her.

Ren wasn't embarrassed at all; instead, he chuckled and said, "Of course, what I was thinking wasn't anything good! I was just thinking that when Master gets old and can't move anymore, I'll get my revenge on you!"

Ling Chuanche found it amusing and followed up on her words, asking, "Little girl, you've got quite a long way to go. So, how do you plan to get revenge on me?"

Ren thought about it seriously and said, "Hmm... I'll only give you three rice balls per meal, I definitely won't let Master eat his fill!"

"Wow! That's so cruel to Master! This revenge is terrifying!" Ling Chuanche exaggeratedly clutched his chest.

"Hmph!" Ren put her hands on her hips smugly and looked up at her, saying, "So, Master, while you can still move, you'd better treat me well! Otherwise, when the day comes that you can't move anymore, you'll have to beg me to serve you."

Ling Chuanche feigned sadness, let out a long sigh, and shook his head, lamenting, "Alas, the world is going to the dogs, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be. Even my disciple has started threatening his master. My life is truly miserable."

"Gagaga—!!"

Amidst the heartwarming sounds of playful banter, a raven swooped down like an arrow, its flapping wings revealing its barely concealed anxiety.

"auspicious?"

Ling Chuanche and Ren stopped moving at the same time, their smiles instantly vanishing as they looked up at the swiftly approaching scabbard.

The raven perched on Lingchuan Che's shoulder and uttered those suffocating words in a hoarse, broken voice:

"Che! Kuang Jin is dead!"

......

Kuang Jin,

The image of that radiant smile flashed through Ling Chuanche's mind.

Although he was not Ling Chuanche's personal disciple, he was as close as brothers with that kid Shimi, so Ling Chuanche had long regarded him as his own junior.

What a kind and warm-hearted child he was! His eyes always sparkled with a bright light when he smiled.

The last time Ling Chuanche saw him was during that special training session.

At that time, Lingchuan Tetsu was still using his Nichirin Blade. Later, Lingchuan Tetsu accidentally broke his Nichirin Blade, and then forged another one for him.

After that, Lingchuan Tetsu didn't see him for a while, but he often learned from Kanae where Kumagai and Sanemi had gone on missions.

They and Sanemi often get injured, but they don't let Ayakawa Tetsu know they're injured. They just silently go to the Butterfly Mansion to treat their wounds and then continue fighting.

But now, I hear the news that the child has died in battle.

She covered her mouth, unable to speak.

She and Kuang Jin also had an excellent relationship.

The year Ling Chuanche disappeared, everyone thought he had died in battle.

Those days were a dark and painful abyss for Ren.

Sanemi often brought Kōchin to the Butterfly Mansion to comfort her. During that time, Sabito, Giyuu, Sanemi, Kōchin...

Although everyone was saddened by Ling Chuanche's death, they all hid their grief and came to the Butterfly House to comfort her.

They are like good friends, and even more like family who support each other.

Now, he's dead.

The night breeze swept through the woods, ruffling Ling Chuanche's clothes.

He stood quietly in place and exhaled a deep, long breath.

"I see... I understand."

His voice was calm and even, but the hand hidden under his wide sleeves was clenched into a fist.

Turning around, he looked at Shinobu.

"Let's go back."

Kuang Jin is dead.

But in the Demon Slayer Corps, the least valuable thing is accepting one's fate.

For this organization that is constantly battling evil spirits, the death of one person is a very common occurrence.

Chapter 94 Meeting

Drizzle, drizzle...

The cold drizzle, like silk threads, slanted down, shrouding the entire street in a gray haze.

Lingchuan Tetsu and Shinobu walked on the wet bluestone slabs under their umbrellas, and every now and then members of the Demon Slayer Corps would hurry past them in the wind and rain.

They looked exhausted, as if the rain would never end.

Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the cemetery behind the Demon Slayer Corps mountain. There were no flowers to be seen, only stone tablets blackened by rain, and a persistent dampness and deathly silence in the air.

From afar, they saw a solitary figure standing before a new grave.

The man remained motionless, like a sculpture whose soul had been drained, letting the cold rain soak his entire body.

Ling Chuanche folded his umbrella and slowly walked forward. His gaze fell on the words on the tombstone.

The tomb of Kubino Masachika.

He silently raised his hand and patted Shinazugawa Sanemi's shoulder, which was already soaked by the rain.

The girl beside him covered her mouth, lowered her head, and her tears mingled with the raindrops, splashing onto the mud as she sobbed silently.

Sanemi Shinazugawa trembled slightly.

The calm expression she had been maintaining crumbled the moment Ling Chuanche arrived.

He suddenly raised his arm to cover his eyes, letting out a suppressed whimper.

"Waaah..."

This usually hot-tempered, scarred tough guy was now like a lost child, burying his face in Ling Chuanche's arms and bursting into tears.

Scalding tears burned against Ling Chuanche's chest, carrying a suffocating despair.

Ling Chuanche took a deep breath of the cold air, which smelled of mud, and asked in a low, hoarse voice, "Is it the Twelve Demon Moons?"

Ling Chuanche understood the whole story.

The exact level of the evil spirit that killed Kuang Jin is still unclear.

Kuang Jin's mission this time was to go to a village to clean up ordinary evil spirits.

According to the message relayed by the raven, the mission was originally going very smoothly.

After all, Kuang Jin's strength is now almost on par with that of a Pillar. Under normal circumstances, even if he encounters a Lower Moon demon, he can easily deal with it as long as it is not a monster with special Blood Demon Art.

However, just as everything was settling down, a sudden change occurred.

Another evil spirit descended silently.

That ghost was strange because it was a pot.

When the pot appeared, it was accompanied by a chilling, twisted laugh.

Immediately afterwards, strange bubbles gushed out of the spout, and before Kuang Jin could even react, he was completely enveloped by the bubbles.

Then, a monster-like creature emerged from the pot and brutally murdered him.

The raven couldn't see the demon's eyes clearly and couldn't tell whether it was an Upper Moon or a Lower Moon. But the being that could kill Kuang Jin without any chance to resist or fight back was at least a Lower Moon One or Two in strength.

In the Demon Slayer Corps, the sacrifice of swordsmen is commonplace.

The members of the Demon Slayer Corps spend their days fighting demons, living a life of constant danger and risking their lives.

Even Ling Chuanche was mercilessly killed when facing Upper Moon One. If it weren't for his special constitution, he would have died that morning.

The same applies to Kanae. If Ayakawa Tetsu had died, she wouldn't have been saved later either; she would have been killed by Upper Moon Two as well.

They were people who should have died, but were given a second chance to live by divine mercy.

Their return initially filled their companions with ecstatic joy, but it also gradually created a misconception among them.

It's as if death isn't so terrible, as if miracles always happen.

But reality delivered a resounding slap in the face to everyone in the cruelest way.

Human life is so fragile and vulnerable.

Yesterday's comrades, who were fighting side by side and laughing together, are today turned into cold corpses.