Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Zheng Jing frowned and waved his hand: "If you're serious, I am indeed from out of town."

With his smile unchanged, Shinobu glanced at the sleeping Zenitsu and then asked, "It seems you know this member of the team. Did you come with him?"

"I wouldn't say that."

Zheng Jing scratched his cheek.

"Looks like you haven't heard my story yet?"

"Oh? So you mean you have some famous achievements?"

"Ten days, oh well, he wouldn't have expected me to show up here, with my unpredictable appearances."

Without answering Ren's question, Zheng Jing muttered a couple of things to himself, then jumped straight down to the ground.

"Wow, what a decisive person."

Watching Zheng Jing disappear into the woods in a flash, he silently muttered to himself.

(Zheng Jing...isn't he a local? Compared to that, I never expected there would be such a martial artist in this world...)

He gently moved his stiff fingertips and glanced down at the sword at his waist.

Just now, she had actually considered stopping the other person to ask a few more questions.

But the moment that thought arose, she felt a pressure so intense it made it hard for her to breathe...

This immense pressure was something she had only felt when sparring with Mr. Xingming since she became the Insect Pillar.

If I had to describe it, the two of them felt to her like the two guardian generals standing in front of the mountain gate.

But is that even possible?

Xingming, Beiming Island Xingming.

In Shinobu's mind, this eldest Pillar is undoubtedly the strongest member of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Even setting aside her respect and gratitude for her benefactor, this is an undeniable fact.

Is it possible that the man who calls himself Zheng Jing possesses strength comparable to that of Master Xingming?

The opponent was even unarmed—

"what."

She couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.

Zheng Jing put so much pressure on her that she didn't react for a moment.

The opponent didn't have a Nichirin Blade; more accurately, they didn't even have a decent weapon.

So, how exactly is that man going to kill the ghost?

-

(Stand up—stand up now! My body!)

Struggling to move his battered body, Tanjiro, lying on the ground, gritted his teeth and tried to get up again.

(Inosuke is already badly injured, and Nezuko probably won't be able to break free from those threads either. I have to do this here—)

"Hush-hush-"

Tanjiro tried to adjust his breathing and rolled his eyes.

From his current position, he could only see Inosuke lying in a pool of blood not far away.

After recovering, he, Inosuke, and Zenitsu traveled together and, guided by a crow, arrived at this new mission location.

Before entering the mountain, he, Inosuke, and Zenitsu all sensed that something terrifying existed within it...

Their experience after entering the mountains proved that their feeling was correct.

Their first encounter was with a demon that could manipulate the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen into killing each other with strings.

The demon that had slaughtered ten members of the team who had arrived earlier and manipulated them as puppets was killed by him and Inosuke working together.

But the battle was not over.

Immediately afterwards, they encountered this ghost...

It can't be wrong!

This guy... this ghost that looks like a ten-year-old child must be one of the Twelve Demon Moons!

Chapter 19: The game of pretend is over (raises hand)

The Twelve Demon Moons, composed of twelve fierce demons, are the most powerful force under the command of Muzan Kibutsuji, the progenitor of demons.

Tanjiro learned about the Twelve Demon Moons from Miss Akusei.

But for Tanjiro, this was definitely the first time he had ever faced the Twelve Demon Moons in action.

And this first time made Tanjiro deeply feel the terror of the Twelve Demon Moons!

In order to create an opportunity for him, Inosuke was seriously injured and on the verge of death, and Nezuko temporarily lost her ability to move.

Even his memories of his father gave him an unknown power...

Even so, he still couldn't cut off the demon's head!

Just a little bit more—just a little bit more!

Tanjiro hadn't expected that his opponent would react at the last moment and sever his own neck with a thread beforehand. This method, which could only be used by relying on the immortality of a demon, allowed him to evade the deadly attack that Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Nezuko had worked together to deliver!

Seriously, it was so close!!

—But this is the difference between life and death.

Even the Nichirin Blade in his hand was broken, leaving only a small fragment, just like Tanjiro himself at this moment, covered in wounds and exhausted. At this point, he was truly at his wit's end.

Even if he could stand up again, what would he rely on to defeat the evil spirit behind him?

Tanjiro doesn't know.

At that moment, the only thing he could think of was that if he gave up, Inosuke would die and Nezuko would be captured by that demon!

So he has to—

"Blood Demon Art, Kill the Eye Cage!"

Enraged by Tanjiro and the others' counterattack and furious at his own loss of composure, Rui, as the Lower Rank Five of the Twelve Demon Moons, no longer holds back in order to vent his anger.

The threads woven from blood danced and, in the blink of an eye, enveloped Tanjiro, who was unable to get up.

These sharp blood lines, capable of severing even the Nichirin Blade, are something that the Demon Slayer Corps' uniform and Tanjiro's physical body simply cannot withstand!

Seeing its prey enter the net, it pulls it off with both hands.

The crimson net suddenly tightened inward, threatening to tear the immobile Tanjiro into eight pieces in an instant!

"Sizzle—"

The sharp sound, like the sound of a compass needle scraping a blackboard, stung Tanjiro and Rui's ears.

But more than the piercing noise, the tall figure that suddenly appeared on the battlefield attracted the attention of both the human and the ghost.

"Hey, Charcoal Boy, it's not even New Year's yet and you're already bowing so big? I don't have any red envelopes for you."

Holding a handful of blood-red thread in each hand, Zheng Jing lowered his head and met Tanjiro's astonished gaze with his usual playful smile.

"Old Zheng?!"

Tanjiro exclaimed.

"It's you, Old Zheng!"

Responding loudly, Zheng Jing crossed his palms, channeling his powerful internal energy into them. With a flash of golden lightning, the scarlet net, which had drunk countless lives, was instantly reduced to ashes.

Bending down, Zheng Jing quickly tapped Tanjiro's back several times with his fingertips, stopping the bleeding from Tanjiro's wounds and controlling his muscle contractions to fix several fractures and cracks.

"Old Zheng! Inosuke! I'm alright, save Inosuke first!"

With Zheng Jing's internal energy stabilizing his injuries, Tanjiro's voice became stronger when he spoke.

"Alright, just lie down and watch me do it."

Patting Tanjiro's head, Zheng Jing jumped directly to Inosuke's side and pointed at Inosuke's neck.

At times like these, Old Zheng's eyes are the ruler, and his hands are the scale.

What is measured is the length of a life, and what is weighed is the weight of a lifetime.

"You lot...you scum who only get in my way!"

Zheng Jing's attitude of completely disregarding him fueled Lei's already simmering rage. Facing this arrogant human who dared to turn his back on him, he unleashed his strongest killing move!

Blood threads, hundreds, thousands—countless blood threads suddenly appeared from all directions, converging on Lei's body.

These blood threads, finer than a strand of hair, were like poisonous insects that had caught the scent of decay. They bounced, stretched, and intertwined, quickly weaving a blood-red disc over ten feet high in front of him.

"Blood Demon Art—"

He pushed his palms forward and shouted out in a sinister voice.

"The silk reel rotates!"

This move involves accumulating the most resilient and sharpest blood threads to the maximum extent possible, and then using the highest speed achievable while manipulating the threads to create a "wall" that can cut through iron like mud by tightly intertwining the threads with almost no gaps.

Lei has never used this move against humans.

Because none of the humans he has encountered so far have lived long enough for him to use this move.

As for ghosts...

The only ghost who survived after witnessing this move was the one who gave him the ultimate salvation!

With one move, most of the anger in Lei's heart dissipated.

He didn't need to get angry with a dead man who was about to turn into strips of meat.

As if unaware of the deadly attack approaching from behind, Zheng Jing still turned his back to Lei, and to the silently approaching Ke Si Lun Zhuan.

"Old Zheng!!"

Tanjiro screamed, trying to warn Zheng Jing, and even more so, he wanted to get up and go up to help.

But that silken wheel was spinning too fast. Even if he were completely unharmed, he probably wouldn't be able to catch up at that distance!

Tanjiro could only watch helplessly as countless strands of blood twisted around Zheng Jing's back—

"—Clang!"

"Clang clang clang clang—"

Have you ever seen what it looks like when North American loggers accidentally cut into a tree with a chainsaw while cutting it down?

With a sharp screech and sparks flying, the lumberjacks working nearby immediately retreated, seeking cover, fearing that the shattered, sharp saw blades would pierce their flesh like bullets.

—At this very moment, what Tanjiro sees before him is a similarly horrifying scene!

Those thin lines of blood could cut through the air currents, cut through the soil and rocks, and even seemed capable of cutting through the clear moonlight, yet they could not cut through Zheng Jing's clothes, nor through his skin that radiated dazzling golden light!

Not only could they not be cut, but the moment they touched, amidst the bursting sparks, the blood lines broke off one by one, scattering into a sky full of scarlet snowflakes that fell down.

Even though the blood was as red as snow, it still couldn't conceal the golden brilliance that lasted all night!

"You're more capable than your old spider-headed father for being able to force out my indestructible body."

Zheng Jing, who had already turned around, saw the tired man's blank expression and grinned with a sneer.

"The Twelve Ghost Months? That's interesting."

As he spoke, Zheng Jing lowered his eyes and caught sight of the few remaining pieces of clothing on his body, and his brows suddenly furrowed.

"Should we take our clothes off first before we fight next time?"

After muttering something to himself, he looked at Lei again.

"Alright, you brat."

Zheng Jing raised his fist.

"The game of pretend is over."

Chapter Twenty: Do you understand my indestructible body?