Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"How are you three feeling?"

"Thanks to you and Lao Zheng, everything is fine now."

Tanjiro responded with a smile.

"Then it's about time to start the functional recovery training, huh? Ah, for Tanjiro, perhaps this can be considered the start of a new training?"

"Hey?"

"There's no time to lose... Oh dear, what are you looking for? Let me guess, are you looking for Mr. Zheng Jing?"

Noticing that Tanjiro's eyes kept glancing around, she suppressed a laugh and teased him.

"Hug, sorry..."

"It's alright. I can tell you and Mr. Zheng Jing have a really good relationship, Tanjiro."

“Mr. Zheng Jing, like Mr. Urokodaki and Mr. Tomioka, is a benefactor to Nezuko and me. We have truly received a lot of care from them... Um, Miss Butterfly?”

“You can call me Ren, that’s what Mr. Zheng Jing often says, isn’t it? It’s nice to address me in a more intimate way.”

"Then, Miss Ren, may I ask if Mr. Zheng Jing... has he left again?"

"Hmm, that makes sense."

She tapped her cheek with her fingertip, blinked, and noticed that Tanjiro's expression had become somewhat downcast. Suddenly, she chuckled softly.

"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. Actually, Mr. Zheng Jing has already decided to join the Demon Slayer Corps. Soon you will hear the news that a new [Pillar] has been born in the Corps."

The three little ones on the hospital bed immediately sat up straight.

"Old Zheng joined the Demon Slayer Corps? Really?"

Tanjiro looked happy.

"Seeing you so happy, I think Mr. Zheng Jing would be very happy too."

He suppressed a smile and clenched his ten fingers.

As for now...

"Mr. Zheng Jing is preparing to carry out his first mission as a pillar."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Do you like me, Optimus Prime?

"good to eat!"

Holding the empty bowl he had just finished eating, Rengoku Kyojuro praised loudly.

"It's really delicious! Boss, another bowl, please!"

Sitting opposite him, Zheng Jing raised his empty bowl and shouted at the cold-faced boss behind the counter.

"Me too!"

Rengoku Kyojuro also raised his bowl.

"Heh, it's been a long time since I've had customers with such a hearty appetite like you. Just a moment, it'll be ready soon."

As he said this, the middle-aged master chef smiled slightly, walked over, took the bowls from the two men's hands, went back to the kitchen counter, and got busy again.

"Splash—"

Just then, the door of the small shop was opened.

The person who walked in was a sharp-looking young man wearing a Demon Slayer Corps uniform. As soon as he saw Rengoku Kyojuro and Zheng Jing, he bowed his head in greeting.

"Flame Pillar, Optimus Prime, I apologize for interrupting your meal."

"It's alright!"

Rengoku Kyojuro nodded to him.

Zheng Jing pulled a chair from next door and placed it next to himself and Rengoku Kyojuro, then patted the chair seat.

"Brother, don't be so polite. Haven't eaten yet? Sit down and have something to eat, come on, come on."

"That's right, boss. Could you please give this young man a bowl too, the same as ours?"

"understood."

Having spent almost a day with the two Pillars, this young member of the Demon Slayer Corps had a general understanding of their temperaments. He thanked them, bowed, and respectfully sat down in the empty chair.

"Fire Pillar and Sky Pillar, you two performed exceptionally well last night!"

As soon as he sat down, he began to praise Rengoku Kyojuro and Zheng Jing.

—That's right, Zheng Jing's title as a pillar has been established.

Sky-Supporting.

According to the tradition of the Demon Slayer Corps, their full name is Optimus Prime.

This is the first time in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps that a Pillar has been referred to with a two-character title.

Since ancient times, whenever a new Pillar appears, the Demon Slayer Corps will take the name of the new Pillar from the name of the new one. For example, Kyojuro Rengoku is a user of Flame Breathing, so he inherited the name of the Flame Pillar, which has a successor in almost every era.

If a new breathing technique is introduced, such as the Insect Breathing, Love Breathing, Snake Breathing, and Mist Breathing of the current Nine Pillars, then there will be the Insect Pillar, Love Pillar, Snake Pillar, and Mist Pillar.

According to tradition, Zheng Jing is a pillar of heaven, so the breathing method he uses is the pillar of heaven breathing method.

However, it is not.

When asked about the name of the breathing technique he used, Zheng Jing reported it as the Ripple Breathing Technique.

In other words, according to tradition, it should probably be called a corrugated column.

So why was he named Optimus Prime in the end?

Because it sounds interesting.

—That's what Zheng Jing said at the time.

The overwhelmed recorder couldn't understand what was so interesting about it.

But even his own lord smiled and approved of the title, so he could only record it accordingly.

Thus, news of the birth of the tenth Pillar, titled "Sky Pillar," was sent at lightning speed to the Demon Slayer Corps' bases in various locations.

"No, I don't deserve that praise, after all, the ghost still managed to escape."

Rengoku Kyojuro looked at Zheng Jing.

"If we're talking about it, it has to be Old Zheng! If he hadn't intervened in time, that victim might not have survived."

"Peach, what you're saying is nothing more than a small favor."

Zheng Jing waved his hand.

The young team member looked at Zheng Jing, then at Rengoku Kyojuro, and couldn't help but voice a question that had been on his mind.

"Excuse my boldness... Could it be that you two have been close friends for a long time?"

"No! I met Lao Zheng at the last Zhuhe meeting!"

Kyojuro is as quick-witted and outspoken as ever.

"If you count the time... it's been about ten days since we met."

Zheng Jing then did some calculations and gave a more specific time.

After the Pillar Meeting, as a newly arrived hero who became a Pillar immediately upon joining the team, Zheng Jing should have spent some time on various preparations.

Even setting aside the record-keeping tasks that can be simplified, there is still one thing that takes at least ten days to half a month to process.

That is, as a Pillar, he still lacks a unique Nichirin Blade, or rather, a unique weapon forged from crimson sand iron and crimson ore.

Unlike ordinary soldiers, many of the sun-wheel swords used by the contemporary Nine Pillars are unique weapons specially crafted to suit their combat tactics.

As a pillar, Zheng Jing naturally enjoyed the same treatment.

Even before the Pillar Meeting had ended, Kagaya Ubuyashiki sent a skilled swordsman from the swordsmith village to him to hear his requirements for a custom weapon.

Clearly, this leader of the Demon Slayer Corps was convinced from the beginning that Jeong Kyung would join the Demon Slayer Corps.

This also proves that he was determined to recruit Zheng Jing into the Demon Slayer Corps.

Zheng Jing did not refuse.

Why would you refuse a custom weapon that's at least green quality and you can get it for free?

He learned the Monkey King opera from his mother since he was a child. He not only knows a little about martial arts, but also knows a little about all eighteen weapons.

Normally, before the craftsmen deliver the finished weapon to Zheng Jing, he can leisurely find a place to rest, and the Demon Slayer Corps will not require him to go on missions during this period.

However, if Zheng Jing himself volunteered to lead the expedition, that would be a different story.

If it were any other Pillar, even the undisputed strongest swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps, Gyomei Himejima, were to carry out a Pillar-level mission without a weapon, Kagaya Ubuyashiki would surely have dissuaded him.

What is a pillar-level mission?

Simply put, it's a task that can only be solved if the pillar intervenes.

In other words, it is highly likely that the mission is related to the Twelve Demon Moons.

If Zheng Jing made such a request, Ubuyashiki Kagaya would have no objection.

Because he is the only one in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps—no—who can kill the Twelve Demon Moons with his bare hands.

However, considering that Zheng Jing was new to the Demon Slayer Corps and did not understand its internal workings, Kagaya Ubuyashiki still sent another Pillar to accompany him.

That is, the Flame Pillar, Kyojuro Rengoku.

From the end of the Zhuhe Conference to Zheng Jing and Xing Shulang's arrival here together, less than ten days had indeed passed.

"Ten days..."

The youth team members opened their mouths, looking at Zheng Jing and Xing Shulang in surprise.

For almost a day, as the two pillars' local guides and in charge of support and logistics, the youth team members followed the two and witnessed firsthand the numerous exchanges between Zheng Jing and Xingjulang.

He genuinely felt that Optimus Prime and Flame, the two Pillars, seemed to have known each other for a long time, perhaps even before becoming Pillars, and possibly even fellow swordsmen who had completed the Final Trial in the same period...

Listen to this, he keeps calling me "Old Zheng" and eating peaches.

Old Zheng could understand, but what about Taozi?

"Let's get down to business before the noodles arrive, bro. You're coming over at this hour, is there some news about the train?"

Just as the youth team members were rolling their eyes back and forth, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back, Zheng Jing changed the subject.

The youth team members quickly responded.

"Ah, yes! We've already located the Infinite Train."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Is it fun, little brother?

"The Infinite Train? Are you here to ride the Infinite Train?"

Carrying a plate containing three bowls of soup noodles, the owner came to Zheng Jing's table. While serving the noodles to the three of them, he continued, "That's unfortunate. I heard that 40 people mysteriously disappeared from the train, and even the train conductor had an accident. Now the Infinite Train has been suspended."

"Oh? Where did you hear that from?"

Kyojuro took his bowl of noodles and looked at the owner, asking a question.

"In the newspaper."

After finishing serving the noodles, the owner took a few steps around to a table near the entrance and sat down. He then picked up a newspaper from the table and waved it at Zheng Jing and the others.

"Not only the Infinite Train, but recently some serial killer called 'The Ripper' has also appeared. All sorts of weird things are popping up all at once, making the railway line suddenly deserted..."

"I knew it! The owner's cooking is so good, it's obviously a long-established brand. There's no reason why business should be so bad during mealtimes."

Swallowing the perfectly seasoned, chewy noodles in his mouth, Zheng Jing glanced up at the only other customer in the small shop besides them.

It was a young man who was completely drunk and fast asleep, slumped over the table.

"Humph......"

The boss smiled, put down his newspaper, and went back to the kitchen counter.

"Gentlemen, I'll continue."

Seeing that Zheng Jing and Xing Shulang were looking at him again, the youth team member put down the noodles he had just taken a couple of bites of.

"That train was reportedly smuggled to a warehouse, but the reason for its smuggling is currently unknown."

"I see... Hmm?"