Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"There's no mistake! This feeling, this sound, this volume..."

Unable to break free from Zenitsu, Inosuke simply said to him seriously, "This guy is stronger than that stone golem! He must be the lord of this mountain!"

"Inosuke, I told you, don't call Old Zheng the Stone Man..."

Tanjiro, who rushed over, grabbed Inosuke's other arm with a somewhat helpless expression.

"That's right! You, who were saved by someone, should at least remember the name of your benefactor!"

"Huh?! I remember it very clearly! A stone man is a stone man! You guys are the ones who don't understand!"

"what?!"

"——Alright, Zenitsu, Inosuke!"

Tanjiro grabbed one of them on each side.

"Stop arguing, you're attracting too much attention..."

Upon hearing this, the two quieted down and looked around.

In this day and age, three burly boys with knives at their waists making a ruckus in public would attract more than just attention.

Tanjiro had already spotted someone going to find the station guards from afar.

"Get in the car quickly!"

With his help, the three-person team finally boarded the train before the station security personnel arrived.

However, instead of taking their seats, they began to move between the carriages.

"Tanjiro, Old... Zheng is alright, but do you recognize that Flame Hashira?"

"Yes, his hair color is very striking, and I remember his scent, so it's fine."

Holding Inosuke back, careful not to let him slip away again, Zenitsu followed behind Tanjiro and couldn't help but sigh.

"A problem that requires two pillars to solve... and they actually sent the three of us? Can we really help them, or are we just causing them more trouble?"

"Have confidence in yourself, Zenitsu! You and Inosuke have already successfully completed the Concentration Mode, haven't you? Kiyo and the others also said that in the last ten years, only Kanao, besides the Pillars, could do this!"

Without stopping, Tanjiro turned around and encouraged Zenitsu with a smile.

They not only received treatment and recuperation at the Butterfly Mansion, but also underwent special training.

After special training, all three successfully learned a technique called Total Concentration Breathing. They can now maintain Total Concentration Breathing around the clock, and have made great progress in both physical fitness and swordsmanship.

Moreover, during the special training, Tanjiro learned something from Shinobu.

This made him eager to see Zheng Jing again...

"good to eat!"

Just as Tanjiro opened the carriage door again, preparing to step inside, a cheerful shout vibrated in his ears.

"Oh, here it comes!"

Sitting opposite Kyojuro, directly facing the carriage door that Tanjiro and the others had opened, Zheng Jing noticed the three little guys who were still in a daze.

"What are you waiting for? Come and sit down!"

Chapter Thirty: The Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars, the Mountain of the Spirit Platform and Square Inch

"Old Zheng, did you transfer them here?"

After finishing their meal, Kyojuro handed over the thirty-odd empty lunch boxes to the flight attendants to take away and dispose of them. He crossed his arms and asked Jung Kyung, who had just finished eating with him, "What do you mean?"

"I need you to even guide me on where to find a base; how would I know how to bring people over?"

Zheng Jing waved his hand.

"I reckon it was Ah Yao's arrangement, Charcoal Boy?"

“We received orders from the crow, saying that the number of victims on the Infinite Train is too large, and in order to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, we are to come and meet up with Old Zheng and Mr. Purgatory who arrived here earlier.”

"Hmm! I see. The three of you have completed the training in the middle stage and are indeed qualified to participate in this mission! Very good!"

Seeing that Kyojuro had no objections, Tanjiro breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Then, Lao Zheng, I have something I'd like to ask you."

"It's about the Hinokami Kagura, right?"

Tanjiro tensed up, his somewhat uneasy expression tightening instantly.

His father was a sickly man.

Even so, Tanjiro still clearly remembers his father, who was chronically ill and usually had difficulty even getting out of bed, dancing Kagura all night long in the freezing snow...

Kagura, the God of Fire, Tanjiro remembers his father saying that this is the Kagura passed down through generations in their family.

During the battle at Mount Natagumo, when facing Rui, the Lower Moon Five, he used the movements from the Hinokami Kagura as sword techniques in a desperate situation.

It was that sword strike, derived from the Hinokami Kagura, that nearly severed the head of Lower Moon Five.

In Tanjiro's memory, his family was just an ordinary country family. They had never seen their parents use any martial arts techniques, let alone swords, spears, or halberds.

But why is it that the Hinokami Kagura can be used so easily in battle?

Tanjiro doesn't believe he's some kind of rare martial arts prodigy who could turn a song and dance into a killing move in a desperate situation.

In other words, there must be something truly mysterious about the Hinokami Kagura...

Whether driven by his longing for his family or his need to become stronger, Tanjiro hopes to uncover the secrets that may be hidden within the Hinokami Kagura.

Just when he hadn't figured out where to start, Miss Shinobu suddenly said something to him after a physical examination.

Or rather, he relayed this message to him on Zheng Jing's behalf—

"Try to completely integrate Hinokami Kagura into your swordsmanship when you have time; it will be of great help to you."

Tanjiro was certain that he had never told Zheng Jing anything about the Hinokami Kagura!

"Don't rush, Charcoal Boy, I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush."

He reached into his pocket and took out five bottles of ○zai milk, one after another, handing one to each of Tanjiro and the other three. Zheng Jing finally opened his own bottle and took a sip.

The backpack on the panel is really amazing. The chilled drinks that I brought in from my own dimension still taste as refreshing as if they had just been taken out of the refrigerator.

"I do know quite a bit about Hinokami Kagura, but it will take some time to explain, and it's not the right time to talk about it now, since the demon hiding on this train could appear at any time."

"Huh?!"

Zenitsu cried out in surprise.

"A ghost on the train?! You...you mean we're not on this train to the mission location, but this train is the mission location?!"

"correct."

"Gah-"

"So, let's have a proper talk after we've finished dealing with what we're doing."

Zheng Jing downed the iced milk in one gulp, then squeezed the can flat with two fingers, stuffed it into his pocket, and put it in his backpack, intending to throw it away after getting off the bus.

"I see......"

Holding the drink in his hand, Tanjiro responded and relaxed again.

"Splash."

Just then, the carriage door was pushed open again, and a tall, thin man in a train conductor's uniform walked in.

With unsteady steps, he spoke softly to the passengers in the carriage as he walked.

"Please show your ticket..."

-

"Splash."

The door to the first carriage was suddenly opened.

The train conductor stumbled in, looking utterly dejected.

"I...I did everything you said...Let me go to my dreams! Let me...see my wife and daughter again...Please! Please..."

Kneeling on the ground, the haggard-looking train conductor broke down in tears.

"Hmm, you did a good job. Alright, I'll let you go to your dreams then."

A severed hand with a mouth and eyes fell in front of the train commander.

"Go to sleep."

As the mouth on the severed hand uttered a sound, the train commander's eyes rolled back suddenly, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Heh, go to sleep, go to sleep, anything can happen in your dreams..."

"What about us?"

Upon hearing the voice, the severed hand, using its five fingers as limbs, turned around like a hideous poisonous insect, its three eyes of different sizes looking at the speaker.

It was a young girl, and beside her were four other young people who also looked to be no more than twenty years old.

Without exception, they all looked similar to the drivers on the ground, appearing haggard.

"Hoo hoo, they'll soon fall into a deep sleep. Just do as I say, tie the ropes and then take care of them. But be careful, some demon hunters with keen senses will react to the killing intent and the aura of demons, so be careful not to touch their bodies directly."

"..."

"I can't leave the front of the car for now, so you guys have to keep up the good work until everything is ready, all for the sake of a beautiful dream... right?"

The five people remained silent, only exchanging glances before standing up from their seats and heading towards the back of the carriage.

With a clear goal in mind, they quickly arrived at the carriage where Zheng Jing and his group of five were located.

At this moment, the five powerful men who could easily take their lives with a mere gesture were all fast asleep.

"How to divide?"

Among the five, the mature woman with her hair tied up asked in a low voice.

"The problem mainly lies with those two people."

The short-haired youth pointed at Zheng Jing and Xing Shoulang.

The two sat facing each other, one with his arms crossed over his chest, the other with one hand supporting his chin and his legs crossed. At first glance, they looked like they were resting with their eyes closed, rather than fast asleep.

This posture contrasted sharply with the way Tanjiro and the other two were sleeping, sprawled out in all directions.

"I'll have this one."

The girl who had spoken first to the one with the severed hand picked up the straw rope in her hand and headed straight for Kyojuro.

"...I'll take care of him."

Of the five, the one who looked the most miserable, appearing more like a young man suffering from a serious illness than a man in good spirits, walked toward Zheng Jing.

As instructed, each person tied their wrists together with a straw rope, then the five sat down nearby, closed their eyes, and silently counted numbers.

In this way, one can enter the dreams of these demon hunters—

"Boom."

The sudden, loud bell rang, startling the young man into opening his eyes.

Looking around, he realized that he seemed to be in front of a mountain gate.

Taking two steps back and raising his head, the young man looked at the three wooden plaques above the mountain gate.

Suffering from a serious illness, he has been unable to exercise outdoors like a normal person for a long time. When he is locked indoors, only books can keep him company.

So, although not many, he still recognized some Chinese characters.

For example, he can recognize several of the ones carved on these wooden plaques.

As he read each word, the young man couldn't help but murmur aloud.

"Slanting...moon...Three...spirit...platform...mountain?"

Chapter Thirty-One: Children, who just said they wanted to invite a master?

"The waxing and waning of the moon, the waxing and waning of the moon..."

Zheng Jing twitched his ears.

He thought he heard someone calling for someone...