Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"Yes, I do know what the blue spider lily is."

Zheng Jingchong gave himself a thumbs up.

"I also want to let the dog-breed Muzan know that I know what the Blue Spider Lily is."

"I also want him to know that I, Old Zheng, am about to burn all the blue spider lilies here, hehehehe!!"

"...What does this have to do with you meeting up with Mr. Uzui?"

"Hey, these Upper Moons are basically all under Muzan's orders, tasked with finding information about the Blue Spider Lily. So instead of searching aimlessly like headless flies, we might as well find an Upper Moon and go and show that Muzan his true colors!"

Zheng Jing grinned, as if he had just grasped the essence of the story, his face beaming with excitement as he gestured wildly.

"Isn't it a coincidence! The winner in life has some news about the Twelve Ghost Months!"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: I'm Going to Kill You!

That night, Ms. Tamayo came to the Butterfly Mansion.

Both being highly accomplished physicians, Shinobu's attitude immediately shifted from outwardly warm but inwardly cold after Ms. Tamayo directly shared the essence of her centuries-long research on the human-demon constitution. This shift transformed into a solemn recognition of an outstanding comrade.

For some reason, despite it being their first meeting, Ms. Tamayo's words and actions always revealed a sense of closeness to her after their brief initial conversation.

If I had to use a metaphor, it would be a bit like an old lady seeing her deceased best friend's descendants become very successful.

This made her little tail, Yushiro, sulk all day long. It wasn't until he picked a fight with Zheng Jing and was elbowed by Zheng Jing Lingzhen, making him drool, that he stopped speaking sarcastically to others.

Ms. Tamayo naturally didn't care too much about the petty squabbles between the young man and the young devil.

In fact, after seeing Akaza with her own eyes, with only her head remaining, she immediately devoted herself to the research with Shinobu.

This research lasted for almost five days and nights.

As one of the Nine Pillars, Shinobu possesses boundless energy and ample food and drink supplies. Even if he works tirelessly for three days and three nights without sleep, he will not make any mistakes during the experiment.

As for Lady Tamayo, who is a demon, she has undergone countless modifications to her body over the centuries. Now, she only needs to drink a little human blood regularly to maintain her sanity and good physical fitness.

During this time, Zheng Jing, who served as both bodyguard and warehouse manager, was also busy.

He approached the girls at the Butterfly Mansion and, in exchange for the snacks in his backpack, asked them to write letters for him. One was to correspond with Tanjiro, who was staying at Kyojuro's old home with his friends for training, and the other was to record his insights on the Ripple Breathing Technique.

The former is because the messenger is a black-and-white man, and Kyojuro's hometown, the Rengoku Mansion, is not too far from the Butterfly Mansion, so it doesn't matter if there is one letter exchanged every day.

Oh, Black and White Gentleman is the crow assigned to Zheng Jing by the team.

Because its feathers were half black and half white, Zheng Jing had a flash of inspiration and named it the Black and White Gentleman.

However, compared to that unparalleled madman, it was introverted. If Zheng Jing didn't call it, it would just stay quietly at a distance from him...

Why can a crow have half white feathers and half black feathers?

Before discussing this issue, we might need to investigate how Ms. Kanroji Mitsuri managed to color her hair by eating sakura mochi.

As for his insights on breathing techniques, Zheng Jing wrote this book with the intention of having each of the nine pillars copy one later.

If he succeeds in catching the turtle by stretching its neck this time, then the next step will be a decisive battle with Gou Muzan.

Based on Tanjiro and Kyojuro's progress in researching Sun Breathing through the Rengoku family's ancient texts, and with Tamayo being a veritable living history book, Zheng Jing estimated that the Pillars would soon learn about the [Scarlet Mark].

It's always better to be prepared.

If all goes well, perhaps these brave swordsmen won't need to burn themselves out...

And so, everything proceeded smoothly for five days. On the morning of the sixth day, the Butterfly Mansion welcomed a rare guest.

"...Considering that even Purgatory speaks highly of you, I'll give you a chance."

With veins bulging all over his upper body, Yu Sui Tianyuan said in a deep voice to Zheng Jing, who was standing close by, "Explain yourself, what are you doing?"

"Huh♂?"

With one arm wrapped around Yu Sui Tianyuan's neck, he held his colleague in place like an unfinished guillotine. Hearing the sound pillar ask a question, Zheng Jing scratched his cheek and rolled his eyes.

"Catching a kidnapper?"

"Who is the kidnapper?!"

Unable to contain himself any longer, Uzui Tengen roared out at the top of his lungs.

"You."

Using his free hand to pick at his ear, Zheng Jing turned his head to look at the five little ones huddled together to the side.

Besides Shinobu's stepson Kanao, there are Aoi Kamisaki, Kiyoshi Terauchi, Sumi Nakahara, and Naho Takada.

They were Shinobu's subordinates at the Butterfly Mansion, doing work similar to nurses. Many Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen who were sent to the Butterfly Mansion for treatment received their care.

“I not only heard Xiaoqing call you that, but I also saw with my own eyes you preparing to harm the little ones. The evidence is conclusive.”

"what?!"

"Hey, Hagiwara, are you going to sit at the same table as HagiMi? Why do you keep breathing so much?"

"You bastard—"

Yu Sui Tianyuan gritted his teeth fiercely.

Given his personality, he should have taken action against Zheng Jing long ago.

Before becoming a Demon Slayer, he was a ninja who underwent professional and rigorous karate training and possesses the most exquisite taijutsu among the Nine Pillars.

At this distance, even if neither side uses weapons, it would be difficult for Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Pillar, to defeat him.

Logically speaking, an unformed guillotine could not possibly restrain someone like Yu Sui Tian Yuan.

However, the reality was that he couldn't break free from Zheng Jing's right arm at that moment.

The reason is not complicated; in fact, it can be said to be very simple.

— Zheng Jing is incredibly strong.

Even though Yu Sui Tianyuan had already managed to wedge his arms around Zheng Jing's neck to prevent Zheng Jing's arms from contracting before the action was fully formed, this guillotine, which should not have been fully formed, could still exert power no less than that of the fully formed stage at any time!

Of course, he could try to launch a direct attack on Zheng Jing from this position, using the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" to break free from Zheng Jing's control.

But regardless of whether this approach will succeed, the nature of the matter will change once he actually takes action.

He didn't get so desperate as to take drastic measures, and Zheng Jing was certainly not serious either.

"As I said, we need two suitable people to come with us on this mission! They'll be responsible for infiltrating and gathering more detailed intelligence!"

"Using medics as spies? How could you even think of that? Which eye of yours could tell they're suitable?"

Before Uzui Tengen could retort, Zheng Jing continued, "Besides, I've already gone with you, what need is there for an undercover agent!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Sui Tianyuan's anger, which he had barely managed to suppress, suddenly flared up again.

Now he was truly determined to show Zheng Jing what he was capable of, even if it meant a fierce hand-to-hand combat!

Are you two... practicing sumo wrestling?

A gentle voice, tinged with a hint of amusement, reached the two grown men.

"Ninja-sama!"

The little ones, who were almost scared to tears, quickly rushed to Shinobu's side.

"Hey! Butterfly! Tell this rock-headed guy to stop! He won't listen to a word I say!"

"Hey, you've got a tough tongue, huh? I'll get you!"

"Zheng Jing, stop fooling around, okay?"

"Hey, this is a real man's 1v1, why are you calling for backup? This isn't fun anymore."

With a pursed lip, Zheng Jing released Yu Sui Tian Yuan.

He quickly stood up straight and subconsciously glanced at his arms.

(What kind of superhuman strength is this...? It feels like Mr. Himejima's, no, it might even be...)

"I have a general understanding of the situation."

He looked at Yu Sui Tianyuan with a suppressed smile.

"Please allow me to refuse the offer to lend manpower."

"Butterfly?"

Uzui Tengen frowned.

“Mr. Yu Sui, since Zheng Jing said it’s not necessary, I think he must have made some arrangements.”

"he?"

Looking at Zheng Jing, Yu Sui Tianyuan's brows furrowed even more.

"What are you doing? You stinky squid, what kind of look is that? It's like you're questioning my intelligence!"

"Stinky, stinky flower?"

Uzui Tengen pointed to himself in disbelief.

"Alright, stop dawdling and come with me to get the head."

Zheng Jing grabbed Yu Sui Tianyuan and turned to walk into the house.

"If you're late and you're missing one of your wives, won't you blame it on me, Old Zheng?"

Chapter 40: Am I too late?

Yoshiwara, a city of night where vanity, lust, love, and hate intertwine between men and women, and where the sounds of music and song fill the air.

It falls into a deep sleep during the day and only comes to life at night.

how is it?

It's practically a town made for ghosts, isn't it?

Because places like Yukaku are ideal places for evil spirits to dwell, after failing to find anything by infiltrating and investigating as a customer, Uzui Tengen refused the support of his team and chose to let his wives, who were also ninjas, take on the important task of infiltrating and investigating.

The investigation went smoothly at first, and not long ago, his wives had narrowed down their search to three stores, believing that the evil spirit hiding in Youguo was most likely in these three stores.

However, just as his wives were preparing to conduct further investigations, Uzui Tengen's regular contact with them suddenly ceased.

This is most likely the work of an evil spirit.

Uzui Tengen's original plan was to gather people who could discreetly infiltrate the three stores and find the information left by his wife in those stores.

His wives were both excellent ninjas, and Uzui Tengen believed that even if they really did... pass away first, they would definitely leave behind some crucial information.

But Zheng Jing clearly wasn't going to follow his plan.

Zheng Jing always has his own Plan B.

"Dig a hole?"

In You Guo's secret stronghold, sitting opposite Zheng Jing, Yu Sui Tianyuan frowned and repeated what Zheng Jing had asked him to do.

"The one hiding in this city is the Upper Moon Six demon, right, dog?"

"...Fifty years ago it was."

Placed on the tatami mat with her eyes closed, Akaza said in a muffled voice, "I heard that chatterbox Doma mention it back then."

"This Upper Moon Six has a disgusting habit of hiding beautiful people and eating them when he wants. Your three wives are all beautiful, and given the difference in strength between the two sides, they probably won't be killed on the spot."

Zheng Jing tapped the tatami mat under his buttocks with his finger.

"If you want to hide so many living people in this place, no matter what methods you use, the most likely way is to hide them underground. You used to be a ninja, right? You must know a thing or two about earth-based techniques."

"...Is that why you insist that we don't need any other manpower?"

Uzui Tengen stared at Akaza and said in a deep voice, "Can the words of demons really be trusted?"

"I believe."

Zheng Jing shrugged.

"..."

Uzui Tengen sighed.

"Where should we start digging?"

"Just randomly pick one from those three suspicious shops. I feel like I'll get the most out of them."

"Then let's each take one family, I—"