Chapter 159 Breathe!

Across the mountains, there is a prosperous town on the other side. Compared with the backward villages, the convenient transportation here attracts many traveling merchants. Even in the cold winter, many shops are open for business.

Su Beixun decided to stay here for a short while, intending to leave after grabbing enough supplies.

Just as he was looking for a place to stay temporarily, on the other side, Chi Ye slowly opened his eyes.

"here it is……"

The hazy and familiar ceiling came into view, reminding Chi of what had just happened! He sat up immediately, but the severe pain from his wrist holding the ground made him scream and fall down again.

"How reckless!" The old man wearing the Tengu mask scolded, "I just treated your wound. If you don't want to be disabled, you'd better not move!"

"Falcon...Falcon..."

Chi didn't have time to think about how to get out from the rubble, or who the stranger in the house was... He propped himself up with his arms and looked towards the door anxiously and fearfully.

There was only a pool of brown blood on the ground full of holes, and the figure lying on it had disappeared without a trace.

"If you mean the kid with the broken arm...he's dead." The old man's voice was calm.

He spoke frankly and did not hide anything. In this established fact, lies would only hurt people longer and more deeply - no matter how bleak it is, people can never escape the truth!
Chi gritted his teeth and followed the old man's line of sight to see three bodies lying side by side in the corner of the house. Their faces were covered with white cloths, and they lay there motionless.

"……you're lying……"

The child murmured, holding on to the floor with his only intact arm, and moved forward bit by bit.

The old man subconsciously stretched out his hand, but then he sighed and slowly put it back.

The child put his head on his brother's chest with difficulty, trying to save his shattered dream. But his stopped heart told him that this was the reality of his nightmare!
Tears fell drop by drop on the back of my clenched hands...

"Forget about all this." The old man came over and patted his head, then stood up: "Have a good rest. When the [Invisible Department] comes, they will arrange a new life for you."

Forget these?

Chi held Falcon's cold hand tightly.

He looked at the sword at the old man's waist, turned over, knelt on the ground in pain with his broken leg, and smashed his head down hard.

Smoke and dust were everywhere. His shoulders twitched and he begged humbly, "Old man, please teach me!"

"Teach you what?"

"Teach me to become stronger!"

"why?"

Chi lowered his body, holding the soil tightly with his hands pressed on the ground: "...Because, I want revenge!"

The old man smelled the sadness and anger on the boy and was silent for a moment: "The ghost who killed your family is dead."

Chi was stunned for a moment, then stood up and asked, "Did you do this?"

The old man shook his head: "Not really... before I came, his head had been chopped off."

Upon hearing this, Chi's eyes trembled violently, and the indifferent back from last night appeared involuntarily in his mind, and he bit his lips subconsciously.

[Did you do this... Mizutani Touji...]

[If you are so strong, why are you unwilling...]

The old man narrowed his eyes, looking at the hatred that was growing on the boy's face, and asked in a deep voice: "It seems that there seems to be something else going on tonight? Can you tell me what happened? Who killed that ghost?"

Chi was silent for a moment, then dumped out everything that had happened.

"……I see……"

The old man looked at the body on the ground with a complicated expression: "Was it abandoned by my brother?"

Human nature has always been unpredictable. There are brave and fearless people, and there are timid and cowardly people... But the old man has rarely seen people who are so cold-blooded as to abandon their blood relatives just because they are a burden after resolving the danger.

He hesitated for a moment: "Do you want to take revenge on your brother?"

"That's right!" Chi's eyes were red. "I must ask him in person what the eight years of getting along with him really meant to him?! I must make him kneel in front of Falcon's grave and admit his mistakes in person!!"

The old man pursed his lips, looked at the child who knocked his head to the ground again, sighed and said firmly: "No!"

Chi's body stiffened for a moment, and his knuckles were clenched until they turned pale.

"Please! I can do anything you ask me to do! I can serve tea, do housework, and do any dirty or tiring work!"

He dug his palm tightly with his nails: "I... won't hold you back!"

"It's not because of this kind of thing."

The old man sighed: "The swordsmanship I know is created for slaying demons. Our Demon Slayer Corps also exists to slay demons..."

“I’ll do it!”

Chi interrupted him loudly and slammed his head on the ground again: "I am willing to kill demons. I will do any task no matter how dangerous it is! So... please teach me!"

He bit and hit the ground again and again. Blood flowed from his forehead, across the bridge of his nose, and dyed the corners of his lips red.

The old man sighed and put the sheath of the knife against his chin to stop the child from hurting himself.

He wanted to say that the [Water Breathing] he mastered was more suitable for people with a calm mind, but looking at Chi's fragile and uneasy eyes, he still didn't say no.

"listen!"

The old man's voice became dignified: "If you learn something from me, you can't use it to hurt ordinary people, not even your brother! Can you do this?!"

Under the gaze that seemed like a sharp blade, Chi immediately struggled.

After a long while, he whispered, "I won't kill him, nor will I cause him irreparable injuries... I promise you!"

Is that all? The old man frowned slightly, but he moved his nose and didn't smell any lies from the child.

Strictly speaking, although Brother Chi's actions were despicable, he was not at fault. Being cold-blooded and not helping someone in need... these were not serious crimes.

But bystanders can never be fair.

For Chi, the betrayal of his family and the avoidable death of his brother are truly evil deeds that he will never be able to forgive!
Never mind, let’s just leave it at that for now…

The old man sighed and secretly told himself to pay more attention to the child and not let him become too extreme in character.

"There is something I want to say first." The old man said softly: "Your body needs at least three years of recuperation. I will not teach you anything until you are fully recovered."

"I'll do whatever you say, Master!" Chi pushed away the hilt of the sword that was against his chin and kowtowed three times respectfully.

"Well, remember, my name is Urokodaki Sakonji, and I'm a trainer of the Demon Slayer Corps."

While waiting for the arrival of the Anbu, the old man told him some information about demons and the Demon Slayer Corps, and introduced him to the real world hidden under the appearance of peace.

"...Master, was the ghost last night very strong?" Chi couldn't help but ask. The old man looked at him and explained: "Not very strong. There are ghosts everywhere in Japan. Generally speaking, the more prosperous the area, the stronger the ghosts. Those who hunt in such remote villages are generally lower class."

Chi's eyes lit up: "Is that so!"

"Be patient!"

Urokodaki Sakonji scolded, "No matter what, the one who has a fixed hunting ground is a demon who is proficient in blood demon arts and has a special skill! Even an ordinary swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps may not be his opponent!"

Chi was stunned: "Then Su Beixun..."

The old man was silent for a moment: "He is a genius."

Chi's eyes suddenly became much gloomier.

Soon, a team dressed in black and wearing white striped masks arrived here.

"Send him to Sagiri Mountain first and let Giyu and Santo take care of him." The old man said to the [Inu] personnel who were carrying the stretcher.

"Master, you..."

Urokodaki Sakonji waved his hand to reassure him: "I have some things to do this time. Please go to my house and wait for me."

"...I got it." Chi took a last look at the three graves he had piled up with his own hands, then lay on a stretcher, being carried away by two people.

After everyone left, the old man closed his eyes, stood in the middle of the Mizutani house and took a deep breath.

The smell of ghosts...

The taste of blood...

The taste of red...

The smell of three corpses...

And... a strange smell!

His eyes opened instantly! Urokodaki Sakonji pressed the hilt of the knife at his waist, turned around and followed the smell back into the forest.

No matter what, he must see with his own eyes this cold-blooded child who can kill ghosts at the age of eight!
##
Su Beixun was asking about hotels in the town, and he also kept in mind those families that looked wealthy.

Can be sudden.

The sudden trembling in his heart made him pause! He even had goose bumps all over his body!

He suddenly turned around and looked in the direction he came from, his eyes narrowing little by little.

"...Interesting." His pace quickened in an instant, and he changed direction and trotted towards the blacksmith shop he had just passed.

He selected a short sword that matched his height and paid all the money he had taken from the Mizutani family.

The sound of the blade rubbing against the scabbard was so pleasant to the ears, and the scarlet pupils reflected in the blade revealed a smile of interest.

"Who will come?"

Step by step……

A series of gradually deepening footprints were left on the pale earth. Su Beixun's body slowly warmed up, and the hot air flowing out from the sides of his mouth turned into a puff of white mist that dissipated in the flying snow.

The so-called "breathing method" refers to a method of expanding the lung capacity through self-exercise, and inhaling a large amount of air to expand the lungs to the limit during combat, thereby promoting blood circulation, raising body temperature, and exerting the maximum power of human body functions.

Depending on the individual's rhythm, the emphasis of [Breathing Method] varies. Some increase endurance, some increase strength, some enhance speed, and some focus on agility...

Combined with the sword skills that match the [Breathing Method], it constitutes the most basic and common ability of humans in this world.

It was too easy for Su Beixun to get started. However, due to his physical development, he was unable to reach the higher level of [Full Concentration].

but!

He is confident that he is no less confident than anyone else!

……

Urokodaki Sakonji, who was running through the woods, suddenly changed his expression! In the cold air, he smelled another strong stench of decay - it was another ghost!

The old man's eyes suddenly became sharp, he adjusted his breathing rhythm, and his thin figure suddenly became blurred as if he was passing through space.

……

"Come out."

On the empty ground, Su Beixun held the hilt of the knife with an expressionless face.

The fine snow from the sky kept falling down, and the snow on the ground was blown away by the wind, and everything was white.

There was no movement.

Click~
A slight crisp sound suddenly came from the whistling wind! The bright white blade was unsheathed, splitting the ice and snow, and fiercely slashed at the arm that suddenly appeared behind him!
"Huh? How did you find me?"

Behind the child, a smiling man stood up, with long hair, a black kimono, a beard, and a lightning-shaped black line on his forehead.

Su Beixun stared into the apricot-yellow pupils in his eyes and frowned slightly: "The second of the lower moon."

"My name is Gulu."

The man with words engraved in his eyes licked the wound on his arm, and the crack, which was not deep to begin with, healed instantly.

"You smell like Katsuin. That guy loved children the most. Since you are still alive...it seems that he met with an accident."

Gulu pointed his sharp nails at Su Beixun and asked, "Did you kill him?"

"I guess so." Su Beixun made a knife flower and smiled: "Do you want to avenge him?"

Gulu smiled indifferently.

The next second!
A fist is getting bigger and bigger in the pupil!
【So fast! 】

Su Beixun's pupils shrank slightly. He pressed the opponent's wrist with his left hand, and while grabbing the arm and pressing it down, the short blade in his right hand slashed towards the opponent's neck fiercely!

With a clang sound!
There was a sound like metal hitting each other between the blade and the skin!
Before Su Beixun could change his tactics, he was kicked hard in the stomach. His body flew backwards and he only stopped after smashing a small tree!

"……interesting."

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stood up from the ground, and his dead eyes gradually heated up like a volcano before it erupted.

Su Beixun smiled, stretched out two fingers towards Gulu, and said something ambiguous.

"I've already... slashed you twice!"

(End of this chapter)