Chapter 67: Shiba and Shuma

“Tanjiro, you were reckless this time, and that’s bad enough—but you even abandoned your sister! If you’d run into someone else, you wouldn’t even know how to regret it!”

“Sorry, Zero-brother, this time it’s my fault! I’ll be more careful next time!”

Tanjiro realized he had made a mistake and accepted Zero’s scolding without rebuttal.

“Let’s go quickly—my sister is watching over Nezuko, and she’s temporarily safe!”

“Yes, thank you, Zero-brother!”

Not long after, Zero brought Tanjiro back to Nezuko and Xiao Yue.

“Nezuko!”

Hearing Tanjiro call her name, Nezuko sprinted over and hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry, Nezuko—I left you behind just now!”

Nezuko shook her head, indicating it was fine.

Then she turned to Zero, embraced him, and rubbed her face against his chest.

“Good girl～ Nezuko is such a good girl! By the way, Tanjiro, let me introduce you—this is Xiao Yue, my sister.”

“Xiao Yue, this is Kamado Tanjiro—the son of Lady Kyojiru.”

Xiao Yue lifted her skirt with both hands and bowed slightly in greeting: “Hello, little brother Tanjiro—I’m Xiao Yue, Zero’s sister.”

“L-little brother…?” Tanjiro exclaimed.

She looked even younger than him—why was she calling him little brother?

As if sensing Tanjiro’s thoughts, Zero spoke up: “Tanjiro, my sister is actually older than you—calling you little brother isn’t wrong, is it?”

“Older than me?” Even as he heard it, Tanjiro’s mind felt frozen—he couldn’t think straight.

She clearly looked younger, yet she was older than him?!

Judging by her appearance, she couldn’t be much older—so maybe calling him little brother wasn’t so off…

Besides, his family had been cared for by Zero and Xiao Yue—he owed them gratitude, not resentment over how they addressed him.

“Alright, let’s go—to Ju Shi’s place. I have something to give her too.”

“Yes, Zero-brother!”

As Zero paid the bald owner, the man refused outright, pointing at Tanjiro and shouting: “You! Eating without paying is bad enough—but why did you smash the bowl and waste the noodles!?”

“Not paying is fine! But I won’t allow my udon to be wasted!”

Uh…

As if a crow carrying ellipses had flown overhead, Zero and Xiao Yue stood frozen, staring at the bald owner in silence.

So the bald man could tolerate eating without paying—but he couldn’t stand anyone leaving his noodles unfinished!

He simply couldn’t tolerate waste!

Tanjiro felt deeply apologetic and said: “I’m sorry! Truly, deeply sorry! Please give me two bowls of yam mud udon!”

Upon hearing Tanjiro wanted noodles, the man’s expression instantly changed—his anger vanished, replaced by solemn focus as he swiftly prepared two large bowls of yam mud udon and placed them before Tanjiro.

Slurp～ Huh～

Tanjiro didn’t hold back—he finished every last bite, not a drop of broth left!

He ate it clean—so clean the bowls probably didn’t even need washing.

“Thank you for the meal!! The noodles were delicious!!”

The bald owner stared in shock at the two empty bowls, then nodded in satisfaction and boomed a laugh: “Now that’s more like it! Since you appreciate good food, I’ll let it slide!”

As they were leaving, Zero slipped extra money for one more bowl onto the table while the bald owner wasn’t looking—after all, Tanjiro had wasted one bowl.

By the time the bald owner noticed, Zero had already grabbed his bag and left with Xiao Yue and the Tanjiro siblings.

…

Elsewhere, in a dim alley, Muzan Kibutsuji gathered his remaining eight hundred fragments of flesh, reforming his original body.

Yet inside, he was filled with panic, fear, and unease.

He never expected to encounter Zero here!

Though he had split his body to escape, Zero had still shattered nearly a thousand of his pieces!

This power…

And that child—the earrings he wore stirred memories he wished to forget!

The more he thought, the more terrifying it became—he had to leave now, while he still could.

Otherwise, if Zero of the Demon Slayer Corps found him, he might never get the chance to escape…

Unluckily, three people approached from afar—two men and one woman, the men tall and thin respectively.

They leaned on each other, stumbling as they walked, reeking of alcohol.

As they passed Muzan Kibutsuji, the thin man flailed his arm and bumped his shoulder.

“Ow… what’s your problem?” the thin man demanded.

Muzan didn’t want trouble—he swallowed his rage and spoke calmly: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bump you.”

He walked past without looking back.

“Hey! Stop!!” The thin man still wouldn’t let go, grabbing Muzan’s shoulder tightly, completely unaware of the danger.

“I’m terribly sorry, but I have no time now!”

The thin man burped, annoyed: “Hey hey hey! Your clothes look expensive—I hate rich people! You’ve got no color in your face—you look like you’re about to drop dead any second!”

At those words, Muzan’s killing intent surged—he remembered the unbearable memories.

He flicked his arm—the thin man flew backward, his head embedding into the wall, life extinguished.

The woman with them rushed forward to check, then screamed: “Darling! Your brother’s dead!! He’s completely gone!!”

“What?!” The tall man stormed over to Muzan: “You bastard—you dared touch my brother!”

The tall man, confident in his bulk, aimed to teach Muzan a lesson!

But Muzan lifted his foot—suddenly, the tall man was kicked into the air, then crashed headfirst, bursting like a watermelon, blood splattering everywhere!

Finally, Muzan approached the woman, bent down, and asked: “Do I look pale? Do I look weak? That must be… your mistake. After all, I am the ultimate being, nearly perfect.”

The woman turned deathly pale with terror, collapsed to her knees, trembling uncontrollably.

Then Muzan extended his hand—his sharp nails pierced her forehead, injecting torrents of blood.

“Do you know what happens when you continuously ingest my blood?”

“Your human cells will utterly collapse from the speed of mutation!”

He withdrew his finger—her body instantly crumbled from head to toe, rotting into a sludge of flesh, then vanishing into ash.

Snap!

He snapped his fingers—two demons, one male and one female, appeared beside him.

“Master, what is your command?” x2

“Kill a white-haired demon slayer wielding a scythe, and a demon slayer wearing flower-pattern earrings! Bring me their heads afterward—I’ll give you more blood! Understood?”

He transmitted images of Zero and Tanjiro into their minds, offering no further explanation or details about their strength.

“Yes, Master!” x2

The two demons vanished from their spot.

Muzan knew full well that sending them was like sending meat to the hunter.

His goal was merely to create trouble, to buy himself some time.

“That white-haired demon slayer… and that child’s earrings…!!!”

………

They arrived at a quiet street ending in a dead end.

“Zero-brother, aren’t we supposed to find Miss Ju Shi? Why are we here?”

Zero only smiled, taking Xiao Yue’s hand and walking through the wall.

Tanjiro was stunned again—before he could think, Nezuko followed Zero into the wall.

“Nezuko, wait—” Tanjiro didn’t care whether the wall was real—he rushed through after them.

Beyond the wall lay the backyard of a villa, where two “people” waited nearby.

They were the same two he had just seen on the street.

Tanjiro’s nose caught their scent—he realized these two weren’t human—they were demons!

“This aura… demons?! But the male demon doesn’t smell of human flesh—yet the female demon…”

Earlier, distracted by Muzan, he hadn’t noticed.

He also didn’t understand why they were here—or why they seemed familiar with Zero-brother?

“Ju Shi, long time no see!”

“Long time no see, Zero! These two…?”

“This is Kamado Tanjiro—a new swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps this year. His family nearly died at Muzan Kibutsuji’s hands—that’s when I first encountered Muzan.”

“This girl beside him is his sister, Kamado Nezuko. Though turned into a demon, she has never harmed a human or eaten one. This one beside me is my sister, Xiao Yue—like me.”

Ju Shi listened, growing more astonished—she had never seen a demon retain self-awareness and aid her brother in battle!

Beside her, Yujiro glanced at Nezuko and muttered inwardly: “Ugly girl.”

Though quiet, every person present heard it.

Nezuko? An ugly girl?

Tanjiro bristled: “My sister isn’t ugly! In our village, she’s famous for her beauty!”

“Come on, let’s go somewhere brighter—you can look closely! Oh! It must be this hairpin! I’ll take it off right now and let you see my sister again before you judge!”

Shi Lang: “Pfft, I don’t need to look!”

Tanjiro: “No, you must look—my sister is absolutely a great beauty!”

Shi Lang: “No matter how you look, she can’t compare to Lady Jue! Lady Jue is the most beautiful!”

Tanjiro: “My sister is beautiful too!”

Shi Lang: “@%#*#……”

Tanjiro: “#%%@@……”

Zero, Xiao Yue, Jue Shi, and others stared blankly at the two—boy and ghost—arguing over whether Nezuko was beautiful or not.

Nezuko, meanwhile, blinked with a vacant, innocent expression, as if she understood nothing.

“Zero big brother, settle this—is Nezuko a great beauty?!”

Zero, beside them, sighed helplessly—why did this suddenly involve him?

He said: “Enough, Tanjiro. Nezuko is adorable. In my homeland, countless people would chase after her. Let’s drop this.”

Nezuko seemed to understand Zero’s words. She walked over to Zero and Xiao Yue, took both their hands, and placed them on her head, signaling for a head pat.

Xiao Yue, fond of Nezuko, said: “Nezuko is truly adorable~”

“See? Even Xiao Yue sister says Nezuko is adorable!” Tanjiro now called Xiao Yue “Xiao Yue sister.”

Duang～Duang～……

Moments later, Jue Shi led Zero and the others inside the house, followed by Shi Lang and Tanjiro, each balancing a giant roasted chestnut on their heads.

Naturally, Zero had caused this outcome.

He hadn’t expected these two brats would argue endlessly over whether Nezuko was beautiful or not…

Still, Nezuko really was adorable.

Zero sat cross-legged on the tatami, holding Nezuko and Xiao Yue.

But Nezuko shrank her body and sat directly on Zero’s lap, tilting her head up at him, her eyes curled into crescent moons.

Tanjiro knelt on Zero’s other side.

Jue Shi knelt opposite Zero, while Shi Lang knelt behind her.

Jue Shi then said to Tanjiro: “Let me introduce myself—I am Jue Shi. This child behind me is Shi Lang. Though we are demons, we are unlike others. We have extensively modified our bodies and now stand free from Kibutsuji Muzan’s curse!”

Tanjiro also smelled no lie in Jue Shi’s scent, so she continued: “Even without consuming humans, I can live normally—just a small amount of human blood sustains me.”

“Human blood… this…” Tanjiro looked confused.

“This may disgust you, but I purchase blood under the pretense of medical treatment—from humans who are financially destitute. I strictly control the quantity to never harm their health.”

“Shi Lang was turned into a demon by me. Compared to others, he requires even less blood…”

After Jue Shi’s explanation, Tanjiro roughly understood.

“Then, how long did it take Shi Lang to become a demon?” Tanjiro asked.

“I took over two hundred years. Unlike Kibutsuji Muzan, I have no desire to increase demon numbers! Moreover… I only use this method on patients suffering from terminal illnesses or mortal injuries—those with little time left.”

“Huh?! Two hundred years! Then Lady Jue, your age must be…”

Bam!

At the mention of age, Shi Lang lunged before Tanjiro and delivered a heavy punch. “Never ask a woman’s age! Do you have no manners?!”

“Shi Lang!!”

“Yes, Lady Jue!” Hearing Jue Shi call his name, Shi Lang instantly became obedient, retreating to his side, thinking: Even angry Lady Jue is beautiful!

“Cough… sorry… I didn’t mean to…” Tanjiro, still stinging from the punch, apologized for his question.

Meanwhile, Jue Shi radiated a clear, guilt-free aura. Combined with Zero’s obvious familiarity with her, he believed her.

“Lady Jue, may I ask—is there any way to turn a demon back into a human?”

…………

Meanwhile, on the street, two figures slowly approached the narrow alley near Jue Shi’s villa.

These two figures were the two demons Kibutsuji Muzan had dispatched not long ago.

The male demon had short black hair, blind eyes, wore monk’s robes, and his palms bore arrow-patterned eyeballs.

The female demon had medium-length black hair with orange tips.

Ding-ding～Ding-ding～……

The female demon held two hand-balls, walking while tapping them, producing bell-like chimes.

The male demon crouched low, his palm-eyeballs tracing footprints to find Zero’s group’s direction.

“How’s it going, Shi Ba Yu? Found them?” the female demon asked, occasionally thumping her balls on the ground.

“Of course I can see! The footprints are crystal clear! They turned sharply over there, entered a dead end, then passed through a wall! And Zhu Sha Wan—stop hitting those balls! Dust is all over me!”

The male demon was Shi Ba Yu; the female demon was Zhu Sha Wan.

Zhu Sha Wan, unfazed, laughed while tapping her balls: “Hahaha! Got it, got it! Hehehe, how should we kill them? They’re brimming with power—after all, we just received the Great One’s blood!”

“Kill them in the cruelest way possible! If we fulfill the Great One’s orders, we’ll receive even more blood!”

…………