Chapter 70: Washing Hu Die Ren

Splash~

The sound of a toilet flushing echoed from the bathroom once again.

A moment later, Hu Die Ren opened the door and stood there, trembling as she leaned against the doorframe.

Her face was gaunt, her legs were knock-kneed and slightly bent, and her hair was somewhat disheveled.

Having gone to the bathroom over a dozen times in a row, she didn't know how she had managed to survive these past three hours.

Fortunately, the medicinal effect had already worn off; otherwise, the consequences would have been even more agonizing...

Her legs felt as if they had lost all sensation, and when she failed to stand steadily, she collapsed!

Just at the moment she was about to fall to the floor, a pair of strong, powerful hands caught Hu Die Ren, preventing her from making intimate contact with the ground.

After seeing clearly who it was, Hu Die Ren replied weakly: "Brother... brother-in-law..."

"You, oh you~ I really can't do anything with a naughty child like you~"

Afterward, he carried Hu Die Ren in his arms, bridal style, and headed toward the second floor.

At this moment, Hu Die Ren's entire body was limp in Zero's arms; she couldn't care about anything else.

Arriving at the room, he placed Hu Die Ren on his own bed.

"Kanae, Mitsuri, Xiao Yue, go find a clean set of clothes to help her change."

"Understood." x2

"Understood, Master."

Afterward, Zero went downstairs again to fetch a basin of hot water to wipe Hu Die Ren's face and hands.

He then straightened her body, placed her feet at the edge of the bed, and washed her feet for her.

It had to be said, Hu Die Ren's little feet looked quite delicate.

In her dazed state, Hu Die Ren clearly felt someone washing her feet, but she didn't have a shred of strength left in her entire body.

Even moving her body slightly was difficult.

She lifted her head with great difficulty and saw Zero washing her feet; her small face turned slightly red.

She had grown up to this age and had never had anyone wash her feet before.

A long while later, after washing Hu Die Ren's feet, Kanae and the other two went to the Butterfly Mansion and brought back a clean set of clothes.

"You all help her change."

"Ara, Zero, why aren't you helping my sister change?"

Hearing this, Zero replied somewhat helplessly: "Do you think it's appropriate for me?"

Kanae playfully stuck out her tongue and said: "Sorry, I forgot~"

Mitsuri and Xiao Yue covered their mouths and giggled secretly.

After finishing all this, Zero went downstairs alone, lay on the blanket on the wooden platform, and prepared to rest, leaving the room to Kanae and the other three women.

Usually, Kanae, Mitsuri, and Xiao Yue slept together, and now that there was an extra sister-in-law in the room, he felt embarrassed to squeeze in between them to sleep.

Soon, he entered dreamland.

But just then, Mitsuri walked down from upstairs in her pajamas and quietly came to Zero's side.

She knelt beside him, lifted his head onto her lap, and gave him a lap pillow.

Smelling that familiar body fragrance, he opened his eyes and saw two massive headlights blocking his view.

Her pajamas looked as if they were about to burst, the beautiful scenery inside was faintly visible, and he could even see the protruding little points...

"Mitsuri, why did you come down?"

"Ya~ Zero, you're awake! Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your sleep."

"It's fine. Why aren't you resting upstairs instead of running here to me?"

"Kanae told me to come down and keep you company. She and Xiao Yue-chan are taking care of Shinobu."

"Is that so? Now that it's just the two of us, aren't you afraid I might eat you?" Zero's tone was filled with teasing.

"I... I... I'm not afraid... anyway... I... I belong to you. If you want... I can give myself to you right now..."

"Alright, little Mitsuri, I'm just teasing you~ Now is not the time. After that Demon Muzan Kibutsuji, whose intelligence is worrying, is dealt with, I'll promise you whatever you want."

"Mm~ Then... it's a promise~"

"Mm, don't worry, I keep my promises! You lie down and rest too."

"Okay~"

When Mitsuri lay on her side next to Zero, face-to-face, her face was full of happiness.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Zero noticed that Mitsuri seemed even more... alluring tonight than usual.

Her luscious, delicate lips looked like a ripe peach, making one want to take a bite.

"Mitsuri..."

"Zero..."

Mmph~

A kiss landed.

Mitsuri didn't resist at all, and they embraced each other.

Meanwhile, in a small fish tank not far away on the high platform, several little goldfish very humanely turned around, not daring to look at this scene.

A moment later, their lips parted.

"Sleep, we have a mission to execute tomorrow."

"Mm~"

He pulled the blanket over himself and Mitsuri, and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Zero woke up early and glanced at Mitsuri, who was fast asleep beside him.

Her sleeping face wore a sweet smile, and there was a faint blush on her cheeks.

She was even muttering in her sleep; clearly, she must have been having a beautiful dream.

"Zero, don't move, okay~ You just lie there, I'll move... hee hee~ Ya? ~"

Zero:............

Alright, he could probably guess what kind of dream Mitsuri was having...

He tucked the blanket in for Mitsuri, went to the backyard alone, took out one of the 【Dark Alloy Four Forms】, and began his self-training.

Mitsuri also woke up at this time. Finding that Zero was not beside her, she got up and went to the backyard, where she saw Zero practicing.

He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and boxer shorts, with two leather straps tied around his legs.

His exquisite features, combined with the long white hair he hadn't trimmed in years, were a sight to behold.

During training, a gentle breeze blew, occasionally lifting the hem of Zero's shirt, revealing his eight-pack abs.

Thus, Mitsuri just sat there quietly, resting her chin on her hands, watching his figure.

On the second floor, Kanae and the other two women also woke up at the same time. Hearing the commotion in the backyard, they poked their heads out of the window to see what was happening.

The Butterfly sisters discovered that it was Zero training by himself, and the moves and sword-swinging techniques he was using were ones they had never seen before.

The surrounding air even rippled as Zero swung his blade; one could imagine what level Zero's strength had reached.

Only Xiao Yue knew that these were basically Zero's most fundamental self-training exercises.

If they were in the starry sky, the training would be even more grueling and difficult than this!

The evil demons of this world couldn't compare to those alien beasts and monsters.

Even the low-level monsters were no worse than Muzan Kibutsuji!

Hu Die Ren watched Zero's figure and recalled what happened last night, feeling a bit ashamed.

She had originally intended to tease Zero and let him know the consequences of bullying her.

She hadn't expected it to backfire, harming herself instead.

She never wanted to experience that kind of ordeal a second time!

Training ended, and Zero put away his weapon, noticing Mitsuri in the backyard and Kanae and the other two at the second-floor window.

He waved at the second floor and came to Mitsuri: "Morning, Mitsuri."

"Morning, Zero."

"Go wash up first. Aunt Kui Zhi should have breakfast ready soon. We'll eat together in a bit."

"Mm, okay~"

After breakfast, Zero dressed and prepared to set off to patrol his area.

Just as he was about to leave, Hu Die Ren called out to him: "Brother-in-law, wait a moment..."

"What is it, little Shinobu? Is there something else?"

"It's just... about yesterday... I'm sorry, brother-in-law!"

"Yesterday? Oh~ you mean the laxative you wanted to give me, right?"

"Eh?! You, you, you... how did you know?! No, no... that's not it, why would you know?"

"Unhuh~ so it really was that~"

"Little Shinobu, this time, I'll pretend nothing happened. If you do this again next time, I'll..." As he spoke, Zero leaned down and whispered into Hu Die Ren's ear: "If there's a next time, I'm going to spank your butt!"

This scared Hu Die Ren so much that she subconsciously reached out to cover her backside and retreated at light speed, keeping a small distance from Zero.

She was terrified he would spank her the next moment.

"I... I..." Hu Die Ren looked awkward, stammering for a long time, not knowing how to answer.

She couldn't very well say she did it because she wanted revenge, could she...

Suddenly, Hu Die Ren thought of something.

Since Zero had discovered it, had her cup of water been swapped by him, which was why she was the one who got hit instead of him?

"Brother-in-law... I want to ask you something. Did you swap my cup of water with yours?"

"Yes~ why... uh..."

Now it was Zero's turn to look awkward. He had forgotten one thing: that cup of water had been drunk by Shinobu.

It's over! He was careless!

Yesterday's action of drinking the water was completely subconscious, just to tease Hu Die Ren and lure her into the trap.

He hadn't thought at all that the water had been drunk by Hu Die Ren...

Now, didn't that mean he and Hu Die Ren had indirectly...

"You, you, you... that was... I... I had drunk from it!"

Hu Die Ren was full of shame, and because she was missing a tooth, she spoke through gritted teeth, sounding a bit lisping.

This style was actually quite cute.

"Uh... cough, cough, eh? Kanae, why are you here?"

Hu Die Ren subconsciously turned around, only to find nothing behind her.

She realized then that she had been tricked again.

When she turned back, she found that Zero had already slipped away, leaving no trace.

"Ahhhhh!! You stinky brother-in-law, I will never let you off! Next time, I will definitely bite you to death!"

Inside the mansion, Hu Die Ren's roar echoed, filled with anger and shame.

Time passed like a fleeting horse.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

On this day, while Zero was on his way to execute a mission, he received a notification from his Kasugai Crow, Xue.

Xue landed on Zero's shoulder and said: "Master, the Ubuyashiki Master has a request."

"Mm, go ahead."

"Mount Natagumo is suspected to have a Twelve Kizuki. Several swordsmen have temporarily lost contact. Please head there immediately! Water Pillar Giyu Tomioka and Insect Pillar Hu Die Ren are already on their way to Mount Natagumo."

"Fine, I understand."

He took out his 【Light Energy Aircraft】 and headed toward Mount Natagumo, following the direction indicated by Xue.

The sun was about to set now, so it would likely be dark by the time he arrived.

Based on the current time, he hoped those swordsmen could hold on!

"Xue just said those swordsmen heading to Mount Natagumo temporarily lost contact... it seems they shouldn't be in any major trouble, after all, these are all carefully selected elite swordsmen!"

"... It seems they didn't encounter an Upper Moon demon, but a Lower Moon demon. If they had encountered an Upper Moon demon... it probably wouldn't be a temporary loss of contact, but total annihilation!"

"However... sending three Pillars to kill a Lower Moon demon is really giving it a lot of credit... I wonder which unlucky Lower Moon demon it is?"

On the other side, Giyu Tomioka and Hu Die Ren were using Total Concentration Breathing to speed up their pace toward Mount Natagumo.

During the journey, Hu Die Ren asked: "Tomioka-san, do you think demons can really coexist peacefully with humans, just like my sister said?"

Giyu Tomioka answered without any hesitation: "As long as demons continue to eat humans, that is nothing but a fantasy!"

"Is that so... I wonder what brother-in-law would think if he were here?"

At the same time, inside Mount Natagumo, the sound of weapons clashing continued to ring out.

"Damn it, I'm tangled up again! My body is out of control!"

He hurriedly shouted to the other side: "Murata, hurry up and take those two Mizunoto-rank swordsmen behind you to report to the Pillar-rank swordsmen for support! There is definitely a Twelve Kizuki here! No matter how many Mizunoto-rank swordsmen come, they're just here to die!"

"But..."

"No buts! Hurry up! Killing demons is our duty as Demon Slayers! As long as the Pillar-rank swordsmen arrive! We will have no regrets even if we die!"

That swordsman felt his body being tangled by those strange silk threads again, his limbs out of his control!

There were already several unconscious swordsmen on the ground, and some were injured.

Even so, those who were unconscious were still being controlled by those invisible silk threads, continuing to swing their blades at their companions!

This batch of swordsmen were the new recruits who had participated in the Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane hosted by Zero.

"Damn it! What the hell is this?! Tangling back and forth, it's so annoying!" A boy wearing a boar-head mask roared while swinging his dual blades to cut the threads behind the others!

If Zero were here, he would recognize him as the boar-headed boy who had participated in the Mount Fujikasane selection and left immediately after it ended—Inosuke Hashibira.

And the reason they were able to discover the threads behind the swordsmen was because Tanjiro had smelled them.

After parting ways with Zero, Tanjiro had received a notification from his Kasugai Crow to execute a mission.

Later, he encountered Zenitsu Agatsuma, who was pestering a girl to marry him...

After some twists and turns, the two got to know each other and executed the mission together.

Later, they received a notification from their Kasugai Crow to go to the House of Drums to kill a demon.

It was there that they met Inosuke Hashibira, who had participated in the same selection as them.

And while saving people, Tanjiro also killed the former Lower Moon Six—Kyogai.

Afterward, because of Inosuke, the group had some conflicts, but they could be considered to have become friends through fighting.

However, they had all suffered varying degrees of heavy injuries.

After recuperating at the Wisteria Flower House for two months, during which Zenitsu Agatsuma kept pestering Tanjiro to introduce his demon sister, Nezuko Kamado, to him...

After their recovery, the three formed a team and went to Mount Natagumo to execute a mission.

Which led to the current situation.

Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Murata were still fighting, but no matter how they cut the threads behind the others, other little spiders would immediately reconnect them!

"This can't go on!" Tanjiro thought quickly while cutting the threads, searching for a solution!

"Every time I cut the threads, little spiders reconnect them. There are too many little spiders; it's impossible to kill them all!"

"I must find the demon's location, but the fishy smell in the air is too heavy; I can't distinguish the direction by smell..."

Tanjiro cut the threads behind an unconscious swordsman, looked at Inosuke, then at Shinichi Murata, and made up his mind.

"Inosuke, Murata-san, those people being manipulated by the threads, can you find a way to find the demon's..."

Before he could finish, a sense of oppression arrived.

A "person" was seen standing in mid-air—a small-statured boy with white hair, wearing a kimono adorned with spider silk patterns and blood-red accents.

"What? He can actually float in mid-air... no, he's standing on the spider silk!" Tanjiro thought.

The boy demon in mid-air spoke: "Don't disturb our family's peaceful life, because you will be killed by Mother immediately!"