Late at night.
Su Yan lit a bonfire outside the Kamado house to illuminate the surroundings.
Nezuko Kamado sat blankly in front of the bonfire, her eyelids uncontrollably drooping.
Illuminated by the firelight, her small face was flushed red. Her sleepy head nodded rhythmically, making her look incredibly adorable.
Not long ago, after learning the truth of the situation, Nezuko had shooed her two younger siblings back inside the house to continue sleeping.
She remained alone outside to keep Su Yan and her newly demonized family members company.
At first, Nezuko showed immense curiosity toward Su Yan—the man who knew her family's secrets and had sought them out—enthusiastically pulling him into an endless stream of questions.
Su Yan did not refuse to converse with her, and the two chatted for a long time.
Of course, most of the time it was Nezuko asking questions and Su Yan answering.
The young girl seemed to possess boundless energy. Once she finished asking all her questions, she began talking about herself.
Su Yan didn't stop her; instead, he appeared quite interested in her stories.
Similarly, it was mostly Nezuko talking while Su Yan listened, only occasionally offering a word or two in response.
Through this conversation, not only did Su Yan gain a much better understanding of the girl before him, but the distance between them also narrowed significantly.
The lingering trace of suspicion Nezuko initially harbored toward Su Yan completely vanished, and she let her guard down.
She no longer felt wary of him.
However, as time passed, the night grew deeper.
Gradually, Nezuko could no longer fight off her drowsiness.
Her head bobbed up and down, looking as though she might collapse at any moment.
Suddenly, Nezuko's head dropped sharply, and her body uncontrollably pitched forward.
Reacting swiftly, Su Yan reached out and pressed his palm against her forehead, stopping her from face-planting.
The young girl's eyes snapped open, her pink, jewel-like pupils suddenly looking much more alert.
Seeing that she was awake, Su Yan smiled and withdrew his hand.
Nezuko first looked up at her family members nearby, who were trussed up tightly and resting quietly; she was unsure if they were asleep.
Then she looked at Su Yan beside her and asked somewhat blankly, "Brother Su Yan, can I borrow your shoulder to lean on for a bit?"
After speaking, she didn't even wait for his reply.
Nezuko shifted her body closer so they were pressed together, boldly rested her head on his shoulder, and simply closed her eyes.
Meanwhile.
Tanjiro Kamado, who had gone out to sell charcoal, stepped into the forest at that very moment.
For some reason, ever since the evening began, Tanjiro had felt a faint, lingering sense of unease in his heart.
Because of this, he had specifically declined the kind old man's offer to stay the night at his house.
Instead, he hurried back toward home as fast as he could.
"Is that the smell of blood?"
Tanjiro's nose twitched.
He caught a very faint scent of blood in the air.
Moreover, the source of this metallic scent did not belong to any animal he knew.
Rather...
It was human blood!
"Mother, Nezuko, everyone... please be safe!"
Tanjiro's heart tightened as the unease within him grew increasingly severe, and he muttered to himself.
His already brisk pace broke into a full sprint as he dashed toward his home deep in the mountains.
"Is that firelight?"
The glaring light of the fire only intensified his anxiety.
The Kamado family was by no means wealthy.
Normally, if nothing important was happening, they wouldn't even bear to light a lamp at night.
Yet now, even from such a distance, he could see such a bright light.
This meant something major must have happened at home.
Was there a fire?
Or was it something else?
Driven by his anxiety, Tanjiro pushed his speed even higher.
"Nezuko?"
As he drew closer, Tanjiro quickly spotted Nezuko in front of the bonfire, as well as...
Su Yan, whom Nezuko was leaning against.
At first glance, Tanjiro's reaction was, 'Who is this guy? Why is he so close to my sister?'
At second glance, he thought, 'This man actually looks like a good match for Nezuko; he's worthy of my sister.'
By the third glance, however, all he felt was anger—boundless anger.
Because Tanjiro saw his mother and two younger brothers bound together by silver chains.
They were tossed to the side, tied up tightly and cast aside.
And the other end of the chains was held in Su Yan's hand.
Thus, Tanjiro easily came to a conclusion.
The man before him was not a good person!
He must have taken advantage of his absence to tie up his family, using them to threaten his sister Nezuko into doing something terrible.
As for the thick scent of blood permeating the air?
He glanced at his mother and two brothers, who, despite their bloodstained clothes, didn't seem to be in any immediate danger.
Then he thought of his missing younger brother Shigeru and sister Hanako.
A dreadful thought instantly surged into his mind.
'Could my two younger siblings already be...'
"You bastard, let go of Nezuko!"
Fueled by this thought and consumed by rage, Tanjiro charged at Su Yan.
"Brother?"
Awakened by the shout, Nezuko stared blankly at Tanjiro rushing toward them.
For a moment, she couldn't process what was happening and felt baffled by her brother's behavior.
Then, realization quickly dawned on her.
She was just about to speak up to stop the impulsive Tanjiro.
When she realized her brother had already been pinned to the ground by Su Yan.
"Bastard, let me go!"
Pinned to the dirt, Tanjiro struggled frantically, his shouts waking up Kie Kamado nearby.
"Tanjiro, calm down."
Seeing the scene before her, Kie quickly guessed the cause of the commotion and immediately called out to stop him.
Nezuko also stood up and scolded him, "Brother, you're being too impulsive! Brother Su Yan isn't a bad person."
"Mother? Nezuko? Why?"
Tanjiro looked at his sister in confusion and said, "But Hanako, and Shigeru, they..."
"They just went back inside to sleep..."
Nezuko looked speechlessly at her misunderstanding brother, then turned to Su Yan. "Brother Su Yan, please let my brother go first. I'll explain everything to him."
"..."
Tanjiro was left speechless.
He began to reflect inwardly, 'Did I really misunderstand the situation?'
After Su Yan released him, he stood up and began talking with Nezuko.
Watching Tanjiro repeatedly lower his head while being scolded by Nezuko, who was acting like a little adult, Su Yan couldn't help but find the scene somewhat amusing.
"I am truly so sorry. It was a misunderstanding on my part. I apologize."
After learning the full story from his sister, Tanjiro decisively bowed his head in apology to Su Yan.
It had to be said, even though the members of the Kamado family seemed to share a genetic trait for impulsiveness...
...their manners were undeniably well-taught.
"Since Mr. Su Yan came for the Hinokami Kagura, as an apology and a token of gratitude for saving my family..."
Having learned of Su Yan's objective, Tanjiro spoke up again. "...I am willing to demonstrate our family's Hinokami Kagura for you."
"Would you mind if one more person watched the Hinokami Kagura, Mr. Tanjiro?"
Su Yan wasn't in a rush to have Tanjiro demonstrate Sun Breathing; instead, he suddenly asked this strange question.
"One more person?"
Tanjiro was a bit confused.
Aside from them, who else was here?
Before this, he had never considered his family's Hinokami Kagura to be anything extraordinary.
Furthermore, if this Hinokami Kagura truly was a sword technique meant for slaying demons, he wouldn't mind if more people learned it.
That way, perhaps tragedies like the one that befell his family could be minimized in the future.
So, without overthinking it, Tanjiro decisively agreed, "That's fine."
"Thank you, then."
After saying that, Su Yan didn't shy away from their gazes. Right in front of them, he manifested the phantom image of the dimensional door and walked straight through it.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]