"So amazing!"
Nezuko looked curiously at the illusory portal before her.
She didn't understand how Su Yan had conjured it out of thin air, nor how he had stepped inside and vanished. She instinctively reached out to touch the door, but her hand passed right through it as if it were a phantom.
"So amazing!" Nezuko exclaimed again in awe.
She then looked at the chains extending from her family members into the doorway. She touched them and found that the iron chains were real. However, the other end that had been in Su Yan's hand disappeared once it crossed the threshold.
"Say, Nezuko, could you tell me a bit about Mr. Su Yan?"
Tanjiro was equally curious about the situation, but he took advantage of Su Yan's absence to ask his sister about the man.
For one, he was deeply curious about Su Yan's background.
For another, his sister Nezuko had reached marriageable age. Mr. Su Yan had not only saved their family but also seemed like a worthy match for her. Judging by Nezuko's attitude toward him and how she had rested on his shoulder earlier, it was clear she didn't dislike him.
So, if possible, Tanjiro wanted Nezuko and Su Yan to interact a bit more to see if they were compatible.
As for the possibility that Su Yan might look down on Nezuko?
What a joke. Tanjiro hadn't even considered such a thing. After all, his sister was a famous beauty for miles around.
"Eh?" Nezuko paused at Tanjiro's question.
What kind of person was Brother Su Yan? That question actually stumped her.
She suddenly realized that during their entire conversation earlier, she had been the only one talking. He had mostly just been agreeing with her.
Thinking about it that way... Brother Su Yan had not only helped their family, but he also hadn't gotten angry when Shigeru and Tanjiro impulsively offended him. He hadn't even shown the slightest hint of impatience while listening to her endless chattering.
"Brother Su Yan is a very good person," Nezuko answered earnestly.
She was absolutely certain of this.
"Is that so?" Tanjiro stroked his chin.
It seemed his sister truly had a favorable impression of Mr. Su Yan. In that case, he could safely entrust her to him while he figured out a way to cure their family's demonification.
Of course, to ensure his sister wasn't being deceived, he still needed to interact with the man himself first.
At that moment, Su Yan stepped out of the illusory portal, leading a woman with long, dark purple hair.
Tanjiro couldn't help but take a step back.
This woman was beautiful. Incredibly beautiful. He swore he had never seen a woman so gorgeous, aside from his sister Nezuko.
But the instant she stepped through the door, his first reaction wasn't awe.
It was fear.
It was the ultimate terror a prey animal felt when facing an apex predator.
Tanjiro's nose twitched slightly. He caught an incredibly heavy scent of blood radiating from her. She didn't feel like a human at all; she felt more like an Asura that had slaughtered its way out of hell.
It was hard to imagine just how much carnage she had caused to emit such a terrifying aura.
In a daze, Tanjiro seemed to see a monstrous sea of blood surging behind the purple-haired girl.
"Is it you? The inheritor of Sun Breathing?" the purple-haired girl asked lightly, looking at Tanjiro Kamado.
Just that single glance almost made Tanjiro break down and flee.
In his vision, a giant purple python seemed to rise from the surging sea of blood behind her, opening its massive maw to devour him.
Tanjiro instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he realized it was all just a hallucination.
"Alright, Senior Saeko, use *In* to conceal your aura first. Tanjiro's senses are quite sharp, so don't scare him. He's going to demonstrate Sun Breathing for us in a moment."
Indeed, the person Su Yan had pulled out of Greed Island was Busujima Saeko.
As the most proficient swordswoman among his group, Su Yan naturally wanted her to be the first to witness something like Sun Breathing. He had just forgotten to tell her to conceal her aura with *In* before coming out.
"I understand," Busujima Saeko nodded.
Soon, that imperceptible, dangerous aura finally vanished.
"Is this sweat?" Tanjiro wiped his forehead, looking down at the glistening moisture on his hands, and muttered with lingering fear, 'What a terrifying woman.'
Even though Busujima Saeko had concealed her aura, Tanjiro still felt a wave of post-traumatic dread. He couldn't help but stand slightly on his toes, maintaining a posture ready to turn and run at any moment.
"Alright, Mr. Tanjiro, could you please demonstrate your family's Hinokami Kagura dance now?" Su Yan stepped forward, gently patting Tanjiro's shoulder, and spoke clearly.
"Oh, right... okay..." Tanjiro snapped back to reality.
This dangerous woman wasn't an enemy; she was Mr. Su Yan's friend. Besides, his family was here. No matter how dangerous things got, he couldn't abandon his family and run away alone.
"Please wait a moment." Tanjiro hurried into the house and brought out the tool used for the ritual dance—a wooden stick shaped somewhat like a sword, with white cloth tied to it like a flag.
Once everything was ready, Tanjiro looked at Su Yan and asked, "Mr. Su Yan, should I start now?"
Su Yan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to Nezuko. "Let's watch together."
"Eh?" Nezuko asked in confusion. "Should I watch too?"
The Hinokami Kagura was traditionally passed down only to the eldest son. No one else in the family knew it besides her brother Tanjiro. Plus, after learning it was a demon-slaying sword technique, the mystical allure of the ritual dance had faded a bit for her. She was far more interested in Su Yan's ability to conjure portals out of thin air and bring people through them.
"That's right," Su Yan nodded.
According to the lore, Tanjiro and Nezuko's development paths in the anime were actually reversed. Tanjiro was more suited to being a demon, while Nezuko had more natural talent for the sword than Tanjiro.
"Cute little sister, come join us," Busujima Saeko said, waving enthusiastically at the adorable girl.
There was no doubt in her mind that this little girl would likely become one of their companions in the future.
"Hello, big sister. I'm Nezuko," Nezuko walked over somewhat timidly, greeting Busujima Saeko in a crisp voice.
It was her first time seeing such a beautiful older sister. She couldn't help but feel a bit overshadowed in front of her.
However, with Busujima Saeko's intentional friendliness, and the fact that Nezuko didn't have Tanjiro's sensitive nose to smell that terrifying aura, the two quickly grew close.
Before long, Nezuko was happily chattering away, calling Busujima Saeko "big sister" non-stop.
Only then did Su Yan finally speak to Tanjiro. "Alright, Mr. Tanjiro, you may begin your demonstration."
Tanjiro nodded.
Then, in front of everyone, he began to perform the Hinokami Kagura—the strongest Sun Breathing technique of the Demon Slayer world.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]