At the same time, in a certain village on the other side, an all-night tea shop was still open with oil lamps burning. Inside the shop, seven or eight guests were scattered about, eating.
Judging by their dusty appearance, they were clearly travelers who had been journeying through the night and stopped here to rest.
Among them, Yoriichi and Tamayo found a corner seat and were talking in low voices.
"Muzan is an extremely cowardly person who fears death above all else. After tonight's incident, I believe that until he is completely certain that you, Mr. Yoriichi, have died, he probably won't easily appear before the world again..."
Hearing Tamayo's words, Yoriichi immediately asked:
"Is there no way to lure him out again? For example, spreading word that I've died or something..."
"That's impossible."
Tamayo shook her head slightly, giving a definite answer once again.
"Muzan values his own life above everything else. As long as he feels his life is threatened, no matter what kind of lure, it won't trick him out.
I'm very certain that after tonight, he will definitely find some place where no one knows and quietly hide, hiding for a hundred years or even two hundred years, until he exceeds your lifespan limit, Mr. Yoriichi."
As her words fell, both people present fell into silence.
No matter how powerful Yoriichi was, he was ultimately human, with his own lifespan limit, unable to live forever like demons.
The world was so vast. If Muzan was determined to keep hiding from him, hiding for one or two hundred years, he would have no way at all.
Realizing this point, deep despair suddenly welled up in Yoriichi's heart.
He hadn't seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The gods had clearly given him such powerful strength, let him be born into this world with such a heavy mission, yet he had failed...
He had disappointed heaven's expectations of him.
From now on, what should he do?
Just as Yoriichi was deeply blaming himself for letting Muzan escape, Tamayo before him had been carefully observing his face.
"Mr. Yoriichi, may I... ask you a question?"
"Please speak, Miss Tamayo."
Instantly returning to his senses, Yoriichi forced a polite smile onto his face.
Seeing this, after some hesitation, Tamayo cautiously opened her mouth:
"Do you have... a younger sister named Mitsuba?"
Mitsuba?
Completely unexpected to hear this name from Tamayo's mouth, Yoriichi first froze, then nodded:
"Indeed so, but how does Miss Tamayo know about this?"
Could it be that at some point he didn't know about, Mitsuba and Tamayo had met?
"So it really is true..."
Receiving Yoriichi's affirmative answer, Tamayo fell into hesitation once again. Facing Yoriichi's puzzled gaze, after several attempts to speak and stopping, she finally opened her mouth:
"What I mean is, Mr. Yoriichi, your younger sister did not die, but became a demon.
Additionally, if you also have an elder brother, then he too, a few days ago, under your younger sister's persuasion, became a demon together..."
Finally saying all this in one breath, looking at the completely stunned Yoriichi before her, Tamayo also without reservation told Yoriichi everything about how Mitsuba was transformed into a demon by Muzan, and what she and Mitsuba had experienced together these past few days.
Yoriichi didn't interrupt a single word throughout, only silently listening to Tamayo's account.
The expression on his face went from initial stunned shock, then to confused incomprehension, and finally to complete silent bowing of his head.
"That's all, Mr. Yoriichi..."
Only after Tamayo stopped did he, who had been silent for so long, finally ask his first question.
"Mitsuba, was she truly willing?"
"Yes, I'm very certain."
Nodding lightly, Tamayo gave the affirmative answer that Yoriichi least wanted to hear at this moment.
His younger sister had voluntarily become a demon—neither forced nor confused in mind. Mitsuba had completely made this choice of her own will.
In his mind, he once again recalled the scene of his last meeting with Mitsuba, recalled her calmness when speaking of "all people must die" while holding him that night. Deep confusion suddenly surfaced in Yoriichi's heart.
He didn't understand, he truly didn't understand...
Why could Mitsuba, who had been so calm in the face of death just days ago, even comforting him in return, completely transform into another appearance in just a few days?
Even willingly fall and become a demon to escape her own death?
Mitsuba...
Always keeping his head lowered, Yoriichi's eye sockets gradually moistened, tears continuously dripping onto the back of his hand.
He truly couldn't understand no matter what—what was going on in his younger sister's mind...
"Mr. Yoriichi, I know you must be very sad in your heart right now, but there's something I must remind you of..."
Not giving Yoriichi too much time to grieve, Tamayo continued:
"Your younger sister Tsugikuni Mitsuba, not only is she extremely satisfied with her current identity, but when facing her former compatriots, especially Demon Hunters, she showed no mercy whatsoever...
Most importantly is her Blood Demon Art—that is simply a terrifying power that exceeds all common sense of this world!"
Recalling once again in her mind those abilities Mitsuba had shown her these past few days, Tamayo reminded with an extremely serious tone:
"Altering causality, controlling life and death, influencing thoughts... this ability to arbitrarily change and tamper with others' fate, purely from the perspective of threat to humans, even exceeds Muzan as the Demon King...
No, from a human perspective, she could almost be called a 'god'!"
Tamayo gave the highest evaluation of Mitsuba's Blood Demon Art.
This was not her exaggerating. As currently the only existence in this world who had multiple opportunities to closely observe and understand Mitsuba's Blood Demon Art, Tamayo was very clear about what kind of terrifying power Mitsuba held in her hands!
Yoriichi's strength was unquestionable.
But even though Tamayo had just personally witnessed Yoriichi's strength, personally watched how Yoriichi sliced Muzan into pieces and drove him to a desperate situation... Tamayo still didn't believe that Yoriichi had absolute certainty of defeating Mitsuba.
No matter how strong Yoriichi was, he was human.
And as long as one was human, when facing Mitsuba, they would certainly be at an extreme disadvantage.
"Um, I'm very sorry for overhearing your conversation just now..."
Just as the two fell silent, from the neighboring seat, a young woman suddenly interjected.
This woman had beautiful features, a butterfly hairpin in her hair, appearing to be in her twenties. Beside her was a medicine basket—very much like a traveling physician who practiced medicine everywhere.
"May I ask, is the 'Tsugikuni Mitsuba' you mentioned, the female family head Mitsuba of the Tsugikuni household?"
Turning to look at this pair of men and women who had been having a strange conversation, Butterfly, who had been listening with perked ears for half the day, finally couldn't help but step forward to speak...
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