Chapter 118: An Upper Rank Demon Has Been Killed
In the end, Daki followed the demon who had come to lead the way.
Douma quietly lay in Daki's room, narrowing his eyes with a pleased smile.
"...Hmm. It's been a long time since I've seen Hantengu. Should I go say hello before he dies?"
"And then there's Sekido, Urogi, Karaku... Ah, having to greet so many people sounds like such a hassle..."
Creak—
Just then, the door to the room suddenly opened from outside.
An elderly woman's figure appeared.
It was the madam of Kyogoku House. She had noticed that her oiran had been upstairs for quite some time, and after hearing noises coming from above, she had become worried that someone might be mistreating one of the girls.
So she had come up to check.
The madam pushed open the door, only to discover that the person standing inside wasn't a woman at all.
It was a man.
Douma licked his crimson lips, revealing his sharp fangs, and smiled warmly like a boy next door.
"Hello~"
"I feel terrible."
In another part of Kyogoku House, in an attic room upstairs.
Su Chen removed his veil and sat in front of Hinatsuru, quietly complaining about everything that had happened to him that day.
Hinatsuru covered her mouth and laughed as well.
She never would have imagined that a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps could have such an unlucky day.
He had come to Kyogoku House to gather information, only to be mistaken for a customer looking for a prostitute.
And even if he had actually been there for that purpose, he hadn't paid a single coin...
Su Chen's reputation had spread throughout the building in no time.
Many customers downstairs were already talking about it.
They said there was a man named Shinazugawa who had no money at all, yet had come looking for a courtesan and seemed to want her services for free.
Fortunately, the oiran Hinatsuru had discovered the situation in time and stopped it.
The reputation of "Shinazugawa" was completely ruined.
So Su Chen had simply changed his identity.
The first thing he did after coming upstairs was remove his disguise.
There was no way he could continue using that appearance after the reputation it had already gained.
Inside the room, Hinatsuru had also removed her oiran disguise.
She had tied her hair into the familiar ponytail she usually wore in the anime and was dressed neatly.
Hinatsuru had black hair, purple irises, and a beauty mark beneath her left eye.
Born as a shinobi, she had become the top oiran of Kyogoku House thanks to her beautiful figure and distinctive appearance.
But now, she had discarded the elaborate oiran attire.
"Are you not worried about exposing yourself?"
Su Chen couldn't help reminding her when he saw Hinatsuru casually changing clothes.
Hinatsuru smiled.
"It's more comfortable this way, and it's easier to move around. More importantly, it helps prevent accidents."
Hearing that, Su Chen couldn't help thinking about Hinatsuru's mission in the Entertainment District.
He remembered that Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira, had ordered his wives to infiltrate the Entertainment District for reconnaissance.
Besides Hinatsuru, there were Suma and Makio.
All three came from prominent families, second only to the Uzui family in status.
They possessed excellent judgment and had demonstrated remarkable abilities in intelligence gathering, combat, and many other fields.
Even among shinobi, they were considered exceptionally capable kunoichi.
Su Chen glanced at the fishnet stockings she was wearing.
He couldn't help imagining what Shinobu would look like wearing them...
"Ah..."
Su Chen quickly adjusted his breathing.
This was sinful!
How could he possibly have such thoughts?!
After forcing those ridiculous fantasies out of his mind, Su Chen casually looked around Hinatsuru's room.
The oiran's room was enormous.
It was completely different from the room he had stayed in at the Butterfly Mansion.
If he had to compare them, one was a small studio apartment while the other was a three-bedroom suite.
The room had everything one could need, clearly reflecting Hinatsuru's status within Kyogoku House.
He simply didn't know whether Suma and Makio had also reached the rank of oiran like Hinatsuru.
"You can't really be Lord Shinazugawa, can you?"
Hinatsuru looked at Su Chen with a faint smile.
But Su Chen became unusually serious.
"I am Shinazugawa."
Hinatsuru smiled.
"A few days ago, Lord Tengen asked me to find someone. I never expected that person to be you, but it seems I was wrong."
Hinatsuru stood before Su Chen and suddenly bowed respectfully.
"Demon Slayer Corps..."
She lowered her head.
"My respects to Lord Dragon Hashira."
"Ah..."
Su Chen shook his head and sighed.
Even the Sound Hashira's wife had recognized him.
He had originally intended to conceal his identity, but apparently even disguising himself as Shinazugawa couldn't hide who he really was.
So Su Chen simply admitted it.
"That's right. I'm the Dragon Hashira. How did you recognize me?"
Hinatsuru covered her mouth and laughed.
"Lord Tengen told me before that Lord Dragon Hashira was exceptionally handsome, with an aura that was in no way inferior to his own. So I recognized you immediately."
Su Chen was surprised.
He had put on makeup and covered his face with so many scars, yet she had still recognized him.
But Hinatsuru wasn't wrong.
A person's presence was incredibly difficult to conceal.
Some people simply had the aura of a protagonist. Even if they did nothing more than stand there, it was difficult not to notice them.
"Your eyesight is excellent."
Su Chen's praise was completely sincere.
Hinatsuru happily said, "Lord Dragon Hashira, everyone has been extremely worried about you. It's wonderful to see that you're safe!"
It was obvious that Hinatsuru meant every word.
During these past few days, Tengen Uzui had exchanged letters with Hinatsuru every day.
She had long known how highly Tengen regarded Su Chen.
He had even explicitly written that Su Chen would become the first Hashira to kill an Upper Rank demon!
Tengen had also told his three wives various stories about Su Chen.
Stories about Su Chen serving as a miracle doctor at the Butterfly Mansion.
Stories about him defeating Shinazugawa.
To Suma, Hinatsuru, and Makio, those stories sounded almost like legends.
Could someone who had never even gone onto the battlefield to hunt demons really possess such overwhelming strength?
But today, the moment Hinatsuru saw Su Chen, she believed it.
It wasn't merely his temperament.
Those things were external.
What Hinatsuru saw in Su Chen was the same fighting spirit she had seen in Tengen.
It was something similar to what shinobi possessed.
Generally speaking, the denser that aura was, the stronger the person.
Strangely enough, this Lord Dragon Hashira looked very young, yet the fighting spirit radiating from him was astonishingly powerful.
But there was one thing Hinatsuru couldn't understand.
She could also sense killing intent coming from Su Chen.
Hadn't Lord Dragon Hashira never killed a demon before?
Then why did he possess such intense killing intent?
Hinatsuru suddenly thought of something.
She cautiously asked, "Lord Dragon Hashira, did you kill a demon and then escape halfway through?"
Su Chen raised an eyebrow.
"You noticed?"
Hinatsuru glanced at Su Chen's clothing and nodded.
Su Chen was currently wearing clothes he had taken from Gyokko's residence.
Most of them were simple linen garments, making him look like someone who had barely escaped from a disaster.
Those clothes were completely out of place in the prosperous Entertainment District.
So Hinatsuru had been able to deduce quite a bit about what he had experienced simply from his appearance.
Su Chen casually said,
"It's nothing. I just happened to kill an Upper Rank on my way out."