For the rest of the time, Oboro spent most of his time in the small courtyard at the foot of Yunqu Mountain.
He only followed the Kamado father and son up the mountain when they came down to sell charcoal and drink a wild vegetable soup made from blue-red spider lilies.
Winter was a good time for the Kamado family to sell charcoal. Almost all of their income for the entire year came from the fall and winter sales. As for spring and summer, except for the occasional purchase of a few necessities, there were basically no expenses. The mountains were rich in resources and there were many wild animals to hunt.
It was Oboro who had deliberately mentioned asking Mrs. Kamado to use the blue-red spider lily to make wild vegetable soup. He said that this wild vegetable tasted good, and being thoughtful, she would make it every time Oboro visited.
She would also add some Chinese medicine to it.
Thanks to Oboro's help, Kamado Tanjuro's complexion had obviously improved, but the life he had consumed before could not be regained. Oboro could only help him to maintain his current vitality and to let it expire at a normal rate. At the very least, this would allow him to live to about forty.
In the turbulent times of the late Edo period, even if nothing unexpected happened, it was easy for ordinary people to die young.
For people in those days, living past the age of forty was considered very good.
At a young age, Tanjiro also began to learn breathing techniques from his father, but Oboro gave him no guidance.
Compared to father and son, Oboro's physical condition deteriorated day by day. His cheekbones became thinner and sunken, much to the concern of Tanjuro's wife.
After spending time together, the family of three understood that this young high-ranking official of the Shogunate had no ulterior motives toward them. They also knew that Oboro lived at the foot of the mountain and cared deeply for the townspeople. He had even bought several wagons of food from the capital at his own expense and delivered it to poor families free of charge.
The area of Mt. Kumotori was very close to the main city where the shogunate was located, which would become Tokyo in later generations, but this corner of the region was relatively remote.
As time went on, Tanjiro accompanied Oboro every time he went down the mountain, mainly because he was worried about him.
One day, Oboro was walking down the mountain road, leaning on a wooden stick.
Almost every hundred meters he had to stop and cough.
The handkerchief he used to cover his mouth was stained with bright red blood.
At that time, the sound of swift footsteps came from the distance. Tanjiro ran quickly with a bunch of flowers in his hand.
Seeing Oboro's condition, the smile on his face became a little heavier.
He liked Mr. Oboro very much, not only because Oboro helped his father and the people down the mountain, but also because of Oboro's integrity. Although he was only a child, he was not confused about such things. Oboro was a high-ranking official, but he could live in harmony with the common people, which was extremely rare in those times.
Not to mention people like Oboro, even some samurai who occasionally entered the city could become violent toward civilians if they were displeased, and some even went so far as to kill people in the streets.
Though such things happened less frequently here, they could be seen everywhere in other places.
"Mr. Oboro, this is for you."
Tanjiro exhaled white air, his eyes sweeping over the cuffs where Oboro had hidden the bloodstained handkerchief. He smiled brightly and held up the flowers he had picked.
"What is this?"
The branch in the boy's hand was still covered with frost, and the delicate blue petals glowed with a strange beauty in the sunlight. Oboro recognized it at once. It was the blue-red spider lily Muzan had always dreamed of. It was also the raw material he had been using medicinally during that time.
"Mr. Oboro said he liked its taste, so I asked my mother to take me to pick this wild vegetable so that I could become familiar with its growing environment."
Tanjiro laughed.
"Why give it to me?"
Oboro held out his hand and gently touched the boy's hair.
"I think this flower is a good match for you, Mr. Oboro. Mother also said that in this mountain, this kind of flower has the most demanding growing conditions and appears for a very short time. It is also the most beautiful. Although it is a wild flower, it is different from other flowers and plants. It has a very noble and unique temperament, and the fragrance it emits is also that kind of light and quiet plant fragrance. If you don't smell it carefully, you can't recognize it. Unlike some other herbs, it doesn't have a pungent or overpowering smell."
"Thank you."
Oboro nodded and said, "Thank your mother for me when you return."
Since it had demanding growing conditions and was not easy to find, the woman must have gone to great lengths to satisfy his preference.
Then the two of them walked down the mountain together.
The few blue lilies of the red spider lily remained in Oboro's hands for less than half an incense stick of time before they disappeared.
This was also the reason why Tanjiro had run all the way here.
They didn't wilt, but after these flowers were separated from the ground, their originally slender branches were immediately frozen by the cold air, turning into fragile ice flakes. With a light breeze, they shattered into ice crystals and floated away.
Their beauty was short-lived.
Even if they were found, special methods would probably be needed to use them as medicine or to preserve them.
Tanjiro bit his lip as he watched the flowers disappear.
Oboro felt his emotions and gave him a comforting smile.
Because of the special environment of this world, Oboro discovered that the emotions of the people here were purer. Good was good, evil was evil, and there were not too many other thoughts mixed in. On the other hand, looking at the faces in the Hunters' Association, not to mention how many of them were skilled in strategy, they were all somewhat scheming.
"Mr. Oboro"
When they reached the foot of the mountain, Tanjiro suddenly opened his eyes wide, looked at Oboro and asked as if he had found the courage: "Where is your home?"
He thought the question was a bit rude.
"I don't have a family, or at least I did, but I didn't care about them."
Oboro saw through his thoughts.
"I'm sorry."
Tanjiro lowered his head.
"It's okay. People always have to grow. Growth never stops. It's the same for me and you, luckily you're still young." Oboro smiled nonchalantly, "Don't misunderstand me. What I mean is that my home is not here, but in another place. My family and I are only temporarily separated. One day I will go back."
"Mm."
"People not only grow up, they also change. If I change one day and become a bad person, what will you do when you see me again?"
"Huh?!"
Tanjiro was stunned and shook his head quickly: "How could that be? Sir could never be a bad person."
"That's just from your perspective. For someone like me, just the way I dress makes me a bad guy in this world. Besides, you don't know me, so how can you be sure that I'm not a bad guy? Maybe I'm just pretending now?"
"The eyes don't deceive and neither does the smell."
Tanjiro said firmly.
"Child."
Oboro smiled inwardly.
He remembered the scene when Kamado Tanjuro used the Sun Breath and performed the Kagura Dance.
He thought to himself, "It doesn't seem to work in his generation.
After a while, they reached the foot of the mountain.
Oboro looked at the boy who was running with a small axe in his hand, turning to wave at him every few steps. Oboro waved back.
Then he left alone.
After Tanjiro had turned the corner, the smile on his face disappeared. He looked down at the figure walking alone on the snowy path in the distance, his eyes filled with heartache.
Mr. Oboro usually looked a lot like his father, gentle and approachable, but Tanjiro always felt that Oboro had a kind of "melancholy" about him, as if he had lost something important.
Family? Mr. Oboro always kept to himself, not even bringing a servant with him.
It gave people a feeling of deep loneliness.
Tanjiro had also discussed Oboro with his father in private, and his father told him that Mr. Oboro was an extremely powerful person.
That kind of power was not superficial.
The paths to power all led to the same goal and were not understood by ordinary people.
After that, the Demon Slayer Corps did not come to bother Oboro anymore.
The breathing technique that Oboro had taught them had begun to spread within the Demon Slayer Corps.
Relying on the research and practice of several Hashira-level swordsmen, they quickly mastered the breathing technique and used it in actual combat.
Several types of breathing styles were also incorporated into the Demon Slayer Corps' teaching materials, and Ubuyashiki personally summoned all the swordsmen for secret training.
Muzan and the demons under his command were still unaware of all this.
A counterattack was coming!