"Clang!"
A crisp shattering sound echoed as the porcelain bowl broke, and the steaming hot noodle soup and soft noodles spilled onto the ground. Tanjiro's hand was bright red from the scalding, but he didn't seem to notice, just staring blankly, his face filled with an icy chill.
"Hey, what are you doing?" The shop owner asked Tanjiro, clearly displeased.
Whether from the perspective of a shop owner or a chef, the shop owner had every right to demand an explanation from Tanjiro.
Normally, Tanjiro would have already stood up and respectfully apologized, but at this moment, he seemed not to have heard at all, his face pale and his body trembling.
Fang Hao took a deep look at Tanjiro; it was the first time he had seen the boy in such a state. Even when he encountered the Hand Demon on Mount Fujikasane before, he was only extremely angry, not like this.
Pale, cold, stiff, disbelieving, with an uncontrollable fury and a killing intent emanating from his bones, making the boy look like a demon.
Tanjiro finally moved, his nose began to twitch again, and the next moment, he stood up abruptly, his hand on his nichirin blade.
"Fang Jun, please, could you look after Nezuko for me?" Tanjiro's voice was hoarse, as if carrying a resolve.
The owner at the side saw this scene and backed away repeatedly. "You broke a bowl, and I didn't even say anything, just 'what are you doing,' it's not enough to draw a sword, is it?" The owner thought this; he was scared by Tanjiro's determined look, as if he was going to kill someone, afraid that Tanjiro would chop him. What's more, the other party had an accomplice and had even thought of a retreat; thinking of this, the shop owner became even more frightened.
Tanjiro rushed out of the shop door and disappeared into the night.
Watching this scene, the owner breathed a sigh of relief, *He's not coming to chop me? Then it's fine.*
Fang Hao, seeing Tanjiro's behavior, had already guessed something. He looked at the still bewildered Nezuko beside him, sighed, "The noodles aren't finished yet, and more importantly, they're quite tasty," then slapped money on the table and chased after them with Nezuko.
The shop owner, seeing the appearance of these people, was truly a bit exasperated. He picked up the money Fang Hao had paid, hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't resist, shouting towards the door: "You didn't pay enough, you scoundrel!"
Fang Hao thought he had left enough compensation and payment, but he hadn't considered that the prices in Tokyo were vastly different from those in Taoyama.
...
Tanjiro was currently running with all his might. "This scent, it's him, there's no mistake, it's that scoundrel!"
Tanjiro's blood felt like it was burning all over his body, his mind was blank, his eyes and ears seemed completely unusable, unable to discern direction at all. Only his nose kept sniffing lightly, chasing after that faint, almost imperceptible scent.
Even though his body had long been tempered through countless trials, his current run seemed to take him back to his childhood, his entire body trembling uncontrollably from exhaustion. Yet, his spirit seemed to transcend his physical form; filled with anger and killing intent, he moved through the bustling streets as if on flat ground, running and leaping. Pedestrians, vehicles, and buildings were not in his sight, yet he was able to navigate quickly and agilely.
"Soon... getting closer... that scoundrel!"
That wisp of scent became increasingly distinct, constantly stimulating his brain and nasal cavity.
Finally—
"Found you! You! Stop!" The boy cried out in grief and anger. The man, called out, turned around.
A well-fitting suit and top hat, the common attire of a Western gentleman in this era, and a pale yet handsome face. Beside him was an elegant young woman, holding a young girl in her arms, looking like an ordinary family of three.
Tanjiro's pupils contracted, somewhat at a loss. He hadn't mistaken him, but these two were indeed humans, and he wouldn't mistake their scent.
Demons naturally cannot bear children with humans. Tanjiro didn't understand reproductive isolation; he only knew that humans were like bread in the eyes of demons. Would you have children with bread?
"What does he want to do? Play human, pretend to live as a human? Has he always been like this?" Tanjiro was somewhat calmer now, his mind racing.
"Kibutsuji Muzan!" Tanjiro's calmness quickly vanished upon seeing that face. His hand rested on the sword hilt, words squeezed through his teeth accompanied by an unerasable killing intent.
"Oh, Papa." The little girl seemed to be frightened by Tanjiro, hugging Muzan tightly, then secretly glancing at Tanjiro.
"Darling, is this boy calling you?" The young woman asked, puzzled.
"What should I do?" Tanjiro's grip on his sword weakened. "Should I act? Should I act now?"
Could he draw his sword in front of them? Although Muzan must have used some method to impersonate their family, could he act in front of them right now?
If he were to act, there were them, and so many other people, what then? Suddenly, Tanjiro's thoughts became increasingly chaotic, and his hand unconsciously loosened its grip on the sword hilt.
Muzan coldly observed the young man before him. *How boring. He recognizes me, yet he's so concerned about so many things. That's why humans have their limits.*
"I don't know him. He probably mistook me for someone else." His tone was full of gentleness, but there was no emotion in his beast-like eyes.
"Is that so?" Although she trusted her beloved, the boy's appearance hardly suggested he had mistaken someone.
The Demon King's eyes were filled with killing intent. *Interrupting me while I'm playing a game, hehe...* His eyes suddenly glanced at the strange earrings on Tanjiro's ears, and the hand holding the child trembled slightly.
"Heh heh, I'll let you live a little longer," the Demon King thought to himself. He decided to find a demon to test Tanjiro.
Thinking this, his eyes subtly scanned his surroundings. As an adult man walked past him, Muzan moved.
His fingernail grazed the man's neck, and at the same time, a barely perceptible wound appeared on the man's neck. The entire process, apart from Tanjiro noticing Muzan's movement, no one else perceived it.
"What did he just do?" Tanjiro hadn't clearly seen Muzan's exact movements just now, only that Muzan's hand had touched the man.
"Huh, is there a bug?" The man felt like he had been bitten by a mosquito on his neck. He casually scratched his neck, didn't pay it any mind, and continued walking forward.
Just then, "The smell of blood." Tanjiro suddenly smelled a metallic scent. His gaze turned to the man from before. "!"
The blood vessels on the man's neck were clearly visible, and a dark greenish-black blood visibly began to spread from his neck. Within a few breaths, the blood vessels bulged out, then diffused throughout his entire body.
"Ah!" The man's eyes were bloodshot. His hands clutched his face, leaving streaks of blood on it, which then healed in an instant. His teeth protruded, growing out from his gums, two fangs extending past his lower lip, and a beastly growl emanated from his throat.
This change was sudden. The woman walking towards him hadn't even noticed before he suddenly lunged and grabbed her, his sharp claws piercing into her flesh. "Ah!" The demon ignored the woman's screams, opening its mouth full of sharp teeth and biting into her shoulder.
"He turned into a demon!" Tanjiro's eyes widened. He never would have imagined such a scene unfolding before him.
He knew Muzan had the ability to turn ordinary people into demons, but how could he have imagined that Muzan would do it so casually? Casually turning an innocent person into a demon, destroying their lifelong happiness.
Tanjiro thought of Muzan's malice and couldn't help but tremble all over. He tore off his clothes, roared, and lunged at the newly formed demon, forcibly separating the woman from its mouth.
He pinned the demon to the ground, tightly stuffed its mouth with his clothes, and forcefully held the demon securely beneath him.
"Kibutsuji Muzan!"
The man's sudden attack clearly frightened the people around him, and a large space quickly cleared around Tanjiro.
Muzan looked back at Tanjiro, then protected the frightened mother and daughter and left. *Powerless rage,* he thought disdainfully. He had seen Tanjiro's performance earlier, and although he didn't feel this boy posed any threat to him, he still decided to send someone to kill him.
"Just let them go."