"Burp~"
Qingshui let out a satisfied burp, Yoriichi Type One following behind him, as they walked through the forest outside Swordsmith Village.
Having just finished a large meal of wild vegetables, he planned to take a stroll to aid digestion and then soak in the hot springs established by the nearby swordsmiths.
Just thinking about it felt wonderfully relaxing.
The sun was setting, and the brief twilight was about to fade.
On the way back, Qingshui suddenly stopped, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.
"You're quite vigilant, aren't you! Konnichiwa, I'm Doma. I smelled something nice, so I wanted to ask for directions."
A young man with a red hat and a smiling face walked up to Qingshui, not far in front of him, and greeted him with an outstretched hand.
What was remarkable was that his eyes were a brilliant kaleidoscope of colors. The left iris read "Upper Rank," and the right one had the number "Two."
"A smell?"
"Ah, ah, ah, I smelled a fragrant young woman over there, and I got hungry, so I thought I'd ask a passerby for directions!"
Doma pointed with a smile towards the distant mountaintop.
That was where the hot springs were located.
Could he be referring to Kanroji Mitsuri?
Was she currently in the hot springs?
"Ah! That's right!"
Doma clapped his hands, as if remembering something, and looked at Qingshui.
"You seem quite formidable. Are you a Hashira? Don't worry, I don't eat men. At most, I'll just borrow your head for a bit. Could you help me with that?"
Doma clasped his hands together in front of his chin, looking at Qingshui with an expectant expression.
"Have you ever seen anyone agree when asked to borrow their own head?"
Qingshui retorted.
"What you said sounds quite reasonable! But in that case, please forgive my rudeness!"
Doma bowed to Qingshui, still smiling broadly.
"Also, even though I know you've been purposefully talking to me for so long, probably to buy time for reinforcements, I'm still very happy that you're willing to talk to me for so long. After all, my colleagues don't seem to like talking to me very much~ Ah, except for Gyokko, he should already be visiting that village now, right?"
Just as Doma's words fell, two golden fans floated out from his sleeves, scattering countless lotus-shaped ice crystals that swept towards Qingshui and Yoriichi Type One beside him.
"*Blood Demon Art: Lotus Leaf Ice!*"
Yoriichi Type One stepped forward, blocking Qingshui, and quickly swung his blade, deflecting all the ice crystals.
"It's quite cold…"
With his Nichirin Blade drawn, Qingshui looked at Doma with a grave expression.
After all, he was Upper Rank Two; he couldn't afford to be careless.
Fortunately, he had brought Yoriichi Type One, adding another strong Hashira-level combatant to his side.
The only pity was that he hadn't brought his Puppet armor, otherwise his own combat strength could have reached an even higher level.
But it wasn't impossible to fight.
Doma's greatest strength lay in his Blood Demon Art, which could create low temperatures, filling the air with tiny ice crystals that would damage the lungs of Breathing Style users, rendering them unable to use their techniques.
But for Qingshui, this wasn't a problem.
Even without a Breathing Style, with the enhancement of Chakra, his overall combat strength remained high. The only concern was that the Puppet might freeze in the low temperatures, jamming its joints.
But…
"*Lightning Release: Lightning Prison!*"
A hand charged with lightning pressed against the ground, injecting a large amount of Lightning Release Chakra into it.
In the blink of an eye, bolts of lightning shot up vertically from the ground, forming a cage around them.
The high temperature carried by the lightning instantly broke down the tiny ice crystals in the air and continuously blasted Doma.
At the same time, Yoriichi Type One also pressed a switch on its right hand with its left, activating the battery connected to its Nichirin Blade, then charged towards Doma.
"Hmm?"
Doma waved his fan, creating an ice-sculpted water lily that rose from beneath his feet, protecting himself. Simultaneously, he waved his right fan again, solidifying countless ice vines entwined with ice lotuses, which wrapped around Yoriichi Type One.
"Why… does this person give me such a familiar feeling? No… I've never seen him before. Is it Muzan-sama's cellular memory…"
Doma touched his eyes, feeling something was amiss.
What was the deal with this cold, silent, red-haired samurai? Why did he not seem like a living person?
And that Hashira could manipulate lightning? Was the Demon Slayer Corps' Thunder Breathing that strong?
Qingshui was also extremely cautious at this moment.
He had been cultivating Chakra for less than a year in this body. Even though his body had developed to a certain extent, his Chakra reserves weren't particularly large, so he couldn't sustain large-scale Lightning Release Ninjutsu for long.
But Demons possess almost limitless stamina, and Doma could continuously generate ice over a wide area.
Engaging a Demon in a battle of attrition was not a wise choice.
However, he seemed to have another way to deal with these ice crystals.
Qingshui focused a portion of his mind, directing his perception deep into his lungs.
Excellent. After practicing the Mind Illumination Technique, my perception has also improved. While I'm not sure if I can use the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique on others without medical equipment, using it on myself is more than feasible.
The lightning gradually subsided, and Doma waved his fan again.
"Blood Demon Art: Freezing Cloud."
This time, the scale of the ice crystals was much larger than before, as if a cold front had swept through.
Meanwhile, on a mountain not far away, two young women's fair, tender bodies emerged from the water.
"Oh my, why did it suddenly get so cold! Shinobu, look, it's even foggy outside the window!"
Kanroji Mitsuri wrapped herself in a yukata and pointed outside the window.
Kocho Shinobu quickly tidied herself up, put on her clothes, furrowed her brow, and gripped the slender Nichirin Blade beside her.
Every day, she endured intense pain to inject her body with concentrated wisteria poison. So sometimes, when she had free time, she would come to this mountain to use the healing properties of the hot springs to alleviate her pain.
"No, it's summer right now. Even if there were hail, the weather wouldn't be this abnormal. Not to mention, it changed so rapidly without any warning."
Such an unusual change reminded her of the culprit who killed her sister.
"Wah! Wah! A Demon is attacking the village! A Demon is attacking the village! All swordsmen, quickly provide support! All swordsmen, quickly provide support!"
Kocho Shinobu's eyes instantly turned sharp and stern. She donned her butterfly-like haori and vanished in a blink.
Kanroji Mitsuri also hastily grabbed her Nichirin Blade, which she hadn't had time to change, and chased after her.
"Separation Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Separation Whirlwind!"
"Blood Demon Art: Scattered Lotus Flowers!"
Fine plasma and endless ice crystal petals annihilated each other.
Qingshui bit the Nichirin Blade in his mouth, using one hand to manipulate Chakra Threads to control Yoriichi Type One, which continued to block Doma's techniques. With his other hand, he activated the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique, extracting the tiny ice crystals from his body.
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