"It looks like he's been poisoned. Put him down first, and I'll determine how to mix the antidote based on his symptoms." Kochou Shinobu stopped after hearing Chiba Yo's words, looked at Zenitsu's condition, and then spoke to Chiba Yo.
"Alright." Chiba Yo complied, gently setting Zenitsu down as Kochou Shinobu instructed.
Kochou Shinobu leaned over to examine Zenitsu's condition, then took out several vials of medicine. While mixing the antidote, she said, "Fortunately, this poison isn't difficult to cure, and this boy used his Breathing Technique to slow the spread of the toxins, so there won't be any problems."
Upon hearing Kochou Shinobu's words, Chiba Yo breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Shinobu-jie jie. Also, there are quite a few people infected with this poison back where I came from," Chiba Yo said to Kochou Shinobu.
He had been too anxious just now, so he brought Zenitsu straight to Kochou Shinobu, especially since Kyoujurou had told Chiba Yo when he first met her that she was very skilled with poisons.
If Kochou Shinobu hadn't come along this time, Chiba Yo truly wouldn't have known what to do.
"Is that so? I'll go over there once the antidote is prepared," Kochou Shinobu replied while mixing the medicine.
In a short while, she had already prepared the antidote, then injected it into Zenitsu's arm.
At this moment, the Hidden members who had been following behind also arrived.
"He's out of danger now. He just needs some time to recover, and he'll be fine," Kochou Shinobu said as she stood up.
Chiba Yo turned to look at Zenitsu upon hearing this and saw that the poison spots on Zenitsu's face had indeed receded.
Zenitsu's consciousness also cleared up at this point, and the first thing he saw was Chiba Yo and Kochou Shinobu in front of him.
The pain in his body and his recent ordeal made him burst into tears with a "Waaah!"
"Yo!!! It's really you! I thought I was dreaming! Hey, hey, let me tell you, that spider just now! It was so scary! It wanted to turn me into a spider…"
Zenitsu cried and spoke at the same time, lunging towards Chiba Yo, his snot almost getting on him.
"Yes, yes…" Chiba Yo responded to Zenitsu.
Hearing Kochou Shinobu's words just now and seeing Zenitsu in his current state, Chiba Yo's hanging heart completely relaxed.
"It was really scary! Tanjirou and Inosuke even left me and walked away! I couldn't find them at all…"
"Mm-hmm…" Chiba Yo nodded in response. Although he responded, Zenitsu's current jumbled words made it difficult for him to understand.
Who is Inosuke…
Chiba Yo thought helplessly.
"Bandage him up," Kochou Shinobu suddenly said with a smile to the Hidden members who had just arrived.
"Yes!" The Hidden member respectfully replied, then immediately took out bandages.
"Do you know what's even more infuriating? He actually took Nezuko with him too! Taking Nezuko to such a dangerous place… Waaah… Waaah…"
"Right, right…" Chiba Yo continued to respond.
Who is Nezuko again…
As Zenitsu spoke, he suddenly couldn't make a sound. He looked again and found that he had been tied up like a mummy by the Hidden members, with all parts of his body except his eyes wrapped in bandages.
"Waaah… Waaah…"
Zenitsu cried out twice more, but his movements immediately stopped.
The joy and excitement of suddenly seeing a familiar face had made him temporarily forget the pain in his body. Now that he was bound by bandages, the pain immediately surged, and even a slight movement caused him great agony. Zenitsu now dared not move at all.
Looking at Zenitsu, whose eyes were teary, and even though only his eyes were exposed, one could feel his utter despair, Chiba Yo knew he shouldn't, but he still felt a little like laughing. Fortunately, he held it in.
"Xiao Yang, please lead the way for me. I'll go treat those people you mentioned who were infected with the poison," Kochou Shinobu said to Chiba Yo at this moment.
"Alright." Chiba Yo responded, then led Kochou Shinobu and a group of Hidden members to the place where he had found Zenitsu earlier.
Zenitsu, meanwhile, was left behind, looked after by two Hidden members.
The group arrived at the place Chiba Yo had described. There were many people crawling on the ground, almost completely transformed into spiders, their hair almost entirely fallen out, but they didn't seem to have become stronger.
"Inject them with the antidote I just prepared," Kochou Shinobu said to the accompanying Hidden members.
"Yes!" The Hidden members responded and immediately began injecting the antidote into the people who were about to turn into spiders, following Kochou Shinobu's instructions.
The symptoms of those injected with the antidote gradually eased, and more people who were about to be turned into spiders gathered towards Kochou Shinobu.
"Shinobu-jie jie, I'm going to check ahead." Chiba Yo saw that there were enough people here and that he couldn't be of much help, so he said to Kochou Shinobu.
After all, the purpose of coming to Mount Natagumo this time was for the Twelve Kizuki and to re-verify the Crimson Blade, and they hadn't yet found the Twelve Kizuki hidden here. The only demon they had encountered was the one Zenitsu had slain.
"Okay, you go," Kochou Shinobu replied.
She couldn't leave just yet; the rescue work here still needed her supervision.
After receiving Kochou Shinobu's reply, Chiba Yo continued to rush towards the center of the mountain.
He wondered if Tomioka-san had encountered that Twelve Kizuki… And also, as Zenitsu just said, Tanjirou should be here too. He hoped he was alright…
Chiba Yo thought, feeling a little worried.
The scenery in front of him flew by quickly. Suddenly, Chiba Yo stopped; he seemed to have seen something strange just now.
Walking back a couple of steps, Chiba Yo saw a guy wearing a wild boar head tied with a rope and hanging from a tree.
…
He's a boy, with such heavy injuries, and he's even tied up and hanging… This… Could it be Giyuu who did this…
Under Transparent World, Chiba Yo discovered that the guy wearing the wild boar head was a young boy. Looking at the boy hanging there, Chiba Yo somewhat suspected that Giyuu had done it.
The purpose should be to restrict his movements, as his injuries were already very severe, and Giyuu still had to find the Twelve Kizuki. Given his personality, he would very likely do something like this.
Untying the ropes on the boy wearing the wild boar head, Chiba Yo carried him to the nearest Hidden members, then handed the boy over to them.
"Wild boar head!? What is this?" Upon seeing Inosuke, the Hidden members were startled but still took Inosuke.
"He should also be a Demon Slayer Corps member. I'm leaving him to you. I'm going now," Chiba Yo said and then left.
Now he vaguely remembered seeing this boy once during the Final Selection, but at that time, he quickly ran off yelling "Boar Rush," so Chiba Yo didn't have a very deep impression.