Horitake wasn't sure which of the two rumors was true. But since the Blue Spider Lily was involved, he couldn't afford to be careless. He decided that, if the chance arose, he would personally verify both locations.
He had already learned the location of Tanjiro's mother's hometown from her own lips long ago. It simply hadn't been on the way before, so he'd never visited. This time, if he could pass by Tanjiro's home en route, Horitake wouldn't mind stopping to take a look.
Of course, the most pressing matter right now was still the so-called man-eating bear. Tanjiro's house was important, but it wasn't going anywhere, was it?
After trudging through the snow—sinking deep with every step—for far too long, Horitake was starting to lose patience. This pace was simply too slow.
Sure, they could usually leap across treetops and rooftops as if strolling on flat ground, but that was brute force. In terrible conditions like deep snow, speed suffered.
Horitake desperately wished he could master qinggong right then and there—something like Lingbo Weibu, leaving no trace on the snow. Wouldn't that let him fly?
With dusk not far off, Horitake decided to stop dawdling. He crouched low in the snow, then sprang upward, landing on a branch overhead. From there, he bounded swiftly from tree to tree.
Why hadn't he used this method earlier? Well…
Crack! Horitake misstepped onto a brittle, dead branch. How could it possibly support his weight? It snapped instantly.
Balance lost, he plummeted headfirst like an onion planted upside-down. Just before hitting the ground, he kicked off a trunk, using the recoil to vault to another tree.
See? That's why.
In the dead of winter, every trunk and branch was bare. With just your eyes, it was impossible to tell which were dead and which still held strength. Under these conditions, Horitake rarely made it far before stepping on a rotten branch, losing balance, and crashing down—only to repeat the cycle moments later.
But time was tight, and he had no choice. Plus, Horitake was bold enough to trust his skill. So he stuck to the trees.
Just before full dark, he finally spotted signs of life in these northern mountains. It was a village called Kita-no-Shuku Azusa—a settlement built by herb gatherers, hunters, and loggers who scraped out a living in the wilds. The rumors of the man-eating bear had spread from this very place.
Not wanting to alarm the ordinary folk, Horitake descended from the trees early and trudged the last stretch on foot before entering Azusa. But the moment he stepped into the village, his expression soured.
No surprise there. Tree-hopping was fast, yes—but every few leaps, he'd hit a dead branch, plummet, climb back up, hit another, and fall again. He'd lost count of how many times he'd eaten snow on the way here. How could he not be in a foul mood?
Face blank as a mask, Horitake strode into the village, thinking: You'd better actually be a demon. If you're just a bear, I'll carve you into pieces, stew the meat, roast the paws, and sell every scrap of fur for cash!
Walking through Azusa, Horitake sensed the air was thick with tension. Because of the man-eating bear, no doubt?
His suspicion was confirmed as two hunters passed by, their conversation drifting over.
"How many victims now?" "No idea. Probably close to twenty." "We can't keep going like this. We have to take that thing down first." "Easy for you to say. In this cursed weather? Killing that beast in the mountains? Nearly impossible." "But we can't just watch more people die!" "You're right. We'll wait for clearer weather, then rally every hunter and sweep the mountains together."
Listening to them walk away, Horitake was now certain. The man-eating bear was definitely in these mountains—definitely near Azusa!
Demon or bear, anything that ate people had to stay close to human settlements. Otherwise, where would it find its meals?
Azusa, one of the only pockets of civilization in this vast snowy wilderness, was the creature's only logical hunting ground. That meant tonight, all Horitake had to do was patrol the perimeter and wait.
Even if it was a demon, it probably wasn't anything too powerful.
With that in mind, Horitake decided to find an inn and rest first. Spending an entire night in this frozen hellscape wasn't appealing—even to him.
After circling the village streets twice, he realized Azusa had only one inn. One was better than none.
But as he approached, a commotion spilled out before he could even step inside. Turning, he saw several older hunters scolding a much younger one.
The older hunters weren't that old, but the young one was truly young—a sharp-dressed, clean-cut, spirited kid. Their "scolding" was less anger and more worry—pure concern for the child.
One of the veterans barked: "Yae! You snuck into the mountains alone again last night, didn't you? It's too dangerous!"
The kid—stubborn as iron—shot back without hesitation: "How was I alone? I had Taro with me!"
"But Taro's not a person—he's a dog!"
Horitake's eye twitched as he glanced at the Akita on the leash. This girl was insane. A single hunting rifle on her back, one dog at her side, and she was charging into the deep mountains at night?
What was she thinking? With a man-eating bear on the loose—and the whole village buzzing about it—no one, no matter how reckless, would go out there to feed themselves to it.
This was practically a buffet delivery!
Horitake instantly flagged her as suspicious. He edged closer, listening carefully.
The veteran hunter pleaded earnestly: "Yae, I know you want to kill that thing—to avenge your father. But this isn't the way. You'll collapse from exhaustion long before you even find it. And going alone? Against a beast that's already eaten nearly twenty people? Listen to me—go home."
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