If they turned back now, everything would have been wasted.
Although Li Xuan knew that Sakonji Urokodaki lived at the foot of Mount Sagiri and that he could simply go there by himself, it was still far more convenient to join under the name of Tanjiro and his sister to become disciples of the former Water Hashira.
Tanjiro only nodded silently. His face was heavy with grief, his eyes distant and sunken. He was still shackled by the pain of losing his family, unable to break free from that crushing sorrow.
Afterward, the group returned to Tanjiro's home.
There, they buried the bodies of his loved ones with quiet, restrained sorrow.
Once the grim task was done, the three of them set out toward Mount Sagiri.
On the way, Tanjiro fashioned a sturdy bamboo basket for Nezuko. Since she could shrink or grow at will, the basket became her shelter, allowing her to accompany them even beneath the sunlit sky. The earthy scent of woven bamboo mixed faintly with the cool morning air as the group pressed on.
During this time, Li Xuan grew unexpectedly close with Tanjiro and Nezuko. The siblings listened with rapt attention whenever he spoke, their eyes shining with fascination at the stories he told. Their fondness toward him only deepened with each passing day.
In their companionship, Li Xuan offered them more than words. He looked after them with quiet care, and his wide range of knowledge left an impression on the siblings, who began to regard him with subtle respect despite their youth.
Li Xuan himself was not idle during those days. While steadily raising their trust, he also quietly gathered benefits from them in his own peculiar way.
He never missed a daily check-in with his mysterious ability.
The greatest reward came from Nezuko herself, who, as a demon, granted him a new skill: "Demonization."
At first, Li Xuan hesitated. He wondered if signing in with Nezuko, who was a demon, might cause his own body to twist into something monstrous. Would he turn into a bloodthirsty creature driven only by hunger for human flesh?
That fear gnawed at him briefly, but the hesitation soon passed. Every check-in he had made so far had brought him strength, never harm. With that reassurance, he made the choice.
What he obtained far exceeded his expectations.
[Demonization: When activated, the user transforms into a demon. Strength and speed are greatly increased, and regenerative ability is heightened.
Note: 1. The instinct to devour humans has been removed. 2. Upon activation, physical appearance will change. 3. Sunlight remains deadly unless countered with the Blue Spider Lily.]
It was a skill he could activate or suppress at will.
The fact that it removed the instinct to feast on humans felt almost merciful. Of course, that also meant devouring flesh could no longer serve as a path to power, but Li Xuan was hardly interested in such a vile method anyway.
The drawback remained the sun. Once transformed, he would still be burned by daylight, which meant the skill could only be used at night. Furthermore, decapitation by a Nichirin blade would still kill him even in demon form.
Yet the system also revealed a path forward: the mythical Blue Spider Lily could eliminate that weakness. To Li Xuan, this was far more reasonable than Muzan's centuries of fruitless searching, never realizing the flower only bloomed under the sun.
If Muzan ever discovered this truth, he would probably die of rage on the spot.
The only disappointment was that the skill offered nothing related to Blood Demon Arts.
Those mysterious abilities varied from demon to demon, granting terrifying powers to the stronger ones. Most ordinary demons never awakened them. Perhaps that would require a separate check-in.
So Li Xuan thought to himself, one day, when he encountered a truly powerful demon, he would obtain such arts as well.
For now, Nezuko was still an inexperienced fledgling demon, far too young to have awakened such a gift. Whether her strange ability to change size counted as a Blood Demon Art remained uncertain. Only time would reveal that answer.
Midnight fell.
In front of the ancestral shrine, Li Xuan and Tanjiro stood with grim expressions. From the base of the mountain, they had already caught the heavy, metallic stench wafting from within.
The shrine loomed dark and oppressive. The trees swayed in the night wind, their branches creaking against one another with eerie groans, as if whispering warnings.
The instant Tanjiro smelled the coppery tang of blood, he realized someone inside must have been hurt. His heart surged with alarm, and he rushed toward the shrine without hesitation. Li Xuan followed close behind, unable to leave the kindhearted boy to face whatever lay ahead alone.
"Li Xuan, someone must be injured," Tanjiro said tensely, his eyes fixed on the tightly shut doors.
"Most likely," Li Xuan answered quietly.
Tanjiro stepped forward quickly and pushed open the shrine doors.
"Is anyone there? Are you safe?"
But the sight that greeted them froze the words on his lips.
Bathed in pale moonlight, the interior was a nightmare. A demon crouched hunched over a corpse, its jaws tearing and crunching through flesh with sickening hunger. Around it lay several more bodies scattered across the shrine floor, their lifeless faces twisted in silent agony.
The creature lifted its head and growled irritably. "What is this? This is my territory. Disturb my meal, and I will not forgive you."
Its face was grotesque, the pupils dilated wide with madness, veins bursting red across its eyes. Razor-sharp fangs glistened wet with gore, dripping strands of blood and flesh in the flickering moonlight.
Tanjiro froze in shock. He had never expected such a horror.
Nezuko, arriving moments later, was struck by her own primal instincts. The stench of blood clawed at her senses. Hunger surged, and her mouth watered uncontrollably. Drool slipped from the corner of her lips as her body trembled with desire for flesh.
Li Xuan, standing at the rear, remained expressionless. He noted silently that Urokodaki's hypnotic suggestion to make Nezuko view humans as family would be crucial. Without it, her resistance would falter under such temptation.
The demon licked its lips and narrowed its gaze. "Wait. You are human?"
It had clearly expected the scent of a fellow demon.
Suddenly, a candlestand inside the shrine toppled with a crash, sending shadows dancing wildly along the walls. The demon lunged forward in an instant, its clawed hand stabbing straight toward Tanjiro's throat.
So fast!
Tanjiro's eyes widened in shock.
But the boy was not helpless. In a split second, he reacted, pulling a hidden axe from beneath his clothing and swinging it with desperate speed.
The arc of the blade reached farther than the demon's arm. Before the claws could touch him, the edge cut across the demon's neck. It halted its assault at once, jerking backward to avoid decapitation.
"An axe, is it? Not bad," the demon sneered. "The last ones I killed barely scratched me, yet this little brat managed to wound me. But such a scratch…"
It grinned savagely. "It will heal in moments."
Before their eyes, the wound sealed shut with unnatural speed, as though it had never been cut at all.
Tanjiro's heart sank. The sheer resilience of the creature was terrifying. He tightened his grip on the axe handle until his knuckles whitened.
He never took his eyes off the demon, but suddenly it was gone. By the time he realized it, the monster was already on top of him, pinning him down. One hand clamped around his throat, the other pressed against the arm that held his weapon.
The strength was overwhelming. Tanjiro struggled with all his might, but the demon's iron grip did not budge. His lungs screamed for air.
Then, a thunderous crack split the night.
A spray of blood burst from the demon's temple, a neat hole torn straight through its skull.
It was Li Xuan. The pistol in his hand smoked faintly.
The demon tried to snarl. "What… how…"
But Li Xuan gave no pause. His gun roared again and again, each shot drowning out the monster's words. Bullet after bullet slammed into its head, spraying gore and bone until the clip ran empty.
The continuous barrage left the demon stunned, its regeneration lagging under the relentless damage.
The pressure on Tanjiro's body lightened. With one last desperate effort, he gathered his strength and swung the axe at the creature's neck.
The blade bit deep, but just short of severing the head entirely. The demon's arm shot up, gripping the axe blade before it could finish the cut.
"You damned brat!" it roared, fury burning in its eyes. Hatred seethed not only for Tanjiro, but also for the mysterious human who had riddled its skull with bullets.
It twisted its head to search for the culprit, vowing to tear him apart once Tanjiro was dead. But as its gaze snapped around, the first thing it saw was the bottom of a black shoe.
Nezuko's foot slammed into its head with crushing force.
The kick sent the demon's head flying clean from its body, just as the story was destined to unfold.