"I need to go find my sister first," Tanjiro said, suddenly remembering that he had left Nezuko at the udon shop.
"You two take this man to get medical attention," Li Xuan instructed, pointing to the unlucky passerby still pinned beneath Tanjiro.
"Understood." Tamayo nodded, signaling to Yushiro to restrain the man.
"I'll have Yushiro find you later," she added.
"Alright," Li Xuan responded, then turned to Tanjiro and said, "Let's go. I haven't seen Nezuko in a while. I've kind of missed her."
Tanjiro smiled gently. "Nezuko has missed you too."
After a long-awaited reunion, Tanjiro's mood, which had plummeted after encountering Muzan, began to lighten. The gloomy cloud hovering over his heart gradually dispersed.
Though both had trained under Sakonji Urokodaki, there was no strict senior-junior hierarchy between them. However, Li Xuan's broader knowledge and more composed demeanor made Tanjiro naturally regard him as a dependable older brother.
With him around, everything just felt a little more secure. And a little brighter.
"By the way, Li Xuan, the demon you're carrying…" Tanjiro asked curiously as they walked.
"You noticed it?" Li Xuan gave the large sack on his back a shake. Inside, something trembled as if in response.
"There's a very vicious and powerful demon in here. I caught it alive," he explained calmly.
"Then why didn't you just kill it?" Tanjiro asked, clearly puzzled. Though kind by nature, Tanjiro never hesitated to eliminate evil demons when necessary.
"This one still has other uses. Just like the demon you met during Final Selection—it can be used to help others sharpen their skills."
"I see…" Tanjiro nodded slowly. His expression softened as he changed the subject. "After Final Selection, you disappeared. I thought something terrible had happened to you. Luckily, those two girls explained your situation…"
"With my level of strength, do you really think anything could have gone wrong?" Li Xuan said, half-joking and half-boasting.
Tanjiro, however, nodded seriously. "That's true."
The two continued walking until the familiar scent of freshly made broth filled the air. Soon, they arrived in front of the udon shop.
"Mm! Mm!" Nezuko let out excited muffled sounds the moment she spotted her brother and Li Xuan. Her wide eyes sparkled with delight.
"She looks healthy," Li Xuan said with a smile. He gently placed his hand on Nezuko's head and gave her a soft pat, his tone warm and gentle.
Nezuko lowered her head slightly, quietly accepting the affection.
"Nezuko really did miss you, Li Xuan," Tanjiro said with a laugh.
In Nezuko's memory, the last time she had seen Li Xuan was back at the shrine. After falling unconscious, she had not laid eyes on him since. And with her brother frequently mentioning his name over the past few days, she naturally began to miss him more and more.
"Let me pet her too." After Li Xuan stepped back, Tanjiro leaned in with a hopeful look on his face.
However, Nezuko let out a soft grunt and shifted her head away, clearly refusing his gesture.
Tanjiro froze in place like a statue, completely stunned.
"She's probably still upset about being left behind," Li Xuan commented, chuckling as he watched their interaction.
"I'm sorry, Nezuko! I shouldn't have left you alone!" Tanjiro quickly apologized, sounding genuinely remorseful.
Nezuko responded by patting her brother's head lightly, her way of saying she had already forgiven him.
"Hey! Are you three not going to eat your udon?" A loud voice suddenly rang out from inside the shop. A bald man stepped out, his arms crossed and his expression intense.
"It's you!" the shop owner shouted, pointing directly at Tanjiro.
He marched out of the shop and glared. "You're the guy who abandoned your bowl of udon earlier!"
"I'll pay for it!" Tanjiro said quickly, waving his hands apologetically.
"It's not the money I care about! It's the udon! You didn't eat my udon!" he shouted, then turned his attention to Li Xuan and Nezuko. "And you! And you! One's biting bamboo, the other's carrying a sack! Put them down and sit down! Eat some udon!"
Now even Li Xuan and Nezuko had been dragged into the commotion.
"Alright, I'll take a bowl," Li Xuan said with a slight grin. He had eaten not long ago, but he didn't mind having more.
"I'll take two bowls, please!" Tanjiro chimed in firmly. He wanted to prevent Nezuko from removing her bamboo muzzle and eating in front of others.
"Alright… alright…" The shop owner looked taken aback by Tanjiro's sudden energy, but he turned and went back inside to prepare the noodles.
Li Xuan calmly savored each bite, taking his time. Meanwhile, Tanjiro wolfed down his two bowls with astonishing speed.
"He looks absolutely starving. Give him two more," Li Xuan suggested with a relaxed tone.
"Coming right up!"
"Huh?" Tanjiro blinked as two more steaming bowls were set down in front of him. He stared at them with a stunned expression.
…
"I can't eat another bite…" Tanjiro groaned, cradling his now bulging belly as he walked with difficulty. He looked more like a chubby cartoon version of himself, wobbling along with Nezuko's support.
"That's why you shouldn't eat too much at once," Li Xuan said with a quiet laugh.
"Ugh…" Tanjiro moaned again, too full to speak properly.
Just then, a green-haired boy stepped out from a corner. It was Yushiro.
"Hmph. That woman's a demon! So you came all this way just to pick up that ugly—"
Before he could finish, Li Xuan gave him a cold, sharp look that sliced through the air like a blade.
Yushiro immediately shut his mouth. The rest of his words lodged in his throat, unable to escape.
Why… why did he feel a strange sense of fear around this man?
He could only assume it was due to Li Xuan's immense power and the fact that he was immune to Tamayo's Blood Demon Art.
"Let's go. Take us to Lady Tamayo," Li Xuan said, his voice calm yet firm.
Yushiro nodded unconsciously and turned around to lead the way.
The group followed silently. Tanjiro could barely walk from being overstuffed, Nezuko was busy supporting her brother, Yushiro had no desire to chat, and Li Xuan saw no need to speak.
Not long after, they arrived in front of a stone wall.
Yushiro stepped up to the wall and casually walked through it.
"Eh?" Tanjiro and Nezuko both stared in surprise.
Li Xuan understood what had happened. This was Yushiro's Blood Demon Art, used to hide the location of their hideout.
After all, Tamayo had once served Muzan and now lived in constant caution.
Li Xuan passed through the wall without hesitation, followed closely by Tanjiro and Nezuko.
They arrived at a modest house. Yushiro walked up and knocked on the door twice.
"Come in," Tamayo's voice rang out from inside.
"I brought them back."
"Welcome back," she replied softly.
Inside the room, a woman lay unconscious on the bed. Tamayo sat by her side, carefully tending to the bite wound on her neck.
This woman was the wife of the man Muzan had randomly turned into a demon earlier. Since she had also been bitten, Tamayo brought her back to treat her.
The man himself had lost all sanity and was now locked in the basement. Though full of energy, he was consumed by hunger and could no longer think clearly.
"Sorry we left everything to you earlier," Tanjiro said, now somewhat recovered and stepping forward. "How is she?"
"She's stable," Tamayo replied, gently covering the woman with a blanket. "But I do feel bad. Her husband is currently locked away in our dungeon."
"Doesn't treating her wound make you uncomfortable?" Tanjiro asked.
Hearing this, Li Xuan reached out and tapped Tanjiro on the head.
"They are not ordinary demons. They survive on human blood," he explained flatly.
"How do you know that?" Yushiro asked in disbelief.
Li Xuan pointed to his nose. "I smelled it. My sense of smell is very sharp. I don't detect the usual stench of torn flesh or blood on either of you."
Of course, that wasn't true. But it was a convenient excuse.
Tanjiro sniffed the air a few times with a serious face, but all he smelled was the faint scent of demons.
Still, he had no reason to doubt Li Xuan's superior sense of smell. If Li Xuan said so, it had to be true.
"I see…" Tamayo said quietly. She had lived for many years and met people with sharp senses, but never one quite like him. Still, she didn't dwell on it any further.