"Then let us go together, Li Xuan!" Rengoku called out with his usual booming voice, beckoning him to follow.
Li Xuan gave a slight nod and walked at his side.
"By the way, does it not matter that you are not wearing the Corps uniform?" Rengoku suddenly asked as they made their way along the path.
"It should not be a problem. After all, the Master never insisted on it," Li Xuan replied, shrugging casually. His tone carried the indifference of someone long accustomed to ignoring the uniform.
"I think it is best to wear the uniform properly at all times," Rengoku said seriously, his fiery eyes unwavering.
"Perhaps next time. We are already halfway there, and going back to change would be a troublesome waste of time," Li Xuan answered without much thought.
"The other Hashira might have opinions about it," Rengoku reminded him, though he did not force the matter.
"It will be fine," Li Xuan replied calmly.
The two of them walked with an almost leisurely pace, their steps unhurried as they approached the residence of the Master.
When they stepped into the courtyard, they realized that many others were already waiting there.
It seemed they were the last to arrive.
Immediately, the eyes of everyone in the courtyard turned toward them.
"Everyone is already here!" Rengoku announced loudly, his voice filled with energy as if to sweep away the tension.
"Good day to you, Rengoku," Shinobu greeted him with her gentle smile.
"Rengoku, you are as flamboyantly spirited as ever!"
The speaker was a tall, muscular man with long white hair tied into a ponytail, gemstones glittering on his headpiece. His left eye was framed by bold red makeup painted in radiant lines, and his modified Corps uniform left his broad arms bare. His presence was imposing and his words filled with pride.
This was Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira.
Li Xuan knew of him. A former shinobi who had turned to demon slaying, a man who could not speak without using the word "flamboyant." Yet what lingered most in Li Xuan's memory was that Uzui had three wives and, unlike many, would survive until the very end to live happily with them.
"You are late, Rengoku."
The cold remark came from a man reclining on a tree branch above. His eyes were mismatched, one green and the other gold. Bandages wrapped around his mouth, and a white snake coiled lazily around his neck. Over his neatly worn Corps uniform, he wore a striped black and white haori.
This was Obanai Iguro, the Serpent Hashira. His voice carried a quiet sting of reproach.
"My apologies!" Rengoku answered with his booming voice, still filled with vigor.
"And who is that?" Iguro's sharp gaze shifted toward Li Xuan, who stood a step behind Rengoku. His voice carried suspicion. "Is he your Tsuguko?"
"No, he is a swordsman of the Corps," Rengoku replied at once.
Iguro's mismatched eyes suddenly sharpened with serpentine hostility. He raised a finger to point directly at Li Xuan. "This is a matter that only the Hashira have the right to discuss. Ordinary swordsmen have no place here. Moreover, he stands here without the Corps uniform, ignoring the rules. He must be punished."
So strict, so cool!
From a distance, a girl with soft pink hair that shifted to green at the ends of her bangs and braids looked at Iguro with stars in her eyes. Her leaf-green gaze sparkled with admiration, her heart fluttering with infatuated thoughts. Two tear-shaped beauty marks rested beneath her eyes, and her attire drew attention: a white haori draped over a revealingly modified uniform, paired with a short skirt and thigh-high striped socks in green.
This was Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira.
Just as Iguro finished speaking, Shinobu covered her mouth with a soft laugh. "He is the very swordsman I mentioned earlier…"
"Oh?" Uzui's eyes widened slightly. "So he is the one who sheltered a demon, violated the Corps' rules, and even clashed with you?"
"Then he must face judgment as well," Iguro declared, his pointing finger shifting slightly as his gaze flicked toward Tanjiro, who lay bound and unconscious in the courtyard.
Li Xuan's eyes followed. He noted that Tanjiro's injuries had begun to heal somewhat, and relief settled in his heart.
"Li Xuan, did you shelter a demon and break the Corps rules?" Rengoku suddenly asked, his voice filled not with anger but with almost eager curiosity, as though he had discovered something new. His eyes glimmered as brightly as fire.
Li Xuan inclined his head slightly. "Yes."
"Then you must be judged! You will be executed together with the demon!" Rengoku announced with the same unshaken enthusiasm, his expression unchanged, still blazing with vitality.
You really do not hold anything back, do you?
Li Xuan lowered his gaze slightly, casting a sidelong glance at Rengoku. Only moments ago, he had been smiling so warmly.
"Sheltering a demon cannot be tolerated," Rengoku added, perhaps realizing that his words had been too blunt.
"Exactly! Let me flamboyantly sever their heads. Their blood will scatter in a spectacle more flamboyant than anyone has ever seen!" Uzui proclaimed proudly, his head tilted upward, his tone arrogant.
"What pitiful children," came a deep, sorrowful voice.
A towering man, built like a monk, stood weeping openly. His eyes were blind, pale and sightless, and a long scar ran across his forehead. Around his thick neck hung large crimson prayer beads. Over his broad shoulders draped a brown haori bearing the words "Namu Amida Butsu."
This was Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira. His expression was filled with grief and compassion as tears streamed down his face.
"Allow me to release you from this suffering…" he murmured, his palms pressed together as the beads clattered gently with the motion. His voice was soaked in sorrow, his words like a prayer for the dead.
"What was the name of that cloud again…"
A soft, detached murmur drifted from a young boy standing apart from the others. His long black hair tipped with mint green swayed lightly in the breeze, and his pale blue eyes were distant and expressionless.
This was Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira, a prodigy who had become a Hashira after only two months of training. His voice was faint, as though his thoughts were elsewhere entirely.
"Still, his strength is impressive," Shinobu interjected with a sweet smile. She had not forgotten her earlier confrontation with Li Xuan, and her words seemed laced with a quiet desire to vent her irritation.
That was Shinobu's nature. Behind her gentle exterior lay a streak of mischief and hidden sharpness.
"Strength is irrelevant. Sheltering a demon is unacceptable. No matter how strong he is, he must be punished," Iguro replied coldly, his muffled words slipping past the bandages around his mouth like venom.
In truth, he did not believe Li Xuan was particularly strong. He was not a Hashira, and his name was not known among the Corps.
"We should wait for the Master's decision," Giyu said at last. Standing apart from the others, his voice was calm, but it carried quiet support for Li Xuan.
"There is no need to trouble the Master with this. We, the Hashira, can decide on our own," Iguro retorted sharply, dismissing Giyu's words.
"Flamboyantly execute them here and now," Uzui added.
"Release them from this pitiful existence," Gyomei said, his tears flowing freely.
"But if this boy was carrying out missions with a demon, then surely Lord Ubuyashiki knew of it," Mitsuri said hesitantly, her eyes flicking toward Tanjiro. "If we pass judgment on our own without his word, would that not…"
Her words caused silence to fall across the courtyard. For a moment, none of the Hashira spoke.
"Then let us wait for the Master's decision," Rengoku said finally, breaking the silence.
The others nodded, accepting the conclusion.
"Even so, he should stand as the boy does, awaiting judgment," Iguro said, his sharp gaze piercing Li Xuan once more like the fangs of a serpent.
After all, both Tanjiro and Li Xuan had committed the same offense. Yet in this courtyard, their situations could not have appeared more different.