In the deadly silence, Gyomei Himejima was the first to move. The strongest person in the current Demon Slayer Corps, though completely blind, could still sense that terrifying aura.
"Muzan escaped?"
He faced Bai Cangshu and spoke.
Bai Cangshu turned around, his gaze like a sharp blade sweeping over the few Reincarnators. Their reactions varied.
Elizabeth's face was pale, while Liu Qi and Professor were quite composed.
"Yes, Muzan escaped. One of our members betrayed us and defected to Kibutsuji Muzan."
Bai Cangshu spoke thus. Elizabeth's lips moved slightly, but she ultimately did not speak to refute him.
She wasn't stupid. From Vincent's mysterious movements before, to the sudden attack by "Tao Bai Bai" tonight, it was clear that the other party was not the honest and simple defender she had thought.
Moreover, she now thought that as a Reincarnator who was in the same period as her, or perhaps had experienced even more missions, Vincenthad always fought using firearms, apart from displaying a physique exceeding 10 points.
He hadn't shown any specializations or abilities.
Even she had a powerful hidden trump card. How could a Reincarnatorwho had survived alone have no special abilities at all?
Putting aside everything else, trial missions were the easiest worlds to obtain a first ability.
And both Liu Qi and Professor possessed unique perception abilities. They realized immediately that if Bai Cangshu wanted to assassinate them due to the exposure of his special Reincarnator identity, he wouldn't have used such a flamboyant ability.
Therefore... Vincent had a problem!
Gyomei Himejima frowned. Butterfly Kanae, instead, was the first to approach Bai Cangshu. At this moment, the demon fox vanished like a dream, dissipating with the wind, as if it had never existed.
Only the huge pit on the ground and the completely collapsed row of houses bore witness to the tragedy that had just occurred.
"Mr. Tao Bai Bai, your injuries from the previous battle haven't healed yet, how could you fight Muzan alone?"
Butterfly Kanae was kind-hearted, exuding a simple aura of "I want to save everyone."
Bai Cangshu put away the [Source Blood of the Ogre] and informed everyone of the worst news.
"Not only did Muzan escape, but it's highly probable that he will obtain the [blue spider lily] from Vincent, thus overcoming his final weakness - sunlight."
"Therefore... give up, Demon Slayer Corps."
Bai Cangshu's expression was cold, but Butterfly Kanae's body trembled, and even Gyomei Himejima's movement forward stiffened.
Professor's expression changed. He understood the hidden meaning in this news.
Kibutsuji Muzan would likely become some kind of [Ultimate Being]. With just a few Paper-level Reincarnators, it would be almost impossible to kill this kind of Kibutsuji Muzan again.
Therefore, the Reincarnators must quickly increase their main mission completion and then settle and leave.
After his expression changed several times, Professor immediately turned and left. He was going to find those Shinto Priests and heads of powerful families, and immediately have those families declare their cooperation with the Ubuyashiki Clan to curb the Ogre menace in Japan from the upper echelons.
This was to increase the completion rate.
Gyomei Himejima and Butterfly Kanae were still in a state of shock at this time.
Their belief had always been to kill Kibutsuji Muzan, thereby eliminating all Ogres.
But today, this powerful martial artist, who had personally killed several Upper Moons, told them that Kibutsuji Muzan could no longer be killed. How could they accept this?
Bai Cangshu walked up to the few Reincarnators. Liu Qi pressed his hand on his sword, his expression vigilant.
Liu Qi was a rather "classical" Reincarnator. In other words, he was the type who valued loyalty and teamwork over personal gain.
He believed that this team had gone through a series of battles and had established a certain trust with Elizabeth and Professor. He would not stand by and watch Bai Cangshu kill them.
"Elizabeth, I want all of Vincent's information."
Bai Cangshu approached the green-haired woman who was nearly 1.8 meters tall. The distance between them had reached an extremely dangerous point. Elizabeth could even feel "Tao Bai Bai's" bloody breath.
This guy was like a real beast.
And at this moment, without a doubt, that guy Vincent had, in some form, angered this beast.
Elizabeth frowned and took two steps back. She raised her right hand, her eyes dangerous.
"Tao Bai Bai, you should know that Vincent and I are fixed team members."
She suppressed her anger. Even if Vincent had selfish motives in this mission, being asked to hand over Vincent's secret information still made Elizabeth feel humiliated.
Liu Qi felt the same way. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Elizabeth, the way he held the katana in his hand had unconsciously changed. He had practiced the [Xin You Sword Style] since childhood in reality and already possessed Lv4 level sword specialization when he entered the Space.
In Kendo, among the various martial arts schools in Japan, there has long been the saying of "Upper Three Ranks" or even "Triple Rank," meaning that a Kendo practitioner's first rank is equivalent to three ranks higher or even three times the combat strength of other schools like Karate.
Liu Qi, in close combat, definitely possessed an exceptionally high level of lethality.
Bai Cangshu's lips curved up. Looking at the reactions of the two, he showed a playful arc. He tilted his head slightly, leaning towards Elizabeth's chest.
This action was not to take liberties with her, nor was it to insult her.
"People always like to convince themselves by deceiving others."
"Elizabeth, you're actually suspicious of Vincent too, aren't you? Your heartbeat, your breathing, your pulse... they're all saying so."
Bai Cangshu raised his head, watching Elizabeth's face and eyes constantly change, seeing her thoughts clearly.
At this moment, his breathing was quite short and rapid. The realm called [Transparent World] had already shown him how far this ability could go through the battle with Kokushibo.
At this very moment, Bai Cangshu, step by step, forced out the most hidden thoughts in Elizabeth's heart.
Vincent, in Bai Cangshu's eyes, was clearly someone who was being overly clever. Although he didn't know how he knew about his plan, Bai Cangshu hadn't hidden such things in the first place.
In the team, Professor also realized when he saw the [blue spider lily], and Liu Qi and Elizabeth also received Bai Cangshu's reminder, but they all maintained basic rationality and didn't think they could make a deal with an unprincipled Ogre like Muzan.
Only Vincent, this guy who seemed honest and dependable, was dreaming unrealistic dreams.
Moreover...
Bai Cangshu's eyes were playful. Elizabeth hadn't even shared the [blue spider lily] information with him. The team between these two was not as solid as it seemed.
Liu Qi turned his head. He couldn't believe that the two who always seemed to fight side by side, who had even formed a fixed team, also harbored mutual suspicion.
This made Liu Qi hesitant about the team combat he had originally longed for.
Bai Cangshu glanced at the man wearing a worn-out bamboo hat. This person's thoughts were surprisingly simple.
Tsk, for a person like this to survive until now, he must indeed have some skills.
Scenes of things Vincent had done that made her suspicious appeared in Elizabeth's mind, finally converging on the Space's prompt just now.
[Doppelganger], this was an ability she had never known about. Vincent actually hid such an ability...
Once the seed of doubt appeared, "evidence" flooded in from her mind.
Elizabeth felt a bit dejected, and her tall figure also slumped.
"I only know his number, and his previous codename [Lu Ziyang]. I'm not sure if that's his real name. He might be from northern East Xia; sometimes he has some verbal tics. In the Space..."
"I really don't know any other information about him."
Liu Qi slowly loosened his grip on his sword. Elizabeth seemed flustered, but she explained Vincent's information clearly and thoroughly.
Bai Cangshu nodded, remembering the information Elizabeth provided one by one.
Vincent, I hope you use all your cleverness and find a way to escape from Muzan, taking my formula with you, and then... wait properly until I kill you.
—
Vincent's eyes trembled, but he found that his body was completely unable to control itself.
The next moment, a voice sounded.
"Bug, your parasitic ability is interesting, but it seems you can't completely hinder the host's activity."
Kibutsuji Muzan sat on a carriage, Hantengu driving it, walking under the moonlight.
Kibutsuji Muzan had once again taken on his female form, his crimson eyes full of amusement.
He looked at the blond head sticking out of his shoulder, wondering how he should torture the other party to get that [blue spider lily].
Right, first, I'll turn the other party into my Ogre...