Finally....
He was driven out, covered in dust and dirt.
His expression showed no displeasure, only a slight hint of surprise.
It was his first time seeing an old man who "protected his food" like this.
Influenced by him, Zeno rarely walked in the opposite direction of his bedroom.
With his hands behind his back, he strolled through the deep and quiet corridor, stepping on the mottled stone road, barely different from floating, quickly arriving by Roy's window.
Having trained the "Dark Step" to such a level, he indeed reached the realm of "The loudest sound is inaudible."
He appeared quietly like this, watching the boy inside the house through the glass window.
The boy was completely unaware, absorbed in reading a book.
"There is actually nothing magical about Nenryoku...."
"The Shingen-ryu defines the[Point],[Tongue],[Ren],[Hatsu], and the commonly spoken[Ten],[Zetsu],[Ren],[Hatsu]..."
"They are actually the[expression]process of 'open Nen practice'."
"By gazing at oneself, organizing 'Sense' into language, aided by imagination processing, and finally 'releasing' it, is the essence of Nenryoku application."
"As for[Shu],[Ko],[En],[Zetsu], these derived applied techniques are merely processes of deep processing on the basis of imagination."
"For example,[Zetsu], eliminating one's breath, actually means gathering all the Sense that is dispersed on the body surface into the body, naturally lowering the sense of presence, but the consequence is..."
"Without the protection of Sense, the body cannot withstand the Nen of a Nen user...."
....
"In summary, the cultivation of Nenryoku is not about the application of Nenryoku, but about Nenryoku itself, and the practitioner's understanding and perception of Nen."
"Understanding the 'Form Change' and 'Property Change' of Nenryoku is what each Nen user should focus on."
"Ssshhh..." the night breeze swayed the curtains, making a sound.
At a certain moment, Roy finally was willing to pull himself from the book.
He looked up at the window, where Zeno's figure was no longer, replaced by a bright, high-hanging moon, giving Roy the illusion of seeing himself clearly from a different perspective.
This might be the difference between having 'guidance' and not having guidance...
'Systematic learning, though not necessarily excellent, is certainly not terrible....'
'Conversely, self-taught Nen users, unless extraordinarily talented, find it very challenging to even touch the fringes of top-notch Nen users throughout their lives.....'
Roy closed the book, with some understanding.
He pondered for two seconds, then took out pen and paper from the drawer, writing down three words on the blank space.
[Numerical Value]...[Operation]...[Mechanism]....
"Numerical Value" represents "quantity of Sense"... "Operation" represents the application of "Nen" by the Nen user... "Mechanism" represents "Constraints and Oaths"...
For a mature Nen user, all three aspects must be grasped, all three must be strong.
So as of now, improving constitution, increasing Numerical Value... at least the direction of this path is not wrong.
"Ring..."
At ten o'clock at night, the clock in the corner chimed, reminding Roy it's time for bed....
Further mastery of "Sun Breathing," extending the time of "Concentration" breathing, will rely entirely on "sleep" for replenishment next.
Roy closed the notebook, stretched lazily, and without further insistence, directly threw himself onto the soft big bed.
"Chirp chirp..." the cicadas continued their usual drowsy song....
With the moon high above, some hollow-eyed imp was digging a hole, only showing his head... a chubby kid dressed as a girl by a perverted mother was dreaming of gnawing on a chicken leg... a floor away, in the second-floor master bedroom, a woman screamed again, and the electronic eye was covered with snowflakes...
Roy adjusted his phone to white noise mode, crossed his hands over his abdomen, trying to empty his mind....
Soon, passing through the colorful tunnel, he arrived at his subconscious sea, once again seeing the wooden doors standing on the sea horizon.
This time, Roy was not in a hurry to push the "Demon Slayer Gate," but instead, he walked with interest to those wooden doors, observing them one by one.
Some doors had ocean signs painted... some had paper dragonflies printed... others had an eye ornament hanging... they looked familiar, getting closer allowed him to clearly feel a strong pain...
Making Roy reminiscent of a pitiable person.
A poor soul like him who couldn't control his destiny, played around with by heavy shackles in the palm.
'So, still not strong enough... If truly strong, one could completely transfer their own pain to the whole world, truly achieving the state where I would rather bear the world's burdens than let the world burden me.'
Roy murmured softly, turned around, choosing to distance himself from the pain, reaching out to push open the Demon Slayer gate.
A familiar feeling of falling came——
Upon opening his eyes again, it was Tanjiro's scarred face resembling the Demon Slayer Mark.
"Nii-san, wake up, today we're going to town to sell charcoal."
Dig coal for a day, sell charcoal for a day, if the legs are good, you can make it back home before dark; if not, you would have to camp in the mountain, or find a kind-hearted family for a temporary stay, and continue on the next day.
In the original work, Tanjiro often stayed in that small wooden cabin of Shozaburo Koizumi at the foot of the mountain.
"Why so close?" Roy slapped away Tanjiro's large face that came leaning over, slipped on his clothes, and climbed out of his quilt.
Takeo and Mao were still in deep sleep.
He quietly got out of bed, followed by a pitiful smaller version of himself at his back, pushed open the door, and once again saw the endless Snow Country.
And the wall corner where his father, Tanjuro, had stayed last night.
Underneath the wall corner, his father's footprints were now gone... but——
Tanjuro's words were still vivid in his memory.
As if linked by fate...
Roy glanced sideways at the main house, where Tanjuro also looked over from under the eaves of the main house, the dining was already set by the long-used heater.
"Eiichiro, Tanjiro, come over to eat."
"Coming."
Tanjiro ran up at once, instantly throwing his earlier grievance behind.
Roy followed leisurely behind him, took off his shoes into the main house, and seeing only Mother Kie Kamado and Nezuko, he realized that Hua Zi must have been troublesome again last night, and Grandma was with her, sleeping now.
So, he lowered his voice, speaking softly with his parents.
Breakfast was dumplings served with some leftover pork cutlets boiled into miso soup from last night.
Knowing that Roy was going to sell charcoal today, Kie Kamado woke up early, wrapped many dumplings for Roy and Tanjiro to eat on the road.
Roy naturally had no objections, only while seeing Nezuko eat, noticed a patched-up sleeve, he sipped his soup and said: "This time down the mountain may take two days to return."
"Firstly, to get Nezuko and Takeo some new clothes..."
"Secondly, I need to make a trip to Sagiri yama...."
The former Water Hashira, Urokodaki Sakonji, is nurturing talent for the Demon Slayer Corps led by the Ubuyashiki Clan on Sagiri yama.
Roy decided to take this opportunity to visit, and if he could receive personal guidance from him, nothing would be better.