"Two days... does it really have to take that long?"
"Nii-san, I don't need new clothes; it's better to use the money to buy food for my younger siblings."
Nezuko spoke with a smile, her eyes curving like Kie Kamado, extraordinarily gentle and considerate.
"We need to buy clothes. Fortunately, there's no shortage of food at home for now."
They just slaughtered a pig yesterday, and there would be no worry about having meat for half a month.
"That's too long..." Kie Kamado looked worriedly at Roy: "What are you going to do at Sagiri yama again?"
Just selling charcoal, the town at the foot of the mountain is enough to sell the Kamado Family's accumulated stock of two days.
"Learn something." Roy peeled off a dumpling and took a small bite: "Tanjiro is grown up now and can help with the work. Actually, the family doesn't need two coal miners. I want to go down the mountain and see if I can learn a craft to help support the household."
Evil Ghosts mustn't be mentioned, and the Demon Slayer Corps even less so; home still has Takeo, Mao, and Hua Zi, best to not frighten them.
Yet living under the same roof all these years, and linked by the same bloodline... Roy's reasoning was hard to satisfy Kie Kamado and Tanjuro, especially Tanjiro who had gone through a ghost attack.
'Nii-san is lying,' Tanjiro occasionally glanced at Roy.
After being glared at by Roy, he quickly lowered his head, pretending to drink soup.
"You don't need to support the household; Nezuko and I both weave baskets. Selling them in the town gets us some pocket money, enough to buy new clothes."
"Yes, Nii-san... I've already learned how to weave the vine strips."
Nezuko said this, pulling a hand-held basket from under the table, filled with needlework supplies, with exquisite craftsmanship.
The patch on the cuff was clearly another masterpiece sewn by herself.
"My Nezuko is truly capable." Roy warmly praised Nezuko, lifting his gaze to look at Tanjuro who remained silent, and still persisted in telling Kie Kamado: "No, I must go."
"Hopefully, I can find a way to cure father down the mountain."
Kie Kamado opened her mouth, but finally didn't say anything.
Tanjuro's illness had always been a concern for the whole Kamado Family, if a real cure could be found, it would be a blessing for the Kamado Family.
Nezuko and Tanjiro quietly glanced at father... Tanjuro held a needle taken from a woven basket, clutched in his palm, standing up.
He gently said to Roy: "Eiichiro, come with me."
The heavy snow bent the pine forest to the ground....
Tanjuro donned a thick coat and led the way down the corridor, followed silently by Roy...
Father and son bypassed the corner and, standing behind the house, stepped across two rows of footprints on the snow, wiped away by the wind and snow, disappearing again.
"Bring your ear out, bear it, don't complain about the pain." Tanjuro showed the thin needle in his hand, motioning Roy to present his earlobe, and poked it in.
A brief sting, like a mosquito bite, disappeared in an instant... then....
Roy saw Tanjuro take off the Sun Earrings passed down from Tsugikuni Yoriichi, putting them on him, adjusting the position while saying: "Father is useless and has little to offer you."
"The family heirloom earrings will be yours."
"May Lord Fire God bless my child with health, safety, and peace."
"Sob... choked..." Earrings swung below Roy's earlobe, swaying in the wind....
Tanjuro looked on with a smile, just like his father did when he was young, saying with satisfaction: "Very good, very spirited."
Roy's throat felt dry, wanting to say something...
Not sure why, it could only turn into a dry promise in the end: "I will find a way to cure father."
Tanjuro patted his shoulder, smiled: "Let's go."
Turning away, leaving a slender figure behind him.
The young man lagged at the back, standing silent for a moment, suddenly feeling a chill on the neck as snow fell from the tree into his collar... so he took a deep breath, and followed along.
It's now 6:55 in the morning.
The two foolish wild chickens caged in the basket hadn't yet learned to crow.
The Kamado Brothers were already prepared for departure, fastening the baskets, stowing tea, bringing dumplings, and belting two sharp axes.
Yubashiri couldn't be carried in the form of "Anti-Conjuration", so the axes were used for protection.
If they encountered difficult paths, they could chop through the thorns to cut a way open.
Mother Kie Kamado helped Tanjiro adjust his clothes, then tightened the scarf around Roy's neck, nagging:
"Slow down on the road..."
"If you encounter danger, don't stick out, and avoid looking in crowded places..."
"Even at night, spend money on lodging rather than going into the mountains....."
Quick-witted as usual, Tanjiro blurted out, reflecting his straightforward personality: "Mother, I and Nii-san will come back, no need to worry."
The boy, going down the mountain for the first time, excitedly patted his axe, confidently added: "If there's danger, I'll protect Nii-san first!"
"Not dragging your big brother down is a good thing." Kie Kamado gave him a light glare, then turned to Roy with deep concern: "Take care of your brother...."
Roy gently agreed, his gaze sweeping over Kie Kamado, Tanjuro, and Nezuko, finally resting on the grandmother coming out with Hua Zi in her arms.
"Aba... Aba..." Hua Zi reached for Roy with open arms.
The little girl had just woken, hadn't washed her face, even had little eye dirt at the corners.....
Roy didn't mind, he walked up and kissed her tender cheek, smiling at grandmother: "I'll be back."
Grandmother smiled and nodded, sitting with Hua Zi in the corridor, watching Roy lead Tanjiro away, her eyes warming, flowing with two lines of tears.
"Leaving home young, returning old; the hometown accent unchanged, but graying hair hastening."
"Eiichiro's mother, why do I feel like we'll never see him again?"
Kie Kamado stood in the snow, wiping tears with the back of her hand: "I'll check on Takeo and Mao, the two little ones knowing their big brother left without calling them might cause trouble."
After speaking, she didn't answer grandmother's question, turned away... disappearing in the courtyard.....
The snow fell harder, thicker, a vast courtyard connecting to the entire forest, leaving Tanjuro alone standing in the snow, staring for a long, very long time...
Until those two tiny figures were no longer in sight....
Tanjuro started to dance the "Dance of the Fire God".....
"Dance", "Clear Blue Sky", "Raging Sun", "Fake Rainbow"...
Dancing elegantly, he moved like a fiery spirit, lifting drifts of snow...
But this time, his dance was no longer accompanied by earrings... Those earrings symbolizing the thousand-year bond between Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the Kamado Family, now passing to a new owner, embarking on a new journey, equally... a new life...
Such was a brilliant life even beyond Tsugikuni Yoriichi's imagination in the underworld!