At that time, he searched frantically everywhere, but he couldn't find a single living person, let alone a corpse.
Overwhelmed with grief, he reported it to the police, but after many days of investigation at his home, the police still couldn't find any clues and eventually concluded that it was the work of wild beasts.
However, there were no wild beasts near his home, so this explanation couldn't possibly be true.
It was then that he recalled the local legends he had never believed in the past and had no choice but to link the incident to demons. From then on, he firmly believed in the existence of demons, telling everyone he met that his family had been killed by demons and urging others to guard against them. However, no one believed him; they only thought he had lost his mind due to the immense shock of the incident.
After a long period of being disbelieved, he stopped mentioning it much. After his grief, life had to go on. He remained an itinerant merchant, traveling to various places to resell small items to make a living, making the world his home.
Although he no longer wished to bring up these matters, he would still offer a few words of caution to anyone traveling at night, hoping that no one else would be killed by demons. He lived alone like this for over a decade.
Looking at the Old man's eyes, Musashi was somewhat moved, and after a moment of hesitation, he accepted the Magatama the Old man handed him.
"Thank you, I will take good care of it," Musashi said, looking at the Old man.
Seeing Musashi accept the Magatama, a smile appeared on the Old man's face, as if a weight had been lifted from his mind.
"That's good..." the Old man murmured, then looked up at the sun.
"The sun is out now, and demons dare not appear outside. It's time for me to go. Goodbye, child."
The Old man shouldered his luggage and bid Musashi farewell.
"Goodbye, I wish you safe travels," Musashi replied with a smile to the Old man.
The Old man waved his hand and walked away towards the rising sun...
Musashi held the Magatama in his hand, feeling a slight warmth, and then he tucked it into his embrace.
A moment later, Zenitsu also woke up.
"Huh? Did that Old man leave?" Zenitsu asked curiously, seeing no sign of the Old man around.
"Mm-hmm." Musashi stood up and stretched his shoulders, nodding. His shoulders had been leaned on by Zenitsu all night.
"Then our mission is complete. Can I go visit Grandpa now? Musashi, you should come with me too; he lives not far from the foot of this mountain," Zenitsu said to Musashi upon hearing his response.
"Let's go," Musashi nodded in agreement.
Having just completed a mission, Musashi had nothing else to do, and there was no clue about Muzan's location. Perhaps by going to other places, he might even run into that guy.
...
On the street at the foot of the mountain, there weren't many pedestrians in the early morning, but some vendors had already begun selling their wares.
"It smells so good..." Zenitsu, enticed by the aroma of various breakfast foods, couldn't help but drool. Then he remembered Musashi's previous promise and, with a chuckle, said to him, "Oh right, Musashi, you said you'd treat me to a meal, didn't you?"
Musashi understood his meaning upon hearing his words and said to him, "Just take whatever you want to eat."
He himself was a bit hungry too.
Zenitsu leaped with joy upon hearing Musashi's words, then ran to a vendor selling oden.
"I'll have four portions of this, this, this, and this!"
Zenitsu chose several kinds of fish cakes, as well as some radishes and eggs.
"Alright!" the vendor responded, then quickly packed the food Zenitsu had chosen and handed it to him.
Musashi came over, chose the same items as Zenitsu, and then paid the vendor for both of them.
Then, while eating, the two hurried towards Kuwajima Jigorō's residence, led by Zenitsu.
They hadn't walked far when Musashi saw a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl handing out wisteria flower sachets to passersby.
The little girl was wearing a patterned kimono, had short black hair, and looked very cute. She also carried a cloth bag with many small ornaments hanging on the outside. Behind her was a small stall, also displaying many small ornaments.
"Please accept this; it can bring you peace and safety," the little girl said to a passing woman, holding out a wisteria flower sachet.
The woman smiled and waved her hand.
"No, thank you, I already have a sachet," the woman said, showing the little girl the sachet she was wearing. It was an osmanthus sachet, which indeed smelled better than wisteria.
"You should save this sachet to sell to others," the woman said with a smile to the little girl.
"Madam, I think you should just take it, otherwise she definitely won't give up."
Another breakfast vendor nearby, seeing this, said to the woman with a smile, clearly knowing the little girl very well.
Indeed, as the vendor said, the little girl did not give up after hearing the woman's words and continued to say to her, "This doesn't cost anything, and its scent isn't very strong, so it won't conflict with the scent of your own sachet. Carrying it can also bring you peace and safety."
Seeing the little girl's determined and stubborn gaze, the woman had no choice but to reluctantly accept it. Then she took a banknote from her bag and handed it to her.
"Then I'll take it, but I see you're not having an easy time, and I don't need you to give it for free. Take this money."
Although the little girl was clean, her clothes were clearly a bit old, and there were some patches on the cloth bag she carried. The woman felt bad taking her item for free.
"No, I can't take your money. This is a gift from me to you; it's free," the little girl did not accept the money the woman offered her.
"If you don't take the money, I won't take your sachet," the woman really felt bad taking something for free from this poor little girl, and the sachet she made looked quite finely crafted, probably taking a lot of time.
The little girl, hearing the woman's words, stubbornly shook her head and said to the woman, "I can't take your money, but you must accept this sachet."
After speaking, the little girl thrust the sachet into the woman's hand. Seeing this, the woman also thrust the money into the little girl's hand.
"If you give me the sachet, I must give you money!"
"No! I can't take your money!" The little girl returned the money to the woman again.
"Then I don't want your sachet either!" The woman, seeing this, returned the sachet to the little girl again.
"No! You must accept this!" The little girl thrust the sachet back again.
The two went back and forth, pushing and pulling, for a long time, their voices gradually growing louder, almost like an argument. The surrounding vendors, seeing this situation, were already used to it.
Those who didn't know the truth might have thought they were arguing because someone didn't pay for something, but the situation was precisely the opposite.