"Su... Su Chen," Kanao called softly.
Su Chen replied gently, "What is it?"
Kanao turned around. She took a jar of purple liquid from a drawer inside the house and bravely held it out. "Use this."
Su Chen took it, looking puzzled. He sniffed it and smelled wisteria.
He understood immediately. Kanao must have heard that his Breathing Style needed poison, so she had gone to Shinobu Kocho's laboratory and gotten a jar.
Su Chen looked at Kanao gently. The girl's face grew even redder. Her two fair hands were tangled together, as if tied in a knot.
Su Chen suddenly grabbed one of Kanao's hands. Kanao's delicate body trembled.
The setting sun's last rays streamed through the window, casting a golden light on Su Chen's face. On that handsome face, Kanao seemed to see something different. What was it? The girl's blush explained everything. Kanao couldn't help but stare, mesmerized.
Su Chen gave her a warm smile. "Thank you. I will bring Shinobu back."
"Mm," Kanao's voice was even softer than a mosquito's.
She wanted to say a few more words to Su Chen, but when she looked up, he had already left the room.
Kanao immediately ran to the window. Her steps were so fast that she even used her Flower Breathing. She waited there, silently guarding the window, waiting for the young man's figure to reappear.
Gradually, night fell.
Su Chen put on a simple mask, then opened the door and slipped out. He went to the wisteria bushes in the courtyard and quietly picked a handful. At the same time, he carefully applied the poison he got from Kanao to his Nichirin Sword.
After Su Chen finished preparing his blade, he went out into the night.
Meanwhile, in a room on the second floor of the Butterfly Mansion, a pair of bright eyes watched everything. Kanao leaned quietly by the window, a slight smile on her lips.
In the dark of night, a young man's figure moved swiftly through the mountains, like a traveler in the dark. In an instant, he had leaped several meters away.
This was Su Chen's first time leaving the Butterfly Mansion. He followed his memory, running in the direction Shinobu had left.
He had two main goals for this trip.
First, to find Shinobu Kocho and make sure she was safe. Because he was from another world, Su Chen had no idea what would happen next in the story. That girl was always running around recklessly. It would be very bad if she ran into Doma.
Second, Su Chen wanted to test the results of his training from the past few days. He felt he had made great progress. But without Shinobu as a sparring partner, Su Chen wasn't sure what the gap was between himself and a Hashira. He was eager to test his strength.
He probably couldn't defeat an Upper Moon at his current level. But a Lower Moon might be a different story.
Everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps knew the ranking: Upper Moons are stronger than Hashira, Hashira are stronger than Lower Moons, and Lower Moons are stronger than ordinary members. As for the ten ranks of the Demon Slayer Corps members, they were mostly for show. Apart from the Hashira, the other ranks didn't really show how strong someone was.
The full moon hung high in the sky. Su Chen's figure suddenly stopped. He looked at the hazy night in front of him, a hint of confusion on his face.
Su Chen was lost.
"Damn it! I should have asked for directions at the Butterfly Mansion!"
But since he was already out, there was no reason to go back. Su Chen decided to find a random house and ask for directions. He looked around and unexpectedly spotted an old man strolling in the mountains.
"Elder, how do I get to Autumn Mountain?" Su Chen called out as he jumped over.
The old man saw a black-masked man suddenly appear, seeming to merge with the night. The old man's eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted.
The old man shrieked, "R-r-r-robber?!"
"No! Elder, you've misunderstood!" Su Chen quickly pulled down his mask.
Indeed, after seeing Su Chen's handsome face (maybe even handsomer than the reader's), the old man felt much more at ease. How could such a handsome young man be a robber?
"You scared me!" The old man clutched his chest. "Young man, don't wander out in the middle of the night. I have a bad heart!"
"Yes, yes, yes," Su Chen quickly admitted his mistake. "Then, old man, do you know how to get to Autumn Mountain?"
"Autumn Mountain?" The old man raised an eyebrow, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Su Chen took out a few coins from his pocket. This was the pocket money Shinobu had given him.
As soon as he saw the money, the old man immediately remembered. "I remember now! This is Autumn Mountain. What do you want to know, young man?"
Su Chen took out a bill and handed it to the old man. "I'm looking for someone. She's a girl wearing a butterfly haori. Have you seen her, elder?"
The old man shook his head. "Oh, I'm old. I really can't recall!"
Su Chen stuffed all the money into the old man's hand.
"No, no, you shouldn't!" the old man said, while pushing the money into his own pocket. Then he suddenly realized. "You know, I have seen her!"
The old man chuckled. "I'm only telling you because I feel a connection with you, young man. Otherwise, I really wouldn't tell you. A few days ago, a group of young people came down the mountain. They all looked kind-hearted. There was a girl among them, the one wearing the colorful haori, right?"
Su Chen nodded.
The old man sighed. "But that girl seemed to be injured. I saw a lot of blood on her sleeve."
"Injured?" Su Chen's brows immediately furrowed.
Shinobu Kocho was a Hashira. What kind of demon could injure her?
Could it really be an Upper Moon? Daki and her brother? Gyokko? Hantengu? Or... Doma!
"Elder, it's a bit dangerous here," Su Chen said, his heart feeling heavy. Receiving this news immediately ruined his mood. "I heard it's haunted, you know, so you should hurry and go down the mountain!"
If Shinobu truly encountered an Upper Moon, the situation would be very bad. But for now, he needed to get this unarmed old man away first.
Despite Su Chen's urging, the old man walked slowly. As he walked, he happily said, "It's fine. I'll stroll a bit more. You're here, aren't you? I'm not afraid!"
What the hell do you mean, not afraid!
Just as Su Chen was about to forcibly move the old man, he suddenly heard a rustling of leaves from a shadow behind the old man. The sound was dense, as if something was moving on the ground.
Su Chen stepped forward, shielding the old man behind him. Using the moonlight, Su Chen cautiously looked toward the dark mountain forest.
In the hazy night, a pair of ferocious eyes suddenly lit up!