Inside a secluded, run-down clinic in a certain city.
"Doctor Tamayo, Miss Yuko—thank you both so much."
An elderly woman clasped Tamayo's hands tightly, her voice full of sincerity. "If it weren't for your help, Akane wouldn't have survived."
As she spoke, she gently stroked the young girl beside her.
Tamayo smiled faintly.
"It was only a fever. Letting some blood out allows the body temperature to gradually return to normal. We didn't really do much."
Yuko set aside the bowl containing half a dish of blood.
As Tamayo had said, the principle behind bloodletting for fever was to release internal heat and toxins to cool the body.
However…
In normal medical treatment, that much blood would never be used—usually just a single prick with acupuncture needles would suffice.
Tamayo reminded gently,
"Make sure she gets plenty of nourishment during this period."
After all, so much blood had been drawn.
"I know you two don't take money, but please—please accept this."
The old woman tremblingly opened the basket she was carrying.
Inside were several fish, barely alive, still quite fresh.
The fishy stench was strong—strong enough that even an ordinary person could easily smell it.
Because their clinic never charged money, it had become quite well known in the area. Many people came for treatment, and sometimes, like today, they offered goods in return.
This time, Tamayo didn't refuse. Instead, she turned to glance at Yuko, signaling her to accept it.
"Please wait a moment."
Yuko took the basket, went into the back room, placed the fish into a water tank, then returned the empty basket and saw the two of them out.
At the doorway—
"Please take care."
The elderly woman turned back, hesitated, then said,
"Recently, there have been terrifying cases of young girls going missing in the city. There are rumors that a man-eating demon has entered…"
"Please make sure to shut your doors and windows tightly at night and stay safe."
Yuko paused slightly and asked,
"Where exactly did it happen?"
"To the west of the city, toward the southern district."
After giving a few more warnings, the old woman finally left with her granddaughter.
Tamayo sat in the shadows inside the clinic, watching Yuko standing under the sunlight as she saw them off. She couldn't help but drift into a daze.
No matter how many times she saw it, it still felt unbelievable.
The thing Muzan had longed for so desperately had been achieved so easily.
After watching the old woman disappear into the distance, Yuko returned inside.
A man who had been waiting on the side for some time spoke up,
"Um… Doctor Tamayo, could you prescribe me something for treating external wounds?"
Tamayo stepped forward to examine him and found a serious abrasion on his elbow.
"I slipped while gathering herbs in the mountains," the man explained.
With a smile, Tamayo took out a medicinal plaster from the cabinet.
"Apply this to the wound. Remove it after three to five days, and it should be mostly healed."
The man gratefully accepted the medicine. After handing over some fruit he had brought with him, he left.
Though it wasn't stated outright, returning gifts after receiving treatment had become an unspoken rule.
Most of the patients who came later followed it. Even those who didn't know at first would make up for it afterward.
It was just that… this fruit was something neither of them could eat.
Yuko put it away with a bit of regret.
As Tamayo tidied the medicine cabinet, she chuckled lightly.
"Thanks to Yuko's help, quite a few people now think we're famous doctors for treating external injuries."
Yuko smiled helplessly.
The medicinal plaster Tamayo had just given out actually contained Yuko's blood.
Even diluted, it could still heal external wounds extremely quickly.
"The sky's getting dark. I'll go make dinner," Yuko said, glancing outside. "Looks like we're in for a treat tonight."
Tamayo smiled.
"Then I'll be counting on you, Yuko."
Of course, when Yuko spoke of cooking, she didn't mean cooking actual human food.
Demons couldn't eat human food—but they could eat animals. Or rather… blood-based food.
Yuko went to the back of the house, took the fish from the water tank, and with practiced skill removed the scales and bones, washing away the blood before plating it.
In other words—sashimi.
After placing the sashimi on the table, Tamayo divided the little girl's blood from earlier into two portions and handed one to Yuko as if it were a drink.
This was a way of eating Yuko had devised herself—and it worked remarkably well.
Naturally, it still couldn't compare to eating humans for restoring stamina, but it was far better than drinking blood alone.
Most importantly, it didn't feel as grotesque.
After all, sashimi was still something one could accept.
The two of them ate dinner with quiet elegance. If one were to ignore the eerie blood in their cups, it would have looked just like an ordinary meal.
Many years had passed since they first met. Now it was already the Edo period.
In recent years, Tamayo had also been striving to suppress her craving for human flesh. Compared to when they first met, she had not consumed a human corpse for a very long time.
Like quitting drugs, overcoming the urge to feed was extremely difficult—but with Yuko as a living example before her, Tamayo was able to persist.
As they ate, Tamayo asked,
"About the missing girls… are you going to investigate, Yuko?"
Yuko nodded slightly.
"Yes. Since we've encountered it, I should go take a look."
She didn't actively seek out demons, but if one crossed her path, she would think of a way to deal with it.
As for the Demon Slayer Corps—while it seemed they were slowly recovering their strength, most of their members were still uneven in ability, and they might not be able to cover everything.
Yuko suddenly asked,
"By the way, when are we leaving this place?"
Tamayo thought for a moment.
"In a little while longer."
"Alright." Yuko nodded softly.
To avoid letting ordinary people discover their immortality, they moved every few years.
They had long since lost count of how many times they had relocated.
After dinner, night had gradually fallen outside.
Yuko put on a bamboo hat, wrapped the lower half of her face with white cloth, and fastened her twin blades at her waist.
"I'm heading out."
Tamayo reminded her,
"If you run into members of the Demon Slayer Corps, please be careful."
"I know."
Even in the future, there would always be the notion that those of a different kind could never be trusted.
That was even more true in this era.
Especially for Demon Slayer Corps members who utterly despised demons—it would be impossible for them to communicate peacefully under their current identities.
Yuko concealed her presence and headed toward the western district of the city.
If she remembered correctly, there should be a slum there.
The more dilapidated the area, the worse the security.
The probability of demons appearing there was indeed quite high.
Under the moonlight, Yuko arrived at the slums. Beggars and drifters were scattered along the streets, and suspicious waste stained the ground.
A drunken vagrant, dressed in tattered clothes, stood facing a wall and undid his belt.
At that point, there was no longer anything suspicious about it.
This place was lawless territory.
As long as no full-scale riot broke out, no one would step in to govern it.
Trying to sense the presence of a demon in an environment like this was, frankly, asking too much—even for a demon.
Yuko couldn't help but frown.
Suddenly, footsteps approached from behind her—drawing closer and closer… then stopping.
Yuko turned her head to look.
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Currently at chapter 270 for advance chapters
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