A gentle voice came from behind, and Tankichi subconsciously turned his head, the tension on his face slowly turning into surprise.
The pale golden sunlight hit Mizuki's profile, her tender white skin seemed to glow, and her burnt skin had She has become fair and flawless without me even realizing it., and faint white mist still rose from her body, appearing somewhat hazy and beautiful under the refraction of light.
Tankichi's surprised voice rang out, "Miss Mizuki, you..."
Mizuki turned her head and smiled, "Hmm, it seems it was a success."
Sumirei pounced on her, looking up with sparkling eyes: "Sister Yuko is so beautiful."
Can she see my face?
Mizuki looked down, having to lean out a bit to see Sumirei's small head.
The two taels of flesh on Mizuki's chest, even if not a D-cup, were at least a C+.
She gently rubbed Sumirei's head: "Is that so?"
Sumirei squinted her eyes in enjoyment: "When I grow up, I want to marry Sister Yuko."
Snap~
Tankichi turned completely black and white.
He stammered, "No, Little Rei, that would make Sister Yuko uncomfortable."
Sumirei tilted her head, asking innocently, "Why?"
"Because... because..." Tankichi racked his brain to explain to her.
Mizuki and Sumiko, who had come out of the inner room, smiled as they watched the father-daughter interaction.
In the evening, after dinner.
Tankichi tried to persuade her to stay: "Won't you stay a few more days?"
"No, if I go back too late, my brother will worry."
Sumirei waved her hand, bidding her farewell: "Goodbye, Sister Yuko~ Come and play again~"
Mizuki smiled and waved goodbye to everyone: "Goodbye, Little Rei."
Regarding the spider lily, Mizuki told them not to worry about it, and to eat it as an ordinary wild vegetable... At noon, Yoriichi was wielding his nichirin blade in the courtyard, practicing his daily lessons.
Yoriichi, now in his middle age, didn't look much older; at over thirty, he still appeared to be in his early twenties.
Knock, knock, knock~
Suddenly, the main door was knocked.
Yoriichi wiped his sweat, put away his nichirin blade, and walked towards the door.
After the tsugikuni family declined, the siblings returned to live here permanently without attracting the attention of the townspeople, as they had no close friends in town.
Yoriichi was still a bit puzzled about who was knocking.
He opened the door, and a ripple suddenly appeared in his calm eyes, a ripple that quickly expanded.
"I'm back."
"Mizuki, you..." Yoriichi looked at his sister in surprise, somewhat speechless.
Mizuki stood in the sunlight and smiled, "I succeeded."
The surprise on Yoriichi's face gradually softened, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly: "It's good that you're back."
Mizuki smiled: "Yes, I'm back."
...After overcoming the sun, even Yoriichi, wielding a nichirin blade, could not pose a lethal threat to her.
Even if her head was severed by a scarlet blade, Mizuki could recover instantly.
Fundamentally, even a scarlet blade only stimulates the sun's energy within the nichirin blade.
And Mizuki, having overcome the sun, no longer feared its derivatives.
Neither the nichirin blade, the scarlet blade, nor the regeneration suppression of Sun Breathing had any effect on her.
In front of her complete form, a nichirin blade was merely an ordinary katana.
But that didn't mean she was invincible.
Although she no longer feared the sun, she was still no match for Yoriichi in combat.
Even though Yoriichi couldn't inflict effective damage on her, Mizuki likewise couldn't defeat Yoriichi.
It was like a newbie with an invincibility cheat still couldn't touch a professional player.
Furthermore, Mizuki discovered that she wasn't truly invincible in the absolute sense.
Although she had overcome the sun, regeneration still consumed stamina.
This meant that if Yoriichi continuously killed her, it was still possible to wear her down to death.
After ignoring the special effects of the nichirin blade, Yoriichi's training for her was essentially at his full strength.
Thirty is a man's golden age, when physical abilities peak.
If he had encountered Muzan at this stage, the latter would have had no chance to escape; he would have shattered 1,800 pieces of flesh in an instant.
As Mizuki gradually adapted, Yoriichi's intensity also ramped up.
He cut Mizuki so much that she almost doubted her existence.
Mainly, she could indeed feel herself getting stronger.
But no matter how strong she became, Yoriichi could always instantly defeat her when he got serious.
No matter how wide her Sword Form range was, Yoriichi could always find an opportunity to break through.
As a demon, she didn't possess Muzan's immense power.
As a human, she didn't possess Yoriichi's talent.
She felt that if Muzan had her cells, he'd be stressed every day.
He'd see Yoriichi mercilessly beheading him every day, and it would play for 365 days without repeating.
Demon life is not easy, Mizuki sighed... However, this joyful time did not last too long.
One year, two years, five years... Mizuki truly felt the people around her slowly growing old.
"Why doesn't Sister Yuko ever grow old?" When Mizuki heard Sumirei ask her father this question from outside the door, she knew it was time for her to leave.
Tankichi explained stiffly: "Perhaps Sister Yuko takes good care of herself."
Immortality is something every emperor dreams of.
But for a sensitive person, the pain of immortality is absolutely unbearable.
That feeling of everyone around you slowly aging, slowly dying, while you alone remain young, is very hard to bear... Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, more than twenty years passed.
Since that day, Mizuki had never visited Tankichi's home again.
Yoriichi was also over fifty years old.
Even Yoriichi had aged; strands of white hair appeared on his head, and his physical strength was gradually weakening.
Mizuki had long been independent, often away from home.
She couldn't bear to watch her loved ones grow old with her own eyes.
Mizuki began to fear going home.
Birth, old age, sickness, and death are the norm for humans, but she couldn't die anymore.
Did she really have to wait hundreds of years for Tanjirou and the others to defeat Muzan?
In reality, it probably wouldn't matter whether she was there or not, right?
As she reached middle age, worries grew in her heart, and Mizuki occasionally had such thoughts.
But she couldn't die anymore.
Neither the nichirin blade nor the sun could destroy her.
The lonely moon hung high in the sky, illuminating a solitary figure on the ground.
Mizuki walked slower and slower; a journey that should have taken a few days, she stubbornly stretched into half a month.
She was the one who wanted to go home and see.
The clearer she was about this, the harder it was for her to move her legs.
The brightly lit city was already in sight, but Mizuki was frozen in place, unable to move her feet.
This couldn't be described as mere homesickness.
She was afraid.
Afraid to see Yoriichi's even older face.
She had been away from home for over three years.
Perhaps her decision back then was wrong; she shouldn't have tried to overcome the sun.
That way, even if she couldn't grow old with her family, at least she could die with them.
She had never been a strong person.