"Cough, cough..."
Kanae's coughing immediately drew Kochou Shinobu's attention back.
"Sister!"
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and Kanae slowly opened her eyes.
"Shinobu... I'm not dead yet?"
That's strange. Her breathing had become smooth, and she even had the strength to speak.
She knew her own condition best; Shinobu absolutely could not have saved her.
Kanae knew this better than anyone.
Was it that mysterious person?
Kochou Shinobu hugged her sister, crying tears of joy, and choked out, "Yes, Sister is still alive..."
"And living well..."
Kanae managed a gentle smile and gently patted her sister's back with her free hand.
The two sisters hugged for a while. Kanae gently pushed her sister away and asked:
"I think I heard someone talking just now."
Kochou Shinobu quickly replied, "She was the one who saved you, Sister."
Kanae gently touched her neck; there wasn't a single wound.
Even a divine physician couldn't have restored her to this state in such a short time.
Everything that happened just now felt like an illusion.
Kochou Shinobu noticed her sister's movement and explained, "She applied her blood to your wound, and the injury instantly healed."
Kanae looked surprised.
This method... Kochou Shinobu hesitated before asking, "Sister, do you think that person just now might have been... a demon..."
Kanae looked at her sister's complicated expression and gently pointed toward the horizon: "But the sun has already risen."
Kochou Shinobu followed the direction of her finger.
Indeed... the sun had already risen when she arrived.
If she were a demon, it would be absolutely impossible for her to be in the sunlight.
This was common sense.
Even the progenitor of demons, Kibutsuji Muzan, cannot move in the sunlight.
But besides a demon, she couldn't think of any other way to heal wounds so quickly.
Kanae saw her sister's confusion, smiled, and explained, "This land never lacks extraordinary people. I once heard a story that truly happened several hundred years ago."
"It's a story about a certain Medical Clinic."
"I heard the owners of that Medical Clinic were two fairies as beautiful as goddesses. They never charged money for treating patients, and those cured by the two fairies recovered quickly. So, patients spontaneously brought them all sorts of food and household items."
"One day, a herb collector fell and injured his arm in the mountains and went to the Medical Clinic for treatment. The fairy handed him a plaster and instructed him to remove it after three to five days."
"But not long after the young man returned home and applied the plaster, his arm stopped hurting. He subconsciously forgot the physician's instructions and tore off the plaster."
"The result was that the severe abrasion on his arm had already healed, despite the plaster only having been applied for a short time."
"When he later returned with a gift to thank the two fairies, he found the Medical Clinic empty."
"Only by asking the locals did he learn that the appearance of the two fairies had not changed for many years."
Looking at her sister's smile, Kochou Shinobu said helplessly, "Sister, what you're saying is just a folk tale, right?"
Besides, this story wasn't told by anyone else; it was told by their parents!
The Kocho Residence was a family of traditional medicine, so they naturally heard more stories about this topic. Their parents had mentioned it more than once when they were young.
As for whether it was true or false... how could it possibly be true!
It was nothing more than hearsay.
"It is true," Kanae said, smiling sweetly as she patted her sister's head. "And even if she were a demon, she must be a good one."
Kochou Shinobu froze for a moment, unexpectedly not refuting her.
Her sister was too gentle, toward humans and demons alike; she even believed that humans and demons could become friends.
In her sister's philosophy, the Demon Slayer Corps should not only slay evil demons but also free demons from suffering.
Kochou Shinobu had never fully supported her sister's overly gentle attitude toward demons, but this time... she couldn't argue.
The owner of those beautiful eyes must be a good person... Mizuki walked along the road, her thoughts drifting away.
Snow Breathing... She never expected that one day, her Breathing Technique could become someone else's trump card.
The Eighth Form was a move developed purely for the purpose of cutting off a demon's head.
It was also the strongest Sword Form of Snow Breathing, but unfortunately, there was no opportunity to use this Sword Form.
She... really shouldn't focus so much attention on Sun Breathing anymore.
Over the years, to conceal her identity, she had hardly ever used Snow Breathing, instead relying on the Five Great Breathing Styles to face enemies.
She had even experimented with Sun Breathing far more than Snow Breathing.
Because Sun Breathing was the most effective counter against demons and against Muzan, Mizuki forced herself to deeply understand the Sun Breathing she was not skilled at.
But the strongest technique might not be the best fit for oneself; the one that fits best is the strongest.
She should refocus her attention on Snow Breathing.
The current Snow Breathing is not enough... not strong enough.
She could still become stronger... In the past two years, a wealthy woman bought a mansion in the small town at the foot of Tanjirou's mountain.
The town back then was small; you could see from one end to the other. The residents were essentially neighbors; there was no one they didn't know.
But this woman lived a secluded life. Hardly anyone saw her, and visits rarely received a response.
The rumor that the buyer was a woman was information unintentionally revealed by the previous owner of the house.
Since it was a mansion, wealthy people certainly needed servants for upkeep, so many people went to apply for jobs. However, they couldn't even get past the front gate, let alone meet the owner.
As a result, everyone thought she just had too much money and bought a house simply to leave it there.
Later, a thief learned about this situation and sneaked in late at night to steal. He ran out screaming hysterically in the middle of the night, yelling that there was a ghost.
The town police were alerted, and the onlookers finally caught a glimpse of the woman's appearance.
Though 'appearance' might not be the right word.
Only half of her face was visible.
Her entire body was heavily covered.
However, her beautiful features were still discernible, and her wine-red long hair stunned countless observers at the time.
So much so that many men were dragged away by the ear by their own wives afterward.
Soon after, rumors spread in the town that the woman suffered from an allergy to air exposure, a disease where sun exposure would kill her, and so on.
But after the commotion died down, the mansion remained silent, and people gradually forgot about it... Until the depth of another winter arrived.
A boy with fiery red short hair and Nichirin-patterned hanafuda earrings appeared in the town, carrying a basket on his back.
"Well, isn't that Tanjirou?"
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