chsdbacks Chapter 63 This year's snow is heavy.
Chapter 63 This year's snow is heavy.
Chapter 63 This year's snow is heavy (5/5)
The snow started falling sometime earlier than I realized.
At first, the snow was sparse, then it became denser and denser, and before we knew it, the snowflakes, like goose feathers, filled the entire sky.
"Makomo and Hiroshi Furukawa" and their group of swordsmen walked in the snow. Everyone was somewhat silent. They had been searching for so long, but they still hadn't found the evil spirit.
"Wasn't the ghost we killed the day before yesterday the one we were looking for?"
Makomo slightly tucked her hands, which were freezing cold, and looked up at Hiroshi Furukawa, who was walking ahead of her, and asked.
These days, everyone has been working hard to find that ghost, and has even killed several ghosts that were hiding very deep and well hidden.
No.
Hiroshi Furukawa shook his head: "The demon we slew yesterday is definitely not the demon we are looking for."
Makomo tilted her head and glanced at Hiroshi Furukawa. She had never seen the demon that Hiroshi Furukawa and his group were tracking, so she didn't know what the demon looked like, nor did she know why Hiroshi Furukawa was so certain.
"Boss, are you sure you're not mistaken? Maybe the evil spirit we slew last night was it."
A swordsman beside him tucked his hands into his sleeves and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah, even the boss hasn't seen the ghost's face. Who knows what it looks like?"
Another swordsman muttered.
I've been searching the area for the past few months and have killed three evil spirits. I have a feeling that one of those three is the very evil spirit I'm looking for.
"Won't."
Hiroshi Furukawa's eyes were resolute. He had seen the ghost's back, and he would never forget that ghost's back that night.
The swordsmen remained silent, their faces showing even deeper weariness.
These past few months have been non-stop, with in-depth investigations in the surrounding area. They painstakingly searched for clues and finally found three evil spirits hiding in the villages and towns. However, every time they finally managed to kill one, the leader always said it wasn't the one they were tracking.
Seeing the exhaustion in everyone's eyes, Hiroshi Furukawa knew that continuing the search like this would be meaningless in tracking down the demon. However, he was still somewhat unwilling to give up. He raised his head and looked at the distant mountains: "If we don't find it after this last anomaly investigation, we'll go back and hand over the mission. Everyone—you're all too tired."
"Alright then."
One of the swordsmen was somewhat reluctant.
This time, the clue came from a few months ago when some bored person, whose origins are unknown, kept asking for the home address of a charcoal seller named "Kamado" at night. Although asking at night was a bit strange, it didn't seem like the behavior of an evil spirit.
If it were an evil spirit, how could it not satisfy its cravings when it broke into a house in the dead of night? If this strange person were truly a ghost, how could it not have ever committed the act of "eating humans" even once, after wandering through so many villages and towns?
Besides, why would a ghost bother asking about these things?
But the eldest brother said that the strange man had been asking around in several villages and towns recently, and he was always with a child with him. This was very similar to the ghost from before. That ghost had also been with a child when he left the city, which is why the eldest brother had overlooked him and was able to escape in the end.
However, these explanations failed to convince everyone.
After all, given a ghost's craving for human flesh and blood, how could it not eat such readily available food once it's taken out of the city?
That child is probably already food for the evil spirits.
Their investigation and interviews revealed that the strange man seemed to treat the child very well, and investigations in several villages and towns showed that the child was still alive and showed no signs of being eaten.
"The mountains ahead should be where the Kamado family lives."
A swordsman looked at the distant mountains and spoke.
"Yes, but the Kamado family lives deep in the mountains. Should we head there tonight?"
Another swordsman asked, looking somewhat weary.
"Forget it, if we get there quickly, it'll probably be past midnight. Let's find a place to rest first. I remember there's a hermit nearby."
"Hiroshi Furukawa" began.
"Yes, there is a hermit named Saburo living here. Many years ago, Saburo was walking at night with his family when they were attacked by a demon. Only Saburo escaped. Then our Demon Slayer Corps arrived, slew the demon, and avenged it. Saburo joined us, the 'Hermits,' as an outer member."
Another swordsman spoke up, then pointed to the mountains ahead: "Saburo lives at the foot of the mountains."
"Okay, let's go over there and rest there tonight. We'll also ask about the Kamado family."
Upon learning that the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen had arrived, Saburo, a hermit, immediately greeted them and arranged for them to rest for the night.
Makomo bent down and slipped into the room. Upon seeing the burning stove, she immediately moved lightly around it.
"The snow today was really heavy, and it was really cold. I'm almost freezing to death."
-
Makomo spoke while warming herself.
The warmth of the stove made Makomo exhale softly, and her beautiful eyes, hidden behind the mask, narrowed into crescent moons.
"Yes, the snow this year is unusually heavy."
The hermit Saburo handed Makomo a cup of hot tea, and then picked up a cup to pour one for Furukawa Hiroshi as well: "We never had this much snow in previous years. But with this much snow, we'd probably sell a lot more charcoal."
"Thank you for your trouble, Grandpa Sanlang."
Hiroshi Furukawa stood up, took the teacup, and the others sat down around the stove.
"The main reason we came here this time is to ask Grandpa Sanlang some questions."
After Saburo sat down, Hiroshi Furukawa also spoke.
"Excuse me."
"It's like this, I wonder if there's a person named Kamado Tanjuro living deep in these mountains?"
"some."
Saburo looked at Hiroshi Furukawa with a puzzled expression: "The Kamado family is related to my family. Is there something you need?"
"Here's the thing, we want to know what's going on with this place, and whether they've been doing anything unusual lately."
Saburo was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it: "The Kamado family has always lived in the deep mountains here, making a living by selling charcoal for generations. The current head of the family is Kamado Tanjiro, and his wife is Kamado Aoi. They have several children, including Tanjiro, Nezuko, Takeo, and Shigeru."
Hiroshi Furukawa listened attentively, but didn't pick up on anything particularly noteworthy: "So, has anything happened at this place recently?"
"Ugh!"
Hearing this, Saburo sighed slightly: "Starting from the year before last, Tanjuro suddenly fell ill for some reason, and his health has been deteriorating. We've consulted several doctors, but none of them could find anything wrong with him. They just said that his body temperature was a little high, but other than that, there was nothing abnormal about his body. In fact, he looked better than the average person, but his health just kept getting worse."
"Such a thing exists?"
Makomo, holding her teacup with both hands, looked up curiously upon hearing this.
"Yes, Tanjuro used to be a very strong and capable man. He killed a bear that caused a fatality in the mountains with a single axe."
"Killed a bear with one axe?"
Makomo was utterly shocked; even ordinary Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen couldn't achieve such a feat.
Was Tanjuro a martial artist before?
Hiroshi Furukawa couldn't help but speak up. Some of the warriors of the old era were also very capable, and some were even stronger than the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps. However, the strength of these warriors was mainly in dealing with people. They might be very good at killing people, but they were far inferior in slaying demons.
With the gradual emergence of firearms, these old-fashioned samurai are now in decline.
"If it were someone else, I might not know, but I know Tanjuro very well. He has never left these deep mountains, nor has he ever been exposed to swordsmanship. He is not a martial artist."
Saburo shook his head, his eyes filled with pity: "Their whole family depends on Tanjuro alone. If he can't hold on, I can't even imagine how they'll survive. Even the eldest, Tanjiro, is still so young. How can he shoulder the responsibility of a family? Are they going to rely on Lady Aoi alone?"