“Mr. Jingyuan, although Demons feed on humans, they’re still smarter than beasts. They absolutely won’t reveal themselves during the day. Doing this only injures yourself—it’s meaningless.”
Seeing Shi Hanfeng raise his hand and cut his own palm, Kochou Kanae’s brows instantly knitted together. She unconsciously stepped half a pace forward.
Her gaze was locked on the bleeding hand, her fingertips curling slightly.
Years of managing the Chouya made her unable to stand people suffering such pointless injuries.
She thought Shi Hanfeng was completely ignorant of Demon habits to do something so reckless and futile.
After all, Sunlight is a fear etched into a Demon’s bones. No matter how tempting the target, it shouldn’t make them go against their instincts.
But as soon as she finished speaking, Kanae suddenly paused, her nose twitching uncontrollably.
As a Hashira who dealt with wounded every day, her sensitivity to the scent of blood was already carved into instinct—she could distinguish it even with her eyes closed.
Yet the scent drifting into her nose now was unlike anything she’d known before.
Mr. Jingyuan’s blood actually carried a faintly alluring fragrance?
The thought barely surfaced before Kanae shook her head sharply, as if to fling out the absurd idea.
She pinched her own fingertip hard, forcing herself to stay clear-headed.
She was a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, a slayer of Demons, not a Demon. How could she think human blood smelled pleasant?
It must be because she’d treated too many wounds recently. Her sense of smell was off.
Shi Hanfeng ignored Kanae’s distraction, merely flicked his hand casually, revealing smooth skin where he’d cut—the wound was gone, not even a faint mark left.
He looked at Kanae’s dazed eyes and a light, easy smile tugged at his lips.
“I have a few little healing tricks too. That was just a small experiment.”
He hadn’t even finished speaking when his ear twitched slightly.
From deep within the cave came a faint rustling, as if something had been suddenly awakened—twisting and struggling in the darkness, desperate to break free.
Shi Hanfeng’s smile deepened. He raised his gaze to look at the still-stunned Kanae.
“Looks like my experiment was pretty useful after all.”
Almost the moment he spoke, soil and pebbles suddenly fell from two dark, hidden holes at the cave’s base.
Two ghastly pale figures burst out.
One’s fingers were thick-jointed, its nails sharp as poisoned daggers.
The other hunched over, spinal bones jutting high as if they’d pierce through the skin at any moment.
They crawled out on all fours, knees scraping the ground with a harsh grating, veins bulging on their faces, crimson eyes burning with hunger. Saliva dripped from their jaws—they were wretched, crazed beasts.
The instant they emerged, both Demons froze, four scarlet eyes locking in mutual confusion.
There were others of their kind here?
The Demon with razor claws gave a low growl from its throat, warning the other to stay back.
The other suddenly bared its uneven fangs with a menacing “ha”.
Double Demon food-guarding.
But before their standoff lasted two seconds, the intoxicating blood fragrance in the air shattered their wills.
Yesterday, just a whiff from Shi Hanfeng was enough to make a Demon lose its reason.
Now the blood he purposely shed was ten times as potent.
It was the aura unique to the Senjoh Celestial Bloodline—hundreds, thousands of times more powerful than even the rarest “Rare Blood” recorded in the Demon Slayer Corps, like the only light source in the darkness—a primal craving carved into the deepest cells.
In recent days, they’d already gorged themselves on villagers who wandered into the mountain.
Their capacity was limited—they’d already reached their limit.
But now that blood scent hooked their nerves, shattering even their last scraps of reason.
It’s daytime outside?
Who cares!
Sunlight burns the skin?
So what if I die!
The dangers that would normally send them scurrying were all forgotten.
In their world, only that source of supreme flavor remained—even the Demon King couldn’t stop their hunger.
“Blood… give it to me!”
“It’s mine!”
Two twisted screams exploded almost simultaneously. The two Demons completely ignored Kanae, who had already drawn her Nichirin Blade, their eyes only on the fragrant prey.
On all fours, they lunged, claws gouging deep furrows in the ground, drool spraying everywhere—crazed, identical to the Demon Shi Hanfeng had encountered last night.
Shi Hanfeng stood unmoving, only nodding lightly.
So it wasn’t just an isolated case.
He’d worried that Demon’s reaction last night was an anomaly, but now it seemed his blood’s pull on Demons was even stronger than expected.
This made it possible to move the plan to lure Demons into the open ahead of schedule.
As for these two Demons, their fate was already sealed.
They weren’t even Lower Moon—just ordinary evil Demons hiding in the cave.
Maybe they’d eaten a few more people, but ordinary squad members would have had trouble with them.
If they hid deep in the cave, they’d be a hassle to find. But now they’d charged straight out, abandoning their only shelter.
To a Hashira, it was a death sentence.
Kanae was still shocked by Shi Hanfeng’s blood effect, but years of combat had engraved reflexes into her bones—her body moved faster than thought.
The moment the Demons pounced, she pushed off the ground with her toes, gliding like a wind-borne petal, the hem of her clothing tracing a graceful arc in the air—she landed precisely between Shi Hanfeng and the Demons.
Her grip on the blade was steady as steel, the edge gleaming coldly—her gaze sharpened, ready to pierce the evil before her.
“Flower Breathing: Second Form—Meikage Plum!”
With a crisp shout, the Nichirin Blade sliced through the air. Pale pink light flashed like blooming plum blossoms, drawing several gentle yet fierce arcs.
The Demons’ focus was wholly on Shi Hanfeng—they didn’t even glance at Kanae, let alone try to block or dodge.
As the blade swept past, there were two soft “puchi” sounds, like a blade cutting through thin paper.
In the next second, both Demons froze mid-leap, bodies crumbling into black ash before they hit the ground, scattered by the wind in moments.
Kanae landed lightly, tapping her toe to steady herself.
She flicked her wrist, shedding imaginary blood from the blade, then smoothly returned the Nichirin Blade to its sheath.
She pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, a trace of relief flickering in her eyes.
The frustration from sparring with Shi Hanfeng the night before still lingered, but after instantaneously dispatching two Demons, she finally regained some confidence.
What, I’m still pretty strong after all.
She turned, looking curiously and thoughtfully at Shi Hanfeng, who remained unmoved.
“Mr. Jingyuan, are you Rare Blood?”
She’d read in documents that Rare Blood had a powerful attraction to Demons, but the trait was extremely rare. In all her years in the Demon Slayer Corps, she’d only seen it in records.
The two Demons’ reactions could only be explained by Rare Blood.
She hadn’t expected Shi Hanfeng to have such a special constitution.
Shi Hanfeng shook his head lightly.
He couldn’t even be bothered to collect ordinary Demon heads now—one silver coin wasn’t even as valuable as a Goblin, at least Goblins were numerous and filling.
“Just a slightly special physique—doesn’t count as what you call Rare Blood.”
“But it seems even more effective than expected—saves us the trouble of searching inside, right?”
He pointed to the spots where the Demons had turned to ash.
“Looks like these two were the source of the villagers’ disappearances. Two Demons preying together—it’s no wonder so many went missing.”
Shi Hanfeng couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—the Village was truly unlucky to be caught up in such a coincidence.
The Blackstone Mountain caves were perfect for hiding Demons, but by their nature, there shouldn’t have been two in the same place.
That Demon called “Boss Kibutsuji” was notoriously paranoid, never treating his subordinates as anything but tools.
To prevent Demons from gathering and rebelling—or hiding information—he permitted only Thread-controlling Rui among the Lower Moon to command others for extended periods, especially in remote places.
When the Lower Moon gathered before, Boss Kibutsuji had dismissed them all without hesitation—explanations, pleas, or escape attempts alike.
These two Demons must have found the cave one after the other by chance.
It was easy to hide here, and the supply of villagers was steady.
They’d each claimed a different branch of the cave—maybe it was so large they hadn’t even noticed each other, forming a delicate coexistence.
Kanae nodded in agreement with Shi Hanfeng’s words.
She had wondered why so many people disappeared so quickly this time.
Now she understood—it was because two Demons were attacking at once.
She remembered reports from squad members about different footprints near Blackstone Mountain—at the time they’d assumed it was a single Demon chasing different people. Now it was clear—it was two separate Demons.
Kanae sighed softly, a trace of relief in her voice.
“Luckily, your method worked, Mr. Jingyuan. If we’d gone in blindly, we’d have wasted time and risked ambush—the cave’s terrain is far too disadvantageous for us.”
Having just come from the Goblin Slayer world, Shi Hanfeng was all too familiar with cave terrain—a natural bane for the Demon Slayer Corps.
It restricted movement, limited attack space, and Demons weren’t weaklings like Goblins—no matter how many ordinary Demon Slayers went in, they’d be slaughtered.
She glanced at Shi Hanfeng’s hand again, recalling the wound that had healed instantly, curiosity in her eyes.
“Mr. Jingyuan, your wound closed so quickly. Would I be lucky enough to witness your technique someday?”
“Naturally, when the chance comes.”
He’d already intended to use this method in his upcoming plans—demonstrating it in advance was no issue, but he didn’t want to reveal too much at once.
Kochou Kanae nodded gently, drawing the topic back to the present.
“I’ll go check if there are any other Demons inside. Will you come, Mr. Jingyuan? If any slipped through, they’d be trouble later.”
Shi Hanfeng nodded in agreement.
“We should check—better to be cautious.”
Kanae immediately gripped her Nichirin Blade, eyes turning vigilant again.
“Then let’s go in now?”
Shi Hanfeng responded, leading the way into the cave.
His stride was steady, without hesitation.
He was confident in his current physique.
The two Demons’ reactions had already proven that his blood was lethally attractive to Demons—if any remained inside, they’d be drawn out, saving him the effort of searching.
Kanae followed behind, her hand ready on the blade at all times.
Even knowing Shi Hanfeng’s blood could lure Demons, the darkness and complexity of the cave left her unwilling to lower her guard.
She listened closely to the surroundings, even quieting her breath.
The cave was silent—only their footsteps echoed in the emptiness.
On the ground, scattered rags and bones mingled with long-dried dark red bloodstains—evidence left by vanished villagers.
Kanae’s gaze darkened at the sight, guilt welling in her heart.
If they’d found the Demons sooner, maybe fewer would have died.
Shi Hanfeng noticed her expression and silently slowed his pace to give her time to compose herself.
He understood the feeling.
Watching innocents die due to delay was bitter for anyone.
But guilt changed nothing—what mattered now was eradicating the threat to prevent further loss.
The two walked the cave tunnel for about a quarter of an hour, reaching its deepest part.
Here, the darkness was nearly absolute—one could barely see a hand before their face. Only the Fire Striker Kanae pulled from her sleeve offered faint illumination a few steps ahead.
Thanks to the dark vision he’d gained from the Goblin world, Shi Hanfeng still found the surroundings clear.
No sign of Demons—nor any unusual sounds.
It seemed those two were truly the only menace here.
“There shouldn’t be any more Demons,” Shi Hanfeng said, stopping and turning to Kanae. “We can head out.”
Kanae nodded, putting away the Fire Striker and following Shi Hanfeng back.
When they stepped from the cave, sunlight fell upon them once more, and the weight on Kanae’s heart finally eased.
She looked at Shi Hanfeng, offering a sincere smile.
“Truly, thank you, Mr. Jingyuan. Without your method, who knows how long we’d have been stuck here.”
Shi Hanfeng smiled, waving a hand.
“No need to be so formal. We’re partners, after all. Clearing out Demons helps me too—I’ll be here for a while, and I don’t want to run into Demons wherever I go.”
His words were blunt, but to Kanae, all the more reassuring.
Such honesty was more comforting than empty politeness.
After a moment, Kanae spoke first.
“Let’s return to the Village and inform the villagers. They must be waiting for news.”