Demon Slayer: Tanjiro becomes a ghost, Nezuko becomes a pillar!

Chapter 10 Mr. Tomioka, you're so annoying!

"Mr. Tomioka, you were almost late!"

In the village on the other side of the mountain, Shinobu Kocho stood in the snow, a signature gentle smile on her face, and teased Giyu Tomioka as he slowly approached.

Giyu Tomioka remained silent and walked straight to her side. His gaze immediately fell on the several corpses covered with white sheets behind Shinobu Kocho, and his expression became more solemn.

"Huh? Mr. Tomioka seems completely unharmed. Why isn't he saying anything?"

Shinobu took two steps forward, looked up at him with a smile, and secretly reached out her fingertips to gently poke his arm.

[Poke, poke~]

"..."

Yoshiyuki Tomioka was about to ask what was going on when his arm was poked several times. His eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, and his usually indifferent expression softened slightly.

He looked down at Shinobu Kocho, who was a head shorter than him and had a smiling face, and said helplessly.

"Butterfly, what are you doing?"

"Mr. Tomioka, don't you know? This is a 'poke magic' to get closer."

Shinobu's smile deepened as she explained earnestly, her fingers never stopping.

[I tapped it again].

"And it's so good to see that you're not hurt."

Giyu Tomioka's expression suddenly turned somewhat helpless. He then ignored Shinobu Kocho's poking and turned to look at a short-haired girl on the other side of the white cloth.

"Where's the ghost?"

"Wow, Mr. Tomioka is really dedicated!"

Butterfly tilted her head slightly, her tone playful, but her eyes subtly conveyed a signal.

Giyu Tomioka turned his gaze away with some confusion and looked at Shinobu Kocho.

He was somewhat confused as to why Shinobu Kocho wasn't sharing information with him. Could it be that [the demon had already been slain by Shinobu Kocho?]

Just as Giyu Tomioka was about to speak, the girl beside him said angrily.

"There are no ghosts here. My mother was attacked by a wild animal. My family are hunters, and I can avenge my mother!"

It was because of this sentence that Giyu Tomioka turned his gaze back to the girl.

The girl's eyes were filled with tears, her gaze angry yet restrained.

After seeing all of this, Giyu Tomioka turned to look at Shinobu Kocho.

Shinobu Kocho looked at him at that moment, nodded, and then shook her head.

However, Giyu Tomioka immediately understood the two subtle movements.

The demon may have already escaped, and Shinobu Kocho is deliberately hiding the truth from the girl, protecting her unwavering belief that has not yet been shattered by reality.

"I see!"

After Yoshiyuki Tomioka finished speaking, he squatted down, looked at the several corpses covered with white sheets in front of him, and lifted one of them.

"What are you doing?"

At that moment, villagers not far away saw Yoshiyuki Tomioka lift the white cloth and immediately ran over from a distance to grab his hand.

Seeing this, Shinobu Kocho pretended to be surprised, covered her mouth, and whispered a reminder.

"Huh? Mr. Tomioka, people will dislike you if you do that!"

However, Yoshiyuki Tomioka seemed not to hear him and turned to look at the villager who was holding his hand.

But before he could even speak, the girl who had spoken pushed him away.

Although the girl was very strong, Giyu Tomioka calmly put down the white cloth and stood aside.

"I said it's a wild beast, didn't you understand? Sister, is this your companion?"

After yelling at Giyu Tomioka, the girl turned to Shinobu Kocho and said something.

"Ah... well..."

Caught off guard, Shinobu was dragged into this. The vein on her forehead throbbed almost imperceptibly, but she still wore that flawless, gentle smile on her face and quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Mr. Tomioka meant no harm; he just wanted to check things out!"

[Mr. Tomioka, you're so annoying!]

Butterfly silently cursed through gritted teeth, but her smile grew even sweeter, as if she was afraid she might lose control of her fist at any moment.

In just a brief glance, Yoshiyuki Tomioka had already taken in all the wounds of the deceased.

The sharp teeth marks and the lacerations, inflicted with inhuman brute force, were clearly the work of an evil spirit.

But seeing the stubbornness and forbearance in the girl's eyes, he instantly understood that she was not unaware of the truth, but was desperately trying to escape that cruelty.

So he stopped moving and just stood silently to the side, the chill around him seeming to lessen.

Seeing that he was no longer coming forward, the girl took several deep breaths, her chest heaving violently, before she could barely suppress her surging emotions.

She turned to the villagers who had tried to stop her, bowed deeply, and her voice trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Uncle Taro, thank you."

The man named Taro looked reluctant and quickly waved his hand.

"Mingze, don't be so polite. Your father is still missing. The village has been searching for him all day, but there's still no news."

"Father's whereabouts unknown"

Those few words were like a key, instantly unlocking the doubts in Giyu Tomioka's mind.

Based on the girl's previous reactions, he had figured out the situation.

The girl probably already saw her mother die at the hands of the evil spirit, and her father's disappearance was most likely related to that ghost as well.

Mingze shook his head vigorously, forcing back the tears in his eyes, and bowed again.

"Thank you for your concern, sir. I'll go back up the mountain to look for it myself tonight. I'm sure I'll find it..."

She stopped mid-sentence, a hint of undisguised reluctance flashing across her face, and ultimately couldn't bring herself to say the word "evil spirit."

Seeing this, Shinobu was about to step forward and gently comfort him when Giyu Tomioka's calm and even voice rang out at an inopportune moment, like a piece of ice being thrown into a still pan of oil.

"You'll die if you go up the mountain at night."

One sentence froze the three people present in place.

Mingze's body trembled violently, and Uncle Taro's face darkened.

Even the usually good-natured Shinobu Kocho couldn't help but turn and glare at Giyu Tomioka, her eyes full of reproach.

But Giyu Tomioka was completely oblivious. He simply looked up calmly at the darkening sky, his gaze falling on the depths of the forest being swallowed by the twilight, his tone completely flat.

"You little brat, do you even know how to talk?!"

Uncle Taro stepped forward, pointed at Yoshiyuki Tomioka's nose, and said in a tone full of dissatisfaction.

"Mingze is already suffering enough, and you're still saying such discouraging things!"

Giyu Tomioka was stunned by the scolding, a look of confusion flashed in his eyes, and he stared blankly at Uncle Taro, his heart filled with bewilderment and incomprehension.

There are evil spirits in the mountains at night; going up the mountain is almost always a death sentence. I was just trying to give them a friendly warning, so why are they angry?

Butterfly Shinobu watched from the side, her temples throbbing. She could only forcefully suppress the anger in her heart, put on a gentle smile again, and quickly pulled Uncle Taro aside, then turned to Akizawa to explain repeatedly.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Tomioka is just being blunt, he didn't mean any harm! Mingze, it's really too dangerous to go up the mountain at night. Visibility is poor after dark, and you might encounter wild animals. How about we go with you to look for it tomorrow when it's light?"

Only Giyu Tomioka remained standing there, his expression blank, staring intently as Shinobu Kocho busied herself trying to smooth things over for him.

[Mr. Tomioka, you're getting more and more annoying!]