The Power of a Smile

The next day, outside Sendai City, a house was filled with wisteria blossoms.

Although Asuka was seriously injured this time, thanks to the timely treatment from the members of the Hidden Division and the demonic power he obtained from Rokuro, his physical recovery was indeed greatly aided.

The bandages wrapped around his body made him look quite disheveled, but they didn't actually hinder his movements.

Sitting at the door of his room, he politely greeted his teammates and then began to gaze at the distant city of Sendai.

The commotion from last night continued all night long; even in the residential areas outside the city, he could hear the noise and chaos coming from inside the city.

Asuka thought of the seriously injured Asano Mori, wondering if he had received any treatment...

"Hey! Mr. Asuka!"

Just then, a familiar voice rang out.

Turning my head, I saw that it was actually a flower.

"...It's you! What are you doing here?"

"...This is my home."

Ok?

Seeing that Asuka looked somewhat surprised, Yuka quickly explained, "It should be said that it is my uncle's house... because my uncle received help from your Demon Slayer Corps in the past, and now it is like a sanatorium."

As she spoke, she led the bird into the other rooms in the courtyard, and sure enough, as she had said, there were other patients with withered faces.

"Besides the Demon Slayer Corps, this place also takes in some homeless construction workers and helps them recover their bodies, but unfortunately, it's not very effective..."

"Where's Asano?" Asuka asked calmly, not seeing any sign of Asano Mori here.

Yuka nodded and continued leading Asuka deeper into the area, where they found Asano Mori sleeping in a secluded corner.

Thanks to the medication provided by the Demon Slayer Corps, the other person is currently sleeping soundly.

Asuka unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Yuuka:

"This place must also belong to the owner of Sanmonjiya."

"Huh? Did you guess it?"

"Hmm, it's very similar to the style of the bookstore," Asuka replied casually, as he was learning to speak polite greetings.

The two chatted as they walked to the courtyard outside the sanatorium and found a corridor to sit down.

"Has the commotion from last night finally subsided?"

"...It's calmed down, but it's quite strange."

Yuka glanced at the distant city of Sendai, seemingly wanting to say something but then hesitated, before whispering:

"Mr. Asuka, you don't know, yesterday... those heartless men are all dead!"

"Dead?" Asuka frowned. "How did he die?"

"They say the protesting workers got increasingly out of control and eventually stormed into the dyeing and weaving company, and guess what happened next..."

Recalling the scene from last night, Yuka felt a wave of fear.

"Those unscrupulous bosses seem to have inhaled some kind of ointment or something bad; they're all dazed and slumped on the sofa!"

"The workers were already furious, and when they saw these guys enjoying themselves even when things were really bad, they just couldn't control themselves..."

Yuka shivered and pulled her coat tighter. "Anyway, the ending was going to be a mess... These people are really crazy, what kind of time is this..."

Hallucinations? Paralysis? Feiniao sensed something was wrong.

He thought of those cold, purple eyes.

Could it be her?

...It's hard to say, but if it were me...

Feiniao touched the bandages on his body, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"...Since these people have chosen to associate with ghosts, then they are no different from ghosts. They'll only eat people if they live, so it's better if they're killed."

"Oh dear, violence is not acceptable."

"Ah! Lord Pillar!"

As a gentle breeze swept by, Shinobu Kocho appeared in the courtyard without warning.

All the members of the Hidden Force, including Yuka, immediately greeted Shinobu Kocho and bowed respectfully.

Only Asuka turned her head and waved her bandaged arm at Shinobu Kocho in a friendly gesture.

"It seems you're recovering quite well. I thought you'd be bedridden for a few weeks."

Thank you for your concern.

"How are your lungs? Does it hurt when you breathe?"

"Won't."

"...Mr. Asuka, you can't be so cold, or people will dislike you."

"Really? I'll be careful."

Actually, Asuka said that on purpose, just to confirm how she felt last night.

He could feel the spiritual pressure surging within the woman before him, mirroring her suppressed emotions.

Why pretend to be gentle when you're so angry inside? Asuka didn't understand.

Having abandoned her tentative mindset, Asuka bowed again to Butterfly, speaking in a tone as respectful as possible:

"Good day, Lord Zhu, thank you for your help."

Butterfly tilted her head, somewhat puzzled by the bird's change in attitude, but she didn't intend to delve into it.

She gestured for Yuka to fetch some oral medication, while she herself circled around Asuka, paying particular attention to the bandages on her most severely injured chest.

Although she was a Pillar, Shinobu Kocho was not tall. To make it easier for her to examine the wounds, Asuka bent down so that the tip of his nose touched her butterfly hair tie.

The bird took a gentle sniff, its gaze becoming more serious.

It smells a lot like Fujiyoshi's... it smells like the dye shop.

Noticing Asuka's gaze, Shinobu Kocho looked up at his chin and chuckled softly, "Oh, what a perceptive boy..."

"Well, your wound healed very quickly, that's incredible... Just rest for a few days, and you should be fine~"

"Lord Zhu, may I ask you a question?"

"No, you can't."

"Did you go to the dyeing and weaving company last night?"

"...Mr. Asuka, you can't interrogate a girl like that, she'll be disliked."

"I want to know, were all those people killed?"

"Huh?"

Shinobu Kocho seemed surprised that Asuka would say such a thing.

He simply asked, "Those corpses in the shrine... if I'm not mistaken, they were probably worshipped by the people behind the evil spirits, right..."

"These evil people who have killed so many people are no different from ghosts. Not a single one of them should be spared; they should all be killed!"

He had already experienced the life of a "sacrifice"—being treated like livestock and manipulated at will, living in constant fear.

He could empathize with that helplessness and despair, that unease more terrifying than death itself.

Therefore, when Yuka talked about the abnormality of those people, he did not feel scared or uneasy. He only felt that these people had died too easily.

Seeing Asuka's earnest gaze, Shinobu Kocho spoke frankly:

"I didn't kill those people, Mr. Asuka..."

She pulled a broken test tube from her pocket; the liquid inside had long since evaporated.

On the cork of that test tube, you can see a small stamp.

It resembled a blooming lotus flower with intricate and exquisite lines, and at the center of the lotus was engraved a complex Sanskrit symbol.

Last night, when Shinobu Kocho broke into the dyeing and weaving company, she did have the idea of ​​subduing these people and handing them over to the protesters so they could get their just desserts.

But she ultimately didn't make a move. She also didn't expect that the human trafficker boss, Morii, among this group, would either be terrified or desperate upon seeing Shinobu—

He actually wanted to use the high-concentration sleeping pills he had in his pocket to subdue Shinobu Kocho!

She easily thwarted and dodged this rudimentary attack, instead allowing her own people to fall victim to it.

Upon closer inspection, Shinobu Kocho discovered the unusual markings on it...

This is the seal of the "Eternal Bliss Religion," a small, relatively unknown religion that reportedly recruits young women.

Due to some unpleasant rumors circulating in recent years that women who have joined the cult have mysteriously disappeared, the Demon Slayer Corps suspects that this may be related to demons, so they assigned the investigation to Shinobu Kocho, but there has been no progress yet.

It seems this guy has been providing human trafficking services to the Eternal Bliss Cult. If the protesters hadn't broken in so quickly, Shinobu Kocho would have wanted to interrogate him further.

Shinobu Kocho tucked the broken test tube back into her bosom and looked earnestly at Asuka:

"Although those people are despicable, as Demon Slayers, we cannot attack ordinary people. Mr. Asuka, please remember, violence is unacceptable!"

"....I see."

"You really can't, you have to make a promise with me first."

She reached out to the bird and hooked her little finger around its little finger.

To Asuka's surprise, her hands were very light, unlike those of a Demon Slayer who wields a Nichirin Blade.

"The Demon Slayer Corps' swords are for slaying demons; they cannot be used to harm ordinary people, understand?"

"...OK."

Seeing Shinobu's gentle smile, Asuka reluctantly agreed.

But if he were to encounter someone he should kill, he wouldn't hesitate either.

After the brief agreement was made, Shinobu Kocho planned to leave the sanatorium and go to Sendai City to check on the situation again.

"Then what about the lord's mission?"

Asuka asked Shinobu's retreating figure, "That demon wasn't killed, right? He'll probably go elsewhere and cause trouble, won't he?"

Shinobu Kocho turned to the side, still smiling as she responded:

"Life is full of regrets, isn't it, Asuka?"

"You've already done a great job. Don't blame yourself. Just kill him next time you encounter him."

"And also, smile more..."

Sunlight streamed down, illuminating Shinobu's colorful feathers, making them shimmer with dazzling brilliance, and even the birds seemed momentarily dazed.

"When a smile becomes a weapon, even death blossoms."