Minamino Guangzhi's words finally stopped. He sighed regretfully, and the wrinkles on his face deepened.
Humans are emotional creatures... How could anyone truly be completely unfazed when faced with this kind of situation?
In his not-so-large home, not only was his daughter waiting for him, but also his wife, his mother, and all his familiar and unfamiliar relatives and friends were concerned about him...
However, look at him now... He's nothing more than a wandering ghost...
"You are both fortunate and unfortunate." Roy remained silent for a long time, then extended his hand to help Minamino Guangzhi up, saying solemnly, "I accept your request."
"Tanjiro, bring me your water bottle."
"Okay."
Even though Tanjiro didn't know what his brother needed the water bottle for, he obediently carried the lantern and braved the wind and snow, heading into the shrine.
Roy held Minamino Guangzhi's hand, enveloping his Residual Soul with Nen, and silently followed behind.
Stepping over the high threshold, he stuck out his foot, shut the shrine's door, and blocked all the wind and snow outside.
"Howl~" The cold wind blew over the mountainside, sounding like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.
The shrine had been cleaned, with no trace of blood, and was completely renewed.
Broke another piece of old wood to use as firewood, sparked a campfire, and soon the interior was warm as spring.
By this time, Tanjiro had also brought the water bottle.
Roy unscrewed the cap, pulled out his own water bottle from his chest, poured all the water into Tanjiro's bottle, leaving only an empty one, and said to Minamino Guangzhi, "Tonight, I ask you to endure in the bottle for now."
"By morning, I will take you to find your family."
"Thank you, Lord Eiichiro." Minamino Guangzhi bowed deeply.
Upon raising his head again, he had already transformed into a wisp of faint light, and with Roy's control over the "Nen," he vanished into the bottle.
"Pop~" A slight muffled sound as the cork fell...
Roy chuckled lightly and said, "It's not a bother. We're planning to go to Sagiri yama anyway. It's just on the way."
The water bottle trembled slightly, as if in response....
Tanjiro approached, peering with wide eyes, touching here and there, witnessing for the first time the strange sight of a person being collected into a bottle,
He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Nii-san, can people also be collected into bottles?"
"Humans can't, but ghosts can." Roy brushed away Tanjiro's small hand, tucked the water bottle close to his chest, and nurtured it with a trace of Nen.
Reflecting on Tanjiro's question, the first ghost that came to mind was Upper Moon Five from the Twelve Kizuki—Jade Pot.
In the original "Demon Slayer" Jade Pot not only could shrink his body to hide in a pot, but could also enlarge it through shedding skin, clearly having a remarkable talent in filling up "space".
"Oh~ I thought I could be collected too, so I could always be with Nii-san wherever he goes."
Tanjiro visibly took a hit and, like a forlorn cat, went to sit alone...
Roy casually tossed two rice cakes that hit his head.
The silly Mamen Beans really mistook his water bottle for a Purple Gold Red Gourd, truly believing that just by calling, someone could be absorbed in?
What wild imagination....
As night deepened, there was no sign of the wind and snow abating outside.
Roy and Tanjiro ate the two rice cakes by the campfire, drank a couple of sips of water, and made a makeshift bed on the spot.
The blanket was stuffed into the basket by their mother, Kie Kamado, to cushion the charcoal. Shaking off the coal residue, it served well as bedding.
After finishing the rice cakes, Tanjiro lay next to Roy, turned over, and stared at the flickering campfire, speaking absentmindedly, "Hey... Nii-san, do you think the outside world is very cruel..."
The woodcutter devoured by Sato Takeshi, the guts of Minamino Guangzhi forcibly ripped out by Doihara, in these past few days, Tanjiro had seen too many dead people...and witnessed the horror of the Evil Ghost...
He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, staring at Roy with bright, wide eyes.
Roy, with both hands on his stomach, simply closed his eyes, feigning sleep.
Everyone perceives the world differently, and perhaps in the eyes of some people, this is hell. But from another perspective, standing in the sovereign Evil Ghost Muzan's viewpoint, what hell... is clearly a paradise.
A paradise where there is fresh blood everywhere, readily available at all times.
"Hmph..." Not getting a response, Tanjiro pouted and turned his back in silent protest.
Roy was too lazy to deal with him, trying to empty his mind, and soon drifted into dreamland.
The familiar feeling of falling came back...
The young man opened his eyes again, back in his familiar bedroom.
This night long yet brief, as if nothing had happened, yet everything had happened, only the clock striking in the corner reminded Roy...
It is four in the morning, time for a run.
'Hot' is just one word...
Roy put on his tank top and shorts, navigating Kukuroo Mountain, admiring the scenery completely different from the Demon Slayer World, feeling somewhat dazed, as if not yet out from the world of cognition.
Until he reached mid-mountain, seeing the lights on at the butler's villa, many people already bustling about.
Even from the kitchen there was a faint smell of baked bread which brought him back to his senses, feet still vigorously running, continuing down the mountain.
'One kilometer, two kilometers... this time's pace seems a bit faster than before...'
Thanks to the assistance of Breathing Technique, as well as improvements in the "Dark Step", Roy clearly felt his speed increase, glancing once more at the panel—
[Constitution] had grown from 10.05 to 10.55... adding "half an ordinary person" to the original basis.
Passable, not a big leap forward, but surely broke the bottleneck...
A slight smile graced the corners of Roy's mouth, his mood somewhat lifted, strides light, a glance later he arrived at the security room.
"Good morning, young master." The security room guard, Zebro, not yet in his "vest-wearing old uncle" phase, was still in his prime, his hair still somewhat intact. Although, his receding hairline was seriously indicating a progression towards a Mediterranean baldness,
He tipped his hat to greet Roy,
Roy returned a smile, about to leave when "boom~" a loud noise resonated.
Representative of the Zoldyck Family's "absolute strength", the mountain gate was pushed open three panels all the way from outside in!
Also known as the "Gate of Trial," it was divided into seven panels from top to bottom, the smallest of which weighed two tons, with each panel requiring doubling of the power to push open, pushing open three panels represented a strength of a staggering fourteen tons!
"Welcome home, Master Illumi."
Having just saluted Roy, Zebro found himself taking off his hat again to salute Illumi, a bit surreally realizing, it was the first time encountering both young masters at this hour.
"Boom~" The gate closed, another loud noise ensued...
Illumi entered expressionless, completely ignoring Zebro,
His vacant eyes locked onto Roy....
"Just to let you know..."
"I have also opened the Acupoints."