As the vagrant fled in panic, Yuko's eyes clearly saw the swordsman's heart and pulse pounding in terror.
That rhythm was almost fast enough to meet the conditions for activating a Demon Slayer mark.
His breathing pattern, the movement of his lungs—forget Total Concentration Breathing, he was nothing more than a trainee who hadn't even mastered basic breath control.
He was worse than Namiko.
The strongest demon he could possibly handle had, at most, eaten one or two people—perhaps none at all.
Most importantly, the real issue was his mentality.
Yuko had merely walked over in an entirely ordinary manner, without concealing anything at all.
Yet he was already terrified to this extent.
That alone proved that, as a demon slayer, the swordsman before her was unqualified.
With Muzan and Kokushibo targeting them, the Demon Slayer Corps had truly been struggling in recent years.
Even someone of this level was being sent out alone to hunt demons.
This wasn't meant as an insult—only a statement of fact.
Even if he were lucky enough to trace the matter back to the Eternal Paradise Cult, the final outcome would still be the same—he would be eaten.
In that sense, what Yuko had done had actually saved his life.
She stripped off his outer uniform. After thinking for a moment, she used her blade to carve a few words into the ground:
'That's not a demon you can handle. Go back.'
After that, Yuko also covered him with nearby wild grass so he wouldn't catch a chill in the cold night.
She really was far too kind.
After "borrowing" the swordsman's uniform, Yuko returned to the clinic, where she happened to see Tamayo heading out with her medicine case on her back.
"Do you have a patient?" Yuko asked.
"Yes…" Tamayo answered first, then looked at the clothes in Yuko's hands and asked in return, "That's… a Demon Slayer Corps uniform, isn't it?"
"Have you made contact with the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Yuko shook her head. "No. I just happened to run into a Demon Slayer swordsman while investigating a demon."
Tamayo's face turned pale. "You didn't…"
Yuko gave her a completely speechless look.
Tamayo's expression relaxed again as she smiled. "Just kidding."
"But Yuko, did you take his clothes because you plan to act under the identity of the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Yuko replied in confusion, "Why can't it be that someone willingly lent them to me—or gave them to me?"
Tamayo fell silent for a moment. "Do you believe that yourself?"
"..."
Yuko changed the subject. "You're heading out?"
Tamayo gave a small nod. "Yes. There's a critically ill patient."
As a demon doctor, Tamayo only went out at night to treat patients.
"I'll go with you," Yuko offered.
Tamayo glanced at the clothes in her hands. "Won't that interfere with your plans?"
Yuko shook her head. "No. Something unexpected came up—I'll go over tomorrow instead."
That family of three was reunited for the moment. She wasn't heartless enough to barge in now.
"That's good." Tamayo smiled and nodded.
"Give it to me." Yuko reached out.
"Then I'll leave it to you," Tamayo said, handing her the medicine case with practiced ease.
"It's nothing."
Yuko casually slung the medicine case over her shoulder and tossed the clothing onto the counter.
"Let's go."
This wasn't the first time Yuko had accompanied Tamayo on a house call.
It wasn't only for Tamayo's protection—she also felt awkward just freeloading.
At home, she could still "live off an elder," so to speak.
But outside, she should at least help out a bit.
Even if not as a proper bodyguard, carrying the medicine case was still useful.
The moon was bright, and the air was growing colder. Even Yuko couldn't help shivering.
She followed Tamayo into a courtyard. From the looks of it, this family was relatively well-off.
As they approached the house, weak, labored breathing reached Yuko's ears.
It truly was a critical condition.
Tamayo slid the door open. On the tatami inside lay a young boy, about a dozen years old—very young.
But ravaged by illness, his face could no longer be called handsome, and he looked extremely thin.
Though his gaunt face made him look somewhat different from the person in her memories, Yuko still recognized him at once.
Yushiro.
To be honest, with her current memory, if she hadn't seen him in person, it would have been difficult to recall his appearance just from his name alone.
Like trying to remember a middle school classmate twenty years later—you can barely picture what they looked like.
Yuko hadn't expected that Yushiro had already met Tamayo at this point in time.
The two of them entered the room. Tamayo sat down by his side.
Yuko removed her bamboo hat and loosened the white cloth around her face, revealing the bridge of her delicate nose.
She had nearly suffocated under it.
Tamayo placed her hand on Yushiro's forehead. He stirred and slowly woke up.
At the sight before him, it was as if he had been struck by lightning.
His eyes automatically ignored Yuko standing behind Tamayo—there was only the gentle woman in front of him.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Yuko noticed it instantly.
This guy… had he fallen in love with Tamayo at first sight?
"The medicine case," Tamayo's ethereal voice sounded.
Yuko hurriedly set the case beside her.
"Water."
Yuko quickly brought over a basin of heated water.
Tamayo folded a damp cloth and placed it on Yushiro's forehead to ease his condition, then began examining his body.
Yuko couldn't understand any of it and simply stood to the side, waiting to help if needed.
After quite some time, Tamayo slowly packed up her tools.
She hesitated before speaking to Yushiro. "Please wait here for a moment."
Tamayo stood up and gave Yuko a slight nod.
Yuko understood and followed her outside.
Tamayo spoke slowly. "His illness, I'm afraid… cannot be cured."
Strictly speaking, this was not something she should have been saying to Yuko. She wasn't family, nor the patient himself.
Yuko saw straight through Tamayo's thoughts and calmly said, "Then just turn him into a demon."
Tamayo turned sharply to look at her, frowning deeply. "But… is something like that really allowed?"
She was hesitating—that was why she had said such words to Yuko.
She had seen Yushiro's desire to live, and she wanted to help him.
Yuko smiled. "Then just ask him directly."
Tamayo lowered her gaze. Before she could respond, Yuko continued.
"And besides, if he stays by your side, I'll feel more at ease."
Tamayo looked up in surprise. "Yuko, you…"
Yuko pressed her lips into a gentle smile and explained, "There are things I want to do…"
She told Tamayo about her plan to gather intelligence on the Upper Ranks.
And to investigate those demons, she would inevitably have to leave.
Originally, she hadn't been able to stop worrying about Tamayo—but now that Yushiro had appeared, entrusting her to him was the best choice.
After all, in the story, Yushiro was the one who remained by Tamayo's side all along.
As she listened to Yuko, Tamayo's face turned hesitant, tinged with worry. "The Upper Ranks are the demons closest to Muzan… they've received vast amounts of his blood…"
Yuko interrupted calmly, "Don't worry. Even if it's Kokushibo, I won't lose."
All these years, she hadn't been cut down by Yoriichi for nothing.
She had the confidence—she would never lose to Kokushibo again.
If she truly ran into him, she probably wouldn't be able to continue hiding her identity. But she had never intended to seek Kokushibo out anyway.
Not yet.
Tamayo saw the determination in her heart and slowly closed her eyes. "I understand."
Yuko smiled. "Mm. Let's go ask him. I think he'll agree."
His heart was already racing, after all.
---
Currently at chapter 270 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08