novelhk Page 37
Page 37
Thinking this to himself, Xia Yan remained expressionless, instead smilingly inviting Hideaki Hotaru into his room and serving her dried peaches and bitter tea, local specialties of Momoyama.
Then he was surprised to find that the old man, Jigoro Kuwashima, actually had a good relationship with Hotaru Haganezuka.
Seeing that Hotaru Haganezuka remained calm and chatted happily with Jigoro Kuwajima, Natsuhiko felt relieved and secretly admired the old man for being so reliable.
"This is a newly forged Nichirin Blade No. 12 according to your requirements. It will not break even if the blade collides head-on with a hammer and axe."
"However, the weight has increased to fifteen kilograms, but the other data remain unchanged."
Xia Yan reached out and took the rather heavy Nichirin Blade, then drew it from its sheath.
The first thing that catches the eye is the four large characters "恶鬼滅殺" (Evil Ghosts Annihilated) engraved near the base of the knife.
This is a privilege reserved for members at the Pillar level.
It symbolizes the Demon Slayer Corps' determination to exorcise all evil spirits.
As Hotaru Haganezuka said, apart from the huge change in weight, the other data of this sword remained unchanged, and it was unknown what kind of technique was used to forge it.
Watching the brand-new Nichirin Blade once again take on the color of "Storm" in Natsuhiko's hands, Haganezuka nodded in satisfaction and took a sip of tea.
"Actually, besides bringing the new Nichirin Blade to the Storm Pillar Narukami Natsuhiko, there is another matter I came here for."
"That is……"
Hotaru Haganezuka put down her teacup, her voice becoming serious.
As he spoke, he reached into his robes and rummaged for something, as if he had something to give to Xia Yan.
"That is?"
Xia Yan repeated his words with some confusion.
Could it be that Kanae Kocho or Shinobu Kocho asked Hotaru Haganezuka to send them something?
Seriously, I didn't expect them to play this kind of game. Are they trying to surprise me?
Kanae still doesn't understand me. I would be even more surprised if she delivered it to me personally.
But I guess I'm still just shy...
Thinking of this, Xia Yan couldn't help but look at Hotaru Haganezuka with some anticipation.
To preserve that sense of anticipation, he even deliberately avoided glancing at what Hotaru Haganezuka was holding.
But they didn't notice that Kuwashima Jigoro had been silently drinking tea since the beginning, his lips almost pursed with suppressed smirk.
"That's it!!!"
Just as Xia Yan was filled with anticipation, imagining what Kanae Butterfly would bring, he suddenly realized that Hotaru Haganezuka had pulled out neither a gift nor a letter from her bosom—
Instead, it was a kitchen knife with a blade that gleamed with a sharp, cold light, looking as if it could cut a hair in two.
"You little brat! You promised to make my sword the strongest in the world! And in just one day you've ruined the blade I forged! You deserve to die!!!"
“——！！？”
At that moment, Xia Yan clearly felt a blood-red "danger" character flashing above his head.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Yan acted entirely out of instinct.
They sped out of the narrow meeting room with lightning speed, faster than a motorcycle or electric scooter.
"Don't you dare run away! Just let me stab you ten thousand times!!!"
Seeing Xia Yan escape, Hotaru Haganezuka drew her sword and chased after him without saying a word.
I wonder what kind of training he, a swordsmith, went through.
Although his running speed is far slower than that of Giyu Tomioka, the slowest of the five pillars, he far exceeds the limits that ordinary swordsmen can reach, and his stamina is also quite abundant.
The two ran all over the mountains for more than an hour, and Hotaru Haganezuka still looked full of energy.
However, after more than an hour of chasing, he seemed to have calmed down and slowed down.
Just when Xia Yan thought it was over, Grandpa Kuwajima Jigoro came out with a teacup, trying to smooth things over between the two.
"Young people these days really don't know how to respect the work of others. Back in our time, the Nichirin Blade was the most precious thing a swordsman had. Even if they were injured, they wouldn't let the blade get damaged."
"Unlike young people these days, who blame the swordsmith for not forging the sword properly when it's their own fault that the sword is broken and tattered..."
"What are you saying, old man?! When did I ever say such a thing?!"
Upon hearing Kuwajima Jigoro's advice, Natsuhiko felt a strong sense of foreboding once again.
He quietly turned around to look.
Sure enough, at this moment, Hotaru Haganezuka pulled out another gleaming kitchen knife from somewhere, staring at him with bulging veins all over her body.
A dense black aura was even visibly emanating from its body.
Its terrifying aura is comparable to a special-level cursed spirit; even the famous Three-Sword Liu Suolong would probably have to call him "Grandpa" upon seeing it.
"Hey! Steelzuka, calm down! Think about it carefully, how could I possibly say something like that?!"
"Shut up! Die!"
Xia Yan instinctively lunged to the side.
Sudden——
A dazzling flash of light passed right past where he had just been standing.
That terrifying speed reminded Xia Yan of Thunder Breathing: First Form - Thunderclap Flash.
Looking at Hotaru Haganezuka, who had completely lost her mind and would have been stabbed twice even if Kokushibo had just passed by, Natsuhiko made the most rational decision.
You give Luda—! !!
"Don't run! You'll be punished by heaven!!!"
"Only an idiot would stop! You should stop chasing me!"
"Shut up, die!!!"
Watching the two of them playfully chase and flee as they left Momoyama, Kuwajima Jigoro looked up at the clouds drifting in the sky.
"How peaceful..."
He took another sip of bitter tea, then exhaled a breath of hot air, radiating a serene and tranquil aura.
"Old man, take care of yourself, and retire soon—"
Hearing Xia Yan's echo coming from the foot of the mountain, Kuwajima Jigoro's eyes suddenly reddened.
"That brat..."
Chapter 73 The true hunter often appears in the form of prey.
He ran all the way to the town closest to Momoyama, and only when he saw that Steel Mound had been left far behind and could no longer be found did Xia Yan breathe a sigh of relief.
He wasn't worried that Hotaru Haganezuka would get lost and encounter ghosts in the mountains.
After all, he hadn't been idle during the two weeks he waited for his Nichirin Blade to be forged.
When he was bored, he explored every 100 miles around Peach Mountain, making sure not a single ghost was left.
"That old man keeps doing unnecessary things."
Wiping away non-existent sweat from his forehead, Xia Yan complained somewhat irritably.
He knew that the purpose of what old man Kuwajima Jigoro did was to avoid seeing a sad scene at parting, which was why he deliberately used this method to send him down the mountain.
It wasn't that Kuwashima Jigoro disliked him, which is why he sent him down the mountain.
Xia Yan still remembers the scene when the old man was so excited that he burst into tears when he was told by Xia Yan himself that he had become the Storm Pillar.
However, since Xia Yan is now a Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kuwashima Jigoro is unwilling to see him waste his time on an old man like himself.
So after Xia Yan obtained the Nichirin Blade, he sent him down the mountain to deal with important matters.
"Well, I've been idle for half a month anyway, it's time to get down to business."
"I remember Tamayo should live in Asakusa, Tokyo Prefecture, right? Then let's target Tokyo Prefecture first and kill off the demons along this route."
After making his decision, Xia Yan headed towards the next village at a leisurely pace.
……
Three months later, in Asakusa, Tokyo Prefecture.
"Ah, it really is not easy. It feels even more difficult than the journey to the West."
Looking at the world, which was almost completely different from the villages and towns outside, as if he had traveled from ancient times to a bustling metropolis in modern times, Xia Yan patted the snow off his body and sighed with some emotion.
As the year draws to a close, this already crowded city becomes even more bustling.
The reason it took three months to reach their destination was not because Xia Yan deliberately delayed.
Instead, he did exactly as he said, clearing out all the evil spirits in towns and villages along the way, even those hiding in the mountains, which he caught one by one.
Although most of them are weak demons who haven't even mastered Blood Demon Arts, there are also some demons with special abilities who have mastered Blood Demon Arts.
Furthermore, in terms of quantity, one person equals the combined quantity of the other four pillars.
This has severely contributed to the involution of the Demon Slayer Corps.
After nearly a month of travel, just as they were about to reach Tokyo, they received an urgent order from their lord.
While investigating an old house filled with spider lilies and rumored to be haunted, two team members unexpectedly discovered traces of the Ubume, one of the lower moons of the Twelve Demon Moons.
He was ordered to rush to provide support.
He rushed to the scene and rescued a Class A swordsman named Kubino Masachika.
But they found that the beautiful female ghost was lying unconscious on the ground, like a fallen girl who had gotten drunk at three in the morning and was lying at the entrance of a bar, waiting to be picked up and taken to a hotel to have fun.
Xia Yan was even considering whether to cut off some parts and make a Fiji tragedy as a memento.
Before he could do anything, a white-haired man covered in blood, with fierce eyes like a hungry wolf, suddenly rushed out of the old house.
Without a second thought, he swiftly and mercilessly severed the neck of the Guhuoniao.
Xia Yan felt a pang of regret.
Seeing that the two Class A swordsmen seemed to be unkillable, Xia Yan paid them no further attention and continued on his way to Kyoto.