"Five times? You're saying this medicine needs to be taken five times a day, and for three consecutive months without interruption?"
"After drinking this medicine, I can't even eat. It's incredibly bitter. Besides, will drinking only this medicine really heal my limbs? Can it guarantee I'll return to normal? Someone, explain it to me properly! What happens if I miss a dose?"
Before even entering the room, he heard Zenitsu yelling inside. Li Xing was starting to regret taking this brat as a disciple.
"Zenitsu! Are you alright? Are you injured?" Tanjiro's voice trembled with emotion upon seeing Zenitsu alive.
Zenitsu poked his head out from the doorway. "Tan... Tanjiro! Big Brother Li Xing! I finally see you again, Big Brother Li Xing! Let's team up next time. Don't leave me behind alone."
As soon as Li Xing approached, Zenitsu latched onto his leg, bawling with snot and tears.
"Get off me, you're disgusting! Stop clinging to my pants!" Li Xing quickly pulled away from Zenitsu, shoved Tanjiro aside, and bolted.
"Big Brother! Don't leave me!" Zenitsu continued to wail, while Tanjiro tried to soothe him.
"Zenitsu, stop fooling around. Mr. Li Xing has important things to do. By the way, where's Inosuke?"
Zenitsu pointed to a bed covered by a white cloth beside him. Tanjiro gasped in shock – had Inosuke died?
He quickly threw off the cloth. A pig's head mumbled softly from within, "I'm too weak, I'm too weak."
Tanjiro breathed a sigh of relief. He was alive, thankfully…
…
Li Xing, with Nezuko, ran back to his room and placed her on the bed, gently removing the bamboo from her mouth.
"Little Nezuko must be sleep-deprived. She's already in a deep sleep now."
As he spoke, Li Xing took out a knife, made a cut on his palm, and dripped the blood into Nezuko's mouth.
"Li Yun, do you think my blood can eliminate Muzan's cells? I'm a demon king too, shouldn't it work?"
"Theoretically, it's possible. However, data indicates a ten percent chance of failure, and a fifty percent chance of Nezuko evolving into a different type of demon."
Nezuko instinctively swallowed Li Xing's blood. Her veins immediately bulged, purple wisteria-like patterns appeared on her skin, and her body gradually grew larger, transforming her from a flat chest to a towering presence.
"Mom... Hanako... Takeo... Rokuta..."
Nezuko suddenly called out her family's names, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Brother, brother!" Nezuko cried out for her brother, then tried to get up and find Tanjiro.
Li Xing grabbed Nezuko, holding her down. "Nezuko, your brother is fine. He's being treated now. You are no longer connected to Muzan. Although you're still a demon, you can live like a normal person, eat, sleep, and even bask in the sun."
"However, you must promise me that you won't reveal yourself for now. Continue acting as you did before. If any of Muzan's demons see you, Muzan will bring all his demons to find you, which will cause trouble for your brother. Do you understand?"
Nezuko nodded. Looking at Li Xing, she felt a sense of a superior-subordinate relationship. Li Xing breathed a sigh of relief, as long as Nezuko didn't cause any trouble.
"Then when can I reveal myself?" Nezuko really wanted to talk to her brother now. Her brother had endured so much for her.
Li Xing thought about the future plot for a moment, then gently patted Nezuko's head. "In Yoshiwara, the pleasure district. When you are in the Yoshiwara pleasure district."
As for why Yoshiwara, it was because the next arc was the Infinity Train. Li Xing intended to change the plot, and subsequent events might diverge completely from the original work.
More importantly, Daki was Li Xing's target. Li Xing intended to personally decapitate Daki. It could only be described as a special kind of love. To love her meant sending her to hell to atone for her sins.
"Mhm, I understand, Big Brother Li Xing." With that, Nezuko reverted to her original appearance, bit down on her bamboo, and began to sleep.
Li Xing, eager for some bear meat, immediately rushed to the kitchen to see if Kanzaki Aoi had finished preparing it.
…
Infinity Castle.
The sound of a biwa echoed, and the Lower Moons once again gathered here. Only Lower Moon Five, Rui, was missing.
Another biwa note sounded, and a woman appeared before the Lower Moons, looking down at them with an arrogant demeanor.
"Everyone, lower your heads and kneel in respect." The woman's voice was male, imbued with a cold, merciless tone.
It was Muzan's voice!
All the Lower Moons knelt. Gyokko trembled and spoke, "I... I sincerely apologize. Your appearance and aura are different from usual..."
Muzan interrupted Gyokko directly. "Who told you to speak? Don't speak based on your personal will. I don't want to hear your boring nonsense. Answer only what I ask!"
"Rui has been killed. He was Lower Moon Five. So I ask you, why are the Lower Moons so weak? Last time, I asked you to kill a demon slayer member with white hair and black clothes. How many of you succeeded?"
"Gyokko, you always flee when you encounter a Hashira, don't you? Why are you afraid to hunt Hashira? For hundreds of years, the Lower Moons have changed batch after batch, yet the Upper Moons have never changed. It's the Upper Moons who kill the Hashira-level demon slayers. What use are you Lower Moons?"
At this moment, Lower Moon Six, Rokuro, thought to himself, "Even if you say that, we..."
Muzan heard Rokuro's thoughts directly. He was currently enraged and had no desire to waste words with Rokuro. He immediately decapitated Rokuro, who was unable to regenerate his body.
This single act terrified the remaining Lower Moons into trembling, and they dared not think anything.
Muzan turned his gaze to Gyokko again. "Are the demon slayers more terrifying than me? Why do you always flee when you encounter a Hashira? Speak."
Gyokko, sweating profusely, stammered, "No! I never thought that! I will definitely eat more people for you, and I am willing to fight to the death for you!"
"So, were the words you just spoke a denial of me?" Muzan stared coldly at Gyokko.
Gyokko was so terrified he burst into tears. Just as he was about to beg for mercy, he was engulfed by a mass of disgusting flesh.
Seeing this, Hantengu thought he would be next and immediately jumped backward, trying to escape from Muzan's presence.
Muichiro looked on with pleasure. "How foolish~"
In an instant, Hantengu's head was seized by Muzan, while the body below his head vanished.
Hantengu, unwilling, thought, "My body cannot regenerate..."
Muzan threw the head to the ground and said coldly, "From today onwards, there is no longer any need for Lower Moon demons. Only the Upper Moons need to remain as part of the Twelve Kizuki."
"Now, do you have any last words?"
Lower Moon Two, Daki, spoke directly, "My lord, please grant me more time. Your subordinate will surely..."
"How much time do you specifically need? What use is your ability? What contribution can you make?" Muzan interrupted the Lower Moon again.