Chapter 148 The Charcoal Seller
Snowflakes as big as goose feathers slowly fell into the forest. They looked pure white, as if ice and snow elves were flying and playing in the woods, but then they were gently caught by a rough and dark hand.
“What a heavy snow…”
In stark contrast to the rough hands, the voice of the person who caught the snowflakes was extremely childish. At this moment, a gentle and caring voice came from behind him.
"Tanjiro, it's snowing so heavily outside, please come inside and warm up."
The boy called Tanjiro turned around when he heard the sound, and the full basket of charcoal he was carrying behind him made a crisp sound. A trace of nervousness flashed across the boy's face.
After checking that the charcoal was not damaged, he looked at his mother shyly, but saw that even though snow was still falling on her face, beads of sweat due to fatigue still appeared on her face. Tanjiro straightened his waist instantly with the bamboo basket on his back.
"No, I still want to sell some more charcoal, medicine for my father's condition, and winter clothes for my brothers and sisters. I have to work harder!"
Looking at Tanjiro, who stood straight with a determined look, Aoi showed a relieved yet helpless smile on her face. Her eldest son was really too sensible...
"Thank you very much... Tanjiro..."
Seeing his usually strong mother's eyes red at this moment, Tanjiro suddenly felt sad and wanted to go forward to comfort her, but at this moment, the chattering voices of children were heard in the house.
"Brother, are you going to town? I want to help you!"
"Come on, you just want to play!"
Hearing the voice, the blush in Kuizhi's eyes disappeared, and she became strong again, speaking sternly to the two children who ran out of the house.
"No, Hanako, Shigeru, it's snowing so heavily today, Tanjiro can't take care of you."
Seeing their mother's firm attitude, the two children had no choice but to act coquettishly towards this brother who loved them the most in the past. But just as they grabbed Tanjiro's sleeve, a weak voice was heard from inside the room.
"You two... ahem... don't cause trouble for your brother."
Then, another clear female voice sounded.
"Father, be careful."
A frail figure walked out of the door with a staggering gait, supported by a girl who looked about the same age as Tanjiro. A scar as big as a bowl on his forehead was eye-catching, but his eyes were so gentle.
After going out, he first touched Hanako and Shigeru's heads, then looked at Aoi who was a little worried about him.
"Ahem, where's Takeo?"
Before Aoi could respond, Tanjiro, who was also worried, spoke first.
"Takeo is still chopping wood, and...Father, you should go back to the house quickly. It would be bad if he catches a cold again!"
After saying that, he looked at the girl beside him.
"Nezuko, please!"
The girl called Nezuko nodded to Tanjiro, and was about to help Tanjiro back to the house to rest, but she stopped and waved at Tanjiro.
Seeing his father's actions, Tanjiro hurried forward, but saw that the other party slowly took off the sun wheel earrings he had been wearing from his ears, and gently put them on Tanjiro's ears.
"Take it... Tanjiro... Be careful on the road. If you buy charcoal in the evening, don't go up the mountain at night. Just stay at the foot of the mountain for one night."
After giving the instructions, Tanjuro stood up with the help of Nezuko and returned to the house.
Tanjiro, who was wearing the earrings, looked at his mother beside him with some confusion, but saw that she was looking at him happily.
"It suits Tanjiro very well."
At this time, the younger brothers and sisters also joined in the fun.
"Brother Tanjiro is so handsome!"
Unable to bear these words, Tanjiro's face turned red immediately, and he rushed to the town at the foot of the mountain in the snow amid everyone's happy laughter.
………………
Not long ago, a wolf followed the blood trail here. Looking at the large town in front of him, the blood trail that appeared last time was particularly fresh, as if telling the wolf that the evil ghost was getting closer and closer.
Looking up at the sky, thick white clouds completely blocked the sunlight, and goose-feather-like snowflakes kept falling from the sky. The owls were unusually active at this time, as if they had been injected with hormones.
But... owls are not the only ones active in this kind of weather. Evil spirits who are afraid of the sun may take this opportunity to blend in with the crowd and look for their next prey.
But now that the bloodstains have disappeared, I feel a little lost for a moment and don’t know how to continue tracking.
Standing on the street, shaking away the mouse that the owl had caught for him from somewhere, the wolf was able to notice the passers-by in the town whispering about him.
The general content is about the two knives he is carrying and the strange prosthetic hand on his left hand.
But even so, the wolf would not put his knife back into his possession. Instead, he lowered his body and tried his best to hide the knife. The wolf leaned over and ran towards a place in the town that was obviously a restaurant or a shop.
This kind of place is most suitable for gathering intelligence.
But as soon as I entered the restaurant, I saw a familiar figure sitting at the table and my pupils shrank.
…There’s no doubt about it…it’s him.
He walked quickly towards the other person, put his right hand on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear.
"Why are you here..."
………………
On the other side, at another entrance of the town, a bright red figure appeared here as a gust of snow blew by. Looking at the town that was completely different from hundreds of years ago, Yunyi felt uncomfortable and was also surprised at the power of this immortal body.
Not only did he perfectly reproduce the physical strength he had at his peak during his lifetime, but after a few days of traveling, it could be seen that this body seemed to feel no fatigue at all.
But as he thought this, Yunyi's eyes gradually became cold. He had always felt that.
The reason why life is great and beautiful is that it only happens once.
Thinking of this, Yuan Yi walked towards the town. Unconsciously, he walked under a wooden pillar and was lost in thought about something.
The children playing nearby saw a handsome but not very smart man standing under the electric pole, and they hurried forward to remind him.
"Big brother! You can't stand under the electric pole, it's very dangerous!"
Hearing the children's reminder, Yunyi looked up at the complicated wires above. Although he didn't know what they were, seeing the children's worried looks, he left the place.
Just as he was about to thank the children with a smile, a familiar figure flashed past his sight. Yunyi's originally lifeless eyes trembled wildly, and his smile slowly froze.
I suddenly turned my head to look in the direction I saw out of the corner of my eye, but I only saw a familiar figure flash by, but the next moment it disappeared into the crowd.
"Thank you for reminding."
After hastily thanking the children, Yunyi immediately chased towards the place where the figure disappeared.
………………
Even though there was heavy snow at the town market, there was still an endless stream of townspeople and mountain residents coming down from nearby hills to buy necessities, and the vendors naturally accepted everyone, although they had to shake off the snow on their goods from time to time.
Maybe selling goods on this snowy day when business is already bad is a happy thing.
But what no one noticed was that a handsome man with black hair and red eyes, wearing a black yukata, was blending in with the townspeople, looking for a lone person who was obviously a member of the Yamato family.
That’s right, hiding in the crowd is none other than Muzan Kibutsuji who came to this town not long ago!
At this moment, his face was as gloomy as the gloomy weather, with veins on his hands exposed. If someone had paid attention, the other party's identity as an evil ghost would have been exposed on the spot. However, he did not care about those things and said angrily in his heart.
Damn... Not even one person can survive after receiving a large amount of ghost blood. What a bunch of useless mortals!
Just when Muzan could no longer control himself and wanted to start a killing spree, a familiar earring passed across the corner of his eye. Muzan's brain instantly froze, and he immediately bent down and hid among the mortals he had just thought were useless, not even daring to make a sound.
No way...how could it be such a coincidence...but that is...that is!