Chương 10: Chapter 10: Missing
After bidding farewell to Shinobu Kocho, Hatsune walked alone toward the mountain peak.
The path underfoot seemed to have been unused for a long time, almost completely covered by weeds from both sides.
The forest was damp and stuffy, and Hatsune's body was already weak. Now, after walking for a short while, he was exhausted, panting, and drenched in sweat.
The bandages absorbed the sweat and clung tightly to his body. The salt in the sweat seeped into his wounds, causing both pain and itching.
Hatsune had no choice but to take off his haori, revealing his bandaged upper body, and try to use the breathing technique to cool his body.
He didn't know how long he had walked before finally escaping the narrow path and arriving at a spacious clearing.
This place seemed like a temporary rest stop, with a stone table and stone benches. Further up was a proper mountain path paved with bluestone.
Hatsune sat down at the stone table, looking at the orderly mountain path below, realizing that Shinobu Kocho had directed him to a side path. Whether it was intentional or not was beyond investigation.
What a foolish woman!
Hatsune cursed under his breath, leaning against the stone table and gazing up at the tree canopy above, remembering Shinobu Kocho's face up close, causing a pang of unease in his heart.
She's a "Hashira" and yet pays no attention to her conduct.
From his reading, Hatsune had learned that the so-called Hashira were the top figures in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Currently, there were nine Hashira in the Corps, with Shinobu Kocho being one of them, known as the Insect Hashira.
Among the nine Hashira, her strength was the lowest. Unlike the other Hashira, who killed demons with sheer power, she lacked the wrist strength to cut off a demon's neck and had to rely on wisteria poison to kill them, but only weaker demons.
Shinobu Kocho's position as the Insect Hashira was largely due to her sister, the former Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho, making her somewhat undeserving of her title.
Hatsune stopped thinking about Shinobu Kocho and planned to rest briefly before continuing his journey.
After all, it was already afternoon. If he couldn't reach the summit before nightfall to find the cultivator, he would have to camp in the mountains tonight.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the nearby bushes. Hatsune straightened up and looked toward the sound, seeing a gray rabbit leap past him.
Hatsune relaxed slightly but then felt a sudden chill in his heart, sensing something had intruded nearby.
Recalling the rabbit, he suspected it wasn't just moving but fleeing from something terrifying.
Could there be a fierce beast in the forest?
Hatsune didn't dare move rashly. The feeling of being watched made him realize he had been targeted.
Taking a deep breath, Hatsune prepared himself.
"Cold Tide."
He used the breathing technique to release cold air, enhancing his senses.
The forest was already humid, and the cold air quickly formed a cloud of white ice particles around Hatsune, gradually spreading outwards.
The entity, realizing it had been detected, stopped hiding and leaped down from a nearby tree, attacking Hatsune.
As soon as the cold air touched it, Hatsune pinpointed its attack direction and leaped twice toward the mountain, creating distance between them.
Hatsune didn't counterattack because he had nothing to attack with and wanted to see what was attacking him.
The brief contact suggested it wasn't an animal, as its body temperature was much lower than that of humans or warm-blooded animals, resembling a cold-blooded creature.
The entity missed its target and now crouched on the stone table, covered in white ice particles, looking like a snow-white monkey.
The ice particles seemed to discomfort it, making it emit strange sounds and scratch its arms with its claws.
Hatsune stood on the stone steps, using the dim light to look at the stone table.
It wasn't an animal; it had arms, legs, and even wore tattered clothes.
Could it be a beggar?
Before Hatsune could figure it out, the entity turned its head, opened its mouth, and threatened him with a loud "Hah."
Seeing its face, Hatsune almost collapsed in fright.
It had a blue face, fangs, eyes like a beast's, and its mouth was smeared with gray fur and fresh blood.
This was no beast; it was a demon!
A living demon!
Why was a demon on the cultivator's territory?
What the hell is going on?
That foolish woman said she could only escort me this far. Did she know there were demons on the mountain?
How did she know? Was this demon part of the test?
That seemed the only explanation. Otherwise, how could there be a demon on the cultivator's territory? It didn't make sense.
Hatsune vaguely understood the situation. If this demon was indeed a test, the cultivator might be watching him from somewhere.
The cultivator likely wanted to assess the candidate's on-the-spot reaction, survival skills, and combat ability.
There was no better way to understand a newcomer than through combat.
What to do?
Hatsune forced himself to calm down, figuring out the cultivator's intention and analyzing the situation. The options were to fight or flee.
If this was a test, fleeing would mean heading up the mountain; fleeing down the mountain likely meant failure.
Running up the mountain had a fatal drawback: it consumed a lot of energy.
Running seemed like a good idea, but on second thought, it was a dead end.
Ignoring the possibility of the cultivator's rescue, with his current condition, Hatsune's energy had mostly recovered after the rest. He should be able to fight the demon.
But if he chose to run, once exhausted and caught by the demon, he'd have no resistance left and would be at its mercy. Plus, his body hadn't fully recovered; even if he ran, he wouldn't get far.
So, the smartest choice was to fight. If this was a test, the cultivator wouldn't let a future student die horribly.
Having analyzed the situation, Hatsune made up his mind. Taking a deep breath, he assumed a sword-drawing stance, but upon reaching for his waist, he realized he had overlooked something crucial.
No sword!
Wanting to slay a demon without a sword was like chopping wood without an axe.
That stingy foolish woman! She could've at least given me a sword!
Was this a test or just feeding me to the demon?
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