After eating the compressed biscuits, Hanayuki Ichika felt his strength recover slightly.
The demon’s regenerative abilities began to take effect, and a tingling sensation of healing spread from the burns on his back.
He moved his shoulders slightly and his gaze fell upon the two young girls sitting opposite him…
Then, his eyes unconsciously activated auto-aim and mine-sweeping mode!
[Mitsuri can’t see her feet when she looks down, but her family is aristocratic. Unless I’m marrying into the family, the bride price will definitely be expensive…]
[Kochou doesn’t seem to require much of a bride price, but Kochou is as flat as a board; the future milk powder money might cost more than the bride price!]
Hanayuki Ichika was letting his imagination run wild in his heart.
[This idiot… he must be thinking of something very rude in his heart again…]
Kochou Shinobu held her forehead and smiled bitterly, giving Hanayuki Ichika a helpless, sidelong glance.
Moonlight spilled in through the gap in the cave entrance, illuminating the outfits of Kochou Shinobu and Kanroji Mitsuri, which were covered in stains and blood.
The hem of Kochou Shinobu’s Demon Slayer Corps uniform was torn, revealing her jade-like feet and calves stained with mud and bloodstains.
There were also several deep, bone-visible wounds on Kanroji Mitsuri’s ankles…
These were left by branches scratching them as they moved through the dense forest earlier.
Hanayuki Ichika’s gaze rested on their feet.
The two pairs of fair, jade-like feet were now covered in scratches, and the ankles were swollen and unsightly.
The edges of the wounds were already somewhat inflamed…
Members of the Demon Slayer Corps were well-trained, but they were not made of steel and iron, after all.
“Your feet are very stylish—wait, no, that’s not right. Your injuries are very serious…” Hanayuki Ichika frowned and said.
Kochou Shinobu looked down, smiling with a calm tone: “They are just superficial wounds. It will be fine once we get back to the Butterfly Mansion for treatment.”
Kanroji Mitsuri also waved her hand: “It’s okay! I’ve suffered injuries much worse than this during training before—”
“Don’t move.” Hanayuki Ichika suddenly stood up.
Both girls were stunned.
The white-haired youth, dragging his still-weak body, staggered to the cave entrance.
Using the moonlight, he carefully searched between the rock crevices and the grass, occasionally crouching down to pluck a few leaves to smell, or pinching some roots with his fingers.
“Ichi Fu-kun, what are you looking for?” Kanroji Mitsuri asked curiously.
“Herbs.” Hanayuki Ichika didn’t even turn his head.
“In my past life… ah no, when I was a child… I learned this from an old physician. There should be some usable ones around here.”
While speaking, he had already collected a small handful of plants: a few long, oval, dark green leaves, some small purple flower spikes, and a few muddy roots.
Walking back to the campfire, he carefully divided the herbs into two portions.
“This is Viola yedoensis, it has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying.” He picked up the purple flower spikes.
“This is Panax notoginseng leaf, which can stop bleeding and dissipate blood stasis. The roots are Rumex, which promotes wound healing.”
Kochou Shinobu opened her eyes wide: “You… also understand these things?”
“I know a little.” Hanayuki Ichika smiled without explaining further.
The memories of being a medical student in his past life unexpectedly came in handy at this moment.
Although most modern medical knowledge was useless in this era, the identification of these basic herbs was still engraved in his bones.
He first placed the herbs on a rock and carefully mashed them with another stone.
Dark green juice seeped out, mixed with the fresh fragrance of the herbs.
Then—he did something that made both girls widen their eyes.
Hanayuki Ichika put the mashed herbs into his mouth.
“Wait! Ichi Fu-kun, you—” Kanroji Mitsuri exclaimed.
But Hanayuki Ichika was already chewing.
The bitter taste of the herbs permeated his mouth, but he didn’t even frown, chewing carefully for over ten seconds to fully mix his saliva with the herbs. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
Then he spat it out and spread it on his palm—the originally coarse herbs had turned into a dark green paste, emitting a cool, medicinal fragrance.
“The enzymes in saliva help release the active ingredients of the herbs.” He explained, then looked at Kochou Shinobu.
“Extend your foot.”
Kochou Shinobu watched Hanayuki Ichika’s frantically bobbing throat, and the way his mouth was drooling just like other man-eating demons about to eat someone…
She couldn’t help but silently complain in her heart: [If you want to eat, just say so! Why do you have to come up with these random excuses…]
“It will be troublesome if the wound gets infected.” Hanayuki Ichika’s tone was unrefusable.
“You are a Hashira, you should know this better than I do, right?”
Kochou Shinobu fell silent.
Indeed, although the wounds on her feet were not fatal, if they became infected and inflamed, it would affect her movements for at least a week.
And what the Demon Slayer Corps lacked most was time—new missions could arrive at any moment.
She bit her lip and finally slowly extended her injured right leg.
Hanayuki Ichika knelt on one knee, gently cradling her ankle, making the sole of her foot almost press against his face!
This action made Kochou Shinobu’s whole body stiffen.
Her feet had never been touched by a member of the opposite sex before.
She could feel the temperature of his palms, and…
that kind of precious, careful gentleness.
“It might be a little cold.” Hanayuki Ichika first secretly took a deep breath, then used his fingers to dip the herbal paste and gently applied it to her wound.
A cool sensation came from her ankle, carrying the fresh fragrance of the herbs.
The herbal paste covered every scratch.
The wounds that were originally burning with pain immediately felt a cool, soothing sensation.
Kochou Shinobu couldn’t help but take a light breath.
It wasn’t pain, but…
it was too comfortable!
Hanayuki Ichika’s movements were very light and careful.
He carefully used his fingertips to clean the sand and gravel embedded in the wounds, then filled every crack with the herbal paste.
From the ankle to the calf, every wound was properly treated.
After treating the right leg, he used the same method to treat the left.
Throughout the process, Kochou Shinobu kept her head down, her ears turning red.
She could feel her heartbeat accelerating, and that strange, flustered feeling left her at a loss.
She clearly should have refused, clearly shouldn’t have let the other person touch her…
but her body was—too honest?
“All done.” Hanayuki Ichika let go and turned to Kanroji Mitsuri.
“It’s your turn.”
“Eh?! M-me too?” Kanroji Mitsuri’s face turned bright red instantly.
“Your wounds are deeper.” Hanayuki Ichika had already re-chewed another portion of herbs.
“If not treated in time, you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”
“T-then I’ll do it myself—”
“Your hands are covered in mud, you’ll get an infection.”
Without allowing any argument, Hanayuki Ichika had already lifted Kanroji Mitsuri’s ankle.
The pink-haired girl let out a small gasp, her whole body freezing.
She could feel her face burning and her heart pounding.
Hanayuki Ichika treated it even more carefully.
“It might hurt a little, bear with it.”
“Mm…” Kanroji Mitsuri’s voice was as soft as a mosquito.
The moment the herbs were applied, there was indeed a stinging sensation.
But it was quickly replaced by coolness, and the burning pain of the wounds was significantly reduced.
She secretly looked at the white-haired youth kneeling in front of her.
There was not a trace of evil intent in his eyes, only pure seriousness.
This realization caused complex emotions to surge in Kanroji Mitsuri’s heart.
He was a demon.
But at this moment, he was more like a “human” than many people.
After treating the wounds of both, Hanayuki Ichika did something that surprised them even more—he tore off the sleeves of his own uniform, then used his teeth and hands to tear the fabric into neat strips.
“What are you doing?” Kochou Shinobu asked.
“Bandaging.” Hanayuki Ichika said, already starting to wrap the cloth strips around Kochou Shinobu’s right foot.
His bandaging technique was very professional: first covering the wound, then wrapping the ankle in a figure-eight pattern.
In the end, he even tied a butterfly knot that was both beautiful and neither too tight nor too loose…
It wouldn’t affect blood circulation, and it could protect the wounds.
Kochou Shinobu looked at the neat bandages on her feet, then looked at the burns on Hanayuki Ichika’s back that were still oozing blood…
Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing, her heart unable to calm down for a long time.
After the bandaging was finished, Hanayuki Ichika stood up and patted the herbal debris off his hands: “Alright, this should at least hold up until we get back to the Demon Slayer Corps.”
“…Thank you.” Kochou Shinobu said softly.
“Thank you, Ichi Fu-kun!” Kanroji Mitsuri thanked him loudly, her eyes sparkling.
Hanayuki Ichika waved his hand, then suddenly seemed to remember something, his expression becoming serious: “However, there is one more problem.”
“What?”
“If you walk now, the wounds will definitely split open.” He pointed to their feet.
“It’s at least another two hours of mountain road from here back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.”
Kochou Shinobu and Kanroji Mitsuri looked at each other, both seeing the helplessness in each other’s eyes.
Indeed, in their current state, forcing themselves to walk would only worsen the wounds.
“Then… walk slowly?” Kanroji Mitsuri asked tentatively.
“It’s too late.” Hanayuki Ichika shook his head.
“It’s almost dawn, I must find a place to hide before sunrise.
And…” He paused, “I always have a bad feeling.
That Baba-bi didn’t chase us, it’s very likely because it went back to bring reinforcements.”
This sentence made the atmosphere heavy instantly.
Indeed, demon reinforcements could arrive at any moment.
In their current state, encountering another battle would be truly dangerous.
“Then… what should we do?” Kanroji Mitsuri asked worriedly.
Hanayuki Ichika was silent for a few seconds, then as if he had made up his mind, he took a deep breath:
“I’ll carry you back.”
Saying that, Hanayuki Ichika didn’t allow any refusal, directly and forcibly carried Kochou Shinobu and Kanroji Mitsuri, and then ran away wildly!!!
Kochou Shinobu / Kanroji Mitsuri: “???”
(Kochou Shinobu: Why do I feel like when he is carrying both of us… he suddenly became very excited? It’s as if his waist isn’t sore anymore, and his legs aren’t tired anymore?)