After getting a comfortable night’s sleep at an inn in town, Kanzaki Kumo bought some dry rations, left the small town, and set off on his journey home.
Since he had decided to check out that suspicious village, there was no need to hire a carriage anymore; otherwise, the Coachman’s safety would be an issue.
Two nights ago, it was because there were truly no other villages nearby to stay at, and sleeping in the wild was more dangerous than staying in a village, that he had brought the Coachman into the village for lodging.
Now that he knew there was a problem there, there was naturally no need to drag an ordinary person along.
After all, in terms of traveling speed, the current Kanzaki Kumo was faster than a carriage; he had mainly hired one because he didn’t want to get so tired.
But for now, Kanzaki Kumo could only tell himself that being a bit tired was fine, and he would treat it as practicing his Breathing Technique.
However, to preserve enough physical strength to deal with the potential dangers in the village, Kanzaki Kumo didn’t use his Breathing Technique for the journey.
He only maintained Total Concentration Breathing while jogging, and by intentionally controlling his timing, he arrived outside the village just as the sun was setting.
After all, creatures like demons only come out at night; during the day, only the demons themselves know where they hide.
However, when Kanzaki Kumo reached the outskirts of the village, he found a group of people gathered by the stream at the edge of the village, shouting about something.
Judging by the numbers, it seemed the entire village was there.
It was the complete opposite extreme compared to the eerie silence when he last arrived outside the village.
Kanzaki Kumo used the houses to hide his presence and drew closer, beginning to observe.
An elderly-looking man stood in front of the crowd, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Beside him was a woman with her hands and feet bound and her mouth gagged—it was the same woman who had let Kanzaki Kumo stay the night.
The shouting voice was hoarse and out of tune; Kanzaki Kumo couldn’t even understand what the man was saying at first.
After listening carefully for a while, he finally understood the content of the shouting.
“This wretched woman dared to defy the will of the River God, betraying our village and our faith, secretly amassing money from unknown sources…”
The old man shouted hysterically, his yellowed eyes bloodshot, and his already aged face looked even more hideous as he gnashed his teeth.
The villagers seemed to be influenced by him, most of their faces filled with anger and disdain, with only a few showing flashes of pity.
“Tonight, in my capacity as the Village Head and the Divine Envoy of the River God, I shall hand over this unfaithful and treacherous person, who intended to bring calamity upon our village, to the River God himself for judgment!
Everyone, disperse.”
As the Village Head finished speaking, the villagers scattered in small groups, returning to their respective homes, leaving only the elderly Village Head and the bound woman by the babbling stream to await the fall of night.
Having overheard the Village Head’s speech, Kanzaki Kumo criticized him wildly in his mind.
This man, for whatever purpose, had enslaved the entire village in the name of a so-called “River God.” He forbade them from leaving on their own, demanded regular payments of money and food as “offerings,” and claimed that defying the “River God’s” will would bring disaster, such as the entire village being submerged by a flood. The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
And the woman was tied up there because someone had discovered her secret stash of money and her intention to sneak away from the village.
In short, this was an absurd and pathetic village.
If nothing else, that so-called “River God” was likely a man-eating demon, and the Village Head was its accomplice.
And among the villagers, there were likely others colluding with the Village Head.
After all, faith is not something easily established, even in an obviously uneducated rural village.
It would require at least one or two “miracles” and some people to lead the hype for it to take shape.
Kanzaki Kumo didn’t care how the village’s so-called faith was established; he only wanted to know what kind of power the “River God” behind it possessed.
Logically, a demon capable of performing “miracles” should possess a relatively powerful Blood Demon Art.
If it were a demon of that caliber, Kanzaki Kumo wouldn’t be very confident in slaying it.
But seeing how the villagers were completely fooled by the Village Head’s abysmal speech, perhaps the “miracles” back then were just some clumsy performances.
Most importantly, the Village Head repeatedly said that abandoning their faith would incur the “River God’s” wrath, triggering a flood that would submerge the entire village.
But looking at the stream not far away, which was less than two meters wide, what kind of being could use the water from such a stream to cause a flood in this flat and open terrain?
If a demon could truly do that, wouldn’t Muzan’s position as the Demon King be in jeopardy?
The more he thought about it, the more Kanzaki Kumo felt that the so-called “River God” was built on clumsy performances and pre-arranged collusion.
The only uncertainty was the demon’s actual strength.
So, he decided to observe a bit longer.
Given the distance between his position and the Village Head’s, as long as it wasn’t one of the Twelve Kizuki, he was confident he could escape.
And demons of the Twelve Kizuki’s level wouldn’t need such methods to eat people.
Time passed slowly, and as the last of the twilight vanished, Kanzaki Kumo carefully moved his body, assuming the starting stance of the First Form, ready to charge in to kill the demon or turn and run at any moment.
Under his tense gaze, there was movement in the center of the stream, and a dark shadow slowly rose from the water.
Then, Kanzaki Kumo saw a…
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?
Kanzaki Kumo looked at the demon standing in the moonlight, with a turtle-like shell on its back and dark green skin.
Especially seeing that large bald head glowing green under the moonlight, he almost lost his rhythm with the Total Concentration Breathing he had been maintaining.
However, seeing those hideous teeth and ferocious expression, Kanzaki Kumo quickly snapped out of it and began to observe the demon’s every move, assessing its strength in his mind.
The demon walked step by step from the center of the stream toward the bank.
For a distance that a normal person could cross in just one or two steps, this guy took at least four or five to reach the shore, and it even nearly slipped while climbing up. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
From the look of it, this demon’s performance was even worse than the one Gyoumei had thrashed all night.
“River God, please judge this person’s sins.”
From the moment the demon appeared, the Village Head had been kneeling respectfully on the ground, his body trembling slightly and his head bowed so low it seemed he wanted to bury it in the dirt.
This prevented him from seeing the demon’s somewhat comical entrance.
On the contrary, the woman witnessed the whole thing, her face showing surprise, fear, and a hint of relief.
Seeing the sharp claws about to seize her throat, the woman closed her eyes in a tremble.
Vaguely, she seemed to hear the sound of thunder in her ears.
“Thunder Breathing, First Form, Thunderclap and Flash.”
Kanzaki Kumo chanted in his heart, turning into a flash of incandescent lightning as he charged out instantly.
When he reappeared, he was already behind the demon.
Turning back to look at the demon, whose head had been severed by his blade and was now gradually disintegrating, Kanzaki Kumo’s feelings were somewhat complicated.
His first time killing a demon had been far too easy, making all his nervousness for naught.
Then again, a demon that had to hole up in a small place like this and rely on playing god to eat people couldn’t be that powerful to begin with.
The woman opened her eyes and saw the somewhat familiar boy, then looked at the demon whose body had mostly disintegrated, her face filled with shock and confusion.
Cutting the ropes binding her hands and feet and removing the gag from her mouth, Kanzaki Kumo pointed to the Village Head, whom he had knocked unconscious, and spoke slowly: “It’s up to you to decide how to deal with him.”
After saying that, Kanzaki Kumo stood up and left.
Information related to demons could not be easily disclosed.
This was something he had been told in his past correspondence with Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
The other party had explained the reasons for withholding such information in detail, and Kanzaki Kumo agreed with them.
As for the Village Head, if the woman killed him for revenge, then so be it.
Regardless, he would mention this man to Kagaya; someone who colluded with demons to harm others certainly couldn’t be allowed to remain.
He didn’t do it himself simply because he didn’t want to dirty Kuwajima Jigorō’s blade.
With a mix of excitement, regret, disappointment, and a slight disgust for the wicked, Kanzaki Kumo continued his journey home to Mount Momo.
As for what would become of this village in the future, he didn’t care and didn’t mind.