Inada Village was not far from the abandoned shrine.
After receiving the mission, Uchiha Bing followed the Kasugai Crow over several mountains and arrived at this small Village.
As his first actual combat encounter after mastering the ten major forms, he was somewhat excited; after all, how could imaginary simulation training compare to the rapid progress gained from slaying demons with swords?
This was a small Village of dozens of households, with no samurai or similar figures stationed here.
At the entrance of the Village sat a few old men smoking dry tobacco; other than them, the figures of young people were rarely seen.
“Hey, where did this brat come from?
It’s getting dark.
Don’t wander around outside by yourself; watch out for danger.
There have been black bears roaming around here these past few days, and they’ve already eaten several people.”
An uncle gave Uchiha Bing a well-intentioned reminder, but was pulled back by his companion, who frantically winked at him.
Following his companion’s gaze, the uncle saw the nichirin blade hanging at Uchiha Bing’s waist and immediately fell silent.
By this time, the samurai class no longer existed, and the government had explicitly forbidden ordinary people from carrying swords.
To swagger around with a samurai sword in plain sight at a time like this meant one was either a gangster or a criminal; either way, in the eyes of ordinary villagers, it spelled trouble.
Uchiha Bing didn’t mind the villagers’ attitudes.
After all, the Demon Slayer Corps was an organization hidden in the darkness, and it was completely normal for ignorant villagers to mistake them for yakuza—after all, they had never seen evil demons eating people.
The Village was very small.
Uchiha Bing walked a circle around it but found no trace of evil demons, forcing him to seek help from the locals.
Uchiha Bing stopped an old man walking leisurely back while carrying a hoe.
“Old man, has anything strange happened in the Village recently?”
Carrying his hoe, the old man swept his cloudy eyes over the nichirin blade at Uchiha Bing’s waist and shook his head vaguely.
“It seems nothing has happened in the Village.”
The old man’s words carried a sense of alienation and wariness.
Even though the Sword Abolition Edict had been enforced for decades, in the hearts of many elderly people, samurai still represented dangerous figures of power and violence.
The old man clearly didn’t want to communicate much with an unfamiliar samurai whose background was unknown, even though Uchiha Bing didn’t look very old.
Uchiha Bing didn’t care whether the old man was willing or not; he continued to press, “I heard that black bears have been eating people recently.
Do you know where they died?”
Hearing Uchiha Bing ask about the black bears eating people, the old man’s expression darkened instantly.
“You child, don’t go thinking about slaying black bears just because you’ve learned a trick or two of swordsmanship.
The old man turned and left, leaving Uchiha Bing speechless.
He looked up at the Kasugai Crow.
“It seems we won’t get anything out of the villagers.
Do you have any specific intelligence on the demon?”
The Kasugai Crow standing on a nearby tree shook its head.
“The intelligence was transmitted by the Kakushi, and it’s very vague with no specific news.
You still need to investigate the demon’s location yourself.”
He hated investigation and puzzle-solving type missions the most.
Uchiha Bing scratched his head and decided to wait for a hare by the stump—he would stay on guard in this Village tonight and see.
Night fell quickly.
Uchiha Bing walked through the Village, carefully listening to the movements around him.
The coughs of the elderly, the cries of children, the complaints of women, and the heavy breathing of men, mixed with the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, all entered his ears, yet he didn’t hear the sound he wanted to hear.
The moon was high in the sky, and all was quiet and safe.
Just when Uchiha Bing thought tonight would pass like this, the Kasugai Crow suddenly brought good news.
“Uchiha Bing, I’ve found traces of the demon.
Not in this Village, but in the neighboring Village.”
“Lead the way.”
The Kasugai Crow flew high in the sky while Uchiha Bing ran rapidly below.
Man and bird quickly arrived at the neighboring Village.
By this time, the night was already deep, and every household had their doors tightly shut.
Yet, one household had its front door wide open and was brightly lit.
Uchiha Bing saw at a glance that this family’s wooden door had been violently broken.
Logically speaking, destroying a wooden door like that should have made a lot of noise, but none of the surrounding neighbors came out to check; they were each acting like they were dead.
It seemed this family’s relations with their neighbors weren’t very good.
In a flash of thought, Uchiha Bing heard movement inside the house.
It seemed there were still survivors among the hosts, so he rushed straight in.
The man was still alive and struggling constantly.
The kitchen knife and axe on the ground were stained with blood, and a woman lay there, evidently having been dead for some time.
In the corner of the room, an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy holding a small knife was trembling all over.
Uchiha Bing took only a second to assess the exact situation, and immediately drew his sword from its scabbard.
Water Breathing — First Form: Water Surface Slash
This slash was aimed at the head.
However, this evil demon was unexpectedly clever.
The moment it sensed a newcomer, it immediately used the man it was devouring as a shield in front of it.
Uchiha Bing instantly changed his move, lifting his blade upwards to bypass the man’s body.
Second Form: Water Wheel.
The blue blade light carved out a perfect arc.
The evil demon’s arm was instantly severed, and foul-smelling blood spewed out.
The man immediately fell to the ground, with half of the evil demon’s arm still deeply embedded in his waist.
Roaring in pain, the evil demon rolled backward and reached out to grab the child in the corner.
Its objective was obvious: it wanted to use the child as a hostage to make Uchiha Bing hesitate, but Uchiha Bing didn’t give it the chance.
Water Breathing — Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust.
A thrust pierced through the evil demon’s body, pinning it fiercely against the wall.
While still in mid-air and before landing, Uchiha Bing backhandedly drew his second nichirin blade, using a Water Surface Slash to cut off the evil demon’s head.
The evil demon’s head rolled into the arms of the child in the corner, startling the boy so much that he threw the head along with the small knife in his hand.
The evil demon’s head spun in the air and turned into ashes.
[Slain evil demon (ordinary), influence value +100]
It seemed this demon was only slightly stronger than ordinary demons, but hadn’t reached the level of the Hand Demon.
Sheathing his sword back into the scabbard, Uchiha Bing looked around, but found no second evil demon.
“Dad!
Mom!”
The child lunged onto the man.
The man lying on the ground had already stopped breathing; the wound on his waist was too deep, the gap on his neck was too large, and he had lost too much blood to be saved.
The corpse of the woman beside him was even colder.
Of the family of three, only the little boy was still alive, crying tears and snot streaming down his face.