Chapter 49: A Chance Encounter with Zenitsu

After parting ways with Haru, Tanjiro began his descent down the mountain.

Along the way, Tanjiro ran into Zenitsu, who had been thrown out by Haru and was now unconscious.

Tanjiro quickly went up to Zenitsu and propped him up against a tree.

Looking at Zenitsu, Tanjiro couldn't help but smile wryly—this guy really knew how to hide things well.

If it weren't for Zenitsu, Tanjiro probably wouldn't have lasted until Haru arrived.

"Zenitsu! Wake up! Are you okay?" Tanjiro gently patted Zenitsu's face.

At Tanjiro's wake-up call, Zenitsu twitched his eyebrows and slowly opened his eyes.

"Tanjiro~ Did you save me?" Zenitsu's vision was blurry, but after recognizing Tanjiro in front of him, he slowly asked.

At that moment, Zenitsu felt incredibly sore all over and had no strength left in his body.

"No, it was Haru-senpai who saved us!" Tanjiro replied.

"Really? That's great!" Zenitsu said, sounding relieved.

"Zenitsu, can you walk? We need to leave here quickly and get to a safe place to wait for Haru-senpai!" Tanjiro asked again.

Zenitsu tried to move, but he found his body had no strength left, and he couldn't stand up. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Tanjiro, I don't think I can stand up. Am I going to have to live the rest of my life in a wheelchair? I haven't even gotten married yet!"

"What are you saying! You're probably just exhausted. I'll carry you out of here!" Tanjiro said with a wry smile when he saw Zenitsu starting to ramble again.

With no more words, Tanjiro carried Zenitsu on his back and ran toward the foot of Mount Fujikasane.

During this time, Tanjiro ran into the boy who had twisted his ankle. Because of his sprained ankle, combined with being thrown by Haru, the boy was moving very slowly. So, the three of them were reunited. When the boy saw that neither Tanjiro nor Zenitsu had been harmed, he realized that Haru must have defeated the demons.

Thinking back to the group of demons they had encountered, the boy still felt uneasy. Just how strong must Haru be to deal with that situation?

"You're okay! That's great! By the way, I'm Murata Shinji. I owe my survival to you and your senior brother!" The boy, named Murata Shinji, expressed his gratitude as he was deeply moved by surviving the encounter.

"I'm just glad to see you're alright, Shinji. Let me introduce myself properly—my name is Kamado Tanjiro, and this is Agatsuma Zenitsu on my back," Tanjiro introduced himself and Zenitsu to Murata Shinji.

Murata Shinji glanced at Zenitsu, recalling Zenitsu's sudden burst of energy in the crisis. He no longer looked down on this timid young man.

If it hadn't been for Zenitsu's outburst, the three of them probably wouldn't have made it until Haru arrived.

So, the fact that they were all alive was thanks to both Tanjiro and Zenitsu.

"Shinji, do you have any sisters around your age? Maybe you could introduce me to one?" Zenitsu suddenly asked, looking at Murata Shinji.

At Zenitsu's words, both Tanjiro and Murata Shinji exchanged helpless smiles. Both of them knew exactly what Zenitsu was thinking. During their search for Haru, Zenitsu had been loudly complaining about not being married and not wanting to die.

Now, he was even setting his sights on Murata Shinji. They really didn't know what to say about him!