Chapter 32

That day, the four of them had a good rest.

After lunch, Xander called Tanjirou: "Tanjirou, come with me, I have something to tell you."

Tanjirou replied, "Yes."

Tanjirou followed Xander into the courtyard. Xander asked, "How are you feeling? Any changes?"

Hearing Xander's words, Tanjirou thought he was concerned about his health and patted his chest, saying, "Yes! No problems at all! I feel great!"

Xander sighed hopelessly and said, "Alright, do you remember what I told you earlier about the breathing technique?"

Tanjirou recalled the scene of the battle at the Domnov Estate.

"Senior Xander, when I was fighting in the estate, I encountered a demon beating a drum, but after meeting with Senior Xander, the room suddenly changed; so this demon must have been killed by Senior Xander."

Xander nodded.

Receiving confirmation from Xander, Tanjirou continued, "After that, I met another demon. The demon's arms could transform into blades. I tried to use the fire kagura passed down through generations in our family. It seems that I can indeed unleash it using a sword, but it requires some physical strength."

Hearing that Tanjirou used fire kagura, Xander's eyes lit up, but he quickly concealed it, pretending to be surprised.

"Oh! Really?"

Tanjirou nodded, looked at Xander with a complex expression, and asked, "Senior Xander, do you know something?"

Xander was a little surprised, then patted Tanjirou on the shoulder.

"One day you'll find out, but not now."

After these words, Tanjirou stopped asking questions.

"Even though I really want to know if fire kagura is some kind of breathing technique, Senior Xander said I will find out, so of course, he'll tell me."

"Finally, I have something else to tell you, but I'll only say it if you promise not to get mad."

Xander looked at Tanjirou with a serious gaze and said.

Tanjirou didn't understand why Xander said this.

"Senior Xander, what do you mean? Why do you think I'd be angry?"

Xander didn't reply but asked directly, "Just tell me, do you agree or not? If not, I won't say anything."

Seeing this first display from Xander, Tanjirou slightly smiled and agreed:

"Alright, no matter what you say, Senior Xander, I promise I won't get mad."

Hearing Tanjirou's calming tone, Xander also understood why Inosuke always wasn't with him.

"Okay! Then I'll tell you! Nezuko wasn't in the wooden box last night; she crawled into bed with me, but believe me! I didn't do anything!"

Hearing this, Tanjirou's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't sense any deceit in Xander and didn't know what to say. Seeing Tanjirou remain silent, Xander hurriedly explained:

"Although I really like Nezuko, I would never do such a thing with her, you understand me."

Unexpectedly, Tanjirou smiled and said, "I trust Nezuko, and I believe Senior Xander will treat her well."

This time, it was Xander who was taken aback.

Xander smiled lightly, gave Tanjirou a strong pat on the head, and said, "I think you want me to be your brother-in-law!"

Tanjirou chuckled:

"If Senior Xander agrees, I think it's not impossible."

The two smiled at each other and returned to the house.

Suddenly, a Raven landed on Xander's shoulder: "Northeast! Northeast! The next location is northeast!"

Inosuke and Zenitsu came over and looked at the Raven.

"All four of us are heading to Spider Mountain! All four of us are heading to Spider Mountain!"

Xander stretched, and the Raven flew off his shoulder.

"After a day of rest, we'll continue the mission. Let's go," said Xander.

The four of them donned their Demon Slayer Corps uniforms and outfits and left the Qi Family.

"Then we're off." "Thank you for your hospitality," Xander expressed his gratitude.

Tanjirou and Zenitsu also bowed slightly to show their thanks.

The old woman accepted Xander's gratitude and then took out a flint.

"Then let me light it for you."

"Thank you very much!"

Xander, Tanjirou, and Zenitsu turned their backs. Inosuke, unaware of what the old woman was about to do, leaned his head closer to the flint.

Click! Click!

Sparks flew, scaring Inosuke so much that he jumped back.

"What are you doing, old woman?"

Seeing this, Tanjirou and Zenitsu held Inosuke back, with one stepping in front of the old woman.

"Are you stupid? It's a 'lighting ceremony' to ward off misfortune from us! Because we're going on a dangerous mission!"

After Zenitsu's explanation, Inosuke calmed down.

Then the old woman continued, "Regardless of when, please live with pride. I wish you luck in your martial arts!"

After Xander and the others bowed to express their gratitude, they ran toward the direction of Spider Mountain.

"Pride?" "Martial arts luck? What does that mean?" Inosuke asked, not understanding.

Tanjirou thought for a moment and said, "Yes! It's really hard to explain when you ask that kind of question... Pride is..."

"I must clearly understand my position, and to not be ashamed of it, I must act properly..."

"So the old woman prayed for our safety."

After Tanjirou's explanation, Inosuke was even more confused.

"What is your position? What does it mean to not be ashamed? What specific actions need to be taken to act properly?"

"Why did the old woman pray for our safety? She is clearly an old woman who has nothing to do with us, why did she do that?"

Seeing that his explanation didn't work, Tanjirou gave up.

Inosuke saw Tanjirou fall silent and shouted, "Hey! Explain clearly!"

Xander said hopelessly, "Why are you asking so many questions? You'd better hurry to Spider Mountain."

After that, Xander quickened his pace, and Tanjirou followed him.

Seeing Xander and Tanjirou speed up, Inosuke kept pace.

"I won't lose!"

Zenitsu had no choice but to quicken his pace as well, eventually overtaking Tanjirou and Inosuke to run alongside Xander.

Looking at Zenitsu beside him, Xander understood:

"It seems Zenitsu overheard everything Tanjirou and I were discussing in the courtyard, so he's trying to prove himself?"

Xander smiled at Zenitsu and then accelerated once more.

Zenitsu hadn't expected Xander to pick up speed and didn't want to give up, so he accelerated too.

Thus, before the sun set, Xander and the four others arrived at the base of Spider Mountain.

Xander glanced at Zenitsu and Tanjirou and nodded calmly.

"I gave Zenitsu an agility potion, and his speed has indeed increased. I gave Tanjirou an endurance potion, and he followed me the entire way, not looking tired. It seems the effect is quite significant.

"As for Inosuke, I gave him a strength potion. So far, I don't see any effect. We'll see how Inosuke performs in battle later."

Then Xander smiled and looked at the ominous and gloomy Spider Mountain.

If you want to read advance chapters follow me on patreon

30+chapters

patron.com /Manofathousandskills