Chainsaw Man, starting contract to cut down the Demon Line

Denji glanced at Higashiyama Kokoro, who was clearly terrified but still obediently driving for Yanliang in the driver's seat. He then recalled their first meeting, when Yanliang dared to make his request and even made Miss Machima bow her head, as well as various memories of their time together... After a brief silence, Denji's expression unexpectedly turned somber.

He scratched his messy golden hair, and his gaze toward Yan Liang held an unusually inquisitive look.

"Captain, is it true that you'll agree to any request?"

"……Of course."

Although he sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off, Yan Liang nodded since he had already spoken.

"Then..." Dianci swallowed, pointed at Yan Liang, then at himself, and suddenly blurted out, "Can you teach me... how to become someone like you?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, not only Yan Liang, but even Xiao Hong, who was driving in front, opened her mouth in surprise.

Yan Liang was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought that Dianci would make some low-level desires, but he never expected him to say something like this.

"Become like me?" Yan Liang narrowed his eyes. "Denji, what do you mean by that?"

"It means exactly what it says."

Denji crossed his arms, his brow furrowed, seemingly struggling to organize his thoughts:

"I feel like you're really amazing, Captain. Not in the way you're good at fighting, but... it seems like you never suffer a loss."

Denji counted on his fingers, and began to calculate seriously:

"Look, the moment you showed up, that pretentious guy Qiu and Senior Hime were completely subdued by you; you live in such a luxurious house, and you have beautiful girls like Xiao Hong who are willing to drive for you and run errands for you..."

"Eh?! I, I didn't want to be a gofer..." The driver in front blushed and weakly retorted, but her voice grew softer and softer until she finally shut her mouth in guilt.

Ignoring Xiao Hong's protest, Dian Ci looked at Yan Liang and said somewhat confusedly:

"Captain, I've thought about it carefully. Actually, you only look a few years older than me. We're both men, so why is there such a big difference in our lifespans?"

"I used to be treated like a dog to pay off my debts, and I was almost hacked to pieces by that zombie gang. I finally became a demon hunter, thinking I could finally live a good life, but it turned out to be completely different from what I imagined..."

"And you? You're always dressed in a clean suit, standing there without fear of anything. Everyone revolves around you, you seem to have everything, and you don't have to please anyone."

Dianci looked up, and his eyes, which were usually carefree, were now filled with a strong longing:

"I've figured it out. If I only ask you for a kiss or a rub, it's just a one-time thing. If I can learn to be like you, then I can have as many girls as I want in the future, right?"

Chapter 182 Why Don't You Go to School?

Looking into Denji's eyes, which rarely held such seriousness, Yan Liang felt a pang of emotion. He was indeed somewhat surprised that Denji would ask such a question, but upon reflection, it was in line with his own personality.

Yan Liang has a deep understanding of Denji. He is a purely emotional beast, an inhuman being struggling to survive in the mire after being abandoned by society.

To pay off his father's debts, he sold his organs, lived in a drafty, dilapidated shack, and ate food scavenged from garbage dumps. His only companion was Pochita. In those days when there was no hope of a better future, Denji was trained to develop a set of the most primitive survival principles in order to survive.

His desires were suppressed to the extreme.

For people like Hayakawa Aki or Makima, the pursuit is grand goals such as revenge or becoming better. But for Denji, his goals are food, safe shelter, and sex.

Although these pursuits may seem lowly and ridiculous, they are precisely the only things that the deprived of all rights to live can grasp.

Furthermore, Denji has not undergone systematic moral education; his sense of good and evil is in a pre-moral, extremely rudimentary state. Whoever feeds him or treats him well is a good person. Whoever wants to kill him or treats him badly is a bad person. His emotions are as pure as an infant's.

Generally, Denji doesn't dwell on past traumas or worry about the distant future. In the original work, every time he cries or laughs, it's a direct reaction to the present moment. This personality also gives him amazing resilience; no matter how many times he's knocked down, as long as he's given even the slightest reward, he can immediately get back up.

What's even more commendable is that he never feels ashamed of his desires. In this world full of calculations, everyone wears a mask, not just Hayakawa Aki, Pava, Himeno, or even Makima. Even Yanliang himself feels that he wears a mask, but Denji is different.

He can openly express his wishes without feeling there's anything wrong with it. This humility, ironically, becomes a rare kind of authenticity.

"As expected of the protagonist..."

Yan Liang sighed inwardly, letting out a soft sigh. He looked at Dianci, whose face was full of expectation. After careful consideration, he gave his answer:

"Denji, do you know what the biggest difference is between us?"

Denji sat up straight, his ears perked up like a student listening to a lecture: "What is it? Is it a demon's power? Or its appearance?"

"No." Yan Liang crossed his hands on his knees: "It's because you've never been to school and never studied."

"Huh?" Denji was stunned.

Hearing this, Xiao Hong, who was driving in front, secretly glanced at Yan Liang in the rearview mirror and nodded repeatedly in deep agreement. She had only become a hard-working demon hunter to support her brother's university education, and she knew all too well the importance of studying and education.

"The reason you feel like everyone is bossing you around, and the reason you always feel like you're at a disadvantage, is ultimately because your thinking is too simplistic," Yan Liang explained patiently. "This simplistic thinking isn't bad, it's just that it's too easy for others to see through you."

"Once someone sees through you, they can use your thoughts to control you. If you read more books, you can learn to control your instincts, and the current situation can be improved..."

"Since you've asked me for help, I won't hesitate to lend you a hand."

“If you really want to change, when the time is right, I can use the resources of the Public Security Bureau to arrange for you to go to school.”

Yan Liang thought that these earnest words would at least touch Denji. Unfortunately, he was too naive. Denji's thought process was clearly not on the same wavelength as his.

"Etc., etc!"

Denji suddenly waved his hands somewhat urgently, as if trying to steer the conversation back on track. His mind had been in turmoil for a while, and only after calming down did he begin to speak again:

"Captain, you just said that studying can suppress my instincts, right?" Denji's face was full of resistance: "But why should I suppress them?"

"My biggest problem right now is that I really want to be intimate with cute girls."

"I don't understand what you're saying... I can only understand that studying will make me lose my desires, so if I study, will I become gay?!"

"Captain! You're so vicious!" Denji shrank to the car door and shouted, "Then I absolutely refuse to go to school! I'm going to like girls for the rest of my life! So what if I suffer a loss!"

"..."

Seeing Dianci's resolute and defiant expression, Yan Liang's eye twitched.

This was one of the few times he wanted to help the other person, but the kid turned around and forgot about his good intentions.

"Do as you please."

Yan Liang waved his hand, giving up on communicating with this idiot. No wonder this kid never seemed to get enough suffering in the original story; this is the good fortune he deserves.

The train carriage was once again filled with the noise of the electric train, but this time the topic he was discussing was "whether the country girl would mind that he couldn't read."

The several-hour drive flew by amidst the hustle and bustle.

As the scenery outside the car gradually changed into rolling green hills and a desolate mountain road, Xiao Hong finally stepped on the brakes. Based on her previous experience, Xiao Hong stopped the car off the road.

"Team leader..." Xiao Hong pointed to the path hidden in the forest and reminded Yan Liang, "We've arrived... Shuijing Township is just ahead."

Led by Yan Liang, he led Dianci and Xiao Hong through the torii gate and along the path. After walking for a while, they arrived at the entrance to Mizukage Village again.

"Wow! It really is that kind of old-fashioned rural hometown!" Dianci excitedly slapped his thigh, covered his eyes with his hand, peered into the village, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Where's the country girl? Come out and greet your master!"

"Shh! Denji, keep your voice down!"

Xiao Hong wasn't as carefree as Dian Ci; he was so startled by Dian Ci's shout that he almost jumped up, and then asked Xiang Yanliang:

"Captain... it's eerily quiet here... and we can't see a single person moving around. Is it really dangerous?"

"..."

Yan Liang didn't reply. His gaze fell on the policeman sitting in the pavilion. Just like last time, the policeman came forward to question them. The policeman didn't seem to know anything strange in his words; he remembered seeing them before. But this only made Yan Liang more puzzled.

You see, the last time he escaped from here at night, the villagers had all turned into monsters. So why are they all so normal now? This gave him a sense of dissonance, as if the villagers here were completely different people during the day and at night…

Chapter 183 Re-entering Shuijing Township

After dismissing the questioning policeman, and having gained some understanding of the village, Yan Liang didn't patiently try to gather any information as he had last time. His goal this time was very clear: to obtain the prophetic wooden plaque from the cult leader.

Without stopping, once they arrived in the village, Yan Liang led the two towards the church.

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon, and evening would come soon. But Shuijing Township was very quiet in broad daylight, and it didn't have the scenery that Dianci had imagined.

Although the sun was shining brightly, the entire village was deserted. The doors of the houses on both sides were tightly closed, and on the wide road, there wasn't a single young girl, not even a child or an elderly person in sight, and not even a dog barking. Only the occasional breeze stirred up a few fallen leaves on the ground, making a rustling sound.

"What... what is this?!"

After walking for more than ten minutes, Denji, who had been full of anticipation, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He kicked a small pebble on the roadside in frustration, muttering angrily:

"Where's the warm-hearted country girl I was promised? This dilapidated village is as quiet as a cemetery! There's not even a bird in sight!"

As he spoke, Dianci stopped in his tracks, his eyes darting around, and looked at Yan Liang, suggesting:

"Captain, why don't you all go take care of your business? Can I wander around the village by myself?"

"No."

Before Dian Ci could finish speaking, Yan Liang's icy voice decisively shattered his fantasy. "For your safety, you'd better not leave my sight for even a moment."

"Huh? Why? I'm not a child anymore!" Denji pouted, clearly dissatisfied.

"Denji, you should listen to the captain..."

Following at the back, Dongshan Xiaohong quickly approached Yan Liang's side. Her expression panicked as she glanced around at the closed doors, and she lowered her voice, trembling, as she spoke to Dianci:

"This...this is for your own good! You would never guess what these villagers are doing in broad daylight..."

The last time she came here, it left Dongshan Xiaohong with a very serious psychological trauma. Not to mention the monsters that the villagers turned into at night, even during the day, what the villagers did was still beyond her tolerance. Just thinking about it made her stomach churn.

After all, Denji is not an adult yet. If he is allowed to wander around and bump into something, the impact on a minor would be immeasurable.

Startled by Xiao Hong's words, Dianci, though still somewhat skeptical, glanced at Yan Liang's serious expression and ultimately pursed his lips before obediently following. After all, he did take Yan Liang's words to heart, albeit to what extent; only he knew the true extent.

Before long, the three arrived at the church entrance, but unlike last time, there were no guards there, even though there should have been two. Having already come this far, Yan Liang didn't care anymore and stopped in front of the tightly closed doors.

He then turned around and gave the two instructions:

"You two, wait for me at the door."

"Don't wander off before I come out. No matter what happens inside, don't go in. If any villagers approach, Xiao Hong, go and talk to them. If a monster comes, deal with it immediately."

"Oh... I see." Denji replied listlessly, not caring about being dirty, and casually sat down on the ground, continuing to mourn his romantic encounter in the hot spring.

Xiao Hong nodded. She didn't want to go into this eerie-looking place in the first place. In fact, if Yan Liang hadn't spoken up, she wouldn't have wanted to come to this gloomy place at all.

After settling the two people in, Yan Liang reached out and pushed open the door.

"Squeak-"

The door slowly opened, and a faint, unidentified fragrance wafted out from the dimly lit room.

After my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room, the scene before me was exactly the same as when I last came. The wooden floor of the temple was so spacious that it was oppressive. At the far end of the hall was a half-meter-high wooden platform, and on the lotus pedestal on the platform, the leader, Ai Ranman, dressed in a loose, plain white Zen robe and with long black hair draped over his shoulders, was sitting cross-legged in a languid posture.

Hearing the door close, Ai Ran opened his eyes. When he saw that the person was Yan Liang, a gentle smile, as warm as a spring breeze, bloomed on his androgynous, exquisite face.

"oops……"

Love-staining voice was still that indistinct, androgynous tone. He smiled knowingly and said:

"Isn't this Yan Liangjun? After our hasty farewell last time, I thought I had done something to offend you. I didn't expect you to come visit me again so soon."

He stretched out his fair hand and pointed to the lonely futon in the center of the wooden floor.

"Come, please sit down. Let's talk slowly."

Faced with Aizen Man's enthusiastic attitude, as if they were old friends reunited, Yan Liang did not go over and sit down as he had done last time. Instead, he stopped a few meters away from the wooden table, his white demonic eye coldly staring at her.

He wasn't here today to play guessing games with this androgynous cult leader; he had to finish this quickly.

"Let's skip the formalities, Ai Ranman."

Yan Liang cut straight to the point:

“I have no interest in what you’ve done in this village. I’m here today for only one thing.”

Yan Liang stretched out one hand, palm up.

"Give me that prophetic wooden plaque."

Upon hearing these words, Ai Ran's smile faltered for a moment.

"I see..."

Aizen Man stood up from the lotus platform and walked barefoot to the edge of the half-meter-high wooden platform: "Yanliang-kun, you're still so impatient. I told you before, patience is necessary..."

"Don't give me all this nonsense." Yan Liang had never liked his incoherent ramblings. He interrupted him rather rudely and continued:

“You made it very clear to me before that as long as we waited for the sun to rise the next day, there would be results. I have patience, but I don’t have the patience to listen to you say so much.”

Ai Ran tilted her head slightly, her long hair cascading down her shoulders, her tone still gentle:

"Then I'll be frank... I'm sorry, I can't give you that wooden plaque yet."