Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

The Japanese-style room was very quiet.

Neither of them spoke, and Nakime stood to the side holding her biwa, not intending to say a word.

"Nakome said you want to see me," Muzan broke the awkward atmosphere. "Is there something you need?"

He wasn't used to the sudden silence, and he was even less used to Xue Nai's dejected appearance.

He preferred her previous, even if silly, lively self to how she is now.

However, he did not think he had said anything wrong.

That's just a fact.

So he tried to steer the conversation back on track with this most direct question.

"Um……"

When Xue Nai heard the question, she looked up.

What she originally wanted to say was that she had a terrible nightmare.

In her dream, her mother was crying in a sea of ​​flowers. She wanted to rush over and hug her mother, but she was entangled in vines and couldn't move. When she woke up, she couldn't find her father and felt scared and sad.

But the words stuck in her throat.

If I tell him, won't my father think I'm even more useless and troublesome?

Even though he's become a ghost, he's still afraid of nightmares from his human days and misses his mother.

Moreover, because she had a nightmare, she kept asking to see her father.

That sounds even more childish.

Should I tell or not?

A battle raged within her little mind, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her kimono, crumpling the soft fabric.

Muzan's patience quickly ran out as he watched her hesitant expression, looking down and fiddling with her clothes.

"If you don't speak up," he said coldly, "I'm leaving."

This threat clearly worked on Yukina.

She suddenly raised her head, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.

Is Father leaving?

No, she finally got to see her father.

The longing for her father instantly overwhelmed all other emotions.

"It's nothing."

She spoke quickly, her voice urgent and soft, "It's just...it's just that I miss my father..."

In the end, she only revealed the most superficial and safest reason, quietly hiding the story of the nightmare deep in her heart.

Missing him?

Muzan raised an eyebrow slightly, neither confirming nor denying the answer.

It sounds like a perfunctory excuse, but it is very likely the only emotion that this dim-witted child can clearly express in his limited brain capacity.

"oh,"

He responded coldly, glancing at her with disdain, "Next time, if you don't have anything to do, you don't need to specifically look for me."

He figured he probably wouldn't get any more information out of him.

Since language was of little use, he habitually read her thoughts directly.

Ok?

It turns out I was having a nightmare.

Did you dream about that woman? And you even cried in your dream?

He really is just a child; even after becoming a ghost, he still clings to the weak emotions he had as a human.

He then heard various thoughts buzzing in Xue Nai's mind:

Am I too useless? Will my father find me annoying? Will I ever see him again? If only I could become powerful...

It's all mixed up and disorganized.

Muzan frowned.

I'm not very bright to begin with, and with all this self-doubt and overthinking, I feel like I'll only get dumber. It's really frustrating.

Then he heard a bunch of babbling inner thoughts:

After asking his questions, was her father leaving again, leaving her alone here...?

She also wanted to go out with her father.

Even just following behind without saying a word is fine.

Muzan almost burst out laughing.

Playful, troublesome, and always pushing their luck.

Why should he grant such a childish wish? He has more important things to do...

Suddenly, a very vague, long-forgotten memory flashed through his mind without warning; it wasn't a specific recollection.

It's more like a lingering emotion, about being left behind, about only being able to watch.

It was very faint, almost immediately crushed by his usual indifference and irritability.

He pursed his lips, the inexplicable feeling making him even more unhappy.

Forget it.

"Come here." Muzan spoke harshly, his tone unfriendly, more like an order.

Yukina was engrossed in her own world when she heard the sound and was startled, but she still obediently walked over and stood in front of him, looking somewhat bewildered.

Muzan ignored her and instead sent a telepathic message to Nakime in his mind, his voice filled with a disgruntled irritation: "Send it to Kyoto, to any busy street."

He certainly wasn't trying to appease the child.

It's just that it's been a long time since I've simply stood in a crowd and observed things in my original form.

Taking her out was just a side thing, a way to let her know that things outside aren't all that great, so she won't keep thinking about it later.

"Zheng"

The familiar sound of pipa strings.

Space is distorted and displaced once again.

Xue Nai felt her feet suddenly sink and then become solid again, and the scene before her eyes changed in an instant.

The Japanese-style room has disappeared, replaced by a slightly rough stone path underfoot and a gentle breeze on your face.

She stared in surprise at the ground beneath her feet, then looked up sharply at her surroundings.

They stood at the entrance to a narrow street. Turning a corner with a faded warm curtain hanging in front of them, a completely different scene, accompanied by a wave of sound, rushed towards them.

Lights, noise, and shadows.

Countless paper lanterns and the warm light emanating from the houses illuminated the main street as if it were daytime.

The streets are lined with all sorts of stalls: stalls selling steaming hot oden, stalls making glutinous rice balls on the spot, toy stalls with colorful masks and windmills, and stalls selling miscellaneous goods filled with hairpins and combs...

Xue Nai's little mouth unconsciously opened into an "O" shape, and her eyes were almost glued to it, unable to look away.

"Father," she instinctively grabbed Muzan's sleeve, "is there something we need to do?" she wondered, her heart pounding.

Muzan lowered his eyes, gave a soft snort, his tone indifferent, and strode forward, his sleeve naturally moving along with Yukina, who was still tightly gripping him.

"What could be wrong?"

He stared ahead, his voice mingling with the noise of the street, "I'm just showing you just how boring it really is outside, the place you've been clamoring to come out to."

Wow!

How did Father know that he had come up with the idea?

Bravo!

As Yukina gazed at the dazzling sights around her, her heart was overflowing with joy.

Just then, a father and daughter walked by.

The little girl, dressed in a pink short-sleeved shirt and with her hair in two buns, was holding her father's broad hand tightly, looking up and chattering away, her cheeks rosy.

Her father listened with his head down, a gentle smile on his face, nodding occasionally.

Xue Nai's gaze was unconsciously drawn to the father and daughter, and she followed them for a short distance until they disappeared into the crowd.

A subtle sense of envy quietly welled up inside me.

But soon, she shifted her gaze back to Muzan, who was walking ahead.

Although... although what my father said just now was a little bit sad.

However, he realized that he had actually brought himself to such a lively place!

Hmm... then let's forgive him a little.

She secretly raised her eyes and looked at Muzan's large, pale hand hanging down by the edge of his dark kimono, its knuckles clearly defined.

I had only been tugging at his sleeve the whole time.

After hesitating for a moment, she loosened her grip on the slightly wrinkled fabric, then carefully and gently placed her small hand over, slipping it into his cool palm, and then closed her fingers to hook them around his two fingers.

Muzan paused for a moment, then resumed his normal pace.

He lowered his eyes, glanced at it, and his brows furrowed slightly as usual.

What a clingy person who takes advantage of your kindness.

Do we even need to hold hands like this when we're walking? It's so inconvenient.

He could almost imagine that if he shook off now, he would most likely hear those suppressed, faint gasps behind him immediately.

Or worse, those eyes that had just lit up would quickly become misty again.

That will only make things more complicated.

So he said nothing and continued walking forward at his original pace.

"Father, could you please slow down?"

Xue Nai held his hand and was almost led by him to run. Her two short legs were working hard, but she still couldn't keep up with his pace, and her breathing became a little rapid.

Muzan didn't stop walking; he merely turned his head slightly, glanced at her, and said with a mocking tone, "Who told you to have such short legs?"

Xue Nai puffed out her cheeks, turned her head, and took even more steps.