Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

Long ago, there was a similar lively scene here, and there were so many lovely children.

Thinking of those things, the gentle old man's eyes unconsciously became moist. So, he poured himself another glass of wine, but what he thought of was that once familiar face that he could never see again.

I took a big gulp, and a sense of melancholy crept into my heart.

“Let’s go for a walk, Urokodaki-senpai.”

Seeing the old man's condition, Su Mu picked up the wine pot and wine cup and spoke with a smile.

"it is good."

Urokodaki Sakonji readily agreed.

The children were still eating inside. Kanao wanted to come along, but Su Mu stopped her and handed her over to Kamado Aoi. Coincidentally, Kamado Aoi had just sewed a few clothes for the girl and invited her to try them on.

The night in Sagiri Mountain was a bit chilly. As soon as he stepped outside, the cold wind made Urokodaki Sakonji involuntarily shrink back. But for Su Mu, who was a demon, the cold wind felt quite refreshing.

Urokodaki Sakonji also noticed this scene: "Young people are so hot-tempered, while I am already old."

"Everyone gets old."

Su Mu casually shrugged: "I wanted to buy osmanthus flowers and share wine, but it will never be like the carefree days of my youth."

Urokodaki Sakonji was slightly taken aback. From his youth to middle age, and then to old age, time had passed so quickly. Now, drinking again, he realized that he was already old and frail.

Urokodaki Sakonji truly understood this statement.

At this moment, Urokodaki Sakonji thought of his disciples who loved and respected their master; they seemed to remain forever young.

So, I felt inexplicably a little lost.

Those mistakes I made in the past have become irreparable regrets, and whenever I think of them, I always feel an indescribable sense of loss.

"Have a drink."

Su Mu picked up the wine pot and pointed to the empty wine cup in Urokodaki Sakonji's hand.

The old man chuckled and said, "You young man, you've made a fool of yourself in front of this old man."

After saying that, he handed the cup over.

Su Mu filled the wine glass to the brim, and the gentle-looking old man drank it down in one gulp. As he looked up, he gazed at the misty mountain at night. As always, when night fell, the mist began to rise, and a light mist filled the air.

Su Mu followed Urokodaki Sakonji casually as they walked up the mountain. Before they knew it, they came to a clearing in the forest and stood in front of a huge rock.

Urokodaki Sakonji looked at the huge rock as if he could see the marks that each departing disciple would carve on it with their sword.

“Makomo told me that the hand demon’s neck is harder than stone, and she couldn’t cut it. Most of my disciples probably died because of it.”

"Yes, that ghost had a very stiff neck."

Su Mu exclaimed, "If I weren't exceptionally talented and strong enough, I probably wouldn't have been able to cut through that hard neck."

"A neck as hard as stone—that's no ordinary demon. It's no wonder my disciple was defeated by such a demon! But if I had known about this demon beforehand, my disciple would never have lost."

"Yes!"

Su Mu nodded and poured the old man another cup: "I seem to see that your disciple also wants to drink right now."

Urokodaki Sakon looked up and around. Unbeknownst to him, mist was spreading through the mountains and forests, and everything around him was white. However, he could not see his disciple.

A gentle breeze stirred in the forest, and mist settled on the old man's gentle face and his wide-open eyes.

"Let's raise a glass to them."

Su Mu poured himself a glass of wine and then poured it onto the boulder in front of him.

Urokodaki Sakonji paused slightly, looking at the boulder. In the shadows, he seemed to see familiar figures—those boys wearing masks he had painstakingly carved, raising their cups to him.

With tears in his eyes, the old man raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp.

The wind blew by, and when I opened my eyes again, there was no familiar figure to be seen. The boulder stood empty, without a soul in sight.

"I long to go back to the past, back to that night, back to the night the ghost ate my brother with its own hands, back to that day, to the night I faced the ghost's request to eat my brother, to the night the ghost was filled with pain and sorrow after it had eaten its fill. Even if I could smell how much pain and sorrow that ghost was in, I would never have a soft heart..."

The old man looked lost and forlorn.

Life is never perfect, and we will always make mistakes. Some mistakes will become regrets for a person's entire life, but so what? Who can be perfect?

Su Mu poured another cup of wine for Urokodaki Sakonji: "Have a drink for yourself too."

The old man looked up at Su Mu.

Su Mu walked to the boulder, reached out and gently stroked the carvings on it: "It seems that everyone misses the past, wants to go back to a time before the mistakes were made, a time when they could change everything, but that's something that can't be done in the end! Why keep dwelling on things that are already in the past? I'm afraid that's not what Senior Urokodaki's disciples would have hoped for."

"Their deaths are certainly regrettable, but they died for the sake of hunting demons, and they were prepared for it. They will not regret it, nor will they blame you as their master."

"Senior Urokodaki is old now, but as the saying goes, 'Though the sun sets late, its afterglow still fills the sky.' Time waits for no one, so the important thing is to enjoy poetry and wine while you are young."

He smiled, looking at Urokodaki Sakonji: "Urodaki-senpai, is the most important thing to do still to dwell on the past?"

The old man looked up at Su Mu.

"Youth has its own scenery, middle age has its own journey, and old age has its own twilight years. As your teacher, shouldn't you strive to fulfill the unfulfilled and unrealized wishes of your disciples?"

Su Mu gently drew his Nichirin Blade, its blade gleaming with a cold light.

"To fulfill your disciple's wish, and to fulfill the Demon Slayer Corps' long-cherished wish for thousands of years, to cleanse this world of evil demons, and to completely slay Muzan Kibutsuji—this is what you, as his master, should be doing."

As he spoke, he looked at Urokodaki Sakonji: "In recent years, how many disciples has Urokodaki-senpai, as a 'trainer,' trained? You're really letting down your deceased disciples, aren't you?"

Chapter 155 It's easy to like someone, and it's just as easy to hate someone.

"Over the years, how many disciples has Urokodaki-senpai, as a 'mentor,' trained? How can you face your deceased disciples in this way?"

"This is not what your deceased disciple would have wanted to see, is it?"

Su Mu looked at the old man who had taken off the celestial dog mask, his face now gentle, and asked him a questioning look.

Urokodaki Sakonji's eyes widened in surprise, then he slumped down in dejection.

Since his disciples went to Fujikasayama to take the swordsman test, and then perished there one by one, how could he, as the 'trainer', possibly have the mind to train new disciples?

In fact, Sabito and Makomo were the last batch of disciples he recruited.

Over the years, he has not taken on any disciples. In fact, he has no intention of taking on any new disciples, because he no longer wants to see his disciples perish on the path of ghost hunting.

But is this really what a 'breeder' should be doing?

Isn't the job of a 'breeder' to provide the Demon Slayer Corps with a constant stream of fresh blood? To contribute their last strength to eradicate the evil spirits from this world.

To protect those whose happiness will no longer be devoured by ghosts.

In order to cleanse the world of evil spirits, and to fulfill the long-cherished wish of his disciple.

Also... for myself.

As a 'trainer', he has been slacking off all these years!

This is not something a 'breeder' should be doing!

Su Mu filled the old man's wine glass again, watching the old man stand there in a daze, watching the old man slowly walk towards the huge rock, watching the old man gently stroke the engravings on the rock with his hand.

Seeing the old man's eyes gradually regaining their fighting spirit, Su Mu also filled his own cup with wine and raised it to Urokodaki Sakonji from afar: "Enjoy poetry and wine while you're young."

Urokodaki Sakon looked up at the rising mist around him. The gloom that had been lingering in his gentle eyes seemed to have been broken at this moment. The shadow in his heart brought about by the Fujisaki Mountain Trial seemed to have completely dissipated at this moment.

“As a senior, as a pillar to shield juniors from the storm, and as a mentor, I have indeed failed to live up to my expectations over the years.”

The old man raised his glass and drank it down in large gulps.

As the wine went down his throat, the old man raised his head, and his back, which had become increasingly hunched with age, slowly straightened at that moment: "As a senior, as a 'mentor,' I must do what I should do."

As he spoke, Urokodaki Sakonji looked at Su Mu, and then the old man bowed slightly.

"Thank you."

The old man's voice was soft but sincere. If it weren't for Su Mu's explanation, he would probably have remained immersed in the past. Even if his disciple wouldn't blame him or think it was his fault, could he really not blame himself? He would probably remain immersed in this mistake, but was this something he should be doing?

"Starting tomorrow, I will work hard to train more swordsmen."

Urokodaki Sakon extended his wine cup, and Su Mu filled the old man's cup.

As Urokodaki Sakonji drank, he looked at Su Mu, who was also drinking, and thought to himself, "When I first met you, I smelled a very strong demonic aura on you, and I almost thought you were a demon."

Su Mu raised his eyes, a half-smile on his face: "Is that so?"

"Yes! If it hadn't been daytime and you hadn't been bathed in sunlight, I would have really thought you were a ghost."

As he spoke, the old man laughed and said, "If you had come that night, I might have misunderstood and perhaps even cut off your head."

Su Mu drank another cup of wine and couldn't help but laugh: "Speaking of which, I'm truly lucky."

"I'm getting old, and my nose isn't as sensitive as it used to be. Now, it always makes mistakes. To this day, I always smell a ghost on you, and I don't know why."

"Perhaps, I am a ghost too."

Su Mu took another sip of wine, looked at the misty fog around him, and smiled nonchalantly: "A ghost bathed in sunlight."

"what……"

The old man laughed: "How could a demon possibly bask in the sunlight? Even Muzan Kibutsuji couldn't do that."

As he spoke, Urokodaki Sakonji looked at Su Mu and said, "If all demons were like you, what would be the point of the Demon Slayer Corps? If demons didn't crave humans and didn't wantonly destroy other people's happiness, what would be the point of the Demon Slayer Corps exterminating evil demons?"

As he spoke, the old man extended his wine glass again, and Su Mu filled it for him.

The old man took a sip of his wine, a hint of melancholy in his voice: "Why do ghosts so wantonly destroy the happiness that belongs to people? They were once people too!"

"But once she becomes a demon, she is no longer one."

Su Mu smiled and drank another cup of wine: "I no longer consider people from the past as my own kind."

"Therefore, if you encounter a ghost, you should kill it. In the future, if you encounter one, please do not repeat the mistake I made when I pitied the Hand Ghost, so as not to make it an irreparable regret."

"Yes, if you encounter a ghost, you should kill it."

Su Mu echoed this sentiment, drank another cup of wine, and refilled Urokodaki Sakonji's cup.

The old man had already drunk quite a bit, more than he had ever drunk before, but he rarely enjoyed himself so much as he did today.

"Da da..."

Light footsteps came from not far away, and a petite girl with delicate features, wearing a pink kimono, walked over. She gave off the feeling of a childhood sweetheart next door.

It is indeed a true wild rice.