Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

Let's talk about the ratings again, meow~

[As long as you keep the book's score around 8.something, and don't get on the trending list, you'll be perfectly fine!]

【I know everyone is very enthusiastic, but the time you all hope for, like 7:00 or even 6:00, will actually affect your daily data usage to some extent.】

[I don't write books out of interest, I genuinely need to support myself by writing novels~ I'll really give up if I can't earn enough money to support myself~]

[I finally managed to increase the daily traffic of this book from 5,000 to 10,000, and the daily readership is finally approaching 100. Everyone has worked so hard to give me low ratings, if I suddenly bring it all back down, I'll really want to die, meow~ I really want to cry, meow~ Please, meow~ (__)]

Chapter 77 A Gambling Husband, A Broken She...

Forget it, I don't want to.

After a brainstorming session, Mitsuha decided to give up thinking.

Since she didn't have much information at the moment, instead of making wild guesses, she might as well wait for the mysterious businessman to contact her again.

Indeed, after a friendly conversation with the wealthy businessman that lasted for an hour, Mitsuha had successfully made an appointment with him.

When he goes back this time, he will contact his friend, who will then report the matter up the chain of command.

The person who holds information about the Blue Spider Lily in Mitsuha's possession will be informed of this matter. Once the person's permission is obtained, he will return to inform Mitsuha.

The whole process may sound complicated, but in fact, Mitsuha doesn't need to do anything. She just needs to patiently wait for the wealthy businessman's notification.

That's fine, after all, she's almost tired of this life of constantly chasing after people and investigating them...

If, in the end, it turns out to be just an ordinary human who happened to hear about the blue spider lily from somewhere, then let's pretend nothing happened.

But if it really is the Demon Slayer Corps orchestrating this, then we should just kill them all.

After all, if something is delivered to your door, you might as well kill it.

"Um, Young Master Yan Sheng..."

Just as Mitsuha was a little distracted, A-Ming suddenly called out to her from beside her.

Looking down at the geisha who suddenly seemed a little awkward and hesitant to speak, Mitsuha blinked in confusion at first, then immediately understood and smiled:

"What's wrong? Are you trying to ask me for payment?"

Mitsuha had not forgotten the reward she had promised Amin.

"It's okay, don't be shy. After all, Ah Ming, you really helped me this time."

"Just let me know if you need anything. As long as it's within my power, I'll help you."

Under Mitsuha's encouraging gaze, A-Ming lowered his head, his hands tightly gripping the hem of his clothes. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke in a timid tone:

"I...I would like to borrow some money from you, Young Master Yan Sheng..."

"……Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Mitsuha's smile suddenly froze.

"No, can't you?"

Seemingly sensing Mitsuha's sudden change in expression, A-Ming panicked.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. I just didn't expect that your request, Ah Ming, would be nothing more than borrowing money..."

I thought most people would take this opportunity to make some more valuable requests of me…

Looking at the geisha in front of her with some surprise, Mitsuha suddenly noticed that Amei seemed a little different tonight.

Her bangs now covered more of her face than before, and there seemed to be a few new patches on her black kimono...

With some doubts in her mind, Mitsuha finally opened the Transparent World and quickly glanced at Amin.

Oh dear...

This glance left Mitsuha stunned.

Under the clear light, Ah Ming's body was covered with bruises of varying degrees, clearly the marks left by long-term beatings.

Especially the small area on her right cheek, which was swollen and bruised, clearly caused not long ago.

It seems this girl comes from a rather poor family...

"Ah Ming, come with me for a moment."

With the "helping others" mode activated, Mitsuha immediately pulled Amin along and found a closed brothel where they sat down on the steps in front of the door.

"Tell me about your family."

"Why did Young Master Yan suddenly ask this..."

Looking at the bewildered A-Ming beside her, Mitsuha, wearing Yan Sheng's face, earnestly replied in a tone full of righteous indignation:

"Because I love helping others more than anything in my life, I feel so bad that I want to die whenever I see ordinary people suffering around me and I don't lend a helping hand."

Mitsuha was telling the truth, but only to those around her.

"Is...is that so..."

Amin's heart skipped a beat. As if unable to bear Mitsuha's sincere gaze, he subconsciously looked away.

"However, Young Master Yan, you may have misunderstood. My family... has always been doing quite well..."

"Really... really..."

Looking at the pitiful geisha in front of her, whose causal lines were filled with information about "being beaten by her gambling husband on a certain day and time" but who was still trying to lie to cover it up, Mitsuha did not expose her directly.

She suddenly thought of the proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

For the vast majority of people who suffer in this world, superficial help can often only alleviate their suffering temporarily.

To truly help them escape their suffering, we must make them confront the core of their hardship and guide them to rely on their own strength to break free from it.

Only in this way can we truly achieve liberation.

So, what is the source of the suffering of this geisha named Amyoung?

From the causal threads surrounding her, Mitsuha very easily found the source—

Her husband at home.

It seems that Ah Ming's husband developed a gambling addiction several years ago.

Not only did he gamble more and more, but he also gradually mortgaged all the household items to raise gambling funds. He even started forcing his wife to work in places like the red-light district to earn money to support the family.

What's even more infuriating is that after losing all his money, he would beat his wife when he got home to vent his anger.

Well, that's pretty much the image of a typical gambling addict...

In Amina, Mitsuha also saw her future.

If nothing unexpected happens, Ah Ming, who will finally be unable to tolerate all of this, will kill her with a hammer one night a few months later, when her gambling husband tries to beat her again to vent his anger.

And stimulated by this killing, he awakened to his fetish of killing before performances.

Then, a year later, during a performance, he was arrested by the magistrate for repeatedly committing murders and sentenced to death.

What began as a form of resistance against her husband's violence ultimately evolved into a homicidal predilection...

The gods really have a wicked sense of humor.

But Mitsuha didn't like the script, so she decided to rebel a little.

It doesn't matter if this girl, under the control of the gods, goes back to a similar path in the future.

Consider it a small way of repaying the girl for the help she's given her these past few days. At least, Mitsuha wants to help her out of her current predicament.

Let's start by having a heart-to-heart talk.

Chapter 78 Mitsuha, what are you doing?

"Oh, speaking of which, my sister actually came over tonight too, and she's waiting for me around here right now..."

Having already made up her mind, Mitsuha suddenly spoke up.

"Eh? Young Master Yan Sheng's sister?"

"That's right, that's right! Mitsuha is a very cute little girl. She's heard me mention you a lot these past few days, so she's been really curious about you, A-Ming~"

"Is that so? Young Master Yan Sheng's sister is actually interested in me..."

"Yes, yes, she also said it would be great if she could meet you in person, Ah Ming, and chat with you. I think you feel the same way, right?"

"Well, I..."

"Very well! In that case, Ah Ming, please wait here for a moment and don't move. I'll go and call that girl over right away!"

"Young Master Yan Sheng and others..."

Without giving A-Ming a chance to react, San-Ye immediately got up and dashed into the deserted alley behind her.

Seeing that no one was around, she immediately changed her appearance back.

[As expected, when it comes to having heart-to-heart talks with young girls, my own face is much more effective than my older brother's grumpy face...]

In an instant, he switched from the tall and handsome image of "Tsugikuni Kokushikatsu" back to the petite and beautiful image of "Tsugikuni Mitsuha," just as Mitsuha turned around to go back.

Behind her, a familiar voice suddenly rang out, one she hadn't heard in over a decade.

"Mitsuha, what are you doing?"

Startled by the sudden sound, San Ye instinctively turned around and noticed that Yan Sheng was standing behind her at some point.

"Brother, elder brother? When did you arrive?"

"From the moment you, Mitsuha, entered this alley."

Beneath the transparent world, Yan Sheng, who had gone from having six eyes back to having two, concealed his aura so completely that even Mitsuha did not notice his arrival.

At this moment, looking at his younger sister who was in a panic, his usually calm and composed eyes were filled with incomprehensible confusion.

"That sir told me that you, Mitsuha, have been acting strangely lately because of your investigation into the Blue Spider Lily, so he sent me to check on you..."

I never expected that you, Mitsuha, would come to such a filthy place…

"Haha, I was just doing this for the sake of investigation..."

With a dry laugh, Mitsuha subconsciously looked away and took two steps back almost imperceptibly.

[Oh no! I've been caught! Lord Muzan, you tricked me?!]

"I didn't, Mitsuha, don't frame me."

Seemingly oblivious to Mitsuha's subtle actions, Kokushi continued to ask:

"It's fine that you came, but what I can't understand is why you... transformed into my appearance just now, Mitsuha?"

"Haha, that's because... Brother, look! It's Lord Muzan!"

Suddenly, he shouted and pointed behind Yan Sheng. Without hesitation, San Ye turned and ran.

But Yan Sheng seemed to have seen through it all. Without even turning his head, he swiftly stepped forward, grabbed San Ye by the back of her collar, and lifted her up on the spot.

"Mitsuba, answer my question."

Grabbing her by the back of her collar and lifting her sister, who was trying to escape, into the air, Yan Sheng repeated in his flat, monotone voice:

"Why have you taken my appearance and appeared here?"

"This, this is of course because you, my brother, have always been the most handsome man in Mitsuha's eyes, so Mitsuha always wants to become like you~"

Alright, big brother~ Let's not dwell on this anymore. I have things to do, so you should go back now. Be good, don't bother me..."

With nowhere to escape, Mitsuha tried to get away with being cute, but Yan Sheng wasn't buying it at all.

He stared intently at his sister, who was consistently avoiding his gaze, and continued to ask in a cold voice:

"How many similar things have you done using my face over the years?"

"Occasionally..."

"Occasionally, how much?"

"It means that whenever there's an opportunity, they'll change their approach..."

Given the chance, would you become like me?

In other words, for the past few decades, his dear sister, his only blood relative in the world, has been using his appearance and name to stir up trouble and philander without his knowledge?!