As we all know, winding zero is a human being

On the other side of the Northwest Mountain Range, due to the terrain, the railway track representing the new era has not been laid into the wilderness, and it is not in the sight of people traveling between the old and new capitals.

Even though electric poles flickering with sparks have been erected in the towns, the towns and villages wandering in the mountains still have a look of the Edo legacy.

The bare branches are covered with a thin layer of snow, and the yellowing leaves in late autumn are all gone in a blink of an eye, and they are scattered in the cold wind.

It seems that a town that has just gone through a festival still has a festive atmosphere. The winter festival can only be said to add to the atmosphere of a small town that is already full of human touch.

Ling took off his gloves and stood by the roadside to let out a sigh of relief. He took out the hard candy in his pocket and inquired about the news with the children who ran past him: "Is there anyone still living in that mountain over there?"

He was actually quite hesitant when he asked this question.

With a heavy heart, he changed trains to the nearest town and then walked for a few days. Zero first went to the homeland where the territory was located, but the fact that he could not find even a single ruin of the old city made him stand there for a long time. .

The pear tree that grew so well that people thought it could bloom for a thousand years disappeared, and there was only desolate withered grass dotted on the plain, which couldn't be said to be like the fallen petals from the tree.

"So time...is such...a ruthless thing..."

Finding something from the depths of his memory, Hei Si Mou, who was walking with him, was as calm as usual, looking at the wilderness with weeds in front of him and said so.

His surname has long since been lost. The city that should have been able to withstand the wear and tear of time has fallen, but he is still standing here.

Hearing this, Zero turned his head and glanced at him.

Just like what Hei Si Mou said, many things have already become unrecoverable yesterdays, and the reason why they can still stand here as if they are lingering in their respective postures is nothing more than the burning obsession in their hearts.

And their obsession has never been with each other.

"...It's not likely."

Hei Si Mou was summoned back from practice by Wu Mi, since the incident of Tong Mo, even Yi Wo Zuo, who is always reliable in his work, has made the ancestor of ghosts very suspicious. The necessity of existence.

And even though Ling made it clear that he didn't need a... companion, Wu Mi still forced Hei Si Mou over.

The ancestor of the ghost who sees certain things very clearly naturally knows that his winding one is the best choice to achieve his goal.

The handsome swordsman stood on the cliff under the moonlight, his clear pupils were as bright as glass, even if he looked at him without emotion, it still made people feel breathless.

Well, not because that sight has triple pairs.

Absolutely not.

From the family's hometown all the way to sunset and sunrise to rest, occasionally a nocturnal business traveler will see them on the road, and add a few strange stories to this era that is trying to develop science.

Reining in the memory and shaking the snow accumulated on the feathers, waiting for the child to think hard to come up with a result, Zero does not know that the eyes he looks at this small town may be more gentle than the residents who were born and raised here and have never gone out. on a little.

Wearing a scarf in the snow, the child whose face was flushed from the cold held the candy and seemed to have finally remembered something. He nodded and said vaguely: "I remember that there lived an old man on the mountain over there, like, like In winter, there will be a little brother who will sell the charcoal for money."

Ling was stunned for a while, before he could ask, the residents of the small town nearby seemed to have heard their conversation, and for some reason they all came together and said, "Hey, that little brother's name is Tanjiro, really? Yes, didn’t they give you delicious senbei last time they came here?”

"Hey? Looking for Tanjirou? Are you looking for him to buy charcoal? I told you that we don't use any charcoal at home except Zaomen's charcoal. Oh, their charcoal is really the best!"

"If you see Tanjirou, please tell me—it's too cold this winter, next time you come, please bring more charcoal fire!"

……

Zero was in a daze and didn't know how he got out of the crowd. He heard about the deeds of a boy named Kamado Tanjiro and even took a few requests to help with the conversation, but he couldn't see the boy himself. There is no news at all.

Back under the deep shade of the trees in the forest, raising his eyes to look at the sunset was the same, and Hei Si Mou quietly appeared under the tree and looked at him with doubts: "Why... this expression... what happened? ?”

"This is not a town rich in herbs, and I haven't heard any information about it." Ling wiped his face, he subconsciously looked at the winding path in the forest, but then he did not choose this road leading to the deeper part of the forest.

"Maybe it's the wrong season? The winter here is so cold, it's not like flowers can bloom in this season."

These words made the already taciturn Sword Ghost even more silent.

Zero analyzed his expression and asked tentatively: "Most flowers bloom in spring and summer... Even in winter, it needs to be cultivated in a warmer south, right?"

Then he added: "Except for the unknown species of wisteria."

That is really something that challenges the scientific side of this world just like vampirism.

"...We don't have... the time to wait for half a year." Hei Si Mou first said calmly as a reminder, and then admitted that his common sense had such a small flaw.

"Winter days...no flowers...I made a note."

Logically speaking, this shouldn't be something he didn't know about.

However, the only thing in his eyes is the back view of that person. The so-called seasons and flowers are all insignificant and will not be taken into account by the heirs of the samurai family.

And the owner of the back that wandered like a mirage has now left the world with a long-standing illusion under the full moon night hundreds of years ago, and the lingering hatred left behind is still beating tenaciously, but... There is also no chance to confirm and eliminate later.

"I will continue to practice at the foot of the nearby mountain...in a place where there is no one..."

"If you find anything...come to me again."

Hei Si Mou looked at Ling after listening to himself and said these two sentences, and as he expected, he seemed a little happy after being surprised.

He didn't seem to want to make this incommunicable joy more obvious: "Why do you want to separate all of a sudden?"

"It used to be... I didn't like dealing with them...."

Even when he was still in the Ghost Slayer Squad, among the brothers with similar faces, the younger brother with the same surname but no airs was always the one who was more popular and admired by other swordsmen.

Hei Si Mou even thinks that he prefers to be under the quiet and deserted eaves.

A pot of fragrant tea and two teacups are enough.

"That's it." Zero quickly figured out a way not to leave the lonely Heishimu alone and beautiful, "I will inquire about the news in the nearby towns and villages in the afternoon, and in the middle of the night we will look for nearby ghosts to investigate the situation. , and by the way, take a walk in this mountain and look for it yourself.”

Hei Si Mou quietly listened to this proposal that seemed to be perfect, but he seemed a little absent-minded, looking sideways at the mountains bordering the wilderness in the distance.

The beasts in winter also put away their fangs and sharp claws. At this time, it is becoming more and more difficult to find them, and they will run on the field again when the flowers bloom in the warm spring of the next year.

After changing the hunting target... No, it should be said that he has never paid attention to these existences since he left the family.

Hei Si Mou turned his eyes back to his eyes and stopped talking, as if he was looking at Zero with some worry.

"Okay... don't get entangled with unimportant ghost hunters... I think you know... Master Wu Mi's orders."

"Tsk, I see."

But it's hard to forget those things, he said.

After all, neither the broken flute nor the extremely fragile paper is something that is easy to keep.

I stayed in the hotel in the town for about three or four days. When I went out to look for food with sleepy eyes in the afternoon, I realized that the mysterious person The charcoal seller boy who is known by everyone has already come.

He hastily stuffed two rice balls into his mouth, paid and ran out.The residents of the small town along the way did not hesitate to point out the direction of the boy selling charcoal for him, and he soon caught up with the boy named Zaomen Tanjiro.

The Ichimatsu pattern's feathers were tightly wrapped around Kamado Tanjiro's thin figure compared to the bamboo basket behind him, but he was much stronger than other youngsters of his age.

The warm light blue scarf without any patterns wrapped his neck carefully, so that the cold wind would not flow into the clothes along the collar when walking through the mountains and forests.

At best, there is only a vague resemblance between him and the person in his memory, and the burn-like scar on his forehead is also subtly imprinted on the position where the markings should be attached.

But even without the flower earrings hanging under the earlobe, Ling felt the gaze from Ji Guoyuanyi in an instant.

With burning dark eyes, Kamado Tanjirou has almost the same gentle gaze as Ji Kunen.

...It seems that the decision to act separately from Hei Si Mou is really the most correct thing he has done recently.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

Hearing his eager footsteps, the polite boy paused the conversation with the charcoal buyer after saying apologetic words, while the buyer who was living a leisurely life was not in a hurry, waved his hands and looked at the charcoal buyer together with a smile on his face. come over.

Zero, who caught up with Tanjiro on the side of the street, lost his breath, and was panting quickly when he had enough energy. However, when he saw Tanjirou's confused expression, he was speechless again.

"You... the genes of the Zaomen family are really strong, you and Tanji really look alike!"

After saying this sentence, Ling, whose IQ finally took the high ground again, felt that he had stepped into the scene of social death with one foot.

The groundhog screamed, what is he talking about? !

Sure enough, Tanjiro hesitated for a moment: "Although it is true that my surname is Zaomen, my father's name is not that."

"In short, in short..."

"Besides, this smell on your body..." Tanjiro moved his nose and frowned, he had no other meaning with his sincere eyes, "It smells so strange, do you need to wash..."

"Wait a moment."

The well-behaved young man was not unhappy when he was interrupted, he slightly raised his head and looked at Zero, and saw that the young man who seemed to have a little tangled expression, but who had mixed various emotions seemed to have calmed down.

With no more worldly desires, Zero's face was expressionless and he took back the words without slapping his face at the speed of light: "I'm sorry I misidentified the kitchen boy."

Tanjiro was puzzled: "But what you called was indeed my family's surname."

Zero calmly smiled back: "Ah, is there any, Tanjiro?"

"Look, you know even the name."

"..."

Tanjiro scratched his head, and his eyes became more inquisitive: "And it's not about the name, you said that I look a lot like... that Mr. Tanji?"

"Well, what were you trying to say just now?"

The way of changing the subject seems to be clumsy, and Zero admits that there is a gambling element in him.

Seeing the flower earrings swaying gently in the wind, he was betting that normal people would not be able to get back to the previous topic after being surrounded by him like this, right?

Then let them quickly bypass the pleasantries and start a new——

"Well—do you need a bath?"

Kamado Tanjiro, with his expression unchanged, pointed to the shop in front of him, and the buyer who stood there and listened to the free cross talk for a long time also gave him a thumbs up.

"You're not a local, are you? I highly recommend this bathhouse. The pool is fired with charcoal from my house, but it's full of firepower!"