Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

Muzan came here this time not just to take a look, but also to take Rinko away, but taking her away was not because Rinko had learned well enough to graduate from Kokushibo.

It was just because there was some progress with Tamayo, and I happened to pass by here on the way, so I came to take a look. But seeing that Rinkou was in good condition, I decided to take him with me. I just wanted to go to Tamayo to check on his condition and record whether the time he spent training with Kokushibo had any positive effect on his growth.

It would be more accurate to say that Rinkou was given a short vacation and was taken away by his guardian to take care of some things rather than being taken away.

So before leaving, Rinko was still waving to Kokushibo and making an appointment to meet next time, but she shut up the next second when she was taken away.

Kokushibo also likes to carry Rinko. The loose clothes on his body are like cloth wrapped around luggage, and he is the "luggage" wrapped in the cloth.

Muzan's method of carrying him was different. He had seen this kind of hold before, mostly when humans held kittens and puppies. They would reach across their bodies, pulling and lifting the small animal, pressing against their chests and using their front legs to hold the body. If it were a cat or dog, their front paws would be stretched straight out, gradually sliding down. But Rinkou was not a cat or dog; he could hold himself steady against the arm that held him.

Although objectively speaking, Kokushibo's method seems to be more convenient, Rinko herself still prefers Muzan's method. After all, there is a big difference between the scenery of being hugged in the chest and the scenery of being held in the hands.

And if he was carried, he always felt that he would easily bump into something.

"Are we going to meet Miss Tamayo?"

"It seems you still remember her."

Rinko nodded when Muzan looked over.

After all, there are not many people whose names he needs to remember at the moment, including Muzan, Kokushibo, Tamayo, and his own name, Rinko. The ghosts he met on the roadside were driven away by Miss Tamayo before he asked their names. The ghosts he met later were scared away by Kokushibo before they could even open their mouths.

"She moved to a new place, and we heard there were blue spider lilies there, so we went to take a look."

Blue spider lily.

A term that Rinkou had heard over and over again.

Ghosts are not allowed to appear during the day because the sun will burn their skin and flesh, but Rinkou doesn't really like the sun that much, so he doesn't mind at all.

But Muzan minds, he wants to become the so-called ultimate creature. Rinko doesn't quite understand this term, so Muzan explains it in simple terms. To sum up, he has to overcome his only weakness, which is fear of sunlight.

Miss Tamayo was a little surprised when she saw him, and her expression was not obvious, but Rinko could feel the subtle atmosphere, but that was all.

As promised, Rinko brought a small gift for Tamayo: unripe acorns strung on the same rope, and a small bracelet. It was rough and sloppy, but Tamayo didn't seem to dislike it.

The two adults were responsible for finding the items, and he was left in the house to await their return.

This makes sense, as he's not good at fighting, or dealing with demon hunters. If he's discovered, he'll be the hardest to escape, and Muzan is thinking about him. Not holding back is also a sign of knowing yourself, something Kokushibo taught him. For someone like him, sometimes you need to find your place.

So Lin Guang gladly accepted the arrangement.

He would think for a long time afterwards that it was the most correct decision he had ever made, and Muzan also agreed with his point of view. Perhaps this is also the reason why the relationship between Kokushibo and Muzan has always been good.

--------

Lin Guang was quietly reading in the room, but what alerted him was a biological instinct. An indescribable biological instinct, as if something was pinching his heart, making his breathing and heartbeat difficult.

And after an unknown amount of time, that feeling of oppression disappeared in an instant.

He heard someone calling him. Miss Tamayo always told him not to go out by himself, but Rinkou knew the voice calling him.

That is miserable.

Even though he didn't know why, Rinko still obediently followed the guidance of his bloodline to search. The road was long, but Rinko still tried his best to find it as quickly as possible. Well, he was not sure whether the spliced together pieces of broken flesh could be called Muzan himself.

Come here. Rinko. Come here.

The sound kept spinning in his ears and in his head, repeating the same content over and over again, as if something indescribable was bewitching him.

Lin Guang walked over, knelt down quietly, and held the piece of flesh that was squirming and gradually piecing together and trying to grow and recover again in his arms.

"I'm coming. Lord Muzan."

This seemed to be some kind of signal. The originally peaceful ball of flesh swallowed up the hand holding it, then the arm, and then the legs that were folded together and kneeling.

This was the first time that Lin Guang encountered such a situation. Regardless of the extent of the injury or the object that caused the injury, the flesh and blood were recovering rapidly, but not as fast as the speed of devouring.

This experience cannot be considered good. The pain is very dull and numb to Lin Guang. He can hardly feel the pain. His body just grows out, but it loses contact with him in an instant and is swallowed up. This feeling of shock that he can't establish a connection with his body makes him very confused.

He didn't know what was happening, nor did he know what to do. It was just that his biological instinct was sounding the alarm. It was not safe here, and at least he had to find a safe place first.

--------

Facts have proven that acquired consciousness is useless in the face of biological instincts; the fear of death and the desire for life overwhelm everything in an instant.

At that moment, Muzan didn't even know what he was doing. His only thought was to escape, and then survive, hide, hide in a place where no one would know. Everything was thrown behind him, including the red spider lily and the sunshine. When he was really close to death, the only real thing was the desire to survive.

So when he opened his eyes and saw Rinko with only part of her body and a head left, he was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, he felt it made sense.

The surprise was that he was surprised that Rinko would appear beside him, and that he would be in a house that seemed relatively safe. The reason was that there was a Rinko here. The latter point could be explained. He simply called Rinko subconsciously, so the little guy came over quickly, and then naturally took him to a safer place.

His broken body was the result of his unconscious devouring to restore his flesh and blood. The wounds left by the knife were more serious than ever before, and no matter what he did, it seemed to be burning his body.

He needs to get some external nutrition to recover.

(I've raised you for so long, you should be of some use to me. Rinko.)

As his consciousness returned, Muzan was able to recall the process of devouring. He instinctively devoured the flesh and blood to recover, while the boy relied on his own strong recovery ability to fight against it, until his recovery speed was no longer as fast as that of devouring.

The rising sun saved his life.

Muzan wasn't sure if Rinkou could still hear him. The boy was sleeping, a deep sleep. His body had recovered rapidly after the devouring stopped, but his consciousness was completely asleep. It was incredible that he could continue to sleep after having half of his body eaten.

Muzan called Rinko over not because he trusted him so much, but because ever since he realized Rinko's special physical endurance, he has been gradually increasing the blood in Rinko's body. Apart from other thoughts, just talking about the rational part, Rinko is like a mobile blood bag, a small insurance measure. If he gets injured one day, eating this little guy can at least ensure that he will not lose the ability to resist.

The final fate of the wild cats and dogs is to be buried in an unknown wasteland. In comparison, being eaten by him and becoming part of his power is a better ending for Lin Guang.

When darkness fell, the sleeping boy finally woke up. Muzan watched Rinko slowly open his eyes. The boy seemed to be in a daze and looked at the ceiling for a long time before looking at him.

What would be his first words? Fear, awe, or pride in his sacrifice?

"What happened to you? It looks like you were seriously injured. Are you okay now?"

Lin Guang looked at him calmly with those eyes. Her tone, a calmness that shouldn't have belonged to her at that moment, expressed his concern and confusion. Even though she had just escaped the brink of death and her body was being devoured by him, Lin Guang didn't resist or complain at all.

That's right. Rinko always listens to him. If he says he wants to eat him, Rinko will put his neck right next to his mouth.

Muzan lost interest in eating, and the hand withdrew. The radiance quickly recovered again, and he slowly sat up and clenched his palm.

“It’s great to be alive.”

Muzan looked over and thought Rinko was sighing that he had escaped a disaster, but he met those eyes again, which were full of smiles. The voice and the smile on his face expressed the same happiness.

"It's great to be alive."

Lin Guang was happy for him.

Glad he's still alive.

----

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【Revolving Lantern

Lord Muzan is a very good person.

Some animals will remember the first thing they see when they open their eyes, whether it is a person, an object, or their parents. They will remember it and then identify it as their parents.

As for Rinkou, his memory is limited. There are a lot of things in that box. When it is turned over and tipped over, the fragments inside are scattered all over the floor. The clearest thing is Muzan, his appearance, voice, clothes, habits, too many things pieced together to form a complete existence.

So even though they were separated for a long time later, even though they lacked time to spend together, the initial memory was left by Muzan, and in the years that followed, those scattered fragments were also connected by Muzan, so that they became a kind of "parent" existence.

Muzan was certainly not his father or mother. But for Rinkou, his limited vocabulary could not find a more appropriate word, so he temporarily used this name instead.

Ms. Tamayo is also a very nice person.

Rinkou doesn't like most people in the world, adult men and women, he doesn't like them very much. Their height, body shape, raised hands and high voices, each of them makes Rinkou subconsciously step back, as if only Muzan's back is the safest shelter.

But it is wrong to do so, as it will cause trouble to Muzan, so Rinko goes to face the first strange adult woman.

That was the first demon that Muzan took him to see, and most of the time after that was occupied by this name. Rinko didn't know Tamayo, had never seen her before, and rarely heard of her, but at the first sight, Rinko felt that he didn't hate her.

It was a very gentle, very gentle existence.

Rinkou would be willing to share with her every new discovery that made him happy. Miss Tamayo was more confused at first, but after asking and getting an explanation, she seemed very happy.

Lord Kokushibo...is a different kind of existence.

This wasn't the first time Rinko had seen a ghost. During her time with Tamayo, they would go out at night and encounter ghosts. Humans retain some characteristics when they become ghosts, while others strengthen others. Individual differences lead to a wide variety of ghost appearances, with horns being the most common, and fangs and claws being the most common.

There are only a few who can maintain their human appearance, like Muzan and Tamayo. Of course, there are also a few who have almost no other changes like Rinko except growing fangs and vertical pupils.

But Lin Guang had never seen such a ghost.

Tall, very tall, too tall. Standing there like a wall, just standing there was oppressive enough to make Lin Guang forget to breathe.

Neat clothes, a sword that was longer than Rinko's entire body, that broad hand resting on the scabbard, and when he raised his head, that face came into view, his condescending gaze like a Rakshasa from Asura Purgatory descending to the earth.

Six eyes filled most of the face, their golden hues set against a crimson backdrop. Even the long, tied-up hair was crimson. Flame-like patterns spread across the face.

This completely exceeded Lin Guang's understanding of the word deterrence.

Ghost is a concrete word, a kind of living creature.

But Lin Guang also learned from books that before real ghosts appeared, humans had a more illusory description of ghosts. In their understanding, ghosts were non-physical things that did not really exist, and most of the words they used were scary, horrible, fearful, and weird.

He didn't quite understand it before, but now, he suddenly deeply understood the other meaning of ghost.

It was late at night and I saw a real ghost.

It was a truly astonishing first meeting, and Lin Guang thought he would never forget it. But he overestimated his own intelligence and underestimated the power of time.

Decades of time would allow Muzan to fade from his memory, and a few months would be enough for him to see clearly that the person in front of him was not a Rakshasa who crawled out of hell, and would not crush his head easily (even though Kokushibo almost did so countless times in his later training).

Rinko's little head can only remember a limited amount of things, so when they are together, all Rinko can see is the long-silent and slightly cold heart beneath Kokushibo's face.

Kokushibo and Tamayo are completely different beings.

But they all left a deep impression in Lingguang's mind.

So when Rinkou sat there, being devoured, with only half of his body left, all he could think of was not fear, but pity. This was clearly a life worth being happy about, a life as beautiful as his dreams. If he had lived on, he would have been very happy.