Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

Shinobu never knew he could run so fast.

A leaf brushing against her wrist or cheek could still hurt. The wind whistled in her ears, making her unable to hear anything except her own heartbeat and breathing.

She walked this road down the mountain over and over again, and every time she felt that this road was too short. She was not able to share more with Lin Guang, but why?

Why does this road become so long at this time?

My father had said that there might be something wrong with Lin Guang's body, but he had never sat down with him to observe and talk properly, so he was not sure what disease he had or what kind of problem he had.

Shinobu told his father that although Rinkou was indeed very thin and his complexion was not very good, apart from his not very strong appearance, Rinkou was very strong and in good spirits. He did not look like someone who was terminally ill and would not live long.

But every time my father heard this, he just shook his head. He still believed that Rinko needed to see a doctor. My father was a pharmacist, and his experience over ten years would not be fake.

So Shinobu also kept this matter in mind, but he didn't remember it deeply or clearly enough. The possible dangers, like the beasts in the forest he had never met, were covered up by happiness and joy, and paralyzed by temporary safety.

Like a butterfly flying towards a spider web, it doesn't notice the trap until its wings are stuck.

----

This scene seemed familiar, because Lin Guang had experienced a very similar scene.

But at that time, the people standing aside with nervous faces were not two girls, but a man, and the person holding his wrist was not such a young pharmacist, but an older doctor.

"Did he eat anything?"

"I don't know. We only fed him what my mom made, but we ate it all, so it must be fine."

The man's inquiry was followed by the girl's response.

In fact, not long after Shinobu left, Rinkou vomited all the pastries he had eaten, and after he vomited out the things that shouldn't have entered his mouth, he was fine.

But Kanae was so worried when she saw him vomiting so violently that she refused to let him move no matter what. They had no choice but to sit here and wait quietly until Shinobu, who was out of breath from running, came up the mountain with the sweating pharmacist.

Lin Guang allowed the man to touch and examine him, and then held his wrist and pressed it against his neck to measure his heartbeat. The hand pinched his chin and turned his head. Lin Guang didn't know that there were so many places on his body worth looking at.

After the observation, there are questions, all of which are simple, such as whether you feel uncomfortable anywhere, what you felt just now, what you usually do, how you rested, how your body is, etc.

"What do you usually eat? How much do you eat? Do you eat three meals a day on time?"

"I do eat meat. I don't eat much, and I don't eat according to the schedule. I will look for meat when I'm hungry, and I won't eat it if I'm not hungry."

Lin Guang simply answered these questions truthfully.

But there are also some that are not easy to answer.

"So what kind of meat will you eat?"

"...the flesh of animals."

"What animal?"

There was a brief silence as Lin Guang considered the best option between giving an answer to scare people away, killing them to silence them, or concealing the truth.

Before Lin Guang could make a choice, the man ended the topic.

"It's okay. If you don't recognize it, you can bring it to me next time. But there shouldn't be many animals in the mountains... Did you eat raw meat because you're not familiar with it, or did you eat a sick animal..."

The man muttered to himself as he pondered, finally letting go of Rinko as he spoke, and began to mix the prescription.

"Your heartbeat is weak, your body temperature is abnormally low, your diet is irregular, and you haven't had enough rest. This is putting too much pressure on your body. You should rest more, Rinkou."

This is the advice given by Mr. Pharmacist.

"But Rinkou doesn't look like a patient, and he's not usually very weak."

After recovering, Shinobu sat next to Rinkou, looking at the boy who was now completely fine. She felt confused and puzzled. Rinkou, who looked like he would die in the next second, recovered in such a short time. After she asked her sister, the only answer she got was that Rinkou had vomited out everything he had eaten.

Is there something in the food that he can't eat?

"That's just an appearance. Lin Guang is still young and a little malnourished. He may not feel tired, but his body is tired enough. He eats very little and rests very little. It's like a fire that is always burning without firewood. Of course, the flame will be very weak."

The man's palm fell on the top of her head. His palm was gentle yet powerful, but he just stroked her short hair lightly without even messing it up.

-

There is indeed a gap between humans and ghosts. For example, Lin Guang is unable to explain his situation to a human now. His physical fitness is indeed very poor, but that is compared with ghosts and the Twelve Demon Moons. If it were just a human, even the seemingly healthy pharmacist in front of him would not be able to take his head off his neck.

But these words could not be spoken. Humans could not understand ghosts, nor could they tolerate aliens, not to mention that ghosts would eat people. He was very sure that if Shinobu knew that he was a ghost, he would no longer come up the mountain to play with him, even if he had no interest in eating a little girl.

Just like those people who dare not go up the mountain, the wild beasts in the mountains are not very interested in humans, but as long as such danger still exists, as long as wild beasts have hurt humans, humans will not easily lay down their weapons.

The man finally left some prescriptions and said that Rinko could try taking them. If he felt uncomfortable, he could stop taking them immediately. If they were effective, he could tell him and he would continue to make some to help Rinko regulate his body.

Lin Guang nodded and put away the packaged prescriptions. After sending the family of three down the mountain, he put the prescription with the herbal smell into the pot. He didn't plan to eat it. It didn't smell good, and he didn't need treatment, but he didn't plan to throw it away either. After all, it was a gift.

----

----

For Rinko, such an accident was just an insignificant episode in his long life, but for Shinobu and Kanae, it was a big deal. Rinko could feel that they had become more cautious, more caring, and more attentive to him, and this vigilance did not dissipate for a long time.

The night is dangerous, and the forest at night is even more dangerous.

Everyone said so, even Rinko who lived in the dangerous forest.

"It's time to send you back."

Looking at the moon hanging high in the sky, Rinko stood up, and Shinobu also raised his head and looked at the moon, as if thinking about something.

"Why do you always send us back as soon as it gets dark?"

"Because it's dangerous at night."

Lin Guang dusted himself off, walked over to Shinobu, stretched out his hand to her, and pulled her up from the ground.

What dangers could there be at night? The people in the town said there were wild animals in the mountains, but they had never encountered any. Lin Guang would scare her by saying that there would be evil spirits that eat people after dark, but they had never heard of them either.

"But if you can live here alone, then so can we."

This wasn't the first time Shinobu had said this, and Rinko had become resistant to such words, so he just slowly adjusted his clothes.

Kanae put the woven wreath on Shinobu's head and patted her with a smile.

"We are certainly different from Rinko. Rinko has lived here for a long time and must have learned how to avoid danger. If we insist on staying, it will cause trouble for Rinko, and our parents will also worry."

"Then let's take him back. Since it's dangerous in the mountains, wouldn't it be better for Lin Guang to go back with us? Father has always wanted to take good care of him, hasn't he?"

Shinobu stood straight with his hands on his hips, speaking sincerely and confidently.

"That's your home, not mine. I certainly can't stay there."

Lin Guang actually responded to this statement, and was just as righteous as Shinobu.

"Our home can also be your home. Since you don't have a home, then stay in ours. What's the problem?"

Shinobu extended an invitation, but Rinkou turned his head, silently declining the invitation once again.

"Rinkou won't agree to that. He likes being here, Shinobu. I know you want Rinkou to live a better life, but you also need to consider his thoughts."

Shinobu wanted to say something else, but Kanae had already held her hand and shook her head to indicate that she didn't need to continue.

"Let's go. It will be dangerous if we are any later."

Lin Guang walked over to them and urged them softly, which aroused the competitive spirit of Shinobu who was about to give up.

"It's dangerous, that's all you can say, but I've asked my father and the people in town, and they all said there are no such things as man-eating ghosts. Even if you have to make up a story, you should at least make it more plausible, Rinkou."

Shinobu followed behind Rinko and revealed the truth, but Rinko's face did not show any embarrassment or helplessness of having his lie exposed. He just continued walking forward as if he didn't care at all.

In reality, Lin Guang didn't really care. Belief or not, it wouldn't change the fact that ghosts existed. The reason they didn't believe was simply because they hadn't seen one. For humans, not having seen a ghost eat a human was considered a blessing.

He told Shinobu and Kanae some stories about ghosts. Some of them were rumors he had heard recently, such as a family raising a ghost and offering their children to the ghost in exchange for money; some were witnessed with his own eyes, such as some people worshipping ghosts as gods.

But Shinobu always treated these rumors as stories and refused to believe a single word of them.

And there was nothing Rinko could do about it, he just shared the stories he knew.