Demon Progenitor Development Project

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Muzan and Shugo, along with their group of demons, rode at breakneck speed, reaching Edo Castle at an extraordinary pace.

Unlike Shuuga and Muzan, who took their time, Jinko arrived much earlier.

As always, the loyal head steward Renguang had bought the mansion early on, hired servants to clean it, and prepared clothes and bedding, waiting for the master's arrival.

Holding the black cat, Shugo got out of the car and went into the house in a sullen mood, not wanting to be with Muzan at all.

I was forcibly kissed again.

Sensing that Lord Shuuga was in a bad mood, Jinko looked at Muzan with a deep gaze.

With a smile on his face, Muzan entered the house gracefully, holding an oil-paper umbrella.

It didn't snow or rain today.

Muzan: I just wanted to show off.

The one-eyed female ghost holding a pipa was already waiting inside the house.

Muzan was very interested in the female demon's Blood Demon Art.

Blood Demon Arts are like seeds sown casually in spring; it's hard to predict what you'll reap.

Muzan inquired in detail about Biwa-ki's limits in Blood Demon Art, and his red eyes lit up.

A space that allows movement underground!

This is simply a perfect place to survive.

Muzan Kibutsuji had had enough of the carriage. The progenitor of demons had a powerful body, that's true, but he didn't want his buttocks to be shaken in two by the steep road!

"From now on, you will be my close attendant, and I will name you Narumi!" Muzan glanced at the biwa in the one-eyed woman's arms.

*

Tomorrow is Edo's famous winter fireworks festival, where many couples confess their love every year. This is also Muzan's target.

The fireworks, set against the backdrop of winter snow, were quite spectacular.

Many vendors braved the wind and snow to go out and earn money, and the upper class with some wealth could also experience the everyday life of ordinary people. (As for the poor, they naturally stayed indoors to keep warm and didn't dare to go out at all.)

Shugo sullenly held a piece of fried tempura, golden and crispy, with an enticing aroma, but it didn't tempt any demons, much less any corpse demons.

The surrounding area was filled with people coming and going, and there was a noisy performance.

Shugo: All the excitement belongs to others; I only find it noisy.

Shugo was unhappy about being dragged out shopping.

Muzan, who is well-versed in human nature, knew that his recent actions had displeased Shugo, so he began to coax him.

Muzan Kibutsuji: Men can be easily coaxed.

Muzan was holding hands with Shugo, his right fingers gently tracing across Shugo's palm.

Muzan could feel Shugo's hand stiffen noticeably for a moment.

There is a reaction!

Shugo, his face tense, released his grip.

He wasn't tempted!

Muzan didn't rush to bring her back. The beautiful woman in the scarlet kimono curled the ends of her hair, creating a wonderful contrast between her ebony hair and her slender white fingers.

The loose ends of his hair gently brushed against his cheek and ears, causing a ticklish sensation.

Shugo smelled a delicate fragrance of hair, and he even heard other men swallowing.

Hiiragi's face immediately darkened.

"Let's go home." Shugo grabbed Muzan's hand and hurried back.

"No more shopping?"

Shugo gritted his teeth, glanced at the stunning beauty beside him who had attracted countless eyes, and said defiantly.

Muzan looked completely innocent.

"I'm not going shopping!"

On his way home, Shugo was so angry he was practically turning into a pufferfish.

"Don't do that outside again!"

"What kind?"

Muzan was deliberately teasing him.

"Just, just like that." Shugo didn't know how to say it, instinctively unwilling to let others see his charming wife.

Having stared at Shuugo for a while, his face contorted in a grimace, Muzan composed himself, his flippant expression replaced by a smile as he handed over a pointed jade stone.

The jade with the cloud pattern relief is white and lustrous; it is a fine piece of jade.

"what is this?"

"The return gift was a jade awl (an ancient artifact used by men to undress)."

Muzan explained the function and then looked at Shugo's waist with a suggestive gaze.

Shugo, who understood the implication: ...Why! No!

*

Shugo sat indoors, engrossed in carving the wooden cat sculpture left by the original owner.

Seeing this, Ren Guang went to calm the frightened deer.

Lord Shugo never liked this before; the sound of the startled deer easily disturbed his flow state as a craftsman.

This was not placed in the Fujiwara residence's sleeping quarters.

After making the changes, Ren Guang went to handle other business.

Having recently defeated his old rival, Ren Guang's business empire has expanded, and he is quite pleased with himself.

The old rival is a pharmaceutical company, which is probably already running at a loss and on the verge of bankruptcy.

Renguang's main businesses are pharmaceuticals (due to a group of eccentric doctors with wildly imaginative ideas) and weaponry (swords, armor, and fireworks displays).

The Edo Fireworks Festival was also organized under his leadership, and it has now become a calling card for Edo.

In business, you'll always encounter some unscrupulous opponents. So, Ren Guang had no choice but to abandon all martial ethics and send a ghost to carry out a massacre of their entire family.

Renguang shed crocodile tears.

However, doing business requires a powerful backer, and the banner that Renguang raised was the Fujiwara family.

Recently, the Fujiwara family has been facing increasing political pressure, and they have begun to subtly express their dissatisfaction with him.

Coordinating relationships has become a recent headache for Ren Guang.

His subordinates rushed in to report that the man in the main house had requested that the frightened deer be repaired.

"Having this around makes me feel more at ease," Shugo casually remarked at the time.

Ren Guang nodded silently for a moment, then instructed others to restore the frightened deer to its normal working state.

Strange, Ren Guang collected his thoughts.

Last time, they only met once before Renko was driven away, completely unaware that Shugo was acting strangely.

After spending so much time together, Renguang gradually realized that something was wrong.

Fujiwara Shugo was not a talkative person; on the contrary, he was taciturn and did not like to chat.

Muzan doesn't think so, simply because Shugo often talks to him.

When petting a cat, they don't talk to themselves; they prefer to quietly stroke the cat and let it bask in the sun.

Oh, you can't sunbathe now.

But it's not like you should be talking to yourself in front of a cat.

*

Inside an ordinary house, a pale hand reaches out and picks up a sheet of white paper from the table.

The paper recorded Muzan and Shugo's itinerary over the past few days, detailing exactly what they had done.

"Is there a problem?" the shadowy figure muttered to himself.

"A letter, the only survivor? He's not one to be soft-hearted."

The shadowy figure shook his head; it seemed this letter had some value.

He then picked up another report detailing Yoriichi Tsugikuni's life.

"Humans are truly terrifying! How could humans be so powerful?"

The shadowy figure recalled that all previous attempts to probe him had ended in failure.

I have absolutely no idea how deep Yoriichi Tsugikuni is.

After much deliberation, the shadowy figure made up his mind.

"Tell them to take action; someone has to die."

The shadowy figure's hoarse voice echoed in the silent room.

A moment later, a crow took to the sky.

*

A house with wisteria blossoms in a certain place.

A letter expresses his utter disillusionment with his undercover career, feeling it offers no future prospects.

With a worried expression, Yi Yin touched his chest, shuddering at the thought of the long, blood-red worm that had crawled in.

With bandages around his body, Yitiao Xin drank bitter medicine, thinking that it would be better to severely injure the Ghost King and force him to withdraw from the front line completely.

A letter was written while he ate his meal with a sigh.

As the logistics support for the Demon Slayer Corps, the Wisteria House naturally provides some simple meals.

"But the portions seem to have been smaller lately," a letter seemed to say thoughtfully.

Could it be that the Demon Slayer Corps is having financial problems?

This should be considered important intelligence?

But how is he supposed to see the Ghost King?

It wasn't that Yi Tia hadn't tried to find ghosts, but those ghosts would fight as soon as they arrived, and then die after the fight, completely ignoring him in the middle!

How is he, as a spy, supposed to pass on intelligence?

A letter was lost.

In fact, Muzan had already forgotten one of the letters.

In Muzan's eyes, the Demon Slayer Corps was a negligible threat, as annoying as mosquitoes in summer, but why would he devise a battle plan specifically to eliminate mosquitoes?

That would be making a mountain out of a molehill.

Muzan is just that arrogant.

*

Kyoto, the Fujiwara Kita family residence.

The current head of the Fujiwara family is preparing to enjoy tea.

Under the heat of the roaring charcoal fire, the water in the kettle gradually heated up until it boiled.

Accompanied by gurgling sounds, large amounts of white steam rose continuously, violently impacting the lid of the kettle and producing a crisp, rhythmic clanging sound.

The head of the Fujiwara family stood intently to the side, holding a delicate bamboo chopstick in his hand, gently stirring the tea leaves in the bowl.

His movements were gentle and delicate, as if he were handling an extremely precious treasure.

As the chopsticks are turned, the tea leaves, which were originally tightly curled up, begin to slowly disperse, each leaf unfolding and presenting its most natural and beautiful form.

The head of the Fujiwara family carefully examined the tea leaves, his gaze sharp and focused, not missing a single detail.

After examining it carefully, he finally nodded in satisfaction, indicating that the tea leaves had reached his ideal state.

So he carefully lifted the kettle and slowly poured the boiling water into the bowl containing the tea leaves.

Immediately afterwards, the head of the Fujiwara family picked up a special tea whisk, quickly inserted it into the water, and began to stir it rapidly.

The tea whisk danced in his nimble hands, like a flock of butterflies fluttering in the air, instantly creating ripples on the once calm water surface. The tea soup became even more delicate and smooth under this vigorous stirring.

He was enjoying this cup of fragrant tea alone, but the head of the Fujiwara family did not want to make the whole tea-making process too cumbersome or complicated.

He skipped some steps, picked up the teacup directly, gently blew away the steam rising from the surface, and then leisurely savored the delicious tea he had brewed himself.

(The Japanese tea ceremony can be considered the most complicated way to drink beverages. The modern version is said to be simplified. It used to be more complicated. People who are just bored and have nothing better to do are very much in line with the evaluation that they are only good at small etiquette and have no great virtue.)

Under the winter snow, sitting alone in the courtyard, sipping tea and eating roasted oranges, what an elegant enjoyment!

A young man in fine clothes braved the wind and snow and barged into the courtyard, shattering the tranquil atmosphere.

The young man in fine clothes is Fujiwara Munesada, the son of the head of the Fujiwara family, and the young master of the Fujiwara family in this generation.

The servant shook the snow off the umbrella and folded it up. Fujiwara Munesada had already rushed in.

"Father, why are you stopping me?"

Young people are just impatient.

The head of the Fujiwara family took a sip of tea, savoring the sweet aftertaste.

Fujiwara Munesada was used to his father's riddle-like manner and continued speaking to himself.

"The Evergreen Chamber of Commerce is using Fujiwara's name to do business, but they're offering far too little."

"Recently, we have been under increasing pressure because of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce."

"I'm asking the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce to hand over their profits; I'm fighting for the interests of my family."

Facing his son's agitated state, the Fujiwara clan patriarch remained oblivious, as if in deep meditation, as he poured tea.

In the tea ceremony, there is a rule that tea should not be poured too full; it is generally advisable to fill it to seven-tenths full, in order to embody the tea ceremony spirit of "a full cup of tea is an insult."

"Zongzhen, tea should be poured appropriately, and the same applies to allies; too much will cause it to overflow."

The head of the Fujiwara family, with an inscrutable expression, slowly poured tea and gave irrelevant answers.

Fujiwara Munesada's face darkened, and he turned and left in anger.

In modern times, the filial son Fujiwara Munesada would probably say, "That old man who likes to show off."

The head of the Fujiwara family calmly watched his son leave, his indignant departing figure reminiscent of the past.

The head of the Fujiwara family muttered something to himself.

"I'm getting old, I'm getting old."

He once defied his father just like Fujiwara Munesada, and his words were quite similar.

However, he was stopped, but Fujiwara Munesada was not.

No, it was he who sent Fujiwara Munesada to test that thing.

The head of the Fujiwara family's eyes darkened.

The Changqing Chamber of Commerce has been cooperating with the Fujiwara family for hundreds of years.

At first, he really didn't understand why the heads of the Fujiwara family would maintain this cooperation despite the objections within the family.

It wasn't until he became the head of the Fujiwara family that the head of the family understood.

The heads of the family over the years left behind a small notebook, its yellowed pages revealing its long history.

I learned a lot from the head of the Fujiwara family.

The Changqing Trading Company has a close relationship with the Fujiwara family. It was originally founded by a servant named Jinguang.

The following was written by Fujiwara Hayato, the first person to record the notebook:

This is the first time I've seen Renguang since my brother's funeral.

He formed a chamber of commerce called Changqing and asked me to lend him my family name.

By then, I had been the head of the family for many years, and I even had grandchildren. My memories of my elder brother had become hazy.

I agreed.

Ren Guang gave a lot of money, which may be related to his elder brother.

[Brother, being the head of the family is no good at all. I don't even have time to do carpentry anymore. Those people in the court are all hypocrites.]

Renguang has undergone tremendous changes.

[He is very energetic] (The word "energetic" is written slightly lighter here than before, as if he had thought about it for a while before writing it.)

[They seem to be striving towards some goal.]

I don't know why.

Renguang was his elder brother's attendant; to be honest, I thought he had already been buried alive with him.

Next came large patches of black ink.

Renguang believes my deceased brother can return, and he is working towards that goal.

After that, it was written by other family heads.

The head of the Fujiwara family watched it many times.

(Due to his past experiences, Jinguang preferred to interact with the Fujiwara family in person. He was unaware that the heads of the family had kept records of the mysterious Evergreen Trading Company. Although Jinguang changed his disguise each time, there were always clever people in the world who would discover the clues.)

They were pale-skinned and only met at night.

The head of the Fujiwara family had met the previous generation's representative of the Evergreen Trading Company.

He was a very meticulous person, and that's when he realized something was wrong.

This generation walks and sits in very similar postures to the previous generation, and they also speak in very similar ways.

Could they be the same person?

Is it that Ren Guang?

When the head of the Fujiwara family made his guess, he was extremely excited, feeling like an old man experiencing youthful exuberance.

This led to the various actions that followed.