Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began When I Became Yoriichi's Sister

Chapter 535 Settling Down

The scenery on the mountain still vaguely resembles its former appearance, but the path leading up the mountain is now completely covered by vegetation, which indirectly confirms Yuko's guess.

No one has been around here for a long time; even the road has disappeared.

The last time Yuko came was probably more than ten or twenty years ago.

At that time, descendants of the Kamado family had already moved to a small town at the foot of the mountain... no, it should be a city now.

It's likely that the place is already deserted.

Yuko gently parted the grass with the scabbard of her Nichirin Blade, clearing the path that had been buried by vegetation. After some time, she finally reached the top of the mountain.

In the distance, the outline of a building can be vaguely seen.

Yuko quickened her pace and walked through the woods until a house that was slightly different from the one she remembered came into view.

The house is covered in greenery and has become an integral part of nature.

A hint of regret flashed in Yuko's eyes; it seemed the Kamado family had been away from this mountain for a long time.

The Kamado family's house was expanded once after Kanao and Aoi Kanzaki married into the family, almost doubling in size. Now it seems that part of it has been renovated.

It's a pity that no one has lived here for a long time.

Forget it...

Yuko shook her head. Even if she hadn't left, Tanjiro's descendants probably wouldn't recognize her anymore.

As cities modernize, the mountains have become increasingly inconvenient, so it's understandable that the descendants of the Zaomen family would leave.

Yuko walked around the house and came to the open space behind it.

This was originally the grave of Yoriichi, Shi, and Iwakatsu, the "light bulb".

Now it's not just the three of them here; Tanjiro and the others are also buried here.

The open space was overgrown with weeds, but surprisingly they weren't very tall, just barely reaching above ankle height, as if someone regularly tended to them.

You should know that the weeds on the mountain path were almost as tall as Yu Zi.

Two steps further on, in front of Yoriichi and Iwakatsu's graves, were offerings that had long since spoiled and been completely devoured by animals.

Yuko looked at the tombstones of Tanjiro and the others next to her, and they were the same.

However, judging from the way the food was rotten, the offerings could not have lasted for more than a year.

Was it made by Tanjiro's descendant?

Do you still remember these things...

Yuko couldn't help but feel a little touched. Tanjiro, that kid, she had clearly told him not to worry about these things.

In the end, he still diligently renovated Yuko's grave and made offerings for her every year.

On another note... if the offerings weren't made by relatives, could they possibly reach them?

Ok……

As the saying goes, a teacher is like a father.

Tanjiro, who inherited Yoriichi's mantle, can be considered Yoriichi's half-disciple, and his descendants are related to him in some way, so it should be reasonable.

As for Iwakatsu...

They're already suffering in hell, what's the point of having so many offerings?

Want to bribe your boss?

Lost in thought, Yu Zi tidied up the weeds in front of everyone's tombstones.

Although she didn't believe in these things, she had already come all this way, so she had to put on an act.

If he dies and ascends to heaven, he'll have a reason to argue that he didn't even bother to clear the weeds from Yoriichi's grave when he visits.

"Alright, perfect!" After clearing the weeds around the tombstone, Yuko patted the dust off her clothes and nodded in satisfaction.

Then, Yuko tilted her head, frowned, and stood in front of the grave for a while.

Why does she seem to have forgotten something?

Probably not?

Is there anything she needs to remember?

Hmm, probably not.

Looking at the rotten offerings that she had swept to a corner, Yuko suddenly realized what was going on.

Oh! She forgot to bring the offerings!

Well, as long as they're there, that's fine. I'm sure Yoriichi and Iwakatsu won't mind.

Yu Zi clasped her hands together and said, "I'm sorry, Sister Shi, I'll bring you something delicious next time."

Yuko felt it was necessary to show due respect to this sister-in-law she had never met before.

As for the others... we all know each other so well, they won't make things difficult for her.

After promising Shi-jie a rosy picture, Yu-zi turned and left.

As she passed by the Kamado family's old house, Ikuko couldn't help but stop and turn around, gazing thoughtfully at the house covered in green vines.

Or...why don't we just stay here?

This thought suddenly arose in Yuko's mind.

She's been wandering around for years, living a nomadic life, and to be honest, she's gotten a little tired of it.

Almost no one comes to disturb her here now. The deep mountains and forests are quiet and deserted. Even ghosts wouldn't want to linger here, which suits her wishes perfectly.

Since she doesn't need to interact with human society anyway, she might as well stay here.

The only thing that made Yuko somewhat resistant was that too many people she knew were buried here.

Living here always makes me feel a little sad.

However... it seems like a really good choice.

In a moment of inspiration, Yuko decided to get to work, rolling up her sleeves and starting to clean up the old house of the Kamado family.

The project was huge; even hiring a professional cleaner would take several days, but with Yuko's help using her Blood Demon Art, it was all possible.

Before dark, the climbing plants outside the house were cleaned up, and the house was thoroughly cleaned inside and out.

In the evening, a light drizzle began to fall. Yuko noticed that the house was leaking and decided to make do with the place for the night.

The next day, he chopped down big trees by hand in the woods, climbed onto the roof and became a carpenter, spending another half a day repairing the roof.

Yuko also replaced some of the old and worn parts in the house.

It took about two days in total for Yuko to redo everything, inside and out.

Admittedly, the patched area looks a bit ugly, but at least it won't leak anymore and there's no risk of it collapsing.

……

Yu Zi settled in contentedly and stayed for more than half a year.

Living in the mountains doesn't really have any advantages, at least not for humans. Transportation is inconvenient, and it's difficult to see a doctor when you're sick, not to mention the purchase of daily necessities.

The most important point is that there are many snakes and insects in the mountains. Mosquitoes are a minor issue compared to spiders, snakes, bears, and more...

When the Kamado family still lived here, they would have been on guard against these things, but now that it's all covered in weeds, Yuko doesn't have the time to pay attention to them.

Only a ghost like her could get used to living here.

……

On this day, several strangers came to the mountains.

"Tan Yan, slow down, the mountain path here isn't easy to walk on." The young woman in plain clothes wiped the sweat from her forehead and shouted loudly to her son, who had already run so fast that he could only be seen as a small black dot.

"I know, Mom!" came the child's innocent voice from afar.

"Mom, I told you we shouldn't have invited this idiot!" Kamado Kanata rolled his eyes as he followed behind the woman.

“You can’t say that. Paying respects to our ancestors is an important matter.” The woman smiled and patted her son’s head. “Dad can’t come over because of work. We have to take responsibility.”

"Tan Yan! Slow down!"

The woman stood at the foot of the cliff, watching her son disappear into the grass and run along the cliff towards the top of the mountain, and shouted loudly.

Tan Yan stopped and stood in front of the cliff. The woman waved her hand: "It's alright, Mom!"

"Hurry up, everyone!"

As he spoke, he started running up the mountain again.

"Really..." The woman's expression turned helpless, then her expression suddenly changed. "Wait, Tanjiro! Danger!"

"Whoa!" Tan Yan ran up the cliff, the rocks beneath his feet, cracked from the sun, crumbled as he stomped on them.

Its small body tilted to the side and fell off the cliff.

The woman's face turned pale instantly, and her legs almost lost all strength.

The heart tightened as he looked at the stove.

Just then, a figure flashed past in the dense jungle beside the cliff.

Tan Yan felt a force coming from the back of his collar, and he was hanging in mid-air.

Tan Yan subconsciously turned around and saw a woman with a full head of white hair and golden eyes looking at him with surprise.

The woman looked at the woman who had appeared at the edge of the cliff at some unknown time, with long white hair that looked like an elf in the sunlight, and the huge stone in her heart suddenly fell to the ground.

"Tan Yan!" The woman followed her eldest son and hurriedly ran up the mountain.

Yuko lifted the child back to the ground, squatted down, and curiously looked him over with her golden eyes: "Are you called Tanyan?"

Is this child... a descendant of the Kamado family?

He looks a lot like Tanjiro; they're almost identical.

What a beautiful older sister...

Tan Yan's face flushed slightly, and upon hearing Yu Zi's voice, he quickly nodded.

Yuko opened her mouth, about to ask something else, when a woman's anxious voice came from down the mountain.

"Tanyan!"

"Mom!" Tan Yan jumped up and down with a smile, waving at the woman.

The woman ran up through the woods and punched Tan Yan on the head: "You're not allowed to do such dangerous things again!"

"It hurts so much~" Kamado Tanjiro squatted down, tears streaming down his face, clutching his head.

Kamado, standing to the side with his hands on his hips, scolded, "You idiot! It's about time you listened to me!"

"I know I was wrong, Kaname~"

Yuko looked at the child who was scolding Tanjiro, and the child looked a lot like... she could see the resemblance to Kanao.

Sure enough, both children were descendants of the Kamado family.

Almost identical to Tanjiro and Kanao, Ikuko couldn't help but wonder if this was the reincarnation of the two.

but……

It must be someone from later generations.

Although they look similar, their personalities are completely different.

Tanjiro's personality is more unconventional than Tanjiro's, while Kanata's personality is almost completely different from Kanao's.

Ignoring her son's wails, the woman cast a grateful glance at Yuko: "Thank you, thank you for saving Tanyan. I can't even imagine what would have happened without you."

She observed Yuko's appearance and was amazed by her beauty.

So beautiful...

Like an elf.

If Yuko hadn't been so close, the woman would have truly mistaken her for a mountain spirit.

No, perhaps Tan Yan really did encounter a mountain spirit.

The woman's features bore a striking resemblance to those of the kitchen door keeper from my memory.

Yu Zi smiled faintly and shook her head: "No need to worry about it."

The woman shook her head firmly: "No, please tell me your name. Our Zaomen family will definitely repay you properly, Miss."

Yu Zi smiled and said, "We don't need to worry about such trivial matters."

"However, if Madam wishes to know my name, my name is..."

"Sister Yuko".

Before Yuko could say her name, Kamado Tanjiro, with a large bump on his forehead and tears in his eyes, looked at her and called out Yuko's name first.

Yuko stared in astonishment at the child...

Could it be that we can also see memories passed down in our genes...?

Tanjiro once saw the memories of his ancestor, Tanjiro.

The woman turned around in surprise to look at her son, then smiled apologetically at Yuko.

"I'm sorry, this child has probably mistaken you for someone else."

Yuko smiled and shook her head: "No, Madam can call me Yuko."

"Eh? Miss, are you unwilling to reveal your name?" The woman paused for a moment, then quickly asked.

"No, my name is indeed Yuko, just as your son calls me."

Kamado Kanata couldn't help but complain, "What a coincidence!"

“Standing here is not proper hospitality, Madam. Please come with me.” Yu Zi did not rush to explain, but invited them to go up the mountain together.

They might be surprised to see their ancestral home transformed into their own residence.

……

Wait a minute, won't the house look a bit ugly after the renovation?

Yuko suddenly had this thought, and immediately felt a toothache.

Oh no! I didn't pay attention then, and now I regret it but it's too late to make amends.

Upon hearing Yuko's words, the woman asked curiously on the way up the mountain, "Miss, do you live on this mountain?"

Yuko walked ahead: "Yes, half a year ago, I moved into the abandoned old house of the Kamado family."

Kitchen door?

All three of them were shocked.

Tan Yan exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that our house?"

Yu Zi turned to the side and said with a smile, "Yes, that's why I said we don't need to care about such trivial matters."

Kamado Kanata looked at Ikuko warily: "But we shouldn't have introduced ourselves yet."

The woman was also puzzled: "Miss, if I may ask, what is your relationship with the Kamado family?"

"Hmm..." Yuko pondered for a moment, "Friends who have known each other for generations?"

Kamado immediately rolled his eyes: "You're kidding me!"

"Even my mother doesn't recognize you."

The woman smiled apologetically at Yuko: "I'm so sorry I didn't hear my husband mention it."

She didn't doubt Yuko's words, but she was still a little confused about them.

She's been a member of the Kamado family for many years, and perhaps these are old stories she doesn't know. Unfortunately, her husband is too busy with work to come over.

Yuko shook her head, not caring.

She paused, "We're here."

The three looked toward the old house, where an old but clean and tidy house stood in the open space.

This young lady actually settled down in the Kamado family's old house.

Once inside, the three of them looked around curiously.

You can tell that this young lady takes good care of the old house. Although it is a bit simple, everything is tidied up and very clean.

"I'm sorry, because few people come here, we only have some wild tea leaves that we've picked. Please forgive us." Yu Zi brought some tea from the kitchen and filled the cups for the three of them.

"Thank you." The woman looked at the wooden teacup filled with tea. It was rather rough and didn't look very appealing. It must have been made by the young lady herself.

"Are you alone here, Miss?"