Yae stared at her hunting rifle.
Her hunting rifle was jammed, solidified by her father's blood.
Understanding this, Yae couldn't help but lie down in the snow, a bitter smile on her face, tears streaming down:
"Father, do you really want me to live? But what can I do when I'm all alone..."
Seeing Yae in such a state, Horitake also shook his head with a touch of helplessness:
"Your father wanted you to live. To live well. I'm certain I heard his last words clearly. In his final moments, when his heart still clung to humanity and fought against the demon, his concern was for you. Yae, live well, and do not fail your father's hopes."
As he spoke, the sun rose, and dawn broke.
The morning light scattered over the three of them, illuminating the hunting rifle. Because the blood on the rifle belonged to a demon, the sunlight caused it to turn into ashes and vanish like smoke.
Bathed in the sunlight, Horitake looked at Yae in the snow.
At this moment, Yae no longer harbored such a strong desire to die. Her father's last wish for her was to live. Although she was now alone and without anyone to rely on, since it was her father's hope, she would try her best to live.
With this thought, the last taut string in Yae's mind loosened, and she fainted, collapsing into the snow.
Horitake had planned to invite Yae to join the Demon Slayer Corps, but seeing her faint, he could only postpone the invitation.
Shinobu Kocho helped Yae up from the snow and checked her condition.
"Sister Shinobu, how is she? Is Yae alright?"
"Nothing serious. She probably fainted from a double blow of mental and physical exhaustion. She just needs a good rest to recover."
"I wonder where this girl's home is. Well, there's no choice but to let her stay at the inn where you live, Sister Shinobu, just like before."
"That's fine by me."
Horitake looked up at the rising sun, at the gradually ceasing wind and snow, and at the dispersing dark clouds. He remembered something:
"Sister Shinobu, would you mind taking Yae back alone? I have something else I need to do."
Shinobu didn't mind taking Yae back by herself but was curious about Horitake's purpose:
"I have no problem with that, but what are you going to do, Horitake?"
Horitake observed the surrounding mountains and replied:
"My little brother Tanjiro's home should be somewhere nearby. Even though there's no one left in his family, there are some things I need to confirm to put my mind at ease."
"Is it something very important?"
"Very important."
Shinobu, being very understanding, nodded:
"Alright then, Yae is with me. You go about your business."
"I'll come back as soon as I've confirmed this matter."
The two exchanged a few words of caution and then parted ways. Horitake's body shimmered with purple lightning arcs as he swiftly leaped through the mountains and forests, searching for his target.
Tanjiro's house wasn't hard to find; it was simply a house nestled in the mountains. If there was any distinguishing feature, it was the several graves arranged neatly beside it. Yes, those graves held Tanjiro's family.
Horitake was fast, searching around the mountains for quite a while, and after some time, he finally found a house located deep in the mountains. He leaped, descending from the sky, landing lightly in front of the house.
Turning his head, he saw several neatly arranged snow mounds on the ground. These, covered by the wind and snow, must be the graves of Tanjiro's family. He bowed slightly towards them, expressing his condolences.
Then, Horitake walked around Tanjiro's house, observing the surrounding situation.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," was Horitake's assessment of Tanjiro's house. His family was quite bold to settle in these mountains, not close to the town on the other side. It was no wonder they encountered danger in this terrible era of demons roaming at night.
Looking at the front door, locked from the outside, Horitake hesitated, deciding not to go inside to check. What would it be if he broke in without permission? Trespassing? Even if there was no one inside, it wouldn't be right.
In fact, his purpose for this trip wasn't Tanjiro's house itself, but the area around it. Horitake suspected that the Blue Spider Lily grew in this region, as it was said that both Tanjiro and Nezuko had accidentally ingested Blue Spider Lilies near their home when they were young.
But it was deep winter now, with white snow covering everything and no grass growing. Even if the Blue Spider Lily really grew nearby, how was Horitake supposed to find it?
Don't worry, Horitake had a way.
Previously, when Horitake examined Nezuko, through his spiritual sight, he saw a light blue energy within her body, slowly eroding the black demonic curse. This meant that the light blue energy was a special sign of the Blue Spider Lily.
Horitake only needed to activate his spiritual sight and carefully observe the surroundings, especially looking under the snow for any light blue energy.
To be honest, Horitake had already prepared himself to find nothing. After all, it was deep winter, and the Blue Spider Lily wasn't like a plum blossom; it wouldn't grow and bloom in this season. This meant that even if a Blue Spider Lily grew near Tanjiro's house, Horitake might not find it.
However, the importance of this matter was simply too great, and Horitake had to be cautious, which was why he specifically came here to observe.
So, Horitake activated his spiritual sight and meticulously searched the surrounding area.
Did he find anything, then?
Heh heh…
With resigned steps, Horitake returned to the inn, knocking on Shinobu Kocho's door. The door opened from within, revealing Shinobu's beautiful face.
"Oh, Horitake-san, you're back. You were gone for quite a while. How did things go?"
Horitake had a dejected expression:
"Nothing gained."
Seeing Horitake like this, Shinobu smiled and welcomed him into the room. Horitake didn't stand on ceremony, walking straight into Shinobu's room and sitting down casually on the tatami mat, letting out a sigh.
Shinobu closed the door and sat down as well, curiously asking Horitake:
"Horitake-san, what exactly did you go to do?"
Horitake shook his head:
"It's a secret. I apologize, Sister Shinobu, I cannot tell you. But it was indeed a very important matter."
Shinobu, being reasonable, replied:
"You can't say? It seems it truly is a very important matter. But if you gained nothing from such an important task, is that alright? Will it cause a lot of trouble?"
"It won't cause a lot of trouble, but not accomplishing this will indeed have a significant impact. Perhaps my timing was wrong. I'll come back here to confirm it again in the summer."
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