The young girl fed Giyu food and water, her movements gentle, her gaze exceptionally tender. She even thoughtfully wiped his mouth, which reminded Giyu of his sister.
His parents had passed away early, and when he was little, his sister had taken care of him just like this.
"After I let you go, don't come back. The Village is dangerous. Even if you know how to wield a sword, it won't be enough."
"And also… could you please remember my name? I'm going to die anyway."
"If someone outside the village remembers me, it'll be like I got to see the world beyond."
The girl tilted her head slightly, her eyes brimming with expectation as she stared straight at Giyu Tomioka. Her clear gaze held not a trace of fear toward death—instead, there was a faint sense of relief.
Hearing this, Giyu felt a stir in his heart. Was this really what counted as "seeing the world"?
But then, something about it didn't sit right with him, so he asked bluntly, "Why are you going to die? Do you have some incurable disease?"
"I have a friend whose blood can cure anything. If you get the chance, you should try it."
At this, the girl burst into laughter. She thought this boy was a bit silly, but undoubtedly a kind person.
"Well, thank you!"
"Oh, and my name is Blue Spider Lily!"
Blue smiled, her eyes curving like crescents. She was happy to have met this boy who seemed so unapproachable at first glance.
"Make sure you remember my name, okay?"
"Tomorrow night, I'll come to let you go."
Upon learning her name, Giyu fell silent. He lowered his head, fists clenched so tightly they trembled, his breathing heavy, each exhale carrying a deep sigh.
Waves of emotion rippled through his usually calm heart. He had thought he had moved on, but "Spider Lily" was also the name of his late sister.
Up on the roof, Tendo, who had been eavesdropping, was stunned. So that was the girl's name?
And what was Giyu thinking, calling himself some kind of miracle cure?
Suddenly, Tendo had an epiphany. He slapped his hands together in excitement.
"Ah! I've got it!"
To untie the bell, you needed the one who tied it—and here she was.
From Blue Spider Lily's tone, he could pretty much deduce that the girl had some connection to the demon in the village. After all, she seemed ready to die in Giyu's place.
Clearly, she had witnessed the horror of demons and believed that a mere boy with a sword stood no chance against such a monster.
For an ordinary person, that was a reasonable assumption.
So all they had to do now was wait and watch—the demon would appear on its own.
"I'm a genius! Call me Sherlock Tendo!"
In his excitement, he accidentally knocked loose a roof tile, drawing the attention of both Giyu and Blue.
"Meow~ meow~"
In a panic, Tendo mimicked a cat's cry with surprising realism, managing to bluff his way through.
By chance, he caught sight of a pale, ghostly figure lurking in the distant bushes. Because he was lying flat on the roof, the figure hadn't noticed him.
He quickly flattened himself further, suppressing his presence as much as possible. Though he couldn't see clearly, the silhouette was unmistakable.
A fish's head on a human body.
Giyu had encountered it before. So had he.
A demon's avatar.Is that guy watching the ruined temple?
Seeing this, Tendo's lips curled up. It seemed he wouldn't need Blue Spider Lily's help to find that hiding Lower Moon after all.
Hehehe!
Bad luck for you to be spotted by me—my promotion quota.
Tendo could barely suppress his grin. He didn't believe the clone wouldn't return to its main body.
And so, the demon watched the ruined temple, Tendo watched the demon—the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
But the demon's next move left Tendo dumbfounded. It threw a stone at the temple entrance with no other purpose than to wake the villagers guarding the door.
After doing this, it self-destructed, dissolving into a pool of milky-white blood.
What the hell!
Just exploded like that, all fresh and juicy?
Not going home to mommy?
With the clone's self-destruction, Tendo's plan collapsed—truly, life is unpredictable, like intestines wrapping around intestines.
The startled villagers guarding the door saw the temple entrance half-open and hurriedly stood up.
"Did that kid run away?"
"That shouldn't be possible!"
"Better check. Outsiders are rare, and we finally caught a sacrifice."
Inside the temple, Blue Spider Lily panicked. If discovered, there was no way she could save Giyu.
Just then, the door opened—but standing there was Tendo.
After each receiving a surprise chop to the back of the neck, the two villagers peacefully returned to dreamland.
"Tendo!" Seeing his arrival, Giyu knew they wouldn't have to wait until tomorrow night—they could leave now, and he was happy.
"Tsk tsk tsk!"
"You got caught by villagers? What a noob!"
Tendo adjusted the villagers' positions and swaggered into the temple. Bowing slightly to the stunned Lily, he politely said:
"Miss Blue Spider Lily, I am Tendo Kazama. Thank you for your kindness with the meal."
"Since you planned to let Giyu escape, why hide it from me?"
Lily clenched her clothes tightly. She hadn't expected the traveler to follow. She'd hidden it for his own good—against such a monster, what difference would one or two more make?
She couldn't just let them go to their deaths.
"Just go, quickly!"
Without further explanation, she ran out of the ruined temple without looking back.
Tendo didn't stop her—everyone has their own burdens, after all.
All he could do was kill that demon.
"Tendo, untie me!" Watching Blue Spider Lily run off, Giyu remained expressionless as he spoke calmly.
"Wait a moment!" Tendo drew his sword, cutting only the ropes but leaving the chains untouched.
"The chains too!" Giyu looked at Tendo in confusion—breaking chains wasn't difficult for them.
"Can't do it. That demon's too cautious—it won't show itself. We have to go find it." Tendo explained slowly, sharing what he'd seen and heard with Giyu.
After listening, Giyu nodded. "So the fish-headed one really was a clone."
He looked at Tendo and asked, "What now?"
"Wait and see!" Tendo picked up the rope from the ground and walked toward Giyu with a smile.
"What are you doing?"
"Restoring the scene. Don't worry, I'm good at this—you'll be able to break free when needed."
"You stay in the light, I'll stay in the shadows. That's all."
"Alright!"
Giyu nodded. Soon, he was tied up like a caterpillar again—only this time, he held the rope's end in his hand, ready to pull it loose at any moment."That girl will come to rescue you tomorrow night. Remember to tell her about our plan." After dealing with the scene, Tendo walked out of the ruined temple and instructed, "I'm going to find a sword for you, idiot."
He had barely taken a step forward when he turned back, leaning close to Giyu's ear to whisper a few words.
"Is this really appropriate?"
Tendo patted Giyu's shoulder dismissively. "No big deal. I don't care about that sort of thing."
"Fine, do as you please."
Before closing the temple door, he shot Giyu a mischievous look and asked with a grin:
"So, what do you think of that girl?"
Giyu froze for a moment before slowly answering:
"She's a good person. Very kind."
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