Night once again blanketed the forest.
But unlike its usual silence, the woods were lively tonight. Six children had gathered together beneath the trees.
"Hehehe! Xiao Ying lost!" one little boy said with a mischievous grin to the girl wearing the cherry blossom hairpin. "You have to be the human and come catch us!"
"O-Okay… but don't hide too far away," Xiao Ying said nervously, glancing at the quiet, shadowy forest around them. "I'm a little scared…"
"Don't worry!" another boy said, patting his chest confidently. "We'll just hide nearby. You'll find us quickly."
"Okay!" Xiao Ying nodded happily.
She then turned toward a tree, pressed her face against the trunk, closed her eyes, and began counting.
"Where should we hide?" one child asked another boy.
The boy didn't answer. Instead, he grinned and pointed toward the top of a large tree.
The other children immediately understood.
All five of them ran beneath the tree, helping one another climb up. Soon they were perched among the thick branches, each settling onto a different fork of the tree.
"Hehehe… Now Xiao Ying definitely won't find us," the boy said proudly. "And we're still hiding right near her."
The other children nodded in agreement.
"Twenty-nine—"
Xiao Ying finished counting and opened her eyes.
When she turned around, all of her friends had vanished.
"I'm coming to find you!"
She looked around the dark forest and shouted, hoping to hear some movement.
But the woods remained completely silent.
Everyone hid really well.
Thinking that, Xiao Ying chose a direction and began searching.
From high in the tree, the five children watched her run off. Covering their mouths, they struggled to suppress their laughter.
Only after Xiao Ying disappeared did they finally giggle quietly.
After a while, the boy who came up with the hiding spot spoke again.
"When Xiao Ying comes back this way, let's climb down. If she can't find us for too long, she'll probably get scared and start crying."
The others nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ying searched the forest for quite some time but still couldn't find anyone.
"Where did everyone hide…?"
The dark and silent forest made her increasingly uneasy.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced in her mind.
"Children who wander outside at night might run into demons!"
Those were the words of an old woman in the town.
Xiao Ying swallowed nervously.
The forest suddenly felt much scarier.
Maybe… I should go back.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, the sound of footsteps echoed through the quiet night.
"Ahhh!!!"
Already frightened, Xiao Ying shut her eyes and screamed loudly.
"That's Xiao Ying's voice!" the children in the tree exclaimed.
"Did something happen to her?" one asked worriedly.
"Let's go check!" said the boy who had suggested climbing the tree.
He slid down first, and the others quickly followed.
The five children ran toward the direction Xiao Ying had gone.
"Little girl, what's wrong?"
A deep, magnetic voice reached Xiao Ying's ears.
Hearing the voice, she slowly opened her eyes in fear.
A tall young man dressed in black was walking toward her.
He wore a black-and-white hat, had pale skin, and possessed dark red eyes that gleamed faintly under the moonlight.
Oh… it's just a person.
Seeing him, Xiao Ying finally relaxed.
"I'm sorry, mister," she said shyly. "I thought there was a demon just now…"
The man's eyes flickered slightly.
Then he smiled gently.
"I see. But why are you outside so late?"
With another "person" nearby, Xiao Ying felt much less afraid.
"I'm playing a ghost hunt game with my friends," she explained cheerfully. "I lost rock-paper-scissors, so I have to be the human and catch them."
"But they hid really well. I can't find anyone."
The young man reached out and gently patted her head.
"I see," he said with a smile.
"But why is it the human catching ghosts… instead of ghosts catching humans?"
Xiao Ying looked up in confusion.
The young man lightly tapped her forehead with his index finger.
In the next instant—
The smile vanished from his face.
His expression turned cold and emotionless.
His fingernail suddenly lengthened and pierced directly through Xiao Ying's forehead.
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Xiao Ying screamed in agony.
After nearly ten seconds, her body began to change.
Her teeth sharpened.
Her fingernails grew longer.
The young man finally withdrew his finger.
This seemingly ordinary young man was none other than the progenitor of demons—
Muzan Kibutsuji.
"Search this area for the Blue Spider Lily," Muzan Kibutsuji said coldly. "If you encounter Demon Slayers, kill them."
As he spoke, he transmitted the knowledge of the Blue Spider Lily directly into her mind.
The overwhelming pressure of his bloodline left Xiao Ying completely unable to resist.
She knelt respectfully on the ground.
By now, almost all memories of her human life had vanished.
"Xiao Ying—! Xiao Ying—!"
Just then, several voices echoed from the distance.
The other five children had arrived.
"There she is!"
Because the night was so dark, they failed to notice Xiao Ying's transformation.
They shouted excitedly and ran toward her.
Xiao Ying, whose body was still extremely weak from her recent transformation, began drooling uncontrollably at the sight of them.
"Go," Muzan Kibutsuji ordered coldly.
Receiving the command, Xiao Ying immediately lunged toward the children.
Only then did the children realize something was wrong.
But it was already too late.
The boy running in front had his neck snapped instantly.
At the same time, his clothing began to corrode.
"M-Monster!!!"
The remaining children screamed and turned to flee.
But how could their small bodies outrun a demon?
In moments, the forest filled with screams and splashing blood.
"Using a Blood Demon Art immediately after becoming a demon… impressive talent," Muzan Kibutsuji remarked casually as he watched the scene.
"Perhaps she might even become one of the Twelve Kizuki someday."
Having lost interest, he turned and left the forest.
The screams gradually faded.
In their place came the sickening sounds of flesh being devoured.
After some time, the parents of the missing children entered the forest searching for them.
By then, the Corrosion Demon had already eaten her fill.
The faint remnants of her human memory allowed her to recognize her older brother.
Because of that, she did not appear.
Instead, she carried the unfinished corpses and leapt into a massive tree. After corroding the trunk, she hid inside, using it as shelter from the daylight sun.
Three days later, once all traces of her human memories had completely vanished, the scent of her blood relative drew her out again.
And now—
In the silent forest, only Chiba Yang remained.
He stood beneath the moonlight, holding the boy's discarded coat in his hand.