Chapter 184: Suspicions
The setting sun cut across the streets of Yoshiwara, casting a cold, lonely air over the ground.
Shinobu stood at the end of the street, the hem of her butterfly haori fluttering softly in the evening breeze.
She gazed at Yoshiwara, now deserted and nearly in ruins. Her usual smile carried an extra hint of curiosity.
Though she’d never been here before, the bustling, captivating paradise Tengen had talked about looked nothing like this place.
Broken doors and windows, collapsed roofs, timber piled up in the corners, and pillars marked by claws and katana slashes everywhere. On top of that, the few passersby moved hurriedly, with terrified faces.
How had it ended up like this?
"Miss, the tea you ordered."
An old woman’s voice came from behind her.
Shinobu turned her head and saw the shop’s owner shuffling over with a hot cup.
"Thank you so much." Shinobu took the tea and took a small sip without pulling her gaze from the street. "Ma’am, how’s business been these past few days?"
The old woman let out a bitter laugh. "Don’t even get me started, with all this demon uproar. The customers run off in a panic and the girls don’t dare leave their rooms."
Shinobu tilted her head slightly. "Didn’t the uproar happen five days ago? Wasn’t that demon already driven off?"
"It didn’t flee... ever since the Kyogoku House was attacked, this place hasn’t had a single day of peace," the old woman sighed. "Every night a demon comes out to snatch people. If it weren’t for young Zenitsu protecting the area, who knows how many people would’ve died."
At the sound of that familiar name, Shinobu’s eyelashes trembled faintly.
"Zenitsu-kun?"
"That’s right, they say he’s a swordsman from the Demon Slayer Corps. It’s just that he’s only one person, and it’s all he can do to wrench people away from the creature—he doesn’t have the strength to behead it. And so... Yoshiwara’s been reduced to this."
"What do you mean, only one person?" Shinobu’s voice stayed gentle, but her pace of speech grew more deliberate. "Hasn’t Marcus taken charge of what’s happening around here?"
"Marcus...?" The old woman looked confused at first, but then clapped her hands.
"Do you mean young master Marcus?"
Seeing Shinobu nod, the old woman smiled gratefully. "Look at the state of the district now—who’d dare come here? Not even the government steps in. We merchants were starving to death, but young Marcus took pity on us and agreed to buy up the shops nobody wants anymore without lowering the prices—he even paid a little extra. Take this tea stall—I’ve already sold it to him. In prosperous times it was worth ten or twenty thousand. He paid thirty thousand right there on the spot and let me keep working until he takes possession!"
Shinobu’s smile didn’t change, but a flicker of thought crossed her eyes.
With Marcus’s strength, why wasn’t he going out to deal with that demon? If Zenitsu could take it on, it made no sense that he couldn’t... Didn’t his power depend on the women of Yoshiwara to manifest? Wasn’t this the territory he’d chosen himself?
Why was he standing by with his arms folded, watching the Pleasure District decline... while busying himself buying up every single property?
Or else—was something wrong with his health?
Or if not... he was plotting something evil!
"Ma’am, thank you for the tea." Shinobu handed the cup back and left a few coins on the counter.
"Oh my, if you know young master Marcus, I can’t take your money..."
"It’s almost dark—you’re going to close up your stall too, right?" Shinobu cut her off with a smile. "I won’t trouble you any further."
She turned toward the depths of the street, but after two steps she turned her head back again. "By the way, ma’am—did you say that demon only takes the ones who are good-looking?"
The old woman’s face went pale and she nodded at once. "Yes! Miss, please be very careful and don’t stick around here!"
Shinobu smiled without answering. A gust of fragrance drifted through the air, and when the old woman looked again, the spot was empty.
Up on the rooftops, Shinobu moved with the lightness of a butterfly. The idea of inspecting the battlefield was set aside: first she had to confirm what that wicked man was planning.
At that very moment, a hysterical roar rang out up ahead.
"Impossible! I’ll never sell the fruit of my hard work at a fire-sale price!"
Immediately after, a cold, faintly familiar voice was heard: "Don’t worry, think it over carefully. I’ll be back in three days, and by then the price will have dropped another twenty percent."
"Pearl-san?"
Following the sound, Shinobu watched the white figure step elegantly out of a courtesan house: silvery-white hair, a kimono like snow, and delicate features. Pearl was looking over a stack of documents with her brow furrowed.
Behind her walked a man of robust build with a firm stride.
—!
Shinobu’s steps came to a stop.
That presence... Hakuji.
They really didn’t fear sunlight anymore... Even though she knew it from the rumors, seeing it with her own eyes made her heart race.
According to Kyōjurō, Hakuji was immune to beheading by Nichirin Blades; according to Tengen, his regeneration was so fast that he could stand against Muzan. Add to that the fact that he walked under the sun, and he was a human weapon with no weaknesses... and his current identity was that of a bodyguard!
The scene was absurd.
Sensing the gaze from above, Pearl looked up, and her clear eyes met Shinobu’s.
"Oh, Shinobu-san?" she said, surprised, before offering a courteous smile and giving a bow.
Shinobu leapt down from the rooftop and landed in front of her with her usual smile:
"Moshi~ mosh~"
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