Tanjiro nodded, agreeing to Ryuji's suggestion to rest for a while.
Ryuji, Tanjiro, and Zenitsu Agatsuma returned to the stream they had passed earlier to rest.
The afternoon sun was at its most intense, and after two hours of searching, the three were somewhat tired.
As masters of Breathing techniques, their mountain search wasn't a leisurely stroll but high-speed movement through the forest. The earlier banter between Ryuji and Zenitsu had occurred after they temporarily slowed down.
As soon as Zenitsu reached the stream, he lay down and drank greedily, completely disregarding his image.
Ryuji and Tanjiro took out their water bottles, crouched by the stream, filled them, and drank.
Compared to Zenitsu, who put his mouth directly into the water, Ryuji and Tanjiro were much more refined.
The mountain water was crystal clear, naturally green and unpolluted, with a perceptible sweetness. Ryuji had no concerns about the water quality.
As Zenitsu was drinking, he suddenly screamed and jumped up.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch~" Zenitsu jumped up in pain and ran to Ryuji, his face full of misery, pleading for help. "Mouth…mouth…"
It took Zenitsu great effort to utter those two words. Ryuji and Tanjiro saw a crab clinging to Zenitsu's lip with its claws.
"Hahahaha~"
Tanjiro burst into laughter. Ryuji couldn't help but cover his face and laugh. Zenitsu was quite a character; he could even get his mouth clamped by a crab while drinking water.
Seeing Ryuji and Tanjiro laughing at him, Zenitsu was distraught and urged anxiously, "Hurry up and get it off!"
As Zenitsu spoke, the crab clinging to his lip moved with his lips.
With this movement, the crab's other claw clamped down.
This time, the pain made Zenitsu scream and jump again.
In a fit of desperation, Zenitsu tried to pull it off with his hands but gave up immediately.
He realized it was a self-defeating strategy. So, he again pleaded with Ryuji and Tanjiro, "Think of a way!"
Ryuji stopped laughing and said to Zenitsu, "Stand still, unless you want your lip to come off."
Zenitsu immediately became nervous and shrank back a few steps.
"Ryuji, don't do anything rash!"
With Zenitsu's words, the crab clamped to his mouth moved up and down, looking incredibly comical.
Tanjiro had caught crabs before and knew the quickest way to remove a crab's grip was to break its claws; otherwise, one could only wait for the crab to release its grip.
Waiting for the crab to release its grip, however, depended on the crab's mood. If it was in a good mood, it might let go in a moment. If not, it might not let go for hours.
"So, do you want me to remove it? If not, then forget it!" Seeing Zenitsu shrinking back, Ryuji decided not to help him remove the crab.
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