Looking up at the crescent moon, Kurozawa narrowed his eyes and slowed his pace.
Eight hundred meters wasn't far.
Even with no proper roads and the mountain path being rough and uneven, Kurozawa still reached the location in just a few minutes.
What appeared before Kurozawa now was a ruined shrine.
This shrine wasn't small, covering about a hundred square meters.
The Torii Barrier Gate in front of the shrine was still standing.
This meant the gate-like structure at the entrance to the Divine Domain had turned dark brown, the topmost crossbeam was gone, but the two support pillars below were still standing firm, though the paint on them was peeling and damaged, most of it having fallen off.
Behind the Torii Barrier Gate, the main body of the shrine was also dilapidated. The log walls were heavily eaten away by insects, and there were large holes in the doors and windows, making a whooshing sound whenever the wind blew.
It looked like it had weathered many storms.
The Ruined Shrine leaned against the mountain wall behind it. The crescent moon was above the mountain wall, behind it, so the moonlight couldn't reach here. There were no candles inside for light either, leaving the surroundings completely dark.
Kurozawa's eyesight was much better than an average person's, but it wasn't at the level where he could see clearly in the dark without hindrance.
He stared intently but could barely make out the situation inside the shrine. Behind the broken holes in the doors and windows was just darkness.
The shrine was very quiet. Apart from the occasional wind and the scurrying sounds of insects and ants, there were no other strange noises.
It seemed normal. However, Kurozawa wouldn't doubt Sakonji Urokodaki's words. He said there was a Demon here, and unless the Demon knew it had been discovered and ran somewhere else beforehand, it must be inside.
This was because Sakonji Urokodaki possessed a peculiar ability, an Enhanced Sense of Smell that surpassed normal humans by an unknown amount.
Within a few hundred meters of him, no scent could escape his tracking, especially things he had fought his entire life.
Kurozawa was very envious of this ability.
Demons could disguise themselves, but their unique scent couldn't deceive anyone. This was a divine skill that could easily distinguish a Demon's identity.
He reached for the Flint at his waist, lit the Candle, and dispelled the surrounding darkness.
Then, Kurozawa moved, holding the Candle in one hand and his hand on the Nichirin Blade hilt at his waist. He lifted his foot and stepped over the Torii Barrier Gate, walking step by step towards the shrine. The cold wind howled at night, blowing into the entrance of the Ruined Shrine, through the holes in the windows or walls, making sounds that to the ear resembled the wailing of ghosts.
At this moment, the moonlight hidden by the back of the cliff happened to be illuminating the Torii Barrier Gate.
In front of the barrier gate, the moonlight was bright, and the ground was covered in silver frost.
Behind the barrier gate, darkness spread, and the space was filled with silence.
As Kurozawa stepped into the barrier gate, light and darkness appeared on him simultaneously, as if he were stepping across the boundary between the human world and the Demon Realm.
Walking from the moonlight into the darkness, the surroundings suddenly became silent, and the air felt strangely thick.
Kurozawa understood this was because he was a little nervous.
He believed his strength was sufficient to face a Lower Moon, and other Demons absolutely couldn't do anything to him, but this was ultimately just theory.
Kurozawa didn't want to be someone who only talked the talk. He needed experience, practical combat experience, which was what he lacked most right now.
Sparring with his junior disciples and master, no matter how much or how good it was, couldn't compare to personally killing a real Demon.
He let out a long breath, dispelling the nervousness in his heart.
Kurozawa didn't stop, his figure completely disappearing into the darkness, and strode to the front of the shrine.
The shrine's main door was originally vermillion, but the paint was already heavily mottled, mostly turned dark brown, scattered in patches like ugly scars.
Moving the Candle in front of him, Kurozawa looked left and right.
The Ruined Shrine was surrounded by mountain walls on all sides, with only the forest in front. Kurozawa had just come from the path in the forest ahead. There was no place to hide his figure or an escape route in the remaining areas.
The only route was the direction he was blocking.
"Is anyone there? I'm passing by and would like to stay for the night."
"If I'm causing any disturbance, please forgive me."
Kurozawa politely knocked on the door.
At the location of the barrier gate, he couldn't confirm the situation inside the shrine, but now that he had reached the door, his excellent five senses detected something unusual.
Breathing.
There was the sound of breathing.
Right behind the tightly closed door.
With a creak, the door opened.
An expressionless face appeared in Kurozawa's line of sight.
The two of them observed each other.
In Kurozawa's view, the person opposite was a middle-aged man, a little over 1.7 meters tall, not too tall or short, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and very white teeth.
His clothes were neatly kept, although they were full of patches, showing he was quite clean.
The middle-aged man looked up at Kurozawa, who was two heads taller than him, still with an expressionless look, completely unafraid of someone as tall and sturdy as Kurozawa.
However, when his gaze shifted to the Nichirin Blade at Kurozawa's waist, his pupils suddenly constricted.
A flicker of apprehension crossed his face.
"There's already someone here, it's not convenient. Please find somewhere else."
With that, the middle-aged man moved to close the door.
However, a wall slammed into his face, knocking him directly inside the shrine.
No, not a wall, but Kurozawa's sturdy chest muscles. They were like a solid wall, pushing the middle-aged man back.
Taking advantage of the situation, Kurozawa squeezed inside and closed the door behind him.
He looked much more sinister than the other man.
By the candlelight, Kurozawa could see a Deity Wood Carving behind the middle-aged man, depicting a male fifth limb. It was over seven meters long and nearly a meter wide.
From this sizable carving, it was clear that this shrine had likely been frequented by many people in the past.
It was said that worshipping it was a prayer for bountiful harvests, many descendants, and good health.
That being said, even now, Kurozawa couldn't quite understand this strange form of worship.
There were many other similarly bizarre shrines elsewhere.
People always prayed most for what they lacked most. The candlelight dispelled a patch of darkness, and Kurozawa could vaguely see a large snakeskin bag beneath the Deity Wood Carving.
It was filled with something, making it rectangular.
A strange, sweet, and rusty smell flooded Kurozawa's nostrils—the smell of fresh blood.
There was no sound of breathing coming from the snakeskin bag. Kurozawa mused, thinking it had likely only recently died.
Although he knew the other person had killed someone, Kurozawa didn't feel any anger because of it. His heart remained calm.
To Kurozawa, if a person wasn't crucial to him, their death wouldn't affect him. Dying at the hands of a Demon was no different from dying from various accidents.
The purpose of the Demon Slayer Corps was to slay evil Demons and protect the weak, even sacrificing themselves for ordinary people.
Kurozawa felt he could only do the first part. There was no hatred between him and Demons; he didn't actually hate them. If he had to kill a Demon, it was because of his position.
"You!"
After sensing the power contained within the other person's body from the close contact between his chest and face, the middle-aged man's expression changed. Anger and deep apprehension appeared in his eyes.
Knowing the other was a Demon and seeing him still trying desperately to hide himself, Kurozawa only found him somewhat laughable.
The apprehension he felt towards Demons vanished completely and involuntarily.
He glanced at the snakeskin bag, his eyes turning fierce: "This shrine isn't small, it's not like it can't accommodate a second person."
"When you're out, making things convenient for others is making things convenient for yourself. You don't want me to come in, could it be that you have a guilty conscience?"
*Zing!* The Nichirin Blade unsheathed an inch, a cold light flashing.
Coupled with Kurozawa's imposing figure, standing at 1.9 meters tall with bulging muscles, and his already well-defined face which looked quite fierce when serious, he now resembled more of a vicious criminal about to kill and set fires.
"Then feel free."
I recommend a Genshin fanfiction, I'm Playing a Chat Group in Genshin.
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