Demon Slayer: Tanjiro becomes a ghost, Nezuko becomes a pillar!

Chapter 22 Decisions and Results

Time passed second by second, and Urokodaki encountered no obstacles during this period.

Because when he judged in his mind that Nezuko might not be a qualified member of the Demon Slayer Corps.

But Nidouzi made his own choice.

She bent down, picked up the black cloth from the ground, and carefully covered the monk ghost's head again to prevent the head from sending signals to the body.

She then quickly disappeared into the bushes nearby.

They quickly found a lot of tough vines and skillfully wove them into sturdy ropes with their fingers.

After preparing, she nimbly avoided the headless monk ghost's struggles, weaving nimbly around the tree trunk, and in a few moments she firmly bound the still convulsing body to the tree.

The knot was tied so tightly that it gave the other party no chance to break free.

Tanjiro watched quietly from the side and soon understood Nezuko's intention.

He immediately ran over with a smile, grabbed the crawling ghost that had already lost its ability to move, pressed it against another tree trunk, and used his body to hold it in place so that Mi Douzi could tie it up.

When Ni Douzi saw her brother's actions, a sweet smile instantly bloomed on her face, and most of the gloom in her eyes dissipated.

"Thank you so much, brother! You've been a huge help!"

Tanjiro saw the smile return to Nezuko's face, and his own smile became even warmer.

And so, Urokodaki stood there, watching Nezuko and Tanjiro, one human and one demon, tie the other two demons to the big tree.

What...do they want to do?

Urokodaki was filled with doubt, but he did not stop them; he simply watched quietly.

As Ni Douzi tied the knot, she reminisced about the days when her family was around.

His younger siblings surrounded him.

Her heart was filled with happy laughter.

But when Mr. Urokodaki spoke of how the evil spirits had killed his family, those horrific scenes flashed through his mind.

Just as she was about to break down, a warm hand touched her forehead.

Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked up at the person who was stroking her.

That was his older brother, Tanjiro.

Even after becoming a ghost, she still gently comforted herself.

Looking at that gentle, smiling face, she knew that if she didn't do something...

Then, she would be unable to protect her brother or save him.

So she made up her mind.

Since Mr. Urokodaki says that only special swords and sunlight can kill them, then I'll drag them out into the sunlight.

With this thought in mind, Mizuko proceeded with all her subsequent actions.

After doing all this, a bead of sweat appeared on Midouzi's forehead.

But once her body was completely relaxed, her heightened senses allowed her to smell the strong stench of blood inside the temple.

She turned her head and looked inside the temple, which was pitch black. Especially after recalling how the monk ghost had pulled a severed arm out of the darkness, she knew that there was an innocent person's body inside.

She glanced at her brother and smiled.

"Brother, wait for me here!"

"Uh-huh!"

Tanjiro nodded and stood obediently in place.

Urokodaki also noticed that Nezuko wanted to enter the temple. When he saw Tanjiro facing the strong smell of blood inside, he was still able to maintain his humanity and listen to Nezuko.

At this moment, he had to admit that this boy named Kamado Tanjiro might be the only demon in a thousand years who could restrain cannibalism.

As Mizuko entered the temple, her senses allowed her to witness the horrific scene inside, even in the darkness.

Several corpses lay broken in the pool of blood, and Midouzi stood there, stunned.

I thought the misfortune that befell my family was already cruel enough.

But what they didn't expect was that the tragedy brought by the evil spirits was even more shocking.

Despite her discomfort, Midouzi carefully moved the mangled corpses out bit by bit.

As Urokodaki looked at this strong and kind girl, his opinion of her gradually changed.

When he looked at Tanjiro, he wondered if Tanjiro could remain calm amidst the deadly allure of those severed limbs that demons possessed.

But what happened next touched him even more.

Tanjiro didn't rush to bite or endure it; instead, he looked around as if searching for something.

Tanjiro quickly ran over, picked up the arm that the monk demon had thrown out at the beginning, and ran over to join Nezuko in piecing together the bodies of the victims.

At this moment, Urokodaki completely let go of all his prejudices and silently walked over, found an open space, and began digging a final burial site for these victims.

Seeing that Mr. Urokodaki had also come to help, Mizuko felt a warmth in her heart.

Mr. Urokodaki is a kind person, no wonder Mr. Giyu asked my brother and me to come find him.

With the help of Linlong, the three of them quickly buried the bodies.

After Urokodaki led Nezuko and Tanjiro in their final prayers, he looked at Nezuko.

"What would you do if your brother lost control one day?"

When Mizuko heard what Rin-taki said, she was taken aback at first, then looked at her brother beside her and said in a firm tone.

"My brother won't lose control!"

Mr. Urokodaki glanced at Tanjiro, then looked at Nezuko.

"Remember what I'm about to say: if your brother loses control, you can only do two things."

Mizuko was somewhat confused, but she didn't refute it. She just waited quietly for Mr. Urokodaki to continue.

"All you can do is kill your brother and then commit seppuku!"

After speaking earnestly, Urokodaki looked towards the rising sun on the horizon.

"Have your brother hide; it's almost dawn!"

Mizuko hadn't yet understood what Urokodaki meant by that, but seeing that dawn was approaching, she had Tanjiro hide in the bamboo basket.

However, what Nezuko didn't know was how much help Urokodaki's words would provide to her and Tanjiro in the future.

After hiding Tanjiro, Nezuko went to the monk's demon head, then slowly sat down and removed the black cloth covering it.

"Little girl, what have you done to my body? Why do I feel like I'm tied up?"

The monk-ghost glared fiercely at Nidouzi, his expression full of accusations.

Midouzi didn't answer, but smiled as she watched the sunrise.

"You say compassion is useless, Buddhism is useless, and scriptures are useless, but I just entered the temple, and it was full of scriptures, and they weren't damaged at all. Since they're useless, why don't you destroy those scriptures?"

"What's it to you? I can keep it if I want, or destroy it if I want."

The monk ghost, as if caught red-handed, immediately retorted in a shrill voice.

Midouzi didn't take it seriously. With her senses, she could feel the monk ghost making excuses, and then she looked at the crawling ghost.

"That ghost followed you the whole time; I could feel it. It seemed to rely on you!"

Upon hearing the word "reliance," the monk-ghost fell into an unusual silence.

But Midouzi had no intention of stopping; she spoke slowly.

"I suppose you were once a gentle and compassionate monk. Perhaps you were just someone who suffered injustice and did everything you could to help, only to be betrayed and killed in the end. I don't know exactly what happened back then, and I dare not make any judgments, but I think that a truly compassionate person should not fall so easily."

Her voice was soft, yet it carried a power that struck straight to the heart.

"No matter how dark or hopeless things are at the time, as long as you get through it, the next day will always bring light. Don't you think so?"

That last sentence was like a key, instantly unlocking the long-sealed memories of the monk ghost.

In my mind, the old monk with white hair and beard was sitting under a ginkgo tree, sunlight filtering through the leaves and falling on him, his voice as gentle as the warm spring sun.

"Zhihai, darkness will eventually pass, and light will always come. Even in the most desperate situations, hold onto that glimmer of light in your heart."

The master's words and Mi Douzi's voice overlapped in my mind.

The monk ghost's single eye suddenly widened, a fierce struggle flashing in its depths.

His originally fierce expression gradually became dazed, and a low whimper came from his throat, as if he was suppressing something.

"I'm sorry, Master, I was wrong..."

As the sun rose, the monk ghost, amidst choked sobs, turned to ashes.

In the final moment before it vanished, a very faint "thank you" reached Mizuko's ears.

Mizuko smiled gently, then stood up and looked at Urokodaki Sakonji with her back to the sunlight.

"Mr. Urokodaki, have I passed your test?"