Uzui Tengen brought Tanjiro and the other two to Yoshiwara, but their makeup was truly unbearable, each with an excessive amount of blush. The idea of selling them in the pleasure district like this was laughable.
Li Xing, despite having read the manga, found seeing it in person to be entirely different. He couldn't help but want to laugh.
"Hahaha, this makeup skill is terrible. No, I'm going to die laughing. Koinatsu, have Mitsuri buy that Zenitsu over, the one with the yellow hair. Make him play the shamisen for me every day," Li Xing said, roaring with laughter from a room.
Although Koinatsu wasn't much different from her human days, her personality had improved significantly under Li Xing's influence. She had become much kinder to others, and her reputation in the Kyogoku House had improved.
However, she couldn't shake her dislike for the ugly ones. Seeing Zenitsu in that state, her eyes couldn't hide her disgust.
"Mr. Li Xing, what's so good about such an ugly creature? If you want to hear the shamisen, I can play for you. I wouldn't even want him for scrubbing toilets," she said.
Hearing this, Li Xing became serious. "Koinatsu, he's a boy, so he can't be treated as a woman. They are from the Demon Slayer Corps. The tallest one is Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira. They are here to investigate demons. We need to let them gather information inside. Of course, you can also reveal yourself."
Li Xing then explained the subsequent plan to Koinatsu. After giving instructions, he went outside Yoshiwara to create a battlefield. The script wasn't quite matching up now, so Li Xing decided to place some Blood Demon Art clones outside Yoshiwara to gather intelligence, just in case.
By the end of the night, Uzui Tengen was satisfied. These three brats, despite their appearance, had been successfully sold. He hoped the brats would be of some use.
...
After a few days of investigation, Tanjiro and Inosuke had gathered information on Uzui Tengen's two wives. Of course, these were clues fabricated and left by Li Xing. Both of their rooms contained diaries of escape. To outsiders, it looked like an escape, but to the Demon Slayer Corps, it was a facade created by demons.
Meanwhile, at the Kyogoku House, Li Xing, now a demon, had Zenitsu come play the shamisen every day. Although he didn't reveal any of his aura, Zenitsu felt something was off about the man before him.
"Guest, I'm not good-looking. Why do you call for me every day?" Zenitsu couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, wanting to probe for information.
Li Xing felt the time was right. If he kept hiding, there might be unforeseen circumstances. So, he directly exposed his demonic aura.
"Young man, your shamisen playing is excellent, but those hands that frequently wield a sword can't deceive me. You're a Demon Slayer, aren't you? Then..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Xing kicked Zenitsu out of Yoshiwara. After all, if a fight was about to break out, he couldn't possibly damage the place.
Zenitsu was struck before he could react and instantly lost consciousness. The huge commotion here didn't escape the notice of others. Tanjiro was the first to rush over, and Uzui Tengen had already located Hinatsuru's position. Li Xing hadn't harmed Hinatsuru; he had merely tied her up in the room of a low-ranking courtesan.
Li Xing went to where Zenitsu had fainted. This was the place where Li Xing and Daki had their first battle. It was spacious and very suitable as a battlefield for tonight.
Not long after Li Xing arrived, Tanjiro followed the scent. Seeing the unconscious Zenitsu, he attacked Li Xing without thinking.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
"Koinatsu! It's your turn!" Li Xing merely said a sentence, and Tanjiro immediately dodged. Two sashes descended from the sky, striking the ground where Tanjiro had been.
Li Xing was pleased. Tanjiro's strength was already quite good. The next step was to make him awaken his Mark.
A beautiful figure descended from the sky, adorned with subtle patterns. The characters for Upper Rank Six were carved into her eyes. Li Xing almost bled from his nose. The new outfit was too alluring.
Tanjiro's expression grew serious. He then put down Nezuko. "Nezuko, wait here. I can't fight with you on my back. Unless there's a life-threatening danger, don't come out."
"Blood Demon Art: Oscillating Crimson Sashes!" Koinatsu attacked first. Li Xing had already instructed her not to kill, but beating them half to death was perfectly fine.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
Tanjiro twisted his upper and lower body with all his might, unleashing slashes with momentum. The resulting whirlpool transformed into sharp water blades, severing all the sashes around them.
"This won't do. There's another demon watching nearby, and Zenitsu is unconscious. I need to finish this quickly. I hope Inosuke and Mr. Uzui can hurry over," Tanjiro thought anxiously. Merely defending against the demon's attacks wouldn't lead to the demon's demise. There was more than one demon; they needed to be dealt with swiftly.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Clear Blue Sky!"
"Blood Demon Art: Oscillating Crimson Sashes!"
Although Koinatsu still used Oscillating Crimson Sashes, the sashes were now tougher. If one lacked sufficient strength, they couldn't be cut.
In this exchange, Tanjiro sustained a large wound on his chest, and his entire cheek was covered in blood. Koinatsu, however, was largely unharmed. Koinatsu was about to wake Zenitsu by hitting him, but Tanjiro, thinking she was going to kill Zenitsu, endured the pain and grabbed Koinatsu's hair, slashing horizontally.
"A living person cannot regenerate like a demon. Why do you steal? Why do you trample on life? Weren't you once human too? You must have shed tears while struggling in pain," Tanjiro said to Koinatsu with a cold expression.
Koinatsu, now without Muzan's cells, was unresponsive to these words. Li Xing's script didn't include a "talking fight" segment, so she had to improvise. Li Xing had mentioned that this red-haired boy could smell lies, so she had to act convincingly.
"You're so noisy with your whining. Demons don't age, don't need to work to support themselves, don't get sick, and don't die. And demons are powerful and beautiful. No one bullies them anymore; only demons bully others!"
Although Koinatsu's expression was well-crafted, Tanjiro's cheat-like sense of smell still detected the scent of lies. However, it wasn't entirely a lie that Koinatsu was speaking. This was the happy life her siblings desired.
"Why? You're lying. I can feel it. You still want to be like a normal person, to work, to sleep, to bask in the sun."
Although she couldn't deceive Tanjiro, Li Xing was very satisfied watching from the side. It proved he hadn't misjudged Koinatsu. She had once been a pure, blank-page-like girl, and it was only due to Daki's influence that she had become so vicious, but that was merely to protect herself.
Caught by Tanjiro's exposure, Koinatsu became flustered, fearing Li Xing would think her acting was insufficient and that this Demon Slayer might notice something. She raised her hand and sent dozens of sashes flying.
"Stop deceiving yourself. You wish you could be a normal person too, don't you?" Although Tanjiro was still speaking, his sword didn't stop.
At this moment, Inosuke and Uzui Tengen arrived at the battlefield simultaneously. Inosuke had already rescued Makio and Suma. Uzui Tengen had sent them away first. Sensing the commotion here, he immediately rushed over with Inosuke. Fortunately, nothing had happened.