Demon Slayer: Strength Gained with Every Swing of the Sword

Feeling the soft weight of Nanako in his arms, Feng Yu noticed she seemed to be sniffing the scent on his clothes.

He furrowed his brow.

"Alright, it's getting late. Let's go eat first," he suggested, stepping back slowly.

Nanako seemed to sense something, and with a smile, she replied, "Okay, Master~"

Throughout the walk, Nanako followed closely by his side, her face still carrying a cheerful smile.

"I can't shake the feeling that something's off with my disciple..." Feng Yu thought to himself. But he quickly dismissed the thought, attributing it to Nanako still mourning the loss of her mother, still unable to fully recover, perhaps fearing he'd leave her behind.

"Hope that's all it is..." he mused.

Every now and then, Nanako would glance sideways at Feng Yu, a faint smug smile playing on her lips.

But soon, the passing pedestrians began whispering amongst themselves.

"Hey, isn't that the little monster? Why is it wearing such fine clothes? And who's that man with her?"

"I don't know, maybe that man bought the little monster as a slave or something..."

"No way, that man looks so refined. He can't be that type of person..."

Feng Yu ignored their chatter and continued walking calmly, but Nanako couldn't hold back, her voice sharp with anger: "If you keep talking bad about my Master, I'll tear your mouths off!"

She looked ready to charge at them.

Feng Yu frowned, casting Nanako a strange glance.

The pedestrians, seeing Nanako's fierce demeanor, were intimidated. Fearing trouble might fall on them, they quickly scattered.

"Hmph! How dare they talk bad about Master! If they hadn't run off so fast, I'd have given them a piece of my mind!" Nanako said, her tone smug, as if seeking praise.

Feng Yu only gave her an odd look and asked, "Were you always this reckless?"

"Master, you're just too gentle. When they talk bad about you and you don't even respond, they only get bolder!" Nanako pulled at his arm, continuing to speak eagerly.

Feng Yu was about to say something, but she cut him off, "Alright, alright, Master, let's go eat! I'm starving!"

She quickly dragged him towards the restaurant.

The following week, Feng Yu stayed in Qingyuan Town for a while longer, before deciding it was time to return to Sagiri Mountain.

That evening, as night fell, Feng Yu summoned Xiao Hei, who had been spending time with his mother, the crow, and was now flying back to him.

"Wow, there's a yellow crow!" Nanako exclaimed, surprised by the sight of Xiao Hei flying into the room.

"Caw, little brat, you're the crow here! Your whole family are crows!" Xiao Hei retorted, clearly annoyed.

"I'm Xiao Hei, the legendary gūyā (鎹鸦), Lord Feng Yu's most beloved pet! And who exactly are you, appearing in Lord Feng Yu's room?" Xiao Hei puffed up proudly.

"Wow, the crow is talking! Master Feng Yu, look! The crow is talking!" Nanako hurriedly called out.

"Enough, you two. Stop fooling around," Feng Yu said, clearly uninterested in the antics.

"Xiao Hei, I need you to work hard tonight," Feng Yu said, giving his crow a nod.

Xiao Hei's eyes widened, then he grinned, "Caw, serving my master is my great honor!"

"Stop with the flattery learned from street commoners. You know I don't fall for that," Feng Yu said, shooting Xiao Hei a look before continuing, "This is Nanako, my newly accepted disciple. You should meet her—soon, we'll all be family."

"Caw, so this little brat is the new disciple? Nice to meet you, I'm Xiao Hei, the master's pet," the crow said, his chest puffing out even more.

"Nice to meet you, Xiao Hei. I'm Nanako," Nanako said with a bright smile, reaching out to gently grab the crow's wing, as though shaking hands.

"Alright, it's time to go," Feng Yu said, turning his gaze to the sky outside.

"Understood, Master!" Xiao Hei hopped to the open space outside, then his body began to grow larger.

"Wow! You can transform! That's so cool!" Nanako gasped, rushing over to get a closer look at Xiao Hei's transformation.

"Caw, of course! Xiao Hei is the most powerful crow around!" Xiao Hei puffed out his chest, basking in Nanako's praise, then began boasting about his past feats.

Feng Yu, standing off to the side, shook his head and sighed, seeing Nanako staring at Xiao Hei with wide eyes, thoroughly impressed. He then gently picked Nanako up and jumped onto Xiao Hei's back.

"Let's go," Feng Yu said softly.

"Caw, we're off!" Xiao Hei flapped his wings, soon lifting into the air.

"Take it slow this time," Feng Yu said, glancing at Nanako, who was holding onto his robe tightly, her teeth clenched in fear.

Xiao Hei turned his head, saying, "Caw, sorry, Master! I forgot there's a little one with us. I'll slow down right now."

Since Xiao Hei had awakened his speed talent, his usual flight speed was much faster than before. Now that he slowed down, the strong gusts of wind eased, and Nanako finally relaxed her grip on Feng Yu's robe.

"Whew~"

"Xiao Hei, you're amazing!" Nanako said with a bright smile.

"Caw, it's nothing, really," Xiao Hei said humbly, though clearly pleased with the praise.

Feng Yu watched them both, shaking his head, and sighed, closing his eyes to rest.

After a while, Feng Yu realized Nanako had quietly come to his side and fallen asleep. She curled up tightly, like a little rabbit seeking comfort.

"Mother..." Nanako's voice, barely a whisper, held a trace of sorrow. Tears lingered at the corners of her eyes.

Feng Yu gently stroked her head. He knew Nanako feared he might abandon her, and that was why she kept herself calm, acting like everything was fine.

Despite her outward playfulness and boundless energy, deep down, she had not fully recovered from the loss of her mother.

"Just be yourself around me," Feng Yu murmured softly.

In her sleep, Nanako seemed to sense the warmth of his hand and unconsciously nuzzled against it, finding comfort in his touch.

"She really is a good girl," Feng Yu thought, watching her sleep.

The night passed.

They were now near Sagiri Mountain.

"Wow, it's so beautiful!" Nanako exclaimed.

"Master, look! It's the sunrise!" Nanako's voice echoed in his ear as she shook his arm.

Feng Yu opened his eyes and saw Nanako eagerly pointing at the sky.

Before he could speak, Xiao Hei beat him to it: "Caw, little brat, what's so amazing about that? Master and I have seen this countless times. We're sick of it!"

"I don't care! I'm going to watch the sunrise with Master every day!" Nanako shouted, filled with enthusiasm.

"And sunset too!" she added.

"Such a pair of troublemakers..." Feng Yu muttered with a helpless sigh, but then his gaze drifted toward Sagiri Mountain, a subtle feeling of unease stirring in his chest. 

----------------------------------------------------------------

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚! 

Join my patreon you will get:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 100+ chapters 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚. Also you will get (1-227) chapters epub file of this novel.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: patreon.com/sorkarnayeem