One night passed.
The pleasure quarters were not as lively during the day. /
The girls were resting so that they could better entertain guests when night fell, and the guests, having been active all night, also needed to rest.
But it wasn't entirely deserted.
Some snack stalls had already opened, and mornings were their busiest time because returning guests always needed to fill their stomachs.
Bai Ye bought two skewers of meatballs and sat on a long bench outside a snack stall.
Soon, Kamado Tanjiro appeared on the street, carrying a basket filled with things, likely sent out to run errands.
Bai Ye gestured and offered one skewer of meatballs to Kamado Tanjiro.
After taking a bite of the meatball, Kamado Tanjiro sat next to Bai Ye and said, "There's been a situation with Inosuke."
Bai Ye said, "Oh?"
Kamado Tanjiro explained, "He didn't show up last night because he discovered a suspicious trace and went to pursue it, but ultimately couldn't catch up."
Bai Ye asked, "Was it a demon?"
Kamado Tanjiro nodded, "Even without a face-to-face encounter, Inosuke's wild instincts help him identify demons, just as I can smell them, so it's likely accurate."
Bai Ye asked, "Which shop did he go to?"
Kamado Tanjiro replied, "Tokito House."
Bai Ye said, "I'll go take a look later, but I might not find anything. Demons hide during the day."
Kamado Tanjiro nodded, "We'll have to wait until nightfall."
Bai Ye cautioned, "So, you all be careful."
"Understood," Kamado Tanjiro said with a smile as he stood up. "I'll head back now."
Bai Ye bid farewell to Kamado Tanjiro and then headed towards Tokito House, as mentioned by Kamado Tanjiro.
It was early morning, so there was naturally no business, completely deserted except for two servants standing at the entrance, sweeping the street.
Bai Ye circled to the back of the house, then entered his spiritual form and floated directly into the air, before passing through the wall.
As soon as he entered the room behind the wall, Bai Ye quickly covered his eyes.
"See no evil, hear no evil, ah, those legs are so fair..."
Behind the wall was a room where a woman lay on the floor, almost half-naked, covered only by a blanket. Her fair legs were exposed to the air.
Bai Ye swallowed and passed through the other side of the room, emerging into the corridor.
Glancing left and right, the rooms on both sides were mostly closed, indicating that people were likely resting.
Therefore, the rooms probably didn't need to be searched.
During the day, demons wouldn't likely make a move, so the places he needed to search would be dark, secluded areas that people rarely frequented.
For instance, warehouses and wine cellars.
As Bai Ye was thinking, he suddenly heard voices ahead.
Bai Ye immediately floated up, sticking close to the ceiling.
"Have you heard? Miss Kosuzu seems to have gone missing."
"I've heard too. They say Miss Kosuzu ran away."
"How is that possible? Miss Kosuzu was a courtesan before. Although she isn't now, rumor has it she's saved enough money to leave the pleasure quarters soon."
"That's right. I also heard that a samurai was very fond of her and promised to take her away."
Two maids walked by, carrying trays and speaking in low voices.
Suddenly, one maid mysteriously lowered her voice and said, "I heard that girls from many shops have gone missing, and they were all beautiful girls."
"Ah? Me too!"
"Some are even spreading rumors that they were eaten by a demon, a demon that likes to eat pretty girls."
"How terrifying."
"What are you worried about? We're not pretty, otherwise, we wouldn't be maids."
"You make a good point, but why do I feel so sad?"
...
After the two maids left, Bai Ye floated back to the ground.
"Different shops have girls going missing? That means the demon isn't necessarily confined to one establishment? Hmm, that's not necessarily true; if it's strong enough, it can come and go freely."
Bai Ye tilted his head and noticed a crucial piece of information.
"Beautiful girls!"
It seemed this demon preferred the beautiful ones. If that was the case, who was the most beautiful in the pleasure quarters?
Bai Ye thought this was useful information and decided to share it with Kamado Tanjiro, asking them to inquire about who the most beautiful courtesan in the pleasure quarters was right now.
Those courtesans would undoubtedly be in great danger. Therefore, conversely...
By targeting those courtesans, they might be able to lure out the demon.
Bai Ye continued floating forward as he pondered.
Soon, Bai Ye found the location of the warehouse.
The warehouse was filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items. Due to a lack of cleaning, a layer of dust had accumulated.
Unfortunately, Bai Ye searched the warehouse inside and out but found nothing.
"Where could it be hiding?" Bai Ye murmured, "Indeed, must I wait until nightfall?"
As Bai Ye mused, he passed through the wall and left the house.
But just as Bai Ye left...
Inside the dim warehouse, near the ceiling, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared.
"Have the Demon Slayers finally arrived? It seems I can no longer stay here. I must hurry and inform the master to leave!"
The eyes gradually lost their light, attempting to re-enter the darkness.
But at that moment...
A strange laughter suddenly rang out.
The eyes turned back and were instantly startled.
A pair of blood-red eyes, and a mouth too large to describe, revealing bone-white teeth.
What kind of demon was this?
At the same time...
"As expected, to find a demon, one must rely on another demon!" Bai Ye's voice echoed. "Gengar, Shadow Ball!"
Bai Ye had indeed left the house, but his departure was merely a ruse.
As he left, Bai Ye had secretly dropped his Beast Ball in a corner and released Gengar.
At this moment, Gengar had raised its small fists, condensed a Shadow Ball, and hurled it forward.
BOOM!
The Shadow Ball struck the ceiling, creating a loud noise and blasting a hole through it.
Bai Ye showed a hint of surprise. It missed at such close range?
This guy was fast!
At the same time, Bai Ye also knew where this guy was hiding.
The space behind the ceiling of a traditional Japanese house was hollow!
As the dust settled, a dark figure suddenly darted towards the warehouse door.
BOOM!
The door was instantly smashed to pieces, sending up a cloud of dust.
Two maids carrying trays happened to be passing by and shrieked in terror, their legs giving out, causing them to fall to the ground.
The dark figure quickly zipped past them and shot out of the corridor at high speed.
"Don't run!"
Bai Ye quickly chased out of the warehouse, only to see the dark figure turn the corner of the corridor.
...