Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

Chapter 129: Back to the Starting Point

The days in Infinite City always seemed to pass longer than those outside. The passage of time seemed to be slowed down and prolonged. There was no day here, no sun, and naturally no night, no moon.

How should time be defined when it loses its clear boundaries?

Lin Guang had practiced before, and although it was not his intention, he did master the approximate nodes of a week and a month. However, in a place like this, a special place where there is no day and night, and it is impossible to capture the passing of time from the people around him.

It was difficult for him to remember how much time had passed, and in his intermittent and chaotic thinking, the dates that he had originally remembered were slowly forgotten.

The life of a ghost has no end. This was the first time that Lin Guang realized this so clearly, even more clearly than when he saw the son of an old friend grow up to look like his old friend.

-

"Rinko....Pick up your sword..."

Kokushibo is a very patient teacher, but also a very stubborn one.

Lin Guang has always been a sensible child, so he obediently raised his knife and faced the insurmountable mountain, but still took a firm step forward.

Lin Guang learned useless skills from repeated injuries. He learned to give up part of himself to preserve more parts. If it is unavoidable, then try to minimize the damage.

It wasn't one of the things Kokushibo wanted him to learn, but when he did, his teacher was willing to offer silent approval.

"Too slow... Stay focused... Regulate your breathing..."

"That's too much to ask for." Lin Guang complained in his heart, but he didn't really reveal these thoughts to others. It was very rude and would only invite more fierce attacks.

His breathing became faster and shorter in a hurry, and was squeezed out again as he inhaled with force. This kind of training was not easy at all. Rinko even thought for a while that it would be better to practice boxing with Akaza, at least with that he would have the chance to go out and see the stars.

"You...are distracted..."

The sound and sword energy came together, and the body suspended in the air was the most conspicuous fixed target. All Lin Guang could do was to hold the knife in front of him, quickly twisting his waist and hips to minimize the contact between his body and the moon blade.

'Knives are fragile and will break if not handled properly.'

This is what Urokodaki told him, but it was obvious that like Kokushibo's teachings, Rinkou didn't really remember these words at all.

The broken blades pierced deep into the flesh, some went through the body and flew far away, while others got stuck in the body. Such incidents temporarily stopped the training.

"I told you... that's not how you use a knife... and I also told you... you can use my knife."

Kokushibo's long sword was made of his bones and flesh, and was harder than ordinary swords. Even his own moon blade was obviously tougher than the Nichirin sword in Rinko's hand, which she had picked up from someone unknown. However, Rinko did not accept the gift.

"I think this is very good. I will try not to let it break next time."

Lin Guang raised the broken knife and looked at the broken surface. There was no obvious loss or happiness on his face, just calm.

The fragments remaining in the body were roughly pulled out by the owner of the body. It was not an easy task. The broken blade was stained with blood and became slippery and sticky in the flesh and blood. He had to pull the wound wider before he could take out all the fragments inside.

There was a clanging sound of blades falling to the ground. Rinkou put those blades and the broken sword into the pot, pulled out another one, held the hilt with both hands, and raised it towards Kokushibo again.

"I'll be more careful this time, because I don't have many left that I'm willing to use."

This sentence sounded more credible than the previous assurances, and Kokushibo also raised his blade.

A second before the battle began, a steady sound of footsteps broke the tranquility before the storm.

The first one to put down the knife was Kokushibo, followed by Rinko. The boy turned his head and saw the man he expected but also unexpected.

"Master Wuhan."

"You're making rapid progress, Rinkou."

This was a compliment. A clear compliment, and Rinkou should have been happy about it, but everything he had been through recently made it difficult for him to be happy. He simply threw the knife to the ground and took a step towards Muzan.

Like a wronged child running towards his father.

The offensive behavior will not be punished. The man just gently hugs him, with his palms on his head, from the top of the head to the back, and the touch is both comforting and encouraging.

"You're doing great, you just need to try a little harder, just a little bit."

Rinko knew what Muzan was talking about.

Muzan has always pursued one thing, the pursuit of immortality, and he has already achieved this. Now what he pursues is to overcome the sun.

In fact, Rinko is not afraid of the sun because he is not afraid of death. It’s just that the desire to survive in Muzan’s blood does not give him the opportunity to try, and Muzan will not accept him making a boring gamble with his life.

What's more, there is a more reliable solution for this problem, which is to find the blue red spider lily.

Therefore, all this seemed to have nothing to do with him. Muzan once gave him a small suggestion, to contact the people of the Demon Slayer Corps and find a way to obtain information about Ubuyashiki, but this was not easy. Even though Rinkou had inadvertently done far more than other demons who had made the same attempt, he still failed to obtain the key information.

"But I've been exposed. They all know I'm a ghost."

"I know, I know, but it doesn't matter... Rinko, it's okay. You have your own unique abilities. Akaza told me that the guy named Kamado tried to keep you, right? He trusts you, and you have to learn to use this trust to get information from him, or kill him. Remember, Rinko."

Lin Guang didn't quite understand these things, about exploitation, about deception, about killing.

But since Muzan said so, he seemed to have no choice but to do it. Maybe he couldn't deceive Tanjiro or get any useful information from the other party, but he had to try first. At least this meant that they could talk again when they met Tanjiro next time.

Even though Rinkou didn't really want to sit down and talk with Tanjiro.

----

Muzan not only interrupted this round of training, he ended this training.

Everything was like a circle, a similar thing repeating itself after a long, long time. Rinkou remembered this part, many, many years ago, so many years ago that he couldn't remember, when he still needed to rely on sleep to get through the night, and when he was still so fragile that he would be grabbed by Kokushibo's bare hands, lifted up and swung in the air like a rabbit.

That training was also like this, suddenly interrupted because of Muzan's arrival.

Interestingly, Rinko is also going to move this time.

-

The long-lost moonlight made Lin Guang feel confused as if he was in another world. He stood in the moonlight, looking up at the starry sky. His brain, which was always thinking, was paused at this moment, and the world was silent.

Until the bright moon in front of me changed from one to two.

"Why are you thinner every time I see you?"