Chapter Thirty-Eight: Resolving the Upper Moon Six

Just as Chu Fan had imagined, whenever a guest wished to request the company of the courtesan, word would inevitably reach her ears—details such as the guest’s appearance, temperament, and attire. After three grand banquets, if the courtesan herself felt inclined, she would decide whether to meet the guest in person.

When Daki heard that the person asking for her was a man dressed in a splendid white robe, her eyes narrowed sharply. “Have I been exposed? Or has he come merely for amusement?” Daki twirled her fingers, her heart anxious. She remembered this man in the white robe all too well. Whether it was the occasional reports of dozens of demons falling by his hand, or the death of Upper Moon Two, Douma, just last night—which had enraged Lord Muzan and prompted him to summon them all—it was clear they needed to pay special attention to this man, and to flee if things went awry. Douma’s death had come so swiftly that even Lord Muzan only knew he had died at the hands of the man in white; there was little information about this adversary’s abilities. Like the others before him, Douma had died too quickly to send any message.

As Daki pondered these things, her heart began to pound uncontrollably, her breathing coming in quick, ragged bursts. In that very moment, a blade flashed past her head before she could react. Her head flew off, only to be caught by a waiting hand. Even decapitated, Daki did not die; she gazed at the handsome man in the ornate white robe.

Without hesitation, Chu Fan grabbed Daki’s head and body, and with a sudden crash, burst through the ceiling, racing toward a more secluded place. Daki felt the fierce rush of wind, the scenery whipping past at a speed far surpassing her own.

“You hid yourself well, didn’t you? In this pleasure district teeming with courtesans, finding you was no easy feat.” In barely a dozen seconds, Chu Fan had reached a mountaintop. He glanced indifferently at the dazed expression still frozen on Daki’s face. It was true—had Chu Fan not already known Daki’s location, searching for her amidst the countless women in the district, especially with her hiding her aura and changing her appearance, would have been near impossible.

“Brother! Brother! Save me!” Realizing her head was severed, Daki’s terror of the man before her overwhelmed her, tears streaming as she cried out.

At her wailing, a figure began to emerge from Daki’s decapitated body—a man with hair streaked black and green, skin a pale gray, bare-chested, wearing loose blue trousers, his arms entwined with red and black sashes. Lacking sufficient information, even a Hashira might have been startled by this scene. But Chu Fan was prepared. He knew that to kill both Daki and her brother Gyutaro, he would have to decapitate them simultaneously.

Chu Fan gave Gyutaro no chance to act. He flung Daki’s head far away, denying her any opportunity to rejoin her body. At the same time, Chu Fan’s right hand, now free, drew the cursed cleaver and struck toward Gyutaro. Though Gyutaro had barely emerged, he tried to defend himself, raising his blood-red sickle. But neither weapon nor strength could match Chu Fan’s. With a single blow, fueled by overwhelming force, Gyutaro’s sickle shattered. The cleaver continued unimpeded, neatly slicing off Gyutaro’s head as well.

The moment the head was severed, Chu Fan dropped Daki’s body and immediately fled, intent on making his escape. Seeing Chu Fan decisively open the distance, Gyutaro was stunned. This man in white seemed to know their weaknesses and trump cards from the very start. Even Gyutaro’s last, desperate plan to self-destruct and take his enemy with him had been completely seen through.

“Who are you? How do you know us so well?” Gyutaro watched as the man in white vanished from sight, his howl echoing across the sky. Then Gyutaro’s body began to swell, unleashing a storm of blood-red sickles. For three hundred meters around, trees were instantly felled, as if the entire area was to be wiped from existence.

But Chu Fan had already made his escape, well beyond the danger zone. From a thousand meters away, he looked back at the area enveloped by the blood-red sickles.

[Ding! You have defeated the twin demons Daki and Gyutaro. Reward: 5,000 Chosen Coins, one blue treasure chest.]
[Current Chosen Coin balance: 22,650.]

Only when the voice from the Chosen Paradise sounded did Chu Fan return to himself, quietly departing. At the Kyogoku House, chaos erupted as a gaping hole in the roof sent everything into disarray. Chu Fan knew the five silver marks he’d left would be more than enough for the madam to repair the damage. As for Daki’s death and the loss of Kyogoku House’s golden goose, he cared little.

After all, if he hadn’t killed Daki now, it would only have been a matter of time before the proprietress discovered her true identity and was murdered for it. Chu Fan felt no obligation to return and compensate anyone; instead, he slipped away swiftly under cover of night.

“The Upper Six are dead. Send word to the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui—have him come to the pleasure district and rescue those hidden underground.” As for other matters, Chu Fan had already made the necessary arrangements: Daki had bound up many young and beautiful women as her emergency food supply, devouring one whenever hunger struck. Given that a person can survive seven days without water, there was still time to save them.

Chu Fan’s crow circled overhead. Upon hearing his command, it flew off to find others and relay the message. Chu Fan himself boarded a train, conserving his strength for the journey to the city.

In less than a week, two Upper Moons had fallen. Chu Fan could foresee two possible reactions from Muzan Kibutsuji. One: Muzan, feeling his authority challenged, might fly into a rage and unleash all of the Twelve Kizuki to hunt him down. Chu Fan actually preferred this outcome; it would save him the trouble of searching blindly for Muzan.

The second, and more likely, response was that Muzan, wary of the unknown, would choose caution and keep his demons in check for a time. Even if Muzan chose this route, Chu Fan was untroubled. It would give him more time to hone his swordsmanship, master flame control, and allow the Hashira and the Children of the World to grow stronger.

Either way, victory would be his.

As for the six Fated Ones whom Chu Fan had yet to encounter, he knew they could no longer threaten him. After all, killing the twelve demons formed from their incarnations had only been rated as level six difficulty by the Chosen Paradise. From the start, it was clear they were not the true challenge. They might already have perished, given Muzan’s domineering nature—one wrong word or action, and he would kill them without hesitation.