The next day, Tendo changed his outfit. Carrying a fish basket on his back, he blended seamlessly into the village within half a day thanks to his convincing act. His cover was simple—a fishmonger from town.
No one in the Fish Scale Village suspected him. After all, the villagers made their living by fishing.
He spent his time wandering the village, ostensibly searching for high-quality stock, but in reality, he was looking for Giyu's sword and gathering information.
His efforts paid off when he spotted a brat running around with a sword sheath. Following the child, he arrived at a house.
It was a wooden dwelling at the village center, noticeably larger than the others—likely the home of the village chief.
An old man was sunbathing in the yard. Tendo approached with a friendly smile.
"Old man, I'm a fish merchant from—"
Before he could finish, the old man glanced at him and spat out a single word:
"Scram!"
Undeterred, Tendo silently pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket. If nothing else, the Demon Slayer Corps never lacked funds.
He deliberately waved the money in the air and sighed dramatically. "Ah, what a shame. All this money, and nowhere to spend it!"
"And I heard the fish from this village are excellent too!"
The old man took another look and nearly toppled from his chair in excitement.
In the blink of an eye, the gate swung open, and the old man greeted him with an ingratiating smile.
"Esteemed guest, please come in! The fish from our village—well, I'm not exaggerating when I say—"
The power of money never failed to amaze.
The old man poured Tendo some fine tea, flattering him all the while, his wrinkles creasing with delight.
"Young man, with such an impressive bearing, you must come from a distinguished family, no?"
Tendo nodded. If the old man wanted to imagine things, let him. He shoved the money toward him and waved grandly.
"Chief, take it. Consider it a token of friendship!"
"Future business will be easy to discuss!" The chief's eyes gleamed as he pocketed the cash, grinning from ear to ear.
Seizing the moment, Tendo pressed on. "Ah, my father has a hobby of collecting swords and such. Earlier, I saw a child running around with a sheath..."
He pulled out another stack of bills. He didn't even need to finish—the chief understood immediately. After all, the sword had been taken from that brat who smashed the shrine. Who knew it could fetch a price?
Soon, the chief scurried back, cradling the sword. He handed it to Tendo. "Is this the one you meant, young man?"
"Exactly!" Tendo slid the money over and took Giyu's sword.
"By the way, I'd like to ask about someone—Blue Spider Lily."
"I owe her a debt for a meal. I'd like to repay the kindness."
At this, the chief's furrowed brow relaxed, and he began recounting everything he knew about Blue Spider Lily."Originally, the Anxia family was quite happy, but sadly, her parents mysteriously disappeared five years ago. The child was still young, and everyone pitied her, so they took care of her in their own ways. You could say she grew up on the kindness of the whole village."
As he spoke, the village chief let out a long sigh. Tendo could tell the pity in his voice wasn't feigned. Hearing this, it seemed the villagers had indeed treated her well.
Then why was there the matter of a sacrificial offering?
That girl was still hiding something.
Tendo didn't dwell on it further. After all, the girl wasn't a bad person. He spent some time chatting with the village chief, spinning tales until the old man was utterly bewildered.
By evening, he "left" Fishscale Village, changed back into his squad uniform, and waited for the "fishing" plan to begin.
At midnight, Blue Spider Lily set off for the abandoned temple. She had sneaked a glance during the day—Giyu was still locked inside.
Only then did it dawn on her: those thick iron chains couldn't be opened without a key. How were they supposed to break him free?
She shouldn't have run off in such a hurry yesterday.
Watching Blue Spider Lily enter the temple, Tendo went to inform the village chief—though, of course, he didn't show himself.
This way, the villagers would catch Blue Spider Lily in the act of freeing the prisoner, forcing them to offer the sacrifice ahead of schedule to avoid complications.
Inside the temple, Blue Spider Lily unlocked the chains. Just as she was about to untie the ropes, the temple door swung open.
A dozen young men holding torches followed the village chief inside—all the strongest laborers in the village.
"Lily, what are you doing? This is absurd!" the chief bellowed, waving for the men behind him to pull her away.
Cornered, she shielded Giyu behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
"No! He must be set free today!"
No one noticed the short knife in her hand until it was too late. Before anyone could react, she had pressed the blade to her own throat and threatened:
"Let him go! Take me as the sacrifice instead!"
"The sacrifice was always supposed to be me!"
In truth, Blue Spider Lily knew everything. The village chief had used his influence to rally the villagers into kidnapping an outsider—all for her sake.
"An outsider's death means nothing, but if you die, how could I ever face your parents?"
"Listen to me—put the knife down!" Fearing she might harm herself, the chief's tone softened instantly.
Five years ago, a monster had appeared in Fishscale Village. It effortlessly overpowered many villagers before demanding that, in five years' time, they offer a child as sacrifice.
Everyone in Fishscale Village knew the monster was beyond human strength to oppose. They had no choice but to comply and send a sacrifice.
The monster had asked for a child, but the chief knew full well no parent would willingly send their own to die. That left only those without parents.
And in all of Fishscale Village, Blue Spider Lily was the only orphan.
So, just as the chief was buckling under the pressure, Giyu appeared—an outsider who could resolve the conflict.
The villagers quickly agreed. After all, it was just a stranger being sent away.
Now that things had come to this, the situation was both difficult and simple—just kill the damn monster.
But who would believe the sacrifice they were about to offer was actually a professional monster slayer?
"I'll go. Right now."
"My apologies."
Giyu's two short sentences extinguished the tension in the air like a doused flame.
Everyone present stared at him in disbelief. To them, his words amounted to, "Let me go die instead."
Especially since he'd even politely added, "My apologies."At that moment, Giyu remembered he had forgotten to tell Blue Spider Lily about the plan, but it didn't matter now.
"That's suicide, you idiot!" Blue Spider Lily glared at Giyu, scolding angrily.
"I won't die!" Giyu retorted, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"Fine, I'll go with you!" Blue Spider Lily set down her sword and bowed deeply to the village chief. "Grandpa Chief, I'm sorry, but let me go."
"If I live, it proves he's telling the truth. If I die, then this was always my fate."
"Nonsense!"
"He's about your age—how could he possibly defeat that monster?"
No sooner had the chief finished speaking than a pale blue figure flashed past him, followed by a scream from behind.
The chief turned mechanically to see a dozen young men who had come with him collapse to the ground. Giyu remained expressionless, his deep blue eyes like an unfathomable ocean.
In a calm voice, he asked:
"Old man, do you believe me now?"
This situation was also within Tendo's expectations. He had only told Giyu one way to break the deadlock—
Make others recognize your strength.
And it worked.