After a day of walking, the four finally arrived at a slightly larger town.
By then, it was already late, and heavy snow had blocked the roads.
The usual carriage businesses had long since closed, and the inns were overflowing with people.
"Wait for me here," Cheng Mo said to the other three.
He pulled out a heavy-looking money pouch from his 懷裡 and walked directly towards a sturdy-looking covered carriage parked in the back courtyard of an inn.
The coachman, who had been dozing, wrapped in a padded jacket, was woken by Cheng Mo and impatiently waved his hand, saying the snow was too heavy to drive.
Cheng Mo didn't waste words; he simply opened his money pouch and poured out several small gold coins of excellent quality and a perfectly cut sapphire that refracted an alluring glow under the snowy night's lamplight.
The coachman's eyes instantly widened, his sleepiness completely gone, and the impatience on his face turned into disbelief and a fawning smile.
He practically snatched the gem and gold coins, bowing and scraping as he immediately went to hitch the horses and prepare the carriage, moving as nimbly as if he had become twenty years younger.
Tanjirou and Nezuko watched, dumbfounded; they had never seen so much money, nor had they ever seen anyone spend money like that.
"Sir... this..." Tanjirou looked at the suddenly acquired carriage, a little at a loss.
"It's just transportation; it'll save a lot of time."
Cheng Mo's tone was calm, as if he had only bought a cabbage.
"Get in."
The carriage was quickly prepared; its interior was spacious enough for four people and some luggage.
Tanjirou carefully helped Nezuko into the carriage.
Giyu Tomioka looked at the carriage, then at Cheng Mo, and silently sat on the other side of the coachman's seat, implicitly agreeing to drive.
Cheng Mo didn't get in immediately; his gaze was drawn to a shop on the street corner with a sign that read "Herbal Pharmacy."
"Wait for me again."
The town's herbal pharmacy was about to close, but Cheng Mo once again paved the way with money.
He not only got in smoothly but also almost cleared out the store's inventory of some aged and rare wild ginseng, lingzhi, and fleeceflower root—precious medicinal herbs extremely rare in modern society.
Then he bought a lot of common tonic herbs, spending a considerable sum, which made the pharmacy owner grin from ear to ear.
Back by the carriage, Tanjirou and Nezuko looked at the large bag of herbs, puzzled.
Giyu Tomioka also cast a questioning glance.
Cheng Mo, however, offered no explanation, merely taking out a small stove and a medicine pot he had just bought from the shop.
Right by the carriage, using the light from the lantern, he skillfully washed the herbs, put them into the medicine pot in specific proportions, added water, lit the small stove, and began to slowly simmer them.
The water in the medicine pot gradually boiled, emitting a strange, complex medicinal aroma mixed with bitterness and a delicate fragrance.
Cheng Mo focused on the heat, stirring occasionally with chopsticks.
"Lord Cheng Mo, is this..." Tanjirou couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
"Medicinal cuisine," Cheng Mo replied without raising his head, "You and your sister were startled and caught a cold, making you weak. This can strengthen your foundation, dispel cold, and calm your mind."
He paused, then added, "I also need to replenish some vitality."
He was, of course, referring to the exhaustion from fighting Muzan earlier and the journey, especially his almost depleted Chakra.
Giyu Tomioka silently watched Cheng Mo's skilled movements, his eyes flickering.
He increasingly felt that this man, who claimed to be a merchant, was unfathomable.
Astonishing strength, vast wealth, and even proficient in pharmacology?
Was he truly a disciple Mr. Kuwajima could teach in just one year?
After the medicine was brewed, Cheng Mo poured the decoction into several bamboo tubes, drank one himself, and then handed the other two to Tanjirou and Nezuko.
"The temperature is just right; drink it."
Tanjirou gratefully accepted it and, along with his sister, drank it sip by sip.
The medicinal liquid was bitter upon tasting but had a sweet aftertaste, and a warm current quickly spread from their stomachs, dispelling the cold and some of their fatigue, and even their sorrow seemed to be temporarily suppressed a little.
The four finally got into the carriage. The wheels crunched over the accumulated snow, making a creaking sound as it slowly drove away from the small town, heading in the direction of the Ubuyashiki Estate.
As night deepened, an oil lamp was lit inside the carriage, casting a dim light.
Inside the carriage, Tanjirou carefully covered Nezuko, who had finally fallen into a deep sleep due to exhaustion and the medicine's effects, with his own coat.
On the coachman's seat, Giyu Tomioka silently drove the carriage, and Cheng Mo sat beside him, seemingly resting with his eyes closed.
As night deepened, the snow lessened, and only the regular sounds of hooves and wheels could be heard.
Giyu Tomioka suddenly tilted his head slightly, his peripheral vision glancing at Cheng Mo beside him.
He sensed an extremely subtle, abnormal fluctuation in the air around Cheng Mo, a very faint but sharp aura that flashed by.
It was like the occasional electric sparks in the dark night, causing his fingers, gripping the reins, to unconsciously tighten for an instant.
Was he cultivating?
What kind of Breathing Technique was this?
To have such a peculiar outward manifestation of aura... that violent, pure yet contained power of thunder was completely different from any Breathing Technique he knew!
It was clearer than the residual aura he had sensed earlier at the Kamado Family home, and even more... eerie.
This was definitely not just Thunder Breathing!
His gaze fell on Cheng Mo's calm face, his heart churning.
How many secrets was this man still hiding?
Cheng Mo seemed completely unaware, still immersed in his cultivation.
After a while, he suddenly spoke, his voice steady, breaking the silence in the carriage: "Mr. Tomioka, how many 'Pillars' are there currently in the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Giyu Tomioka didn't expect Cheng Mo to ask this suddenly. He was silent for a moment, seemingly assessing what could be revealed.
Out of obedience to his master's command and a certain recognition of Cheng Mo's strength (and wealth), he finally replied stiffly, "Nine."
"Nine, huh..." Cheng Mo feigned a moment of contemplation, then continued to ask, "How have the recent encounters with the Twelve Kizuki been? Do you have any specific intelligence on them?"
His voice remained even: "The Upper Rank Demons have rarely appeared in recent years; their whereabouts are unpredictable, and their strength... is unfathomable. The Lower Moons change relatively frequently; the most recently confirmed Lower Moon has already been killed."
Tanjirou listened quietly to their conversation, his arms around his sister tightening slightly.
Demon Slayer Corps... Pillars... Upper Rank... Lower Moon... these unfamiliar terms carried a bloody aura, making him more clearly realize what he was about to face.
"Do you... always fight demons like this?" Tanjirou couldn't help but ask softly, his voice still hoarse.
Giyu Tomioka glanced at the young boy and nodded, "It is our duty."
Cheng Mo took over, as if making casual conversation or explaining things to Tanjirou: "The Demon Slayer Corps has been like this for centuries."
"Without official recognition, and even unknown to ordinary people, relying on the leadership of the Ubuyashiki Clan and private donations, they constantly battle Kibutsuji Muzan and his Twelve Kizuki in the dark night, protecting a peace that ordinary people cannot see. Every swordsman deserves admiration."
His words were plain, yet they outlined a heavy and tragic picture.
Tanjirou listened, stunned.
He looked at Giyu Tomioka's stern profile, then at his sleeping sister beside him, and thought of his tragically dead family.
An unprecedented sense of weight and purpose pressed upon his heart.
Giyu Tomioka didn't seem surprised that Cheng Mo knew so much about the Demon Slayer Corps' structure and history; after all, the other party was an "ally" recognized by the Master.
The previous conversation was less of an inquiry and more like it was deliberately spoken for the young boy to hear.
He glanced at Cheng Mo again and returned to his silence.
Outside the carriage, the wind and snow seemed to have lessened a little, but the road ahead was still long and dark.