Back at the Butterfly Mansion, the days seemed to stretch on.
Tanjirou's training never slacked; a sweat-soaked uniform was his daily norm.
But whenever there was a break in his training, or when the afternoon sun was just right, he would carefully wipe away his sweat, walk to Ruri's hospital room, and gently knock on the door.
"Miss Ruri, the weather is lovely today, would you like to go for a walk?"
The wheelchair rolled along the wooden corridor of the Butterfly Mansion, making a soft sound.
Tanjirou pushed it steadily, trying to avoid even the slightest bumps.
Himura Ruri was wrapped in a thin blanket, her pale face slightly upturned, feeling the warm touch of the sun on her eyelids.
She was still very weak, but compared to the despair she felt upon first waking, there was now a faint light in her eyes.
"Big Brother Tanjirou, I'm troubling you again."
Her voice was soft, filled with gratitude and a hint of almost imperceptible guilt.
"It's no trouble at all!" Tanjirou immediately replied, his voice always so full of energy.
"Sunlight is good for your health, and I enjoy coming out for walks too."
This had almost become a daily routine.
Around the corner of the corridor, they would often "accidentally" encounter the spirited Kyojuro Rengoku.
The bandages on him had not yet been removed, and his movements still showed some stiffness, but his booming voice and fervent spirit were undiminished.
"Mhm, good afternoon, young lady Ruri! Tanjirou!"
He was like a moving flame, always able to instantly ignite the atmosphere in the corridor.
"Today's sunlight is truly wonderful, perfect for burning one's heart fire!"
"Mr. Rengoku!" Tanjirou quickly greeted him.
Himura Ruri also nodded slightly, saying softly, "Mr. Rengoku, good day."
"Good day!"
Rengoku waved his large hand.
"Perfect! I just thought of a technique for using the Breathing Technique, though it's rudimentary, it should be somewhat useful for you to solidify your foundation, Tanjirou!"
And so, such a scene often appeared in the corridor.
Tanjirou slowly pushed Ruri, while Kyojuro Rengoku, full of vigor, explained the rhythm of breathing and the coordination of exertion techniques beside him.
He would occasionally can't help but gesticulate, wincing when he pulled at his wounds, but then immediately returning to his spirited state the next second.
Tanjirou carefully steadied the wheelchair, preventing it from being accidentally hit by Mr. Rengoku, while smiling wryly, "Mr. Rengoku, please be gentler with your movements, your wounds will open..."
"Hahaha! No matter, these minor injuries are long forgotten!"
Rengoku didn't care at all, instead looking at Tanjirou.
"Speaking of which, Tanjirou, your sword swing today, your method of exerting force could be more direct! Your breathing must be consistent throughout, just like this—"
He would casually demonstrate a few moves, stopping before revealing the core techniques of the Flame Breathing, but his deep understanding of the Breathing Technique always brought inspiration to Tanjirou.
Sometimes, he would also talk about past battles of the Demon Slayer Corps, recounting the deeds of those brave members who sacrificed themselves.
His voice was still booming, but the content carried a heavy weight.
Ruri listened quietly, her eyes sometimes sad, sometimes admiring.
Tanjirou listened with exceptional seriousness; he could feel the will and sacrifice of his predecessors in these stories.
"Everyone... fought until their last moment to protect others?"
Ruri asked softly, her fingers unconsciously stroking the thin blanket covering her legs.
"That's right!"
Kyojuro Rengoku answered unequivocally, his eyes burning.
"It is precisely because they have someone they wish to protect that humans can unleash strength beyond their own limits; this is the most incredible thing!"
Sunlight spilled over the three of them, fine dust floating in the air, and a peculiar warmth slowly grew.
On Himura Ruri's pale face, smiles gradually increased.
Especially when she saw Mr. Rengoku caring for Tanjirou in his overly enthusiastic way, and Tanjirou flustered yet unable to refuse, her smile would become particularly noticeable.
"Mr. Rengoku, I really can't eat any more..."
Tanjirou looked at the extra-large rice ball that Rengoku had pulled out from who knows where, his face troubled.
"How can you not eat your fill when you're growing? You need to eat your fill to have the strength to slay demons, mhm! Eat quickly!"
"But, but I just finished training, I really can't eat this much..."
The young girl couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, then quickly pressed her lips together, her eyes sparkling with a fine glow.
Meanwhile, Cheng Mo and Kochou Shinobu were almost entirely immersed in the isolated laboratory with reinforced seals.
In Cheng Mo's eyes, a faint golden glow continuously swirled, the Eye of Truth operating at full capacity, not missing any minute clash or ebb and flow between the demon blood energy and Himura Senichi's core will.
"Look here..." Cheng Mo suddenly spoke.
"At the moment his will struggles most intensely, the invasive activity of the demon blood shows an extremely brief peak, then it's rapidly suppressed by another force."
"The frequency is high, but the amplitude is weak..."
Kochou Shinobu frowned slightly, her purple eyes fixed on the direction Cheng Mo indicated.
Although she couldn't directly "see" energy flow like Cheng Mo, relying on her understanding of demons and her medical intuition, she could sense that subtle fluctuation.
"The source of this suppressive force... seems to resonate with that unique factor in his daughter's blood sample."
Cheng Mo continued.
He picked up a notebook beside him, densely filled with data and diagrams.
That was his analysis, combining modern medical theories with observational results.
"I have a hypothesis." Cheng Mo looked at Kochou Shinobu.
"The Himura family might have inherited a special gene... um, you can understand it as a specific marker hidden in their bloodline."
"This marker enables their bodies to produce a special... substance, a protein. This protein can interfere with Muzan's will control and even partially neutralize the toxins in demon blood."
Kochou Shinobu listened carefully; although words like "protein" and "genetic marker" were incredibly novel to her, her excellent medical intelligence allowed her to quickly grasp the core idea.
"Are you saying that Miss Ruri's bloodline naturally carries a... nascent 'antidote'?"
"That's one way to understand it, but the quantity is extremely small, and it might require specific activation conditions." Cheng Mo nodded.
"If we can manage to purify this 'anti-demon blood factor' from Ruri's blood and inject it in trace amounts..."
Kochou Shinobu's eyes lit up, her usual smile replaced by a focused research enthusiasm: "Oh my... that's a truly bold and astonishing idea, extremely risky, but worth a try."
They immediately got to work.
After obtaining Ruri's consent and drawing a small amount of blood again, the two immersed themselves in tireless research.
The best equipment at the Butterfly Mansion was brought into use; Cheng Mo was responsible for precisely guiding the purification direction with the Eye of Truth and strictly controlling the dosage.
Kochou Shinobu, on the other hand, applied her superb pharmaceutical preparation skills and deep understanding of demon blood to the practical operation.
The process was extremely complex, with multiple failures.
But when that tiny, almost imperceptible drop of purified, clear liquid was carefully injected into Himura Senichi's arm vein by Kochou Shinobu using an extremely fine needle, everyone present, including Tanjirou and Ruri, who were allowed to watch anxiously from the side, held their breath.
Initially, there seemed to be no reaction.
Himura Senichi continued to growl and struggle.
However, a few minutes later, Cheng Mo whispered, "Look, the peak value has decreased."
Kochou Shinobu also observed carefully: "The intensity of the rampage seems to be weakening..."
The next day, after another micro-injection, Himura Senichi's periods of rampage were noticeably shorter.
On the third day, even more encouragingly, during a brief moment of lucidity, his bloodshot, clouded eyes looked towards Ruri outside the window, and his cracked lips moved, uttering two blurred syllables with extreme difficulty:
"Ru...ri..."
"I'm... sorry..."
His voice was hoarse and distorted, yet it struck everyone outside the window like a thunderclap.
Ruri's tears instantly welled up; she desperately covered her mouth, not allowing herself to cry out loud.
But her trembling shoulders betrayed her immense emotional turmoil.
Tanjirou stood beside her wheelchair, his eyes red-rimmed, clutching the wheelchair handles tightly.
His heart was filled with an indescribable excitement and hope.
Even Kochou Shinobu, who always wore a smile, had her smile vanish at that moment, her purple eyes sparkling with excitement and disbelief.
She looked at Cheng Mo, who remained calm beside her but whose eyes flickered with a faint glow, and whispered, "Teacher Cheng Mo... it seems we've really found a direction."
Cheng Mo nodded, his gaze once again directed towards the observation window.
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