After a brief moment of surprise, Shinobu Kocho stood up and bowed toward Xia Feng.
"Mr. Xia Feng, thank you for helping the Butterfly Estate once again… I truly don't know how to repay you."
Xia Feng looked at her.
"How about you marry me?"
Shinobu: "???"
She blinked, staring blankly at him.
Beside her, Kanao Tsuyuri also blinked, her expression turning slightly strange.
Xia Feng quickly coughed.
"Just kidding. Don't mind it."
Then he waved a hand.
"I'm someone with no home. Now I've got a place to stay and food to eat here, so I'm already satisfied. There's no need to talk about repayment."
"Besides, if you hadn't saved me earlier, I might have bled out in that wasteland."
Xia Feng's words filled Shinobu with admiration.
Someone who helped others selflessly without expecting anything in return—
Aside from the members of the Demon Slayer Corps, she had not seen anyone like that in a long time.
She spoke seriously.
"Mr. Xia Feng, if you don't mind, I hope you'll join the Butterfly Estate as one of us."
Xia Feng paused mid-bite, chopsticks in hand.
"Wait… are you asking me to join the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Shinobu shook her head, then nodded.
"Although the Butterfly Estate belongs to the Corps' logistics department, most of the people here are not official Demon Slayers."
"If Mr. Xia Feng joins the Butterfly Estate, then even without officially joining the Corps, you will still have a legitimate identity within the organization and enjoy the benefits that come with it."
"Of course, if you do want to join the Demon Slayer Corps, I would be extremely happy and will fully support you!"
After hearing her explanation, Xia Feng nodded in understanding.
He roughly understood her intention.
As the person in charge of the Butterfly Estate, Shinobu wanted him to join as part of the estate's core staff.
That way, he would automatically hold a respectable position within the Demon Slayer Corps.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Feng nodded.
"Alright. Living here without contributing anything isn't really my style."
"If I join the Butterfly Estate, I can also help in the treatment room."
Seeing him agree, Shinobu looked delighted.
Beside her, Kanao's eyes also showed a hint of happiness.
If Xia Feng joined the Butterfly Estate, they would be able to see each other every day.
Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho cheered excitedly.
"Mr. Xia Feng is staying!"
Seeing the girls so happy, Xia Feng couldn't help smiling as well.
Shinobu sat back down beside him.
She looked at him curiously.
"Mr. Xia Feng, did you train your swordsmanship yourself?"
Xia Feng smiled slightly.
"I don't remember much about the past."
"But I think I learned this sword style from someone when I was young… I just cannot remember the details."
He deliberately kept his past vague, so it wouldn't cause problems later.
Hearing this, Shinobu looked at him with sympathy.
Losing one's memories must be a painful experience.
She wanted to comfort him, but after thinking about it—
Trying to comfort someone as strong and kind as Xia Feng might be unnecessary.
So she instead looked at him seriously.
"Mr. Xia Feng, if you're willing… I can teach you my Insect Breathing."
Xia Feng was slightly surprised.
Insect Breathing…
Though the name sounded a bit unusual, it was actually a very powerful breathing sword style.
When it came to speed, Insect Breathing held a huge advantage.
Aside from Thunder Breathing, few breathing styles could claim to surpass it in speed.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Feng asked:
"I remember that swordsmen usually need to formally become someone's disciple to learn breathing techniques, right?"
Shinobu smiled.
"Normally, yes."
"But first, you helped me. Second, you're now part of the Butterfly Estate."
"So I can teach you through a mutual exchange of swordsmanship."
Xia Feng suddenly understood.
Inviting him to join the Butterfly Estate wasn't just about giving him an official identity.
Her real intention had likely been to teach him Insect Breathing.
Thinking of this, Xia Feng felt a little touched.
Shinobu was truly sincere.
Although he had helped the Butterfly Estate solve a major problem, Shinobu could have repaid him in many different ways.
But teaching someone a sword style—
For a swordsman, that was one of the highest forms of repayment.
Of course, Shinobu was also likely influenced by Xia Feng's Healing Technique.
But that was perfectly natural.
Everyone pursued benefits and avoided harm. Xia Feng didn't find anything wrong with that.
After thinking for a moment, he asked,
"One more question. If I learn Insect Breathing, can I still learn other breathing styles later?"
"Will it cause problems like damaging my meridians or something?"
Shinobu blinked.
"That won't happen."
"In history, there have been swordsmen who mastered two—or even three—breathing styles."
"But most of them only borrowed one or two techniques from other styles to supplement their main style."
"A person's time and energy are limited. Mastering even one breathing style is already difficult."
If you try learning too many, you might end up mediocre at all of them.
She explained carefully.
Xia Feng nodded.
"Alright then."
"I'll learn Insect Breathing. Please teach me."
The reason Xia Feng wanted to learn it was simple:
The Final Selection was approaching.
Kanao would be participating.
And he planned to go as well.
In the original story, Kanao passed the Final Selection flawlessly—she didn't even get a speck of dust on her.
But with the butterfly effect caused by his presence, Xia Feng could not guarantee that things would unfold the same way.
So he decided to master a breathing technique and join the Final Selection alongside Kanao.
Shinobu smiled gently.
"Mr. Xia Feng… you can just call me Shinobu."
Xia Feng smiled back.
"Then you can call me Xia Feng."