Chapter 20: Mind's Eye
"I am the light of righteousness and the nemesis of evil. I wander the world, cleansing it of its filth. My name is Aomori, a hero passing by." Aomori said solemnly.
"Wow, so cool!" To Aomori's surprise, both Tanjiro and Giyu Tomioka, upon hearing such words, had their eyes sparkling with admiration and genuine praise.
"To endure loneliness, to endure the pain of leaving one's hometown, for decades on end, what nobility!" Tanjiro wiped his eyes, moved by his own imagination.
"To embark on the journey alone, to face the onslaught of demons alone, is that why you're so powerful? No wonder you could defeat Muzan." Giyu Tomioka clenched his fists tightly, his eyes shining brightly, as if he had found the right path to becoming stronger.
"Well, something like that," Aomori coughed lightly, steering the conversation back on track. "As I mentioned earlier, because Muzan escaped, he might send his subordinates, the demons, here. So, this place is not safe. Tanjiro, you and your family better leave with me to find a safe place."
"Agreed." Giyu Tomioka also nodded in agreement. "Just in case, it's better to be cautious for safety."
"Yeah!" Tanjiro nodded vigorously. "I'll go tell Mom and them right now."
Watching Tanjiro turn back towards the house, Aomori said, "The safest place would be the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps. I want you to take us there, as I need to talk to your lord about hunting down Muzan."
"Hunting down Muzan?" Giyu Tomioka took a deep breath and said, "The headquarters is the most important place for the Demon Slayer Corps. Even though I'm a pillar, I don't have the authority to bring outsiders there. I need to report to the lord first."
"It's okay, go ahead and report. If he's as I remember, he probably already knows something," Aomori said.
"?" Giyu Tomioka was puzzled for a moment, then he recalled himself, quickly wrote down the situation here, and sent his crow back to headquarters.
After some thought, Giyu Tomioka added, "I'll go to the town and hire a carriage. The headquarters is quite far from here."
Aomori nodded slightly, watching Giyu Tomioka leave, then sat cross-legged on the ground.
Concentrating his mind, emptying his brain, Aomori, with his eyes closed, "saw" a gray-white world.
Except for the single color, everything else in this world perfectly matched the real world.
Aomori's perspective passed by Absol and Pidgeot, through the wooden house, saw Tanjiro talking to his family, extended outward, and saw Giyu Tomioka shuttling through the forest.
Skipping past him quickly, Aomori's perspective continued to extend into the distance until it couldn't move anymore.
This was Aomori's newly acquired skill, "Mind's Eye," which could detect distant scenes instead of using physical eyes.
This skill was crucial to recapturing Muzan, who was hiding.
Afterward, Aomori also tried the upward and downward directions until his mind could no longer hold up.
"The detection range on the ground is about a hemisphere with a radius of 200 meters, while underground, due to the obstruction of the soil, the detection range is only a quarter of that on the ground. The duration of persistence is about 10 minutes."
With that said, one or two days would be enough for Aomori to fully explore a small town and finding Muzan would just be a matter of time.
The next step was how to control Muzan and prevent him from escaping.
Aomori looked up at the sun, closed his eyes slightly, and fell into contemplation.
...
Tanjiro's mother was reasonable. Facing Tanjiro's explanation, she agreed without hesitation.
"Tanjiro is a good boy, I trust you. Everything you do is for our good, right?"
Tanjiro's eyes moistened as he nodded vigorously.
Half a day later, Tanjiro's family had packed up, and Giyu Tomioka happened to return with a large carriage he hired from the town.
They loaded the heavy items onto the carriage. Nezuko led Mom and the younger siblings into the carriage, while Tanjiro rode Absol as usual. Giyu Tomioka sat in front of the carriage, alongside the driver.
Seeing everyone settled, Giyu Tomioka said to the coachman, "Let's go."
"Alright, everyone hold on tight! Drive!" The coachman shouted, cracking his whip on the horse's back. The two old horses neighed and took their first steps.
In the air, Pidgeot spread its wings and flew high.
Tanjiro looked back at the wooden house, the place that held all his memories, and the emotions of reluctance poured out from his heart as he left.
"When Muzan is dead, you can come back here. Soon," Aomori came over to comfort him.
"Yeah, I understand," Tanjiro suppressed his reluctance and returned to being the passionate youth he was, raising his right hand high and shouting, "Let's go, Absol, catch up with Mom and them!"
"Absol!" Absol's hooves galloped, racing forward.
"Hahaha." Tanjiro spread out his hands, enjoying the breeze.
"Ah, Tanjiro is so cunning. I also want to ride the doggy."
"I want to, too."
"Wait, I have to ask Absol."
Laughter and joy along the way, like a family on vacation. Giyu Tomioka, who was jogging behind for exercise, inadvertently showed a hint of a smile.
...
Night fell, and Aomori's group did not reach the next town, so they had to camp out in the wild.
The weather was cold, but Giyu Tomioka and Tanjiro picked up some dry firewood, lit a fire, and with the clothes and blankets they brought, they weren't afraid of the cold.
Aomori caught a few hibernating snakes with his Mind's Eye, adding to their meal.
After eating and drinking their fill, Giyu Tomioka asked Aomori to teach him swordsmanship.
"I know I'm very weak, completely unworthy of the title of pillar. I'm useless in the fight against Muzan. So, I want to become stronger, even if it means a slight increase in my chances of winning."
As a pillar, Giyu Tomioka actually felt quite inferior, but the desire for revenge outweighed everything else. He wanted to exert more effort to atone for his past weakness.
Aomori nodded, "Alright."
With an outsider present, the two couldn't practice freely, so they made an excuse to fetch water and went to a slightly farther place.
Tanjiro watched as Aomori and Giyu Tomioka left. Originally curious and wanting to follow, but seeing Nezuko and the others beside him, he decided to stay.
"Aomori and Mr. Giyu Tomioka aren't here, so I have to watch over everyone."
Ever since he learned about evil creatures like demons, Tanjiro has always worried about his family being harmed. He even had nightmares during his afternoon rest.
In the dream, he didn't meet Aomori and chose to stay in town overnight. The next day, when he returned home, he found his mom and Nezuko lying in a pool of blood.
Upon waking from the nightmare, Tanjiro felt incredibly grateful to have met Aomori. He became even more thankful to him and more concerned about his family's safety.
"Dad, I will definitely protect Mom and them well," Tanjiro vowed firmly once again.
"Ab..sol." Absol nudged Tanjiro gently with its head.
Tanjiro smiled and patted Absol, "Yes, with you, Absol, I don't worry anymore."
"Pid..geot!" Perched on top of the carriage, Pidgeot flapped its wings and let out a proud chirp.
"Yes, Pidgeot is great too."
With Absol and Pidgeot around, Tanjiro felt much more relaxed. He looked in the direction Aomori and Giyu Tomioka had left, considering whether he should learn swordsmanship.
*************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone