Tanjiro Kamado said, "We agreed to wait here, but I didn't see him."
Byakuya said, "Then we'll leave him be. We'll meet here again tomorrow night."
Tanjiro Kamado nodded. "Alright."
Byakuya said, "Then I'm leaving!"
Byakuya's figure flickered and then reappeared on the street, before he began to stroll forward.
Byakuya had no intention of going straight back to sleep. Instead, he planned to patrol the streets.
Demons operated at night, and the deeper into the night, the more likely one was to encounter them.
Moreover, the first half of the night in the pleasure district was too lively. With everyone watching, it was inconvenient for demons to act. Unless, after completing their deed, the target no longer wished to stay in the Yoshiwara, they could only be secretly abducted.
Therefore, late at night was the best time for demons to act.
The night was deep and quiet, with no one in sight.
If not now, then when?
However, as Byakuya walked forward, he encountered nothing unusual until...
A sharp female voice suddenly rang out from a side alley.
Byakuya froze. Had he found them already? It couldn't be that easy, could it?
As Byakuya thought this, he quickened his pace towards the alley and saw a woman entangled with a man.
During their argument, the man's face showed impatience, and he pushed the woman to the ground.
The woman bit her lip and said, "We had an agreement."
"You slut, I've changed my mind. What are you going to do about it?" The man spat on the ground disdainfully. "Stop bothering me, or I'll kill you."
The man walked towards the alley entrance as he spoke.
"What are you looking at?" The man brushed past Byakuya, bumping his shoulder. "Never seen someone get lucky for free? Or are you waiting for the next one?"
After speaking, the man snorted and walked forward.
Byakuya looked at the man's retreating back, then at the woman.
Judging by their attire, neither of them were natives. They were likely chosen ones.
Seeing the woman sobbing with her head down, Byakuya could roughly guess what had happened.
There were many ways to survive on the world battlefield, but for the weak, there weren't many options.
Don't assume that even the worst-case scenario offers a place to hide like the neutral zones.
For some, they didn't even have the ability to reach the neutral zones.
Therefore, the most common method was to sell their lives, risking their own to fight. With good luck, they could gain the capital to survive; with bad luck, they would die.
Alternatively, they could sell their dignity. As long as they were shameless and humbled themselves, living like dogs, they could survive by eating scraps while others feasted.
And for women, using their bodies was also a viable method.
After all, it was all they had.
Byakuya shook his head and prepared to turn away.
Byakuya had seen enough of such things in his previous life.
She was just a woman trying to survive.
But at that moment, the woman seemed to have calmed herself, wiped away her tears, and slowly raised her head.
Byakuya suddenly stopped, his expression showing a hint of surprise.
The woman was beautiful, exceptionally beautiful.
In fact, Byakuya felt she was no less beautiful than the courtesans he had seen before. And because she had been crying, she had an air of vulnerability that was very captivating.
But this was not the reason for Byakuya's surprise.
If beauty had value on the world battlefield, then in his previous life, all the chosen ones qualified to participate in the central region wars should have been women.
What surprised Byakuya was that the woman's appearance seemed somewhat familiar.
"Hua Zhixiao?"
Byakuya truly hadn't expected to see the future leader of one of the three major forces, the Flower District, in this place.
"Yoshiwara, Flower District..."
Byakuya suddenly understood something.
Many people believed that the Flower District was named after its leader, Hua Zhixiao.
Hua Zhixiao had named the Flower District after her surname.
Now it seemed...
This woman...
Had she risen to prominence in this manner?
At the same time, Hua Zhixiao looked up and happened to make eye contact with Byakuya. She quickly wiped away her tear streaks and tried her best to force a smile.
"Handsome, I live nearby." Hua Zhixiao stood up, deliberately pulling her clothes down a bit. "If you're willing to help me, you can come to my place tonight. How about it?"
Byakuya tilted his head, staring intently at Hua Zhixiao.
His gaze made Hua Zhixiao feel a little scared, and she couldn't help but take half a step back.
Byakuya suddenly spoke, "How do you want me to help you?"
Hua Zhixiao swallowed and said, "I won't ask for too much, just..."
Byakuya suddenly raised his hand and made a shushing gesture to Hua Zhixiao.
"Wait for me."
The moment Byakuya finished speaking...
*Zzzt!*
Current surged through Byakuya's body, and he suddenly vanished into thin air.
The man from before had moved far away from the alley, humming a tune, looking quite pleased with himself.
After all, that woman was quite yielding.
But at that very moment...
A hand suddenly landed on the man's shoulder.
The man paused, turned around, and saw Byakuya.
"You again?" The man glanced at Byakuya and said, "What do you want... Ah..."
Before the man could finish speaking, Byakuya suddenly reached out, grabbed the man's wrist, and twisted it forcefully, bending the man's arm completely backward.
The crisp sound of bones cracking indicated that the man's wrist bone had completely fractured.
The man clenched his left hand, intending to counterattack, but Byakuya's speed was clearly much faster than his.
*Crack!*
Byakuya kicked the man's knee, directly shattering it.
With the sound of his knee shattering, the man screamed and fell to the ground.
Byakuya, however, showed no signs of stopping. He raised his foot and stepped on the man's other ankle, causing the man to scream again as his ankle was brutally crushed by Byakuya.
Byakuya squatted down, grabbed the man's last arm, and said, "Don't scream. It's not good to disturb people this late at night."
After speaking, Byakuya pulled the man up by his arm and slowly walked forward, dragging the man across the ground.
On the other side, Hua Zhixiao stood at the entrance of the alley, looking around in confusion. Byakuya's figure was no longer visible.
Hua Zhixiao shook her head. It seemed he had left.
It was better for him to leave directly than to take advantage and then leave.
But at that moment...
From one end of the street, a piteous whimpering sound arose.
Hua Zhixiao looked up, surprised to see Byakuya appear, dragging the man from before behind him.
A trail of bright red blood marked the ground.
Byakuya arrived in front of Hua Zhixiao and used his Steel Slime to condense the Thunder Fang Fury Beast, dropping it before her.
Byakuya's expression was indifferent as he looked at Hua Zhixiao and said, "Pick it up and kill him."