“Hey, Black Wolf Fang, let’s go see Little Guai,” a voice chirped.

  Black Wolf Fang, still just a small child of about seven or eight, turned his head. Standing before him was Nanako—the girl who had grown up with him. Though they were the same age, Nanako towered over him by a head. Black Wolf Fang’s body had developed slowly, and other kids their age teased him for being the “short little winter gourd,” excluding him and refusing to play with him. Only Nanako always liked to play with him; she was his only friend.

  Black Wolf Fang casually replied, “Sure, just wait until I finish my bath and we’ll go.”

  “Bath?!” Nanako giggled.

  “Ah, Nanako, quickly turn your head—I’m still bathing!” Black Wolf Fang blushed fiercely and hurriedly squatted down, only his half-hidden head peeking out with bubbles around it.

  Nanako laughed cheerfully. “I say, Black Wolf Fang, how can a boy be shyer than me?”

  He stuck his head out and tried to act nonchalant. “Who said I’m shy? I just… I just…”

  “By the way, if someone finds out you watch me bathing, Nanako, you won’t get married—I'm just looking out for you.”

  Nanako squinted her eyes mischievously, a playful, impish smile lighting up her little face. “Oh really? Then if I can’t get married, Black Wolf Fang, you can come and marry me!”

  Black Wolf Fang stuttered, looking at Nanako’s bright, sunlit smile. Deep inside, he wanted to say yes, but his boyish pride made him hesitate, “Let’s… let’s talk about it later.”

  Nanako didn’t press the matter. Instead, she tossed him his clothes. “Here, let’s go see Little Guai.”

  After Black Wolf Fang quickly dressed, Nanako took his hand, and together they headed toward the Blue Ridge Mountain behind the town—a place where Lin Chi now stayed. Black Wolf Fang glanced up at the clear, sunny sky, where birds chirped merrily. He even reached out and tried to catch a stray beam of sunlight. “Today’s sunlight is so wonderful, so warm on the skin—I love it,” he murmured.

  The two children, their small bodies nimbly moving through the familiar terrain of Blue Ridge Mountain, soon slipped into a thicket of shrubs. Hidden within was a little nest, where a tiny wolf cub—Little Guai—lay sleeping, its eyes still closed.

  “Look, doesn’t Little Guai seem a bit bigger than yesterday?” Nanako asked.

  Black Wolf Fang shook his head. “Not at all—I think it looks the same.”

  Nanako pouted and banged his head lightly. “Idiot, I said it’s grown! Now, don’t argue—I’m not taking no for an answer.”

  Covering his head, Black Wolf Fang complained, “That hurts! And it’s still so small… Come on, let’s be reasonable.”

  Nanako playfully clenched a tiny fist and spun around. “Don’t try to reason with a girl, Black Wolf Fang.”

  Defeated, Black Wolf Fang relented, “Okay, okay…”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Nanako leaned closer, eyes wide with wonder. “Hey, look—don’t you think Little Guai’s eyes look a lot like yours?”

  Black Wolf Fang frowned. “It hasn’t even opened its eyes yet—so how can it look like mine? I protest!”

  “Like it or not, they do. No arguing!”

  “Alright then, Little Guai does look like me.”

  “That’s more like it—I like you even more now, Black Wolf Fang.”

  …

  Half a month later, Nanako’s parents prepared to move far away to a relative’s home. Nanako, tears streaming, said to a dumbfounded Black Wolf Fang, “Black Wolf Fang, I’m leaving. Promise me you’ll remember me and take good care of Little Guai.”

  “Just wait for me—when I grow up, I’ll come back to find you and marry you. You must wait for me, Black Wolf Fang,” he vowed.

  With those words, Nanako climbed into the carriage with her parents. Black Wolf Fang stood frozen, watching the carriage recede into the distance. His feigned strength crumbled, and soon real tears began to pour down his face. He chased after the carriage, shouting, “Nanako, I’ll wait for you! When I’m grown, I’ll come back and marry you—I promise, I truly will!” Only when you lose something do you understand how precious it is.

  His voice gradually faded into the wind, and whether Nanako heard it or not, the carriage disappeared from view. Choking back his sorrow, Black Wolf Fang sank to the ground and wept bitterly. “Nanako, I’ll take care of Little Guai until you return. Promise me you’ll come back soon and be my bride…”

  The next day, Black Wolf Fang, now alone, took some fresh milk with him to feed Little Guai. As the sky dimmed and dusk fell—he’d been out late—an oppressive loneliness gripped him without Nanako by his side.

  “Thank goodness, at least I have Little Guai to keep me company. Until Nanako returns, I’ll care for Little Guai well,” he murmured.

  But as he brushed aside some shrubs, he suddenly noticed a pair of glistening, green wolf eyes fixed upon him. A large wolf, as big as a calf, was there. Little Guai was clinging to the wolf’s belly as it nursed.

  “Could that be Little Guai’s mother?” Black Wolf Fang guessed. Yet the wolf, having finally found its long-lost cub, wouldn’t risk exposing it to danger. The wolf bared its fangs and then lashed out with its claws, swiping at Black Wolf Fang’s face. Sharp, terrifying marks appeared on each side of his face, exposing pale bone beneath. Blood spurted as Black Wolf Fang was grievously injured and collapsed, his eyes growing dim.

  “Nanako…” he whispered weakly.

  The big wolf slowly advanced toward him, its jaws opening as if to bite his neck. “What a pitiful child,” it seemed to think.

  Then, under the brilliant moonlight, a man in a white top hat suddenly appeared in Black Wolf Fang’s view. In a flash, the figure of Muzan Kibutsuji materialized—crushing the big wolf’s neck in his hand and flinging it away. He knelt beside Black Wolf Fang and, with gentle compassion, said, “Little one, do you want to live?”

  Black Wolf Fang’s eyes lit up once more. “Yes…I must wait for someone. I can’t die…”

  Muzan Kibutsuji lowered the brim of his hat. “As you wish—but there’s a small price,” he murmured, letting a few drops of blood fall into Black Wolf Fang’s mouth. From that day on, Black Wolf Fang became a demon.

  As a demon, Black Wolf Fang lost his human consciousness—forgetting Nanako, Little Guai, and all his loved ones. Yet, even as a demon, he couldn’t shake the compulsion to remain in that place, to wait indefinitely. He wasn’t sure why, but deep in his subconscious, he knew he must never leave—to wait forever. And so, that inexplicable waiting continued for sixty-seven years, until today, when Kawagishi, as a witness, recalled everything upon seeing Black Wolf Fang’s head severed by his blade.

  Kawagishi silently observed as a beam of white light condensed into the visage of Black Wolf Fang as a seven- or eight-year-old child. The small version of Black Wolf Fang walked over, sat beside Kawagishi with his hands clutching his knees, and said, “Thank you for helping me remember everything. That sunlight that day was so beautiful—I miss it so much.”

  “We’re all the playthings of fate. The difference is, you’re still alive, and as long as you live, there’s hope.”

  “Carry my strength and my blessings with you, and go seek that master.”

  “That master’s true name is Muzan Kibutsuji—the progenitor of all demons. You must never speak his name, or you’ll incur a deadly curse. Remember that.”

  “The small price he demanded is an unbearable pain for me…”

  “If you ever have the chance, please ask him on my behalf: is being a demon truly a happy existence?”