Chapter 17: Old Yinbi VS Old Yinbi
"I know you've sensed something off about me, just as I've sensed you're not normal. It's easier for the same kind to recognize each other, like wolves among sheep. When we first met, I was puzzled about one thing: how you climbed to the position of Fifth Division Captain. That's no easy feat. Over a hundred years of disguise as a vice-captain and captain—you really have that kind of patience."
Su Xiao still wore a smile as he looked at Aizen. Hearing Su Xiao's words, Aizen's eyes flickered with killing intent.
"Bai Ye, your smile is too gentle. Everyone has desires. Showing those desires appropriately would make your disguise more convincing."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Su Xiao adjusted his expression slightly.
"Close, but your bloodlust is always a problem. I'm not sure how you suppressed it before the attack, but now, your blood aura is noticeably thicker than before."
Aizen didn't make a move. Instead, he chatted with Su Xiao with a smile. Or rather, Aizen couldn't and wouldn't strike now. If he did, a century of preparation would go up in smoke.
Su Xiao's situation was similar. If he fought Aizen, leaving aside life and death, even if he managed to escape, everything he had done so far would be for nothing, and he could no longer stay undercover in the Soul Society.
Neither side said it outright, but both knew clearly that if they tore off the masks now, the result would be mutual destruction.
"My goal..."
Aizen didn't continue, because he didn't think highly of Su Xiao's strength. The reason he was negotiating with Su Xiao was purely because Su Xiao was a 'kindred spirit.'
An Apollo slid out from Su Xiao's sleeve. He tossed the Apollo in his hand. Though it wasn't activated, Aizen sensed the terrifying energy it contained. If he were caught in its blast, there was a real chance he'd be burned to death.
"What my goal is... sometimes even I'm not sure. I just refuse to bow to certain 'filthy' things, so I take action."
Aizen's words were vague. As for his claim of 'sometimes even I'm not sure,' that was pure obfuscation.
"In other words, you want to overthrow the current ruling power of the Soul Society?"
Su Xiao cut straight to the point. Aizen's expression didn't change, but Su Xiao sensed a hint of displeasure.
"If that's how you see it, I won't argue."
"Being so vague is too hypocritical. Let's be clear: I won't expose you, and in return, don't trip me up. Considering our mutual distrust, that would lead to suspicion and eventually a vicious cycle. How about we cooperate?"
As Su Xiao spoke, a squad of Soul Reapers passed by not far away. Aizen smiled and nodded at them. The lower-ranked Soul Reapers immediately stopped, seemingly flattered, and returned the greeting to Aizen, the Fifth Division Captain, out of respect.
"Cooperate? It seems we have no mutual interests. On the contrary, if you make a move against someone in the Soul Society in the near future, it will disrupt my plans."
Aizen tilted his chin, signaling they should walk and talk. The two headed toward the First Division barracks. To outsiders, this made sense: the Fifth Division Captain was escorting an attacked researcher back to his station.
Su Xiao hadn't originally planned to confront Aizen now. It would increase the risk. But due to the attack by Death's Omen, he had met Aizen again. Aizen, perhaps worried this incident would affect his plans, had hypnotized Su Xiao, leading to that awkward scene earlier.
After that scene, Su Xiao could have turned and walked away. Aizen wouldn't have stopped him. But within a few hours, Aizen would have found a way to eliminate Su Xiao. That was inevitable.
Instead of clashing with Aizen, Su Xiao chose a more advantageous path: negotiate with him now. If they could cooperate, fine. If not, he'd find a way to kill Aizen and obtain a chest contaminated by a plot character—Aizen's chest.
Without the Hogyoku and with Kyoka Suigetsu broken, Aizen was no match for Yamamoto Genryusai. Add in the captains of the Gotei 13, the vice-captains, and the various division members, and today would be Aizen's death day.
That was why Su Xiao laid his cards on the table. The best way to deal with an old Yinbi was to be straightforward: cooperate or fight to the death.
Aizen saw this clearly, so he maintained his good-guy image and escorted Su Xiao back to the First Division barracks.
Soon, Su Xiao and Aizen left the Sixth Division barracks.
"If you want to kill me, now is the best chance. Once we reach the First Division barracks, you might face utter ruin."
Su Xiao walked ahead of Aizen, seemingly with his back turned and defenseless, but in reality, he was ready to activate Demon Hunting Hour at any moment.
"Bai Ye, you misunderstand my character."
"Oh?"
Su Xiao turned his head to look at Aizen, who still wore that good-guy expression.
"Since you're not going to kill me, let's continue talking."
Su Xiao took a bottle of Soul Spirit Medicine from his storage space and tossed it to Aizen.
"This is the foundation of my stay in the Soul Society. Without it, those captains would have driven me out or imprisoned me long ago."
As he spoke, Su Xiao lit a cigarette.
"A decent potion. Unfortunately, it can't affect my spiritual pressure."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Su Xiao tossed out a fist-sized energy sphere, glowing with a milky white light.
Catching the sphere, Aizen felt an urge to swallow it whole. His eyes lit up as he examined it closely.
"This is solid reishi, which I've converted into a biological form. You can even swallow it directly. In principle..."
Su Xiao hesitated, not continuing. He recalled the dumbfounded expressions of Unohana Retsu and Toshiro Hitsugaya.
Aizen put the sphere away, already judging it to be a good thing—at least a rare treasure for Soul Reapers.
"This is precious."
Su Xiao added a timely remark.
"Naturally."
Aizen nodded, but the next moment, he felt an impulse to kill Su Xiao right then.
"Precious only for other Soul Reapers. If you need it, I can make it casually."
The Devouring Core activated, and a large amount of reishi gathered in Su Xiao's hand. After rough conversion, compression, and purification, a reishi sphere formed.
"Trash."
Su Xiao crushed the sphere in his hand with a crack. That sphere was several times purer than the one Aizen had put away.
Aizen's eye twitched almost imperceptibly. He silently pulled out the sphere from his pocket and crushed it too.
"If the purity of the sphere you had was 1, the one I just crushed was 3. The maximum purity I can achieve... is about 500."
"..."
Aizen showed no change in expression this time—after all, he was a seasoned old Yinbi.
"By the way, the Soul Spirit Medicine isn't a good thing. After drinking 15 bottles at most, its effect on boosting spiritual pressure reaches its limit. And because of the shoddy workmanship, the side effects are considerable. Of course, no one will notice in the short term, not even Yamamoto Genryusai.
In my understanding, a Soul Reaper's structure isn't complicated. Spiritual pressure is like a container inside them, and reishi is the water in that container. The Soul Spirit Medicine uses the water inside to forcibly expand the container. If there's no upper limit, the end result is... boom~"
Su Xiao opened his hand and made an explosion gesture.