Chapter 27: Luring the Enemy
Su Xiao kicked aside the massive corpse in front of him, sending it flying with a casual motion. He turned and walked toward the stone wall.
[You have killed Sidanfang.]
[Sidanfang is a guard of the White Path Gate. You have obtained 0.8% World Source. Total World Source obtained: 0.8%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has been activated, permanently increasing Mana Points by 9. Current maximum Mana Points: 6085.]
[You have obtained a Treasure Chest (Dark Purple).]
...
The White Path Gate guard sounded impressive, but in reality, it was nothing special. Su Xiao had killed it with a single blade aura. Of course, this was also related to his sword technique being elevated to the Grandmaster level.
Su Xiao arrived before the stone wall made of Spirit-Paralyzing Stone. For a Shinigami, this material, which could isolate Reishi, was nearly indestructible.
Clang, clang, clang...
A few flashes of blade light passed, and Su Xiao slowly sheathed the Dragon-Slaying Flash in his hand.
Boom!
Massive chunks of rubble crashed down. What was indestructible to a Shinigami was merely hard stone under Su Xiao's blade technique. He did not fight using Spiritual Pressure.
Stepping onto the rubble, Su Xiao walked toward the direction of the Rukon District. Passing through the residential area of the Rukon District, he continued deeper and soon arrived within a forest.
The night wind blew, rustling the leaves.
"Come out."
Su Xiao leaned against a towering tree. A disheveled man stepped out from the darkness—it was Shadow.
"Need me to kill someone?"
Shadow held a flask of wine in his hand, and his tattered clothes were stained with traces of blood.
"If a fight breaks out here, stop anyone from entering this forest. Or rather, until you die, no one is allowed in."
"Understood."
Shadow vanished into the darkness. Compared to having Shadow fight for him, Su Xiao needed him more as an extra layer of insurance.
...
In the Seireitei, Seventh Division Barracks, inside an old building.
Under dim lamplight, a burly figure sat cross-legged on a wooden platform, his eyes tightly shut. Beside him lay a suit of armor.
Crunch, crunch, crunch...
The sound of gnawing came from the courtyard. The burly figure opened his eyes.
"Goshin, stop chewing."
As soon as the burly figure spoke, a large dog walked out from the adjacent room.
"Not Goshin?"
The burly figure stood up and took a few steps forward. Under the dim light, it was faintly visible that his head was not human but resembled some kind of canine.
This burly figure was named Komamura Sajin, captain of the Seventh Division of the Gotei 13. He was a Shinigami born from a non-human soul.
Overall, Komamura Sajin was a 'half-beastman' with a human body and a dog's head. Although his head resembled a certain breed of canine, he was actually a wolf.
Komamura Sajin quickly strode to the sliding door. With a swoosh, the door slid open, revealing the courtyard bathed in silvery moonlight.
"This is..."
Komamura Sajin stared at a creature in the courtyard that looked like a rat, his brow furrowing. This rat was far too large, and it had an injury on its abdomen, with a bent black metal rod stuck in it.
Following the rod with his eyes, Komamura Sajin's pupils gradually contracted. He recognized what this was—it was clearly half a pair of glasses, the lenses already shattered.
Komamura Sajin reacted this way because these were the same model of glasses Aizen wore. As a fellow captain, Komamura Sajin naturally remembered the appearance of Aizen's glasses.
Komamura Sajin was deeply puzzled. He had seen Aizen's corpse, and the glasses on Aizen's body were intact.
The large rat also noticed Komamura Sajin. It turned and fled, moving incredibly fast. Taking advantage of the night's cover and its size advantage, the rat dashed out of the courtyard in a few flashes.
After a moment of hesitation, Komamura Sajin took a few large strides to the wooden platform, grabbed the armor and Zanpakuto on it, and turned to chase out of the courtyard.
"Someone come!"
Komamura Sajin let out a roar. He certainly wouldn't pursue alone. However, not a single Shinigami arrived. It wasn't that they were neglecting their duties, but a matter of timing. Five minutes earlier, a squad of Shinigami had just passed by Komamura Sajin's residence.
Komamura Sajin watched the large rat quickly run away. If he didn't chase it, the rat would soon disappear from his sight.
Just then, a black-and-white figure pounced out from the darkness, pinning the large rat down with one claw.
Seeing this, Komamura Sajin felt a bit relieved. The reason he hadn't pursued was his fear that this was an enemy trap.
Komamura Sajin examined the figure that had emerged from the darkness. It was a large dog with black-and-white fur.
"Come here quickly."
Komamura Sajin clapped his hands, trying to make his aura seem gentle. However, the large dog wasn't fooled. Instead, it backed away a few steps, seemingly afraid of Komamura Sajin.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. We're the same kind. Look."
Komamura Sajin pointed at his own head, but the large dog retreated a few more steps and vanished into the darkness.
"Don't go."
Just as Komamura Sajin was about to chase, he was surprised to find that the large dog had disappeared. After a few seconds, the dog ran out from a distant alley and quickly dashed away.
If it were just a large rat, Komamura Sajin would have weighed the risks carefully before pursuing. The reason he wanted to chase was simple: that half pair of glasses might be related to Aizen's death. Such crucial intelligence was not something Komamura Sajin would let slip.
The appearance of that black-and-white dog relaxed Komamura Sajin's vigilance a bit, because he recognized this dog. It was a stray adopted by the researchers of the Fourth Division.
Just as Komamura Sajin was hesitating, a squad of patrolling Shinigami passed nearby. Komamura Sajin quickly put on his bamboo mask.
"You there."
Komamura Sajin let out a roar, startling the squad of Shinigami. After all, he was their captain.
"Captain?"
"Follow me."
Komamura Sajin charged forward.
"Huh?"
"Chase that dog!"
"Oh, oh, got it."
A total of twelve Shinigami followed behind Komamura Sajin, running quickly.
"Oww~"
The large dog ahead let out a 'scream,' clearly startled by Komamura Sajin.
After chasing for only five minutes, Komamura Sajin stopped. The surroundings were too quiet. He had already reached the edge of the Seventh Division barracks but hadn't encountered any other Shinigami.
Just as Komamura Sajin was about to gather his men for a large-scale search, a strong smell of blood wafted over.
Under the moonlight, a massive corpse lay on the ground. Komamura Sajin immediately approached.
"Sidanfang!"
Komamura Sajin quickly examined the corpse, already sensing something was wrong.
With a whoosh, a black figure darted out from the night.
"Wail, Yellow Springs."
A series of red blood threads appeared. The dozen or so Shinigami behind Komamura Sajin froze in place as the blood threads pierced through their bodies.
"Wail, Yellow... Springs?"
Komamura Sajin stood frozen. He recognized this Zanpakuto.
"Zongwei should be dead already. How could there be an identical Zanpakuto..."
"Captain, save me!"
A desperate female voice cried out. Among the dozen Shinigami, only one female Shinigami survived, but she was captured alive by the black figure. The figure had already rushed out of the Seireitei area, heading straight for the Rukon District.
"Wait, Zongwei, is that you? What are you doing!"
Komamura Sajin's shout had barely faded when the black figure ahead stopped. It turned its head to glance at Komamura Sajin.
"It really is... you, Zongwei!"
Komamura Sajin's voice was filled with disbelief.
"Maybe it's me. If you don't want her to die, follow me. Someone wants to see you."
The person Komamura Sajin called Zongwei was actually Shadow.