Old Stories of Bamboo Creek Plain

Hu entered the library. The interior was spacious, and the whole room was impeccably tidy. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows onto rows of bookshelves. Outside, an occasional breeze rustled the bamboo leaves, perfectly complementing the quiet atmosphere inside.

Rows of seats stood beside the bookshelves. Quite a few Fon Clan attendants had chosen to sit there, quietly reading in the warm sunlight from the windows. Hu searched the area but saw no sign of the attendant named Shimizu from earlier, so he took the stairs beside the shelves to the second floor.

There were plenty of bookshelves here too, but beyond them was a different scene. Past the screens separating the shelves was a more relaxed, comfortable space, with sofas and small tables arranged freely about. Behind the furniture was a small café serving desserts and drinks. A few small bookshelves stood in front of it, stocked with periodicals such as the Bamboo Creek Plain Regional Journal, the Seireitei Bulletin, and the Soul Realm Gazette.

Hu ordered a drink at the café, picked up a periodical at random, and flipped through it.

There were occasional photographs in the periodical. Looking at the Soul Reapers in them, Hu recognized figures he had known well before transmigrating. One photo showed a little pink-haired girl stepping on a bald man's head as she prepared to jump, and Hu knew almost instantly who the two were.

Hu burst out laughing when he saw the photo.

The 11th Division really has a good time when it doesn't have any combat assignments...

Come to think of it, the Fon Clan's benefits really are pretty good. They don't oppress them just because they're ordinary souls, and they've even set aside such a large space for them to relax. Hu took a sip of his drink, put down the periodical, and looked around the space, marveling at it. He recalled his previous circumstances: the break room at his part-time job, cramped like a solitary confinement cell, and the break room at the company where he'd later worked, where he couldn't do anything but eat... Hu decided not to dwell on it. Looking around again, he found the attendant named Shimizu sitting in a chair on the balcony, reading a magazine with some snacks on the table.

Hu walked over.

"Yo! Shimizu, right?"

Shimizu looked up and saw Hu. He immediately made to stand, but Hu promptly pressed him back into his chair.

"Hey, no need to get up. You're on break, right?" Hu sat down beside him. "I came to apologize. Sorry, I underestimated the Fon Clan earlier. In this library, I really saw how much the Fon Clan values you."

Shimizu relaxed a little at that. "I should be the one apologizing. I'm truly sorry for suddenly contradicting Lord Ye Xing."

The two exchanged smiles and put the matter behind them.

"By the way, Shimizu, something you said earlier caught my attention. You made it sound like Bamboo Creek Plain wasn't very peaceful before the Fon Clan was stationed here."

Shimizu nodded, his expression turning serious as he recalled the past.

"That's right. Before the Fon Clan was stationed here, Bamboo Creek Plain was a place where all sorts of people mingled. There was no unified order here back then. Bamboo Creek Plain had more springs than anywhere else in West Rukongai, streams everywhere you looked, and its abundance was plain to see. Some souls got bad ideas and set up settlements around several springs, blocking them off. They used the water to attract quite a few villains from the higher-numbered districts, then relied on them to bully the other souls living in Bamboo Creek Plain. Ordinary souls might not need to eat, but there are actually quite a few souls who need water to survive. In the end, everyone had no choice but to work for those people in exchange for water. Those greedy fellows relied on the villains to amass a great fortune, and through their control of the springs, they also made connections with some lower-ranking nobles in Seireitei. They got a few Soul Reapers they kept on their payroll to serve as guards. Everyone suffered terribly, and those Soul Reapers covered up what was happening in Bamboo Creek Plain."

Shimizu frowned deeply, veins standing out slightly on his forehead.

"After I died forty years ago, a Soul Reaper from the World of the Living sent me to Bamboo Creek Plain. Those fellows caught me and made me a slave, forcing me to carry water for them constantly. They also forced me to hurt other people. After that, I grew numb and fell into depravity..."

Hu noticed a flash of gloom in Shimizu's eyes and patted him on the shoulder. "Brother, it's all in the past. You can work for the Fon Clan now. Everything's gotten better, hasn't it?"

"Yes, everything has gotten better, ever since the Fon Clan came to be stationed here ten years ago..." Shimizu's expression began to ease. "At first, everyone thought the nobles those fellows had made connections with were coming, and that life would get even worse. But the ones who actually came to Bamboo Creek Plain were the Fon Clan and Princess Shaoling, acting on orders from Second Division Captain Soi Fon.

"Princess Shaoling came with a squad of Onmitsukidō, and those Soul Reapers blinded by greed were all cut down in an instant. I'll never forget how Princess Shaoling looked that day for as long as I live:

"'You bandits who have defiled the duties of Soul Reapers, in the name of the commander of the Onmitsukidō, I sentence you to death.'

"No sooner had Princess Shaoling finished speaking than the Onmitsukidō cut off those Soul Reapers' heads. I'd spent some time working as an overseer under those fellows, so I thought the Fon Clan would execute me too. But the Fon Clan carefully determined who the ringleaders were and who had been coerced. Even those of us who had willingly fallen into depravity were given a chance to go on living."

Shimizu's eyes glistened with tears as he reminisced.

"The Fon Clan intervened with overwhelming strength and a fair hand. They dismantled all the equipment blocking the springs, cleared out all the settlements around them, and took over the springs. Almost all the villains from other districts were driven away too. After some of those who stubbornly refused to leave were dealt with, the rest holed up in an abandoned settlement to the west called Withered Bamboo Hamlet, living worse than pigs and dogs. After that, the Fon Clan gathered up the wealth those greedy souls had accumulated over the years, built new settlements for the souls, and put in some basic facilities. Only then did Bamboo Creek Plain become what it is today: a fine place surrounded by streams and bamboo groves, just as its name suggests."

Shimizu smiled as he spoke.

"Since the Fon Clan was stationed here, they've never charged for water. Everyone can live with dignity. Even someone like me, after atoning for my sins, can come work for the Fon Clan like this. I can even read magazines and taste drinks and snacks that only Soul Reapers and nobles could have before. Thanks to that food and drink, quite a few souls have strengthened their spirit bodies, and some have even enrolled at Shin'ō Academy."

Shimizu looked at his hands. "One day, I'm going to become a Soul Reaper too. Then I'll serve under Captain Soi Fon and join the Onmitsukidō to repay this kindness."

Hu looked at Shimizu's earnest expression and laughed. "Shimizu, you really love the Fon Clan!"

Shimizu laughed too. "Of course I do!"