When the Sun's Light Unfolds, All Depends on the Organ That Beholds It

The Sun's Light when he unfolds it / Depends on the Organ that beholds it.

--William Blake, Auguries of Innocence (1803)

Morning light filtered through the cracks in the Hakutōmon, cutting a fine golden line across the stone slab.

When Sylvan arrived, Marechiyo Ōmaeda and Gegetsuburi were already leaning against the doorpost waiting. "You've arrived?"

Sylvan looked Marechiyo Ōmaeda up and down carefully this time. "Indeed, Marechiyo Ōmaeda has lost a lot of weight compared to before."

Marechiyo Ōmaeda felt a little uncomfortable under Sylvan's gaze. "What's wrong with you? Is there something strange about me?"

Sylvan shook his head. "It's nothing. I just heard before that the Lieutenant of the Second Division was a fat guy with a big head and ears, but now it seems that's not entirely true. He's quite muscular, just a bit too much fat."

"Who on earth is talking about me like that behind my back?" Marechiyo Ōmaeda retorted, "Sylvan, no matter what your Western Branch Bureau is like, in our Eastern Frontier, you can't become the Lieutenant of the Gotei 13 without some skills."

Sylvan nodded, Rain landed back on Sylvan's shoulder from the sky. "Ever since the battle at Sōkyoku Hill, Instructor Cilian has been unconscious. Even with Captain Unohana's best efforts, she could only be kept alive. Fon Shaoling is also depressed because of Amber's matter, so most of the burden of the Second Division has fallen on Marechiyo Ōmaeda's hands. It's normal that he's lost some weight."

"That's not necessarily true." Oren, nestled in Sylvan's arms, had a different perspective. "Marechiyo Ōmaeda's workload has indeed increased recently, but it's not overwhelming him. Remember the training device the instructor left for Marechiyo Ōmaeda? He spends four or five hours in it almost every day Marechiyo Ōmaeda."

Sylvan, watching as he opened another bag of potato chips for Gegetsuburi Marechiyo Ōmaeda, remarked with some emotion, "Perhaps... the fall of Instructor Cilian was the biggest shock to Marechiyo Ōmaeda."

"Alright, it's almost time for registration to open, let's set off now, destination: Peony Mountain!" Marechiyo Ōmaeda said to the Hakutōmon, and given Sylvan's personality, Marechiyo Ōmaeda didn't expect him to reply.

"Okay!"

Two male voices came from behind, one gentle and the other masculine.

Marechiyo Ōmaeda turned around and saw that it was Ichigo and Hanatarō!

"Ichigo Kurosaki? And you... I think you're Hanatarō Yamada, the seventh seat of the Fourth Division?"

Hanatarō, carrying a wicker medicine basket almost larger than his upper body, said, "Yes, Marechiyo Ōmaeda -Lieutenant Ōmaeda."

"Judging from your appearance, are you going out to gather herbs?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda, this is what happened..."

While Hanatarō and Marechiyo Ōmaeda were explaining things, Ichigo and Sylvan were also exchanging ideas.

"Ichigo, what are you doing with Hanatarō?" Sylvan asked in a low voice, turning his head to the side.

"There's no particular reason. I was in the same ward as Mr. Kyōraku and Mr. Ukitake, and they started working early this morning. I felt awkward staying in the ward, so I ran into Hanatarō when I came out. I heard he was going out to gather herbs alone, so I thought I'd go with him." Ichigo also explained in a low voice, "What about you guys? Why are you going out too?"

"Regarding what we discussed yesterday, it seems there's some dubious information coming from Marechiyo Ōmaeda's side. At times like this, going directly there would be much easier than slowly investigating," Sylvan Kaidō.

"Oh, it's that soul fragment of Rook, right? But the location is the same! What a coincidence." Ichigo marveled at how small the world was, and Sylvan nodded in agreement. Just then, Marechiyo Ōmaeda's voice came from afar. "Hey! What are you doing? Aren't you going or not!"

The two then realized that Marechiyo Ōmaeda and Hanatarō had already walked some distance outside the Hakutōmon, and they quickly caught up with them.

The three walked north along the stone-paved road of Rukongai. The further they went, the sparser the houses became, and the bamboo groves on both sides of the road were gradually replaced by more tangled shrubs. After walking for about half an hour, the soil under their feet began to change subtly. It darkened in color, softened in texture, and had a slightly elastic feel when stepped on.

"So, it seems that Peony Mountain is your Fourth Division's private territory within the jurisdiction, but the Fourth Division is different from the other divisions. They didn't clear out the residences near Peony Mountain, blockade Peony Mountain, and even started doing business with the locals." Marechiyo Ōmaeda walked behind Hanatarō, chatting idly.

Hanatarō walked in front, his medicine basket swaying behind him. He adjusted the shoulder straps and slung the basket over his shoulder. "Yes," he said, "Most of the people around Peony Mountain make a living by collecting herbs."

He reached out and patted the trunk of a low tree by the roadside, talking about Peony Mountain as he walked. "The Fourth Division comes regularly to purchase [the plants], exchanging them for water and Reishi Food. This tradition has continued for hundreds of years, even before Peony Mountain was brought under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Division."

"In exchange for water and food?" Ichigo, somewhat surprised. "Are the people here so poor that they only want water and food?"

"On the contrary, they are very wealthy. In Soul Society, being able to eat means you possess spiritual power. Among them are those who aspire to become Soul Reaper, and gradually, drinking water and eating will increase their spiritual power." Hanatarō continued, explaining the basics of Soul Society Ichigo:

"Because Peony Mountain is close to the Seireitei, there are no external dangers. Therefore, those who are brought from the World of the Living to Peony Mountain will spend their long lives here. To pass the time, many of them will often go up the mountain to explore, looking for rare animals or things that interest them."

This practice continued for a long time, naturally becoming part of the culture around Peony Mountain, and most of the people living near Peony Mountain were skilled in picking and searching for plants. Their existence wasn't a bad thing for our Fourth Division, so we tacitly accepted this practice.

"Then why not just have the squad members collect it?" Marechiyo Ōmaeda asked. "Shunpo using Shunpo is much faster than running all over the mountain like this. The Fourth Division should be highly proficient in Shunpo to ensure timely treatment of the wounded on the battlefield."

Hanatarō chuckled, "If we came here to gather herbs, we'd be too focused on the objective, rushing into the mountains to pick whatever we wanted, using Shunpo to traverse the mountains. We'd miss a lot of things right under our feet. For example..."

He bent down and picked a wild grass with heart-shaped leaves and silvery-white down on the back from the roadside, and showed it to the two of them in his palm. "This is called Silverback Fern, and it is an auxiliary ingredient for making high-quality hemostatic powder."

It is not an essential ingredient in hemostatic powder, but if it is added when preparing hemostatic powder, the speed and effect of hemostasis will be greatly increased. However, it only grows near the roots of other herbs, and is small in number and difficult to find.

It's usually not included in the list of essential supplies, but it always appears on the procurement list for Peony Mountain.

He put the Silverback Fern back into his medicine basket and continued walking, "Only by spending all day on the mountain, becoming far more familiar with every stream and every slope than even the Soul Reaper, can one efficiently harvest these rare medicinal herbs."

Sylvan listened, but his gaze unconsciously fell on the ground beneath his feet.

The color of the soil gradually changed as they approached the Peony Mountain area. Along the way, the ground changed from light brown to dark brown, and then to an almost inky black color. The soil was incredibly soft, and it made almost no sound when you stepped on it, as if you were walking on a very thick layer of humus.

Marechiyo Ōmaeda noticed it too. He squatted down and rubbed the soil between his fingers. The black soil was fine and oily. He rubbed it between his fingertips and it crumbled into a very fine powder, carrying a rich scent, similar to that of a forest after the rain.

"This soil is strange..." Marechiyo Ōmaeda brushed the dirt off his fingers. "It's so fertile."

Hanatarō looked at the ground beneath his feet, a puzzled expression on his face. "Indeed, I've been to Peony Mountain many times, and the soil here wasn't this black before... And look—"

He pointed to the trees lining both sides of the road.

The trees were much taller than the vegetation they had seen before, with thick trunks and lush foliage that almost completely blocked out the sky above. Sunlight could only seep through a few gaps, casting dappled patterns of light on the black earth.

"These trees are definitely not the right size." Hanatarō walked to a tree and held up his hand to compare the trunk. "This size indicates it's at least ten years old, but I remember clearly that three years ago this area was just a patch of newly planted saplings."

Marechiyo Ōmaeda frowned.

The three continued walking. After passing through the unusually dense forest, the view suddenly opened up, and the Settlement at the foot of Peony Mountain came into view.

The Settlement was small, with dozens of wooden houses scattered on the gentle slope at the foot of the mountain. A stream flowed down from the mountainside and through the center of the Settlement. In the distance, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, and people were washing freshly picked medicinal herbs by the stream with bamboo baskets on their backs.

As they approached, the shops along the street began to appear before them. In addition to the tea stalls and general stores common in Rukongai, there were also several shops specializing in selling herb-gathering tools and herbs.

Outside the shops, bamboo baskets of all sizes were piled up with all kinds of medicinal herbs—dried, fresh, sliced, and ground into powder—and the air was filled with a rich aroma of herbs.

Hanatarō's steps were halted by these herbs. He stopped in front of a shop and picked up a bunch of dried mugwort from the shelf.

The leaves of that mugwort were a whole size larger than any he had seen in the warehouse, with veins so clear they looked as if they had been drawn with a fine brush. The color was an extremely deep dark green, and when you got close, you could smell a fragrance several times stronger than that of ordinary mugwort.

"That shouldn't be the case..." Hanatarō put the bundle of mugwort back, then picked up a bunch of plantain next to him, gently rubbing the leaves between his fingers. "The Fourth Division came to collect medicinal herbs a month or two ago, and everyone's high-quality stock should have been cleared out by now. Where did these... these come from?"

The shop owner, an elderly man with gray hair, peeked out from behind the counter upon hearing Hanatarō's words. "Isn't this Lord Yamada? It's truly a once-in-a-century event that Lord Yamada has personally come to purchase medicinal herbs."

"My lord?" Upon hearing this title, the others looked at Hanatarō with a mocking expression.

"Boss, I already told you a hundred years ago not to call me 'sir'," Hanatarō said shyly, his face slightly flushed.

Upon hearing this, Ichigo immediately retorted, "So 'once in a hundred years' isn't a description but a statement!" He was once again stunned by the lifespan scale of Soul Society.

The old man's eyes were sharp. "Oh, I've finally waited for you. These herbs were all picked in the last two weeks. They've been growing exceptionally well on the mountain lately, so everyone picked extra to store, thinking they could exchange them for more Reishi Food when you came to collect them."

"Half a month?" Hanatarō's brows furrowed even more. "The yield hasn't been this high before for this season."

He glanced around and lowered his voice, "Lord Yamada, you may not know this, but our Peony Mountain has recently been blessed with Mountain God."

"Mountain God?"

"Yes." The old man leaned forward again and told the story, "About half a month ago, there was a child who had just been extradited from the World of the Living. He couldn't accept that he was dead and couldn't find his parents. He cried his heart out and frantically ran into the mountains."

Hanatarō's expression changed. "A child? How old?"

"He was only five or six years old," the old man sighed. "Everyone was extremely worried at the time. We organized a large group of people to search the mountain, but we couldn't find him all night. The mountain paths were rugged and treacherous. Everyone thought that the child was probably dead."

What happened next?

"Unexpectedly, the very next morning, the child appeared at the crossroads leading up the mountain." The old man's tone carried a simple reverence. "He wasn't injured at all, and he even had a smile on his face. When asked how he spent the night, he said that a one-eyed mountain Mountain God had been with him and led him to a safe path."

Sylvan's fingers tightened slightly on his cane as the image of a black colossus flashed through his mind. "One-Eyed?" he asked somewhat hastily.

The old man glanced at him and nodded. "Yes, one-eyed. The boy said the Mountain God only has one eye, but it's huge, bigger than his whole body. The Mountain God makes a buzzing sound when he's scared to calm him down."

"And then what happened?" Marechiyo Ōmaeda interjected.

"At first, not many people believed it; they all thought it was just a dream," Lao Zheng gestured with his hands. "But in the next few days, everyone changed their minds. Accidents have happened on the mountain before—landslides causing broken legs, snake bites while collecting herbs—it's almost a daily occurrence. But in the past two weeks, not a single person has been injured on the mountain. And—"

He pointed to the plump herbs on the shelves behind him. "As you can see, these herbs are growing so well, they're changing almost every day. They're much bigger than usual, but their medicinal properties are just as good. Before, a single angelica root would only be about the thickness of a thumb, but now the ones we dig up are as big as a fist. When you cut them open, the oil cells inside are so full they're almost overflowing."

Hanatarō picked up a dried angelica root from the shelf, smelled it under his nose, then pinched off a small piece with his fingernail and tasted it on his tongue.

"The medicinal properties are indeed excellent; the ripening process didn't diminish its potency." He was filled with incomprehension. "How is that possible?"

"Right!" The old man slapped his thigh. "It's easy to make herbs grow tall, but it's very difficult to make them grow tall while accumulating medicinal power. So everyone is saying that the Mountain God has appeared. Just the other day, someone erected a Mountain God at the foot of the mountain, right at the entrance to the mountain."

"Mountain God?"

"Yes, it was done according to the child's description." The old man came out from behind the counter, pointing to the Yamaguchi at the end of the street, "It's over there, exactly where the child was found."

Sylvan gazed at the end of the street, and Marechiyo Ōmaeda walked over to him. "How about it, want to go take a look?"

Sylvan nodded. "Of course."

At the entrance to the mountain, two figures ascended the stone steps. "What Mountain God? It's all just superstition. Destroying the Soul Reaper's supply line starts here at Peony Mountain, doesn't it, Lord Tenken?"

The tall, muscular figure remained silent, but a wisp of flame emanating from his mouth revealed his agreement.