Contacting the Quincy

After leaving Urahara Shop, Liu Hao found a quiet corner and, using the contact information left by Masaki Kurosaki, arranged a time and place to meet with Sōken Ishida and Ryūken Ishida.

The following morning, he returned to the Urahara Shop.

The shop door was already open, Jinta Hanakari and Ururu Tsumugiya were cleaning at the entrance. When they saw Liu Hao, they stopped what they were doing and curiously looked at the Soul Reaper who had visited yesterday.

"Good morning, Mr. Liu Hao." Kisuke Urahara walked out of the store, still dressed in his signature attire—a striped hat, a green and white haori jacket, a folding fan in his hand, and a seemingly frivolous smile on his face.

"Good morning, Manager Urahara." Liu Hao nodded in response. "I'm here to retrieve the Gigai."

"It's been prepared for a long time." Kisuke Urahara aside, gesturing for Liu Hao to enter the store.

Inside the shop, a finely crafted Gigai was already placed on the workbench. It was the body of a man who looked to be in his twenties, with an ordinary face, the kind of person who would be easily lost in a crowd. The Gigai body was extremely well-made, with muscle texture and skin texture simulated to a lifelike degree, and even the fine blood vessels could be seen.

"This was specially made for you," Kisuke Urahara. "It uses the latest Reishi fusion technology, perfectly adapting to your Reiatsu characteristics. Not only can it completely conceal your Soul Reaper identity, but it can also assist in Reiatsu recovery to some extent."

Liu Hao stepped forward and examined it carefully. He reached out and touched the skin of the Gigai with his fingertips, feeling the internal Reishi structure.

It is indeed very well made, but...

He looked up at Kisuke Urahara with a half-smile, "Manager Urahara, you didn't put anything you shouldn't have in there, did you?"

"How could that be?" Kisuke Urahara's smile remained unchanged, but a barely perceptible tremor flashed deep in his eyes.

Liu Hao didn't elaborate, simply saying, "Then I'll give it a try."

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his body, guiding his soul to connect with the Gigai. The process was smooth, with almost no obstacles, and his soul perfectly merged with this new body.

A few seconds later, Liu Hao opened his eyes and moved his hands and feet. His movements were smooth and natural, without any sluggishness, and the flow of Reiatsu was also very smooth.

"Not bad," he commented. "But... Manager Urahara, are you sure you didn't put in those little gadgets for analyzing soul structures? After all, I still need some privacy, right?"

These words caused Kisuke Urahara's smile to freeze slightly. He had indeed installed several miniature monitoring devices inside the Gigai to collect data on Liu Hao's soul fluctuations in order to verify his previous claim that Liu Hao "came from another world."

But to everyone's surprise, Liu Hao noticed it so keenly.

"Uh..." Kisuke Urahara coughed, his eyes slightly unfocused. "Don't worry, we have absolutely no interest in our clients' privacy, and we would never do anything like that!"

"That's fine then." Liu Hao didn't delve into it further, and a smile returned to his face. "Let's leave it at that this time. If I need your help again in the future, please don't refuse."

"It's our honor to be able to help Lord Liu Hao!" Kisuke Urahara covered the lower half of his face with his folding fan, reverting to his shrewd businessman smile.

Liu Hao paid the money—the price was indeed high, but considering the quality of the Gigai and Kisuke Urahara's skill, it was worth it—and then turned and left the store.

As he walked out the door, he glanced back. Kisuke Urahara stood in the doorway, smiling and waving goodbye, but behind that smile lay deep contemplation and wariness.

Liu Hao didn't care and turned to merge into the crowd on the street.

The agreed-upon location was Isshin Shiba's clinic.

When Liu Hao arrived, there were already four people sitting in the clinic: Isshin Shiba, Masaki Kurosaki, and two unfamiliar faces.

There was an elderly man with gray hair and a kind face, and a young man with glasses and a cold expression. The old man was dressed in a well-fitting suit, with a gentle demeanor and a wise glint in his eyes; the young man was dressed in simple black casual clothes, with a serious expression, and his eyes were full of scrutiny and wariness as he looked at Liu Hao.

Sōken Ishida and Ryūken Ishida.

"Lieutenant Liu Hao, you're here." Isshin Shiba, Masaki Kurosaki nodded with a smile as well.

"Just call me by my name." Liu Hao waved his hand, turning his gaze to the two Quincy. "These two must be Sōken Ishida and Ryūken Ishida, right?"

"Yes," Sōken Ishida stood up and politely extended his hand, "Mr. Liu Hao, I've heard so much about you. May I ask what brings you here?"

Liu Hao shook hands with him, feeling the warmth and power of the old Quincy's hand. Ryūken Ishida simply nodded slightly, without getting up, his gaze behind his glasses sharp as a knife.

"Let's talk about the future of the Quincy." Liu Hao sat down and got straight to the point.

Upon hearing this, Ryūken Ishida frowned even more deeply, while Sōken Ishida smiled gently, "We look forward to cooperating with the Soul Reaper. If we can clear up misunderstandings and work together to maintain peace in this World of the Living..."

"Let's not talk about cooperating with Soul Reaper for now," Liu Hao interrupted him, his tone calm but undeniable. "It's not that I don't trust you, but there are more important matters to resolve first."

These words created a subtle atmosphere.

Ryūken Ishida raised an eyebrow, and Masaki Kurosaki's expression turned serious. Sōken Ishida, puzzled, asked, "What's so important?"

Liu Hao took a deep breath, looked around at the four people present, and his voice became low and serious. "You Quincy should have songs about the progenitor Yhwach, right?"

This statement is like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

Ryūken Ishida and Masaki Kurosaki both looked at Sōken Ishida, their eyes filled with confusion. Clearly, they were unaware of this matter.

Sōken Ishida frowned, pondered for a moment, and slowly nodded. "It seems... there is. However, it's a very ancient tradition. I heard my elders mention it when I was young, but I can't remember the specifics. If you need, I can go back and check the family records."

"No need," Liu Hao waved his hand. "I'll just tell you directly—according to that song, the sealed King of the Quincy regained his heartbeat after 900 years, his consciousness after another 90 years, and his power after yet another 9 years."

He paused, allowing himself to fully process what he had said, before continuing, "Yhwach should have regained his consciousness by now. Next, he will try to regain his power. After that, he will rest, regroup, and finally... attack Soul Society."

The clinic was silent.

Sōken Ishida's expression turned extremely serious. "Is it because of this ballad that the Soul Reaper don't trust the Quincy?"

"No, that's not it." Liu Hao shook his head. "I brought this up because the 'reclaiming of power' mentioned in this ballad is directly related to you and all Quincy."

"We haven't received any information on this!" Masaki Kurosaki couldn't help but interject, her voice filled with confusion and unease.

Sōken Ishida nodded, "Yes, there are no records of this in our family's tradition."

"Perhaps only Yhwach's personal guards would know about this," Liu Hao's tone turned serious. "After all, this matter... is not a good thing for the Quincy."

"How could it not be a good thing?" Ryūken Ishida finally spoke, his voice cold and full of skepticism. "Is it that you fear the return of our progenitor, which would threaten the rule of the Soul Reaper?"

Liu Hao wasn't angry; he simply looked at him calmly and asked, "Do you gentlemen know anything about 'Auswählen'?"

This word stunned the three Quincy present.

Ryūken Ishida and Masaki Kurosaki looked at Sōken Ishida, whose brows furrowed deeply as if searching for something in his memory.

"Auswählen..." he murmured to himself, "This seems to be one of the King of the Quincy's abilities. But what exactly it is... I don't know either. The family records are incomplete on this matter, only containing some vague descriptions."

Liu Hao nodded and Shikai, "Auswählen is the power, even the soul power, that the Quincy's progenitor Yhwach Quincy through bloodline inheritance. He could also distribute this reclaimed power to designated Quincy members."

He paused to allow the information to be fully understood, then continued, "And the 'King of the Quincy regaining his power after nine years' mentioned in the song refers to using Auswählen to reclaim the power from Quincy he deemed 'impure'."

"During this Ancestral Auswählen, I don't know if it was because of the distance or because he hadn't fully recovered his power, but he only withdrew it. Every Quincy chosen by the Auswählen will develop a Still Silver called 'Still Silver' within their body. And those who are stripped of their power... will eventually die from the Still Silver."

These words struck like a bolt from the blue, creating an uproar in the clinic.

Masaki Kurosaki, Ryūken Ishida, and Sōken Ishida all stared wide-eyed at Liu Hao in disbelief. Isshin Shiba also showed a shocked expression; although he was not Quincy, the cruelty of these words still made his heart tremble.

"How could he possibly do such a thing?" Ryūken Ishida abruptly stood up, his hands slamming onto the table, his body trembling slightly with rage. "Just because he's the progenitor of the Quincy? And... why should we believe you?!"

Liu Hao calmly met his gaze. "You have no choice but to believe me. Because even Pure-Blood Quincy, if injured in battle against a Hollow or Soul Reaper, and if there are other powers remaining in their body, will be judged as an 'impure' Quincy."

His gaze shifted to Masaki Kurosaki: "For example, Masaki Kurosaki... she has residual Hollow power within her, so once the Auswählen occurs, she will also be chosen."

Then, his gaze returned to Ryūken Ishida: "And Mixed-Blood Quincy are naturally judged as 'impure' beings."

These words turned Sōken Ishida's face pale. He slowly sat down, his voice trembling, "I see... No wonder the family tradition clearly stated that once injured, one must undergo a special Quincy treatment to remove any power from the body that differs from that of Quincy. It seems that this requirement was already established during the family tradition... to avoid being judged as an impure being by the progenitor."

Silence fell again in the clinic.

Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the floor. The faint sounds of traffic from the street drifted in; World of the Living life continued as before, but the atmosphere inside the clinic had become incredibly heavy.

After a long while, Sōken Ishida raised his head, looked directly at Liu Hao, and asked in a hoarse and serious voice, "Then why are you telling us all this...?"

Liu Hao's answer was direct, "I hope you can collect the Still Silver from the bodies of the Quincy because of Auswählen. Of course, if you can treat them before they are chosen by Auswählen and remove the Still Silver from their bodies, allowing them to live as ordinary people... that wouldn't be a bad thing either."

"Your real purpose is to obtain the Still Silver, isn't it!" Ryūken Ishida's eyes were filled with questioning light.

Liu Hao smiled, a smile tinged with complex emotion, "If I weren't telling you this now... in the future, you would dissect your son's mother in front of him. All to determine the cause of death and find a way to deal with Yhwach. Ultimately, you would use the Still Silver taken from your wife's body to make an arrow and give it to your son... to kill Yhwach."

These words, like a final thunderbolt, utterly shattered all doubts and defenses.

Ryūken Ishida froze. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found himself unable to utter a sound. An image uncontrollably surfaced in his mind—his wife's body on the operating table; his own trembling hands; and... the child standing at the door, his eyes filled with shock and pain.

Sōken Ishida was also stunned. He looked at his son and then at Liu Hao, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Masaki Kurosaki covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes already moist. She looked at Ryūken Ishida, then at Liu Hao, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say.

Even Isshin Shiba was so shocked by these words that he was speechless.

Only heavy breathing could be heard inside the clinic, along with the faint sounds of city noise coming from outside the window.

As Liu Hao watched all this, complex emotions welled up within him. He knew these words were cruel, direct, and might even change the fate of many. But he had to say them, he had to warn them in advance.

Because if it's not said, the future tragedy will unfold according to the "original plot": Ryūken Ishida's wife Katagiri Hae, will struggle for three months in the Auswählen before dying; Ryūken Ishida will dissect his wife's body, discover the Still Silver, and then transform that pain into a weapon against Yhwach.

It was a great sacrifice, but also a cruel tragedy.

Now, with advance warning and time to prepare, perhaps... the outcome could be different.

After a long silence, Sōken Ishida slowly spoke, his voice aged and weary. "Mr. Liu Hao... how much of what you say can we believe?"

"All." Liu Hao's answer was brief and firm, "Because I've seen that future with my own eyes. Although many things have changed now, the threat of Yhwach, the cruelty of Auswählen- Yhwach, the existence of the Still Silver... these will not change."

He paused, then continued, "I'm not here to ask you to do anything, nor am I here to order you around. I'm just here to inform you of the risks and offer choices. As for what you do... that's your own decision."