My Zanpakuto Is a Gorgeous Woman

At four in the morning, Liu Ziyun opened his eyes right on time.

He sprang out of bed as nimbly as a cat, without waking his sleeping roommates. He got dressed, tucked his Zanpakuto into his clothes, and slipped silently out of the dormitory, heading for the underground training ground on the mountain behind the dormitory.

Five years of habit had become ingrained in his bones—but today, he didn't want to train.

At least, not in the usual sense.

Inside the underground training ground, the Reishi lamps gave off a soft glow. Liu Ziyun sat cross-legged in the middle of the training ground, took a deep breath, and laid his Zanpakuto flat across his legs.

"Brother Sword... Sister Sword? Sword... Never mind, forget it," he muttered, closing his eyes. "Can we talk again?"

He was ready to be rejected—after all, he still vividly remembered the sword spirit's haughty attitude yesterday: "Hmph, you only thought to come looking for me now? Too late!"

But this time... something unexpected happened.

The instant he focused his mind on the blade, a gentle yet powerful suction pulled at him—not rejecting him, but welcoming him! The force gently enveloped his consciousness and gave it a light tug—whoosh!

Liu Ziyun felt as though he had been tossed into a washing machine. After a few seconds of the world spinning around him, he landed with a thud on... Huh? The ground?

He opened his eyes and froze.

What lay before him wasn't the pitch-dark underground training ground, but a city.

A city he knew down to his bones.

Towering buildings lined the streets, which teemed with cars and horses—though the cars were stationary and the horses were statues. The streets were wide and clean, with shops lining both sides: convenience stores, cafés, bookstores, internet cafés... Even the sign for Old Wang's Barbecue, a place he had frequented in his previous life, was there!

A range of mountains stretched into the distance, forming the city's natural barrier. Farther away, he could make out the TV tower, the stadium, the library...

"Th-this is..." Liu Ziyun climbed to his feet and looked around, his mouth hanging wide enough to fit a Hollow's mask.

My home!

The city where I lived in my previous life!

Every detail was so real: the traffic light at the intersection that was always flickering, the statue of a stray cat on the street corner that was always filthy, even the "No minors allowed" sign posted at the entrance to that internet café...

But the most important thing was missing—people.

The entire city was empty. No pedestrians, no vehicles, no clamor. There were only a few fallen leaves swirling as the wind swept through the streets, and the creaking of a door somewhere in the distance, swaying because some shop had left it unlatched.

Deathly stillness, amid all that prosperity.

Liu Ziyun stood there, gazing at everything he knew so well, and a sudden, indescribable sense of loss welled up in his heart.

It's so alike... but it's fake.

There's no old man who's always playing chess on the street corner, no convenience store owner who's always cursing, no office workers hurrying on their way, no students playing and roughhousing...

This is just... an exquisite empty shell.

"You seem a little sad."

A gentle woman's voice sounded beside his ear, as soft as a feather brushing his heart.

"And a little disappointed," the voice continued. "Are you disappointed because everything you see is so familiar, yet you've discovered it's all fake? Or..."

The voice paused, taking on a hint of teasing:

"Or did you think that once you got in here, you'd be able to tame me easily and earn my recognition, only to be disappointed when you found out things weren't so simple?"

Liu Ziyun turned around.

Then he froze on the spot, as though he'd been struck by lightning.

Brain: thinking function stopped.

Speech: ability to express himself lost.

Breathing: ...temporarily forgot how.

A woman stood before him.

A woman dressed in exquisite hanfu—not the cheap kind from a photo studio, but genuine, finely made hanfu, with layer upon layer of gorgeous fabric. It was dark blue, embroidered with flowing cloud patterns in silver thread, and its skirts spread out like water.

A brocade veil covered her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

But those eyes... In the more than thirty years Liu Ziyun had lived, plus five in Soul Society, he had never seen eyes like them.

They were as clear as a mountain spring and as bright as the brightest stars in the night sky, yet their depths held something unfathomable. Her lashes were long, fluttering like butterfly wings when she blinked.

Those eyes alone could make a heart skip a beat.

Then there was her figure—slender and shapely, with curves in all the right places. Standing there, she looked like a graceful green lotus.

Her bearing was gentle, with a hint of valor; delicate, yet concealing a core of resilience.

In short: a peerless beauty.

And not just any peerless beauty, but the sort whose looks could send a man straight to heaven at a glance.

Liu Ziyun opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. At last, he squeezed out a sentence:

"You... you're..."

"I'm your Zanpakuto." The woman chuckled, and the corners of her mouth seemed to curl beneath her veil. "What? Surprised?"

"Surprised... I'm more than surprised..." Liu Ziyun murmured, staring straight at her. "I... I thought my Zanpakuto would be some kind of... mighty, imposing muscle man, or a cold, aloof swordsman. At the very least, I thought it'd be an old man with the bearing of an immortal..."

He paused, suddenly realized something, and hurriedly added, "Of course! I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you! You're... you're wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

The woman laughed at his words, her eyes curving into crescents. "Pfft... Your reaction is pretty cute."

Liu Ziyun took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down—though it did little good. He stepped forward and asked in the most sincere—and lovestruck—tone of his life, "Beautiful lady, may I know your name?"

He paused, then suddenly had an inspiration and added a cheesy line: "I think I might... already be hopelessly in love with you."

The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself. That was so cheesy! So sleazy! She's a Zanpakuto! A sword! She might look human, but she's a sword at heart! Did you just confess to a sword?!

But the woman didn't seem to mind.

She tilted her head, a sly glint flashing in her eyes. "My name... You think you can find out that easily?"

She took two steps closer, near enough for Liu Ziyun to catch her faint scent—not flowers, nor perfume, but a... cool, distant fragrance with a metallic quality.

"But then again..." She drew out the words. "You've gotten your way."

Liu Ziyun's heart raced.

"My name is—"

She spoke each syllable distinctly, her voice crisp as pearls falling onto a jade plate. "Life... Taker."

Liu Ziyun: "...Huh?"

Life-Taker blinked. "What? You don't like it?"

"No, no!" Liu Ziyun hurriedly shook his head. "It's just... I just think... that name... is pretty... imposing?"

His mind raced. Life-Taker? My Zanpakuto is called Life-Taker? What kind of mismatch is this?! She has a face that could topple kingdoms and wears such gentle, elegant hanfu, but her name is "Life-Taker"? That's way too big a contrast!

It's like a cute, soft girl saying, "I'll beat your chest with my wittle fists," and then punching you so hard into a wall that nobody can pry you out!

Life-Taker seemed to see through his thoughts and chuckled. "A name is just a label. Besides... what's wrong with Life-Taker?"

She suddenly leaned in, her veil almost touching Liu Ziyun's face. "I really can... take lives, you know."

Liu Ziyun: "..."

Help, I'm being teased by a sword.

But somehow... I'm kind of happy?

As his thoughts ran wild, Life-Taker suddenly moved.

No, "suddenly" didn't do it justice—it was instantaneous!

One moment she was standing in front of him, smiling; the next, her hanfu transformed with a swish into the valiant battle armor of a female general!