You Can Only Accept It

There were many trees around, and every one of them was flourishing. Vast stretches of shade blocked almost all the sunlight.

Beneath the cover of the trees, even at noon, the area remained rather dim. The muddy swamp underfoot constantly emitted waves of foul odors, making one want to cover their nose and mouth.

Holding Yamano Mirō by the neck, Asano Kiyoshi asked coldly,

"Which way do we go next?"

Yamano Mirō craned his neck and looked around for a moment before saying to Asano Kiyoshi,

"Sir, beneath the third patch of grass to your right, there's a Secret Passage. Just go through there. It's a little narrow, but it's absolutely safe. Another Squad Leader and I secretly dug it while the boss wasn't paying attention. I can swear on my life that only he and I knew about it!"

Asano Kiyoshi nodded at Yamano Mirō's words, then asked,

"Where is the person who made this passage with you?"

Yamano Mirō paused, then pointed with his eyes toward the head hanging from the bag. He said in a frightened tone,

"H-He's here..."

Hearing Yamano Mirō's words, Asano Kiyoshi instinctively looked toward the severed head. Its eyes were wide open, its face filled with deep unwillingness. Within its hollow, numb gaze was reflected the place that had once been his escape route. It seemed to be questioning it, or perhaps it was fate's faint mockery of him.

Asano Kiyoshi said nothing as he looked at the head. He merely nodded calmly. This was a real world. All your preparations might end up being completely useless. In the adult world, whether you worked hard or prepared thoroughly had no inevitable connection to success.

Working hard did not mean you would be promoted, nor did having everything ready mean the east wind would come.

That was the injustice of the world, and all they could do was reduce such injustice as much as possible.

Following Yamano Mirō's directions, Asano Kiyoshi indeed found a not particularly wide passage beneath the third patch of grass.

The passage was truly small, roughly one and a half meters high and less than one meter wide. Asano Kiyoshi had to bend over and struggle just to move through it.

However, after several twists and turns, the passage gradually opened up. Looking at the suddenly expanded space, Asano Kiyoshi knew that this room was likely their main base of operations. There were also quite a few tools reinforced with Reishi around it, things Asano Kiyoshi had learned about in the books of the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy.

Yet after entering the room, the first thing that hit him was not the earthy scent from the passage, but an overwhelming stench of rot.

The rotten smell was incredibly pungent, making Asano Kiyoshi's eyes sting. When he saw its source, his gaze suddenly turned cold.

At the center of the room was a large bed. Lying on it was a heavily decomposed naked corpse. The female corpse's wrist dangled over the bedside, and a deep wound that exposed bone marked it. A large pool of blood, congealed into a black mass, seemed like the woman's silent accusation.

Asano Kiyoshi looked at the corpse, his heart sinking slightly. Yet what made him grit his teeth in even greater fury was still to come.

Following the bed with his gaze, he saw several iron chains on the wall behind and to the left of it. A corpse was bound to each chain. Most belonged to girls, though there were also corpses of young boys. Most had decayed into piles of white bones, while the few corpses that had not rotted too badly still bore the traces of countless accumulated wounds.

Looking at this scene, Asano Kiyoshi's voice was cold and heavy.

"Can you tell me whether all of this was done by you?"

Hearing Asano Kiyoshi's words, Yamano Mirō knew that if he could not give the right explanation now, the man before him would likely disregard the valuable information and kill him outright.

So Yamano Mirō explained almost frantically,

"Sir, I didn't do this. That guy insisted on bringing these Rukongai Civilians here. He said it was a great way to vent. After all, most civilians in the outer Rukongai districts had no records in the Twelfth Division. So long as they didn't disappear in large numbers, no one higher up would pay any attention at all."

"Not only did I never bring anyone here and hide them, I repeatedly tried to stop him from doing these things. Every time we entered this base, there was a chance the boss would discover us. And once he did, he would definitely kill us!"

Asano Kiyoshi nodded at that, then continued asking,

"What was the point of digging this Secret Passage? Even though you knew what Yingkou Hui was like, you were still willing to take the risk of digging yourselves something like a grave. If you tell me it was for fun, I'll kill you immediately. I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation."

Yamano Mirō hesitated briefly before saying to Asano Kiyoshi,

"That's because another Squad Leader and I believed that Yingkou Hui must have some unspeakable secret hidden in the Back Mountain. Also, many members had died here on the Back Mountain. After Yingkou Hui called them here, they disappeared for no reason."

"Based on our deductions, those missing members were most likely killed by Yingkou Hui. Then what about the valuables they carried?! We counted them. Since Yingkou Hui began calling people here, forty-two members had disappeared in total! The valuables on them added up to no small fortune! If we could get our hands on it, we could leave this place for good and even use that wealth to live a different life!"

Asano Kiyoshi nodded as he listened to Yamano Mirō. This reason was enough to convince him.

Ignoring Yamano Mirō, whose emotions were gradually becoming agitated, Asano Kiyoshi continued,

"So, you said just now that you had never kidnapped anyone and brought them here?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Yamano Mirō nodded heavily.

"Yes, sir! I've never brought anyone here!"

Asano Kiyoshi said nothing. He simply slashed his Zanpakutō directly two inches below Yamano Mirō's lower abdomen, his voice ice-cold.

"You're lying to me. Look carefully. That woman is clutching your hair in her hand. So no matter what, you touched her. Don't tell me it was merely a coincidence. There aren't that many coincidences in this world, nor are there that many accidents. I don't care whether I'm wronging you. The only choice you have is to accept it."

Hearing Asano Kiyoshi's words, veins bulged on Yamano Mirō's face. His entire body began trembling uncontrollably, his eyes rolling back as he neared unconsciousness.

Seeing this, Asano Kiyoshi used Kaido to treat Yamano Mirō, ensuring that he would not die immediately. Then, taking him along, he headed toward the cave exit.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.