Becoming More Like the Original (Two Chapters Combined)

"Phew, finally done."

Duan Mu wiped the dust from his face and stood before the building, nodding with satisfaction.

"Duan Mu, you did a beautiful job with this," the middle-aged woman beside him said, her face lighting up with joy as she looked at her newly renovated home. "No wonder all my neighbors look for you as soon as winter arrives. You can really feel the temperature in the rooms improve when you're inside."

[Emiri's Affection +3, Gained 3 Experience Points.]

"With this, my child shouldn't dislike it so much anymore." Emiri smiled happily. "You don't know yet, but I have a son. He died not too long ago, and I instantly adored him the moment I saw him."

Duan Mu's eye twitched. The way she said that... it sounded so awkward.

However, he understood. Emiri meant that a child who had recently arrived in the Soul Society had been assigned to her home and had become her son.

"Then congratulations," Duan Mu said, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

To be honest...

It was somewhat unexpected for Duan Mu that Emiri's affection had increased. He recalled that whenever he took on her commissions in the past, no matter how hard he worked, she would always find fault with something and use various excuses to reduce the payment. Sometimes, she would even default on it.

Her reputation in District 7 was notoriously difficult and stingy. Many residents in District 7 who were friendly with Duan Mu had advised him not to take on her jobs.

She was incredibly stingy. Even though her house was full of drafts, she never thought of hiring anyone to repair it. Two years ago, Duan Mu, wanting to increase her affection, even offered to repair her house for free if she needed it. The only response he got was Emiri's extremely wary gaze!

In the end, Duan Mu simply gave up on dealing with her.

He had originally thought that this year, like previous years, she wouldn't come to him for house repairs. But after he finished all his repair commissions, with winter about to set in, Emiri actually came to his door and, for the first time ever, paid the commission fee upfront.

She had truly become a completely different person.

Looking at Emiri's gentle smile and the completely different aura she exuded compared to Duan Mu's memory, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart about the greatness of the word 'mother.'

Just by adopting a child, it could bring about such a significant change in a person.

"My Kosuke is such a smart child. He's only 11 years old, and he can already write so many characters, he can even recite many ancient texts..." Emiri spoke about her child as if reciting a mantra.

Although Duan Mu felt a little impatient, he didn't show it at all. Instead, he listened attentively and chimed in occasionally.

To onlookers, their conversation... was like two middle-aged women chatting about everyday matters, with one constantly talking about her child and the other constantly nodding in agreement.

"The only downside is that he's a bit pampered," Emiri said, then laughed. "But that's my fault too. I haven't maintained the house much, so it's normal for him to feel cold."

"He's just a child, it's normal for him to be a bit pampered."

"Yes."

Emiri nodded, then sighed as if remembering something. "It's just that he always says things I don't understand. When I ask him what he wants, he says he wants to lie under a 'kotatsu' and watch 'television,' and he also wants to play something called a 'handheld game console'."

"Hmm?"

Duan Mu, who had been a little impatient, suddenly perked up.

Kotatsu?

Television?

Handheld game console?

Duan Mu hadn't heard these modern terms in a long time. People who came to the Soul Society rarely talked about their lives before death. Moreover, Duan Mu hadn't made any deliberate effort to inquire. This was the first time he had heard any news about the living world.

A single sentence was enough for Duan Mu to analyze a lot of useful information.

Television was a relatively modern product, having existed for a long time. However, handheld game consoles were definitely modern products. Even the earliest handheld consoles only became widespread around the late 1990s.

In that case, the day when a major change would occur in Seireitei should not be far off.

However...

It had nothing to do with him. No matter what happened in Seireitei, it shouldn't affect him here.

Besides, Duan Mu had already deduced the approximate era he was in a long time ago. When he was training with the Shiba Clan, Sister Kūkaku had mentioned that the current Captain of the 10th Division was Toshiro Hitsugaya!

"Oh right, you also died in the last few years, so you should know what these things are, right?" Emiri asked.

Duan Mu smiled at her words. "A kotatsu is actually what many families have as a 'hearth,' but the hearths in the living world don't use charcoal or carbon pellets for heat. They use an energy called 'electricity.' As for television and handheld consoles, they are products of the living world. In the Soul Society, they can probably only be found within Seireitei."

"So it's a hearth!" Emiri exclaimed, looking enlightened. "The living world has really undergone many changes in these past hundred years."

"..." Duan Mu.

To be honest, in the nearly five years since he arrived in the Soul Society, his sense of time had become increasingly blurred.

People here casually mentioned decades and centuries, making Duan Mu, a young man who hadn't even reached 27 years of age in his life and afterlife combined, feel like an infant here.

They chatted for a while longer. Duan Mu checked the sky and then bid farewell.

As the end of the year approached, the weather had turned cold, and the pedestrians on the street were wearing thicker clothes. Duan Mu, in his usual black work uniform, looked somewhat out of place.

However, this uniform had become Duan Mu's trademark. People could recognize him from afar as he walked down the street.

"Hey Duan Mu, are you done with work?"

"Duan Mu, I just made some freshly baked flatbread. Take it back to eat with Tsuki."

"Brother Duan Mu, when will you come play with me again?"

"..."

As he walked through the streets of District 7, any resident who saw Duan Mu would call out to him for a chat. Duan Mu felt too awkward to refuse, and by the time he left District 7, it was completely dark.

As it was dinnertime, he had a few small cloth bags filled with food in his hands.

Walking home, Duan Mu tallied the experience points he had gained over the past month since reopening for business.

"980 experience points. Nearly a thousand points in a month. It would be great if every month was like this."

That said, Duan Mu knew it was almost impossible. This month's earnings were the last peak season before the new year. With winter setting in and the holidays approaching, many people would be renovating their homes, which was why there were so many more commissions this month.

Most importantly...

The higher the favorability, the harder it was to increase. Many of Duan Mu's regular customers had hit a bottleneck in their favorability. In such a situation, Duan Mu could only maintain relationships with his old customers while trying to find ways to develop new ones, which was causing his Yorozuya business to grow larger and larger.

Recently, Duan Mu had even started offering in-home medical services. Although most of the time he just prescribed herbal medicine and rarely used Kido to heal customers unless absolutely necessary.

Of course, outside of work, Duan Mu hadn't neglected his training. He could say that every day was very fulfilling.

While the progress couldn't be called rapid, it was steady.

Current Experience Points: 2800

In the past month, Duan Mu had only used less than four hundred experience points, all of which were spent on areas of his training he didn't understand.

"When I have some free time in a few days, I'll go visit Sister Kūkaku again," Duan Mu sighed. To gain a large amount of experience points, he really had to start with Sister Kūkaku.

Returning to District 38, he stood outside his shop and heard a commotion from within.

Duan Mu showed no surprise on his face. Instead, he habitually pulled open the shop door, and a lively atmosphere immediately washed over him.

In the spacious hall of the shop, fierce-looking men sat in groups at tables and chairs scattered throughout the hall, drinking and chatting.

Looking at the scene, someone unfamiliar might think this was some kind of tavern.

Although...

The current Yorozuya, without him even realizing it, had indeed gained tavern-like services.

To be more precise...

This place was more like a gathering spot for dangerous individuals.

These people were naturally the villains. After a month, not only had their numbers not decreased, but for some reason, they had become even more numerous.

When they first arrived, Diao Ao and the others were very afraid of Duan Mu. But as they spent more time together and discovered that Duan Mu was surprisingly easy to get along with, these carefree guys gradually let loose and became less reserved.

Although they still did whatever Duan Mu told them to do, they would usually gather together to drink at the shop.

Initially, the nearby neighbors were somewhat afraid of Diao Ao and the others. But over time, they got used to these fierce-looking individuals who only acted tough amongst themselves in private but wore smiles to everyone else.

They just thought these people were a bit gruff-looking, unaware that they were truly dangerous elements who went to the back numbered districts to fight every day. Recently, due to Uzuki, these guys had developed a financial need in addition to the pleasure of fighting others...

Duan Mu did not interfere with this, as it was a rule that had been maintained in the back numbered districts for thousands of years. Moreover, except for a few exceptions, normal people would not choose to live in areas that practiced the law of the jungle; dying there was their own fault.

As for why they had a financial need because of Uzuki, it was because...

Uzuki had expanded her business beyond being just a shop mascot. She had acquired a batch of the lowest quality alcohol from the Brewing Granny and then resold it to these villains at a fivefold markup.

Although the service was practically nonexistent and the staff's attitude was extremely poor, these guys didn't care. Instead, they would often stay for an entire day, as if treating this place as a temporary relaxation spot. Many villains from outside District 79 even came after hearing about it.

At first, there were people who caused trouble, but they were all dealt with by Iwao, who was always stationed at the shop, along with Diao Ao and the others. Although Duan Mu had also gone to the back numbered districts and killed some people.

Under sufficient deterrence, after a month, this gathering place for villains had been so successfully managed by Uzuki that the profits were almost half of Duan Mu's daily earnings.

While making money was a good thing, the current scene always made Duan Mu feel like something was not quite right.

"Boss Duan Mu is back!!"

As soon as Duan Mu entered the door, someone with sharp eyes spotted him, and the noisy chatter in the shop immediately quieted down.

"Brother Duan Mu, you've worked hard."

"I just collected some 'protection fees' from the southern merchants. It's all top-quality good wine. Would you like to have some with us?"

"..."

Duan Mu's reply to these flattering greetings was simple, just one word.

"Scram."

"Alright!!"

The group of people in the shop immediately and grandly left the Yorozuya. Once outside, they scattered, splitting into several groups and heading towards their respective areas. After all, many of them had friction with each other, and if they walked together, they might end up wanting to kill each other.

Anyone who caused trouble in areas with good public order was dead, and they died in large numbers. Therefore, it was better to disperse.

Under Duan Mu's cold gaze, the main culprit behind the current situation, Diao Ao, chuckled nervously and said, "Boss Duan Mu, we'll be heading back now too." With that, he ran off without looking back, as if afraid he'd be beaten to death if he ran any slower.

Duan Mu didn't deny that he had just considered whether he should just beat Diao Ao to death.

"I've noticed you seem to be enjoying counting money more and more lately," Duan Mu said, looking at Uzuki, who was counting money behind the counter, with narrowed eyes. "I never noticed you enjoying doing business this much before."

"There weren't this many foolish customers before either,"

Uzuki replied without looking up. "Besides, I'm not doing this just to earn more money for you to squander. If you check the ledger, you'll see that our spending on alcohol and snacks has clearly been increasing recently."

"..."

Duan Mu opened his mouth, unable to refute.

Who would want to eat plain, oil-less noodles every day when they could have meat and rich dishes? Drinking and eating meat is always better than drinking and gnawing on wild fruits.

Hmm, I should restrain myself from now on.

"But won't this greatly affect our customers?"

"It's fine."

Uzuki smiled, "I've called Iwao and Diao Ao, and tomorrow I plan to build an external staircase. Then, I'll open a door on the second floor and move the Yorozuya's business up there. The first floor will be used as a bar."

As soon as she said that, Duan Mu instinctively asked, "You're not planning to give yourself a stage name like Tonge, are you?"

"Huh?"

"Uh, never mind," Duan Mu quickly said.

Good grief...

My Yorozuya is getting closer and closer to the original version.

"Then what about my bedroom?"

"The second floor has so much space, yet your bedroom only takes up a tiny area and is enclosed by iron bars like a prison. The rest of the large space is completely unused," Uzuki paused, then continued, "Don't worry, the office area and your bedroom will be completely sealed off from each other."

"The Yorozuya can only be accessed from the external staircase, and your bedroom can only be accessed from the staircase inside the bar. Iwao and his subordinates have also been working with you quite a bit lately, so they can handle this simple task. Therefore, you can just work as usual tomorrow."

Hearing this, Duan Mu nodded.

If that was the case, he had no complaints. Plus, having an extra source of income wasn't bad, especially since the number of commissions would decrease after winter set in.

"Oh, right, I received a well-paying commission today."

Uzuki took out the commission book from behind the counter and handed it to Duan Mu. "It's a joint commission from several businesses in District 43. They need to transport goods to Byakudō Gate, but due to the many roving bandits in District 43, they hope you can bring some people to help escort them."

Duan Mu felt a bit speechless upon hearing this. Was he expanding his business again?

"They seemed to have heard that our shop often has many fierce-looking individuals, which is why they came to us with the commission."

"..." Duan Mu was silent for a moment. Ignoring the oddity in that statement, he asked doubtfully, "Isn't it Seireitei's procurement season right now?"

"I don't really know either."

Uzuki shook her head. "It seems the Fourth Division is going to hold a ceremony for the changing of vice-captains soon, so they are preparing to procure some supplies a few days in advance and will be holding a banquet after the ceremony."

"I see."

Duan Mu nodded, a flicker of something unusual in his eyes.