The Plants of Soul Society

Yamadatarō.

He was the Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, as well as the captain of the "14th Advanced Medical Unit," where Konai belonged.

Duan Mu looked at the timid young man on the sofa, whose hands seemed unsure where to rest, with a strange expression... Strictly speaking, this timid-looking fellow was the first seated officer Duan Mu had ever interacted with at close range. Based on his first impression alone, it was impossible to imagine that he was actually the Fourth Division's Seventh Seat.

"With your attainments in Kido, you shouldn't need to 'exchange knowledge' with me, should you?" Duan Mu asked in puzzlement.

When he had taught Konai Kido, he had only just entered the field himself, and the knowledge he taught was extremely basic. Forget a Seventh Seat—even many ordinary squad members might not think much of it.

Duan Mu's original plan had merely been to attract some new recruits first, then use them to draw some veteran members here. Yamadatarō's arrival had truly been beyond his expectations.

However...

If he could keep him here, the possibility of getting closer to his target would become much greater.

With that thought, Duan Mu looked at Yamadatarō, whose small face was flushed as he organized his words, and smiled gently. "Don't be nervous. As the esteemed Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division, your willingness to exchange knowledge about Kido with me is an honor. However, I wonder if you've learned about the pricing."

"Yes."

Yamadatarō hurriedly nodded. "I heard Konai mention it when she was exchanging knowledge with her classmates. It costs 10,000 rings per hour."

"Sorry, that price is for Soul Reaper Academy students."

Although he very much wanted to keep Yamadatarō here, Duan Mu had no intention of lowering the price too much. Besides, the other party was a male creature who could not provide him with experience points.

"With your attainments in Kido, Seventh Seat Yamada, one hour of exchange will cost 30,000 rings." Duan Mu paused, then added, "Of course, the ten-percent discount I mentioned before still applies, so the fee for one hour will be 27,000 rings."

"Okay."

Yamadatarō's reaction was somewhat beyond Duan Mu's expectations. He neither bargained nor hesitated over the price. Instead, he immediately pulled a stack of money from the satchel slung across his body, counted it, then held part of it out to Duan Mu with both hands. His attitude was extremely respectful, and he showed none of the bearing one would expect from a seated officer.

Duan Mu accepted it instinctively and counted the money. There were exactly twenty-seven notes, no more and no less. Then he looked at the bag slung across Yamadatarō's body, and three words instantly surfaced in his mind.

I didn't charge enough!

Although he gave off an honest and rather simple-minded impression, Hanatarou's mind was unexpectedly nimble. The stack of money in his bag made that clear. Before coming here, he had already anticipated that the price might change. Otherwise, there would have been no need to bring so much money.

And judging by the thickness of that stack...

Even if Duan Mu had charged twice as much, he should still have been able to pay.

Duan Mu put the money away. Since they had already agreed on the price, he naturally would not go back on his word. Besides, this was precisely the price he had expected.

The salary of a seated officer was even higher than he had imagined.

Damn this old society!

Duan Mu silently grumbled to himself. He did not know that although taking out 270,000 rings all at once would not cripple a seated officer financially, it was definitely not a small sum.

Yamadatarō had been so quick to agree partly because he had very few personal expenses, and partly because he also felt that 10,000 rings was far too cheap.

From what Konai had shared while exchanging knowledge with her fellow students, this Yorozuya owner was not only skilled in emergency-treatment Kido, but also possessed unique insights into follow-up treatments such as preparing medicines. Moreover, he explained some basic knowledge in a novel way that left even him feeling enlightened after listening.

That knowledge was extremely precious in his eyes, and could not be measured in money.

"Two hours a day. You can decide when to come, but it would be best to arrange the time in advance. Besides exchanging knowledge with you, I have plenty of other work to do."

"Okay, Boss Duan Mu—"

"Don't call me teacher." Duan Mu interrupted him directly. "You're different from Konai. You aren't a student, so we're merely 'exchanging knowledge.' You can also understand this as paid academic discussion. Just call me by my name, or Store Manager Duan Mu, or Boss Duan Mu."

No matter how timid the man himself was, it could not change the fact that he was a seated officer of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Duan Mu did not want the Onmitsukidō to become wary because of a single "teacher." In fact, to avoid being misunderstood, he had not planned to have any contact with Fourth Division members beyond "academic discussion."

Of course...

If the other party had been a woman, that would have been another matter.

In any case, barring accidents, the Onmitsukidō had probably already labeled him a lecher who "liked making friends with female Soul Reapers." Otherwise, the people they sent would not have been prettier than the last.

"Then..." Yamadatarō hesitated, finally choosing a form of address that seemed relatively respectful. "Mr. Duan Mu."

"Then let's begin today's exchange."

Duan Mu nodded without continuing to dwell on the matter of address. Instead, he rose and entered the empty room beside the reception room.

"What are you waiting for? Come over."

"Huh?"

Hanatarou froze for a moment. He had not expected Duan Mu to begin the instruction so quickly, and hurried into the room.

"Close the door."

Hanatarou did as he was told. Just after he closed the door, he heard the rustling sound of clothes being removed behind him. Puzzled, Hanatarou turned around and found Duan Mu in the middle of the room, having taken off his upper garment and revealed a fair, smooth back.

"???" Hanatarou blinked in bewilderment.

He was rather innocent and did not jump to the same conclusions as many others. He simply did not understand why he had to take off his clothes to study Kido.

But then he saw the bandages on Duan Mu's body, and a look of realization flashed through his eyes. In fact, he had smelled medicinal herbs when he first met Duan Mu, but the Fourth Division also had many members who made healing medicines, so they often carried a similar scent. He had therefore thought nothing of it.

Duan Mu unraveled the bandages around his body and revealed the enormous, already-scarred slash across his chest. "Try using Kido to treat it. I'll see how well you've mastered it."

Kido differed from offensive spells in that it possessed no destructive power, so it could not be judged by the strength of one's Spiritual Power or the force of its release. The best method of testing was through practice. Only after determining the other party's level could he provide targeted instruction based on the actual situation.

Since he had accepted a commission, he had to satisfy the customer. That was the only way to attract more customers. Only by doing a good enough job would his name have a chance of reaching the ears of that Fourth Division captain.

At that thought, the look Duan Mu gave Hanatarou grew even gentler.

However, Hanatarou's attention was entirely focused on the bandages Duan Mu had removed. His expression was filled with curiosity.

The medicinal herbs on the bandages were not complicated. He could even identify the herbs used merely by their scent.

But this was the first time he had seen someone combine those herbs in such a way. Judging from the medicinal properties and spiritual-particle fluctuations emitted after they were combined, their healing ability might be greater than that of most healing medicines he had seen.

Coming here really was worth it!

The more Hanatarou studied them, the brighter his eyes became.

"Stop staring. I'll teach you how to prepare the herbs later," Duan Mu said.

Medical treatment in Soul Society contained many traces of the Human World, such as scalpels, intravenous injections, medicines, and so on, but there were major differences in essence. Take intravenous injections, commonly known as "IV drips," for example. The fluids inside were prepared through Spiritual Power and even special Kido techniques.

Because the plants and living creatures of Soul Society all contained spiritual particles, the presence of spiritual particles made the effects of the herbs astonishing, but also increased the difficulty of preparing them.

Simply put, the medicines of Soul Society were somewhat like the rare and exotic herbs that had existed only in novels in Duan Mu's previous life.

By combining various medicines through special methods, one could even create many medicines—or other things, such as Gigai—that ordinary people would consider impossible.

Duan Mu had little interest in these things. He was not some mad scientist, after all. Compared to them, he preferred knowledge concerning combat techniques.

Unfortunately, the knowledge infused by the system completely ignored his preferences. Anything related to Kido would be poured into Duan Mu's mind.

"Really?"

Taking care of children is really difficult... My big brother's kid came over to play at my place, and I've been entertaining him the whole time. It's given me a terrible headache...