Plants of the Soul Society

Yamadatarō.

He is the Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and also the leader of the '14th Advanced Medical Unit' where Konai belongs.

Duan Mu looked at the young man on the sofa, who appeared timid, his hands unsure of where to rest. Duan Mu's gaze was somewhat peculiar... Strictly speaking, this timid-looking fellow was the first Seat Officer Duan Mu had come into close contact with. Based on first impressions alone, one would never guess he was the Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division.

"With your mastery of Kido (Healing), you shouldn't need to 'communicate' with me, right?" Duan Mu asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

When he taught Konai Kido (Healing), she had only just entered the lower ranks, and the knowledge he imparted was the most basic. It was unlikely that even many regular members, let alone a Seventh Seat, would pay attention to it.

Duan Mu's original plan was to first attract some newly joined members and then, through them, attract some older members. Yamadatarō's arrival was truly beyond Duan Mu's expectations.

However...

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

With that thought, Duan Mu looked at Yamadatarō, whose face was flushed red as he was still trying to organize his words, and smiled gently. "Don't be nervous. As the Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division, it's my honor that you're willing to come and exchange Kido (Healing) with me. However, have you looked into the pricing?"

"Yes."

Yamadatarō nodded quickly. "When Konai was exchanging with her peers, I heard her mention it. It's 10,000 Ring per hour."

"Sorry, that's the price for Soul Reaper Academy students."

Although he really wanted to keep Yamadatarō, Duan Mu wasn't planning to lower the price too much. Moreover, the other party was a male creature who couldn't provide him with experience points.

"With your mastery of Kido (Healing), Seat Officer Yamada, an hour of exchange will cost you thirty thousand Ring," Duan Mu paused, then added, "Of course, the 10% discount I mentioned earlier is still valid, so the exchange fee for one hour is twenty-seven thousand Ring."

"Okay."

Yamadatarō's reaction was somewhat unexpected for Duan Mu. He didn't bargain, nor did he hesitate at the price. Instead, he directly took out a wad of cash from his satchel, counted it, and then handed a portion of it to Duan Mu with both hands, showing great respect and not the slightest hint of his status as a Seat Officer.

Duan Mu subconsciously took it and checked. It was exactly twenty-seven bills; then, he glanced at the satchel slung across Yamadatarō's shoulder, and three words immediately came to mind.

I charged too little!

Although he appeared very simple and honest, Yamadatarō's mind was surprisingly agile. The wad of cash in his satchel indicated that he had already anticipated the price might change before coming here, otherwise, he wouldn't have brought so much money.

And judging by the thickness of that wad of cash...

Even if he had asked for double, he probably could have afforded it.

Duan Mu put the money away. Since the price had been agreed upon, he naturally wouldn't go back on his word. Besides, this was within Duan Mu's expected price range.

The salary of a Seat Officer is even higher than I imagined.

Curse this old society!!

Duan Mu silently grumbled in his heart. He didn't realize that taking out 270,000 Ring at once, while not crippling a Seat Officer, was by no means a small sum.

The reason Yamadatarō was so straightforward was partly because his personal expenses were very low, and partly because he also felt that the price of 10,000 Ring was too cheap.

From the content of Konai's exchanges with her peers, this Yorozuya owner was not only proficient in emergency Kido (Healing) but also had his own unique insights into subsequent treatments like administering medicine. Moreover, he interpreted some basic knowledge in a novel way that made Duan Mu feel enlightened.

This knowledge was extremely precious in his eyes, something that couldn't be measured by money.

"Two hours a day, you can arrange the time as you wish, but it's best to schedule in advance, because besides exchanging with you, I have a lot of other work to do."

"Okay, Teacher Duan Mu..."

"Don't call me teacher," Duan Mu interrupted directly. "You're different from Konai; you're not a student, so we are just 'mutually exchanging.' You can also consider this a paid academic discussion. Just call me by my name, or Manager Duan Mu, or Boss Duan Mu."

No matter how timid the person was, it couldn't change the fact that he was a Seat Officer of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Duan Mu didn't want to arouse the suspicion of the Onmitsukidō with a single word of 'teacher.' To avoid any misunderstandings, he didn't even plan to have any contact with members of the Fourth Division beyond 'academic discussions.'

Of course...

If the other party were a woman, that would be another matter.

In any case, if nothing unexpected happened, the Onmitsukidō had probably already labeled him as a lecher who "likes to make friends with female Soul Reapers." Otherwise, the people they sent wouldn't have gotten progressively prettier.

"Then..." Yamadatarō hesitated for a moment before finally choosing a more respectful title, "Mr. Duan Mu."

"Then let's start today's exchange," Duan Mu nodded, not dwelling on the issue of the name. He got up and walked into an empty room next to the reception room.

"What are you standing around for? Come on over."

"Huh?"

Yamadatarō was stunned. He hadn't expected Duan Mu to start the guidance so quickly. He hurried into the room.

"Close the door."

Yamadatarō did as he was told. Just as he closed the door behind him, he heard a rustling sound of clothes being taken off from behind him. Yamadatarō turned around in confusion, only to see Duan Mu in the center of the room taking off his upper garment, revealing a fair and smooth back.

"???" Yamadatarō blinked his eyes in confusion.

He was indeed pure-hearted and didn't think in the same way as many others. He simply didn't understand why one had to take off their clothes to learn Kido (Healing).

But then he saw the bandages on Duan Mu's body, and a flash of realization crossed his eyes. In fact, when he met Duan Mu, he had smelled the scent of herbs. However, there were many members in the Fourth Division who made medicinal herbs, and they also carried similar scents, so he hadn't thought much of it.

Duan Mu, in the room, untied the bandages wrapped around him, revealing the large, scarred wound on his chest. "Try to heal it with Kido (Healing). I want to see your mastery of Kido (Healing)."

Kido (Healing) was different from Kido. It didn't possess destructive power, so it couldn't be judged by the strength of Spiritual Pressure or the power of its release. The best testing method was practical application. Only after understanding the other party's level could targeted guidance be provided based on the actual situation.

Since he had accepted the commission, he had to satisfy his customers to attract more. Only by doing an excellent job could his name possibly reach the ears of the Captain of the Fourth Division.

With that thought, Duan Mu's gaze towards Yamadatarō became even gentler.

However, at this moment, Yamadatarō's attention was entirely on the bandages Duan Mu had removed, his expression full of curiosity.

The herbs on the bandages weren't complicated; he could even identify them all just by their scent.

But he had never seen anyone combine these herbs together like this before. Judging from the medicinal properties and Spirit Particle fluctuations emitted after they were mixed, their healing ability was likely stronger than most wound medicines he had encountered.

Indeed, this trip was worth it!!

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

"Stop looking. I'll teach you how to mix herbs later," Duan Mu said.

Although Soul Society's medicine bore many traces of the Human World, such as scalpels, intravenous injections, and drugs, its essence was fundamentally different. Take intravenous injections, commonly known as 'infusions.' The liquids used were concocted through Spiritual Power, or even special Kido (Healing) techniques.

This was because, like living beings, the plants in Soul Society contained Spirit Particles. While the presence of Spirit Particles made the effects of the herbs themselves incredible, it also increased the difficulty of mixing them.

Simply put, Soul Society's medicines were somewhat like the rare and exotic flowers and plants that only existed in novels in Duan Mu's past life.

By combining various medicines in special ways, it was even possible to create many drugs or other items that seemed impossible to ordinary people, such as Gigai.

Duan Mu wasn't very interested in these. After all, he wasn't one of those mad scientists. Compared to this, he preferred knowledge related to combat techniques.

However, the knowledge infused by the system didn't care about his preferences at all. Anything related to Kido would be poured into Duan Mu's mind.

"Really?"

It's really hard to entertain children... My older brother's child came to play at my house, and I've been trying to keep him entertained, it's giving me a headache