The One Who Escaped

Hanatarou lifted the curtain and secretly glanced at the main hall outside. The panic in his heart had nearly reached its peak.

Although Boss Duan Mu had told him that the first floor beneath Yorozuya was a tavern, but...

The tavern's customers were simply far too terrifying, weren't they!?

When he had first entered the tavern, Hanatarou had even gotten the illusion that he had walked into a den of thieves.

The smell of blood, the pungent stench of alcohol, and the overwhelming odor of sweat; the floor covered in blood, the tables and chairs strewn about, and all kinds of weapons casually discarded on the ground.

The tavern's customers were even more peculiar. At the very least, they were covered in scars. Some were missing arms or legs, some were blind, and some were missing half their faces...

No matter how he looked at it, this was nothing like a tavern!!

The most terrifying part was that when he had just come in, he had actually seen several people carrying a human head outside.

"Don't be nervous."

Seeing Hanatarou's panicked expression, Duan Mu comforted him. "Just pretend they don't exist. Besides, they won't cause trouble in the tavern."

Hearing this, Hanatarou was not comforted at all. Instead, his expression grew even more panicked.

They won't cause trouble in the tavern...

Did that mean they would cause trouble elsewhere?

Just what did this Boss Duan Mu do?

"That should do it."

On the other side, Duan Mu withdrew his hands and turned to Hanatarou, who was staring blankly at him. "Have you finished preparing the medicine?"

"Huh?"

Hanatarou came back to his senses and hurriedly handed the medicine jar in his hands to Duan Mu. "I... I have."

Duan Mu took it, sniffed it, and smiled. "Not bad. But it would be even better if you added some Prison Orchid."

"Prison Orchid?"

Hanatarou's eyes lit up when he heard this. He immediately cast his panic aside and looked at Duan Mu with curiosity. "Mr. Duan Mu, isn't Prison Orchid unsuitable for use as a wound medicine because its medicinal properties are too potent?"

"Yes, that's true."

Duan Mu casually selected several bluish-purple flowers from the herbs beside him. They resembled the palms of babies. With a turn of Spiritual Power, the flowers were crushed and finally transformed into liquid, which dripped into the medicine jar.

"Although Prison Orchid's medicinal properties are potent, as long as you alter the Spiritual Power properties of Kido during extraction, it can be perfectly blended into wound medicine made from thistle, spirit reed, Prison Buckwheat..."

"Not only can it activate the properties of the other medicines to the greatest extent, its own heat is also highly suitable for treating damage to 'Soul Sleep.'"

Duan Mu paused, then asked, "By the way, have you ever used a Gigai?"

Hanatarou was stunned when he heard this. He did not understand why Duan Mu had suddenly brought up Gigai, but he still shook his head.

"Then it's no wonder. When Soul Reapers use Gigai, they sometimes use a medicine called 'Soul Stabilizer' to increase the sense of synchronization between the spiritual body and the Gigai. The main ingredient of this medicine is Prison Orchid." As Duan Mu spoke, he applied the medicine to the bandages.

"Boss Duan Mu, is this your new underling?" Habutae asked curiously.

"No."

Duan Mu shook his head, handed one medicated bandage to Hanatarou, and took another as he walked over to Habutae.

Hanatarou accepted the bandage and walked toward Nishijin-ori without the slightest hesitation.

Usually timid, Hanatarou felt no fear toward patients when treating them.

Even Nishijin-ori, whom even Duan Mu was unwilling to have much contact with, seemed like an ordinary patient in his eyes. This made Duan Mu sigh. Only when treating people did Hanatarou look like a seated officer of the Fourth Division.

"Boss Duan Mu, have you considered moving your shop to District 80? That way, when we get injured in a fight in the future, we won't have to run all the way here to find you for treatment."

"This isn't a hospital."

Duan Mu said irritably, "If you don't want to die, don't even think about fighting anyone over the next few days. And the two of you had better stay in my tavern for a few days first. Leave after your injuries have completely healed."

Duan Mu was not exaggerating. The injuries the two had suffered this time were far too serious. Their old wounds from three days ago had not fully healed before they sustained new injuries. If Duan Mu's Kido had not nearly reached the advanced level, he might not have been able to heal them.

Habutae was in better shape. Her injuries looked serious, but in reality, they had not harmed her vital organs.

Nishijin-ori's injuries, however, were extremely severe. Not only had the wound from three days ago been torn open, but the penetrating wound in his chest had also grazed past his Soul Sleep.

If he had arrived any later, or if Duan Mu's Kido abilities had been weaker, Nishijin-ori's Spiritual Power would have completely dissipated before long, leaving him an ordinary person.

The reason Nishijin-ori sat so quietly in the corner was partly due to his personality, but more importantly, remaining conscious was already an extremely difficult task for him.

Habutae seemed tempted by Duan Mu's words, but she did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked toward Nishijin-ori in the corner.

"No need."

Nishijin-ori's reply was as concise as ever.

Seeing this, Habutae made a helpless face and said apologetically to Duan Mu, "Don't take it to heart. Our boss is just like that. He isn't very good at dealing with people."

Duan Mu did not say anything more. He merely glanced at the system in his mind.

Habutae Favorability +1, gained 640 experience points, current favorability: 41

What a beautiful line of text.

Although she looked quite manly, her favorability was unexpectedly easy to raise.

After bandaging the wound around Habutae's waist, Duan Mu examined the stump of her severed arm. After confirming that there were no major problems, he said, "Even if you don't want to stay here, at least wait until tomorrow morning before leaving. You'd better contact your subordinates and have them come pick you up."

Duan Mu paused, then continued while looking at Nishijin-ori in the corner, "Your boss injured his Soul Sleep. If you don't want him to die, don't let him move around casually, especially don't let him use his spiritual pressure. Otherwise, even if he survives by luck, he won't be able to preserve the Spiritual Power in his body."

"It's that serious!?"

Habutae's expression changed when she heard this. She abruptly stood up and looked toward Nishijin-ori inquiringly. "Is what Boss Duan Mu said true?"

Although she had vaguely sensed that something was wrong with Nishijin-ori's condition, his injuries did not look as severe as hers, so Habutae had not paid much attention. Only after hearing Duan Mu's words did she realize that her boss's injuries had actually reached such a serious state.

Nishijin-ori raised his head and glanced at Duan Mu, then shook his head at Habutae. "I'm fine."

Watching the two interact, Duan Mu immediately became interested. His gaze shifted back and forth between Habutae and Nishijin-ori. These two...

There seemed to be something fishy going on.

On the other side, Habutae carefully looked at Nishijin-ori before turning her head. "Boss Duan Mu, does what you said earlier about us being able to stay here still count?" Without waiting for Duan Mu to answer, she continued solemnly, "Hear me out before you reply."

A strange look flashed through Duan Mu's eyes.

Originally, he had asked the two to stay only so they could receive treatment. He had not thought much of it. But Habutae's words made Duan Mu realize...

Keeping the two of them here might well bring trouble upon him. Otherwise, Habutae would not have said something like that.

Since he did not want to get involved in the grudges between the Great Villains, Duan Mu had never asked how they had been injured. He had merely treated their wounds in accordance with his shop's principle of "charging for services rendered."

But according to Duan Mu's guess, it was probably nothing more than the two of them going to Southern District 80 to settle some petty score while their injuries had not yet healed.

However, Habutae's first sentence exceeded Duan Mu's expectations.

"Actually, we escaped from Western District 80."

The child from my older brother's family has finally left. Starting tomorrow, I'll be writing during the day instead, so I won't have to wait for him to fall asleep anymore. I'll work hard to post several more chapters every day.