Escaped

Hanatarou lifted the curtain and peeked outside at the main hall, his heart filled with extreme panic.

Although he had heard from Teacher Duan Mu that there was a tavern below the Yorozuya, ...

The patrons of this tavern were just too terrifying!?

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

The smell of blood, the pungent aroma of alcohol, and that overwhelming stench of sweat; the floor covered in blood, tables and chairs scattered haphazardly, and various weapons carelessly discarded on the ground.

And the tavern patrons were even more peculiar. The most basic among them were covered in scars, and even more so, some were missing limbs, some were blind, and some had half their faces gone...

From any angle, this looked nothing like a tavern!!

The most terrifying thing was that when he first came in, he had actually seen several people walking out carrying a human head.

"Don't be nervous."

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

Instead of being comforted, Hanatarou's expression became even more panicked.

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

Does that mean they cause trouble elsewhere?

What exactly does this Mr. Duan Mu do?

"That should do it."

On the other side, Duan Mu withdrew his hands and then said to Hanatarou, who was staring at him blankly, "Is the medicinal balm ready?"

"Huh?"

Hanatarou snapped back to attention and hurriedly handed the medicine pot in his hand to Duan Mu. "It's... it's ready."

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

"Prison Orchid?"

Hanatarou's eyes lit up at the mention of it, and he immediately cast his panic aside, looking at Duan Mu with curiosity. "Mr. Duan Mu, isn't Prison Orchid unsuitable as a wound medicine because its medicinal properties are too potent?"

"Yes, that is correct."

Duan Mu casually picked out some bluish-purple flowers from the surrounding herbs, which resembled a baby's palm. He channeled his Spiritual Power, crushing the flowers until they turned into liquid and dripped into the medicine pot.

"Although Prison Orchid's medicinal properties are potent, as long as you change the nature of the Kido's Spiritual Power during extraction, it can be perfectly integrated into wound medicines formulated with Yarrow, Spiritual Reed, Prison Buckwheat... "

"Its presence not only maximizes the activation of other medicinal properties, but its own potent nature is also very suitable for treating 'Soul Sleep' damage."

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

Hanatarou was stunned, not understanding why Duan Mu suddenly mentioned Gigai, but he still shook his head.

"Then it's no wonder. When Soul Reapers use Gigai, to increase the synchronicity between their spiritual body and the Gigai, they sometimes use a medicinal agent called 'Soul Stabilizer'. The main ingredient of this agent is Prison Orchid," Duan Mu said as he applied the ointment to the bandage.

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

"No."

Duan Mu shook his head, handed Hanatarou a bandage with the ointment applied, and took one himself to walk over to Habutae.

Hanatarou took the bandage and walked towards Nishijin-ori without hesitation.

Hanatarou, usually timid, showed no fear towards his patients when treating them.

Even Nishijin-ori, with whom Duan Mu was reluctant to have much contact, seemed like just an ordinary patient in his eyes. This made Duan Mu sigh; only when treating others did he look like a lieutenant of the Fourth Division.

"Boss Duan Mu, have you considered moving your shop to District 80? That way, if we get injured in future fights, we won't have to travel so far to get treatment."

"This isn't a hospital."

Duan Mu retorted impatiently, "If you don't want to die, don't think about fighting anyone for the next few days. And you two had better stay at my tavern for a few days until your injuries have completely healed before leaving."

Duan Mu wasn't exaggerating. The two of them were severely injured this time. Their old wounds from three days ago hadn't fully healed before they sustained new ones. If Duan Mu's Kido wasn't already close to advanced, he might not have been able to heal them.

Habutae was doing better; he looked serious, but his vital points weren't actually injured.

However, Nishijin-ori's injuries were extremely severe. Not only were the wounds from three days ago torn open, but the penetrating wound on his chest had grazed his 'Soul Sleep'.

If he had arrived any later, or if Duan Mu's Kido ability was weaker, Nishijin-ori's Spiritual Power would have completely drained away before long, turning him into an ordinary person.

The reason Nishijin-ori was sitting so quietly in the corner, while partly due to his personality, was more because it was extremely difficult for him to even stay conscious right now.

Habutae seemed tempted by his words but didn't immediately reply, instead looking at Nishijin-ori in the corner with a questioning gaze.

"No need."

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

Seeing this, Habutae made a helpless expression and said apologetically to Duan Mu, "You don't need to mind him, our boss is just like that, not very good at interacting with people."

Duan Mu didn't say anything more but glanced at the system in his mind.

[Habutae's affection increased by 1, gained 640 experience points, current affection: 41]

What a wonderful line of text.

Although he looked tough, his affection was surprisingly easy to gain.

After bandaging Habutae's waist wound, Duan Mu checked the gap where Habutae's arm had been severed. Once he confirmed there were no serious issues, he said, "Even if you don't want to stay here, at least wait until tomorrow morning to leave. It's best to contact your subordinates and have them come pick you up."

Duan Mu paused, then looked at Nishijin-ori in the corner and continued, "Your boss's Soul Sleep has been injured. If he doesn't want to die, don't let him move around casually, especially don't let him use Spiritual Pressure. Otherwise, even if he miraculously survives, he won't be able to preserve the Spiritual Power within his body."

"That serious!?"

Habutae's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. She stood up abruptly and looked at Nishijin-ori with a questioning gaze, "Is what Boss Duan Mu said true?"

Although she had vaguely sensed that Nishijin-ori's condition was not quite right, his injuries didn't seem as severe as hers, so Habutae hadn't paid too much attention. After hearing Duan Mu's words, she realized that her boss's injuries were actually this severe.

Nishijin-ori glanced up at Duan Mu before shaking his head at Habutae, "I'm fine."

Watching their interaction, Duan Mu's interest was piqued. His gaze flickered between Habutae and Nishijin-ori. There seemed to be something going on between these two...

Meanwhile, Habutae took a closer look at Nishijin-ori before turning back to Duan Mu and asking, "Boss Duan Mu, does your earlier offer to let us stay here still stand?" Without waiting for Duan Mu's reply, she continued with a serious expression, "Please hear me out before you answer."

A flicker of surprise crossed Duan Mu's eyes at her words.

He had initially asked them to stay so they could receive treatment, without thinking much of it. However, Habutae's statement made Duan Mu realize...

Keeping them here might bring him trouble, otherwise, Habutae wouldn't have said what she did.

Not wanting to get involved in the grudges between Great Villains, Duan Mu hadn't asked how they sustained their injuries. He simply adhered to his principle of 'charging for services rendered' and treated them.

However, based on Duan Mu's speculation, it was likely something like them going to District 80 South to stir up trouble before their injuries had even healed.

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

"Actually, we escaped from District 80 West."

My older brother's child finally left. I'll be writing during the day tomorrow, so I won't have to wait for him to fall asleep. I'll do my best to update with a few more chapters each day.