Spiritual Pressure

The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Duan Mu yawned and climbed out of bed.

Including washing up and breakfast, it took him less than ten minutes before he was sitting at the counter, enjoying his freshly cooked clear soup noodles.

After quickly finishing breakfast, Duan Mu picked up his bowl, wiped down the counter, and then went to the kitchen to tidy up.

Once everything was in order, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he found a sign, wrote "Out Working" on it, and hung it on the shop door before heading to the agreed-upon location at a leisurely pace.

Following the information Iwao had left him yesterday, Duan Mu walked for nearly an hour. As he looked at the increasingly desolate surroundings, he started to doubt if he had been tricked by Shiba Iwao. There was no sign of anyone living in a place like this.

However, after walking for another ten minutes, Duan Mu's doubts about Iwao vanished.

Although there was still some distance to go, a house that looked like it had been transformed by Sun Wukong from Journey to the West had come into view.

The house didn't look very big from the outside, but behind it stood a chimney that soared into the clouds, resembling a tail. This made Duan Mu stroke his chin, "If this 'tail' fell, that small house would disappear instantly... Hmm?"

Before he could finish speaking, the tail behind the small house disappeared, not by falling as Duan Mu had predicted, but by 'retracting' back into the house.

"Hmm... Back when I went to the East Sea to retrieve the Ruyi Jingu Bang, I used the same method. How nostalgic!"

After a few seconds of silence, Duan Mu, having applied the experiences of a certain monkey to himself, made a comment and then calmly walked towards the small house.

Having been in this world for three years, he was actually quite used to such things.

After all, Soul Reapers had always had strong architectural abilities. For example, a certain shop owner who ran a general store in the Human World dug a massive underground training ground beneath his shop in just one day.

However...

Compared to the Shiba family in Duan Mu's memory, although the exterior of the house before him was the same, it lacked its most distinctive feature: the two giant arms standing outside the door.

"Who are you!"

As soon as he approached the small house, two burly men came forward and surrounded Duan Mu.

"He doesn't look like a good guy, big brother."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"..."

Duan Mu felt that he looked quite harmless. How did these two conclude that he didn't look like a good person? Was there something wrong with the clothes he was wearing today?

"Kin Hikō, Gin Hikō, he's someone I asked to come."

Before the two burly men could react, a familiar voice called out from behind them. "He's that kid who runs the Yorozuya in District '38'."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the two burly men lit up, and they immediately cleared the path. "So he's here to help. I knew he looked like a good person, big brother."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"...You two brothers are truly... steadfast in your positions," Duan Mu said with narrowed eyes.

Walking between them, Duan Mu reached Iwao, who was panting, and glanced behind him. Beyond the entrance wasn't the usual house interior, but a staircase leading downwards, seemingly without end.

"Customer, your house's architectural style is very... unique." Adhering to the principle of not offending customers, Duan Mu swallowed the word "bizarre."

"You don't need to call me customer, just call me Iwao."

Placing the box on his shoulder on the ground, Iwao pointed to the staircase behind the door. "Everything has been packed into boxes. What we need to do today is move all the boxes to the new house. If you do a good job, you'll definitely be paid well."

A flicker of surprise crossed Duan Mu's eyes. Although the man looked a bit rough around the edges, he wasn't as arrogant as Duan Mu had imagined, and his attitude was unexpectedly peaceful.

It was Duan Mu who had been prejudiced due to his memories.

Come to think of it...

Although the other party disliked Soul Reapers, he didn't act like a noble lord when interacting with the residents of Rukongai. Instead, he often mingled with them.

"Are there only the four of us?" Duan Mu asked.

"Strictly speaking, only three." Iwao patted Duan Mu's shoulder. "While we're moving, Kin Hikō and Gin Hikō will stay behind to guard the house. But you were hired, so don't expect to stay behind to guard it. Besides, with your frail appearance, you're not suited for staying behind."

"Let's go, come with me to move things. We'll move everything up first, and then move it to the new house's address."

"Alright, sir," Duan Mu replied in the tone of a shop assistant, then followed Iwao downwards, asking as they walked, "Are you the only one in your family?"

"I have an older sister. She's building a house at the new address. You'll meet her when we move there. My sister was the one who suggested I find you to help with the move. Apparently, she was introduced to her by the owner of a tobacco shop in District 3."

Iwao said without looking back, then, as if remembering something, he turned to warn Duan Mu, "When we get there, absolutely do not be disrespectful. If you anger my elder sister, no one will be able to save you."

Duan Mu grunted and didn't inquire further. He had already learned what he wanted to know, and asking too many questions might make the other party suspicious.

The amount of things to be moved was surprisingly large.

It took Duan Mu and Iwao nearly three hours to move all the boxes and furniture from underground to the surface.

"Not bad, kid."

Once everything was moved, Iwao sat on a box and looked at Duan Mu in surprise. "I didn't expect you to have such good stamina, looking so thin and weak. Are you even human?"

He had initially thought Duan Mu would get tired and unable to continue before long, but this seemingly frail guy had been handling everything with ease from start to finish.

Duan Mu replied, "As far as I know, there aren't any 'human' beings in the entire Soul Society, are there?"

"Huh?"

Iwao was stunned for a moment, then realized. "Hahaha, that's true. You're quite something, kid. No wonder so many people in West Rukongai have hired you. I'm planning to take in a few subordinates soon. Do you want to come with me? I'll look out for you."

"Sure, how much per day?"

Iwao choked, recalling the Yorozuya's price list, and resolutely shook his head. "Forget it, I can't afford to take you on as a subordinate."

Duan Mu smiled at this, extending his hand to Iwao on the ground. "You've rested enough. Let's get back to it. According to the shop's rules, if we don't finish moving today, you'll have to pay extra tomorrow."

"Are you only thinking about money?"

Iwao's face darkened, but he still grabbed Duan Mu's hand and stood up. However, he didn't notice the strange glint in Duan Mu's eyes as he pulled him up.

Of course, it wasn't because of holding hands.

Duan Mu's sexual orientation was normal. The reason for his reaction was entirely because Iwao hadn't sensed his Spiritual Pressure upon contact.

Duan Mu had actually condensed a layer of Spiritual Pressure beneath his skin on the hand he extended, yet Iwao hadn't perceived any abnormality.

When moving things earlier, he had, in fact, used Spiritual Pressure just like Iwao.

Although people with Spiritual Pressure were rare in Rukongai, they weren't entirely absent, so Duan Mu hadn't intended to hide it from the start.

But what surprised Duan Mu somewhat was...

From beginning to end, Iwao hadn't noticed it at all. Instead, he thought Duan Mu was so effortless because of his good stamina.

Conversely, Duan Mu had sensed the fluctuations of spiritual particles from the moment Iwao reinforced himself with Spiritual Pressure. Judging by its intensity, it was much stronger than his own 'lower-level' Spiritual Pressure.

Was his spiritual particle perception worse than his own?

Or perhaps...

Duan Mu tried releasing his Spiritual Pressure for a moment.

"Huh?"

Iwao, who was moving boxes, paused and looked around curiously, muttering, "Was that an illusion?"

A strange glint flashed in Duan Mu's eyes.

It seemed it wasn't that Iwao's spiritual particle perception was weak, but rather that it was difficult for others to detect his Spiritual Pressure unless he released it onto his skin surface.

But if that were the case, why could he sense Iwao's method when moving things earlier, even though they were the same?

Was his body particularly special?

"Hey... hey, hey..."

"Yeah?"

Duan Mu was pulled from his thoughts by Iwao. Seeing Duan Mu spacing out, Iwao said with dissatisfaction, "I'm telling you, even if we drag this out until tomorrow, I won't pay you extra."

"Sorry, I was just a bit distracted."

Duan Mu didn't dwell on it further. He picked up three large boxes from the ground and caught up to Iwao.