Chen Fan broke out in a cold sweat, glanced outside, and said, "Ah...! I'll tell you all about my past after we find a place to rest. You have to tell me too, okay? I don't want my woman to have any other men in her past. It's an equal exchange!"
"You... you bastard!" Yoruichi's face turned red upon hearing Chen Fan's words...
Chapter Twenty-One: The Shinigami 400 Years Ago
Just as Chen Fan and Yoruichi were talking, a surge of spiritual pressure suddenly approached them rapidly. Chen Fan was incredibly sensitive to spiritual pressure. Perhaps because he didn't have much spiritual pressure, he used it more rationally and carefully, not wasting a single bit. Even the slash he had just unleashed had extremely strong spiritual pressure. If it weren't for the fact that the spiritual pressure would explode at the end, it would be difficult for others to detect. Shihōin Yoruichi was even more so. Her specialty was hand-to-hand White Strike, and the application of spiritual pressure in White Strike- to-hand combat was like internal energy in China martial arts novels. Therefore, Shihōin Yoruichi's physical strength and mobility were unmatched by other Shinigami.
"It seems we have guests!" Chen Fan said, and Yoruichi nodded in agreement. Who could it be? This spiritual pressure clearly belonged to Shinigami.
Chen Fan and Yoruichi quickly spotted the newcomer. This person was covered in the fur of some unknown animal, wore a Hollow mask resembling a goat's head, and Kakuzu of their Shinigami uniform.
Upon seeing this image, Chen Fan remembered that there was such a person, but Chen Fan had forgotten his name. After all, it had been a long time since that incident. Chen Fan did remember the matter of Kaien Shiba, but of course, he only remembered it after seeing it with his own eyes. Without any prompting, he would have forgotten almost everything after so many years.
The person landed on a tree trunk not far from Chen Fan and Yoruichi, looking at them Yoruichi. Chen Fan Yoruichi also looked at the newcomer without saying a word.
"Roar..." The Menos's voice rang out, seemingly indicating that those people had somehow acquired more Gillian, or that they had been attracted by Chen Fan's earlier attack;
Ashido glanced in the direction from which the Menos had made the sound, then turned to Chen Fan and Yoruichi, saying, "This way!"
After saying that, she quickly leaped away in one direction. Yoruichi glanced at Chen Fan, Chen Fan nodded. Although he had forgotten the name of this Shinigami, he knew that this Shinigami was a Grim Shinigami with an unwavering will—or, in Chen Fan's words, a fanatic.
Chen Fan couldn't imagine anyone living in the Forest of Menos for over 400 years without going mad. No one was there to talk to him; he was all alone. Compared to that person, Chen Fan's seven years on Tenrou Island were like paradise.
The two quickly followed, leaping from branch to branch to conceal their spiritual pressure. The Shinigami was incredibly alluring here; for Hollows, Shinigami were like experience pills—the more they drank, the higher their level. This led to frequent Hollow invasions of the Soul Society and the Human World. Invading the Soul Society was to seize Shinigami. Who would willingly seek death without profit? Simply put, it's like the difference between Novice Village and a high-risk, high-reward area. The Soul Society offered higher experience but also greater risks, and usually, the outcome was a one-way trip.
"Who is he? Can we trust him?" Yoruichi whispered to Chen Fan. Encountering Shinigami in the Forest of Menos was too suspicious. Could this be a Hollow's trap?
"Don't worry, as one of the Four Great Noble Clans, you must know about the expeditionary force, right?" Chen Fan said.
"An expeditionary force? Could it be...?"
"Hehe, that's not it," Chen Fan said with a smile.
Yoruichi rolled her eyes at Chen Fan, annoyed. "Chen Fan is so irresponsible!" she snapped. "What did you say?!"
"It should be similar to that. He'll tell us in a bit. What I mean is, it's not just Hollows that invade Soul Society; Shinigami sometimes invade Hueco Mundo too," Chen Fan said.
Yoruichi looked at Chen Fan with a questioning gaze, "Wh... what's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
"How could a new Shinigami like you know so much? These things are secrets, and they're not taught in the Shino Academy!"
Chen Fan scratched his head and chuckled, saying, "Ah... it's just hearsay. You know I'm good friends with Kaien! We sometimes talk about the history of the Shinigami."
"Really?" Yoruichi looked at Chen Fan with a suspicious gaze. She was increasingly convinced that Chen Fan was hiding something from her.
"Really! Really! Ah! We're here!" Chen Fan said, pointing to the stopped Ashido.
Shihōin Yoruichi looked ahead and saw a hidden cave appear. "Thump!" The two landed in front of the cave and then followed Ashido inside.
The cave was spacious, with a glowing blue sphere above providing ample light—a light belonging to the Kido. There was a stone bed covered in green moss, seemingly for added comfort. It was very simple. Several holes in the cave walls held food items, such as mushrooms. While the Forest of Menos was indeed a forest, where grass was scarce, fungi were still present.
Seeing this kind of dwelling, Yoruichi was slightly taken aback.
"My name is Ashido! And yours?" Ashido began.
"My name Chen Fan, and this is my girlfriend Shihōin Yoruichi!" Chen Fan said, directly addressing Yoruichi as his girlfriend.
"Shihoin!" Ashido repeated softly. The Shionin Family was Four Great Noble Clans, Ashido, being a legitimate Shinigami, knew about this family.