Soul Slayer

Returning home, Lu Mingfei found that his cousin Lu Mingze had not yet returned, and his aunt and uncle were also out. He slipped into the room he shared with Lu Mingze.

Lu Mingfei's room was somewhat cluttered, containing two beds and two desks. The bed near the door was his, while the one inside belonged to Lu Mingze.

Lu Mingze was his cousin, and he was currently boarding with his aunt and uncle.

His own parents only sent money from abroad periodically; he hadn't seen them since middle school, or so he remembered.

He could still recall that his cousin Lu Mingze had a QQ account named "Lonely Gluttonous Snake." He would copy many melancholic sentences to post on his QQ Space, accompanied by close-up selfies taken with his phone. Occasionally, he would even upload photos of his wrists smeared with red ink to fake self-harm, paired with poems implying that life was meaningless without love.

Upon discovering this, Lu Mingfei had registered a new QQ account, naming it "Scar of the Sunset."

He set the avatar to a photo of a cute, short-haired girl, filled in the age as sixteen, and wrote the personal signature: "Let your smile and sorrow become the scar of my life."

Whenever Lu Mingze was home surfing the web, Lu Mingfei would sneak off to an internet cafe to flirt with "Lonely Gluttonous Snake."

Lu Mingze was always trying to arrange a meetup on QQ. Lu Mingfei would always agree with ironclad certainty, but he would always schedule it for the exact time his aunt dragged Lu Mingze to piano lessons. Every time, Lu Mingze would miss the cute girl, leaving him wringing his hands in frustration.

Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei couldn't help but chuckle. He needed to find time to go to an internet cafe and log out of the "Scar of the Sunset" account.

Setting down his schoolbag, Lu Mingfei sat on the bed and took a silver cross necklace from around his neck.

Back at school, he had discovered that after becoming a captain, the spiritual shell Mayuri Kurotsuchi had specially crafted for his Zanpakuto had returned with him.

The reason he had it crafted was purely because Lu Mingfei thought it looked cool to take off a cross necklace and transform it into a Zanpakuto during battle—it boosted his style points significantly—and it was very convenient to carry.

Unlike Ichigo Kurosaki, who ran around every day with a butcher knife strapped to his back.

Actually, some things were a bit strange. Lu Mingfei had exhausted all his Shinigami power during his duel with Aizen.

But now, Lu Mingfei could feel his body slowly strengthening. This sensation meant his Shinigami power was returning!

Not only that, but the Shinigami power was actually fusing with his physical body. Could the power of the soul manifest within the physical body in this world?

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before all his lost Shinigami power returned.

There was a way to test this; perhaps he could find the reason.

Lu Mingfei channeled his Shinigami power to communicate with the spiritual energy inside the necklace.

With a flash of silver light, a Zanpakuto with a black hilt and a black scabbard appeared in Lu Mingfei's hand.

He drew it; the blade was about three feet long.

The Zanpakuto was currently in its initial state, unreleased. It would only undergo further changes when called by its name. This blade was called Zanshin.

A Zanpakuto's shape, state, and abilities were forged from the Shinigami's own soul.

By learning the name of their Zanpakuto and engaging in a dialogue of the heart, a Shinigami gained power.

Taking advantage of the fact that his aunt and uncle hadn't returned yet, Lu Mingfei prepared to try communicating with his Zanpakuto first.

He placed Zanshin across his knees and sat cross-legged in meditation. This was Jinzen. Lu Mingfei tried to synchronize his thoughts with the Zanpakuto and then speak to it.

In the inner world, countless skyscrapers rose from the ground.

Looking closely, this was actually the city where Lu Mingfei lived.

However, the entire world was grayscale, and beyond the city was a hazy, gray void where nothing could be seen clearly.

Lu Mingfei sat cross-legged on a rooftop, his eyes closed.

Synchronization successful. He opened his eyes to see a young-looking man in a black trench coat standing beside him—the manifestation of his Zanpakuto.

"Zanshin, didn't you tell me back then that using the final Zanshin would cost me all my Shinigami power? But now, not only is my Shinigami power slowly increasing, but it's also fusing with my physical body. Have you felt anything on your end?"

Lu Mingfei's current body wasn't enough to support an analysis of his own physiology, so he could only throw the question to his Zanpakuto; perhaps it understood these circumstances.

"Mingfei, the so-called 'final' act was indeed to pour all your Shinigami power into it, turning yourself into the blade. After using it, you would lose all your power and become an ordinary human."

"But for some reason, after your Shinigami power was exhausted, another type of power suddenly replenished it, which caused your Shinigami power to be reignited."

The young man in black paused for a moment before continuing his explanation.

"Your body here seems a bit special. The power of the Shinigami has begun to fuse with your flesh. I believe that after some time, you will be able to reach the state of a Shinigami while remaining in a mortal body."

A special body? What did that mean?

Lu Mingfei pondered this seriously.

After ending the communication with his Zanpakuto, Lu Mingfei opened his eyes. He was back in his room, still in the meditation posture, with the Zanpakuto resting across his knees.

He transformed the Zanpakuto back into a necklace and put it around his neck. At that moment, the world suddenly slowed down.

Lu Mingfei saw a well-behaved-looking boy sitting by the window. He was swinging his legs, wearing small white square-toed leather shoes, a little black suit, and a white silk cravat.

Lu Mingfei stood up. Before he could speak, the little boy turned his head, revealing a pair of bright golden eyes.

"Brother, are you keeping another wild man behind my back? Why is there another presence here?" Lu Mingze asked with a resentful tone.

"Huh?"

Lu Mingfei felt completely bewildered.

"Has my Zanpakuto changed again?"

The current situation was just like when he entered the inner world of his Zanpakuto; Lu Mingfei could feel that this was a realm similar to a mental landscape.

"I am your brother Lu Mingze, brother." Lu Mingze blinked.

"Impossible, my chubby cousin couldn't possibly be this cute!" Lu Mingfei crossed his arms, refusing to believe it.

"That little fatty? Although he is also named Lu Mingze, I am certainly not him." Lu Mingze wore an expression of disdain.

It was strange; even though the little boy had appeared so abruptly, Lu Mingfei felt a hint of familiarity. It was truly bizarre.

"Although I don't know where you obtained this new power, brother, please keep me in mind. I am the only candidate for a transaction with you."

Lu Mingze said to Lu Mingfei with a grin.

Before Lu Mingfei could ask a question, time resumed its normal flow. He looked around, but there were no traces left behind.

Lu Mingfei clutched his head. It was such an inexplicable situation; an entity suspected to be the manifestation of his Zanpakuto had said a whole lot of nonsense to him and then vanished just as inexplicably. Yet, that little boy was clearly not his Zanpakuto.

If he were in his prime, he might have been able to discern the situation, but his Shinigami power was still recovering.

Lu Mingfei shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it anymore. What comes, comes; he had always been good at being optimistic.