Chapter 45 Between the Everyday and the Extraordinary
"Well, so what happened?"
I cried for a while before I realized that Saburo didn't come alone.
"Well, it's like this. Jiu Jing's mother is in the hospital with acute appendicitis, but we can't find her just now." Shiman Anwu stood beside me and Saburo, explaining to the newcomer. "But why are the people from Bai Baihe's family here?"
"Ah, actually, Ji saw that Saburo was very anxious, and since my brother came to see Ji, I borrowed his car."
I looked up and saw a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes wearing glasses. She was one of the two girls who appeared in the old school building last time. I remembered that she seemed to have a close relationship with the monster called Black Rose.
And the other person——
"How boring. Never mind. It was Ji's request after all."
He was a tall young man in a white suit. He had regular features, blond hair, and blue eyes. A scar at the corner of his eye didn't diminish his handsomeness, but instead drew frequent glances from the other people in the hospital. Judging from his words, he must be the blonde girl's brother.
"Are you Jiu Jingyan?"
His tone was scrutinizing. I wanted to speak, but Sanlang held me a little harder.
"Oh, how come I didn't notice it before?" The blonde girl smiled softly. "Is Sanlang a bit of a sister complex?"
ah?
"You can't really say that." Zhi Wanjun's voice came from behind me, but I couldn't turn around. "After all, they had a fight before, and they just made up today."
"Sanlang, I'm fine." He finally let me go. "Yes, I am Jiu Jingyan."
Bai Baihe's brother is quite tall and has a serious demeanor. If I hadn't been the Grim Reaper, I would probably be a little nervous right now.
"We have never heard of a daughter in the Jiujing family before."
It seems that the monster intelligence network has not infiltrated the government.
He stretched his lips and said, "Now you know." Thinking of what his family was going through, his words became less friendly. "I've never heard of monsters existing in the world before."
Mr. Bai Baihe's eyebrows twitched, and a faint wrinkle appeared between them. Feeling the pressure coming towards me, I stared at the person in front of me expressionlessly.
"But now, brother, you can rest assured, right? She is not our enemy."
"Although they are not enemies, they are also descendants of demons." The man said in a deep voice, "If they find out, they might cause more trouble."
What? You're going to keep an eye on me, right?
but--
"Those 'enemies' you're talking about, are they trying to revive the ghosts?"
"yes."
In other words, it was that group of people who had been trying to kill Saburo and chop off his head.
I dug my fingers into my hair and tugged at it fiercely. The slight pain from my scalp kept me calm. "Another question, the zone-00 that recently flowed into Yokohama's world..."
The man's brows relaxed. "Excellent intuition. Yes, those things are also his work."
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"Oh, no."
The girl grabbed her hair, her voice soft and gentle, but a chill suddenly rushed up from the soles of Zhiwan's feet.
"I haven't been this angry in a long time."
The boy suddenly felt an invisible pressure. The air pressure in the entire corridor seemed to have dropped, making his chest feel stuffy.
He suddenly heard Jiu Jingyan laugh. At the same time, Bai Baiheji's biological brother, the current King of the Demon Realm, also turned serious.
"you--"
"Isn't that great? Let them know that there is another so-called descendant of the ghost."
The girl put down her hands and she was smiling.
"It just saves the trouble of finding someone."
"…What do you want to do?"
The corners of her mouth that had been raised quickly straightened, and the girl's bright red eyes were like two glass beads soaked in blood. "Of course, I'm going to clean up everything that has hurt my family."
"I do hold grudges, please remember that."
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"I hope you remember what you said."
Bai Baihe's brother and sister didn't make things too difficult for me. They just left the hospital after saying this.
Auntie's surgery was over soon after. Because it was a minimally invasive procedure, she needed to wait for the general anesthesia to wear off before waking up. Although the doctor said we didn't need to wait, the three of us stayed until visiting hours ended, asking about any post-operative precautions.
No one mentioned the monster again.
The next morning, when I went to the tennis club, I asked for a day off.
After my aunt's surgery, she still needs to stay in the hospital for a few days to recover. Her daily life and diet need someone to take care of her, so Sanlang and I shared the workload.
The county competition is coming up, but I'm going to miss some training time. I thought I'd be facing some cold shoulder from the seniors, but the deputy director and Senior Liu nodded readily.
"I understand. Don't force yourself. Take good care of your family first."
"If there are any difficulties, we will also help."
"...I always feel like I'm bothering you too much."
"Not really." Senior Yanagi, who had been arranging the scoreboard and equipment, stopped and turned to look at me. "Everyone has unforeseen accidents, don't they?" He tilted his head slightly. "Sanada and I also learned a little about your family situation from the teacher. Anyway, take good care of Auntie first."
My life suddenly became busy.
After school, I have to take an hour's drive to Tokyo. The first two days, I delivered things to my aunt in the hospital. After she was discharged, I went straight to her house to take care of her. Of course, I took turns with Saburo. Even if he was a thick-skinned man, he couldn't just leave his mother alone when she was sick.
If he lets go, I will be the first to beat him to death.
The special training with the profiteers hasn't stopped, but progress in that area has been quite smooth. Mr. Tessai, as expected of a former ghost master, knows a world of his own compared to a half-baked student like me who took a year off from school. Thanks to him, I've not only refined my previously learned ghost arts, but also learned many more advanced techniques and combat skills that were unavailable to me as a student.
After my aunt went home to recuperate, she hid her quarrel with Saburo and reconciled with him. I told Kisuke Urahara, who knew the information about the monsters, what happened in the hospital.
"How dare you speak to Bai Baihe's family like that?"
"What's wrong? Are they powerful?"
The brother and sister looked very elegant, especially the brother who was wearing a high-end suit. Sanlang said that their cars were extremely expensive sports cars.
"The head of the Bai Baihe family is the current Demon King, and there are probably only two people left in their family." The profiteer touched his chin, "Which means that the person you are confronting is most likely the Demon King."
"Oh, then I'm quite lucky."
"At least show some concern."
I spread my hands and said, "I can't help it. He looks too young. Maybe I'm just used to being oppressed by his aura."
"That's right. Okay, let's get back to the point." Mr. Urahara adjusted his hat and said in a different tone, "How do you feel about studying Kidō these past two days?"
How does it feel?
"Well, the higher the level, the longer the spell?"
"What else?"
"It's certainly powerful, but the pre-swing is too obvious?"
"Well, that's true. But what I mean is, don't you think you're learning a little too fast?"
Uh, it seems a little bit?
The man smiled. "Actually, the higher the level of ghost arts, the more difficult it is to learn. While chanting the spell can draw out power, whether one can restore the power of the technique, or even control it freely, depends on the user's own level."
"Before you, I have never seen anyone learn the way of ghosts so quickly."
“…”
To be honest, for a few seconds, I couldn't quite understand what he was saying.
"Are you kidding me?"
Mr. Urahara didn't reply.
Whether he admitted it or denied it, I would have had doubts, but at this time he remained silent.
What's more, even I felt that learning the ghost arts, which required chanting incantations, seemed to be a very simple matter. I didn't even need to go through those lengthy incantations in my mind. I could do it just by thinking about it and having enough spiritual energy.
"It seems that Miss Jiu Jing has understood what I mean." The profiteer raised his lips. "You are obviously good at Kidou and Shunpo, but you learned Hakuba and Zanjutsu under the captain."
"I'm definitely not as skilled as others in these two areas."
Rather, the gap between me and others is quite large.
"Even if the old man did have selfish motives when he taught me, so what?"
After all, he was the first one who emphasized from beginning to end that I was not an outlier and who persistently forced me to face my own strength.
"I thought you'd at least harbor some resentment."
So this is a test for me?
"Mr. Urahara, have you ever encountered a situation where things got out of control?" Without waiting for his answer, I continued, "It's terrifying to be unable to control yourself and not know how to use your power."
Suddenly, large patches of blurry flames flashed before my eyes. Even though the memory has become blurred, the fear of that burning and uncontrollable power is still engraved in my bones.
"I'm very grateful to that person." He spread out his hands. Now, the calluses and scars have long disappeared. "Even if it was to suppress my strength, it's true that I learned to control my power."
The old man's spiritual pressure was domineering and calm, like a thick rock, but with a heat that could evaporate everything.
Is he really dead? This must be a lie...
"I see. I understand. I'm sorry for testing you in this way."
He confessed so frankly that it didn't make people feel uncomfortable: "I can still tell whether a person has ill intentions towards me or not."
The profiteer seemed stunned by my answer and laughed after a few seconds.
It wasn't a laugh, but a more genuine smile.
"Then I can't betray Miss Jiu Jing's trust." As he spoke, he reached out and suddenly handed over a candy tube decorated with cats. "Here, this is Yihun Wan."
?????
Wow, the packaging of Gihun Maru is so fashionable now?!
But why give me this?
Just as questions were running through my mind, I heard Urahara Kisuke say, "For the next special training, we need to go to Hueco Mundo."
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The author has something to say: The captain's training of Homura is a bit similar to how he trained Kenpachi Zaraki, suppressing her strengths. The difference is that he gave her opportunities to improve. He was selfish, to be sure, but he also didn't let her down. Homura was a serious student and never gave up, so he taught her very seriously. Considering his past with Vice Captain Suzube (the mustachioed Vice Captain of the First Division), he could be considered giving her everything he knew.
He's a really complex leader.
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