Ling Qing found that he was becoming less and less concerned with the concept of time. The souls in Soul Society had ridiculously long lifespans, and the pace of social change here was infuriatingly slow. Take the 45th District of West Rukongai where he lived, for example; it was said to have remained unchanged for over two hundred years. In Soul Society, there was no such thing as working all day, no overtime, no rat race.
And, as Ling Qing had noted more than once, a person's ability to adapt was truly astounding. He was already getting used to a life without modern electronic devices and entertainment. Having truly left behind mobile games, the internet, and social media, Ling Qing found that it wasn't impossible to live.
In fact, while his current life might seem monotonous, he found more joy in it. The feeling was probably similar to high school. Anyone who has gone through it knows how competitive and exhausting high school studies can be. That wasn't the part he meant.
Why do so many people look back fondly on their hard and tiring high school days? It's not just because it was their lost youth, but because at that time, there were fewer distractions, fewer complicated matters. Everything you did was for the sake of studying. Once you graduate and enter society or university, life is objectively much easier than the 5 AM to midnight high school grind, but all sorts of trivial matters constantly drain your energy and spirit.
Ling Qing was in that state now. In this relatively backward Soul Society, which possessed special powers, he had no desire to do business, no thoughts of falling in love, and no need to hustle for a mortgage. His current goal was simply to increase his strength, to get stronger as if he were clearing levels in a game, vowing to unlock every skill. Everything revolving around this goal—fighting Hollows, going to Zaraki, and his future plan to go to the Seireitei to become a Shinigami—was joyful.
Of course, joy was relative. After that brief period of elation, Ling Qing encountered a problem before he could set off for the Seireitei.
From the moment he got near populated areas, wherever he went, people would suddenly look at him, then quickly move far away, as if they had seen something filthy or terrifying.
Actually, similar situations had occurred before. Even the old village chief who had paid him to kill the Hollow had acted that way, but back then, they were more subtle about it, as if trying not to let him notice. Now, these people were being far too obvious, almost "eager" to get away.
This troubled Ling Qing. What had he done to them? They were all strangers.
At first, Ling Qing suspected that after fighting the man in Zaraki for so long, he had developed a menacing aura himself, as if he were ready to cut someone down at any moment. But he quickly dismissed this idea. He wasn't covered in dirt, he wasn't hideously ugly, he didn't emit any strange odors, and he didn't have a vicious aura of wanting to kill people. The thought that there might be a reason for people to dislike him so openly was actually quite disheartening.
Since he could now use his spiritual power to fly, Ling Qing's return to the 45th District was more than two or three times faster than his journey to the 80th.
Confused, Ling Qing quickly returned to the 45th District. But even here, the situation was the same. In fact, it was worse. Ling Qing didn't have many friends here, but there were a few familiar faces. Yet even these people gave him a look as if they wanted to say something but couldn't, before hastily fleeing from his presence. Their reactions made Ling Qing extremely uncomfortable, as if he had committed some heinous crime.
Ling Qing hurried back to his "Odd Jobs" shop. He wanted to figure out the reason for being "disliked" before he left for the Seireitei, to avoid any unknown issues causing him unnecessary trouble there as well. He enjoyed stories where the protagonist is looked down upon or disliked, only to later show them up, but he had no desire to experience it himself. If that happened, Ling Qing was more inclined to just cut the problem down with one slash! Then again, it would be awkward if the problem was actually with him.
Ling Qing sat in his shop, thinking. It wasn't long before he heard footsteps outside. Pausing his thoughts, he looked toward the door and saw the familiar figure of a young boy. It was the only son of the Yui family, the boy Ling Qing had saved—Yuishinryu.
Yuishinryu had probably heard that Ling Qing was back and rushed over immediately.
Wanting to ask Yuishinryu if he knew anything, Ling Qing took the initiative to go out and meet him. But the moment he stepped out the door, Yuishinryu's face instantly turned pale, and he stumbled several large steps backward.
"???"
"B-Brother Ling Qing," Yuishinryu called out his name, looking like he was in great pain for some unknown reason. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his cheeks.
Not knowing what was wrong, Ling Qing moved toward Yuishinryu out of concern. But the moment Ling Qing moved, Yuishinryu's condition worsened. He looked dizzy and nauseous, as if he had heatstroke. He was trembling all over and on the verge of collapsing to his knees.
"B-Brother Ling Qing, can you... can you move a little further away from me?"
"..."
Even a dense person would have understood by now, and Ling Qing was not dense; he had just been thinking in the wrong direction.
With Yuishinryu pointing it out so clearly, Ling Qing's expression turned grim as he backed up several steps, returning inside his shop.
Once there was some distance between them again, Yuishinryu's expression eased slightly. He gasped for breath, feeling the crushing pressure on his body, the feeling like his internal organs were being squeezed tightly by a hand, finally lessen a little. But it had only lessened; it hadn't disappeared.
Swallowing hard, unable to even wipe away his sweat, Yuishinryu managed to say with difficulty, "Brother Ling Qing, can you... can you try to suppress your power a little? Your spiritual pressure is too strong. I can't get close to you."
Although he still looked like he was struggling, he could at least form a complete sentence now.
"Power?"
Reminded by Yuishinryu, Ling Qing suddenly recalled a scene. It was when he had first cut down that man and was feeling disappointed. An immense power had erupted from the man's body, and as if in response, a power of equal magnitude had burst forth from his own. And that power had grown explosively time and again since then.
Feeling the power surging within him, Ling Qing closed his eyes. He tentatively tried to pull that power inward, imagining the feeling of compressing it, of pressing it down.
After a good while, he opened his eyes, looked at Yuishinryu, and asked, "How about now? How do you feel?
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