Restricted Death

Chapter 197 The Young Quincy
When Shin came out of the Urahara store, his conversation with the store manager came to a brief end. The store manager said that he needed to carefully consider what Shin had said, and Shin, knowing that he was going to discuss it with Hirako Shinji and the others, gave him that time. Shin didn't say much, just nodded, and turned to disappear into the sunlight streaming in from outside.

Xin also strolled around the city for a while, planning to stay there for two days. The technology of this era had not yet reached the advanced level of later generations; the streets were somewhat old, power lines crisscrossed overhead, and the sound of car engines had a rough quality.

It may take several more decades for the world to become the way we know it, but we don't know what we will become after that.

Shin's heart is always filled with complex emotions whenever he thinks about how long he has to live. This is a mentality left over from his past life. The Soul Society has always tried its best to prevent the Shinigami from connecting with the human world. The use of each artificial body requires approval, in order to draw a clear line between life and death.

Compared to the others, Xin still had enough reverence for death. To these ordinary people in the world, he was essentially a "dead person" or a "god," but Xin always felt that he was just living in another world.

Xin couldn't imagine what the captains who had lived for hundreds or thousands of years were thinking now, and he didn't want his own will to be worn down by the passage of time.

Wandering through the city streets, Shin carried a can of drink. Fortunately, the entertainment industry was much richer than in Soul Society. The shop windows were colorful, and the clothing of the pedestrians was more vibrant. Compared to the dull and monotonous white of Seireitei, the local customs and culture here made Shin feel more at ease.

While Xinman was aimlessly wandering around, trouble came his way.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and a familiar, unpleasant spiritual pressure fluctuation quietly spread out.

This was a Hollow, about three meters tall, with an ugly appearance. It was on all fours, and a pale mask covered its distorted face. It was attracted by the spiritual energy fluctuations that were unintentionally emanating from the artificial body of Shin. It blocked Shin's path on a relatively empty street with few pedestrians. Its turbid eyes were fixed on Shin, and it let out a low growl that was not meaningful.

The probability of encountering Hollows in the real world is much higher than in the outskirts of Rukongai. After all, people die every day in the real world, and if the souls of the dead have lingering attachments, they will transform into these evil spirits.

In fact, in the Shinigami's view, Hollows are also a reasonable existence. As long as they are kept in a certain number and do not actively cause trouble in the human world and Soul Society, the Shinigami will not take the initiative to target them.

But this is unlikely. The virtual world itself is a collection of negative emotions, and it is born in the present world. Attacking and hurting others is an instinct ingrained in their bones.

The beast in front of him was clearly driven by instinct. Through its pale mask, Shin could clearly sense its greed for him. This beast was probably only thinking about devouring him.

He casually picked up a drink, straw in his mouth, and pondered that the Grim Reaper stationed here should have already noticed the Hollow's appearance and was rushing over.

He had come here incognito, so as long as this Void didn't destroy the city, there was no need for him to take action.

The creature approached Xin step by step, emitting low growls.

Shin recalled what he had just said to the shopkeeper. In Hueco Mundo, the powerful Hollows had already been tamed by Aizen, and he still had a "Hollow Wedge" in his system.

The reward that Isane, Hinamori, and Rukia gave Shin was an improvement in their Zanpakuto. So what would the reward be if it were a Hollow?
Moreover, he can't contact this group right now. At least until Aizen's incident is resolved smoothly, the Hollows in Hueco Mundo can only be his adversaries.

He has already changed the world a lot. If Shiba wants to retire from the team as soon as possible, there will be no Kurosaki Ichigo in the future. He can't just sit and wait for some other "savior" to appear.

Just as Xin was lost in thought, the creature in front of him let out a roar and suddenly pounced on him.

Just as Xin was about to dodge, a white beam of light suddenly appeared behind him. Silent yet sharp, it tore through the air and pierced through the Hollow's body from above! The beam struck its head, a vital spot.

The sudden turn of events startled Xin, whose gaze quickly locked onto the beam of light. To be precise, it was an arrow composed of highly condensed spiritual particles, its energy composition completely different from that of the Death God's power. The arrow exploded the moment it pierced the Hollow, and the pure spiritual particle radiance rapidly and completely disintegrated the Hollow's body.

Xin suddenly turned his head to look, his gaze sweeping across the street, and he saw a figure on a stone arch bridge spanning a small river not far away. The person had just finished holding the bow and arrow, and the strangely shaped giant spiritual bow in his left hand, emitting a blue-white light, was slowly dissipating into specks of light.

The afterglow of the setting sun outlined his tall figure and striking short silver hair.

Seemingly noticing Xin's gaze, this person also glanced at Xin. Their eyes, behind their glasses, briefly met in the air, and then a clear look of surprise appeared on their face. It seemed that they had just realized that Xin's spiritual pressure was not that of an ordinary soul.

He made no attempt to linger or engage in conversation, merely pushing up his glasses with a slightly indifferent expression before turning sharply and walking quickly away across the bridge, his figure soon disappearing at the other end.

Xin looked again in the direction where the void had been. After being pierced by that strange arrow, the void had completely disappeared from the spot, leaving not even a trace, as if it had never existed.

Quincy...

Credit took a sip of his drink, then casually and precisely tossed the empty can into a green metal trash can next to him with a soft "clang." Without hesitation, he strode off in the direction the man had gone.

This was the first time Shin had ever encountered an exorcism group other than the Shinigami. Although the arrow that had just killed the Hollow was also composed of spiritual particles, it felt completely different to Shin from the Shinigami power he possessed.

Unlike the way Shinigami deal with Hollows, Hollows "killed" by Shinigami, whether by Zanpakuto or Kido, are ultimately sent back to the cycle of reincarnation.

But that spiritual light arrow just now, whose composition principle of spiritual particles is unknown, completely disintegrated the spiritual particle structure inside the void.

Shin knew that this was a unique method of the Quincy, and it was also the source of the rift between the Quincy and the Shinigami, which led to two major wars between the two groups.

One instance was a thousand years ago, when the newly formed Gotei 13, led by Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, achieved victory.

Another instance was over a hundred years ago, when a complete extermination operation was carried out against the Quincy.

Nowadays, Quincy who can appear in the human world are extremely rare, and it is estimated that every one of them is under the surveillance of Soul Society.

The letter followed the man's trail through several streets and alleys, finally stopping in front of a dead-end alley piled with discarded cardboard boxes and miscellaneous items. The alley was empty, with only a faint damp, musty smell.

"What are you following me for?"

A cold voice suddenly rang out behind me, like the scraping of metal, carrying an undisguised sense of alienation.

Upon hearing this, Xin showed no surprise and turned around unhurriedly.

This time, he clearly saw the man's full appearance. He was tall and slender, with short, silver-white hair that gleamed coldly in the twilight. His face had distinct features and could be described as handsome, but when he was expressionless, his tightly pursed thin lips and sharp eyes were quite aggressive. He wore thin-rimmed glasses, which did not add to his gentleness but instead added a sense of sharpness hidden beneath his refined appearance, or rather, a kind of coldness that kept strangers at bay.

Shin couldn't help but wonder about the other person's identity. "Curious," Shin replied frankly, his tone relaxed, as if he hadn't been the one following the other person just now. "This is the first time I've ever met a Quincy."

He looked the other person up and down, his eyes filled with pure interest.

The other person frowned, their scrutinizing gaze sweeping over Shin like a scalpel, especially the source of spiritual pressure cleverly concealed by the Gikai at his waist.

After a moment, he said coldly, almost with certainty, "Are you Death?"

The temperature in his voice dropped even further.

Instead of directly answering the question about his identity, Shin asked in a familiar tone, "My name is Takami Shin, what's yours?"

After confirming Xin's identity as the Grim Reaper, the silver-haired youth instantly exuded an icy hostility that Xin could clearly sense, and the air seemed to freeze.

But Xin's completely unguarded, even somewhat inquisitive, appearance made him feel a little strange. After hesitating for a moment, the tense hostility seemed unable to find an outlet, and finally turned into a cold snort from his nose.

He was actually well aware of his situation. He rarely took action against Hollows, as it was not allowed. He would simply leave them to the Shinigami stationed there. However, when he saw Shin seemingly about to be killed by that Hollow, his reluctance to do so ultimately prevailed over his reason.

Doing this will likely cause him some trouble; those guys who are monitoring him will probably come after him again.

Upon learning that the person he had saved was actually a grim reaper, he felt a surge of resentment and lost all interest in continuing the conversation with Xin. He turned and walked away again.

Shin was curious about the Quincy group and was unwilling to let him leave so easily, so he immediately followed, his steps neither hurried nor slow, but always close by.

"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to leave," Shin's voice was tinged with amusement as he bombarded her with questions, "Is your last name Ishida? Is your name Ishida Ryūken? Are you married? Who is your wife?"

The silver-haired youth was thoroughly annoyed by the barrage of inexplicable and private questions, and the veins on his forehead seemed to throb. He abruptly stopped, turned around, and stared at the letter with eyes as cold and menacing as a frozen lake, his gaze so sharp it could almost pierce through the lens.

Xin seemed oblivious to the chill, instead chuckled and shrugged, "Don't be so hostile. You did save me, didn't you?"

As he was speaking, he suddenly looked up and saw a figure dressed in black Shinigami armor quickly passing between the buildings not far away, heading straight for the spot where the Hollow had just appeared. The silver-haired youth also keenly noticed the figure.

Shin squinted and quickly recognized the man as Zennosuke Kurumatani from the 13th Division, whom he had met before. He clicked his tongue and commented with a hint of sarcasm, "Tsk, those guys from the 13th Division are a bit slow. If they were all this slow, who knows how many people would be dead by now."

The silver-haired youth then said to the letter, "Are you ever going to stop? Stop following me."

"Why can't I follow you?" Xin retorted, his face full of innocent indifference.

"You are the Grim Reaper." Ishida Sogen almost gritted his teeth as he clearly uttered the word that represented the opposing camp.

"I am a Quincy!"

"So what? That war happened so long ago. I didn't participate, and you probably didn't either at your age. It's none of our business."

"..."

The silver-haired youth frowned and read the letter for a long time before saying, "Didn't your superiors tell you not to contact Quincy casually?"

Upon hearing this, Xin grinned and said, "No, actually. By the way, what's your name? I'm really curious."

The silver-haired youth stared at the letter for a long time, his scrutinizing gaze seemingly trying to see through the surface to discern its true intentions.

Ultimately, perhaps because the letter's questioning was too persistent, or perhaps because he felt that saying a name would extricate him from the entanglement more quickly, he uttered three words coldly, with an extremely reluctant tone:

"...Ishida Munen".

Zong Xian?

Upon hearing this, Xin pondered the name, his gaze lingering on the other person's young face for a moment, quickly connecting the name with information about the future in his mind.

Uryu Ishida's grandfather!
At first, Shin thought the other person was Ishida Uryu's father, but seeing how young he is now, he guessed that his father hadn't even been born yet.

However, this person's fate seems to be quite tragic.

To be honest, Shin wasn't sure how long these Quincy could live. They also possessed extraordinary power, but spiritual particles and matter were two completely different things. How did they resist the aging of their physical bodies?

"Can you please stop following me?" Ishida Sogen said coldly to Shin.

Xin, however, wore a warm smile: "It's a pleasure to meet you. Since you saved me, how about I treat you to a meal?"

Ishida Sogen snorted again, his refusal evident in his words.

Xin then said calmly, "You just killed a Hollow, which might cause you some trouble. I might be able to help you sort it out."

Ishida Muneaki frowned: "You?"

Shin said with a smile, "What, you don't believe me? I'm a minor official in Soul Society, so if any Shinigami come looking for you later, I can help you deal with them. Besides, you got into this trouble because of me, so this is my way of repaying you. How about having a meal with me? It's not a bad deal, is it?"

(End of this chapter)