Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

Saito walked very fast.

She walked through the narrow passage between the tables and chairs, heading straight for the three noble boys. Xuan followed a few steps behind, unhurriedly, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings—the students eating with their heads down, the figures whispering amongst themselves but none of them stepping forward.

He had seen it.

In the Shihouin family's academy, it was commonplace for nobles to bully commoners. The commoner students either had to endure it silently or drop out. The nobles, on the other hand, enjoyed the thrill of being superior in this bullying, and incidentally consolidated their own cliques.

Nothing's different here.

But Saito is different.

She walked up to the three men, stood in front of Taguchi, and blocked Kitashirakawa's outstretched hand.

"Feed".

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was like a stone thrown into seemingly calm water.

Kitashirakawa's hand froze in mid-air, momentarily stunned. He looked up at the girl with purple twin ponytails and a black eyepatch over her left eye, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Who are you……"

"Get out of the way." Saito ignored Kitashirakawa's words, coldly uttering only a sentence before turning to look at Taguchi behind him. The commoner boy was still trembling, his food plate tilting precariously, with the remaining soup dripping onto the ground.

"Put the plate down," Saito said.

Taguchi stared at her blankly, without making a move.

Saito reached out and took the food plate from his hand, placing it on the empty table beside her. Then she turned around, facing the three noble youths.

"What did he just say?" She tilted her head and pointed at Taguchi. "'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to'—didn't you hear me?"

Kitashirakawa's expression darkened for a moment, then returned to its gentle smile. He looked down at the stain on his cuff and gently patted it off.

"I heard you," he said, "but he can't afford to pay for that shirt."

"Can't afford to pay?" Saito raised an eyebrow. "Did you come to the Genji Academy to study, or to show off your wealth? Dressed so expensively, yet your abilities are so mediocre. What if someone strips you naked?"

Kitashirakawa's smile froze.

Standing beside him, Shan Ye frowned and immediately defended Kitashirakawa: "This is none of your business. Kitashirakawa is teaching Taguchi manners; what kind of wild dog dares to speak so recklessly?"

Saito grinned.

There was no warmth in that smile.

"Stray dogs?" she repeated, her tongue habitually darting out from the corner of her mouth, her teeth gently biting down. "Coincidentally, what I can't stand the most are you good-for-nothings who flaunt your family background."

Before she could finish speaking, she slammed her fist on the dining table next to her.

"Bang!"

A dull thud resounded. The sturdy wooden table shattered, bowls and plates flew everywhere, and soup spilled. The surrounding students scattered with screams, and the sounds of tables and chairs crashing together echoed around them.

Kitashirakawa and the other two took a few steps back, their expressions changing drastically.

"You—!" Kitashirakawa pointed at Saito, his finger trembling. "Do you know where you are?! This is Genji Academy! How dare you lay a hand on me?!"

Saito withdrew his fist, shook the wood chips off his hands, and didn't even glance at him.

"Make a move?" she scoffed. "If I really wanted to, the three of you would be on the ground by now."

Kitashirakawa's face was a mixture of pale and ashen.

He took a deep breath, trying to maintain his aristocratic composure, but his voice already carried a hint of gritted teeth: "Don't be so arrogant. This is the Yuanzi Academy, that's true, but once you step out of this door, can you withstand the wrath of the Kitashirakawa family?"

Saito's eyes turned cold.

Just as she was about to speak, a calm voice sounded from behind her.

"Kita Shirakawa."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a bucket of cold water being poured over someone, making everyone present pause for a moment.

Gen emerged from behind Saito.

"Shihōin?"

Kitashirakawa's expression changed. He glanced at Gen, then at Saito, his brows furrowing tightly.

"This has nothing to do with you," he said.

Xuan didn't reply, but instead looked at the shattered table.

"The tables in the cafeteria are the school's public property," Gen said, his tone still calm. "Saito, the money you have to pay will be deducted from your meal allowance."

Saito: "...?"

Xuan turned to look at Kitashirakawa.

"You just said that if she walks out this door, she'll have to bear the wrath of the Kitashirakawa family?"

Kitashirakawa's face stiffened.

"Does anyone who offends you have to bear the wrath of the Kitashirakawa family?"

Kitashirakawa forced a smile and said, "Shihouin, are you showing favoritism towards the commoners?"

Xuan looked at him coldly: "Disgraceful. It makes others think all nobles are so aggressive. It's just a piece of clothing; why make things difficult for a commoner and damage the noble's dignity?"

Silence spread between the two, like a string that was stretched tighter and tighter.

The surrounding trainees held their breath, watching this scene unfold.

Kitashirakawa gritted his teeth, glancing at the surrounding students out of the corner of his eye. They were all watching, waiting to see how he would handle the situation.

He certainly understood what Gen meant—the Shihouin family's intervention was offering everyone a way out. If he continued to argue, he would appear ungrateful and disregard aristocratic decorum.

Thinking of this, Kitashirakawa took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"Shihouin, you're right," he said. "I went a bit too far today. Taguchi-kun, I'm sorry."

He turned and left. The other two noble youths hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.

After the three had walked away, the surrounding chatter gradually began. Some people were looking at Gen, some at Saito, and most were looking at Taguchi—the commoner boy was still standing there, his body still trembling.

"Thank you, thank you both..."

Taguchi's voice was very soft, almost inaudible.

Saito waved his hand: "Alright, it's nothing, go eat."

Taguchi nodded repeatedly and fled as if he were escaping.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Saito stood still, looking at Gen.

That gaze was different from before. It wasn't a casual, scatterbrained look, but a serious, scrutinizing gaze.

The silence lasted for a few breaths.

"Thanks," Saito suddenly said.

Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Saito smirked, a rare absence of his signature maniacal grin: "If you hadn't stepped in, I might have actually attacked. I'm not afraid of fighting, but you're right—what then?"

She paused, then chuckled self-deprecatingly: "I'm not afraid of fighting, but I'm too lazy to think about these complicated things, and I can't even imagine them."

Xuan looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"Your philosophy is to stand up for the weak and lend a helping hand."

Saito was taken aback.

Xuan's voice was calm, yet it sounded like he was stating a fact.

"You're strong enough to stand up for what's right. That's satisfying and effective—at least today, if you hadn't stood up, Taguchi would have continued to be bullied."

Saito didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Xuan continued, "But after the initial thrill comes a price. Those people leave today, but they'll come back tomorrow. If they can't beat you openly, they'll resort to underhanded tactics. You can't defend against them all."

Saito's eyes flickered.

"So," Xuan said, "my philosophy is—"

He paused, his gaze falling on Saito. His eyes held no trace of his usual aloofness, only a calm seriousness.

"Those who carry firewood for the masses should not be left to freeze to death in the wind and snow."

Saito's pupils contracted slightly.

"Those who pave the way for freedom," Xuan continued, his voice still calm but carrying a certain weight, "must not be trapped in thorns."

The noise in the cafeteria seemed to fade away at that moment.

Saito suddenly laughed.

It wasn't the exaggerated, unrestrained kind of laughter, but a very light laugh with a hint of relief.

"mysterious."

"Um?"

"You..." Saito paused, then suddenly reached out and punched him on the shoulder, "Why do you talk so nicely? This is what a nobleman should do."

Caught off guard, Xuan was knocked back half a step by her punch.

-----------------

Night, dormitory.

Gen sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, the cool moonlight streaming into the room through the window.

He lowered his eyes, his fingertips lightly stroking the shallow bracer at his waist.

The scene from the daytime flashed through my mind—Kitashirakawa's arrogance, Saito's impulsiveness, the various gazes of the onlookers, and Saito's final words, "Why do you speak so pleasantly?"

He let out a soft breath.

have a finger in the pie.

This is not in line with his style.

But he knew in his heart that this move directly characterized the matter as the Shihouin family, one of the five great noble families, stepping in to maintain order in the school, rather than Saito provoking the nobles and meddling in other people's business.

As for Gengen's plan to leave the Shihōin family after graduating from the academy, it was contrary to common sense, and no one else knew about it. Naturally, no one would think that Gengen cared about the consequences of offending the Kitashirakawa family.

Xuanben was too lazy to deal with these sordid matters—the law of the jungle was the norm in the world, and Xuanben couldn't help everyone.

But Saito is different; she is willing to stand up for what is right, and this vibrant sense of justice is extremely rare.

Gen had never heard of a noble family in Soul Society with the surname Saito. Saito had also been vague in his self-introduction, so he figured Saito must be a lower-ranking noble.

Xuan didn't want to see someone who was willing to stand up for justice be targeted and suppressed by the higher-ups because of this, so he took action.

Besides, he knew better than anyone that Saito, being immortal, would be one of the future captains of the first Gotei 13. Helping her out today was, in a way, an investment in her future, earning her a favor. While this idea was mercenary, it was practical; who could say for sure that this favor might come in handy someday?

"Those who carry firewood for the masses..."

Such people are extremely rare.

Xuan genuinely admires this kind of person.

Xuan closed his eyes and immersed himself in cultivation.

Outside the window, the moonlight remained cold and clear.

-----------------

In the distance, in another dormitory.

Saito, immortal and ageless, lay on the tatami mat, staring at the ceiling with his eyes open.

That sentence kept echoing in my mind.

"Those who carry firewood for the masses should not be left to freeze to death in the wind and snow. Those who pave the way for freedom should not be left to struggle in thorns."

She suddenly turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

A moment later, a muffled sound came from under the pillow.

"...What a strange person."

But the corners of his mouth had somehow turned up in a smile.