Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

Xuan took the envelope.

The two letters were perfectly sealed. One was sealed with the gold paulownia pattern of the Shihōin family's seal wax, while the other was sealed with an unfamiliar pampas grass pattern.

Xuan's fingertips unfurled the first letter, and familiar, flowing handwriting leaped onto the page. Qianri's writing was as unrestrained as ever, with an unconcealable spirit in every stroke; only this time, the words were imbued with an unprecedented softness.

The letter was short and contained no unnecessary pleasantries; it got straight to the point with the good news: his daughter had been born.

Xuan held the letter, his fingertips pausing slightly. The image of the quiet woman in white kimono at the thousand-day wedding flashed through his mind, followed by the image of the boy with the sake jug and the fangs showing in his smile back in the Shihōin clan compound. Time flies; that sworn brother who used to follow him around complaining about the clan rules is now a father.

"Whose letter is this?" Saito leaned closer to take a look, then lost interest upon seeing it was from the Shihōin family's sealing wax. He put his hands on his hips and swayed slightly. "Is it your older brother again? Did he send you money again?"

"No." Xuan folded the letter and put it in his pocket. "He's become a father."

"Oh," Saito replied perfunctorily, clearly uninterested in the addition of a new member to the noble family. He scoffed, "What's so special about writing a letter about having a baby? Too much trouble."

Xuan didn't reply, but picked up the second letter, which was sealed with straw wax. Upon opening it, he saw that the handwriting was bold and powerful, with strokes as sharp as knives—it was indeed the handwriting of Oohana Danjiro.

The letter was more direct than the one written by Senri. Obana said that he ultimately couldn't hold on; there were too many old, weak, women, and children who followed him, and it was indeed difficult to rely solely on robbing the rich to help the poor.

Just then, Yamamoto Shigekuni established a mercenary assassin organization in Seireitei, specializing in handling troublesome matters for nobles who paid him handsomely.

Obana had already joined, and considering that Gen and Saito were quite capable and had to support so many rogue spirits in the Yorozuya, their expenses must be considerable. So he wrote a letter inviting the two of them to join as well. At the end of the letter, he wrote, "This place is not a pure land, but it can feed the living," with a sense of helpless bitterness in his words.

"This Obana Danjiro seems like a decent guy." Saito's eyes lit up after listening to Gen read the letter, and he rubbed his hands together. "Sounds good. Working for nobles must pay well. We're just sitting around doing nothing anyway, so it's good to earn some extra money and improve everyone's meals."

"No way." Xuan refused without even thinking, crumpling the letter into a ball. With a flick of his fingertips, the paper instantly turned to ashes. "Yamamoto's organization is essentially an assassin organization. Obana only went there because she had no other choice. We don't need to get involved. Besides, the Yorozuya is already good enough to support them."

"Tch." Saito snorted in dissatisfaction, kicking a pebble at his feet. "Nobles are all the same. What difference does it make who I work for? As long as I make money, that's all that matters."

"It's different." Xuan looked at her, his tone calm but firm. "We established the Yorozuya (Odd Jobs Shop) so that everyone could live an honest life with their own hands, not become tools for nobles to kill. Now the Yorozuya's income is enough to support everyone, there's no need to get involved in those dirty things."

Saito pursed her lips and didn't refute it. She knew in her heart that Gen was right, but the thought of losing such an easy opportunity to make a lot of money made her a little unhappy.

That evening, Gen wrote two replies. One was to Senri, briefly congratulating him on the birth of his daughter, instructing him to take good care of his wife and child, and saying that he would make time to visit them in Seireitei once things at Yorozuya were more stable.

Another letter was addressed to Obana Danjiro, politely declining his invitation and explaining that the Yorozuya was currently operating well and did not require additional income for the time being. At the end of the letter, he added, "Please give my regards and that of Saito Immortal's to Yamamoto Genryusai and Mr. Sasakibe Chojiro."

After sending the letter, Gen carried two jars of sake and sat down with Saito at the Yorozuya stone table to drink. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Lights twinkled in the distant wooden houses, and the occasional laughter of children echoed from Rukongai, creating a scene of peace and tranquility.

"This sake is awful." Saito took a big gulp, frowned, and complained, "I still prefer plum wine."

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard. Jiro, Gen, and Shigeo rushed in excitedly, each clutching a bulging money bag and their faces beaming with barely suppressed excitement.

"Great Demon Master! Lord Saito! We're back!" Jiro ran the fastest and rushed to the stone table.

Xuan instructed the Ghost Dao followers to stop addressing him as "Master" and instead call him Ghost Dao Master. However, the Ghost Dao followers considered this disrespectful and added "Great" before "Ghost Dao Master," calling Xuan "Great Ghost Dao Master."

"The combination of Kido techniques you taught us is so useful!" Mao Xiong exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement. "When we got to the West 15th District, we encountered a group of robbers, about twenty of them. Gen first used [Hado No. 12 - Fukuka] to weave a fire net, trapping them in the middle. Then I used [Hado No. 11 - Tsurugi] to channel electricity into it, and we took down most of them in one go! The remaining few were so scared they ran away!"

"That nobleman's butler was completely dumbfounded!" A-Yuan added with a laugh. "He said he'd never seen such incredible skill before, and thought we were Grim Reapers sent by the Seireitei! In the end, he not only gave us the agreed-upon payment, but also doubled it! He said that from now on, all his family's delivery contracts would be handled by our Kido Clan!"

"That's not all!" Jiro continued, his eyes sparkling. "Several caravan owners nearby saw us and came over to ask if we could take on the escort business. Even some noble stewards left their addresses, saying they'd send someone to the Yorozuya in a couple of days to discuss their commissions! I never imagined our Kido (Kido Sect) was so powerful; now many people know that there's a reliable and capable Kido-shu Yorozuya in the West 20th District!"

The three of them chatted excitedly about their escort experience, their voices filled with pride and joy. They were no longer the trembling, homeless people who used to hide in the cellar, struggling to survive. Now, with the skills they had learned, they could not only support themselves but also earn the respect of others.

Xuan looked at their spirited demeanor, a slight smile playing on his lips. His initial decision to establish the Ghost Path Clan and teach them the Ghost Path was to give these helpless wandering souls a way to survive. Now it seemed he had chosen the right path.

Saito, unusually, didn't complain. He picked up a sake jar and poured a bowl of sake for each of the three, saying in a carefree manner, "Well done! You didn't embarrass me and Gen! Come on, let's have a drink to celebrate!"

"Thank you, Lord Saito!" The three of them picked up their sake bowls, drank them down in one gulp, and their smiles became even brighter.