Chapter 75: Huangmu: Captains, Become My Bodyguards!

"Then, esteemed captains, I shall see you off here…"

Que Bu, with Shan Laotou, ordered a dispatch to the Void Circle to support Huangmu's Wang Tu Chuan Yu Xu Fei, Wei Hua Dan Er Lang, Yan Yuan Jin Le and Lu Qu Ba Yun Zhai—four captains—in front of the strange Crossing Gate sponsored by Huangmu's affection. Que Bu then respectfully bowed to the four captains and made a beckoning gesture, indicating they could pass through the gate.

"Got it!"

Lu Qu Ba Yun Zhai, hearing this, tucked away the novel he was carrying and gave Que Bu a slight bow in return.

"You go back! Captain Shan Ben still can't do without you; the rest we can handle ourselves!"

Wei Hua Dan Er Lang replied in a bold manner that he fully understood Que Bu's duties.

"Well then, everyone… bon voyage!"

Que Bu stared at his former comrades, who for various reasons were about to leave the Soul Realm; his heart was a swirl of emotions, and an inexplicable sadness rose within him.

"I'm off~"

Wang Tu Chuan Yu Xu Fei and the others did not make a fuss; since this was Chief Captain Shan Ben's order, they would simply carry it out, regardless of what lay ahead or what the future held.

They had never considered this; long ago, when their weapons were scattered across the Soul Realm and they drifted in confusion, they never thought about the future!

"Sigh…"

As Lu Qu and the others vanished completely into the Crossing Gate, Que Bu finally came to his senses, gazed at the slowly dimming doorway, and sighed helplessly.

"Let's go! Back…"

Just as Que Bu was lost in thought, a slightly lively voice rang out beside him.

"Hmm? Captain Si Feng Yuan, you're here too?"

Que Bu turned and saw Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri, still the head of the Second Squad, who had somehow appeared beside him; Que Bu quickly greeted him.

In Que Bu's view, perhaps Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri had been here from the start, or perhaps he couldn't bear to watch his comrades leave and only showed up at the last moment to catch a final glance.

After all, to say who is the most sentimental in the Jingling Court right now, it is destined to be this member of the Guardian Court Thirteen Squad, the only original captain besides Chief Captain Shan Ben.

"We have to see them off…"

Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri patted Que Bu's shoulder, his voice carrying a hint of sentiment.

"Mm."

Que Bu nodded after hearing Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri.

"Um… shall we go have some noodles together?"

Just when Que Bu thought Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri would be very sad, Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri spoke to Que Bu again.

"Eh?!"

Que Bu was taken aback; he hadn't expected Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri to suggest grabbing noodles, and the occasion felt rather unsuitable…

"Seeing our friends find suitable work, shouldn't we celebrate properly?"

Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri gave Que Bu a relaxed smile.

"That's true…"

Que Bu finally showed a flash of understanding; as Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri put it, sending these squad heads to the Void Circle, to where they should be, may mean they seldom meet again, but it's far better than keeping them in the Jingling Court to be tormented by those foolish nobles.

Thinking that way, indeed we should celebrate properly…

"It's on me!"

Thus, Que Bu decided to be generous.

"Then skip the noodles; I know a place with amazing food!"

Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri laughed, looking like a sly black cat; it seemed someone would spend all the money in their pockets today, then go home crying! Though Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri never lacks money, he's cheeky.

If the Immortal were here, they'd kick off their straw sandals and hurl them at Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri's wicked face…

"Ugh, fine!"

At this moment Que Bu still didn't know what awaited him, and being rather gentlemanly, he gave Si Feng Yuan Qian Ri a gentle smile.

Elsewhere…

When Captains Lu Qu, Yan Yuan, Wang Tu Chuan and Wei Hua Dan Er Lang passed through the pitch‑black Rift and entered the Void Circle, saturated with ominous, gloomy spiritual pressure, they saw…

"Wooo~"

Someone holding a tiny horn called "Xia Jiba" blew a long, rusty note.

"Clap clap~"

Shan Ding Si Youpin hammered a gong and drum with vigor.

And Zhidao Zhiwu, swaying a large banner, looked utterly despondent.

The whole scene resembled the later Zero Squad…

"Welcome Captain Lu Qu, Captain Yan Yuan, Captain Wei Hua, and that strange fellow, to the Void Circle Expedition Team~"

Finally, the enthusiastic Captain Huangmu of the Void Circle Expedition Team offered sincere blessings to the group.

"Huh? Who's the strange fellow? And Captain Huangmu, you forgot to welcome me…"

Wang Tu Chuan first scratched his cheek, then looked around; seeing no odd person following, he said to Huangmu,

"…"

Then poor Wang Tu Chuan was outright ignored by Huangmu.

"Wait, let me catch my breath first…"

"Didn't the report say you all were dead?!"

Elsewhere, Wei Hua Dan Er Lang stared at the unscathed Nigu, Shan Ding Si Youpin and others; his brow furrowed. He came to the Void Circle to support the Expedition Team as his duty, but more so to avenge his comrades; he's a very loyal person.

"Hehe…"

"Here it's no different from being dead…"

Zhidao Zhiwu let out a helpless sneer, his words as bleak as could be, as if he had lost all hope in life.

"Snap~"

Then, Huangmu struck Zhidao's head hard with his loving iron fist.

Hiss...

Zhidao held his head and crouched on the ground, tears flashing in his eyes: "It's really strange; I clearly have mastered the method of covering my body with spiritual pressure, so why does it still hurt so much when Captain Huangmu punches me?!"

As the captain, each of my punches that strike you is filled with love for you.

Huangmu looked at Zhidao, who was crouching with his head in his hands, and wore an exceedingly "kind" smile.

Pfft...

Idiot! Don't you know Huangmu's fists have a "piercing" effect on defenses?!

In response, Bu Lao Bu Si looked at Zhidao crouching with his head covered, covered his mouth, and chuckled secretly.

Well, she gets hit the most by Huangmu's iron fist filled with loving spiritual pressure...

In short, for various reasons, we assassins no longer have a foothold in the Soul Society.

Huangmu explained to everyone why he had summoned them here urgently.

So we have to stay in this Hollow Circle for the rest of our lives?!

Weihua Dan'er Lang, thoughtful as he was, instantly grasped the meaning in Huangmu's words and thus asked him.

Of course not...

Huangmu shook their head upon hearing that.

"We can't possibly go to the mortal world, can we?!"

Weihua Dan'erlang looked at the shaking Huangmu, couldn't help asking, and after asking, Weihua Dan'erlang himself laughed.

"……"

In response, Huangmu remained silent, while Weihua Dan'erlang reminded him that he should also arrange something in the mortal world when he had time.

"Really go to the mortal world?!"

However, seeing this, Weihua Dan'erlang thought that his offhand remark had actually hit the mark!

"Of course not……"

"Weihua Dan'erlang, Luqu Bayunzhai, Yanyuan Jinle, and Wang Tucan Yuxufei, the only path before you is to follow me to the 'Spirit King Palace'; from now on you will reside in my 'Detached Hall'……"

Huangmu shared his plan with all the captains present.

"What do you mean?!"

In response, Wang Tucan and the others were greatly startled.

"Become my personal guards! Captains……"

Huangmu gave a light smile and extended the invitation to the captains before him.

As Huangmu's words fell, Maozhulie, Bu Laobu Si, Zhidao Zhimu, Zhixing Naigang, Jiumian Yanjing Tie, Shanding Youpin, and Nigu Caizang all stood behind him; although the captains said nothing, some things were self-evident.

"It seems you've already made your choice? Then can you give me a reason?"

At this moment, Yanyuan Jinle lightly pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his gaze sweeping over the captains' faces as he spoke up.

"Because Huangmu is stronger than all of us!"

Zhixing Naigang's reason was simple and brutal.

"Same as above!"

Jiumian Yanjing Tie was the same.

"Not only that, Captain Huangmu can also make us stronger."

Shanding Youpin's chubby face broke into a twisted smile.

"Just having a place to stay is fine; what more reason do we need?!"

Zhidao Zhimu scratched the back of his head, completely going with the flow.

"The Spirit King Palace…… such a holy place, this old man has never been there yet~"

Nigu Caizang was purely curious about the Spirit King Palace.

"……"

When it was Maozhulie and Bu Laobu Si's turn to speak, they merely glanced at each other and said nothing.

"What do you all think?"

As for Huangmu, he still wore that gentle smile.

"Haha, quite interesting, I choose to join!"

Weihua Dan'erlang was the first to choose to become Huangmu's personal guard; in his view, his friends hadn't died and could still stay together, and there was nothing more interesting than that.

"Me too."

Yanyuan sighed, feeling that aside from joining, there seemed to be no better option at present.

"As long as there are books!"

Luqu Bayunzhai said that as long as he had books, it didn't matter where he went.

"As for me……"

Finally, it was Wang Tucan's turn to speak; he stroked his chin, adopting a hesitant posture.

"All right! Since you all agree to join us, let me take you on a tour of the base we've built in the void……"

However, before Wang Tucan could speak, Huangmu had already led the captains toward the expeditionary force's base.

"This row is the soldiers' dormitories, built from the wood of the Great Void Forest; not only are they sturdy, they also effectively prevent mosquito bites. Once the expedition ends, we could consider bringing them to the Soul Society!" Huangmu first introduced the dormitories to everyone, then led the crowd toward the 'Recovery Hot Spring', saying, "This is the hot spring we built; its uses are endless! The most immediate effect is—Eleventh Division soldiers, obey orders! Go kill a few Gillians for the captains' amusement!"

"We will obey the captain's order! We'll bring back the hunted Gillians right away!"

As Huangmu's words fell, the Eleventh Division soldiers all ran toward the Great Void Forest.

"Once the soldiers' hunted Gillians arrive, I'll personally demonstrate how to use the hot spring~"

Seeing this, Huangmu lightly turned his body, looked at the soldiers before him, and spoke with a chuckle.

In response to this, Wang Tuchuan stood there all alone, pitifully gazing toward Huangmu and the others and said: 'Could it be that I'm being excluded?!'

After a moment...

After Wang Tuchuan was certain that nobody would come back to get him, he shouted while running toward the base where Huangmu and the others were: 'I get it! I agree to join you, okay? Wait a bit for me! Don't leave me here alone, hey!'

(End of chapter)