Although he had regained consciousness, to be honest, he had no idea what was going on. And he didn't recognize this new, quirky character who had suddenly appeared.
Ling Qing only felt his head was throbbing, as if someone had stuffed something into his brain. But when he tried to recall it, he couldn't remember anything. All in all, it didn't feel very good.
Looking around, Ling Qing noticed that this seemed to be a large hot spring area.
It's just that…
The signs next to the hot spring Ling Qing was in, which read—White Bone Hell—were very unsettling.
Of course, compared to the one the pompadour man was soaking in on the other side, which was crimson red and labeled—Blood Pond Hell—and looked very spicy, Ling Qing felt that White Bone Hell seemed quite nice.
"...What kind of yin-yang hot pot is this... clear broth, spicy broth..."
Ling Qing scanned the area and, looking away, couldn't help but mutter to himself. The two hot springs were connected, and their colors were so evocative that it would be strange for Ling Qing not to make the connection.
Then, Ling Qing examined his current self, and the memories gradually returned to his mind. The last impression left in his mind was a sword strike that seemed to cleave heaven and earth, a strike that seemed to destroy everything. That slash was very similar to the ones he was good at, but its power was far greater, so great that Ling Qing had no way of resisting it.
But, it was only the current Ling Qing who couldn't resist it. That sword strike had not broken his confidence. On the contrary, it had stirred up his competitive spirit, because Ling Qing had a premonition that it wouldn't be long before that slash could no longer threaten him. Although Yamamoto's power was still unfathomable, it was not a bottomless abyss with no way to start. It was a high mountain with clear climbing points, a mountain that Ling Qing could climb step by step. No matter how high that mountain was, as long as Ling Qing didn't give up, climbing step by step, bit by bit, he would eventually reach the top and stand at a peak even higher than the mountain.
Of course, Ling Qing also knew that no matter how great his ambitions were, for now, they were just fantasies.
Folks, let's take a look at my body right now.
Soaking in the clear broth... ah no, the mild-flavored hot spring, Ling Qing was completely naked. But now was not the time to worry about being naked. His body was covered in large patches of twisted flesh from burns, looking exceptionally gruesome. Ling Qing had heard that you could soak in hot springs for full-body burns, but in his current state, shouldn't he be lying in a hospital bed first?
Besides the shocking burns all over his body, what was actually more concerning was the massive gash that had nearly cut his entire body in two. In front of this gash, the full-body burns were nothing. After all, the former would only make people anxious, "Hurry up and send him to the hospital!" The latter would make people horrified, "He's not dead from that?!"
It's strange to say, but as Ling Qing looked at his own body, he strangely felt like an outsider, without any psychological burden.
Ling Qing thought for a few seconds before he found the reason for his lack of burden.
It was because he didn't feel any pain! Even though his whole body was burned, even though faint traces of blood flowed from the huge wound and mixed with the hot spring water, he didn't feel the slightest bit of pain, as if it were someone else's body.
Then, right before Ling Qing's eyes, something strange happened.
A piece of his burn—it looked like it was stuck to his skin, but was actually the skin and the flesh beneath it fused together by the high heat—slowly peeled off his body like dead skin.
The burn, which should have been a part of him, floated up from his body like a sticker, and then dissolved into the hot spring water at a speed that was hard to describe, but definitely abnormal!
And in the place where the burn had been, was now tender, fair, and perfectly healthy skin.
"!"
Ling Qing's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Heh heh, amazing, right?"
Seeing this scene, Ling Qing had the mischievous urge to reach out and see if the other burns on his body could also be peeled off. This instinctive urge was just like the urge to pick at a scab after a wound has healed.
However, before Ling Qing could act, the slightly smug voice of the pompadour man came from the red broth on the side, stopping his eager impulse.
Ling Qing turned his head to look at him, and saw him say with great pride, "The White Bone Hell absorbs the damaged Reiatsu and blood discharged from the injured person's body. The completely necrotic blood, Reiatsu, and parts of your body are gradually being expelled."
"So this is actually a healing hot spring?"
The Soul Society was not the real world. There were also magical things like Zanpakutō here, so Ling Qing wouldn't be surprised by any other strange things. Based on this, Ling Qing could easily accept the setting that this hot spring could heal injuries. After accepting this setting, he realized that he could heal without taking medicine, getting injections, or being hospitalized... What kind of treasure is this!
Tenjirō Kirinji, basking in the satisfaction from Ling Qing's gaze, crossed his arms and showed a proud smile. The Soul King Palace rarely had visitors. Even when it did, they were mostly relatives of the royal family, high-ranking nobles, or important officials. A situation where someone was sent to the Soul King Palace in a hurry because their injuries were too severe to be treated immediately was something that might not happen once in a thousand years.
Tenjirō Kirinji couldn't remember how many years it had been since he had seen an expression of wonder like Ling Qing's. Even he couldn't help but feel pleased when it came to his area of expertise.
"Hmph, hmph, that's right. This is not something that so-called Kaidō can compare to. If it weren't for the fact that even Retsu couldn't heal you, you wouldn't be able to enjoy this kind of treatment."
"Um... I have a question."
"?"
"If it's a healing hot spring, why is it called 'Hell'?"
"..."
"Could it be that you think the contrast is cool? No way, no way, no way?"
"..."
In that moment, Tenjirō Kirinji really wanted to just tell him the truth: that soaking in the hot spring for too long would cause his body to rot and explode, killing him on the spot.
Let Ling Qing see for himself why it was called 'Hell'.
But then he thought that if he really said it, Ling Qing would probably jump up and refuse to soak any longer. So he had to swallow the words that were already on the tip of his tongue, feeling quite frustrated.
It was a small matter if Ling Qing's injuries weren't healed. But for him, Tenjirō Kirinji, after arrogantly mocking the Gotei 13 and Unohana for not being able to heal the man, to then fail to heal him himself—for whatever reason—would be too embarrassing.
He, Tenjirō Kirinji, First Officer of the Zero Squad, the Lightning-Fast Tenjirō, the General of the East, Tenjirō, could not afford to lose this much face!
"Ahem."
With a stiff cough, Tenjirō Kirinji even more stiffly and forcefully changed the subject.
"Kid, let me introduce myself. I'm Tenjirō Kirinji. The legendary First Officer of the Zero Squad!"
"...?"
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