The bitter taste made it hard to savor. Estimating he was about 50% full, Yu Si stopped eating.
He went to a moderately thick and relatively straight willow branch. Yu Si grabbed the branch with both hands, jumped up, and pulled down sharply, using inertia to snap the branch off.
With a crisp snap, the willow branch, roughly the length of an arm and the thickness of a baby's arm, broke off and was firmly grasped by Yu Si.
He stripped the smaller, forked twigs off by hand, resulting in a handy wooden stick.
"Not bad."
He weighed the branch in his hand; the weight and feel were good. After swinging it twice, Yu Si nodded in satisfaction, a slight smile appearing on his face.
He then turned and went to the stream, his gaze searching the riverbank. Soon, he found a piece of dark flint with a sharp edge.
Scratch—scratch—
Crouching down to pick up the flint, Yu Si pressed its edge against another stone and began grinding repeatedly. A rhythmic friction sound arose. His movements were steady and precise, his eyes focused, and the flint's edge gradually sharpened under his actions.
Before long, Yu Si scraped the edge of the stone blade with his hand. Feeling it was slightly sharp enough to cut, he stopped, as his current physical strength did not support more detailed grinding.
Yu Si then used the stone blade to carve a groove into the end of the wooden stick. He then tore several strips of cloth from the hem of his clothes using his teeth, and, pushing himself to his limit, tightly wrapped and secured the stone blade to the stick with the cloth strips.
"Ding—Host successfully crafted a stone axe, Survival Experience +1, rewarding one Novice Gift Pack."
Unfortunately, this was merely Yu Si's self-amusement; there was no system.
The rough wood grain dug into his palm. Yu Si tightly gripped the crude stone axe he held. The weapon in his hand brought him a tangible sense of security; it was not just a tool, but his first reliance in facing this strange world.
Just as Yu Si was about to get up and search for other food, a sound drifted over from behind a nearby dirt slope. He immediately tightened his grip on the stone axe, leaned against the willow tree, and scanned the direction of the sound with alert eyes.
It wasn't that he didn't want to run, but he estimated that in the current situation, it was too late. Rash actions would only make him more vulnerable.
As the sound grew closer, a short figure soon appeared in Yu Si's line of sight.
It was neither a wild beast nor a monster, but an old man wearing clothes of the same material and style as his own.
Using his good eyesight, Yu Si quickly assessed the person before him. The old man was quite elderly, his figure hunched, his hair white and sparse, and his face covered in deep wrinkles, like cracked earth. His eyes were cloudy, his expression calm and numb, carrying a faint sense of death. He carried no weapons in his hands or on his waist, only an old wooden bucket. He seemed completely harmless.
"Wait!"
He quickly spotted an anomaly: although the skin on the old man's hands was as aged as his face, it showed no signs of manual labor. It was pale and slack, which clearly contradicted their current environment.
Yu Si's slightly relaxed nerves immediately tensed up again. His body remained in a state ready to exert force at any moment, and his gaze sharply fixed on the approaching figure nearby.
The old man slowly walking towards him seemed to have just noticed Yu Si beneath the tree. When his gaze met Yu Si's wary eyes, and he noticed the clearly aggressive stone axe in Yu Si's hand, the old man was startled. He instinctively took half a step back, and the wooden bucket slipped from his grasp and rolled to the side.
"Calm down, I won't hurt you."
The old man pressed his hands against his chest and shouted loudly.
"Stand still and don't move. I won't attack you recklessly. I have some questions for you."
The familiar Japanese syllabary sounded in Yu Si's ears. As an experienced anime fan and former resident of Japan, he was naturally very familiar with the language. He used his left hand to signal the old man to stay put, and slightly lowered the axe in his right hand.
"Who are you, and what is this place?"
Although this interruption was sudden, Yu Si knew it was a good opportunity. He had to quickly gather more information about this world and clarify his current situation.
"I am Satō Shigeo. This is Rukongai, West District 3, the vicinity of Koifushi Mountain."
The old man, who had remained standing still as instructed, showed a flash of surprise and realization in his eyes upon hearing Yu Si's questions. Although he still looked a little nervous, the fear on his face had significantly subsided, and he answered with a sigh of relief.
"Rukongai, West District 3?"
Forcing down the turmoil in his heart, Yu Si repeated the key terms the old man had mentioned.
"Yes."
"This is the Soul Society. Our current location is Rukongai, West District 3. You must be a soul who just reincarnated from the Human World."
The old man, who called himself Satō, roughly understood the situation he was facing upon hearing Yu Si's reply. He smiled and tried his best to organize his words as he answered.
"It happens sometimes. Aside from old people like me who died naturally, the memories of newly reincarnated souls can sometimes be chaotic. It will clear up in a few days."
"Perhaps what I'm saying sounds unbelievable, but there should be a registration slip tucked into your waist. That can prove everything I'm saying is true."
"If you can, please put down the weapon first, and I will explain everything to you slowly."
The old man spoke as if he had said these words many times before, his pace gradually quickening. Finally, he pointed toward a spot slightly to the left of Yu Si's waistband.
After hearing the old man's words and all those familiar terms, even the dumbest version of Yu Si knew he had transmigrated into the world of Shinigami (Bleach).
Following the old man's instruction, he reached into his waist and pulled out a yellow slip of paper. He unfolded it and saw 'West District 3' clearly written on it.
Immediately, he understood the anomaly of the skin on the old man's hands. Ordinary souls in the Shinigami world do not feel hunger, do not need food, and can survive merely by breathing in spirit particles from the atmosphere and drinking water. Naturally, their hands would show no signs of labor.
"I apologize, I startled you just now."
"I can't seem to remember many things clearly. Please just call me Si."
Following the old man Satō's lead, Yu Si casually tucked the stone axe into his waistband, picked up the wooden bucket that had rolled aside, and took a few steps closer to apologize to the old man.
"It's alright, it's alright. It's normal to be confused when you first arrive here."
"No need to be so polite. Just call me Satō-san."
Old man Satō watched all of Yu Si's movements. Seeing that he seemed to accept and believe what he had said and had genuinely put away his weapon, the smile on his face became even warmer.
"You must have come to fetch water. Let me help you fill it up and take it back. On the way, I'd like to ask you a few questions."
Yu Si offered to help, not only to apologize but also to gain information. After all, the original work didn't focus much on Rukongai, and many crucial details still needed confirmation.
"Yes, yes, yes."
Hearing this, old man Satō's face brightened with a hint of vitality, and he readily agreed.
Subsequently, Yu Si took the wooden bucket, went to the stream, cleaned it briefly, and filled it up.
After filling the water, the two walked slowly side by side along the stream bank. Old man Satō was very familiar with the area, and pointing out the surroundings, he introduced everything nearby to Yu Si like a dutiful guide.