Bitter things are hard to savor, so when Yuan estimated he was about fifty percent full, he stopped eating.
He went to a willow branch of moderate thickness that was relatively straight. Yuan gripped the branch with both hands, his feet hanging in the air, and sharply pulled down, using momentum to break the branch off.
With a crisp crack, the willow branch, about as long as his arm and as thick as a baby's arm, snapped and was held firmly in Yuan's hand.
After stripping off the smaller, branched twigs, he was left with a useful wooden stick.
"Not bad."
Weighing the stick in his hand, the weight and feel were quite good. After casually swinging it twice, Yuan nodded in satisfaction, a slight smile on his face.
He then turned to the creek bank, scanning the river flat. Soon, he found a piece of dark flint with a broken edge.
Clang—clang—
Kneeling down to pick up the flint, Yuan pressed its edge against another stone and began to grind it repeatedly. A rhythmic scraping sound arose. His movements were steady and precise, his gaze focused. The broken surface of the stone gradually sharpened under his action.
In a short time, Yuan scraped the edge of the stone with his hand. When it felt slightly sharp, he stopped. His current physical strength didn't support more detailed grinding.
Next, Yuan used the stone blade to cut a groove at the end of the wooden stick. Then, he used his teeth to tear a few strips of cloth from the hem of his clothing. He wrapped and secured the stone blade tightly onto the wooden stick with the cloth strips, winding them around as tightly as he possibly could.
"Ding—Host successfully crafted a stone axe, Survival Experience +1, rewarding one Novice Gift Pack."
Unfortunately, this was just Yuan's self-amusement; there was no system.
The rough wood grain pressed into his palm. Yuan gripped the simple stone axe tightly. The weapon in his hand brought him a tangible sense of security. This was not merely a tool; it was his first reliance in this strange world.
Just as Yuan was about to stand up and look for other food, a sound drifted over from behind a nearby mound. He immediately gripped the stone axe tighter, backed 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 the current situation meant there probably wasn't enough time. Rash action would only make him more vulnerable.
As the sound got closer, a low figure soon appeared in Yuan's field of vision.
It was neither a beast nor a monster, but an old man wearing clothes of the same material and style as his own.
Yuan quickly sized up the person with his excellent vision. The elder was quite old, his figure hunched, his hair white and sparse, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles, like cracked earth. His eyes were murky, his expression calm and numb, with a faint sense of death about him. He had no weapon on his hands or waist, only an old wooden bucket, and seemed to pose no threat.
"Something's wrong!"
He quickly found an anomaly: although the skin on the old man's hands was as aged as his face, there were no signs of labor. It was pale and flaccid, which clearly didn't match the environment they were in.
Yuan's slightly relaxed nerves immediately tensed up again. His body remained ready to move at any moment, and his gaze sharply focused on the figure gradually approaching in the distance.
The old man walking slowly toward him seemed to have just noticed Yuan under the tree. When his eyes met Yuan's vigilant gaze, and he noticed the obviously aggressive stone axe in Yuan's hand, the old man was startled. He instinctively took half a step back, and the wooden bucket slipped from his hands and rolled to the side.
"Calm down, I won't hurt you."
The old man held his hands up to his chest and shouted loudly.
"Stay put and don't move. I won't attack you recklessly. I have a few questions for you."
The familiar fifty sounds of the Japanese language rang in Yuan's ears. As an experienced otaku who had lived in Japan, he was naturally very familiar with Japanese. He signaled the old man in front of him to stop with his left hand, and slightly retracted the axe in his right hand.
"Who are you, and what is this place?"
Although this interlude was sudden, Yuan knew it was a good opportunity. He had to quickly gain more information about this world and clarify his current predicament.
"I am Satō Shigeo. This is the Rukongai, West Third District, the area around Mount Hokutan."
The elder, who had originally stopped as instructed, showed a flicker of surprise and realization in his eyes upon hearing Yuan's question. Although he still looked a little nervous, the fearful look on his face had faded considerably, and he answered with a sigh of relief.
"Rukongai, West Third District?"
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Yuan repeated the keywords the old man mentioned.
"Yes."
"This is the Soul Society. Our current location is the Rukongai, West Third District. You must be a soul who has just been reincarnated from the Human World."
The old man, who introduced himself as Satō, generally understood the situation he had encountered upon hearing Yuan's reply. He put on a smile and tried his best to organize his words.
"It happens sometimes. Except for elders like me who died naturally, the memories of newly reincarnated souls can sometimes be muddled. It will clear up in a few days."
"Perhaps my words sound unbelievable, but you should have a Resident Permit tucked away at your waist. That can prove everything I'm saying is true."
"If you could, please put down the weapon, and I will explain slowly."
The old man spoke as if he had said these words many times. His pace gradually quickened, and he finally pointed to the location slightly to the left of Yuan's waistband.
After hearing what the old man said and recognizing so many familiar terms, even the biggest idiot would know that Yuan had transmigrated into the world of Bleach.
He followed the old man's instruction and pulled a yellow paper from his waist. Opening it, he clearly saw 'West Third District' written on it.
He immediately understood the abnormality of the old man's finger skin. Ordinary souls in the world of Bleach do not feel hunger, do not need food, and can survive just by naturally breathing in the Reishi in the atmosphere and drinking water. Naturally, their hands would not show signs of labor.
"I apologize for startling you just now."
"I can't seem to remember many things. You can just call me Yuan."
Following the lead of the elder Satō, Yuan casually tucked the stone axe into his waist, picked up the rolling wooden bucket, and approached the old man, apologizing.
"It's nothing, nothing at all. It's normal to feel lost when you first arrive here."
"You don't need to be so formal. Just call me Satō-san."
Elder Satō watched all of Yuan's movements. Seeing that he seemed to accept and believe what he said and had indeed put away the weapon, the smile on his face became even gentler.
"You came to fetch water, didn't you? Let me help you get it and take it back. I can ask you some questions along the way."
Yuan proactively offered to help, both to express his apology and to obtain information. After all, the original work didn't detail much about the Rukongai, and many key pieces of information needed to be confirmed.
"Yes, yes, that's fine."
Upon hearing this, Elder Satō's face brightened with a hint of vitality, and he gladly agreed.
Yuan then took the wooden bucket, went to the creek, briefly cleaned it, and filled it up.
After fetching the water, the two walked side-by-side along the creek bank. Elder Satō was very familiar with the area. He pointed to the surrounding environment and introduced everything nearby to Yuan like a dedicated guide.