Looking up at the sky, it was a clear expanse of blue.
Perhaps due to being far from modern civilization, the stars in the sky were clearly visible.
Randomly picked dry branches were lit, and the firelight illuminated a small area of the dim environment. In the rising flames, one could see sparks continuously floating upward, and occasionally hear the crackling sound of burning branches.
Ling Qing sat alone beside the lit campfire, his katana still placed within easy reach on his left side.
In front of him were scattered various odds and ends—things that in the past... no, to be precise, three days ago, he wouldn't have even glanced at, considering them garbage.
Of course, to him now, these were still garbage, but due to environmental constraints, he had to temporarily treasure anything he could collect.
Among the few sparse items that weren't even worth describing, the most eye-catching were three katanas identical to the one Ling Qing kept at his side.
Ling Qing had separated these three katanas and placed them aside, planning to find an inconspicuous place to bury them later.
Ling Qing wasn't an arms dealer—one sword was enough. Extra swords would only be a burden to carry, and carelessly discarding them would let others find them and potentially turn their blades against him.
For now, burying these swords so others couldn't find them was the simplest and most effective preventive measure.
With a sigh, Ling Qing pulled out a rice ball from his chest. The rice ball didn't taste very good, but it wasn't inedible either. After quietly finishing one rice ball, Ling Qing took the water bottle from his waist, drank two sips of water, and stopped.
He carefully and preciously tightened the water bottle, looked up at the night sky, and let out a melancholy sigh.
Tonight was already the third evening. On the first day, he thought he couldn't accept the reality before him, but who would have thought human resilience was so strong? In just three days, Ling Qing had completely adapted to life in the afterlife.
That's right. This was the world after death.
On the second day, Ling Qing had deliberately spared one of the attackers and obtained basic information about the current world from him.
This place was called Soul Society, the world humans go to after death, and his current location was called Rukongai.
Learning this fact made Ling Qing quite melancholy for a while.
The existence of an afterlife surprised him somewhat, but he'd never heard of "Soul Society." If not heaven, he should at least go to the underworld, right? What kind of afterlife administrative office was Soul Society anyway?
Also from that guy's mouth, Ling Qing learned that after death, people must be guided by Soul Reapers to leave the living world and reach Soul Society. Upon arrival in Soul Society, they would be issued "settlement tickets" and assigned to different districts according to the order of their deaths.
But no matter how hard Ling Qing tried to remember, he couldn't recall any self-proclaimed Soul Reaper coming to guide him, let alone any settlement tickets.
Most importantly, according to that guy's description, Soul Reapers looked similar to the several corpses he'd seen when he first arrived—wearing black kimonos, holding katanas, with items in the Y-shaped chest pockets of their robes.
Ling Qing didn't even want to complain about this afterlife, or about how the guiding Soul Reapers had "also" died.
Damn it, he died in his home country, so why was he guided by Japanese-style Soul Reapers?!
Where were the ox-headed and horse-faced demon guards?!
Of course, complaining aside, reality was already before him, and as an adult, he could only accept it.
The guy Ling Qing had interrogated only knew basic information and wasn't even particularly certain about it. Ling Qing could only maintain a skeptical attitude and set it aside for future verification.
Regarding his own death, Ling Qing didn't find it unacceptable.
Because he still had memories from before his death.
Ling Qing was twenty-five years old this year, had been working for several years, and was a corporate worker who had settled into routine.
Having caught the so-called "2D ACGN" era, he was somewhat of an otaku, though he gradually lost touch with that world after entering the workforce. But he had a hobby of attending anime conventions and particularly loved the character "Sephiroth."
Not just because Sephiroth was handsome and had high charisma, but because during Ling Qing's university years—though he wasn't sure if his roommate was joking—he was told he looked quite similar to Sephiroth.
Curious, Ling Qing spent considerable time completing all the Final Fantasy VII series, and after that, he would always cosplay as Sephiroth at anime conventions.
Ling Qing was a serious person. To achieve perfect cosplay, though not as tall as Sephiroth in the game settings, he wasn't small either. He consistently exercised and even learned to wield a sword with his left hand.
Not as exaggerated as two meters long, but after years of persistent practice, he could wield a 1.2-meter craft sword effortlessly.
It could be said his Sephiroth cosplay was at least 8 out of 10 points, and he was always the most stunning figure at conventions.
Then, he died at what would be his final anime convention.
On his way to the convention, he encountered a robbery. Since the thief was fleeing right along his path, he directly struck down the thief with his craft sword in a few moves and returned the stolen items to the victim.
He should have escorted the thief to the police—if he had done so, he wouldn't have died.
But at the time, he found it troublesome—because time was running short, and whether reporting to police or escorting to the station would make him late, and cooperating with statements would waste even more time—so he warned the thief not to commit crimes again, saying if caught again he'd be sent directly to the police station, then let the thief go.
But he hadn't expected the narrow-minded thief, far from being grateful for the mercy, to harbor resentment and wait for him on his way home from the convention. Taking advantage of the crowd, the thief quietly approached Ling Qing and, catching him off guard, stabbed him with a knife.
Ling Qing, accidentally struck in a vital spot by the thief, didn't wait for the ambulance to arrive and died right there on his way home from the convention...
This heart-wrenching incident taught Ling Qing a lesson: eliminate evil completely!
Unfortunately, Ling Qing, who could no longer learn from this lesson, opened his eyes again to find himself seemingly transported through time and space to another world.
When he awoke, several corpses in black kimonos lay beside him.
Somewhat bewildered, Ling Qing eventually gave these "Soul Reapers" a proper burial under the blazing sun, but as compensation, he took food and water from them, along with a sword for self-defense.
Having some experience with swords—even if just flashy moves—Ling Qing immediately recognized the weapon as a real blade. Combined with waking up next to corpses, this made Ling Qing cautiously more alert and defensive.
Later events proved Ling Qing's caution and vigilance were correct.
Ling Qing had thought he'd caught the transmigration truck to another world, but it turned out to be the afterlife instead.
However, this afterlife was somewhat different from what Ling Qing had imagined.
There was no loli judge declaring him guilty! Nor was it a transcendent place of post-death bliss. This place was more primitive and terrifying than Ling Qing had imagined.
Except for Ling Qing himself, everyone he'd encountered so far couldn't be called human—describing them as demons, evil spirits would be more appropriate.
No one gave Ling Qing any beginner's guidance. The "evil spirits" who attacked him with malice and greed taught him the survival rules of this world through their malevolence.
That rule was: if you don't kill others, others will kill you!
Ling Qing had thought he'd vomit dramatically after his first kill, but he didn't.
Because this place was unimaginably desolate. He couldn't find any food or water and didn't dare waste even a bit. Vomiting would only expel what he'd eaten, wasting energy and causing dehydration—it was that simple and direct a reality.
"Food and water are running low. I need to hurry and move inward."
Ling Qing estimated his remaining food and water supplies and sighed helplessly.
Though the Soul Reapers who had died beside him at the start all carried food and water, they obviously only had enough for a meal or two. Even collecting from multiple people, Ling Qing couldn't sustain himself for long.
Moreover, in this weather, even if he carefully rationed his food, he worried it would spoil.
After picking through the usable items from the attackers who had sought death during the day, Ling Qing threw the rest directly into the fire, letting the flames consume them.
Rukongai seemed to become more prosperous toward the center. This was the Western 80th District. Ling Qing was currently in the process of moving toward the 79th District after determining his direction.
He stared at the fire for a while. The orange glow illuminated Ling Qing's face, light and shadow flickering uncertainly.
Due to scarce water resources and the complete absence of ponds or similar water sources, it had been three days—forget bathing, Ling Qing couldn't even see his current state or whether he'd become gaunt and sallow.
Fortunately, his physical condition remained consistently strong, and whether it was his imagination or not, he seemed to have grown a bit taller.
Thinking of this, Ling Qing picked up the katana beside him and slightly drew it from its sheath. The katana reflected a cold gleam under the flickering firelight.
Logically speaking, with the "folk customs being so simple" here, a "friendly outsider" like Ling Qing should have had difficulty surviving.
But when Ling Qing first gripped the sword, he was surprised to discover that all the flashy moves he'd practiced had somehow become real.
Whether it was some peculiarity of the afterlife or not, there was a power surging within his body. Through those "flashy moves," he could unleash unstoppable slashing attacks, even achieving skill effects at the literal descriptive level as he knew them.
Ling Qing knew that this afterlife called Soul Society probably had many more mysterious aspects waiting for him to gradually understand.
What he could do now was: first, avoid being killed by others; second, quickly move to the inner areas where at least basic needs could be met.
"Sigh, time to sleep, time to sleep."
With a melancholy sigh, Ling Qing sheathed his sword, used it as a pillow under his head, and closed his eyes beside the burning campfire.