After the group of Shinigami left, Bai Ye looked at the man beside him and said, "Hey, let's talk?"
The man glared at Bai Ye fiercely and said, "Shameless scoundrel."
"Hey, actually, I've already delayed quite a bit for you," Bai Ye said, squatting beside the man. "To be honest, this matter has nothing to do with me. The deal between us was agreed upon before, but something unexpected happened at the time, and we couldn't complete the exchange. Now, I'm being dragged down by you and serving time with you, alright? Besides, a Captain-level has appeared; they really couldn't stop them."
The man was silent for a moment, then said, "What do you want to talk about?"
"Let's introduce ourselves first? Bai Ye!"
The man took a deep breath and said, "Seth Lin!"
"Hmm?" Bai Ye asked, "Mixed breed?"
Seth roared, "Half-blood."
Bai Ye sized up Seth. He hadn't noticed it before, but now that he looked closely, Seth did have some features of a mixed-blood, with a very high nose bridge and brownish-gray eyes.
"Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue," Bai Ye said. "Let's talk about our current situation. I think it's both a good thing and a bad thing. What do you think?"
Seth said, "I can't see any good aspects."
Bai Ye explained, "Normally, if you cause trouble in the Soul Society and get caught by the Shinigami, you'd be executed on the spot. However, not only did those Shinigami have no intention of killing us, but they even brought us to Seireitei and locked us up. What do you think this means?"
Seth asked, "What does it mean?"
"Man, if you're going to play dumb, there's no point," Bai Ye said. "Dare to tell me you don't have some kind of mission on you? Don't tell me you offended those Shinigami for no reason, just because you're a jerk."
Seth fell silent.
Bai Ye said, "Think about it yourself. Don't blame me for being too direct. With your strength, you probably can't handle the current situation!"
After speaking, Bai Ye slumped against the bars, glancing down the empty corridor. It seemed that after locking them up, the Shinigami had lost interest in them, as there wasn't even a guard in the corridor.
Then...
Bai Ye suddenly remembered something, and a luminous screen appeared before his eyes.
Black Order Uniform Set (Top) (Pants) (Blue): A uniform for the Black Order's security detail. Effects: Demonic Body (Strength, Vitality, Speed increased by 15 points), Exorcism (Against creatures with demonic attributes, all attacks are enhanced by 10%), Evil Spirit Summoning (After defeating a creature with evil spirit attributes, there is a 50% chance to summon an evil spirit puppet, whose strength is 50% of the original body).
On the surface, the Black Order uniform didn't seem particularly special. Like the Golden Silk Robe, it was of blue quality, and its effects were about the same.
First, Demonic Body was the same as the "Li Wu" effect of the Golden Silk Robe. However, Li Wu increased physical attributes by 10 points, while the Black Order uniform increased them by 15 points. Thus, the Black Order uniform was slightly superior.
The Exorcism effect, when triggered, was stronger than the Golden Silk Robe because it enhanced all attacks by 10%. However, the condition for triggering it was more stringent, only applicable to creatures with demonic attributes. In contrast, the Golden Silk Robe enhanced Taoist spells and martial arts, both of which acted on the self, making it more practical.
Evil Spirit Summoning was incomparable, being a completely different type of effect. However, overall, it was still quite good. Its drawback was also the stringent trigger condition: one had to defeat a creature with evil spirit attributes to initiate the summon.
Comparing the two, the Golden Silk Robe was considered below average for its blue quality, while the Black Order uniform was of medium quality, slightly stronger, but the difference was not significant.
Therefore, if it were only for these reasons, Bai Ye would have had no need to trade the Golden Silk Robe, even adding a polluted cross, and even sending himself to the Seireitei prison.
The reason Bai Ye wanted the Black Order uniform was because of the words "Black Order"!
This set of equipment was also a token, a symbol of identity within the Black Order. Many forbidden areas related to the Black Order required Black Order identity to be accessed. With this attire, Bai Ye would have an identity.
This was the true value of this Black Order uniform. However, Seth clearly didn't know this, otherwise, he wouldn't have traded the Golden Silk Robe and the cursed cross for it.
"Hey!" Seth suddenly spoke, "I actually found a mission in the Soul Society."
Bai Ye asked, "So you're planning to cooperate?"
Seth didn't answer but continued, "In the Soul Society, there's a woman named Kūkaku, who is a fireworks master and a skilled Kidō user. I got a mission from her. If I can complete it, she will teach me Hadō #63."
Bai Ye asked, "What's the mission?"
Seth replied, "Enter Seireitei and place a marker."
Bai Ye looked confused, "A marker?"
Seth nodded. "It seems a group of people found Kūkaku and asked her to help them enter Seireitei. So, Kūkaku came up with a plan: she could use her fireworks cannon to launch people directly towards Seireitei, passing through its barrier. However, it requires precise distance and landing points."
Bai Ye suddenly understood, "So, you received a mission to find a way to enter Seireitei and place a marker, so that they can launch towards the marked spot?"
Seth nodded.
"What a ridiculously stupid mission!" Bai Ye exclaimed, "If you have the ability to enter Seireitei, why not just find a way to bring people in directly? Why go through all this trouble?"
"Even Shinigami can't easily bring outsiders into Seireitei at will," Seth said. "The reason I got the mission is that I am a Substitute Shinigami. I can enter Seireitei, but that doesn't mean I can bring people in."
Bai Ye was curious, "You're a Substitute Shinigami?"
Seth nodded, "Mm."
Seth showed no inclination to elaborate further, clearly not intending to tell Bai Ye how he became a Substitute Shinigami.
This was normal. After all, it was something beneficial; why would he easily tell outsiders? Unless Bai Ye paid a price.
Unfortunately, Bai Ye wasn't particularly interested in becoming a Substitute Shinigami. He was just curious, "Since you're a Substitute Shinigami and can enter and exit Seireitei freely, why were you being chased by other Shinigami? And, with the ability to freely enter and exit Seireitei, this mission shouldn't be very difficult, right?"
Seth said, "I thought so too, but I was unlucky. When I was placing the marker at night, other Shinigami saw me. They suspected I was an infiltrator and started pursuing me."
"Show them your Substitute Shinigami credentials," Bai Ye said. "Proving you're a Substitute Shinigami would prove you're not an infiltrator, wouldn't it?"
Seth rolled his eyes, and his gaze towards Bai Ye clearly conveyed the meaning, "Are you stupid?"
...