Chapter 1509 - 32: The Dark Sparrow

Chapter 1509: Chapter 32: The Dark Sparrow

"Secret?"

After the initial ’shock,’ Su Xiao entered a calm phase, not mentioning anything about Komamura Sajin, as if Komamura Sajin’s death had no impact on him. If Su Xiao were truly just a researcher, this would indeed be the case.

"I’ll tell you quietly."

Nan Que leaned closer to Su Xiao, and he caught a faint fragrance, the scent of some summer flower from the Soul Society, fresh and floral.

"I heard this accidentally. It’s said that you are the fifth suspect in Captain Aizen’s death."

"..."

Su Xiao looked at Nan Que ’surprised,’ not feigning it, but genuinely puzzled. There could be only two possibilities: Nan Que was lying, or someone was making baseless guesses.

But soon, Su Xiao understood why such rumors existed. He hadn’t been in Jingling Court for long, and with Aizen’s assassination, the first to be suspected would undoubtedly be those who recently joined.

Plus, Su Xiao had frequent contact with Aizen, which could be seen as him creating opportunities to assassinate Aizen.

Understanding these points, Su Xiao was relieved, but his expression didn’t change much.

"There’s certainly reason for suspicion; after all, I’ve just arrived at Jingling Court."

"..."

Seeing Su Xiao’s reaction, Nan Que’s eyes showed some disappointment, as this wasn’t the reaction she wanted to see.

"Master Bai Ye, should we go to the scene where Captain Komamura Sajin was killed..."

"What for?"

"Eh~ this..."

Nan Que scratched her head.

"I’m not familiar with him, and Aizen’s death hasn’t been clarified yet. I don’t have time to attend to that matter."

"It seems... that is indeed the case."

Nan Que stood up, patting the creases on her Shinigami clothing.

"Master Bai Ye, rest assured, I will protect your safety."

Nan Que puffed out her chest, regaining her usual cheerfulness.

"Don’t worry, I have no desire to die, so I won’t go out at night. I originally thought Jingling Court was very peaceful, but now it seems that’s not the case."

After chatting for a while, Nan Que left the room, and the smile on Su Xiao’s face faded. He had sensed something was off about Nan Que when he first saw her.

Nan Que felt too familiar. Although her disguise was quite good, her demeanor was very similar to someone Su Xiao had recently met, or rather, Nan Que and the assistant had more than 40% similarity in demeanor.

The demeanor of two people wouldn’t be entirely the same; over 20% would give a sense of similarity, and over 80% would only occur between identical twins.

According to known information, Nan Que was quite talented, but unfortunately, she was somewhat timid at critical moments, which is why she was underutilized.

Of course, this was just the apparent information about Nan Que. During Su Xiao’s time on the Blue Sea Star, he knew the assistant’s personality inside out. The assistant was very cheerful; sometimes her mind would short-circuit, but as a soldier, she had a toughness and bravery that most men lacked.

The assistant could calmly shoot an enemy in the head and then happily enjoy dinner the next moment, even cheering at the meal’s abundance, completely ignoring the nearby corpse.

Nan Que and the assistant’s similarity didn’t lie in cheerfulness and short-circuiting. Their similarity lay in their indifference to the life of an enemy.

Su Xiao could confirm that Nan Que had killed many Soul Reapers or Hollows, most of them through assassination. Thus, her blood energy wasn’t heavy. No matter how well she disguised, she couldn’t completely change her habits.

For example, just now when Nan Que picked up the kettle, she first used her lips and tongue to contact the water inside extensively. This was to check if the water was poisoned. As for her throat swallowing, it was entirely her habitual disguise.

Don’t think this is simple; without professional training, it couldn’t be done so naturally.

Being proficient in assassination and staying alert at all times, she could completely disguise her personality. It was clear which squad Nan Que belonged to.

More importantly, if Nan Que didn’t have these abilities, would Yamamoto Genryūsai and Uzōhara Retsu assign her to handle Su Xiao’s daily life? Even now, they hadn’t relaxed their vigilance toward Su Xiao.

In the mindset of a new contractor, Su Xiao should quickly get rid of Nan Que, but he would never do that. Or rather, Nan Que was his best disguise.

Just after Komamura Sajin died, Nan Que came to Su Xiao immediately. She seemed to be showing concern, but in reality, she was observing him, and only left after confirming there were no problems.

Precisely because of Nan Que’s presence, Su Xiao’s alibi was easier to confirm, as from Nan Que’s perspective, Su Xiao was always in the room drinking. She would never know that during last night’s dinner, three trackers had been added to her stomach. As for who tampered with her meal, it was, of course, Bubu Wang.

Su Xiao could confirm Nan Que’s location 24/7, so why take the risk of exposure to remove her?

At 3 a.m. that night, while Su Xiao lay sleeping in bed, a slender figure appeared at the door, moving silently, not even the slightest footstep could be heard.

The figure paused at the door for about ten minutes before walking away, as if never having been there. On the bed, Su Xiao suddenly opened his eyes and got up.

In the dark room, two pairs of eyes met, no verbal exchange was needed. Bubu Wang got up, blending into the environment before pushing the door open, its destination unknown.

In a room at the First Squad residence.

"Captain, nothing discovered for now."

"Hmm."

With just two sentences, the room fell into a deathly silence. Yamamoto Genryūsai sat cross-legged on a grass mat, and Nan Que kneeled on one knee not far from him.

The two in the room didn’t notice that Bubu Wang was sitting beside Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, occasionally yawning.

"Dismissed."

Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni slightly opened his eyes, Nan Que responded and withdrew. As she opened the door, Bubu Wang slipped out of the room.

Bubu Wang gave Nan Que a glance. Originally, it had been sleeping soundly. If not for this fellow, Su Xiao wouldn’t have dragged it out.

Just as Bubu Wang prepared to go back for a nap, Nan Que headed toward the wooden building’s exterior. Sensing this, Bubu quickly followed.

Nan Que was tricky to track, but in the eyes of stealth-expert Bubu Wang, she was like a child in kindergarten. Even in its sleepy state, Bubu could keep up with Nan Que.

Nan Que didn’t want to be exposed to other Soul Reapers’ sight. She passed through alleyways, targeting the vicinity of the Second Squad headquarters.

Soon, Nan Que stopped between the First and Second Squad residences. She came near a water tower, seemingly waiting for someone.

With a swoosh, a figure appeared.

"Master..."

Nan Que had just started talking when the newcomer interrupted, "Report directly. I’m very busy."

The newcomer was a woman; the night was too dark for Bubu Wang to distinguish her appearance.

Bubu Wang flipped its paw, and a single-tube night vision goggles appeared in its dog paw. Bubu Wang clearly saw the newcomer’s appearance and enabled the recording function; it was about five meters from Nan Que, maintaining such a distance was already being very considerate.

Bubu Wang recognized the newcomer as Captain Soi Fon of the Second Squad.

Nan Que was related to Soi Fon; Su Xiao had guessed this from the beginning. The Second Squad was the Punitive Force, although that was a nicer term; it was indeed the assassination squad of Jingling Court.

Soi Fon was not only Nan Que’s captain but also the one who had trained her.

"According to my observations, Bai Ye’s daily routine is very regular; every day..."

After reporting for at least five minutes, Soi Fon gestured with her hand.

"That’s it?"

Soi Fon seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

"Yes, Master."

Upon hearing Soi Fon’s dissatisfied tone, Nan Que became a bit at a loss, grasping her collar with both hands, her admiration unmistakable in her eyes.

"If there’s an important situation, report to the Captain first, then find a way to contact me."

Soi Fon was about to leave, but upon noticing the disappointment in Nan Que’s eyes, she stopped, placing a hand on Nan Que’s head.

"Good work."

"Mm!"

Nan Que mysteriously blushed, nearly tearing her collar apart.