Chapter 105
Miya Chiri and Gojo Satoru spent a month in Okinawa, and Tsu Miki called to report that all the things at home had been done.
"So, Sister Chiri, you will come back before the first snow falls, right?" Tsumiki said softly.
Gong Zhili: "When was the first snow reported this year?"
Tsu Miki mentioned a time, and Gong Zhixiang thought for a moment and said, "I'll be back before then."
Tsu Miki hung up the phone and shook her head at her brothers and sisters who were gathered around her: "Sister can't come back yet."
The children made disappointed sounds. Zenin Maki leaned against the door holding her weapon, not understanding why they were so disappointed. There were no adults at home. Occasionally, teachers and students from the school came to see how they were doing, and people from the village didn't come often, so Zenin Maki felt that this kind of free life was really good!
The Chanyuan sisters had never met Gong Zhili, but they knew that it was Gong Zhili who transformed the hill where Chanyuan's family lived into a school district, so they had complicated feelings about her.
On the one hand, the Zen temple... this place no longer exists. The two of them are in a state of confusion about this and have not yet fully accepted this fact; on the other hand, they are also sincerely happy to be able to escape from their original living environment.
As for actually living in this person's house, they were very nervous, but the owner was not at home on the day they arrived, so they relaxed a lot. If they really had to meet... Zenin Maki hoped that she could become a little more powerful so that she and her sister would not be looked down upon.
The Okinawa waters were warm and clear. Sunlight filtered through the surface, casting shimmering specks of light across the white sand. Miya Chiri floated in the water, her long hair drifting like seaweed. She closed her eyes, her palms pressed against the soft sand on the seabed. Her consciousness, like spreading roots, connected to the vast seabed veins, conducting a final routine exploration before departing.
Gojo Satoru stood at her side, his tall frame unusually relaxed by the buoyancy. He was rarely wearing his eyepatch, his six pale blue eyes scanning every inch of the surrounding water like the most sophisticated radar. They had been searching this area intermittently for nearly a month, but aside from some long-dissipated debris or faint fluctuations of the ocean's own cursed energy, they had found no clear trace of their target—the "real person." This time, they had entered the water with a more "one last check, and if nothing, we'll return."
"It seems that guy is either not here, or he is better at hiding than an octopus." Gojo Satoru's voice, transmitted through the power of curse, was a little lazy. "It seems that this vacation will end in nothing?"
Gong Zhili didn't respond immediately. Her perception, like a delicate net, slowly swept across coral reefs, trenches, and reefs... Just as she was about to regain consciousness and agree with Gojo Satoru's point of view, a subtle, distorted wave, like venom seeping into clear water, suddenly emerged from a particularly dense patch of staghorn coral in the front right. The wave wasn't static; it was trying, intermittently, to send a signal toward a distant direction connected to her contract with Tagore.
"There's something!" Gong Zhili suddenly opened his eyes, and his sharp gaze instantly locked onto the colorful coral reef.
"Hmm?" Gojo Satoru raised his eyebrows, his six eyes instantly focused, capturing the extremely uncomfortable remnant of cursed energy that almost blended into the environment. "Come out at this time?"
Regardless of why he'd revealed his true colors today, Gojo Satoru didn't hesitate. With a slight lift of his fingertips, a dazzling red light began to condense—and—Hurrah! The ball of cursed energy, compressed to the extreme, silently tore through the water, hurtling towards the coral reef at supersonic speed!
"boom--!"
The beautiful staghorn coral was instantly reduced to dust by the terrifying impact, a mixture of bubbles and mud surging upward. A humanoid cursed spirit with long blue hair and disgusting stitches all over his body—a real person—twisted his body like plasticine at a strange, ergonomically unsuitable angle, narrowly avoiding the impact of the core of "He", but one of his arms was still grazed by the edge of the escaping energy and silently disintegrated.
There was no fear on the real person's face. Instead, he showed a crazy smile as if he had discovered a new toy. He looked at Gojo Satoru, and then his eyes fell on Gong Zhili, with a pretentiously deep look.
"Oh my, as expected of Gojo Satoru, you can even find me here." His voice came through the waves, sticky with malice, and his eyes locked with Miyajima. "And this young lady... Tsk tsk, this enormous power connected to the land, spreading barriers at key nodes, trying to delay or even replace Tengen's assimilation? What do you want to do? Become the next 'Tengen-sama' and control the circulation of cursed energy throughout the country? What an amazing ambition!"
He was trying to sow discord and plant the seeds of doubt in Gojo Satoru's mind, and was also trying to disgust Miya Chiri, hoping to make her feel that she was a tool that Gojo Satoru could win over.
There was no fluctuation in Gong Zhili's eyes. She was too lazy to even respond to this cheap provocation. She just raised her right hand. In an instant, the sea water around her seemed to have its own will. The fine sand on the seabed rolled like a living thing, condensing into chains that wrapped around Zhenren's feet. The originally gentle water flow became as sticky as glue. Huge water pressure squeezed in from all directions, trying to completely imprison him in this deep sea.
"Even without the barrier plan," Gong Zhili's voice was icy, clearly reaching the real person's ears through the seawater. With a kind of indifference, as if looking down on an ant, "I would expand my territory one day. It's my instinct." She paused, the murderous intent in her tone suddenly solidifying. "As for you insects who can only crawl in the dark, completely disappear from my land!"
The real person's smile froze on his face; he could sense that he wasn't affected at all by his words. The domain expanded—just as the thought of "self-enclosed circle" came to mind, the invisible domain force field attempted to expand. Gong Zhili simply frowned slightly and snorted coldly.
A majestic and ancient will descended from the undersea veins with a roar as her final words ended! The True Person's domain seemed to have collided with an invisible yet indestructible wall of sighs. The boundary that had just attempted to expand twisted violently with a teeth-grinding cracking sound before being forcibly and forcefully pressed back into his body! The domain expanded, forcibly interrupted!
"What?!" For the first time, the real person's eyes showed disbelief and astonishment.
"It's better to behave yourself when you're on someone else's territory." Gojo Satoru's voice sounded like a ghost behind the real person, and his palm covered with a bottomless technique had already pressed towards the back of the real person. This time, with Gong Zhili completely locking the surrounding space and the power of the seabed forming an absolute confinement, the real person's twisting, deforming and slippery ability completely lost its effect.
"Zi."
There was no deafening explosion, only a black and red energy ball that seemed to be able to swallow all light. It instantly expanded at the point where Gojo Satoru's palm touched the real person's body, and then it was annihilated. The real person's core soul, in front of the destructive power that touched the origin, was unable to make even a trace of a cry. It was completely decomposed and wiped out, leaving no residue.
The sea water slowly receded, leaving only the diffuse dust and broken coral debris slowly sinking.
However, Gong Zhili's face showed no trace of relief after defeating the enemy. Instead, her brow furrowed suddenly. At the moment the real person was completely obliterated, an extremely strong feeling of being violated and tainted suddenly burned her heart like a red-hot iron - a village thousands of miles away! The barrier had been triggered, not by forced entry, but by some more insidious and cunning infiltration, concealed by natural phenomena!
"Wu! It's snowing in the village, something has gotten in!" Her voice was hurried, filled with suppressed anger and a hint of barely perceptible worry.
A layer of frost covered Gojo Satoru's handsome face, "Lure the tiger away from the mountain? Using the real person as a cover... Tsk, this rat really knows how to pick the time!" He immediately saw through Noose's plan. The real person was just a bait to attract their attention. As a reborn person, he knew Noose's cunning, patience and difficulty better than anyone else. At this moment, a chilling murderous intent immediately surged in his heart.
In the village, the first snow, which was supposed to fall a week later, arrived suddenly and fiercely. Feather-like flakes blanketed the sky, quickly blanketing the village roofs, the stone lanterns in the courtyards, and the open spaces where children played during the day in a blanket of white. The world seemed to have been muted, leaving only the rustling sound of falling snowflakes.
Geto Suguru stood under the eaves, looking at the world covered in snow in front of him, his brows slightly furrowed. This snow always made him feel an indescribable uneasiness. Nanako and Mimiko snuggled up to him on either side, whispering about interesting things at school. In the room, Miki Fushiguro patiently taught Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro to do their homework. Maki Zenin sat beside them, concentrating on wiping her cursed spear. Mayi Zenin sat close to her sister, her eyes somewhat wandering as she looked out the window at the snow curtain. Yuta Otsutsutsu and Rika Inori sat in a slightly farther corner. Rika hugged her knees, looking at the world blurred by the snow outside the window, her eyes somewhat blank. Yuta was always paying attention to her emotions, sitting straight, trying to appear calm.
Calm, but with undercurrents surging.
Suddenly, Geto Suguru looked up abruptly, and a sharp light flashed in his narrow eyes. There was an extremely weak, but unusually pure and cold cursed energy, like ink dropped into clear water, cleverly mixed with the natural chill brought by the heavy snow and the weak disturbance of cursed energy, trying to penetrate the perception of the barrier silently!
"Who?!" Xia Yujie shouted in a low voice, but before he finished his words, he shot out of the warm corridor like an arrow and rushed into the flying cold snow.
Almost at the same time as he set off, the barrier surrounding the village emitted a low and continuous humming sound. This was not a sharp alarm of being attacked, but a warning that "foreign objects" and "filth" were trying to infiltrate!
A figure in a dark monk's robe, with a distinct seam on his forehead, slowly solidified amidst the dense snow. It was Noso. Wearing a repulsive smile that seemed to show a perceptive, all-knowing understanding, he glanced past Geto Suguru and then towards the village and houses, blanketed in snow but still radiating a sense of peace.
"Suguru-kun, although this is our first meeting, I've been in love with you for a long time," Nozomi's voice was calm, like the greeting of an old friend. "This first snowfall is just perfect, covering up many unnecessary traces, isn't it?"
"Coming uninvited, trespassing on private territory, is not the proper conduct of a guest." Geto Suguru's face was stern, his body surging with cursed energy. Behind him, not only did the massive rainbow dragon reveal its ferocious form, emitting a silent roar, but he also simultaneously summoned several exceptionally powerful cursed spirits of varying forms and auras—some elusive, emanating twisted resentment; some massive, clad in bone armor; some writhing like shadows, carrying an aura of mental pollution... They spread out in a semicircle, their cold gazes locked onto the noose, instantly forming a powerful encirclement and intimidation. Knowing the treacherous and dangerous nature of his foe, Geto Suguru attacked with all his might, without any hesitation.
He waved his hand to signal the children who had heard the noise and were peeking nervously to go back inside immediately. "Nanako, Mimiko, take everyone inside and guard the house! No one is allowed to come out without my permission!"
Though fearful, the children's long training and trust in Geto Suguru spurred them to swiftly follow orders. Fushiguro Megumi summoned the Jade Dog, while Yuji Itadori and Maki Zenin, clutching their cursed instruments, stood guard at the doorway, one on each side, their gaze fixed intently on the uninvited guests. Miki Tsumoto shielded the trembling Rika Kimoto behind her, her gaze resolute.
"I'm filled with curiosity about this village and its owner," Nozomi spoke to himself, seemingly oblivious to Geto Suguru's array, powerful enough to crush even the most exceptional cursed spirits. His gaze was filled with undisguised curiosity and greed. "This magical realm, capable of absorbing and transforming cursed energy, even feeding it back to the sorcerer... Is the core of such a magical place Miss Miya Chiri herself, or is it this blessed, or rather, cursed, land?"
"Your curiosity is misplaced." Xia Youjie stopped talking nonsense and with a thought, Rainbow Dragon roared first and rushed towards the noose with the wind and snow. At the same time, several other special-grade cursed spirits also began to move, spewing corrosive energy towards the position of the noose and launching mental shocks. Some tried to attack directly with their strong bodies. With exquisite coordination and fierce offensive, all the retreat routes of the noose were blocked in an instant!
The composure on Nozomi's face finally faded a bit. He snorted coldly, and several powerful cursed spirits suddenly appeared around him, rushing towards Geto Suguru. At the same time, his own cursed energy surged, and his figure moved like a ghost between the snow and the cursed spirits, engaging in a fierce battle with Geto Suguru.
The roar, the collision of cursed power, and the puffing sound of snow being blown away by the air waves instantly broke the tranquility of the snowy night. The cursed spirits roared, and the light of the magic flickered in the snow. The battle entered a white-hot stage from the very beginning.
Okinawa beach.
Gong Zhili floated in the cool water, forcibly suppressing the anxiety and surging anger within her. She closed her eyes once more, sinking her consciousness into the deepest, most fundamental connection with the village land as never before. The pure power that had just been fed back from the land after the destruction of the Immortal, mixed with the raging anger ignited by the invasion of her territory, was like a key, instantly unlocking a deeper understanding of the land's veins—the anchor points she had previously established were instantly connected under the blessing of this new power.
Gojo Satoru stood beside her, observing the spatial fluctuations emanating from her body, which were different from the simple control she had in the past. A hint of surprise and interest flashed in his eyes, "Oh? Is this... a new trick?"
Gong Zhili opened her eyes, a hint of fatigue flashed in them, but more of determination. She grabbed Gojo Satoru's wrist and said, "Hold on to me."
A dazzling light rose from beneath her feet, instantly enveloping the two of them. The next moment, space violently twisted and folded, and their figures disappeared completely from the warm seaside of Okinawa as if erased by an eraser.
The battle in the village continued. With the coordination of various special-grade cursed spirits and his own formidable strength, Geto Suguru firmly gained the upper hand and suppressed the noose within a certain range. However, the noose's methods were strange and unpredictable, with all kinds of unheard-of curses and difficult cursed spirits emerging one after another. It was extremely resilient, and Geto Suguru was unable to completely defeat it for a while. The noose seemed to be trying to delay, and its eyes often glanced at the village, as if searching for something, or waiting for an opportunity. Geto Suguru had no time to deploy his tent, and now he had to keep a close eye on the situation in the village. It was very unusual that the villagers seemed to have all returned home after hearing the loud noise, and there was no one outside.
Just after a fierce collision of cursed energy, a bone armor cursed spirit controlled by Geto Suguru was forcibly torn apart by Nosuke using a space-distorting technique. The impact of the exploding cursed energy made his body pause slightly. Nosuke's eyes flashed, and he was about to take the opportunity to perform some secret technique -
The sky darkened without any warning.
A gigantic, hemispherical "tent" suddenly descended from the shrine, its speed unimaginable! This "tent" was not ordinary darkness. Inside, there was a heavy earth atmosphere like a mountain. Even the falling snow seemed to slow and stagnate. The will of the rules was clearly transmitted to the hearts of everyone with magical power: "None except sorcerers are allowed to enter."
The calm smile on Xusuo's face froze instantly, replaced by a look of shock and anger that his plan had been completely disrupted. He looked up suddenly.
Amidst the swirling snow, two figures appeared out of thin air above the village, seemingly ripping through space. Miya Chiri, dressed in simple clothing, her body long-dried from moisture, untouched by a single snowflake. Her eyes, as cold as the arctic wind, gazed down at the noose below. Gojo Satoru stood beside her, his six azure eyes fixed icyly on the noose. His whole body, brimming with cursed energy, held back, yet instilled a chilling sense of oppression.
"Who allowed you?" Gong Zhili's voice was not loud, but it was filled with unquestionable authority and suppressed rage, ringing clearly in everyone's ears. "Take hold of my territory?"
A powerful pressure surged from her like a tangible tsunami! The entire land within the barrier seemed to respond to the lord's wrath, rumbling and trembling slightly. The children in the house felt this familiar and reassuring power, now filled with a destructive aura. They breathed a sigh of relief, but were then overwhelmed by Gong Zhili's unprecedented, divinely powerful wrath.
Nozomi's pupils contracted violently, alarm bells blaring in his heart! Despite all his calculations, he had never anticipated Gong Zhili and Gojo Satoru's instantaneous return in such an utterly illogical, almost spatially induced manner. His plan, orchestrated with the aid of heavy snow and the decoys, seemed ridiculous in the face of sheer power and unexpected abilities.
"It seems that idiot Zhenren couldn't hold you back for long," he said, suppressing his inner shock and trying to use words to recover from his disadvantage. He looked deeply at Gong Zhili, "What an amazing way to wield your power. Miss Gong Zhili, I'm increasingly interested in you and the 'possibilities' you represent."
"What a disgusting insect!" Gong Zhili leaped down, landing lightly in the snowy courtyard without leaving a trace. With every step she took, Luo Suo felt the air around him grow heavier, as if the entire earth was rejecting and despising him, wanting to squeeze him out and grind him into powder!
"Are you ready to pay with your life for provoking me rashly?" Gong Zhili raised his right hand and suddenly clenched his five fingers towards the noose!
“Boom!”
The ground beneath Noose's feet collapsed violently without warning, forming a deep pit. Countless sharp stone spikes, shining with ochre-colored mana light, shot out from the bottom and all sides of the pit like the fangs of a giant beast, instantly blocking all his space to dodge. At the same time, a terrifying pressure that was dozens of times greater than ordinary gravity was suddenly exerted on him, making his every movement as slow and difficult as struggling in glue.
Noose let out a roar of shock and anger, and the huge curse power that had been accumulated in his body for who knows how many years suddenly exploded. Several special-grade curse spirits with extremely powerful auras were forcibly summoned by him at all costs to block in front of him. At the same time, he formed seals with his hands, and layers of solid defensive barriers and space-distorting barriers instantly lit up around him!
The stone spikes collided with the curse spirits, making teeth-grinding cracking and hissing sounds. In the face of the power that contained the wrath of the entire land, those powerful special-grade curse spirits were easily torn and crushed like paper. The defensive barriers and barriers laid by the noose only lasted for a short moment before they collapsed under the more violent and more fundamental impact of the earthquake pulses!
He tried to dodge in a desperate manner, twisting his body strangely, trying to launch some kind of curse or secret technique to counterattack, or find the weak point of this "tent" obviously set by Gojo Satoru, but Gong Zhili did not give him any chance at all. Here, the land was an extension of her will and her absolute domain.
Her attacks didn't even involve too many fancy techniques. They were just the purest, most violent, and most direct crushing force. The ground sometimes turned into a muddy swamp that swallowed everything, sometimes rock walls as thick as mountains rose up to block the way, and sometimes bottomless cracks appeared. The ubiquitous and arbitrarily changing gravity field made the noose like a flying insect trapped in amber. All calculations and techniques seemed pale and powerless in the face of absolute regional suppression.
At the same time that Gong Zhili launched his attack, Gojo Satoru had already quietly unfolded his "No Bottom Line Technique". He wanted to isolate the rat Noose from possibly transmitting any information to the outside or performing some strange techniques that required distance, and not miss any possible hidden tricks or secret methods of mutual destruction. He knew very well that this old fox who had lived for a thousand years had more ways to save his life and counterattack than what he saw at the moment.
He unleashed every trick he could muster. The ancestral rituals of the body he occupied, the various insidious spells and secret techniques he had collected, researched, and refined over millennia, all lost their former effectiveness under the absolute pressure that felt as if the entire universe was against him. He tried to confuse people with words, tempt them with unfinished plots, and bewitch them with so-called "righteousness," but Gong Zhili turned a deaf ear to him, responding only with more violent and intense attacks. Each attack declared—here, my words alone can mobilize the response of heaven and earth.
"Enough! You short-sighted people!" Nosuo finally felt a trace of fear and despair from the depths of his soul. He roared, and his originally calm face twisted. "You have no idea what great cause I am planning! This decadent world of curses, this world full of ignorance, needs a thorough cleansing and reform!"
"I don't really care about your 'great deeds'. In fact, you could just stay in that gutter like a rat," Gong Zhili said in a cold voice. "But you stepped on my land, disturbed my peace, and threatened my family. It seems you are ready to die."
She paused her advance, clasped her hands together before her chest, and slowly pulled them apart. A condensed spear, emitting a deep, dark yellow glow and composed of the purest essence of the earth, took shape between her hands. The moment the spear appeared, the air around it seemed to freeze, even the snowflakes retreated. Embodied within it was the absolute power of the land's rules and sanctions, causing Gojo Satoru and Geto to stare with admiration.
"What a pathetic creature."
She threw the spear that symbolized the will of the land.
The spear silently crossed the distance in space, ignoring all the remaining defenses that the noose had laid down at the last moment by burning its life and mana, and pierced his heart with incredible precision and irresistibility - no, it pierced the core of his body!
Nosuo's body suddenly stiffened, his face filled with extreme shock, unwillingness, and a hint of disbelief. He opened his mouth, as if about to utter a final curse or sigh, but the dark yellow light had already burst out from his body!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no tragic sight of blood and flesh flying everywhere. His body, along with the consciousness within him that had lasted for a thousand years and was full of conspiracy and filth, began to dissipate like sand in a strong wind. In the warm and majestic dark yellow light, it quickly disintegrated and collapsed, turning into the finest dust, mixing with the white snowflakes that kept falling from the sky, and quietly dissipated between heaven and earth, without leaving behind a trace of remnant cursed power. It was completely purified and absorbed by this land that had just been angry because of its master's will, and became the nourishment that nourished the barrier.
The huge "tent" slowly dissipated, as if it had never appeared.
The heavy snow continued to fall tirelessly, gently covering all traces of the battle in the courtyard and burying all the chaos under a pure white. The world returned to silence. Only the warm lights shining through the windows of the houses stubbornly lit up in the snowy night, dispelling the darkness and coldness.
Gong Zhili stood in the snow, the suffocating terror and anger surrounding her receding like a tide. She exhaled softly, a white mist swirling in the cold air. She turned and looked at the children, still nervously guarding the doorway, and cautiously peeking their heads out from behind cracks in the door and windows. A smile, slightly tired but incredibly warm and reassuring, appeared on her face.
"It's okay," her voice returned to its usual softness, "it's over."
The children were stunned for a second, then burst into huge cheers, pushed open the door, and rushed through the thick snow regardless of everything. Like a group of chicks returning to their nest, they pounced on Gong Zhili and surrounded her. The courtyard was instantly filled with the chatter of concern, fear, and amazement at her and Gojo Satoru's miraculous return.
Gojo Satoru also walked over to Geto Suguru. Looking at Miya Chiri surrounded by the children, a faint smile appeared on his face. He nudged Geto Suguru with his elbow and said, "Hey, Geto, the battle was tough, wasn't it?"
Xia Yujie shook his head helplessly, shaking off the remaining ice debris from the cursed spirit. He looked at the messy courtyard that was quickly covered by heavy snow and breathed a sigh of relief. "I was negligent. I didn't expect him to use this method to infiltrate the barrier with the help of the weather." He turned to Gong Zhili and asked, "Was that... a new ability?"
"Yeah." Miya Chiri comforted Nanako and Mimiko who were hugging her waist tightly, nodded to Geto Suguru, and touched Yuji Itadori's hedgehog-like pink hair, "With the help of the earth vein anchor points for ultra-long-distance teleportation, it will be much more convenient to travel back and forth between various barrier points in the future." Her gaze swept over Yuta Otsutsuka and Rika Kimoto, who were standing slightly outside with awe and dependence in their eyes, as well as the Zen sisters with complicated expressions, and finally met Gojo Satoru's eyes in the air.
Tsu Miki whispered, "Welcome back, Sister Chiri."
"Well, we're back." Gong Zhili responded gently.
The snow fell silently, shrouding the village in a peaceful, pure white. The light of the barrier seemed even warmer and brighter in the snowy night. Gojo Satoru stood aside, watching the gentle Miyajiri surrounded by children. He glanced at the empty space now covered in snow, where the noose had completely dissipated. A wave of intense emotions welled up within him. Since his rebirth, the noose had been like a thorn in the depths of his heart. Many of his actions were, in some way, a response to this thorn, a precaution against the horrific future he had personally experienced. He had envisioned the final showdown with the noose countless times, but the reality was that this conspirator, whom he had considered a mortal enemy and had been plotting for millennia, was unable to organize even a decent final resistance under the sheer force of absolute, unjust violence. He was simply and swiftly crushed to dust, leaving no trace behind.
An intense, almost absurd sense of nothingness instantly seized him.
But this feeling of nothingness only lasted for a very brief moment.
Liuyan told him clearly that the existence of the noose had truly and completely disappeared, and there was no possibility of its revival. The faint haze that had troubled him for two lifetimes, the threat as heavy as fate, was completely ended on this quiet snowy night in such an unexpected yet incomparably thorough way.
An indescribable feeling of heavy shackles breaking, accompanied by a huge sense of relief, washed over his limbs like a warm current.
He exhaled gently, and white mist dispersed in the cold air, as if exhaling the gloom of his previous life and the burden of this life. His eyes fell on Gong Zhili again, watching her gently comfort each child, and looking at this peaceful and harmonious land under the protection of her power.
That's right. Wasn't the ultimate purpose of all he did, to protect these important people and create a different future? The process might have been completely different from what he'd imagined, but the outcome was undoubtedly the best. The disappearance of the noose wasn't the end, but a fresh start, signifying that all their previous efforts hadn't been in vain, that they had truly earned the time and space to shape the future according to their own will.
So, what's the next target? Sukuna's remaining finger, a newly formed group of curse masters, or an invasion from foreign powers?
The corners of Gojo Satoru's mouth curled up again, and his mind was instantly filled with countless new, challenging and interesting "goals". The page belonging to the noose had been completely turned over with the heavy snow, and ahead was a future with infinite possibilities that belonged to all of them.
He stretched out his long legs and walked over to Miya Chiri and the children. Smiling, he picked up the still chattering Itadori Yuji, ruffled his pink fur, and said to Miya Chiri, "The matter is settled. Next, shouldn't we discuss how to make use of this snow to give these little guys some special training?"
Just as Gojo Satoru finished speaking, Gong Zhili's phone inside the house rang. She walked into the house and picked up the phone. The village chief's tense but calm voice came from the receiver: "Master Gong, there were several loud noises just now. Everyone heard something was wrong, so we all stayed inside as you instructed. Now... is everything resolved?"
Gong Zhili looked softly at the snow still falling outside the window and the children playing in the courtyard, and replied in a gentle voice: "Yes, it has been resolved. The minor trouble has been cleared up. It's all right now. Everyone can rest in peace."
"I understand. Thank you for your hard work." The village chief's voice was filled with relief, and he didn't ask for any details. "I'll use the village radio and mobile phone group to send a message to let everyone know that the emergency has been lifted."
Shortly after hanging up the phone, the village lights, which had flickered on and off in response to the loud noise, gradually returned to normal. There was no commotion, no panic, only a steady calm based on enduring trust. The villagers might not have known exactly what had happened, but they knew that with the presence of Miyajima and the barrier in place, any storm would eventually subside. As usual, they prepared to rest or continue their interrupted conversations, silently praying in their hearts.
Gojo Satoru leaned against the door frame, and his six eyes took in the process of the village quickly returning to peace. The smile on his lips deepened. These ordinary people may be fragile, but their beliefs are sometimes a powerful force. He looked at Miya Chiri who was whispering something to Geto Suguru, and looked at the warm and solid aura around her that was closely connected to the land and the people living here. The last trace of subtle emptiness in his heart caused by the easy destruction of the noose also completely dissipated.
The way the story ends may be unexpected, but on the way to this ending, everything they have built and protected - the fruits of reform, the growing next generation, the peaceful village, the partners who trust each other, and the irreplaceable bond between him and Zhili - is what is truly important, and is the meaning of all his efforts since his rebirth.
"Alright, kids!" Gojo Satoru clapped his hands, drawing their attention. A smile flashed across his face, as bright as the reflection of snow, yet it made the hearts of those familiar with him leap. "Now that our problem is solved and the snow is so beautiful, it would be a shame not to put it to good use! Starting tomorrow, the snow training, personally directed by special instructor Gojo Satoru, officially begins! Are you looking forward to it?"
Xia Yujie nodded in agreement: "That's a good idea, add me in too."
Wailing sounds and helpless sighs suddenly rang out in the warm house, dispersing the last bit of tension in the atmosphere.
Miyaji watched this scene with a faint smile in her eyes, and she didn't try to stop Gojo Satoru. She knew that this was the path they had chosen, and it was the path they would continue on. Threats could always exist, and the stronger the children were, the better. But as long as they stayed together, protecting each other and this land, the future was worth looking forward to.
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Author's Note: The main storyline has been rushed to a close, so I won't be writing about any new characters that appear later in the manga. The epilogue will focus on their daily lives, with many stories about the next generation growing up. I'll write more slowly, so please read as you please. I'll also include bonus chapters. Feel free to share any memes you'd like to see, and I'll work hard on them! I've been at my new job for over a month and I'm already desperately wanting to quit... The mental and physical fatigue is endless, with no end in sight, and I feel a faint sense of despair.
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