Chapter 176: Companions

The black-haired young man in a navy blue kimono had a bright smile on his face. His voice was gentle and clear, and he boldly and frankly made an unexpected invitation.

The warm light coming in from the window flickered in those brown eyes, like a flickering candle, silently spreading and burning everything.

The world seems a little vague in these eyes.

Gojo Satoru paused, his black eye mask covering half of his face, hiding his expression as well.

Jiang Lai stared at the other person, and the six eyes under the blindfold were also staring at Jiang Lai.

The melodious pure music in the dessert shop is still lingering around the beams and pillars, and the second hand of the clock hanging on the wall is still ticking.

Time seemed to gradually slow down, so slow that the steam from the freshly baked cakes gathered in the low place, and the pigeons strolling leisurely outside the floor-to-ceiling windows looked like milky white sculptures.

At this moment, only the two of them were staring at each other.

They are so close and yet so far apart, their deep friendship is intertwined with an illusory strangeness.

On the beach blocked by the Forked Path Tower, countless beautiful shells carrying memories shine brightly.

Their beautiful shells sparkled through the sand, and occasionally a vague but intimate ray of memory flashed through.

After a brief silence, the white-haired man suddenly laughed heartily. His laughter, oblivious to the people around him, shook his chest and even attracted the attention of the diners at several nearby tables.

This sudden laughter broke the strange atmosphere, and everything around started to work again.

The waiter distributed the steaming small cakes onto plates, and the white pigeons outside the window flapped their wings and soared into the sky.

After a while, Gojo Satoru stopped laughing and looked like he was about to speak.

Jiang Lai stood there quietly. He said nothing more, his brown eyes fixed on his friend.

His invitation was a statement of his attitude, and whether the other party accepted or not was up to them. Jiang Lai did not place too much expectation on this.

In fact, Jiang Lai didn't think that Gojo Satoru would agree directly.

After all, the other party is quietly going crazy and pursuing his plan to destroy Kyoto, and the extra people may very well become variables beyond the plan.

Who knows if there is any conspiracy behind the active invitation? In this world, trust is an extremely precious and scarce thing.

Jiang Lai knew this clearly, so even if Gojo Satoru refused again, he understood.

After laughing, Gojo Satoru calmed down a little, and whispered in a magnetic voice as if thinking:

"Ah... that's a good idea. Madman and madman, it sounds like a good match."

He nodded and said, "Then let's go together."

You actually agreed?!

Such a reply surprised Jiang Lai a little. He didn't expect that the other party would accept the invitation so directly and straightforwardly, without even any further probing - of course, this was a good thing.

Jiang Lai's mood became much brighter and a smile appeared at the corner of his eyes.

I came here to find Gojo Satoru, and being able to have him by my side with a reasonable reason would make subsequent operations easier.

At least after teaming up, during the temporary cooperation, you don't have to worry about the other party teleporting away again and disappearing without a trace.

Gojo Satoru seemed to casually say those words to his companions, and then walked out of the dessert shop.

At this time, Jiang Lai was still standing there, unresponsive. He was two or three beats slow before he walked out.

When walking out of the dessert shop, Jiang Lai didn't see Gojo Satoru in the crowd in front of him for a moment.

He thought his colleague's words were just a joke so he teleported away, but then he caught a glimpse of a white-haired man leaning against the wall next to the door.

Gojo Satoru was leaning there lazily, playing with a lollipop in his hand.

Seeing Jiang Lai coming out of the dessert shop, he stopped rolling the candy, peeled off the candy wrapper and stuffed it into his mouth, then stood up and said, "Let's go."

Jiang Lai moved to his side and asked, "Where are we going now?"

Gojo Satoru thought: "Hmm... good question. What do you think?"

Jiang Lai wasn't sure whether the other party regarded him as a companion and asked for his opinion, or whether he was still on guard and therefore did not reveal his whereabouts.

He didn't bother to distinguish this, and said what he felt in his heart: "It doesn't matter where you go, I'll just follow you."

The white-haired man held a lollipop in his mouth and said leisurely, "It's not far from Tokyo to Kyoto. There are still a few days until Sunday. Let's walk all the way there slowly. I know a lot of delicious dessert shops along the way."

At this point, Gojo Satoru tilted his head slightly and said, "Do you still need me to treat you?"

Jiang Lai said sincerely: "It's okay if I don't eat it."

His current external state is that of a human. After his strength was restored by the [Source], the characteristics of [Existence] have also been restored to a great extent. He can be free of physiological needs without switching to the cursed spirit state.

Jiang Lai did not deliberately conceal this point. He did not hide his uniqueness in front of Gojo Satoru.

Gojo Satoru raised his eyebrows slightly under his eye patch: "Is it okay not to eat?"

Jiang Lai was calm and composed, and smiled: "It's okay if you don't sleep - just think of me as the wind or the cloud."

Every time Jiang Lai spoke openly, he held on to the small hope that the other party might remember it.

Gojo Satoru placed one hand under his chin, then tapped the palm of his right hand with his left hand, speaking briskly with a long tail tone:

"Oh~ Not bad, not bad, a certain light novel feeling is more prominent. Um - magical creatures descend from the sky to help the devil destroy the world or something!"

Jiang Lai: “…”

I didn't know what to complain about for a moment. It is said that the magical creatures that fall from the sky are for heroes, not demons!

The white-haired man who compared himself to the devil added slowly, "But maybe it's not about destroying the world, but saving it. After all, the world is already bad enough now."

"You still have such universal ideas?"

"It's not universal, it's just selfish." Gojo Satoru raised the corners of his lips and whispered casually, "The reason why it involves the world is just because - I can do it."

Gojo Satoru nodded slightly, without any special movements, but his every move exuded the strongest and most majestic aura.

Just like a white eagle flapping its wings or a snow leopard swinging its tail, their casual actions carry with them the shocking aura of a ferocious beast.

He has no interest in saving all living beings. The "destroying the world" and "saving the world" in his words are only because his choices will lead to such results.

Gojo Satoru crushed the lollipop in his mouth in a few bites, ate it with a crunch, and then took out another piece of candy, looking very leisurely.

Jiang Lai was in a good mood, so he said, "Since we are partners, then everyone who sees it should get a share. Isn't there any candy for me?"

"There's another piece—" Gojo Satoru reached into his pocket with one hand and pulled it out, "Ginger candy."

"Forget it then." Jiang Lai withdrew his hand quickly at lightning speed.

"I'm just kidding, it's a candy." Gojo Satoru laughed in his throat and threw the candy to Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai caught the candy thrown by the other party and looked down. It was indeed milk candy. The packaging was exquisite and beautiful. It was a very famous brand.

...Come to think of it, why would Gojo Satoru, who loves sweets, carry ginger candy, a spicy candy? Jiang Lai thought to himself.

Even though the opponent had lost his memory, he was still able to accurately control his dietary weaknesses. In a sense, the intuition of the six eyes was terrifyingly accurate.

Jiang Lai put away the candy.

The two continued walking forward. After a while of silence, Gojo Satoru suddenly said leisurely, "Sure enough, I'm still a little uncomfortable."

"What?"

"I'm not used to walking with someone beside me." Gojo Satoru said with a smile, "There were several moments when I almost shot you with a bullet~"

Jiang Lai: "..." What kind of threat is this?

He glanced at the white-haired man beside him and thought: Maybe the other person is not saying something with hidden meaning, but is just telling the truth.

Normally, Gojo Satoru would not perform the Riddler operation, because due to his strength and personality, he always speaks his mind.

"But don't worry, I won't really strike out." Gojo Satoru's fingertips curled up, brewing a kind of latent powerful force, and then instantly gathered it when he bent his fingers, "I'm already very skilled in controlling the power."

"But - even if I hit you, you can block it, right?" The white-haired man tilted his head, and his six eyes covered by the blindfold had already seen Jiang Lai's powerful strength.

"Of course I can." Jiang Lai paused and said seriously, "But I'm used to being defenseless against you, so I may not be able to block it perfectly."

“…”

Gojo Satoru did not say anything more in response to these familiar words. He turned around and faced the front again.

After half a second, as if he was casually chatting or talking to himself, he said:

"...In the end, it was a bit unexpected. I was able to meet someone I was traveling with."

Jiang Lai opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he saw that Gojo Satoru didn't need any additional response. So he swallowed his words and walked silently beside Gojo Satoru.

He just added in his heart: You never lack companions.

So whether it is a burden or an honor, there is someone to bear and share it with you.

The world is all-encompassing, and everyone, whether gods, sons of gods or ordinary people, can find a place to live.

It was also at this moment that Jiang Lai suddenly had an idea about a previous question.

Regarding the Kyoto incident, he was thinking about how to avoid a crazy vortex where both sides had wins and losses.

He originally wanted to stop the fight directly, but that didn't work.

Thousands of years ago, when facing Rokugan and Ryomen Sukuna, Jiang Lai used space magic to set up a transparent cat box, trapping and isolating the two to avoid a battle.

But that was his prime, and Rokugan and Sukuna were both teenagers, so they were able to avoid the battle perfectly.

Now it is obviously impossible, so we must participate in the battle. This is exactly what Jiang Lai was worried about. He was worried that his ability would not be able to surpass the other and he would not be able to control the situation.

Now, he thought, if he really joined the battlefield, he might not be unable to control the situation.

Although his power was indeed a little less sharp because he had no murderous intent, there was no need to pursue that sharpness.

His stance and the source of his strength is protection, and because of protection, he has an extra touch of tenderness - tenderness never means weakness, and using softness to overcome strength is an eternal truth.

The clouds in Jiang Lai's heart began to dissipate, and the situation became a little brighter.

At this time, Gojo Satoru beside him spoke again: "It will take about an hour to walk from here to the next dessert shop."

Jiang Lai tilted his head, a little surprised by this sentence. He was just about to say that with the speed of the two of them, if they performed a ritual, they could reach Kyoto directly in an hour, and it wouldn't take that long to go to a dessert shop.

Then, he heard Gojo Satoru's next sentence.

"I have nothing to do anyway... so why not tell me a random story about your paranoia during this time?"