Chapter 26: Youth Five
Not long after young Gojo Satoru came down the mountain, Jiang Lai noticed a white countdown appeared in the upper right corner of his mobile phone screen.
——The time shown above showed that there were thirty minutes left, approaching zero with every passing minute and second.
Jiang Lai: Not bad, not bad. It is a good idea to give advance notice instead of a sudden change. It adds another layer of conscience to the world's will.
In fact, Jiang Lai originally planned to go out for a walk and simply explore the situation at this time, but the remaining half an hour was obviously not enough.
So he simply remained sitting on the steps outside the shrine and checked his phone for messages.
There was concern and doubt in the group about his current situation, mainly about how he should adapt after suddenly traveling through time and space.
Jiang Lai typed out his answers one by one, and at the end, he silently added:
[#Good Luck Lai Lin#: Don't worry, everyone, I am no longer a human in this world! (Little seal confidently heads the ball.gif)]
[? ? ? ]
A series of question marks popped up from the online friends and family in the group. Jiang Lai raised the corners of his lips and briefly explained what had just happened in the group. Finally, he concluded:
Jiang Lai: Yes! Human troubles are far away from me! .jpg
After chatting with the scientists' family again, he went to the official website to see if there was any more information.
The official website did not reveal any new details, but when Jiang Lai refreshed the page for the second time, the update appeared very quickly. Jiang Lai immediately clicked on the most recently updated content.
The comic's perspective follows the young Gojo Satoru, starting with their meeting at the shrine and ending with him going down the mountain.
The black-haired, brown-eyed person in the picture is wearing an unmarked navy blue kimono and ordinary straw-rope clogs. His slightly smiling face is no longer filtered by the underworld, but instead has a different kind of mysterious feeling that seems to be detached from the world.
From the comics, Jiang Lai also saw what was in his heart through the six-eye vision - a golden light with a track-like ring was circling there regularly.
Gojo Satoru's inner voice revealed its wandering speed - like the second hand of a clock.
...I didn't expect that my heart would have such a special effect. It feels quite magical. Jiang Lai put his hand on his left chest, feeling the steady and strong heartbeat underneath.
The comics do not actually reveal Jiang Lai's identity, only the word "existence" is bolded in the dialogue.
Let's see what the forums have to say. Jiang Lai thought for a few seconds and then jumped to the latest plot discussion post on the new series forum page.
Although the comics were only updated not long ago, real-time discussions have already emerged one after another.
[Woo woo, it’s Youwu!! Youwu mommy, kiss me! Where did this little cat come from? Such a cute white-haired, blue-eyed little cat was born to be eaten by its mother! (Super-cursed spirit going crazy)]
[Damn, the goddess Shiji suddenly appeared on the upper floor. I am dying of laughter. I can’t kiss her. The most I can kiss is the air (representing 5t5 exorcism of this special cursed spirit on the upper floor)]
[Family members! The new character's name was actually given by Youwu! He only said his name was Lai, and Youwu's first reaction was to add his last name, which turned into Gojo Lai - no wonder the official didn't mark the name in the text box at the beginning of the airport, after all, this is not his real name! ]
【Hey guys, have you started using "He" to refer to the new character? 】
[His appearance has not changed over the years, and he has the ability to see through things with his six eyes. There is a glow flowing in his heart... In short, he doesn't look like a human (dog head)
And the character himself also said that he is a kind of [existence] - to be honest, it's so mysterious, does this mean some kind of anthropomorphic incarnation? Is it the [clock] anthropomorphism mentioned earlier? 】
[I'm not sure, but I feel that Lai in this [Yesterday and the Past] chapter is so gentle and a bit of a joker, like an illusory existence in a healing story. It's different from the special effects in the main story that make people tremble with fear.]
[In the past chapters, Five was still a cold and cool kid, but personalities can change.——]
[Wuwu, the interaction between the young Goddess and the gentle [existence] is so beautiful, wuwuwu... I really like the rare moment when jjxx draws stories from the secular world and the one-eyed cat shines——]
[What is the description of the last sentence above?]
[Am I the only one who pays attention to the nonsense dialogue between gods and monsters in the comics? It's really funny hahahaha! ! I couldn't help but think of a joke:
Just as Fushiguro Megumi lowered his eyes and asked Gojo-sensei if he knew that person, Gojo-sensei pointed upwards while the students were staring at him, and said with a long tail tone:
"Oh my, how could I know him? He is a deity! A great deity from heaven!"】
[Fuck, hahaha, I'm dying of laughter. This feels like something Gojo-sensei would do (deep). I even imagined the speechless expressions on Torako and the others' faces, but actually this time Gojo Satoru said the original words from his memory, hahaha!!]
[Well, so, when Gojo-sensei faced this question, why didn't he directly deny it or admit it, but instead avoided it in a way that looked suspicious? Was it because he hadn't thought of a response to this question, or was there some constraint that prevented him from asking?]
[It’s possible that jjxx just wanted to create a dramatic effect (dog head). To be honest, this kind of attitude makes people scratch their heads]
[I'll leave the analysis to you. I'll be responsible for licking my beautiful wives, hehehe, pretty Xiaowu and Lailai]
…
Jiang Lai stopped at this question. He paused for a few seconds and began to recall the scenes in the previous comic.
If he and Gojo Satoru had known each other for a long time, then there would be no need for him to hide the fact from his own student. Given 285's personality, he might really make a joke about "God" like the one in the previous posts.
Well... the main reason is that the past lines have not been completed yet, and I don’t know what the future will be like. Jiang Lai put down his phone and supported his chin with one hand.
The future determines the past, the past determines the future, and time forms a Möbius strip.
He half-raised his head and looked at the sky in the distance, remaining calm and blending into nature, waiting for the countdown to the last few minutes.
But Jiang Lai didn't stay in a daze for long before he keenly heard the rustling of footsteps coming closer and closer - the sound of wind blowing through the grass was different from the sound of people walking by. These were the survival experiences of the scientific world back then.
He didn't think that the person who came here was Youwu who had returned. Because the footsteps were too quiet, and the sound of walking was very regular. Youwu was not the kind of person who followed the rules.
In order to avoid trouble, Jiang Lai did not intend to interact with other people too much. So he simply walked backwards quickly and disappeared into the woods behind the shrine building, but his eyes were still silently staring at the outer entrance.
A strange long-haired man wearing a kimono with intricate patterns walked out slowly from the outer jungle. He was about thirty years old, with long black hair tied low behind his head, and narrow light blue eyes.
The wide sleeves half covered his hands, and one could only vaguely catch a glimpse of the silhouette of a folding fan (with some pattern on it) that he was holding.
Facing this, Jiang Lai's first reaction was: As expected, Gojo Satoru's white hair and blue eyes are a special mutation! Most people in the Gojo family should still have normal black hair.
Then, he remembered what the young Gojo Satoru had said before, that only he, the head of the family, the elders or those with tokens could enter and exit freely in this place.
The pattern on the kimono of the man in front of him looks like a variation of the family crest, so he is probably a person of high status. But the head of the family at that time is Gojo Satoru's father, so this person shouldn't be one of them? And the head of the family is usually busy with affairs and rarely comes here on weekdays.
So this person is from the Elders Council? But he is a little too young... or maybe he is well-maintained.
Why did he come here alone? Was he here to worship at the shrine, or did he notice some changes in Yuwu and come to explore what was happening here?
Jiang Lai made a subconscious analysis and conjecture in his mind. When he was staring at the man, the other party seemed to sense something and slowly turned his head towards him.
The wind blew the grass and trees, and the clouds blocked the bright light. When the man from the Gojo family looked over, only the ancient tree was standing there.
——The countdown ended a few seconds ago.
=
The noisy chatter of the crowd first came into my mind, along with the sound of fireworks exploding in the sky.
Jiang Lai opened his eyes and saw that this was the edge of the alley. There was a bustling crowd outside, and adults and children in kimonos and yukatas passed by one after another.
It is still summer, and it is night now. The mild evening breeze brings the moonlight, rippling the cuffs and hems of clothes, carrying the distant laughter in the air, and occasionally the lingering scent of incense.
Is there a fireworks festival going on here tonight? It's very lively.
Jiang Lai didn't know where exactly he was, nor did he know the exact time, but he still walked out calmly and merged into the crowd.
His heart was as calm as water.
If you can find clues, then collect intelligence. If you can't find any, just treat it as a normal time travel vacation and enjoy this fireworks temple.
Jiang Lai had a smile on his face, but he felt a little regretful in his heart. Unfortunately, he didn't have any money with him, so he couldn't buy some snacks or play some temple games.
He looked up at the gorgeous fireworks in the sky. The fireworks of various colors and shapes bloomed in the night sky, and after the beautiful gathering, they fell into scattered points of light and sprinkled into the world.
While enjoying the beautiful scenery, Jiang Lai couldn't help but raise his mobile phone (which looked like an old-fashioned book in the eyes of others) and wanted to take a picture to share with his family and friends.
"Hello--"
"Hey-Rai! Gojo Rai!"
Amid the popping fireworks and the noisy crowd, another young boy's voice powerfully rushed into my ears.
Hearing the call, Jiang Lai turned his head and saw a white-haired boy squeezing through the crowd.
He raised his hand to push away the people around him, with a look of disgust on his face, and remained open-minded, separating himself from all kinds of people around him by a distance that never narrowed.
Gojo Satoru at this time has grown a lot taller than when they met at the shrine before, and is probably in junior high school.
The child who once had an indifferent expression is no longer there. After removing that cold look, a variety of expressions are revealed, and his personality is freely expressed.
The idea of "I am the greatest in the world" is almost written on that perfect face, forming a sharp contrast with the cold and aloof young man he once was.
Jiang Lai was a little surprised to meet him here, but not too surprised. After all, the past chapter seemed to revolve around Gojo Satoru.
The white-haired boy finally walked to Jiang Lai's side. He raised his blue eyes and said in a long voice: "Really - I've called you several times, did you hear me?"
Jiang Lai smiled: "Who knows, maybe you made a mistake?"
The young Gojo Satoru raised his eyebrows: "There is no such thing as mistake for mistake with the Six Eyes - and you, Kumogiri, are quite special."
"Every [existence] is special." Jiang Lai nodded calmly, "Also, when facing elders, you have to use honorifics."
"Huh?" The young Gojo Satoru raised his blue eyes, "You're still using honorifics? I haven't yet condemned you for lying to kids!"
"How did I lie to the child?" Jiang Lai put one hand on his chin.
"You promised me that you would tell me two different stories, but you disappeared the next day and I don't know where you went to play." The white-haired boy in front of him said, "You also said before that we would wait for each other at the next turning point--"
Jiang Lai listened and thought that the first sentence was indeed a breach of promise, but the second sentence should be fine, right?
Jiang Lai blinked under the blue stare of the junior high school student in front of him, and vaguely reacted: "Well... you didn't really wait for me for a while, did you? I mean, you stopped at real turns several times."
The young Gojo Satoru was silent for a moment, then he coughed and said, "I thought you were one of those people from folk tales, like the woman with a slit mouth or the crooked man."
"...No, what is a crooked man?" Three black lines slid down Jiang Lai's forehead.
"It's a ghost that only appears under certain conditions." The white-haired boy in front of him said, "It looks very similar."
Jiang Lai thought back and realized that for the sake of atmosphere and setting, he seemed to have said a lot of mysterious words - Lao Ke was learning to tell riddles!
But he still said seriously: "Then I am not lying, I just said some metaphors and riddles."
"I was only seven years old at the time - I was a super genius prodigy, but I hated to bother trying to figure out the other side of things."
"You can actually just say you don't want to use your brain." Jiang Lai joked with a smile.
"Huh? I'm blaming you now - why are you coming back to me?" The young boy Gojo Satoru made a cross with his hands, indicating that the point could not be changed.
For Jiang Lai, because of the projection of world consciousness, he felt that only a moment had passed. But for Gojo Satoru, it should have been a long time since this meeting.
I didn't expect that we could chat so naturally - maybe it's because the other person is so casual and relaxed, and the accumulated curiosity is still there.
"Okay," Jiang Lai said like coaxing a child, "Now let's find a brightly lit place and I'll tell you two more stories."
"How old am I? No." The white-haired boy refused immediately.
Then, a sly look flashed across his blue eyes, and he curled his lips and said, "As compensation, why don't you tell me - what exactly are you?"
This sentence seems to be the ultimate point. The answer that was not found back then, the accumulated curiosity has become stronger over the years. The five curious cats stared at the six "people" in front of them with their blue eyes.
"..." Jiang Lai's expression remained unchanged and he did not reply immediately.
After all, he hadn't thought through Gojo Satoru's problem yet, nor had he finished laying the groundwork.
But of course he couldn't just say "I'm making it up, I'm making it up", so he blinked his warm brown eyes and smiled, "It's better to tell you at the right time than to tell you too early - you'll know."
The young boy Gojo Satoru rolled his eyes, clearly expressing his dissatisfaction with yet another "mystery teller" in front of him.
"Be polite to your elders." Jiang Lai subconsciously raised his hand and tapped the other person's head with his mobile phone (a book in his eyes), "Of course, some corrupt old guys are exceptions."
The white-haired boy had naturally noticed Jiang Lai's hand-raising movement, but he didn't even try to dodge. His eyes were proud and he had no bottom line, so he wasn't worried about this at all -
Until the cell phone (an antique book) hit his head directly, making a dull "dong" sound.
"Wow, it hurts!" The young boy Gojo Satoru covered his head in shock, and looked at Jiang Lai with wide blue eyes, "How is it possible - how did you hit him?!"
"..." Jiang Lai was actually surprised for a moment, but he quickly reacted - this was probably because of the cell phone.
The magic phone was not hindered by the limitless, so it directly hit the head of the genius six-eyed man... He is worthy of being the real protagonist! Jiang Lai was once again in awe.
Jiang Lai kept a relaxed look on his face as he scrolled through the screen with emojis in his heart. He gently placed his phone (the virtual book) on his lips and smiled as the boy in front of him stared at him:
"Because I am the person who will be hit on the head if someone doesn't use honorifics to address me."
Young boy Gojo Satoru: “…”