Chapter 30: Forehead Pattern

Jiang Lai was slightly shocked when he heard what Xia Youjie said, but he continued speaking smoothly:

"I just noticed the bandage on Jay's forehead... Are you injured?" He asked in a polite and caring tone, "Are you okay?"

"It's okay, it's not a wound." Xia Yujie touched the bandage on his head, slightly frowning, revealing a little helplessness, "I originally thought it would be better to wrap it up, but now it seems that this will also attract a lot of attention."

From this point of view, is it that Geto Kagome himself wants to hide it? Jiang Lai's inner thoughts surged. Because he doesn't want to attract attention? Sure enough, there is something underneath.

Under his gaze, Xia Yujie untied the bandages around him one by one, revealing his forehead.

Above it, scattered black patterns spread out in an orderly manner, as if they were part of an unfinished complex pattern - but it didn't look like the iris pattern.

Jiang Lai immediately judged it.

Because the iris symbol in this world is the most popular iris emblem in the world today, simple and generous, symmetrical and abstract, and a common decorative pattern. However, the black track on Suguru's forehead at this time is obviously not that simple symbol.

However, since the pattern on Geto's forehead was not completely drawn, it is impossible to tell what it is specifically through this damaged part.

Jiang Lai paused and said, "This is..."

"This is part of Jay's skin, a naturally grown texture!" Gojo Satoru held his friend's shoulders and rubbed it vigorously. "Although I really want to wipe it off for him - but this thing can't be wiped off."

"Stop, stop, stop - Satoru." Xia Yujie raised his hand and pushed Gojo Satoru's arm away, "Do you have to use so much force? You must be doing it on purpose." His forehead was rubbed red by Gojo Satoru.

"I'm just demonstrating it to Lai. You drew this thing." Gojo Satoru smiled and stepped aside, blinking his beautiful eyes.

He then spread his hands and said, "And tattoo removers can't remove it. When I was curious, I secretly used tattoo removers to remove it on Jay when he was sleeping at night."

"How dare you say that!" Xia Yujie's eyes widened a little, and he complained, "I was sleeping well in the dormitory at night, and you came over in the middle of the night, the scary effect is simply..."

"Huh? Are you scared? When the three of us were watching a horror movie in the dormitory before, you and Glass were complaining about it. I didn't see that you were afraid of this thing at all."

"Because the ghost doesn't look as ugly as the cursed spirit, there's nothing to be afraid of - oh, the point is not here, it's that you came here in the middle of the night to disturb my rest!"

"I am an omnipotent genius. Even though I have only watched the teaching video, my skills are still first-rate!" Gojo Satoru radiated with confidence. "I am an invincible tattoo artist from the beginning. It is your honor to have an invincible tattoo artist tattoo you, Jie."

Xia Yujie: “…”

Jiang Lai listened to their conversation and thought to himself: the pattern is not a tattoo of himself or others. Could it be a cursed mark similar to that of Miki Fushiguro in the original work?

Then, Gojo Satoru also mentioned this. The white-haired boy's smile faded, his blue eyes slightly raised, and he said, "Six eyes can't see any trace of the curse. This is not a curse... but I don't know what it is either."

"Of course it's not a curse." Xia Youjie replied, "I'm also a sorcerer. If it was a curse, I would feel it."

"So, what is this?" Jiang Lai blinked slightly and asked the most crucial question.

"Actually, I don't really know. It seems like when I was in junior high school, there were some traces when I woke up one day." Xia Yujie shook his head, revealing a nostalgic expression.

"This mark will grow slowly. It started as a tiny ink spot and then grew into this. It's like a part of my skin. Anyway, there's nothing special about it. Just think of it as a part of my body that's different from normal people."

Junior high school... Jiang Lai thought. He remembered that the landlady said that Xia Yujie's parents disappeared not long after he entered junior high school, and he was later sponsored by the Supervisory Committee.

This growing mark, is it something that was created by the regulator? But what kind of mark is this? It looks like a more advanced and complex totem.

Let's assume it's related to the regulatory agency. If the Six Eyes can't see it either... Jiang Lai's heart sank. Is there a seal in this curse that can avoid the Six Eyes, or - is there something [existing] there?

Since I was quickly and smoothly recognized by the world's will as some kind of illusory [existence], it should be explained that this is not an isolated concept, and it is very likely that I am not the only one.

Of course, these are just speculations. I have not had any close contact with the organization. All the information is a summary and analysis of intelligence heard from others.

When we are stronger and have gathered more information, we can find a way to go deeper there. Jiang Lai thought to himself. Everything should be done step by step.

"Even if there's nothing special about it, it's still weird to have this on your forehead. And who knows if there will be any other effects later on." Gojo Satoru pouted and nodded bluntly, "Just peel the skin and do a skin graft - I'll pay for it! Or I'll do it!"

Geto: "...Not really." He smiled, "It's just that walking on the street will inevitably attract people's attention, so I just wrapped it up. Although it's still very obvious, it's better."

Gojo Satoru thought for a few seconds, then clenched his left fist and tapped the palm of his right hand: "Jay, you can change the color of your headscarf! Change your bangs to let down on both sides, or comb your hair back, and then say that you are cosplaying someone... um, that Chrollo from "Hunter"!"

"Or maybe a Naruto forehead protector would be nice. There are so many logos for you to choose from."

Jiang Lai: I didn’t expect that the Curse Return world also has “Hunter 3” and “Naruto”! Sure enough, these worlds are observing each other.

He said quietly, "But if I cosplay, wouldn't it attract more attention? I mean, people will come to watch me and ask for photos."

"It's better to just keep the bandage on." Xia Yujie slightly curved his lips and said, "To people who are not familiar with it, if you explain it as a forehead injury, there will be fewer problems."

"That's fine." Jiang Lai nodded and blinked, "If you don't mind... can I take a picture? I travel to many places every day, maybe I can find some information about this incomplete totem."

He planned to send the photo to his scientific friends and brainstorm to see if they could find the complete version of this incomplete pattern on the Internet or in the Ju-kai manga.

"Oh, I don't mind, go ahead and take the picture." Xia Yujie smiled with his eyes narrowed and said politely, "Thank you in advance for helping me search for information." He pushed aside the drooping bangs, revealing his entire forehead.

Jiang Lai raised his cell phone (book) and took a picture of the scattered black marks.

Gojo Satoru standing next to him was staring at the scene and suddenly asked, "Isn't this a blank book? How can you take a photo?" He tilted his head and looked left and right, trying to figure out something.

"I told you, it has spirituality, it's not as simple as you think." Jiang Lai said with a smile, "It looks like a book, but it actually has other unexpected functions. Image recording is one of them."

Gojo Satoru made a gurgling "Hmm..." sound in his throat like a big cat, and it was drawn out as if he was thinking. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, his eyes suddenly widened:

"Wait, this thing can be photographed?? Then when you held this book up to me at the fireworks display that year, what was your intention—"

"Yes." Jiang Lai nodded calmly, "I want to record your rare and true speechless face and ugly expression as a history of facial art."

Gojo Satoru: “…”

Gojo Satoru stepped forward and waved his arms, like a white goose (a cool version), and raised his voice: "Delete it, delete it! I'm threatening you to delete it! Damn it!!"

Jiang Lai smiled, imitated Gojo Satoru's tone and gesture, and looked up at the sky: "Hmm? What did you say? I can't hear you clearly——"

The ball-headed Xia Yujie laughed softly beside him. He wrapped the bandage around and around again, and said leisurely:

"If you can share it, can you please give me a copy? I've seen Wu's ugly face, but I've never seen his real speechless expression. It's worth keeping in memory."

"Hey - Jie -" Gojo Satoru's target of noise changed and turned to Geto Suguru who was wrapped in a bandage.

Jiang Lai, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but sigh. Sure enough, Gojo Satoru, who is now in high school, is still a big boy who cares about his appearance in adolescence.

When Gojo Satoru becomes an adult in the future, he probably won't behave like this anymore.

285 When making fun of other people's photos, they would boldly strike various difficult poses and jokingly say "Oh, I knew I'm so charming. Let me give you more chances to take some photos. Come on" - probably something like this.

They had another fight, and soon the assistant supervisor and others who were responsible for handling the follow-up arrived.

Although I had already known about the "tragic situation" at the scene from Geto's text message, I was still shocked and silent when I saw with my own eyes that the place where there was originally an abandoned building was razed to the ground and a terrible big hole was blown out on the ground.

The wind blew up the settled sand from the destroyed buildings, which brushed against people's cheeks, bringing a slight stinging sensation.

The person who was in charge of the follow-up stared at the scene in front of him, paused for a few seconds, and stammered, "...You, that, really didn't let it go?"

Xia Yujie showed an apologetic expression: "I'm really sorry, we will remember it next time. Sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's okay, it's okay!" Gojo Satoru proudly put his hands in his pockets and said loudly to the person who was going to handle the follow-up, "Although I didn't let you go, I have cleaned up the scene."

"How is it? Did I handle it cleanly enough? It saves you a lot of trouble! There's no need to express gratitude, it's just a piece of cake." The white-haired boy smiled on his delicate face and waved his hand in a casual manner.

The person who handles the follow-up: "."

Xia Yujie held his forehead and sighed: "Satoru, why don't you just stop talking."

——How can someone be so good-looking, but so irritating when speaking!

Jiang Lai typed the half-moon eyes emoticon in his heart, thinking: As expected, this is a man personally certified by the author Comrade One-Eyed Cat, who is perfect in everything except his personality.

Gojo Satoru was even more evil in his technical high school years than in his adult years. After all, he was a self-centered, six-eyed child of God who had been spoiled by his family since he was a child.

The assistant supervisor looked at Jiang Lai and hesitated for a second before asking, "Who is this..."

"This is someone that Jie and I know. He happened to pass by here. We'll go together later, or he'll leave on his own. You guys go about your business, and don't keep track of him." Gojo Satoru turned to Jiang Lai's side with a light gesture, and patted his back affectionately, but the force was so strong that Jiang Lai thought he did it on purpose...

As Gojo Satoru slapped him hard, Jiang Lai kept his expression and smiled slightly at the assistant supervisor.

Under the guise of assisting and supervising the great god, several people left the abandoned building to exorcise the cursed spirit.

On the way, Xia Yujie said, "I have just sent a message to Teacher Ye Moth, and I will also send a message to Nozomi in school to let her know."

Gojo Satoru and Geto Kagome's contemporary, Ieiri Shoko, is a rare person who can use the reverse technique to treat others. She is an extremely rare and very important healing doctor role.

Therefore, in order to protect her safety, she was rarely sent on missions and spent most of her time inside the college.

"Send a message to Glass and tell her that we encountered a monster. We'll go back and show her the monster later—oh, it hurts!" Gojo Satoru jumped to the side, holding his head, his eyes slightly widened. "Why did you hit my head again? I'm going to make a scene! I'm really going to make a scene!"

Jiang Lai had an indifferent expression. His cell phone (book) floated flexibly in the air like some kind of graceful flying bird, and finally returned to his palm.

Next to him, Geto Xia Yu, who had just sent a message, looked up and smiled helplessly, "Obviously it's Wu's fault. You're the one who always calls me a monster. Although Lai told us to just call me by my name, we should at least show some respect for our elders in our words."

"Jie, you don't even want to unite with me, what's wrong with you!" Gojo Satoru put down his hand that was covering his head. Actually, it didn't hurt that much. He stretched out his voice, as if he was complaining or acting coquettishly, "But it was obviously Lai who didn't tell me what [existence] it is first, so how should I call it——"

"Just call me by my name." Jiang Lai glanced to the side, and the sunlight pouring down from the sky happened to shine between his eyebrows. His eyes slightly curved, "Isn't a name warmer than the cold existence itself?"

"That being said..." Gojo Satoru stood there for a few seconds, thinking, and then he stretched out his long legs to catch up. He chuckled and said, "Well, the name does have a more human feel."

“——And that [Gojo Rai] was the name I gave you. This genius, Six Eyes, gave you the name, so you must remember it well for me.” Gojo Satoru pretended to be vicious and said with his head raised arrogantly.

"Yes, yes, yes." Jiang Lai replied casually, as if coaxing a cat.

Xia Yujie: "..." He walked closer to Jiang Lai and whispered, "Satoru is just like this. I don't mean any harm. If I'm offended, don't take it personally."

"Yeah, I know." Jiang Lai smiled.

"What are you whispering about?" Gojo Satoru raised his brows and squeezed in between the two people from behind.

"Speaking of returning to school this time, Nanami and the others will also be coming back." Xia Yujie smiled and changed the subject, "They sent me a message saying that their mission is over and they will be back tomorrow."

Since Nanami Kento and Haibara Yuu have already enrolled, then Gojo and the others are now in the second year of the technical high school. Jiang Lai re-determined the timeline in his mind. Now should be 2006.

The star plasma incident in the original novel happened in this year. The soul body Fushiguro Shinobu said that his own death also happened in this year.

Should he have died in the astral plasma incident, just like in the original novel? Logically, since Jin'er has been confirmed dead in the future and his soul remains, this time point should not be changeable.

What is happening now is just a complement to the past timeline.

The original book does not give the specific month of the appearance of the astral plasma, but it is generally estimated to be between April and June.

The surrounding environment now looks like late spring, maybe May? Not sure if the interstellar plasma event has occurred.

"Oh! Have they completed their mission? Before they set out, the three of them said they would bring me some local specialties!" Gojo Satoru put his hands on the shoulders of Geto Suguru and Jiang Lai, "I'll share some with you guys when the time comes."

"Don't bully the younger generation, Satoru." Xia Yujie replied with a chuckle.

Jiang Lai, who was standing next to him, was startled when he heard Gojo Satoru's words.

...Wait, [the three of them], does that mean there are three people in the first grade now?

He remembered that in the original book, there were only two first-year students: Nanami Kento and Haibara Yuu.

What is this extra thing now?