Chapter 40 Secret

Facing the palm of the black-haired and brown-eyed young man, Gojo Satoru did not reach out to take it immediately. He pouted and said, "You want me to keep your things for you? I never do this kind of job."

"I'm counting on you." Jiang Lai half-jokingly said, "I owe you this once, okay? I'll pay you back later."

"Okay, then you owe me one." Young Master Gojo nodded modestly, followed Jiang Lai's words, and reached out to take the locust wood tablet.

The white-haired boy took it and held it up to his eyes for a few seconds. He didn't see anything special, so his interest quickly faded. He put the red string on the card and pinned it on his waist: "You want to keep it with you? Then I'll pin it on my waist like you do."

Jiang Lai paused for a moment, thinking.

Would it be too noticeable to wear it on the waist in such a high-profile way? After all, I just learned from a comic that a group of people paid special attention to the items on and around Gojo Satoru.

But he changed his mind and thought: in the conversation between the group of people in the comic, there was a question and an answer connected with "other people don't have any special items either", which means that they have observed the items of the few people who went to the Zen temple - which should include the pendant they were wearing.

What they were looking for was not there.

However, if these people see the card fall and move to Gojo Satoru and become interested in snatching or stealing it, it will be troublesome. In any case, it is better to be careful.

Jiang Lai actually wanted to directly remind Gojo Satoru and ask him to pay attention, but he was worried about alerting someone, so he didn't say anything for the time being.

Jiang Lai thought quickly in his mind and said calmly: "It's better to put it in your pocket. It's not good to put it around your waist where it will be exposed to the wind and sun."

Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you wearing it around your waist too?"

Jiang Lai said casually, "I'm not like you young people who are full of energy and run around everywhere. I usually spend more time on keeping healthy and resting."

"Huh? How old are you?" Gojo Satoru said teasingly, but he didn't dwell on it. He turned his finger and said, "OK, put your precious card in your pocket."

The white-haired boy put the cards away, then raised his head again, looking at me with his beautiful blue eyes: "When will I return it to you?"

"Maybe next time we meet." Jiang Lai replied naturally.

"When will we meet next time?" Gojo Satoru asked again.

Jiang Lai smiled: "I told you, next time."

Gojo Satoru was speechless for a second: "... Isn't this nonsense?"

The young man with black hair and brown eyes in front of him curled his lips. He didn't explain much. He looked over Gojo Satoru's shoulder and looked at the place where the boy with a bun hair was standing not far behind him.

Jiang Lai said, "Don't keep Jiejun waiting any longer, go back quickly." He paused for a second, then said slowly, "Remember what I told you before - talk to them more, tell them that you are your best friends for life, you still have a lot of youth, and you can slowly find answers to any problem together."

The white-haired boy took a quick step back as if his feet were burned, and rubbed his arms exaggeratedly: "Wow, stop talking like that, it's so corny that it gives me goosebumps."

"It won't hurt to say something from your heart." Jiang Lai blinked, "It's not fake."

Gojo Satoru held his breath for half a second, then shook his head again: "...No, no." When he was in technical high school, he couldn't say such overly direct and caring words. Now he took another step back and said, "Jie and I are just having a good time. Why are you suddenly saying something like this? It's too weird."

"Okay then." Jiang Lai changed his approach, "But if you don't want to say these things, just spend more time with him when he's eating. Eat something good."

"... something delicious?"

"Yes, the taste of what you put in your mouth can have a huge impact on your mood."

Gojo Satoru stared at him for a few seconds, then casually stroked his head with one hand and said with a long tail: "Okay - I'll treat Jie to dinner more often in the future. If Naoko is also leaving school, I'll take Naoko with me."

Jiang Lai nodded slightly when he heard this, his eyebrows and eyes were like a crescent moon.

After the conversation ended, Gojo Satoru turned around and went back to find Geto. Before he left, he paused for a moment, tilted his head and said lightly, "If you want to leave, go ahead. I won't see you off."

"I've said everything I need to say. There's no need to see me off again." Jiang Lai curled his lips and said in a gentle voice, "Please say goodbye to Jiejun, Jiaru and me later."

Gojo Satoru hummed in response and walked away.

The boy's posture and steps are quite casual, but his soul is as proud as a pine tree. The youthful years are the most unrestrained, and his outlook on the future is all about smooth sailing.

Jiang Lai watched the other person leave, and from a distance, he also waved to Xia Yujie who was standing there, as a farewell.

As he focused his attention, he noticed a light brown-haired figure approaching from a distance. The person took two or three steps to Maki and Mayi, and stepped forward to greet them with a slightly restrained movement.

That dog Jiechuan? Jiang Lai raised his eyebrows inwardly. I almost forgot about him... It seems that the second graders don't have any tasks today.

I just forgot to tell Gojo Satoru to pay more attention to this junior in the future. But with Gojo Satoru's personality, he probably won't be able to stay hidden. If he starts to attack, the situation may get worse.

Jiang Lai didn't delay any longer as his thoughts flowed through his mind. He calculated the time and knew that the half-hour countdown would be over soon.

Therefore, he turned and walked towards the jungle path inside the college.

Tokyo Jujutsu High School is located on a large plot of land, built on a hillside with lush vegetation. Late spring and early summer are the times when plants grow vigorously. Jiang Lai walked along the well-maintained path in the middle and stopped after walking a distance.

He didn't look back: "You don't have to follow me from a distance. If you have anything to say, just come up and say it." After he finished speaking, he turned around and said, "Don't step on the growing grass, Jiechuan classmate."

A brown-haired boy walked out from behind, raising his droopy eyes to show a natural innocence: "Senior..."

Jiang Lai looked back at him with a very calm expression. He showed neither the surprise or anger of being followed, nor the gentle tolerance of facing the innocent dog's eyes. He was as calm as a lake on a mountain.

Under the indifferent gaze of the person in front of him, Yukawa Kuriki tightened his hands that were rubbing the corners of his clothes. He slightly restrained his shoddy performance, and his reddish-brown eyes swayed as the shadows of the trees in the woods moved.

Before the dog Jiechuan could say anything, Jiang Lai spoke first. He pointed to the side and said, "Look at this, what do you think?" It seemed a bit strange to ask this question at this moment.

Yukawa Kuriki was stunned for a few tenths of a second before he turned his head to look over.

Next to it were ordinary trees, neither new nor old. Between two trees close to each other, there was a slanted spider web. A brown spider was squatting on the edge of the translucent silver web, and a fat flying insect was squatting on the branch next to it.

What do you think? The question about the dark blue figure kept running through Yuikawa Kurikawa's mind, and the answer came to him subconsciously.

I wanted to catch the flying insect and throw it onto the spider's web. After the spider heard the news and spun silk to entangle the insect, I would use a branch to pry the web apart.

The flying insects will fall to the ground and struggle, the spiders will anxiously cling to and reweave the broken web, and I will stick the branches into the ground. Watch the two fighting desperately, in a different yet similar way.

He did these things without any particular purpose, simply because he enjoyed watching the ups and downs of emotions and the entanglements between right and wrong, honor and disgrace, gains and losses.

The answer was rolling in his mind, but he didn't reply. Yukawa Kurita slightly raised his dog eyes, turned his head, and replied with a shy smile: "...I don't have any ideas, I just think the scenery is very good--"

By the end of the conversation, the volume had already dropped because there was no other character to talk to.

Yukawa Kurikawa turned his head and looked at the empty road. The dark blue figure just now had disappeared.

The countdown is over.

——

As the countdown was nearing the end, Jiang Lai noticed Yuukawa Kurikawa following behind him.

He didn't want to make a too conspicuous disappearance, so he simply stopped and let the other party come out.

When he pointed to the side, Jiang Lai didn't have any special thoughts, but he knew that the other party would have infinitely extended thoughts.

In this way, when the other person's attention is fully focused on the side and his mind is storming over questions and replies, you can leave quietly.

The actual development was similar to what Jiang Lai had guessed.

Time and space traveled again, he opened his eyes, and the surrounding scenes flashed through his eyes.

A huge, clean floor-to-ceiling window, a single bed, a wooden desk and a closet - this is the college dormitory.

He recognized it immediately.

...Why is the refresh location here this time? Jiang Lai paused, and his thoughts wandered for a second. Fortunately, he didn't suddenly appear in the middle of the night, otherwise he would be regarded as an assassin or a pervert.

He stood still and glanced over instinctively.

The room was simple and undecorated. The books and documents on the desk were neatly arranged, there was a gray mug with a spoon next to the bookshelf, and a box of instant coffee was placed on the top of the cabinet.

This is not Gojo Satoru's room. Jiang Lai judged subconsciously. That guy is a sweet tooth, it's impossible for him to drink instant coffee... and he wouldn't have the patience to arrange the books and documents like this.

Jiang Lai quickly withdrew his gaze. He knew that it was not polite to look around other people's rooms casually like that.

What time is it now? There is nothing in the house that can prove the timeline.

With doubts in his mind, Jiang Lai did not rush out. He leaned against the wall and first opened his mobile phone to visit the official website of the new series.

The manga has been updated with a few chapters. After he parted with Gojo Satoru, he soon encountered the Star Plasma Mission.

Because the original novel has already described this mission in detail, the new series only picks out a few fragments to describe - a few parts that are slightly different from the original novel.

The first is when the Pansei Cult's "Life or Death" bounty mission was announced, Fushiguro Shiji held his phone and looked down. There was a black round solid mark on the back of his left hand.

Jiang Lai narrowed his eyes: ...What is this? It doesn't look like a wound, nor does it look like a tattoo. A black patch doesn't look beautiful.

Then, the screen zoomed in to the mobile phone page. In addition to the bounty from the Panxing Sect, he received another email from an unknown person. The mission reward was marked at the top of the email, and there was a note inside that "Star Plasma Body wants a live person."

There is another line of words below, which reads: [You can invite Xia Yujun to be our guest.]

Jiang Lai's eyes narrowed when he saw this. Sure enough, other forces were intervening!

The first person that came to his mind at this moment was the Regulatory Commission, but there was no evidence yet, so he continued to wait and see.

Later in the Hosei Palace, the shot fired by Fushiguro Shigekiru was a high-strength anesthetic needle, which did not kill Tenuchi Riko on the spot, but instead put her into a coma.

After defeating Geto, Fushiguro Shige originally wanted to give him a shot, but after thinking for a few seconds, he put down his gun and raised his eyelids: "Geto, right? Someone invited you to be a guest. Just cooperate."

Xia Yujie, who was lying on the ground, didn't say a word. It was unclear whether he didn't hear because he was in a daze or simply didn't want to respond.

But when he was picked up later, he did not resist - perhaps the fight just now had exhausted all his strength and he no longer had the energy to fight.

The next scene did not show where the astral plasma went or who Geto Suguru was visiting. Instead, it turned to Fushiguro Shigeu who had completed his mission and walked out, and Gojo Satoru who had "resurrected from the dead" and chased after him after awakening the reversal technique.

The process of the duel between the two is the same as in the original work, so the new series simply brushes it over, with only the most classic "I am the only one in the world" appearing.

The ending is also different, this time Gojo Satoru pierces the right half of Shinji's body.

After finishing the topic of "Megumi", the black circular marks on the back of the left hand of the fallen Fushiguro Shinjiro gradually peeled off piece by piece. When it peeled off, a certain picture looked like the pattern of iris, which stayed for a short time and then completely disappeared from the flesh, but seemed to seep down again.

Jiang Lai's mind paused: Iris...is the Regulatory Commission!

Is the bandage that is always wrapped around the left hand of the soul form of Shiori Fushiguro covering up this mark?

He said he knew why he was detained - because it was the regulatory commission that trapped him, so he hated it and wanted to avoid all traces and turn a blind eye to it.

The soul body is not drawn in the picture, but a close-up of the pagoda wood tablet half-exposed from Gojo Satoru's pocket is given.

Later, Gojo Satoru and Geto Kagami joined together, but there was no trace of Tenuchi Riko at the scene. There was only Geto Kagami standing alone, and a circle of Pansei Cult members surrounding him who were laughing and applauding.

"Are you okay?" Gojo Satoru stepped forward.

"I'm fine." Xia Yujie replied.

Gojo Satoru asked, "Where's Riko?"

Xia Yujie lowered his eyes and replied: "...I don't know."

The ignorant believers of different ages and appearances around them were clapping, forming a sharp contrast with the silence of the two people.

The white-haired boy dragged his tired body, raised his eyes slightly, and asked: "Are we going to kill these people?"

In response to Gojo Satoru's question, Geto Xiayu lowered his eyes and replied, "...That's not the problem." He murmured, "Killing them is meaningless...Rather than killing them, it's better to use them as feed to continue other things..."

Hearing this, Gojo Satoru tilted his head slightly, not quite understanding what his friend said: "Jie?" He called the other person's name.

This call seemed to pull Kagome Jie out of his hazy self-space, and his figure suddenly became barely noticeable.

The boy with the ball-shaped hair raised his head and then exhaled: "...It's okay. Let's go." Xia Yujie whispered, "The problem is not here." He repeated it again.

The content of the Panxing Cult ends here. Just like the original plot, the story of the one year in between is not described in detail.

One year later, Gojo Satoru has completely mastered the Unlimited and has become the strongest, and Geto Suguru swallows cursed spirits more and more frequently. This summer, just like in the original story, cursed spirits keep coming out.

The update stopped abruptly here. Jiang Lai's eyes were still fixed on the phone, his thoughts wavering in his heart.

Apparently, in the asteroid incident, Geto Suguru saw something unusual or learned some secret. That's why he was in that position at the end, muttering "That's not the problem."

I don't know what happened to Amanouchi Riko. Even if I look at this incident from a god's perspective, all I see is [a missing person whose life or death is unknown].

What concerned Jiang Lai was that after Gojo Satoru asked, "Are you going to kill me?", there was a very strange unfinished sentence in Geto's reply: "When feed continues other..."

What does this mean? Treating living people as "feed" for what? Continuing something else, other traditions? Other people?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and felt as if he had seen through some secret.

Xia Youjie must know something, but he didn't say it, and he hadn't made up his mind to make the final choice, and he was still hesitating.

Jiang Lai stroked his phone. According to the comics, the current time point is Gojo Satoru and Kagome Gyou's third grade.

Just at this moment, the sound of a door opening was heard at the door, and Jiang Lai subconsciously looked up.