Chapter 85: Starting the Journey to the Gojo Family Thousand Years Ago

The words of comfort and eating overlapped, and after a strange silence that lasted for a while, Jiang Lai paused, raised his hand and pointed to a place not far away: "Do you see that place?"

"What?" Ryomen Sukuna raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced over casually with his scarlet eyes.

The evening breeze blew, bringing with it a mixture of smells.

Under the moonlight and smoke, the tragic scene after the curse battle was left with only incomplete building debris, upturned soil and wood that was almost burnt to charcoal.

Jiang Lai said calmly: "If you want to eat, go over there and chew on the tree bark."

Ryomen Sukuna: “…”

The black-haired child was stunned at first when he heard this conversation, and then the corners of his lips moved slightly, and he couldn't help but raise a very shallow arc.

The next second, a sound of breaking air suddenly rang out!

Before the murderous curse blade could reach the child's side, it was blocked in time by the transparent barrier and broke into pieces when it hit the barrier.

"!" The black-haired child straightened his back after noticing the sound of breaking air. After being threatened, he instinctively widened his eyes and stared at the four-handed boy, his posture like a puppy with its fur standing on end.

Ryomen Sukuna looked down upon the child with a look of contempt and malice on his face, and the strange and mysterious black patterns on his body moved with his breathing.

"Okay, stop bullying the kid." Jiang Lai waved his hand, removed the barrier that blocked the two Sukuna's attacks, and said to him, "Go and find out if there are any normal ingredients around here."

"Are you ordering me?" Ryoumen Sukuna's tone was not friendly.

Jiang Lai's half-moon eyes: "So whether you are going to eat or not, you want me to do it."

The cherry-pink-haired boy stared at Jiang Lai with scarlet eyes. After half a second, he suddenly let out an inexplicable chuckle from his throat and suddenly changed the subject:

"...Come to think of it, you don't seem to be in such a good condition right now. Are you going to sleep again?"

With his beast-like intuition, Ryoumen Sukuna was able to detect the subtle changes in Jiang Lai. He sensed that the man in front of him had a subtle sense of weariness beneath his calm demeanor.

"Resurrecting this kid can consume you so much. From this point of view, Ten Shadows is a good thing."

Ryomen Sukuna placed one hand on his chin and spoke in a vicious tone with a slight upward tilt that was unclear whether it was a joke or not.

"Try harder and show more of your kindness. Who knows, my cursed blade might be able to cut you open next time. I guess I need to find a cook as soon as possible."

Jiang Lai frowned slightly, then relaxed his expression: "Are you being too kind? But I'm not reckless. I have my own principles when it comes to saving people." He said calmly, "As for the future, no one can predict it, so you'd better not have any wild thoughts for now."

"You have great power, but you want to let yourself be damaged. How foolish! There is nothing more important than yourself in this world." Ryomen Sukuna laughed loudly and said the second half of the sentence word by word, "You will definitely fall from your own altar."

He had long seen that the black-haired young man in front of him was no ordinary person. His words sounded like a curse and a prophecy, blowing into his ears along with the cool evening breeze.

But the man in the navy blue kimono in front of him smiled and said, "Even so, so what?" Jiang Lai's eyebrows were full of carefreeness, "I have never been reluctant to leave."

In fact, Jiang Lai really didn't care, his position was not here.

He is willing to step into his own world step by step. After all, he is just an ordinary person walking hand in hand with his friends, not some high and mighty god.

Besides, he wants to go home, he won't stay here forever.

Only after uncovering the final secret, dealing with the villain, and completing the Jujutsu manga, can Jiang Lai break through the dimensional wall and return home.

Moreover, Jiang Lai knew that he was going back a thousand years in time. He already knew his future state—the weakening of his divinity was inevitable, and things that had been determined could not be changed.

Therefore, for him, this past period was just a time to collect intelligence and prepare for the future, and there was no need to worry about the issue of [existence] power.

Under the vast starry sky, the black-haired young man raised his head slightly, and when he said the words "never lingered", there was no hypocrisy in his expression, and he expressed it openly.

"..." Ryoumen Sukuna half-closed his eyes and looked into those calm and peaceful brown eyes.

After the air was quiet for a while, Ryoumen Sukuna hummed meaninglessly from his nose and turned away first.

He took big steps and went deep into the remaining parts of the village to look for 'normal' usable food among the remains.

The black-haired kid was stunned for a moment, and after Ryoumen Sukuna left, he seemed to finally come to his senses. He pursed his lips and said, "Thank you."

He heard the conversation between the two people just now. Although he did not fully understand the content, he could tell that it was the black-haired young man with a misty face in front of him who saved him.

Jiang Lai withdrew his gaze from Ryoumen Sukuna and said gently, "Well, you're welcome. What's your name?"

The black-haired kid paused and replied, "I don't have a name."

No name? Jiang Lai was a little surprised. Normally, when you are six or seven years old, you should have a name.

"What do your parents usually call you?"

"My mother died early, and my father didn't take care of me. I don't know where he went and he never showed up again." The black-haired child said, "Before that, he just casually called me 'Hey' and 'Little Brat'."

Jiang Lai: ...So casual!!

But it is understandable in the Heian-kyō era a thousand years ago.

Common people in this era were not taken seriously, and they could not survive long in an era where evil spirits were rampant. Their living area was basically only as big as the village, so sometimes names were very casual, and it was enough for people around them to know who they were referring to.

"Okay." Jiang Lai said, "What do you want to be called? There should be a nickname."

The black-haired kid looked hesitant, as if he was somewhat troubled by his vocabulary.

Jiang Lai: "Well...how about I call you puppy?"

Black-haired kid: “???”

Jiang Lai: "I was just kidding, I just remembered that you have a jade dog, and it's inconvenient to tell them apart."

No, even if I don’t have a jade dog with ten shadow spells, I shouldn’t name it a puppy! The child couldn’t help but complain in his heart.

Jiang Lai pondered for a moment and then spoke again: "So, how about Xiao Hei?"

This seems to be the name of a dog! The child raised his blue-green eyes and stared at him silently.

"Just kidding." Jiang Lai coughed again, and the name quickly ran through his mind. After thinking for a while, he finally knocked the book on his palm, "I know, I'll call you - Prickly Ball!"

Black-haired kid: “???”

The child finally couldn't help himself and said, "...Xiu Ji."

"Hmm?" Jiang Lai tilted his head.

"The name of the mountain behind our village is Xiuji Mountain," said the black-haired child, "so I'll be called Xiuji then."

"Oh, that's fine." Jiang Lai nodded.

In fact, he said those random words just now on purpose, in order to test the child again and see if he really didn't have a name or just didn't want to tell him.

Currently, the other party uses the name of Houshan as his own name. It is difficult to say whether it is a temporary cover-up pseudonym or a real name.

But never mind, there's no point digging deeper here.

Thinking of this, Jiang Lai raised his hand and rubbed the other person's head: "From now on, I will call you Xiu Ji."

"Okay." The black-haired boy Xiu Ji nodded.

"Do you want to go back to your original village, or somewhere else?" After deciding on the name, Jiang Lai asked him again.

"...My original village may no longer exist." Xiu Ji whispered, pursing his lips like a depressed puppy, "The man at that time probably killed all the people in the village-"

Jiang Lai understood. The sorcerer who used the insects seemed to have also controlled the villagers and turned them into his puppets.

...Come to think of it, these actions are almost the same as Ryomen Sukuna's massacre of the village, right?

It's just that these people acted in secret, and Ryoumen Sukuna never bothered to conceal himself, so only Sukuna's notoriety spread far and wide.

In this case, what should I do with the child in front of me? Jiang Lai pondered in his heart.

It is not appropriate for him to stay by my side. After all, he is going to be exposed to society. It is reasonable for him to deal with people in the world and master the ten shadow magic with a good education.

What's more, you may sleep for a long time from time to time and be unable to take care of each other.

Of course, Ryoumen Sukuna who was beside him would not help take care of the child. He might even eat the black-haired child as food...

So, should we just hand it over to the Chanyuan family? This thought came to Jiang Lai's mind not long before he dismissed it.

At the moment, it doesn't seem to be appropriate.

Although Xiuji inherited ten kinds of shadow magic, if such a lonely and nameless child returns by himself, the inherited abilities will become a target.

Many forces in the Zen temple family may take action against this child who breaks the balance.

After thinking about it, only one option remained in my mind - to let a friend take care of the child.

Thousands of years ago in the Heian-kyo era, there was a friend who lived in the world, could teach spells, had relatively strong abilities, and was fearless. After these elements accumulated, that name seemed to be about to come out - it was decided that it was you, Gojo Satoru!

Jiang Lai made up his mind silently.

Of course, giving it to the other party does not mean that it will stay in the Gojo family. After all, the Ten Shadow Magics involve the Zenin family next door, which is not convenient to operate in this way.

However, with Gojo Satoru's ability and financial resources a thousand years ago, it would not be difficult to find a place outside the family residence to accommodate the child.

Thinking of this, Jiang Lai patted Xiu Ji and said, "I'll take you to meet a friend later, a guy who looks a little unreliable but is actually reliable at critical moments."

After hearing the long string of adjectives, the black-haired child fell into a strange silence. But after half a second, he raised his head and nodded in reply: "Okay."

After it was finalized, Jiang Lai planned to set off immediately with his children.

——The tiredness brought by the child who was resurrected by ten shadow spells surged in his heart like a tide. He knew that he didn't have much time left to be awake before the next sleep.

This time, Jiang Lai did not plan to go the same way with Ryomen Sukuna.

After all, sending a child over is already a trouble for others, and bringing a killer over... is a bit like looking for trouble, which is not very moral.

Moreover, during this period of time, Jiang Lai has realized that Ryomen Sukuna will never change his nature of contempt for human life, and that being free and unrestrained is his way of life.

If you keep an eye on him and restrain him, it will only accumulate murderous intent instead of eliminating it. The accumulated energy will always explode in the future. Therefore, temporary detention is not a solution.

In addition, Jiang Lai was not sure how long he would sleep this time, so it would be better to find a safe place where Sukuna was not around to rest.

In order to prevent the other party from accumulating strength over time and really waiting for you to break through your barriers over the long years, and then kill you in your sleep.

In short, he planned to make dinner for Sukuna tonight as a group meal, and then take the black-haired child to the Gojo family to meet the long-haired Gojo Satoru from a thousand years ago again.

Not far away, Ryomen Sukuna walked out of the woods, holding two wild rabbits in their hands.

He came towards us with long strides, his steps steady and powerful.

Jiang Lai stared at the other person and thought for a second whether to tell Ryoumen Sukuna that he was leaving and that the other person would be free.

But soon, he dismissed the idea.

For the sake of safety, it is better not to reveal the next whereabouts for the time being, Jiang Lai thought.

I always feel that if Ryoumen Sukuna, who is ready to go with me later, knew about this, he would get angry, twitch his lips, reveal his sharp fangs, and say loudly:

[I haven’t seen enough of your fun of bullying a good person—what, you were restrained at first, but now you want to leave and you just treat me like an object and throw me around?]

Jiang Lai mentally completed the conversation in his head and followed up with his own response: [There is no way, Qiang Da is so willful, he can catch and release at any time.]

Then the other person will get even angrier. Sure.

Jiang Lai went over in his mind the words he would never say out loud, and watched the other person approach.

Ryoumen Sukuna glanced at him, and his sharp beast instinct emerged again: "What's that expression on your face? Are you planning something?"

"I'm planning how to cook these two rabbits." Jiang Lai pointed and continued naturally, "It's getting late. We need to go to bed early after eating."