Chapter 99: Reincarnation for a Thousand Years

The disasters and miracles that occurred in Heian-kyō became a topic of conversation over tea that spread far and wide and was passed on by word of mouth.

The most shocking event was that the notorious King of Curses was finally sealed by sorcerers who were dispatched from all directions.

"Seal? Does that mean they didn't succeed in killing him?" The people who heard the news chatted casually, "Didn't they say that they mobilized a lot of people and set up traps and various curse tools specifically for the Curse King?"

"After all, that guy is too strong." Another person took a sip of the wine in his glass and talked about the [King of Curses]. His words were still mixed with the trembling and fear in his subconscious, and his voice was lowered.

"It is said that his twenty fingers are indestructible...! Each one contains a huge amount of cursed power, and is said to be a special-grade cursed item."

"It sounds like a lot of trouble. I hope this special cursed item can be well preserved, and the King of Curses won't be allowed to reappear in the world. In order to prevent him from killing more, we were forced to hold several festivals for him... Well, now that it's sealed, we can rest assured and don't have to worry about it - thanks to the presence of the six-eyed master."

"Yes, that Rokugan-sama has become quite famous recently. Moreover, that Rokugan-sama is not someone to be trifled with. It is said that at a meeting not long ago, those high-ranking officials in the Jujutsu world..."

"Shut up! Stop discussing this." Another person hurriedly stopped the topic and raised the small wine glass in his hand, "Let's not talk about this anymore, drink, drink!"

The person who just spoke also realized that he had made a mistake, so he quickly laughed it off and passed over the topic, then raised his glass to drink with his friends beside him: "Okay, okay, let's drink, come on!"

A few people shifted the topic to trivial things happening around them and no longer talked about what happened in Heianjing.

Not far away, a man wearing a straw hat and a long cape stood up, pulled aside the curtain and walked out of the small pub.

Under his hat, his black hair was naturally curled up like a sea urchin. Xiu Ji walked out of the tavern and walked alone on the busy street.

His blue-green eyes naturally fell on the road ahead, and his mind unconsciously followed the discussion of those people just now, recalling the previous sensational Heian-kyo incident.

At the very beginning, everything happened too suddenly.

The cursed spirits emerged from the city at an incredible speed, catching the people who were standing guard in the city off guard.

No one expected that the protective barrier of Heian-kyo would be attacked by cursed spirits, and even more unexpectedly, the barrier that was originally meant to protect them turned out to be a transparent cage that trapped them, restraining everyone in the city where cursed spirits were wreaking havoc.

What followed was an unsolvable mess.

In the battle that seemed to have no end in sight, at the last second before his strength ran out, he summoned the untamed Demon Vulra with an extremely crazy thought, intending to self-destruct to kill the enemy in front of him.

However, the next moment, the long-lost figure appeared again.

Just like back then, it was like a divine soldier sent from heaven, standing firmly in front of him.

More than ten years have passed since the time gate, and the meeting with that person was just a silhouette in the years, but he has not forgotten it.

He is not good at expressing his inner emotions, but he actually remembers the past. He has been saved before, and if he can, he will save others within his ability in the future. That's about it.

This time, he witnessed and experienced the miraculous power with his own eyes. His physical injuries and cursed power were restored in the blink of an eye.

The man asked him what happened and then said to go to the most dangerous [door].

He didn't think too much at the time, he just breathed a sigh of relief, and the thought popped up in his mind involuntarily: If Mr. Bai Wu is here, everything will be fine.

My tense nerves finally relaxed with relief after the arrival of the navy blue figure.

He led the other party all the way to the temple altar, and then left there with Kugizaki under the other party's instructions.

After running away from the temple area in a few steps, as if a tinder suddenly lit a flame, he suddenly remembered a small thing - perhaps a small thing - and he had not had time to tell the other party his real name.

Yes, [Xiu Ji] was not his real name. He was still young at that time and had the vigilance of a puppy. His real name rolled in his throat for a long time, but in the end he uttered a made-up pseudonym.

In fact, he has a real name from his father - [Mei].

Probably because he had completely broken off with the Zenin family, his father, who was living away from home, never revealed any information about the Zenin family, changed his surname and called him [Fushiguro Megumi].

But the thought of "I haven't told you my real name yet" only occurred to him for a moment, and he did not turn back because of this little thing.

The situation in Heian-kyō remains grim, the battle in the temple is massive, an endless stream of cursed spirits are still wreaking havoc in the city, the sounds of cursed explosions and collapsing buildings ring in the ears one after another, occupying the entire mind.

I will introduce myself to the other party after the battle is over, he thought. I will talk about small personal matters after the big crisis is resolved.

He didn't remember the details of the battle that followed, but it was just about exorcising the cursed spirit.

The only thing that impressed him was a brilliant meteor shower that almost turned night into day.

First, one or two burning stars trailed white tails across the sky, and then, the myriad lights hanging overhead began to pour down like heavy rain.

In this strange dreamlike scene, the time gate became an immeasurable unit.

At that time, he was simply shocked by the vast beauty and amazed at the stars falling from nature.

Later he realized that this was the man's final closing ceremony before leaving.

After the Heian-kyō incident, he heard about that man from Gojo-sensei. At that time, he opened his mouth and the first words he murmured subconsciously were:

"……name."

——I haven’t told him my real name yet.

However, the teacher in front of him seemed to understand it in a different direction. After a pause, he spoke in a normal voice with a slightly raised ending tone:

"I don't even know that guy's name~ Well, anyway - next time we meet, just ask him first."

Fushiguro Megumi raised his eyes. It was not until this moment that he realized: it turned out that not only he, but also the teacher had unspoken words surrounding his name.

If it were an ordinary day, this might be a trivial matter, but when it comes to parting and you don’t know if you will meet again, it is magnified infinitely.

He stared at the person with long white hair in front of him, and after half a second, he said calmly, "Will there be a chance for us to meet again?"

Teacher Gojo did not respond immediately. He had a black and gold cloth wrapped around his eyes, covering half of his face. He said, "The time gate is so long, there must be a chance."

The teacher said that the time gate is long, not that life is long. Fushiguro Megumi did not say anything more, he just lowered his eyes silently.

Next to her, Kugizaki No Rose sighed and said, "What? I just met this mysterious person and I have many questions to ask him... What a pity."

It's a pity, a shame. It's like a perfect circle, but it's missing a corner.

With the past in his mind, he did not slow down his pace as he walked along the roads of Edo.

Fushiguro Megumi came to Edo this time to complete a mission. In this era, there are still many cursed spirits that need to be exorcised, and he still has a lot to learn.

The regrets of the past remain in memory, but they will not become shackles that hold you back.

Although I am not sure whether we can meet again, but if I have expectations, maybe there will be some response.

Before that, just keep going without stopping, so that you can face each other with a better attitude next time, and then -

Say your name out loud.

——

Gojo Satoru sat in front of a wooden desk, browsing through the documents that were delivered to him one by one.

The scent of ink and wood lingers at the tip of your nose, and the faint aroma of spices burning in the small stove slowly drifts through the house.

He was not the type to sit quietly and read documents. Although he was the head of the family, he usually left these tasks to the elders or his confidants.

What made him sit down at this moment was the content related to the Heiankyo Temple - of course, now it should be called the Gojo Family Temple.

After the incident, Gojo Satoru learned from two of his students that the man had left the message, "Ryomen Sukuna came here for a deal."

Because of his strength, he rarely cares about power struggles, but that doesn't mean he doesn't understand.

In an instant, Gojo Satoru pieced together the whole incident, and the details that Xia Yujie told him after waking up made his guess even more certain.

In the past, Gojo Satoru, because he was influenced by aristocratic culture since childhood, did not show his violent side too often in front of others.

The most common casual arrogance he displays on a daily basis is being late, leaving early, missing meetings, beating people, damaging buildings, and playing pranks.

At the meeting of the Jujutsu world after the Heian-kyo incident, he released the pressure of his cursed power for the first time in the entire meeting, crushing the few people who had been shouting and distorting the facts like crushing a bug!

The force was so strong that not even a corpse was left at the scene, only a pool of blood of moderate size.

The white-haired young man held his chin with one hand and said in a nonchalant tone: "I have never been a good-tempered person - what gave you the courage to plot against me?"

“What…?!”

"Are you planning a rebellion?"

"Well, I don't mind, but are you sure you want to give me such a name?" Gojo Satoru responded with a smile, while the person on the other side hesitated and did not dare to continue the conversation.

No one dared to force Liuyan to the opposite position.

"Okay, the interlude is over, let's move on," Gojo Satoru clapped his hands exaggeratedly, and then said, "This was just a warm-up, right?"

雖然唇角揚起，但五條悟露出的蒼天之瞳中冰冷得沒有一絲笑意。

“……”在如冰山壓頂的窒息威壓中，現場鴉雀無聲。

白發青年修長的手指交叉在一起，他繼續用歡快的語氣說：

“沒關系沒關系~~今天我有的是時間門，我們可以——慢.慢.清.算。”

這場“清算會”持續的時間門不算長，最終走出去的人卻比進去的人少了許多。

五條悟放走一部分人的原因，是一口氣全殺光太麻煩、留下一部分繼續幹活。空缺的部分，他讓自己的好友、以及培養出來的勢力頂上。

如果真的要推翻爛橘子們的規則，從他們所指定的規則中走是行不通的。只有先把他們當裁判的規則打碎了，才能融入自己的想法。

這場會議除了清算，五條悟還重新劃分了平安京城的部分區域所屬。

後山神廟區域，被五條悟直接劃入了五條家的領域，說作為補償和獎賞。

理由很正經，在此的爛橘子也沒人敢有異議，有異議的都已經消失在原地。

只是，雖然不能阻攔五條悟将神廟區域歸入到五條家領地，但是，在過程和周圍做些什麽、來拖延時間門添麻煩倒是可以的。

咒術界的爛橘子們這次學聰明了，他們并沒有直接發表反對意見，而是從暗中指使一些沒有家族勢力庇護、或者出身于小家族的人，來處理這些過程性的東西——他們知道五條悟不會真的為難這些人。

五條悟不屑于在這些方面來回拉扯，他懶洋洋地選擇忽略那些跳梁小醜，而後認認真真規劃新劃入的那片樹林繁茂的神廟區域。

這也是為何現下的他坐在書桌前，親手處理這些文件。

即便沒有真正見到那人的最後一面，但他知曉對方一定就在那片神廟拔地而起的樹林之中，和光同月，安靜沉眠。

……那就先将那片區域保護性地圈起來吧。長發五條想。然後将五條家神社遷移到此。

這樣，一方面有了合理的理由将那片樹林保護起來，設置上山條件；另一方面，或許沉眠于此的對方、也能多多少少汲取祭祀供奉的香火。

心中思緒流淌于筆墨之間門，五條悟在日夜翻閱書籍和文書中，終于規劃出神社的布局。

聽聞這件事的傑和硝子兩位好友，也在自己力所能及的範圍內幫了五條悟一把。

在那片區域徹底落戶為五條家、神社搬遷建設完成後，五條悟請兩位好友一起擺了一場友人間門的小酒席，在月色下溫酒閑談。

“你不是一杯倒嗎，悟？”夏油傑半開玩笑說着，晃了下那細頸的瓷瓶，嗅了嗅飄蕩的酒香，“還不錯啊、這酒。”

“當然——我家的東西自然個個都是頂尖的。”五條悟伸手拿起小桌上的甜點，塞進口中，“什麽一杯倒，我可是最強。”

“哪有喝酒配甜點的。”家入硝子動作大大方方地将酒倒入自己面前的杯，“還有，一杯倒也算是某種意義上的‘最強’了。”

“什麽啊硝子——”五條悟拖長尾音，接着順口道，“說起來，也不知道那家夥能不能喝，說不準是半杯倒呢。”

面前的兩人都知道長發五條指的是誰。

五條悟斟滿酒，側身面向神社的方向，動作潇灑地将其潑灑在地面。

有些儀式感，但卻并不嚴肅，像是友人間門的互動。

夏油傑頓了一秒，他指腹摩挲着瓷杯，說：“雖然當時的我沒有意識……也或許已經死過一次，但朦胧之間門，卻似乎感受到有人拉了我一把，将我拽出那片泥沼。”

“按理說應該當面道謝的，可惜到目前為止、沒有機會。”丸子頭青年清淺笑起，話語溫和，“那便暫且敬一杯酒吧。”

他舉起自己的小酒杯，對遠處神社所在的位置遙遙對了下。

明月懸在頭頂，閃爍的明星環繞四周。

五條悟漂亮的藍眸擡起，他望着夜幕繁星，覺得這番場景也并非如書裏所言的亘古不變——也或許改變的是他而不是星空。

“一千年……是一個輪回對吧？”長發五條喝下杯中酒後，從脖子到臉肉眼可見地浮起一層撲朔的紅，他還是所謂的一杯倒，只是醉酒後話語依然頗為清晰。

“是有這樣的傳說。”家入硝子回答道，“但是，誰知道真假呢？”

“我倒是希望是真的。”夏油傑笑起，“一千年後還能和你們相逢、成為朋友，真是太好了。此外，說不準到那時便可以當面道謝了。”

“雖然有點麻煩，但總得有個人看着你們兩個笨蛋。”家入硝子晃了晃酒杯，“千年後也一樣。”

“那便約好了——”五條悟唇角彎起完美的弧度，擡高聲音道，“輪回轉世一千年後，還要再見啊。”

月色下，他們舉杯同飲。

後來又過了很長的時間門。漫長歲月裏發生了不少故事。

禪院家原家主在和詛咒師對戰時意外身亡，禪院家沒有能夠挑大梁的繼承者。

于是兜兜轉轉，他們又找到了最初脫離禪院家的伏黑惠，逢迎十種影法術掌握者回家族繼承席位。

伏黑惠一開始對家主之位并沒太有興趣，但在斟酌後，最終還是回歸了禪院家，成為家主禪院惠。

釘崎野薔薇拉着對方表示、這麽大的事必須得好好慶祝一下。

只是，二者都不想待在禪院家裏，于是幹脆找了平安京城一家普通的食肆，要了個小包間門。

長大成人後，他們各有各自的事情要忙，已經很久沒像現在這樣聚在一起，安安穩穩吃頓飯、簡簡單單聊會天了。

釘崎野薔薇單手托在下颌處，目光流轉、随口說：“話說老師他們常常是三個人，咱們的前輩們也都是三人組，怎麽到了咱倆，就是兩人組？——總覺得還缺一個啊。”

伏黑惠沒什麽特別的表情，他平淡說：“其實大部分都是單人組。”

“喂、什麽啊，和本姑娘一組學習過你就感到榮幸吧！這個時代、咒術師裏的一點紅可是很難得的！”

釘崎野薔薇作勢拍了拍桌子，語氣頗為豪放潇灑。

伏黑惠不明顯地笑起來，而後，他接話之前的問題：“也許吧。好像是有一種缺了一個人的感覺。”

“我就說嘛——”釘崎野薔薇向後一靠，嘆了口氣道，“啥時候我們也湊個三人組。最好那位是個性子活潑點的、像狗狗一樣熱情又細心的家夥。”

“同意。”犬控伏黑惠在此默默點了點頭，在他心中，[狗狗]是最高形容詞。

“希望下輩子——如果有下輩子的話，”釘崎野薔薇開玩笑道，“我們來個風風火火三人組。”

“說不定。”伏黑惠說，“一千年後也許會的。”

“欸——？！一千年？？”

“我聽五條老師說，一千年是一個輪回。”

“哈？”釘崎野薔薇撇嘴，“那家夥說話真的可信嗎？感覺像是什麽小話本裏騙人的東西啊。”

“不過、若是真有所謂的千年輪回的話，”她露出笑容，像燦爛盛開的花，“你、我、還有現在缺了的那位未來隊友，絕對要成為最棒的三人組啊。”

伏黑惠微微颔首，他藍綠色眼眸浮着認真的神色，平緩說：“當然。”

隔了兩三秒，釘崎野薔薇開始暢想道：“然後你們一左一右為我拎包當護法，本姑娘要當咒術界大名人。”

“……不，拒絕。”

“我說——”

“拒絕。”

屬于友人的拌嘴話語你來我往。

窗外吹起一陣微風，将牆側裝飾性堆放的百花花束搖動起，一小叢虎杖花輕輕飄落到旁側空出的那個位置。

……

再後來，時間門又過了很久。只是沒有人再細細清點流走的歲月究竟有多少。

依舊身穿家徽和七曜紋金邊和服的五條悟站立于神社附近的樹林中，平日裏被那些長老們搞煩的時候，他就會來這邊走走。

咒術界爛橘子們根深蒂固，只是五條悟也用自己的方式更改了部分規則，那些咒術高層的家夥們已經沒法像曾經那樣肆意妄為了。

安靜的樹林，對長發五條來說是個可以放松心神的好地方。

有時，他會對着空無一人的樹林絮叨一些零零散散的事情。只是單純的自言自語而已，他不需要回複。

偶爾，他會想起往事。

人一生會經歷許多次錯過。有些錯過會迎來更好的久別重逢，有些錯過會萦繞于心間門、成為半輩子不能釋懷的執意。

五條悟覺得自己并不是會在“錯過”上糾結許久、沉溺過多情緒的人。

他理智知曉自己要把握的、也一定會把握住的，是當下的一切。

只是，某些時刻，他會覺得這一生依舊有遺憾，像是總也不能完全圓滿的月。

好吧好吧、遺憾是正常的，生活在世誰沒有遺憾呢？最強也會有遺憾啦，畢竟最強也是人，這些沒什麽大不了的。

他會這麽和自己說。

Then, in the next second, a sentence that has been lingering for a long time will emerge in my mind.

——But he still owes me a few stories, and I haven't asked his name yet.

The man with long white hair looked out at the vast forest with his beautiful blue eyes. He knew that his friend was there.

In the swaying leaves at the forest gate, in the dew reflected by the sunlight, on the fluff swaying in the wind. One day, the other person will appear here again, shaking that old book, smiling.

But maybe he won't be able to wait for it in this lifetime.

Then wait for reincarnation for a thousand years. Changfa Gojo thought. After such a long time, it’s time for you to wake up, right?

By then, all the regrets left in this life will be made up.

——

So, after a thousand years of passing, and great changes have taken place in the world,

That day, the young Rokugan who came to the shrine to seek shelter looked at the figure and asked subconsciously:

"Who are you?"

That day, the young man with black hair and brown eyes placed the ancient book against his lips, smiled gently, and said softly:

"Let me tell you a few stories."