Although the tatami floor in the house was worn out, it was still clean. Al and Xia Yujie sat down on the tatami floor and asked, "What does the python you are talking about look like?"
Mimiko held the tattered doll in her arms and answered obediently, "It's very big, a purple snake, with patterns on its body like mushrooms, and a lot of scary eyes on its head..."
As soon as they heard this description, they knew that the so-called python was definitely a cursed spirit.
Al asked her, "When you say big, how big is it?"
Mimiko thought about it, raised her hand and gestured: "It's about this thick, thicker than the fat uncle's waist."
The blond-haired, blue-eyed boy was surprised when he heard this: "Wow, if it's this big, it must be an adult, right? JJ, it's another big family, we're so lucky."
All the big cursed spirits around Tokyo were eaten by them and disappeared, leaving only some low-quality fly heads. This python cursed spirit is really a pleasant surprise.
Xia Yujie was also very interested. He asked, "When did you see it? Does it often appear in the village?"
Mimiko shook her head and replied, "It has only appeared in the village twice. It should stay in the woods most of the time... We first saw it a month ago."
She quickly glanced at Nanako, and seeing that Nanako lowered her head and did not object to her continuing, she said, "It appeared on the cliff outside the village. We buried my mother on the cliff. When we went to see my mother a month ago, we saw the python's tail for the first time."
"Only the tail?"
"Well, I thought I was seeing things at the time." Mimiko said obediently, "Until half a month ago at dusk, it appeared at the entrance of the village. As a result, that night, the old man who lived at the entrance of the village disappeared."
The child was a little sad when he mentioned this incident: "That grandpa was the nicest person in the village. He never scolded us and even secretly gave us food..."
Nanako frowned and muttered, "Mimiko..."
Mimiko immediately skipped over the topic.
"Then there was the morning a week ago. We saw it swimming out of the village with a man in its mouth, and the man's arm was still moving."
“…”
If a child doesn't get scared silly when seeing such a bloody scene, it means he has strong mental strength.
Al asked, "Is that the second missing person?"
"yes."
Nanako frowned and said, "We ran into the village and told everyone about it, asking them to save the people, but no one believed us and said we were making up stories..."
Al said: "Wait, but that person is indeed missing, right?"
"Um."
"If you are really missing, why don't they believe you?"
Nanako lowered her head and said in a nonchalant tone: "Because we are liars, we have always liked to deceive adults."
"…Liar?"
"We often see strange things, not just the python, but also other things. But if we tell others about it, no one believes us, including my parents. They never believe us. Everyone thinks we are making up stories to attract adults' attention."
“…”
Al sensed the emotions on the other end of the contract and reached out to pat the back of Kagome Jie's hand.
"Jack."
Xia Yujie came back to his senses and gave them a friendly smile: "Is this what you saw?"
He performed a magic trick and conjured up a puff spirit that didn't look that scary.
"!!!"
Nanako and Mimiko were both startled, not understanding why such a thing suddenly jumped out of the house. They subconsciously leaned back with stunned expressions.
"Still like this?"
Xia Yujie took out a string of small, palm-sized, black little people. The little people held hands and jumped back and forth happily on the tatami floor.
Al: “…”
A magical cursed spirit that has never been seen before has appeared again! As expected of you! Pokémon Master!
What the hell are you eating, Jerry?
Nanako & Mimiko: "..."
Nanako was very surprised and said, "This is——"
"This thing is called a cursed spirit. People call them monsters or ghosts, but the most correct name is a cursed spirit. A cursed spirit is a being born from the negative emotions of humans. Do you know what negative emotions are?"
The two little girls shook their heads in confusion.
That's right. The word "negative emotions" is too complicated for such a young child.
Artixia Yujie explained: "Emotions like anger, rage, fear, and sadness will turn into monsters, but not everyone can see these monsters."
He pointed at his eyes and said, "Only a very small number of people can see cursed spirits, such as me and Jake, and you. You are all children with the talent of a curse caster."
"Spellcaster...?"
"It's the kind of person who fights monsters like this. It's a natural talent."
Mimiko asked nervously, "Why do we have to fight them?"
Geto Summer Oil explained: "Because these monsters will harm humans, they are born in the malice of humans, and it is their instinct to hate humans. The mission of the sorcerer is to protect humans."
Nanako and Mimiko showed nervous expressions and looked at the two cursed spirits in front of them vigilantly. Kagome waved his hands and took the cursed spirits back into his body.
"Don't worry, I raised these cursed spirits, so they won't harm you."
Nanako was surprised and asked: "Why can you raise them?"
Xia Yujie smiled warmly: "Because I am a curse spirit operator. As the name suggests, I am someone who can control curse spirits. This is my talent."
Curse spirit, sorcerer, manipulating curse spirit, talent...
Nanako was stunned for a long time, and asked nervously: "Do we have talent too?"
Xia Yujie replied: "Yes, there must be one, but I just haven't figured it out yet."
“…”
Nanako's eyes lit up, and she seemed to be very excited.
In order to prevent the child from being disappointed, Al gave her a warning in advance: "But your talent is definitely not the curse spirit manipulation technique. His talent is very rare. The last curse spirit manipulator was more than a thousand years ago, so don't expect the curse spirit manipulation technique."
It is possible to be a shikigami user.
According to Al's observation, ordinary Shikigami users can be seen everywhere, and Xia Yujie is a variant Shikigami user of the SSR level.
Nanako clenched her hands, nervously and expectantly asked, "Can you teach us?"
Al and Xia Youjie were both stunned, "Huh?"
The girl with short light brown hair bit her lip and explained, "That monster will come again. I'm afraid it will eat Mimiko. I must protect Mimiko. Apart from Mimiko, I have no family left!"
“…”
family……
Family.
Al felt his heart twitch violently, and at the same time, similar emotions were transmitted from the contract.
It's Geto's mood.
They looked at each other with realization.
The word "family" is like a fixed password for the two of them, but... well, they are willing to be conquered by children who share the same suffering as them.
Al touched Nanako's head with relief, but she avoided him as expected. He was not angry, but just asked them: "I wanted to ask before, are you twins?"
Nanako nodded.
"So that's how it is..."
Although people would never mistake Nanako and Mimiko due to their different hair colors and temperaments, a closer look reveals that the facial features of these two children are simply carved from the same mold.
By the way, in the world of magic, twins often represent "bad luck". There are even cruel rumors about twins that they are destined to curse each other and only one will survive.
Because at the level of magic, the twins will be recognized as the same person, not two separate individuals.
For example, if there is a pair of twin sorcerers, one of them is very talented, but the other is not, then the weaker one is bound to drag down the stronger one, making it impossible for the stronger one to become truly "strong" throughout his life, unless the weaker one dies completely, allowing the other to become an independent individual.
——I heard that the three families in the world of sorcery are most afraid of the birth of twins in the family, as it is a sign of the family's decline.
Of course, Geto Xia Yu, who came from an ordinary family, did not agree with this statement. Not only did he not agree with it, he also thought that the prophecy of "being destined to only live one life" which was almost a curse was very unpleasant.
Xia Yujie said softly, "Don't worry about that, Nanako. We will exorcise the cursed spirits that roam around the village, so just rest assured."
The girl who was affectionately called "Nanako" blushed slightly, but still insisted: "...Can't you teach us?"
Kagome fully demonstrated his empathy and understood Nanako's thoughts at the first moment: "Are you worried... that other cursed spirits will appear in the future?"
"Um."
Nanako nodded.
Geto smiled: "It's not easy, you are so responsible at such a young age. But Nanako, learning magic is not something that can be done overnight."
"……oh."
Nanako lowered her head, looking a little disappointed.
In the silence, Mimiko's stomach suddenly growled. Mimiko was startled, then lowered her head deeply.
"Are you hungry?" Xia Yujie was stunned, "Sorry, I didn't notice that it was already lunch time..."
Al looked at the bare house, thought for a moment, and then asked directly, "What do you usually eat?"
Nanako pursed her lips, not wanting to answer this question.
The atmosphere suddenly became very awkward. At this moment, Mimiko said weakly, "We will use the money left by our mother to exchange for food with the people in the village."
Use money to exchange things...
"So that's how it is." Xia Yujie continued nonchalantly, "What about today?"
Mimiko shook her head and whispered, "The village chief's aunt went to the hospital. I heard she had a fever due to a nightmare. Everyone thinks it's our fault. Today... the atmosphere in the village has been not very good. I guess no one is willing to exchange food for us today."
Damn it.
Xia Yujie really wanted to sigh loudly, but he held it back in front of the twins, because such an action might offend the children's self-esteem.
Al looked at Summer Oil Jie and reminded him, "Jie-chan, Jie-chan——We have Miss Kuroi's love bento!"
"...Yes."
The blond-haired, blue-eyed boy urged, "Hurry up and think of a way that won't hurt the children's self-esteem. Give them the lunch boxes."
Summer Oil: "..."
Xia Yujie paused and said sincerely, "Al, you... are really considerate sometimes."
"Of course. Come on, think of a solution, Jerry."
"…I can't think of it."
Al said quickly, "I'll leave it to you! I'm not good at this at all!"
"..."
Xia Yujie said nonchalantly, "Really? Then how about I give you something in exchange today?"
Nanako was stunned and asked half-doubtfully: "What do you have?"
"Anyway, I won't cheat you." Xia Yujie said with a smile: "We are still very trustworthy. Come, hand over the money and the food."
Nanako pursed her lips and searched her pockets. She didn't care if she was hungry, but she couldn't let Mimiko go hungry with her. They hadn't had a decent meal for several days... Yes, she was the older sister and had to take care of Mimiko.
The girl took out the remaining dozen coins and crumpled banknotes from her pocket. Xia Yujie took a look and took the two coins with the smallest face value from her hand.
"Well, that's enough."
So Al took out two bento boxes from his backpack and gave one to Nanako and one to Mimiko.
The exquisite lunch box reflected a beautiful luster in the sunlight. It was an expensive item at first glance. The twins were stunned for a moment. Nanako took one of them hesitantly, fumbled around for a while, and successfully found the lid. She opened it and was shocked again by the giant panda lunch box carefully made by Kuroi Misato.
——It looks good and looks delicious.
But after a while, she put the lid of the lunch box back on.
The little kid swallowed his saliva and said stubbornly, "I don't want your charity."
“It’s not charity.”
Xia Yujie remained calm.
He calmly stated the "facts" in the most innocent tone.
“This is the price of bento in Tokyo.”
"Yes." Albang said, "The bento in our city is so cheap. After 7pm, it will be 70% off... well, it will become even cheaper. You haven't been to Tokyo, so you don't know, right?"
Nanako was skeptical and asked, "...Really?"
Al said calmly, "Yes, it's true."
The little girl was visibly shaking, and Xia Yujie said softly, "Children need to eat on time. Nanako, Mimiko is still growing, right?"
Nanako bit her lip and finally made up her mind: "Thank you."
She quickly put the lunch box in front of Mimiko. Mimiko looked hesitantly at the lunch box and Nanako, then at Al and Geto.
Xia Yujie immediately stood up and pulled Al up with him. He said, "Then you guys should eat first. Al and I are going out to look for the cursed spirit. By the way, don't go out and play tricks on adults today. Be careful not to get caught by them."
Nanako said righteously: "It's not a prank, it's revenge!"
...Well, even though I don't know what happened, I'll just take revenge.
"In any case, don't go out and provoke the adults."
After they got the assurance of twins, they left the crooked house.
Only after they walked out of the village and into the woods did Al ask, "Jack, are you going to take them back to Tokyo?"
"...Well, did you see that?"
“I feel it. I am your Heroic Spirit, Master. I know you are feeling extremely sad right now.”
"Hahahaha, that's not that exaggerated!"
Xia Yujie laughed loudly, and when he saw Al looking at him calmly with an expression that said "stop pretending with me", he sighed and told the truth:
"We can't just leave them alone in this state. We don't have much money left, and they won't last a few days. It seems that no one in the village is willing to help them for free."
Al thought so too.
"Yes, if there happen to be people with bad intentions in the village, they might sell them. The buying and selling of children often happens in rural villages."
“…”
Sensing the Master's emotions, Al said speechlessly: "Don't be nervous, Jerry, I'm just making an assumption."
Xia Yujie's face changed.
"No, you're right. If we leave it alone, something worse will happen. You... you see the graffiti on the door?"
Those words that are not suitable for children are simply an opportunity to vent the darkness and malice in their hearts. It is not so much that the people in the village hate "liars", but rather that they are using the excuse of "hating liars" to openly bully the weak.
There are indeed evil people in the village, and Nanako and Mimiko cannot continue to stay in the village.
They could already understand why Nanako and Mimiko were able to summon the Pakuro.
Xia Yujie took a deep breath, rubbed his hands and said, "Anyway, let's deal with the cursed spirit first, and then convince Nanako and Mimiko."
"Don't worry, JJ, we are much better looking than the villagers. They will definitely choose us."
Al patted his chest confidently and reminded him: "However, should we leave a cursed spirit at the door of their house? What if the python cursed spirit suddenly breaks into the village?"
“…You are right.”
Xia Yujie sent out the "Pokuo Demon", and a ball of black blood plasma floated to the roof of Nanako and Mimiko's house and lay quietly.
The two little girls did not yet have the ability to sense the cursed spirits, and they just ate Kuroi Misato's loving bento unconsciously.
After that, Al and Xia Yujie began to track down the python cursed spirit. The python cursed spirit had just appeared at the village chief's house last night, so it must have some residual cursed power. Following the residual cursed power, they will be able to track down the python cursed spirit quickly, beat it to a pulp, roll it into a ball, and then eat it in one breath!
"When a cursed spirit passes through a human's bedroom but does not kill anyone, there are generally two situations. One is that it is not powerful enough, such as a fly head. The other is that it has a certain level of intelligence, so it will not blindly kill based on instinct. In the latter case, the cursed spirit will toy with humans and keep them captive."
"You mean, the cursed spirit is keeping the people in the village as its own granary?"
"It's very likely. But no matter what the reason was, it didn't massacre everyone in the village at once. This shows that the cursed spirit does have a certain degree of thinking ability."
They followed the traces of the cursed power and came to a cliff. The debris continued, extending to the bottom of the cliff.
Al stroked his chin and said, "They actually live under a cliff... Going up and down must be very hard. I wish someone could install an elevator for them."
Xia Yujie smiled.
"Stop talking nonsense."
He lifted Al by the back of the neck, jumped onto the back of the number one laborer manta ray curse spirit, and flew slowly down.
Al looked around and said, "This kind of forest is pretty scary, to be honest."
No one knows how many years these trees have lived. Their intertwined branches block out the sun and they look like giants standing on the earth, inspiring awe from the bottom of one's heart.
Xia Yujie also raised his head, "Indeed."
It is completely different from the artificial forests in the city.
They soon found the cave belonging to the cursed spirit. Inside the cave, a giant purple python raised its head alertly, and all its densely packed eyes opened at the same time.
"Quasi-first-class..."
Just as Al was about to rush up and beat it up, Xia Yujie stopped him.
"Wait, Al, I have a feeling I can do something now that I couldn't do before."
Al blinked. "What?"
Xia Yujie raised one hand and stretched it in the direction of the python curse spirit. The python curse spirit straightened up alertly and confronted them for a while. Suddenly, the body of the python curse spirit became very unstable.
Al was stunned.
The body of the python cursed spirit seemed to be broken up and turned into pitch-black cursed energy - the most primitive form of the cursed spirit. It was sucked towards Geto Suguru by an invisible force and soon turned into a baseball-sized cursed spirit ball, lying quietly in Geto Suguru's hand.
Al was surprised: "Jack, you..."
Xia Yujie said excitedly: "Al, look! I don't need to fight with the cursed spirits below level one, I can subdue them directly!"
After absorbing so many rare special-grade cursed spirits, his strength has made a qualitative leap. Coupled with the recent absorption of a lot of random small cursed spirits, Geto Summer Oil can finally do this.
"That's amazing, Jake!" Al said sincerely, "If we go one step further, can we subdue the special cursed spirit without fighting?"
Xia Yujie was very moved by what he said.
He said earnestly, “I hope that day will come.”
He hugged the blond boy tightly and said sincerely, "Thank you, Al, this is all thanks to you."
Alhan felt a little embarrassed. He pursed his face and said, "No, this is all the result of Jie's own hard work... But if you want to buy me some Sansewu steamed buns, I won't refuse your kindness!"
Xia Yujie laughed
"Of course."
…
When they returned to the village, they saw a car parked in the village, right in front of Nanako and Mimiko's house.
"The fortune teller said that there are evil spirits in our village, which caused me to have a fever. It is these two evil spirits who are causing trouble in the village!"
"They have been talking nonsense since they were little, and they even say they can see ghosts. I think they must have attracted dirty things."
"The master said that only by catching the evildoer and letting his blood drain can the curse on the village be lifted!"
They grabbed the arms of the two little girls and dragged them out. Nanako and Mimiko struggled desperately, but they could not resist the adults. Nanako opened her mouth and bit the fat man's arm. The fat man screamed in pain and slapped her. Nanako turned her head away. The next second, the fat man grabbed her hair and dragged her to the yard.
Mimiko cried, "Let her go! Let her go!!!"
Amid the chaos, a figure suddenly appeared. Al kicked the fat man against the wall of the yard. The already precarious wall collapsed with a bang, causing the fat man to wail.
Nanako was helped up by a pair of warm hands, and then she was hugged into a warm and broad chest, and Mimiko cried and fell on him.
"Nanako!"
The two sisters hugged each other tightly, like two trembling little beasts. Xia Yujie held the twin sisters in his arms and coaxed them in a gentle voice: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."
In the yard, the villagers were talking at once and venting their dissatisfaction.
"Who is this? How come there is a stranger running into the village?"
"I said these two bastards are monsters, right? Children who can see monsters should be thrown into the water and drowned as soon as they are born, so as to avoid them bringing disaster to others every day."
"They're just as hateful as their bitch mothers."
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and grab those two evildoers and make them bleed!"
Al looked at the villagers who were ready to make a move expressionlessly. There was obviously nothing special on the boy's face, but the people he looked at froze in place, hesitating and not daring to move forward.
He stood steadily in front of Geto and the twins and said calmly:
"Let's go, Jerry."
He turned his head, took a deep look at Xia Youjie's expression, and whispered, "Summer cicadas cannot talk about ice."