Chapter 20 : ...Is, is it you!
The key marked [Geto] makes this bronze-colored metal object suddenly feel burning hot.
Combined with the previous life experiences described, though there are some discrepancies, all the keywords added together are enough to make the homeowner's name obvious.
It's you, isn't it, Geto Suguru?
Jiang Lai pauses, ultimately still receives it with a normal attitude, not showing too much of anything.
The elderly landlady naturally doesn't notice Jiang Lai's momentary hesitation, but the ghost gentleman floating to the side seems to glance over intentionally or unintentionally.
The elderly landlady who handed over the key seems to have put down a matter weighing on her heart, the smile on her face becoming even more gentle:
"This way, I can also be at ease. I'm troubling you to also look after their house during your rental period." She says. "I'll transfer the half rent refund to you this afternoon."
"Mm, no rush." Jiang Lai nods.
"Don't know how that child is doing now, whether he's found his parents, whether he's getting along well with friends." The elderly landlady sighs lightly, murmuring to herself: "When will he come home."
Jiang Lai doesn't know how to respond, so he just blinks gently.
The beige sunlight shining in from outside the window falls on the old person's full head of silver hair, coating it with a layer of glimmering golden light.
Years have eroded her appearance but haven't changed her kindness that remains constant day after day. Just because of a neighborly friendship and a simple promise, she can persist in looking after that house for so long.
Perhaps waiting to witness that all stories can have a perfect ending.
"I'll be troubling you for this period ahead." The elderly landlady says.
Jiang Lai looks down at the key, grasping it in his palm, then looks up with a smile: "Alright, don't worry. I'll take good care of the house."
After ending the conversation, it suddenly starts raining mixed with snow, which is rare. Fortunately, this shop's service is very thoughtful, providing each stranded customer with an indigo long-handled umbrella.
Customers just need to find time to return it within two weeks, or if they simply want to keep the umbrella, they only need to pay the cost.
Jiang Lai hasn't completely refined his abilities yet, and mainly he doesn't want to be too high-profile in crowds. So he naturally accepts the indigo long-handled umbrella handed over by the staff, preparing to go out with the umbrella and return it next time he passes by here.
On the way home, Jiang Lai keeps thinking.
Currently, it looks like the upstairs resident is ninety-nine percent Geto Suguru's family.
In the original work, Geto Suguru, who embraced the idea of [protecting the weak, protecting all ordinary people], experienced various realistic darkness and human ugliness during his time at Jujutsu High, as well as the casualties of his sorcerer friends around him. The righteous beliefs he once firmly held in his heart gradually collapsed through repeated self-questioning.
Pain and confusion slowly fermented. When he personally witnessed ignorant villagers in a remote village abusing a little girl with jujutsu sorcerer talent, the last straw that broke the camel's back finally fell.
The wavering absolute justice of protecting all the weak evolved into another extreme: [kill all ordinary monkey people, create a world where only jujutsu sorcerers exist].
To prove his righteousness (perhaps also to cut off his own retreat), after massacring the entire village during his Jujutsu High period, he even went back to kill his own ordinary parents...
Jiang Lai looks up toward the distance.
But here, obviously it's not that kind of development. The turning point in the new series happened during his middle school period: his parents' early disappearance.
Geto Suguru, who had just started middle school, was still young and didn't have those complex extreme thoughts later on. Even if he had the ability, it's impossible he would suddenly turn on his own parents, kill them then fake their disappearance.
Moreover, if Geto Suguru really did that at such a young age, presumably the relevant personnel from the jujutsu world would definitely have discovered the culprit from the cursed energy residue, and wouldn't have given him the opportunity to enroll at Jujutsu High for further study and friendships.
So here, the mysterious disappearance of his parents should be unrelated to Geto Suguru and have other causes.
In the jujutsu world, people mysteriously die and disappear every year, usually because of cursed spirits causing trouble. Geto Suguru's parents' disappearance might also be due to encountering cursed spirit attacks.
But in the entire incident, there's another appearance that doesn't exist in the original work: Jiang Lai recalls the Regulatory Committee that the landlord mentioned just now.
After Geto Suguru's parents disappeared, it was the Regulatory Committee that contacted and funded Geto Suguru's living and schooling.
On the surface, this matter is very touching social assistance. But thinking deeper... always feels like the Regulatory Committee appeared too coincidentally, too timely (like it was planned).
And the Regulatory Committee is nominally for commodity regulation, when did they become so concerned about accident children?
Of course, perhaps it's because of Geto Suguru's jujutsu sorcerer talent, so the Regulatory Committee with connections to the jujutsu world was already paying attention, protecting every jujutsu sorcerer seedling.
But based on Toji's riddle "snakes and rats in the same nest," if there are cursed spirit forces behind this, nurturing doesn't seem quite right.
Anyway, he still feels this Regulatory Committee... has some problems. Like they targeted Geto Suguru then manipulated a series of events.
Don't know what this world's Geto Suguru specifically thinks (and is he still alive now?).
Jiang Lai exhales, organizing his thoughts in his mind while glancing at the ghost gentleman floating beside him.
Fushiguro Toji afterward didn't say anything more like [kill the other party, salary discounted]. Aside from a few light snorts, he was essentially silent throughout.
Noticing Jiang Lai's gaze, the floating ghost gentleman turns his face, his voice lazy: "What, have some thoughts?"
"What thoughts do you have?" Jiang Lai responds with a counter-question.
Because of this sudden rain mixed with snow, the sky is dark with few pedestrians on the road. So Jiang Lai can naturally chat with the ghost beside him without worrying about being taken for mentally ill.
"How to put it... I have seen one brat with the surname Geto." Fushiguro Toji says leisurely, touching his chin. "Left quite an impression."
"Is that so." Jiang Lai isn't surprised.
After all, according to the original plot, the other party should have died in that mission, presumably really left a deep impression (what a hell joke).
Fushiguro Toji's bandage-wrapped left hand fingers curl slightly, then extend again. He leans his head back somewhat, narrows his eyes, and chuckles with unclear meaning: "...After hearing today's past story, I suddenly understand something from long ago."
Jiang Lai walks forward with one hand in his pocket: "I'm all ears." Though he says this, based on past conventions, the other party probably won't elaborate.
Half-revealing secrets, whetting people's appetite without explaining: strongly condemn!!
While Jiang Lai internally scrolls through emoji spam for self-entertainment, the ghost gentleman beside actually continues speaking.
Fushiguro Toji tugs at his scarred lips, laughing lowly: "...So he was also an unlucky ghost who was targeted early on."
This sentence has quite a bit of information, but Jiang Lai notices the key word, his form pausing slightly: "Also?"
His brown eyes turn toward the spirit form beside him, focused seriousness and inquiry settling within them.
But before Jiang Lai can ask more, huge sounds suddenly come from an alley to the side, immediately attracting their attention!
Jiang Lai instinctively looks over, only to see in the narrow alley a huge and strange one-eyed cursed spirit with six arms crouching there, its sharp claws seemingly dripping with corrosive poison.
Before he can react for a moment, the ghost gentleman beside has already rushed over first!
"!?" Jiang Lai is shocked by Fushiguro Toji's unexpected behavior, then focuses to see a familiar black sea urchin-haired youth under the cursed spirit.
It's Fushiguro Megumi!
At this moment, Fushiguro Megumi is lying on his side by the wall, protecting an unconscious child in his arms. The summoned shikigami barely blocks the cursed spirit's strike in the critical moment, just barely stopping that huge force.
It doesn't look like he's on a mission, but accidentally encountered a cursed spirit and intervened temporarily! Didn't even have time to set up a curtain.
This cursed spirit's strength is considerable and it has some intelligence. It deliberately endures the shikigami's counterattack after being injured, then aims to strike at that child.
Fushiguro Megumi calmly sees through the cursed spirit's intention, preparing to form seals again to summon another type of shikigami before the cursed spirit gets close.
However, the one-eyed cursed spirit's poisonous long finger claws suddenly shoot out like sharp arrows breaking through the air!
Fushiguro Megumi: "!?"
At such speed there's no time to summon anything. Fushiguro Megumi has no choice but to use his own body to first protect the child in his arms.
The expected pain doesn't come. The claws so close in front stop abruptly in mid-air.
Fushiguro Megumi is stunned for a moment.
The next second, those poisonous sharp claws suddenly reverse direction, attacking back at the cursed spirit!
The pierced cursed spirit lets out ear-splitting screams, then is suddenly bound by some invisible unknown force grabbing its six long arms, then flung into the air and heavily slammed into the depths of the alley!
Fushiguro Megumi seizes this opportunity to summon a new shikigami. The two combine to deliver a fatal blow to the cursed spirit, exorcising it on the spot!
The cursed spirit's final wails dissipate in the air. Fushiguro Megumi places the unconscious child by the wall, stumbling as he gets up from the ground, raising his hand to wipe the blood from his temple.
Rain and snow mixed with the sticky blood flowing from his forehead, combined with the dizziness from the recent impact. Fushiguro Megumi can only barely make out the umbrella-holding figure standing in the distance. He tries to steady his breathing and speaks first: "Thank you... cough cough cough..."
Doubts still stir in his heart. About that long-distance manipulation just now... spatial type technique? In his memory it seems...
That person lowers his hand and steps closer.
As the distance shortens and his own mind recovers, Fushiguro Megumi gradually sees clearly who the newcomer is.
"...Is, is it you?!" He stares in shock at the black-haired youth appearing again, his deep blue eyes widening slightly.
Jiang Lai turns his face, showing a very faint smile. He folds up the indigo long-handled umbrella.
The pattering rain and snow miraculously float beside that person, then fall to both sides with a light wave of his hand.
The black-haired youth raises the tip of the folded long-handled umbrella, pointing toward the diagonal wall of the alley, speaking slowly: "The friend over there... won't you come out for a moment?"