Chapter 143 : Reunion with the Demon Fox and Yesterday's Return
Although he complained internally, for the sake of his outward image, Jiang Lai didn't show any particular emotion.
It was a pity that there was only half of the [Split and Merge] cursed tool here, only possessing the ability to separate, not to combine.
Otherwise, he might have been able to try whether Toji's soul and body could be merged together, achieving a smooth death.
But thinking about it again, he dismissed this idea.
Toji's corpse had probably turned to ash long ago, and he didn't even know if there was a findable urn. Moreover, Toji's lingering was related to the Supervisory Committee, so it wasn't that simple.
Putting Naoya's soul into a cursed corpse was a good method. Basically, no one could recognize him, except for Mahito who could touch souls. But now Mahito was already dead, his ability controlled by their side's Geto Suguru, so it was relatively safe.
Speaking of cursed corpses, Jiang Lai's first reaction was actually Principal Yaga's cursed corpses. It had to be said that except for Panda, the other cursed corpses were all adorably ugly.
Usually, cursed corpses lacked emotions and autonomous consciousness, requiring cursed energy injection for daily activation.
Panda, created by Yaga at Tokyo Jujutsu High, was a rare mutant cursed corpse that needed no cursed energy infusion, possessed his own thoughts and emotions, and had growth potential.
Now, if following what Lady Zenin said, using half of the [Split and Merge] cursed tool to separate Zenin Naoya's soul and inject it into a cursed corpse, then Naoya would definitely be a cursed corpse with independent thinking.
And to make this reasonable, this cursed corpse would have to be placed at Tokyo Jujutsu High, because in the jujutsu world, the only one who could create independent cursed corpses was Yaga Masamichi, known as "the number one in puppet jujutsu."
Looking at it this way, perhaps Lady Zenin had already gradually planned this path of alliance with the Clock, Six Eyes, and the high school side when she prophesied the results.
His thoughts flowing internally, Jiang Lai didn't say much more, only asking: "What kind of cursed corpse is it?"
Lady Zenin smiled with a slight bow, then stood up and walked to the compartment wall, using the family head token to open two of the compartments.
The compartment wall was a unique storage structure. Each compartment looked the same size on the outside, but the internal spaces varied, somewhat like dimensional pockets, storing objects of various sizes.
Lady Zenin retrieved two items from within.
One was a scissor-like cursed tool covered with strange runes. Jiang Lai figured this was probably the half of the [Split and Merge] cursed tool with separation ability.
The scissor image was very fitting and symbolic, cutting through all things and such.
The other was a fluffy doll-like cursed corpse. Its outline somewhat resembled Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, with long big ears, but it was golden yellow in color, similar to Naoya's hair color.
From a distance, just from its appearance, one could see that this cursed corpse was crafted very exquisitely and delicately, probably hand-sewn by Lady Zenin herself.
Honestly, Jiang Lai was momentarily disappointed internally. He had originally joked to himself that if Lady Zenin brought out a pig cursed corpse, Colorful Cloud Pig would truly become a pig, which would be quite amusing.
But then he reconsidered. Lady Zenin was Naoya's mother after all. When making a cursed corpse for her own child, she probably wouldn't choose a pig's appearance... what a pity.
Lady Zenin returned carrying these two items.
"This scissor-like cursed tool is what you're looking for." Lady Zenin placed it on the desk, opening a drawer to take out a wooden box. "After separating Naoya's soul, I'll put this cursed tool in the wooden box. Before those children leave, I'll attach this together with other gifts and give them all together."
This method was both concealed and convenient. Jiang Lai expressed his approval.
Then, Lady Zenin picked up the golden Stitch-like cursed corpse, her eyebrows curving slightly as she showed it to the masked Jiang Lai:
"This cursed corpse is what I made for Naoya. What do you think? This body is convenient for movement. I think it shouldn't hold you back too much."
"At the same time, this relatively compact figure probably won't cause you too much trouble either." Lady Zenin tucked a strand of hair by her temples, placing the cursed corpse about the size of a small dog on the table surface. "I'll be troubling you from now on."
Destructive potential could indeed be controlled, but causing trouble had nothing to do with body size. However, Jiang Lai didn't voice this thought.
His gaze fell on the golden cursed corpse, and after considering for a few seconds, he asked again: "In that case, when will Naoya's soul be placed inside?"
"Tonight would be fine." Having made her decision, Lady Zenin was very swift with all subsequent actions, showing no intention of delay and no signs of hesitation. "Outsiders cannot linger at the Zenin family too long, and you might be watched too. Leaving early also prevents complications from arising."
Jiang Lai didn't mind starting early. In fact, he was quite happy to start work early and finish early.
Acting tonight and departing tomorrow was also the result he wanted.
Therefore, hearing Lady Zenin say this, he nodded: "Fine." Jiang Lai said, "Then please give me that cursed tool."
Lady Zenin naturally couldn't go personally. With her supportive technique, she couldn't truly subdue Zenin Naoya. Moreover, as the Zenin family's head matron, her movements would be too obvious.
Tonight's study appointment had probably already been the result of Lady Zenin's great effort to dismiss the surrounding servants.
So, the executor of separating Naoya's soul and flesh would need to be Jiang Lai himself.
Lady Zenin performed a standard bow, her long hair naturally falling with the movement as she said gently: "I entrust the subsequent matters to you."
"Yes, I understand." Jiang Lai was very clear in his heart and didn't decline much verbally. He didn't think this was a thankless task; on the contrary, he felt very relaxed and pleased.
When he had chatted with Naoya online using Little Sheep's account, he had long wanted to teach the daily sharp-tongued Naoya a lesson, just that there hadn't been an opportunity.
Now with a righteous reason and his own mother nodding in agreement at this perfect time, if he didn't teach him a lesson now, when would he?
Jiang Lai extended his hand forward, palm up, receiving that scissor cursed tool.
However, he wasn't in a hurry to depart. When the cursed tool was placed in his palm, he first poured in some cursed energy to activate it.
The cursed tool, originally only palm-sized, began to extend and expand under the cursed energy infusion, growing to half an arm's length!
Jiang Lai changed his grip, holding that sharp scissor cursed tool with one hand, like a ghostly ripper from London fog tales.
He tried swinging these long scissors, gradually sensing how to use this cursed tool. Those strange runes reorganized under cursed energy into readable instruction text.
Jiang Lai flipped his wrist, returning the scissors to palm size and putting them away. Then, he used spatial cursed energy to lift the cursed corpse from the table, making it float and circle around his side.
Lady Zenin knew this meant Jiang Lai was about to set out on his mission. She stood steadily in place, her slender jade hands pointing out the direction to Naoya's room for the masked black-haired young man.
The noble lady bowed one final time, saying gently against the backdrop of the Zenin family crest in the study: "Thank you for your trouble. I'll wait quietly here for your return."
The temperature in the second half of the night had dropped considerably, with air humidity slowly climbing.
Indiscernible mist had risen at some point, blurring the garden scenery and dimming even the bright moon in the sky.
Zenin Naoya lay on his back in his bed. Having suddenly awakened just now for unknown reasons, he found he couldn't fall back asleep.
Tsk. He clicked his tongue silently, a gnawing irritation like insects rising in his heart.
Insomnia always put people in a bad mood. Zenin Naoya stared at the ceiling above, his wandering empty thoughts inevitably returning to the day's events.
Unexpected intrusions, awkward conversations, failed photography... all of this made his chest feel stuffy.
Inexplicably, what bothered him most wasn't the failure to complete his desired spirit photography, but his mother's words about "friends from outside."
Friends? How could he befriend lowly people of no status, especially that annoying brown-haired boy who had fallen into money's eyes.
Zenin Naoya half-closed his eyes.
As for the word [outside], it made him feel an inexplicable gloom.
He hated hearing others specifically point out the word [outside], as it made him belatedly realize that his dominance was limited to a narrow world, while outside...
Well, it's not that I think there's anything good outside. Zenin Naoya conversed with himself. I'm just somewhat annoyed by external constraints.
He'd heard that outside was full of ignorant lower-class people, filled with ordinary people without cursed energy. Such a world was nowhere near as good as staying comfortable in the Zenin family.
Moreover, he was the future Zenin family head. Staying within the family was a kind of protection full of high expectations.
It's just... occasionally, just occasionally, he wanted to willfully and arrogantly climb over that surrounding wall to take a look at the world outside the family.
Nighttime always brought many thoughts. Zenin Naoya didn't want to accumulate emotions and still wanted to sleep well to prepare for tomorrow's photography.
Therefore, he rolled over, deciding to try a different position before continuing to sleep.
It was precisely at this moment that Zenin Naoya noticed the room's window had somehow opened by itself.
"?"
The silently opened window wasn't very noticeable in the darkness. The white mist that had risen in the second half of the night slowly seeped into the room, adding a few degrees of hazy chill.
"..." Zenin Naoya's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He remembered closing the window tightly before sleep; there was no reason it would suddenly open.
It was currently the transition between winter and spring seasons, with nighttime temperatures still quite cool. Although jujutsu sorcerers had better constitution than ordinary people, they still couldn't ignore cold and avoid getting sick.
Zenin Naoya clicked his tongue lightly. He threw off the blanket covering him, planning to close the mysteriously opened window again.
The moment he turned to get up, some inexplicable chill suddenly shot up his spine from his back. His acute sixth sense as a sorcerer made him instinctively look up!
In just an instant, a raven-feathered kimono figure suddenly appeared before him!
That dark red sash around the waist was like flowing blood, cutting into his field of vision.
Zenin Naoya immediately became alert. He grabbed the cursed tool dagger from under his pillow and fiercely, swiftly thrust it forward!
However, the moment he swung out, he seemed to be held back by the air itself, unable to move another inch.
Before him, the demon fox mask from his childhood nightmares reappeared. Under the mask's holes, those incredibly calm and deep brown eyes stared straight at him, as distant as before, carrying boundless power within their indifference.
Zenin Naoya stood frozen in place in shock, unable even to make a sound.
Moonlight flowed, and bright, sharp long scissors separated to both sides, their blade surfaces reflecting cold light as they struck toward him through the mist!