Chapter 209 : I'm an Adult, You're a Teenager
"Did those people... all die peacefully of old age in the end?"
The moment Jiang Lai's words fell, it coincided with the ending of "The Ageless Witch and the Pumpkin Sprout." The church bells ringing in the background music sounded like some kind of deep funeral toll.
Gojo Satoru's expression paused slightly. After recalling for a moment, he slowly answered: "That question, I actually never paid attention to it. There were too many people in the family, and a thousand years ago was also a period when cursed energy was most dense and monsters ran rampant. People died accidentally every day."
Such a background would make it even more convenient for Gojo Kyufuin to silently take revenge, Jiang Lai understood in his heart. Chaotic times were best for behind-the-scenes manipulation, even life and death could be subtly adjusted.
Gojo Satoru pondered, calling up memories: "I can't remember the others, but I have an impression of the Grand Elder."
"A thousand years ago, elders didn't stay at the family estate. Because monsters and spirits ran rampant then, most people needed to go out on missions. The council of elders would also take on some suppression and exorcism tasks."
"The Grand Elder died during an exorcism mission, killed by a cursed spirit."
"Killed by a cursed spirit?" Jiang Lai raised his brow. "Logically, such elders should all be very shrewd and cunning, right? The exorcism missions they chose would definitely be within their capabilities where they held absolute advantage. How could he be killed by a cursed spirit?"
"Who knows, maybe he was careless." Gojo Satoru shrugged slightly. "They said besides the target cursed spirit, other cursed spirits unexpectedly appeared at the scene. The Grand Elder didn't react in time and was killed with one strike."
Were cursed spirits that smart back then, capable of lurking and cooperating? Probably not.
Jiang Lai thought slowly. Maybe someone was secretly orchestrating it, or had laid traps in advance, causing the accidents to pile up.
"Aggressive cursed spirits are generally cruel and violent, so the dispatched support team ultimately only managed to bring back part of the Grand Elder's remains."
"What about the remains?" Jiang Lai continued asking.
"Gojo Kyufuin was in charge of funeral arrangements at the time, so the remains were handed over to him. They were probably later placed in the family cemetery."
"Of course, thinking about it now, maybe the Grand Elder never was buried at all. Who knows what was actually in the box Kyufuin carried into the cemetery?"
Gojo Satoru very perceptively took a turn at the end, coinciding with Jiang Lai's inner speculation.
"I think so too." Jiang Lai continued. "Others wouldn't dig up graves to confirm. Besides, in that era, there wasn't much to confirm about ashes either."
Looking at it this way, probably those who once bullied him all didn't meet good ends, Jiang Lai thought. Even the Grand Elder was secretly harmed, let alone the others.
He just did it very covertly. So covertly that those people were sold out while still helping count the money.
Based on what he understood and what Gojo Satoru revealed, Gojo Kyufuin was well-liked in the Gojo family because he was good-looking and had a gentle personality.
But this gentleness was just surface appearance, the real monster lurked beneath the beautiful facade.
If he had simply taken revenge on his former bullies, Jiang Lai could still understand Gojo Kyufuin and wouldn't see him as a dangerous bt.
But during these long thousand years, Gojo Kyufuin had probably done more than one such act.
Because even in modern times, he still retained the habit of "caring for" the dying and listening to their last words. Plus his technique called [Conversion].
"How should I put it," Gojo Satoru casually gripped the steering wheel, his words steady, "once you get used to something, it's hard to quit. This is also another reason why I try to restrain my impulse to beat up rotten oranges."
Jiang Lai tilted his head slightly, processed this for a moment, then understood what the other meant.
Overly smooth slaughter accumulated over time would become some kind of habitual stimulant. So Gojo Satoru tried to restrain all impulses to solve things with violence.
But Gojo Kyufuin, perhaps he never restrained or adjusted, but openly retained such feelings, his pale slender fingers becoming death's scythe wound around his finger.
Would such a character who was used to manipulating people's hearts have genuine feelings?
The friendship born from his connection with [Birth] back then, in his eyes, was it an important treasure or an object that could be used as a stepping stone?
The atmosphere in the car became somewhat stagnant. The teenage-form Jiang Lai half-lowered his head, his thoughts slowly sinking.
Breaking this stagnant atmosphere was a crisp sound. Gojo Satoru snapped his fingers smartly and said loudly:
"Alright, we're out on vacation, relax~~ That guy's matters can be slowly investigated later."
Jiang Lai was awakened by this snap, stunned for a moment, then gave him a half-moon eye: "Wait, we're not out on vacation. This time we came to explore the aftermath of the Star Plasma Vessel incident, clues about Kuroi Misato."
"Work and vacation don't conflict." Gojo Satoru seemed to be in good spirits. He half-turned his face, lifting his lip corners, and casually tapped Jiang Lai's forehead: "At such a young age, don't frown. The strongest is still here, there's nothing worth worrying about."
Jiang Lai instinctively raised his hand to cover his forehead. He hadn't realized he was frowning while deep in thought until Gojo Satoru pointed it out.
He coughed once, then said: "What's your plan for Hokkaido?"
"Anyway, first drive to the port, take a ferry to Hokkaido, and transport the car over too. After reaching Hokkaido, we'll drive again, heading to Wakkanai City at the northernmost point."
"Wakkanai City?" Jiang Lai asked. "How did you decide on this city?"
He had thought Gojo Satoru's purpose in driving was to conveniently travel around Hokkaido searching. He hadn't expected Gojo Satoru to directly select a destination.
"This city is relatively remote with low foot traffic, plus it has a cold climate. Most importantly, there have been rumors of an 'ice and snow curse' there for the past ten years. Relatively speaking, it better fits the frozen slumber of Kuroi Misato that you mentioned."
Gojo Satoru said, "Suguru and I exchanged intelligence, and we both think this city has a higher probability of holding secrets."
"Suguru?"
"Yeah," Gojo Satoru grinned, "ever since Suguru escaped being monitored and suspected, we've maintained smooth contact again."
"Recently I sent him a lot of spam ads. He told me to wait, so I said I'd wait~ I'm not afraid of him at all~~ Besides, Suguru is such a busy worker, he has no time to hold grudges. I know he'll eventually forget."
Jiang Lai was silent for a second, then blinked: "No problem, I'll remind him."
"Hey hey, Lai! Whose side are you on exactly?"
"The middle, of course."
"Sigh, clearly I knew you first! Me and you, me and Suguru, both relationships started earliest."
"That sounds like familiar dialogue. Are we going to start playing some weird script now?"
The two laughed and played around again, sweeping away the heavy atmosphere from before.
At this time, the vehicle entered the suburbs. Only Gojo Satoru's speeding car traveled on the spacious highway.
Gojo Satoru drove fast but steadily.
Even so, watching the speed climb all the way, Jiang Lai couldn't help but speak up: "No need to be so rushed, slow down a bit."
"Hey, don't you think this feels great?" Gojo Satoru rolled down his window. The whistling wind swept past his cheek, lifting his white hair. He smiled brilliantly, resting one hand casually on the edge, a posture that would definitely get marked down on a driving test.
Little Sheep Jiang Lai's brown hair was blown by the strong wind, cold air rushing through the car window.
He raised one hand to hold down his small ponytail swaying in the wind: "Stop playing around, Satoru. Nine out of ten accidents are from speeding. Please, I don't want to be on tomorrow's traffic news. There's a sharp turn ahead..."
"Trust me, absolutely nothing will happen!" Gojo Satoru gripped the steering wheel with one hand, instantly making a beautiful, cool drift around the turn, just barely scraping by!
After turning this corner, Gojo Satoru looked at Jiang Lai with some curiosity behind his sunglasses, saying with slight disappointment: "Oh well, too bad, I thought you'd be somewhat scared. Truly a thousand-year-old monster, your expression didn't change at all."
Jiang Lai sat upright in his seat. Except for being thrown around a bit during the sharp turn, he remained very calm the rest of the time.
Because this wasn't his first time riding in such a speeding car.
Back in the Detective Conan world, he had ridden in Hagiwara Kenji's car. Due to some accident at the time, the other had also reacted on the spot and shown off some good driving skills.
Additionally, Matsuda Jinpei also had some speeding hobbies, especially when infiltrating the organization, when he didn't need to worry about much.
Though it made one want to complain, it was indeed a factual conclusion.
Hearing Gojo Satoru's words at this moment, Jiang Lai paused, then cooperatively produced a delayed exclamation: "Ah, I was scared. Such cool driving skills."
"Hey, that's too perfunctory!" Gojo Satoru pouted, leaning back in his seat, his posture revealing the lazy appearance of a big cat. "I'm not a little kid anymore."
"Rather nostalgic words," Jiang Lai couldn't help but smile, "back during school days, you often said this."
"Get your roles straight. Now you're the kid, I'm the adult." Gojo Satoru chuckled. "When we reach Wakkanai City, I'll take you, this little kid, to see the fireworks festival."
"Fireworks festival?" Jiang Lai was slightly surprised. It was rare to hold fireworks festivals at this time of year.
"Right. Coincidentally, after Suguru and I exchanged intelligence and gathered clues, we confirmed that the place related to the rumored [ice and snow curse] is in the mountain range behind this fireworks festival location." Gojo Satoru said. "We can first gather intelligence at the fireworks festival, then meet up and explore that area afterward."
"Oh, okay."
Jiang Lai nodded, indicating agreement.
"By the way, we can also relive the fireworks festival experience from back then." Gojo Satoru's pure white eyelashes fluttered, his beautiful blue eyes gazing ahead as if seeing through time itself.
He said lightly, "Well, but now, I'm the adult and you're the little teenager."
Time really is a wonderful thing. I'm growing up, but you're getting smaller.
Like reincarnation, after going around in circles, under the brilliant beautiful fireworks, it's still one big and one small figure.