Curse Returns, a gamble from the start, I awaken dual spells

The mountain hot springs, with their rising steam swirling in the air, envelop the entire forest like a fairyland.

Juan Suo, a real person, was soaking in the hot spring, with only her head above water, enjoying herself with a contented expression.

The water clock sat on the edge, still looking as calm and composed as ever.

tread!tread!tread!

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from the distant forest path.

Hearing the sound, the water clock turned its head and looked over. "It's a swelling sign. The vessel for the Su Nuo ritual should have been brought over by now."

The figure of the bloated figure emerged from the misty steam, but there was no one beside him, nor was there the vessel for the exorcism imagined by the water clock.

"Hmm? What's wrong with you, Zhang Xiang?" Noticing Zhang Xiang's gloomy face, Lou Hu sensed something was wrong. "Did you make a mistake? That shouldn't be the case."

Both Juan Suo and the real person looked over at the same time.

"Hey, you idiot, don't tell me you didn't handle those brats. If you do, I'll laugh at you."

The real person changed their pose and splashed a few water droplets in the hot spring.

"What's wrong with this bloated appearance?"

Noticing that Zhang Xiang's complexion was off, Juan Suo asked softly.

As he approached from a distance, Zhang Xiang remained silent, his eyes fixed intently on the coiled rope.

After a silence of about ten seconds, he spoke in a deep voice, "The vessel for Sukuna, Itadori Yuujin, is actually my younger brother, isn't he?"

The air in the forest seemed to freeze for a moment, and a few water droplets condensed on the tips of the swollen hair.

Then, Juan Suo chuckled softly, his expression remaining unchanged throughout.

"Who told you this? Don't you think it's utterly absurd?"

"Stop pretending, I know everything now. His blood, the smell of blood won't lie to me!!"

Zhang Xiang practically roared out those words, the curse marks on his face turning blood red with rage.

Because of the Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique, he has an exceptionally keen sense of blood, especially his younger brother, with whom he is related by blood.

"Brother? What exactly happened?" Louhu frowned and looked at Juan Suo.

The real person also miraculously didn't say anything, their eyes filled with curiosity.

The steam from the hot spring rose before him, blurring his expression.

Then he spoke, his tone as calm as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him.

"That's right, Sukuna's vessel is indeed your younger brother."

As soon as he finished speaking, Louhu's brows furrowed even more, and the corners of Zhenren's mouth began to gradually turn up.

The expansion phase did not move.

He simply stood there, his hands hanging at his sides, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

"You knew from the beginning." Zhang Xiang's voice was very low, each word seemed to be squeezed out of his throat.

"Know."

"You tell me to go and catch him."

"right."

"You want me to hand my brother over to you personally, right?"

"You must have your reasons for doing this, Natsumi. After all, the vessel for Sukuna is of great importance. Compared to him, even if Itadori Hisahito is your younger brother, you've only just met him, right?"

The water clock stood up from the edge of the pool, and a wisp of black smoke spewed out from the crack at the top of the volcano.

"That's my brother! You mean you want me to give him up?"

Zhang Xiang clenched his fists tightly, as if he would explode at any moment.

"This is really troublesome. I didn't expect Sukuna's vessel to be your younger brother. But it sounds quite interesting."

The real person was soaking in the hot spring, looking like they were watching a show.

Juan Suo slowly stood up from the hot spring, water droplets dripping from the hem of his robe and splashing onto the surface of the hot spring, spreading out in circles.

"Another unexpected incident has occurred. This time, and last time too, who could it be?"

Juan Suo muttered to himself, seemingly not intending to answer Zhang Xiang's question.

"Tch!" Zhang Xiang spat, his eyes gradually turning fierce.

Judging from the way the rope is rolled up, it seems there's no intention to explain further. Since that's the case—

Snapped!

He clenched his palms together, and bright red blood condensed in his palms, radiating a powerful sense of oppression.

"Hirohito Itadori is my younger brother. If anyone tries to target him, I, as his older brother, will never forgive them!"

"Zhang Xiang, what are you doing?!" Louhu stood up and questioned Zhang Xiang.

"Haha, this is going to be good." The real person retreated to a safe distance, not wanting to miss out on the drama.

Seeing this, Juan Suo remained expressionless and stared directly into Xiang's swollen eyes.

"Let me guess, who told you this?"

Zhang Xiang didn't reply; the thick blood in his palm continued to compress, exuding an aura of death.

"However, even if you don't say it, I can guess some of it." Juan Suo still had a smile on his face.

An eerie silence fell over the surrounding air.

The next second—

"Draw blood!"

A sharp, blood-red light pierced the deathly silence of the forest, shooting towards Juan Suo's chest.

......

The next day, early in the morning.

Sunlight streamed in at an angle through the window, cutting neat stripes of light across the floor.

Li Ren's shadow slid across the light spot without making a sound.

The reversal technique had completely healed his injuries, but the lingering soreness in his muscles made his movements a beat slower than usual.

At the end of the corridor, the door to Gojo Satoru's office was left ajar, as if it had been prepared specifically for him.

Rito walked to the door and just as he raised his hand to knock, Gojo Satoru's voice came from inside.

"Come in, Rito-kun."

He pushed open the door. Gojo Satoru was sitting back in his office chair, his long legs crossed on the desk, a lollipop in his hand.

"Strawberry flavor, would you like to try some?"

He opened the drawer next to him, and inside were five or six identical candies.

"No need, Mr. Gojo."

"Let's get down to business."

Gojo Satoru removed his leg from the table.

Li Ren sat down opposite him and took out a neatly folded report from his pocket.

The paper made a slight rubbing sound when it was spread out on the table.

"Gojo-sensei, the cursed spirit that caused this curse incident has been completely exorcised by us."

"The cause was three murders involving automatic doors; all the victims had attended the same junior high school."

"After learning about the legend of the Eighty-Eight Bridges test of courage at school, we went to investigate and entered the domain of the cursed spirits beneath the bridge."

Rito's tone was calm. "A special-grade cursed spirit resides within the domain. It is a curse formed from the resentment of suicide victims over the years at the Eighty-Eight Bridges. Fukuro used the domain to exorcise it."

Gojo Satoru nodded, but a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"It seems the special training he received earlier was quite helpful; he really has a good teacher to back him up."

"Forehead......"

Seeing Gojo Satoru shamelessly patting himself on the back, Rito was speechless for two seconds.

"We also encountered the Nine Phases of the Cursed Embryo Diagram under the bridge, which is the three copies that were stolen from the college. It seems that the people behind them wanted to steal the Tiger Staff."

"I suspect these people are in cahoots with the people who stole Su Nuo's fingers and the Nine Phases Diagram."

The smile on Gojo Satoru's lips slowly faded.

"Hirohito-kun, I understand about this."

Sensing that Gojo Satoru seemed a bit off, Rito didn't say anything more.

This task report was just a formality; it was simply a matter of emphasizing certain things to Teacher Wutiao.

"By the way, there will be a new investigation task in a few days, and I need Rihito's assistance."

Just as Rito was about to leave, he was stopped by those words.

"An investigation mission?"

"That's right." Gojo Satoru nodded. "Ijichi will tell you the specifics later."

"Okay, Mr. Gojo."

Li Ren nodded and then left the office.