Jujutsu Kaisen: I have everything I need now!

The Alps, at an altitude of 3,400 meters.

The night wind, carrying shards of ice, lashed against the exposed rock face, making a soft, rustling sound.

Xiaofeng crouched at the highest point of the abandoned castle, gazing into the distance.

The ground began to shake.

From the moment Di Kui left Basha, Xiaofeng knew that this stone would come looking for him sooner or later.

Gravel tumbled down the crumbling walls of the ancient castle and plunged into the valley. Xiaofeng looked down and saw the coniferous forest at the foot of the mountain parting to both sides, as if an invisible giant hand had torn the forest in two from the middle.

The soil churned and the rock strata fractured.

A giant head emerged from the ground.

Dark orange lava flowed across the surface of the dark red rocks, radiating a dull heat under the night sky. From two crater-like eye sockets, lava churned, casting its gaze upwards.

"Howling Wind".

The voice of the Earth Demon came up from underground, muffled and deep, like two pieces of granite grinding against each other.

"Digui."

Xiaofeng stood up and tilted his head to look at it.

"You're really patient. I thought you'd go to South America first."

The Earth Demon ignored those words. Its body continued to rise from the ground, its shoulders, chest, and waist—a colossal stone body twenty meters tall stood in the center of the valley, with the pine trees on either side only reaching its knees.

The snow underfoot melted in the high temperature, forming muddy streams that flowed down the hillside.

"I've come to make a deal with you."

Xiaofeng raised an eyebrow.

"trade?"

"The thief possesses a Shadow Core and runic power," Earth Demon said slowly. "I want the Shadow Core. The runic power is yours."

Xiaofeng didn't speak.

It just tilted its head and looked at Di Kui with a strange expression.

That look in his eyes was like looking at someone telling a joke, but the joke wasn't very funny.

"Are you finished speaking?"

"That's all."

"Then I'll tell you the truth."

Xiaofeng jumped down from the top of the castle.

Its body transformed into a gray-white whirlwind in mid-air, and when it landed, it was already less than ten meters away from the Earth Demon.

Xiaofeng resembled a thin boy with short, gray hair that was tousled by the wind. But its eyes had no pupils, only two constantly swirling gray vortexes.

"You can't kill that thief."

Xiaofeng spoke in a calm tone, as if he were stating the weather.

"I know." Di Kui's answer surprised Xiao Feng for a moment. "That's why I came to find you."

"You and Bazaar teamed up and still couldn't win, but now that I'm in your shoes, I can win?"

"able."

Di Kui lowered his head, his two magma-like eyes staring directly at Xiao Feng.

"That stupid woman, Basha, is too much of a nuisance. And we don't have a powerful means of attack."

"But you are different."

Xiaofeng fell silent.

It certainly understood what Di Kui meant.

"You want me to be the arrowhead."

"Yes," the Earth Demon didn't deny it. "I'll be in charge of sealing off the ground; you'll be in charge of the hunt."

"The speed of the Rabbit Talisman is too fast. Back in Toyama Bay, Basha's water couldn't catch up with him at all."

"But the wind can."

Xiaofeng looked down and kicked at the pebbles at his feet.

The moment the pebble was kicked away, it turned into dust.

"I want half of the power of the Shadow Core."

The magma in Di Kui's eyes surged even more violently.

"You're joking."

"I never joke."

Xiaofeng raised his head and stared directly at Di Kui's enormous stone face.

"You came to me, which means you know you can't do it alone. Neither can Basha. Only I can outrun that thief."

"So this isn't you giving me charity, it's you begging me."

"Get this straight."

The valley fell silent.

The wind howled through the cliffs on both sides.

Di Kui stared at Xiao Feng for a long time.

Within the crater-like eye socket, the churning of magma gradually slowed down.

"..."

"Okay," it said in a low voice, "half."

"make a deal."

Xiaofeng grinned, revealing a row of grayish-white teeth.

"However, I have one more condition."

The Earth Demon remained silent, waiting for it to continue.

"Gojo Satoru."

When Xiaofeng uttered this name, his voice carried a hint of solemnity for the first time.

"There's a human with that thief who's even more troublesome than him. I can sense the power emanating from that guy; he's no weaker than any of us alone."

"You need to find a way to get him away."

"I know," Di Kui said, shaking his body. "It's already being arranged."

Xiaofeng's smile vanished.

"How was it arranged?"

South America.

Di Kui's voice became indistinct.

"My clone will go berserk in three days."

"At that time, it will make a big enough splash in South America."

"So large that human beings had to deal with it personally."

Xiaofeng stared at Di Kui without saying a word for a long time.

Then it laughed.

"You're smarter than I thought."

Di Kui did not respond to this statement.

It turned around, and its massive stone body began to slowly sink into the earth. The soil beneath its feet swallowed it up like mud, and the radiance of the magma gradually dimmed.

"Three days later, South America." Before sinking into the ground, the Earth Demon left behind its last words, "As soon as there's any movement, we'll set off."

"Destination—Hokkaido."

Xiaofeng stood still, watching Di Kui disappear underground.

The valley returned to calm, with only the streams formed by melting snow still flowing gurglingly.

"Hokkaido..."

Xiaofeng murmured something, looked up at the dark night sky, and slowly curled up the corners of its mouth.

"interesting."

……

Furano, Hokkaido.

Four o'clock in the morning.

On the second floor of the flower shop, December 1st opened its eyes.

The phone screen was lit up; it was an encrypted message from Yi Gu. He turned to the side, trying not to wake Zhen Yi next to him, and opened the message with one hand.

The content is very short.

[A geomancer has appeared in Europe. A possible contact with a whistling storm is possible. Anomalies are observed in the Mariana Trench. It is advised to return to Tokyo as soon as possible.]

On the first day of the twelfth month, he stared at the screen for a few seconds, then turned off his phone and rolled over to lie flat on his back.

The ceiling reflected the faint light from the streetlights outside the window, in streaks like ripples on water.

He didn't get up immediately.

It wasn't because he wasn't in a hurry—quite the opposite, he knew exactly what this message meant.

The demons are gathering.

"You're awake?"

I heard Mayu's voice beside me, a little hoarse and sleepy.

The first day of the twelfth month is slightly past its prime.

Zhenyi lay on her side, her eyes half-open and half-closed, her hair spread out on the pillow.

"Did I disturb you?"

"The light from the phone screen." Zhenyi rolled over to face him. "Who sent it?"

"Bone of the 'Yi' radical".

"What did you say?"

There was a moment of silence on the first day of December.

"Di Kui went to find Xiao Feng."

Zhenyi's eyes were fully open.

She stared at December's profile, remained silent for a few seconds, then sat up. The blanket slipped off her shoulders, revealing her black tank top.

"What time was it?"

"Half an hour ago."

Zhenyi didn't ask any more questions.

She threw back the covers, got out of bed, and walked barefoot onto the wooden floor to the wardrobe, opening the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Pack your things."

Zhenyi's voice was very calm.

"Let's go back to Tokyo."

As December 1st watched her retreating figure, his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only sighed.

He sat up and picked up his coat from the bedside table.

Outside the window, the night in Furano was still as quiet as ever.

The lavender fields shimmered with a silvery-gray light under the moonlight, and the breeze carried a faint fragrance of flowers.

On the first day of the twelfth month, I stood by the window and looked down at the dark facade of the flower shop downstairs.

In the glass shop window, the bouquets he had personally arranged were reduced to blurry outlines in the darkness.

"Shuo".

Zhenyi had already changed her clothes and was standing at the door.

She was wearing that black functional jacket, and her hair was casually tied into a ponytail.

"I'm gone."

On the first day of December, he turned around and looked at her.

The lights weren't on, but he could still see her expression clearly.

Without hesitation, without complaint.

There was only a calm, prepared determination.

"Um."

He picked up the keys from the table and walked towards the door. He paused as he passed Zhenyi.

"Remember to water those cosmos flowers when you come back this time."

Zhenyi paused for a moment, then smiled softly.

"You're such a worrywart."

Flowers don't grow by themselves.

On the first day of December, I pushed open the door and went down the stairs.

Behind her, Zhenyi closed the door.

The lights in the flower shop were not on.

The sound of their footsteps echoed in the stairwell before disappearing into the early morning of Furano.