No, this won’t do.

He can’t get closer.

Yuan Shanxiao, drenched in cold sweat, suddenly woke up from a nightmare.

And the first thing he saw was the familiar white-haired man sitting by his bed.

Gojo Satoru, who had been watching the boy sleep all day, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as he finally opened his eyes. He was just about to put his leg down from its crossed position, set aside the snacks that Inumaki had brought as a gesture of concern, get rid of the fruit peel behind the fruit basket that Yuta had sent, swallow the chips in his mouth, and adopt his usual cool, handsome teacher persona to offer some comforting words to his newly awakened student—

When Yuan Shanxiao suddenly shot up, grabbed the hand that was secretly trying to hide the chips, and blurted out:

“Teacher Gojo, I want to drop out!”

“…”

Gojo bit through the chips—and his tongue along with them.

————

In the past, there had been jujutsu sorcerers who were deathly afraid of cursed spirits.

But for some reason, these sorcerers were always a minority. Maybe it was because, after spending so much time in the world of jujutsu, you become desensitized. You see too many cursed spirits, handle too many disgusting creatures, witness too much death, and face even worse horrors than the cursed spirits themselves. Eventually, even the rookie sorcerers who were initially scared would get used to it, desensitizing themselves for the sake of survival—

But that logic didn’t apply to Yuan Shanxiao. Because he—

“If the outside world is full of cursed spirits and even Jujutsu High has them, then I’ll just die right now.”

He was so scared that he maxed out his desire to escape, to the point where he even wanted to skip living.

Gojo Satoru: …

I mean, technically, this logic makes sense, right? If living is too scary, just die, there’s no flaw in that logic—except there is!

Letting a rare, talented student like Yuan Shanxiao die over such a ridiculous reason wasn’t worth it.

On the other hand, while Gojo had always said he would only save those with the ability to reach out for his hand—

When he first casually extended his hand to save someone, and they responded with, “Thank you for saving me, now I’m going to die for a bit,” dodging his help.

The second time he reached out, the boy swatted his hand away with, “Huh? Jujutsu High? Teacher, I’m not attending vocational school.”

The third time he extended his hand…

Countless times Yuan Shanxiao had avoided Gojo’s sincere gaze, leaving the teacher with a heavy heart.

“Teacher, you’re really great. Even though you don’t have a teaching certificate, you’re really great.”

Gojo’s fist clenched.

“Teacher, Jujutsu High is great. Even though it’s a vocational school, it’s really—”

His fist dropped.

From every angle, the boy had maxed out his avoidance tactics.

Gojo Satoru: …

He wasn’t exactly angry, but this was the first time in his life he’d extended so many invitations to one person, only to be rejected repeatedly over such a ridiculous reason—because “living is too scary.”

Gojo, who had lived for 27 years: …

What did life ever do to you…?!

Anger level maxed.

————

“Teacher Gojo, you’re being too extreme.”

After Gojo had pulled him back from several near-death attempts—jumping off a building, cutting his wrists, even trying to swallow gold—Yuan Shanxiao, now calmly tied to a hospital bed, spoke calmly.

So, this was why he had asked for Gojo’s gold-engraved figure? Gojo thought it was for some sort of memorabilia, or at least for the gold value…

Gojo listened to the boy’s words.

He glanced at the broken window where Yuan Shanxiao had tried to jump, then at the discarded fruit knife on the floor, and finally at his own gold figure—

And the words echoed in his ears, deafening:

“Teacher Gojo, you’re being too extreme.”

Gojo Satoru: …

He had been told before that he was “too extreme”—“Six Eyes, you’re too extreme,” “Gojo, you’re too extreme,”—but it had never been in a situation like this.

He couldn’t help but cover his mouth, lower his head, think for a moment, then cover his mouth again, and think some more.

Sure, he had stopped someone who was genuinely trying to die because they were too scared, but being called “extreme” for it—who’s really being extreme here?!

Gojo sat backward on the chair, gripping the backrest, facing away from the boy who was tied down to the bed behind him.

Still contemplating.

————

Yuan Shanxiao was bound to the bed, his limbs tied down securely with sheets. Since he could use his technique to teleport away, Gojo had blindfolded him with the same white bandages he usually used to cover his own eyes—because Yuan Shanxiao had taken his sunglasses during the whole incident with Yuta. The blindfold disrupted Yuan Shanxiao’s spatial awareness, making it difficult for him to imagine the teleportation paths, thus preventing him from using his technique.

Gojo, still facing away from his student, was rapidly using his Six Eyes to process information. He was grappling with what had now become the biggest problem in his teaching career—one that could haunt any school counsellor.

What do you do when a student wants to commit suicide?

What do you do when a student wants to die every time they see a cursed spirit?

What do you do when a student is so timid that they’re constantly on the verge of death by fright?

Gojo was silent.

Gojo pondered.

Gojo pulled out a reference book from his pocket and flipped through it at lightning speed, thanks to his enhanced perception.

“Hmm? Teacher Gojo, are you cramming for your teaching certificate now?”

Gojo Satoru: …

“You little—”

Gojo stiffened, frowning as he turned around to glare fiercely at the boy—only to see Yuan Shanxiao, who had just managed to cut through the bedsheets, shiver in genuine fear at Gojo’s harsh look. He quickly pulled the blindfold back over his eyes and fumbled to re-tie himself to the bed.

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo glanced at the book in his lap, “108 Techniques for Educating Students—A Must-Have Guide for Successful Teachers.”

It had just flipped open to page 108.

The bold heading stared back at him.

“Appropriate Intimidation”

Gojo Satoru: …

For this boy, there was no such thing as “appropriate intimidation.”

Only “excessive fear.”

Even though the boy had already caught him reading his “secret manual,” Gojo sneakily hid the book behind his back and turned the page with a soft rustle.

He hadn’t touched this book in years! It had been a joke gift from Shoko when he first became a teacher. He’d scoffed at it, sticking out his tongue and saying, “Who needs this?” before almost throwing it away—only to bring it back to his dorm to study in detail, 108 times over.

Once he realized that most student issues could be solved with his overwhelming power, Gojo hadn’t needed to pull out this book in a long time.

What couldn’t his techniques solve?

“Teacher Gojo, I think I can bypass your Infinity—”

And then the boy clung to his leg.

What can’t be solved with a fight?

“Huh? I have to fight Teacher Gojo? Are you serious?”

“Is Teacher Gojo finally going to send me back to my original world?”

…

What on earth…

What could possibly solve this kid?!

————

Gojo flipped through the entire book at lightning speed. With his Six Eyes, he processed the information far faster than an ordinary person. After speed-reading the entire manual, Gojo still hadn’t found a solution—but wait…

What’s this?

Technique 109…

What kind of book includes an extra chapter after the epilogue?! This isn’t some martial arts manual from a wuxia novel!

Gojo, who had read the book 108 times and never noticed this section, reluctantly began reading every word of the extra technique, muttering, “Huh? Could this really work?”

He snapped the book shut.

Having found the “true teaching method,” he straightened his face, restoring his image as a calm, mysterious, and powerful teacher. Slowly, he turned the chair around.

The legs of the chair scraped loudly against the floor, sending a shiver through Yuan Shanxiao, who was still obediently tied to the bed.

“Xiao, did you know?”

Gojo’s voice was low.

One couldn’t deny that, when combined with the fact that this was Gojo Satoru speaking, his tone had 100% credibility.

It was the kind of voice that could convince you the person talking was some hidden expert about to reveal the secrets of the universe.

Yuan Shanxiao felt that if Gojo told him he was already dead, he’d believe it.

If Gojo told him he was still alive—

Well, he wouldn’t really want to believe that either.

Fortunately, Gojo didn’t know what was going through Yuan Shanxiao’s mind and kept up his serious demeanour.

“There are techniques in this world that can affect souls, even after death.”

…

Gojo saw Yuan Shanxiao’s tense back tighten even more, and the pale wrist exposed from the bindings flexed as the veins bulged.

Seeing this, Gojo smiled faintly and lowered his voice.

His naturally magnetic tone, when dropped to a whisper, was even more seductive, sending a cold sweat down Yuan Shanxiao’s spine.

“So, the world you’re hoping for after death… might not be as peaceful as you think…”

After death…

Techniques that affect the soul…

Does that mean he could still become a spirit after death in this world…?

And then…

“It’s possible that a cursed sorcerer might take a liking to your technique, Xiao, and summon your soul to refine into a cursed corpse.”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

[Fear Value: 9%]

“Well, well, let me think… what’s the process for refining a cursed corpse…?”

Gojo’s voice lowered further, and just as Yuan Shanxiao’s body tensed up to its limit—

“Oh! I remember!”

His voice suddenly shot up.

Yuan Shanxiao’s tightly strung nerves trembled violently.

“I believe the process involves something called bathing. They gather the most grotesque, malicious cursed spirits, mash them into a pulp, and then soak your soul in the essence for 49 days.”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

[Fear Value: 11%]

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo watched the boy’s expressions change, from hesitating doubt—“Wait, does he really believe this?”—to—

“Ha! He really bought it!”

“Ahem… And besides, once you’re a spirit, you’ll attract even more cursed spirits. And you won’t be able to use your jujutsu anymore. You won’t be able to exorcise them…”

“You’ll just watch them gather around you…”

“Surrounding you…”

Gojo’s voice became increasingly sinister, and then—

“…Please stop, Teacher Gojo.”

“Hm?”

Gojo, pleased with his reverse psychology tactics. Smirked and waited for Yuan Shanxiao to give in.

“I already know…”

“Hmm, you already know. So? What are you going to do, Xiao?”

A voice like a mentor, patiently guiding him toward the right answer.

Yuan Shanxiao pondered for a moment, biting his lip until the marks deepened, cold sweat running down his face.

Finally, as if making a decision that went against every fibre of his being, he struggled to sit up.

“Teacher Gojo…!”

“Yes!”

“Please obliterate my soul!”

“…….”

“No, that’s not—”

“Bang!”

The door to the infirmary swung open, and there, frozen in the doorway, stood a spiky-haired boy wearing the same expression as Gojo: “No, that’s not—”

Gojo turned around and saw Fushiguro Megumi standing there. Just as he was about to say something—

Yuan Shanxiao, who had just sat up, flopped back down on the bed, resolute.

“Teacher Gojo, I’m ready…!”

“If it’s you… I’ll accept any (way of dying)…!”

Finally snapping back to reality, Megumi took in the sight of the bindings on Yuan Shanxiao’s wrists and ankles and the bandages over his eyes—clearly Gojo’s.

Fushiguro Megumi: …

“…What a scumbag.”