Yuan Shanxiao actually took Gojo Satoru’s words to heart.

Originally, his backup plan was simply to die. If he was lucky, maybe he’d transmigrate back just like other predecessors who crossed worlds. If not, at least he’d be dead.

Although he had just entered Tokyo Jujutsu High, and his classmates seemed to be full of youthful energy, judging from the terrifying nature of cursed spirits, it was easy to imagine that the world of jujutsu must be full of bloodshed and fear.

And given that this teacher, Gojo Satoru, saw potential even in someone as cowardly as himself and roped him into Tokyo Jujutsu High because of his cursed technique, it seemed Gojo’s words about the jujutsu world being dark and dangerous were probably true.

Yuan Shanxiao had always been cautious, imagining the worst in every potentially dangerous situation.

He wasn’t just scared of the cursed spirit right in front of him; he was also dreading the full extent of terror that might be lurking beneath the surface, the despair yet to be revealed.

A world with cursed spirits… As long as there are feelings of fear, cursed spirits will be born. No matter how you look at it, it’s like living in a horror movie. You know, the kind where the protagonist dies, the side characters die, and even the villain might die.

Yuan Shanxiao summarized: In this place, everyone’s bound to die.

Only the terror in the movie is immune to harm, like the ghosts in a horror flick, the sharks in Jaws, or the disasters in survival movies…

Humans may not necessarily be the ones to trigger his fear, but they’re just as likely to be devoured by that fear someday. It’s like those horror movies where the main cast gets picked off one by one: first the undergrads die, then the graduates, and no matter how far you climb, even PhD students will die.

Yuan Shanxiao couldn’t understand how the people of this world thought. Gojo Satoru mentioned that ordinary people can’t actually see cursed spirits, which made Yuan Shanxiao understand why they could live here in blissful ignorance. But these jujutsu sorcerers… Yuan Shanxiao didn’t quite get why they still had the courage to live.

Existing solely to exorcise cursed spirits, seeing terrifying things every day, living one day with the possibility of dying the next. Besides the certainty of eventual death, nothing else was guaranteed.

Fortunately, Gojo Satoru couldn’t hear Yuan Shanxiao’s thoughts, or he would’ve heard the word “death” repeatedly flashing across the boy’s mind like a scrolling barrage of bullet comments.

But Gojo’s words did make him think.

If cursed spirits exist in this world, then maybe souls do as well. So, if he committed suicide, and aside from “death” and “transmigration,” there was a third possibility—like “turning into a soul and encountering even more terrifying things”—then yeah, dying might not be such a good idea after all.

So, until he found a way to ensure that his soul would be annihilated along with his body, he definitely couldn’t die carelessly.

A way to erase both soul and body…

Yuan Shanxiao could directly ask Gojo Satoru if such a method existed, but after Gojo had stopped him from committing suicide three times in one day, Yuan Shanxiao finally realized that this silver-haired teacher didn’t seem to support his decision to die. Though, why that was—he wasn’t quite sure.

“…I think Teacher Gojo makes a good point.”

Since he couldn’t die carelessly, it seemed he had no choice but to get stronger.

Earlier, when Gojo tied up his eyes like that, Yuan Shanxiao realized it really could suppress his escape technique. Losing his sight made it hard to imagine space. Though he could still use the wind and touch to sense his surroundings and mentally plot a small detectable path, being tied up like this put even more restrictions on him.

Yuan Shanxiao couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. He had always thought his ability was invincible—that he could run away whenever he wanted.

After all, even Gojo’s so-called “Limitless,” which was supposed to be incredible, couldn’t stop him.

It was only today that he realized there were so many limitations.

“It’s really great that Teacher Gojo tied me up today…”

Lying on the hospital bed, the boy smiled in relief and gratitude.

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo looked at Fushiguro Megumi, who was standing at the door, a speech bubble reading “What a scumbag” practically floating above his head. Hearing Yuan Shanxiao’s words, Megumi’s face showed even more disgust. He even pulled out his phone, seemingly to take a picture to send to the other seniors at Jujutsu High.

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo calmly reached out, covering the boy’s mouth with precision.

It’s great that you’ve come to your senses, but it would’ve been better if it had happened a little sooner.

———

Yuan Shanxiao only noticed the new boy in the infirmary after the restraints on his hands and feet, as well as the bandages over his eyes, were removed.

Earlier, he had secretly used his technique to cut the restraints on one hand, but Gojo’s sharp gaze made him lie obediently in bed, tied up, until Gojo finally freed him.

Either way, after fainting from the cursed cockroach spirit training, he had been unconscious for a whole day. His limbs were still weak, so Gojo had to come over and remove the bandages wrapped around his eyes, and then—

“Huh, your eyelashes are light-colored too.”

He hadn’t noticed before because the boy had always had long bangs, much like when Yuta Okkotsu first arrived, giving off a gloomy vibe. In fact, his hair was even longer than Yuta’s, with the back reaching his collar. Occasionally, you could catch a glimpse of his rare light-colored eyes, which seemed to be a grayish green.

It wasn’t until Gojo leaned in to untie the bandages that he noticed the boy’s eyelashes were also a pale, almost white, color.

If someone familiar with the situation were here, they might’ve commented sarcastically, “You’ve been interacting with this guy for so long, even tied the bandages on him yourself, and you’re only now noticing this? You’re really not paying attention!”

However, the boy soon raised his head in confusion. “Huh? What do you mean by ‘too’?”

Then, as he looked up, seeing Gojo’s face without the bandages or sunglasses in the way, his eyes widened in surprise. “Teacher Gojo’s eyelashes are white?!”

“Wait… Teacher Gojo’s eyes are blue… Are you mixed-race?!”

Gojo Satoru: …

He cracked his knuckles.

Even though it was a topic he had brought up himself, for some reason, it made him feel really irritated.

———

Yuan Shanxiao had a problem: he was a bit afraid of looking people in the eye.

That might sound strange, but considering everything else about him was odd, it seemed relatively normal.

As mentioned, he was actually a bit scared of Gojo Satoru. The first time they met, Gojo radiated that “super strong, super cool, super confident” vibe that intimidated him. From their first encounter, Yuan Shanxiao was already a little afraid of him, and after being frightened numerous times, he became even more reluctant to meet his gaze.

In his mind, he only remembered Gojo as a tall guy with white hair, vaguely recalling the impression that Gojo was “as handsome as a model.”

The former helped him recognize Gojo in a crowd, and the latter reminded him not to walk with Gojo in public.

Yuan Shanxiao thought that if Gojo Satoru were in a movie, he’d probably be the kind of enigmatic sage who appears when the protagonist is in trouble, offering some kind of cheat code to solve their problems. The only difference is that in movies, this type of character is usually an old man with long white hair, while Gojo is a young man with short white hair.

Whenever he appears, people get saved, but when there’s a team fight, he’s always banned from joining.

As for the boy standing at the infirmary door now—

“Hello…?”

Yuan Shanxiao quickly made a connection.

He felt like the type of character you’d see in a shonen manga: the super reliable, cold-faced second lead.

———

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo wasn’t sure how things had reached this point. After reorganizing his expression and preparing to introduce his two “adopted sons” to each other—

“Oh, this is that jujutsu sorcerer you brought back earlier, right? He’s going to live with me and Tsumiki?”

This was Fushiguro Megumi, whose face clearly said “What a scumbag,” typing away on his phone, sending photos and gossip while still managing to push the conversation forward with blunt efficiency.

“…Yes, you’re Fushiguro, right? Teacher Gojo mentioned you before. Nice to meet you. I’m Yuan Shanxiao. Sorry I can’t greet you properly right now—uh, my legs are still a bit weak—but next time, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Suddenly, Yuan Shanxiao was acting perfectly normal, engaging in proper social etiquette.

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo glanced at Fushiguro Megumi, who had shot him a disdainful look after Yuan Shanxiao mentioned his weak legs.

Then he looked at Yuan Shanxiao, who had pushed back his bangs, revealing his clean, ordinary-looking face.

Gojo Satoru: …

Now both of them seemed so normal that it made him feel like he was the only weird one in the room.

“…Alright, since you two have skipped over my carefully prepared introductions—let’s get down to business!”

Fushiguro Megumi, Gojo’s other “adopted son,” also possessed an extremely rare and powerful cursed technique, and Gojo planned to recruit him into Tokyo Jujutsu High. However, unlike Yuan Shanxiao’s whole crying, begging, and suicide attempt routine, Fushiguro’s admission process had been much smoother.

Yuan Shanxiao had dropped out of school previously, which allowed him to enroll early. Fushiguro, on the other hand, was attending a normal middle school, and since he was about to graduate, he would soon be joining Tokyo Jujutsu High as Yuan Shanxiao’s junior.

So the reason Gojo called Fushiguro here was—

“To serve as a role model for you!!”

Gojo pulled the still stone-faced Fushiguro closer, clapping his large hand heavily on his shoulder.

Yuan Shanxiao: …

Usually, it’s the senior who’s supposed to be a role model for the junior, but having a junior be his role model… any normal person would feel—

“Great.”

Humiliated… right?

Gojo Satoru: …

“Fortunately, Fushiguro is very reliable and skilled, because otherwise, I wouldn’t know how someone as cowardly, useless, and short-lived as me could ever set a good example for my junior…”

After Gojo exaggerated Fushiguro’s accomplishments to the extreme, Yuan Shanxiao sighed sincerely.

Gojo Satoru: …

At least act a little humiliated. Or triggered!

Is it really okay to have such a clear and honest understanding of yourself?!

And why is “short-lived” even in there?!

Please, abandon your whole plan of getting your soul obliterated!

Gojo kept his expression blank, holding back his irritation.

Fushiguro just felt the hand on his shoulder freeze for a few seconds before clamping down even harder.

“Cough… cough, cough…”

Fushiguro Megumi, after being jostled: …?

Calling Megumi back as a comparison was part of Gojo’s earlier plan—back when he didn’t fully understand Yuan Shanxiao’s personality.

But now, even though the situation had changed, since Megumi was already here, Gojo had no choice but to push forward with his previous strategy.

“Megumi is younger than you, and he’s already a Grade 2 Sorcerer, you know?”

Gojo had previously explained the sorcerer ranking system to Yuan Shanxiao. Although it was a nomination-based system, the sorcerer still had to complete cursed spirit exorcism tasks of corresponding difficulty to qualify, just like how applying for a scholarship requires submitting relevant materials. So, Fushiguro had indeed completed many high-difficulty missions to earn his rank—

“That must’ve been tough,” Yuan Shanxiao said, knowing the ranking system well.

Gojo nodded, pressing down harder on Fushiguro’s shoulder, eyes full of encouragement, waiting for Yuan Shanxiao to follow up with something motivational—

“So young and already forced to work like child labor. The adults here must really be useless.”

Gojo Satoru: …

After Yuan Shanxiao spoke, he noticed Gojo’s silent expression and quickly tried to backtrack, waving his hands in apology. “Ah, no, I didn’t mean that you were useless, Teacher Gojo.”

Gojo Satoru: …

“I mean, I don’t really see you as an ‘adult’—”

Gojo Satoru: …

Delete the words in parentheses and—

Don’t read out the parentheses in the first place!!

“That’s not quite right… What I meant is that Teacher Gojo, well, you do count as a person—”

Gojo’s reflexes kicked in, and he covered the boy’s mouth before he could finish.

“So,” Gojo smiled through gritted teeth, “Shall we aim for a Grade 1 Sorcerer rank, Xiao?”

Yuan Shanxiao, who had just set his first major life goal—“to stay alive”: …?

“Isn’t just staying alive good enough for me? Teacher, don’t set the bar so high—”

Gojo Satoru: …

Gojo kept holding back—failing to hold back.

“You really are the worst student I’ve ever taught.”

Yuan Shanxiao couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s not bad.”

…?

“Teacher Gojo has only taught two classes. I’m in the top three already.”

Gojo Satoru: … Sorry for only teaching two classes!

“A Grade 1 Sorcerer sounds even cooler though. And currently, the only Grade 1 Sorcerers are—”

Yuan Shanxiao looked up innocently. “Then why hasn’t Teacher Gojo gotten a senior teaching title? Does it not sound cool enough?”

Gojo Satoru: …

“Every mission comes with a commission fee, you know? As long as you go on missions—”

Yuan Shanxiao answered honestly, “I’m not short on money, Teacher. I just spend it all on life insurance policies.”

Gojo Satoru: …

“No matter what, since Megumi has already earned his Grade 2 Sorcerer rank, you’ll be coming with me on missions—”

Yuan Shanxiao: …

So after all that, the whole point was to take him out on missions to fight cursed spirits.

Knowing full well that he was scared of fighting cursed spirits… Why push him so hard? Why not push himself?

And why did that final “please” at the end sound so non-negotiable?

Yuan Shanxiao: …

Actually, when Gojo first started praising Fushiguro, Yuan Shanxiao had a feeling he was up to something.

He’d tried his best to change the subject and make Gojo happy, but in the end—

The boy wiped his face, finally raising his head seriously.

“Could Teacher Gojo’s kingdom on the map expand a little further?”

Gojo Satoru: …

I think your kingdom is already pretty short.

“You don’t want to go?” Gojo raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not about wanting or not wanting to go. Human initiative is always constrained by objective conditions. After all, not everyone can be as determined as the incredibly talented Fushiguro, trained by the even more outstanding Teacher Gojo. So I’m sure the extremely generous Teacher Gojo will—”

Gojo pressed the boy’s head down, cutting him off.

“…Can I say no?”

The long map of excuses was instantly flattened.

“No.”

Excuses were no longer an option.