If Wu Yan had not seen how this unknown creature aged in the original work, he would never have believed that she was Isumi's grandmother. No matter how he looked at her, she was just a little girl.
Whether physically or mentally...
Watching the "little girl" bounce and hop around in front of him, Wu Yan felt an enormous amount of pressure.
"If there's anything you need help with, I'll certainly do my best..." As he said this, Wu Yan instead felt a sense of sudden clarity in his heart.
That was right. It was such an important item, and it was also the final part of his mission in this world. If it had really been completed that easily, Wu Yan would have found it a little unreal.
"Let me explain," Isumi's mother said, tugging the "little girl" over before smiling gently.
"I'll listen carefully, and I hope you'll explain carefully as well!" Wu Yan emphasized the word "carefully." He did not want Isumi's mother to somehow drift into recounting her love life again halfway through.
He had no idea whether Isumi's mother understood what he meant, but she took a talisman from her clothes.
There was nothing particularly different about it from other talismans. If he had to point something out, it was simply more worn-out. It looked like it had been around for quite some time.
"What is this?" Wu Yan looked at Isumi's mother in confusion. He was deeply puzzled by the talisman she had taken out, because he sensed a faintly different aura from it.
Wu Yan had seen the talismans Isumi used. Their power was decent, but in the end, it was Isumi's own power that did the work. The talismans were merely switches that brought out the effect; they possessed no power themselves.
If Isumi did not imbue a talisman with her own power, then it was nothing more than an ordinary piece of paper.
Yet the talisman Isumi's mother had taken out unexpectedly carried a trace of an aura. That meant someone's power had been imbued within it, and judging from how worn it was, Wu Yan guessed that power did not belong to either Isumi or Isumi's mother.
"This talisman is a pass for a certain barrier!" Isumi's mother's expression gradually turned serious.
"A pass for a barrier?" Wu Yan glanced at Hinagiku beside him. Seeing that she had no intention of speaking, he turned back to Isumi's mother.
"Our Luzhinomiya Family is a spirit-exorcising family. Since the family was founded, we have eliminated countless evil spirits, ghosts, and demons..." At this point, a trace of pride appeared on Isumi's mother's face. It seemed she was quite proud of her family, though her expression returned to normal in an instant.
"But no matter how capable our family is, there are still demons and monsters we cannot eliminate. Their power greatly surpasses that of ordinary demons and monsters. Generally speaking, the only way to deal with them is to seal them away and restrain them, preventing them from harming humans."
"A seal...?" Wu Yan had already vaguely guessed what Isumi's mother wanted him to do.
Nodding, Isumi's mother continued, "There may not have been many of these powerful demons and monsters, but after accumulating generation after generation, their numbers became considerable. So, to prevent an accident from occurring because there were too many sealing locations to manage, one of the Luzhinomiya Family's past heads combined the strength of the entire family to build an enormous sealing barrier!"
"In other words, all those demons and monsters that couldn't be eliminated were sealed inside this barrier?"...
"Yes. As long as a demon or monster was too powerful to be completely destroyed, our Luzhinomiya Family would imprison it there."
Wu Yan frowned. He did not want to judge them, but this approach had both advantages and disadvantages...
Seeing Wu Yan frown, Isumi's mother sighed. "I believe Wu Yan has already thought of it. Yes, while this reduced a great deal of trouble, it also created an even greater problem..."
"Created an even greater problem?" Hinagiku looked at Isumi's mother in confusion.
Wu Yan helplessly spread his hands and explained, "If I'm not mistaken, while this avoids the trouble of failing to keep watch over them properly, gathering all these demons and monsters that are stronger than ordinary ones in one place means that sooner or later, their numbers will reach a level that's impossible to control. When that happens, the trouble will be enormous."
"What!" Hinagiku looked at Isumi in shock, but Isumi merely shook her head.
Isumi's mother smiled bitterly. "Yes. As time passed, the demons and monsters within the barrier grew more numerous and more powerful. Finally, one day, an accident occurred!"
"One generation's head had returned from exorcising spirits and intended to seal the demon he had subdued inside the barrier. But after entering it, he never came out again. At the time, the Luzhinomiya Family nearly fell into chaos. They organized several groups to enter and investigate, but not a single person returned. So the new head reinforced the barrier and sealed it completely, forbidding family members from sealing any more demons inside..."
Hearing that, Wu Yan looked at Isumi's mother. "Then what problem is there left? Don't tell me the barrier's seal has broken?"
"No way..." Hinagiku gave Isumi's mother an uneasy smile.
Isumi's mother hurriedly waved her hands. "No. The barrier has long since been forbidden from receiving any more sealed demons. With its current state, so long as no accident occurs, its seal will absolutely not break."
Seeing Hinagiku let out a sigh of relief, Wu Yan shook his head with an amused smile before asking Isumi's mother, "Since nothing will happen to the barrier, does what you want me to do still have something to do with it, Lady Luzhinomiya?"
"Yes!" Raising the hand holding the talisman, Isumi's mother said, "This is the only pass that can enter the barrier. As long as you hold this talisman, you can enter it."
"Wait!" Hinagiku said in shock. "Don't tell me you want Yan to enter that barrier?"
Isumi's mother looked at Hinagiku, then lowered her head in silence.
"No! I absolutely refuse!" Hinagiku shouted. "Aren't you sending Yan to his death? That place is full of powerful monsters!"
Wu Yan hurriedly pulled Hinagiku over and smiled bitterly. "Hinagiku, don't get worked up yet. Let's hear what Lady Luzhinomiya has to say."
"Yan, you can't go!" Seeing that Wu Yan had not immediately refused, Hinagiku grew anxious.
Wu Yan patted Hinagiku's back, signaling for her to calm down first, before looking at Isumi's mother. "Could you tell me the details?"
With a sigh, Isumi's mother said, "Actually, we wish to ask Wu Yan to retrieve something for us."
"Retrieve something?" Wu Yan looked at Isumi's mother.
"It is a treasure of our Luzhinomiya Family, the Celestial Jade!"
As Isumi's mother finished speaking, a servant entered the living room carrying an ancient-looking book. She handed it to Isumi's mother, then withdrew.
Isumi's mother opened the book and spread it before Wu Yan. Pointing at a jade tablet, she said, "This is it!"
What appeared before Wu Yan and Hinagiku was merely an ordinary jade tablet. Looking at the tablet in the book, Wu Yan asked doubtfully, "This is the Luzhinomiya Family's treasure? It looks like nothing more than an ordinary jade tablet. Why is it inside that barrier filled with demons and monsters?"...
At that, Isumi's mother lowered her head with a bitter smile. "The Celestial Jade is our family's treasure. Only the current family head is qualified to possess and wear it. But as I said earlier, one of the Luzhinomiya Family's heads entered the barrier and never returned. He likely met with misfortune, but he also brought the Celestial Jade into the barrier with him..."
Wu Yan nodded in realization. He glanced at the jade tablet, fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Is it really that important?"
Isumi's mother sat upright with a resolute expression, staring at Wu Yan without even blinking. Without the slightest hesitation, she said, "Yes! It is important! Extremely important!"
Hearing Isumi's mother's words, Hinagiku could not help saying, "Isn't it just a jade tablet? Even if it's important, you can't send someone in there to die..."
Isumi's mother said expressionlessly, "If sending someone to their death could retrieve the Celestial Jade, then I hope that person would be me!"
"Mom!" Isumi stared at her mother in shock, seemingly frightened.
Wu Yan and Hinagiku were also startled by Isumi's mother's words. Everyone present could hear the resolve in her voice.
"Is the Celestial Jade really that important to you? Important enough that you would give up your life for it?" Wu Yan frowned at Isumi's mother. It might be the Luzhinomiya Family's treasure, but given Isumi's mother's personality, she should not be so obsessed with worldly possessions. There had to be some hidden reason.
"I hope you can tell me your reason. The real reason!" Wu Yan waved a hand and said seriously.
Isumi's mother hesitated. Her gaze flickered toward Isumi, and for a moment, everyone fell silent.
"Although the Celestial Jade is our family's treasure, its purpose is merely symbolic. If it has any actual function, it is that it can stabilize its bearer's spiritual power. But right now, that function is something we desperately need!" Isumi's mother closed her eyes, sighed, then spoke quietly.
"Stabilize spiritual power..." Wu Yan was surprised, then looked toward Isumi beside him.
"Wu Yan truly sees through everything..." Isumi's mother lovingly stroked Isumi's head, her eyes filled with a mother's indulgent affection for her daughter.
"From the moment Isumi was born, she possessed spiritual power beyond what ordinary people could hope to match. Because of that immense power, she became a powerful spirit exorcist at such a young age, even surpassing everyone in the family, including me and Isumi's grandmother. But for that very reason, Isumi's spiritual power is unstable. If we do not find a solution soon, Isumi will lose control of her spiritual power and become an ordinary person..."
"Mom..." A mist rose in Isumi's eyes, while Wu Yan and Hinagiku also fell silent.
Everything was for her daughter. For her daughter, Isumi's mother had given away the dangerous Mystic Crystal. For her daughter, Isumi's mother would rather die herself. All for her daughter...
Faced with such great maternal love, Wu Yan and Hinagiku could not find any reason to refuse. They could only remain silent.
"Of course, I will not force Wu Yan..." Isumi's mother said with a smile, though her eyes remained fixed on her daughter.
Wu Yan smiled bitterly. Leaving aside the fact that this concerned his mission, he could not bring himself to refuse after seeing Isumi's mother's selflessness.
Besides, although it sounded dangerous, powerful demons and monsters also meant vast amounts of experience. With his strength, he should be able to handle this world, whose mysteries were not particularly deep. Even in the worst case, the system had plenty of absurdly powerful things. With the points he had accumulated over time, keeping himself alive should not be difficult...
In other words, it seemed this trip was unavoidable!
"I understand, Lady Luzhinomiya. Leave the matter of the Celestial Jade to me!" Wu Yan stood, rubbed his shoulder, and smiled.
"Yan..." Hinagiku opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately lowered her head.
Isumi's mother looked up in delight, handed the talisman to Wu Yan, and bowed deeply before speaking in a solemn voice.
"I'm counting on you!"
Before you continue