A Windfall

After pulling out his phone to pay, Lin Ran found a seat by the window and sat down. He looked around cautiously. It seemed safe enough; there were no Cursed Spirits of that level nearby.

Ever since that previous incident, Lin Ran had made a habit of checking his surroundings whenever he ate at a restaurant, watching for any potential danger. Fortunately, such things did not happen often.

Even so, the last incident had only been reported by the media as a bizarre supernatural event. No one knew the truth.

Things like Cursed Spirits and curses were still not widely known to the public. Some people did not even know such things existed in the world.

The noodles arrived quickly, brimming with Japanese flair. Lin Ran could make this kind of dish himself, and it would taste better than the restaurant's, but he was not picky right now.

"Smells pretty good." Lin Ran took a big bite of noodles, enjoying the cool air-conditioning in the room. Life felt wonderful.

Only at times like this did Lin Ran feel that the world was peaceful, that everything was normal, without those curses and cursed objects.

"Ah!!!"

Just then, someone let out a loud yell. Lin Ran's chopsticks trembled, and he nearly dropped his noodles onto the table.

"No way, no way... don't tell me there's another Cursed Spirit?" Lin Ran felt a headache coming on. Did he have some kind of constitution that attracted Cursed Spirits?

"Not feeling social anxiety is the best! Ah, this is wonderful!"

In Lin Ran's line of sight, a young man around twenty was shouting at the top of his lungs from his seat. Clearly, this was not a Cursed Spirit. It was just some young guy trying to build up his courage.

He had not expected Japan to have people like this. Lin Ran was speechless. He had thought there was a Cursed Spirit and worried for nothing.

The shouting man looked rather unusual as well. He wore something like a red scarf around his neck, a Zhongshan suit, and had a knife scar on his chin.

After shouting, he looked around. The people nearby were staring at him with strange, disgusted expressions. Some of them deeply hated this sort of person, someone who made a loud commotion in a public place where people were eating.

The young man seemed utterly unconcerned with what they thought. His gaze swept around before finally settling on Lin Ran.

He quickly picked up his bowl, came over, and sat across from Lin Ran. He looked at him as though he were a national treasure.

Lin Ran frowned at him. "What are you doing? If you're trying to overcome social anxiety, this isn't the way. You're disrupting public order."

"Hehe, I know." The young man chuckled, then said something that nearly made Lin Ran spit out his noodles. "The best way to overcome social anxiety is to make everyone else socially anxious."

"What the hell?" Lin Ran had never expected this guy to have such a bizarre train of thought. Was that something a human being would do?

Still, what this man had done really could give other people social anxiety. It might even leave them traumatized.

"That isn't important." The young man smiled faintly and introduced himself. "My name is Xie Zhiyong. I'm twenty years old, and I come from a mysterious organization."

"Xie Zhiyong? That sounds like a Huaxia name. And this mysterious organization you're talking about—is it some social anxiety organization?" Lin Ran smiled and continued eating. This guy was pretty interesting.

"Hahaha, I am indeed from Huaxia. But it isn't some social anxiety organization. It's... about curses!" The young man lowered his voice extremely low as he said the last part.

"What?" Lin Ran's expression shifted slightly. He had spent so long searching for an agency related to curses, only to run into someone connected to them while eating noodles—and such an oddball, at that.

"My eyes can see things others cannot. Aside from curses and Cursed Spirits, I can see deeper things as well. For example, I can see that black Cursed Tool hanging on your back."

Lin Ran was genuinely surprised this time. It was one thing for Satoru Gojo to see the blade on his back at school, but now even this guy could see it.

"Don't worry. This ability is unique to me. Other Jujutsu Sorcerers can't see the Cursed Tool on your back either. At least in my organization, I'm the only one with this ability." Xie Zhiyong looked at Lin Ran excitedly. "You look about my age. Your cursed energy isn't apparent, but you're clearly special. If you have the time, you can come visit our Tokyo Branch."

After his brief surprise, Lin Ran became interested as well. "My name is Lin Ran, but I'm not your age. I'm only fourteen."

"What? You're only fourteen?" Xie Zhiyong was a little dumbfounded. A fourteen-year-old actually looked this tall and sturdy. Although Lin Ran was sitting down, even an idiot could tell that he was tall.

"Also, judging by your name, could you be from Huaxia too?"

"How should I put it? You could say I'm from Huaxia too." Though Lin Ran had reincarnated here, his name was very similar to a Huaxia name. Japan did have people with the surname Lin, but it was not that common.

More importantly, Lin Ran knew nothing about his own family background. He was completely in the dark.

"Then at your age, you should still be in high school, or maybe you just started high school?" Xie Zhiyong was somewhat disappointed. After all that, he was just a student. Students had limited abilities and were still growing. When it came to actual combat, they were certainly not as reliable as people Xie Zhiyong's age.

"That's right. I study at Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High."

Xie Zhiyong's interest had been cut in half, but when he heard Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High, his eyes lit up again. "You're definitely an elite student. Nice, nice. Very impressive."

Lin Ran did not pay much attention to the change in his mood. Instead, he asked, "I've been searching Tokyo for several days for agencies related to curses, but I found nothing at all. I just can't find them. Do you know why?"

Without even thinking, Xie Zhiyong replied, "Isn't that obvious? Of course you won't find them out in the open. Whether it's an agency or an organization, they're all extremely well-hidden. There are so many curses and Cursed Spirits—wouldn't showing themselves openly be courting death? Do you think they're Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High or the Three Great Families?"

"No wonder..." Lin Ran finally understood. If he had not met Xie Zhiyong today, he might not have found a related place for a very long time. "Since I've met you, perfect. Take me to your agency."

"That was exactly what I had in mind. Though we're not an agency—we're Huaxia's branch here in Tokyo. We can discuss the details on the way. Finish your noodles first." Xie Zhiyong chuckled and started eating on his own. Aside from building up his courage, his trip here had not been in vain today.

Lin Ran felt the same way. He lifted noodles to his mouth with his chopsticks and quickly finished eating before leaving the noodle shop with Xie Zhiyong.

"Get in. I'll explain on the way." Xie Zhiyong's car was parked near the noodle shop.

Once Lin Ran got in, Xie Zhiyong drove away. He pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and put them on as he drove. "Does your school let you stay outside for long periods, or do you have to go back soon?"

"I'm free for a while, but I have to return next month. It shouldn't affect anything."

"It's only the beginning of the month, so there's plenty of time. If you pass the assessment, you can join our Night Owl Organization." Xie Zhiyong explained, "The Night Owl Organization is a fairly sizable organization in Magic City, Huaxia. But we're not doing so well in Japan. We can't even recruit people. There are already far too few Jujutsu Sorcerers, and capable ones are even rarer, so we value talent greatly."

"Night snacks? That's a strange name for an organization."

"Not that kind of night snack. It's 'Night Owl'—the owl from 'heroic owl'!"

"Oh, okay. So how many people are in your branch in Japan?" Lin Ran did not particularly care about joining any organization, as long as it did not interfere with his freedom. He had not heard of the school forbidding students from joining other organizations anyway. They were all doing the work of exorcising Cursed Spirits.

Joining was just a formality. Lin Ran was free.