Sophistry and Escape

Xia Jie tossed aside the lousy joke that had flashed through his mind and directly revealed his identity to Maki and Okkotsu.

"My name is Xia Jie, and I'm a student at Toyama High School," Xia Jie said. "As for you claiming that the Cursed Spirit attacked you, are you sure Shadow Maru wasn't attacked first?"

Maki's expression froze slightly. She clearly hadn't expected Xia Jie to be so straightforward, or for his words to even seem to excuse the Cursed Spirit.

"Even if it didn't attack us first, it attacked other people!" Okkotsu looked at Xia Jie and spoke seriously.

"Was anyone hurt?" Xia Jie asked unhurriedly.

Okkotsu's voice caught. "Apparently... no!"

"That has nothing to do with whether anyone was hurt!" Maki pointed at Shadow Maru and retorted. "Cursed Spirits are things that should be exorcised!"

"But... Shadow Maru isn't a Cursed Spirit. He's my Shikigami!" Xia Jie said slowly.

Maki was choked up by Xia Jie's response. She exchanged a glance with Okkotsu, and both of them felt how difficult Xia Jie was to deal with.

After thinking for a moment, Maki changed her approach. "Since you're his master, why did you let him attack other people?"

"Well..." Xia Jie pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "I can't tell you."

"You..." Maki gritted her teeth. "Don't push it too far!"

"I can only say that everything I did was related to my Cursed Technique. I really can't say anything more."

After thinking it over, Xia Jie still revealed a little information about himself to Maki and Okkotsu. After all, the two of them were very likely to become his classmates in the future.

Maki looked at Xia Jie in surprise. She keenly picked up on the goodwill in his words.

"If that's the case, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to keep pressing the matter." Maki's anger subsided as she said to Xia Jie, "But you have to come with us to Jujutsu High and explain this matter to the Higher-Ups!"

Xia Jie shook his head. "What kind of place is Jujutsu High? The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department? And what gives you the right to make me go there with you?"

"Besides, what do I have to explain to this Jujutsu High you keep talking about? At most, I only scared a few people!"

A vein popped on Maki's forehead. Once again, she experienced Xia Jie's utter stubbornness, yet she couldn't deny that he did have a point.

Seeing Maki's expression, Xia Jie was just about to praise himself for his cleverness when Maki suddenly smiled. "It seems you're a reasonable person. Then I'll tell you exactly what kind of place Jujutsu High is!"

"On the surface, Jujutsu High is a school. In reality, it's a special institution jointly established by Jujutsu Sorcerers and the government to manage Jujutsu Sorcerers. It has basic authority over Jujutsu Sorcerers throughout Japan."

As she spoke, Maki produced her Jujutsu Sorcerer Certificate and pointed at its seal. "This is a Jujutsu Sorcerer Certificate jointly issued by Jujutsu High and the government. Anyone holding one may deal with Jujutsu Sorcerers who use Cursed Techniques to disrupt public safety as they see fit."

"Now do you understand what kind of place Jujutsu High is? Calling it the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department of Jujutsu Society wouldn't be an exaggeration!" Maki sneered. "Can you come to Jujutsu High with us now, Xia Jie?"

Looking at Maki's friendly smile, Xia Jie felt as if ten thousand alpacas had trampled across his heart.

Jujutsu High was actually an institution like this? Gege Akutami had never mentioned it!

"Perhaps Jujutsu High truly does possess the authority you described. Going with you to Jujutsu High may indeed be the best choice."

Xia Jie had Thunder Maru grab his shoulder, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Just as Maki thought she had succeeded, Xia Jie's face suddenly became sharply defined. In a strange tone, he said, "But I refuse!"

"I, Xia Jie, love nothing more than saying no to so-called authority!"

The moment Xia Jie finished speaking, Thunder Maru wrapped around him and transformed into a strange bolt of lightning, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye.

Maki stared wide-eyed in the direction Xia Jie had gone. The speed he displayed when leaving had shocked her.

"What kind of crazy fit was that?" Maki turned to Okkotsu, her face full of anger. "He already told us his name! Does he really think he can still evade Jujutsu High's search?"

"I think he was probably making a reference..." Okkotsu muttered quietly.

He had happened to read Araki's JoJo manga with Panda, so he naturally understood what Xia Jie's answer meant. He just couldn't explain it to Maki, since it would only make her angrier.

"What did you say, Okkotsu?" Maki asked.

"N-Nothing!" Okkotsu hurriedly came up with an excuse. "I mean, he might not trust us that much, so naturally he doesn't have any particular feelings about Jujutsu High either."

"So no matter what we say, he probably won't come back to Jujutsu High with us!"

As Okkotsu kept talking, he even convinced himself. Maki beside him also furrowed her brow.

Okkotsu had a point. If it were her, she probably wouldn't casually leave with strangers either.

As Maki was thinking, she heard Okkotsu ask with concern, "By the way, Maki, are you all right? You were inside that Shadow Maru for so long..."

"I'm fine!" Maki shot Okkotsu an annoyed glare and walked off to pick up her gunblade.

Okkotsu looked at Maki, hesitating before he spoke. "Maki, what do we do next? Do we keep looking for Xia Jie?"

"Idiot! Looking for what?" Maki scolded Okkotsu. "That brat obviously doesn't take either of us seriously! What would we accomplish even if we found him?"

"With our strength, dealing with even one of his Cursed Spirits is difficult, let alone the fact that he has another subordinate Cursed Spirit who may be Special Grade!"

"Then what should we do?" Okkotsu continued asking.

"Obviously, we return to Jujutsu High, report the situation from this mission, and find someone who can deal with that brat!" Maki said as she walked over to Okkotsu.

"Gojo-sensei?" Okkotsu said.

"Who else could it be besides that idiot?" Maki sighed. "Come on, let's go back!"

Meanwhile, Thunder Maru had already brought Xia Jie home.

Xia Jie stretched his muscles and saw Shadow Maru and Thunder Maru both looking at him in confusion.

"What is it?" Xia Jie asked with a smile. "Why are you both looking at me like that?"

"Lord Xia Jie, why did we... leave?" Shadow Maru did not directly say "run away," using "leave" instead. "With Thunder Maru's and my strength, dealing with those two hateful Jujutsu Sorcerers would have been effortless..."

Xia Jie waved his hand, stopping Shadow Maru from continuing.

Shadow Maru and Thunder Maru were both quite intelligent. Though they were loyal to him and strictly carried out his orders, they also had thoughts of their own.

Xia Jie still couldn't tell whether that was good or bad, but having people around him to talk to did not feel bad.

"I'm human. No matter what you think, that fact cannot be changed," Xia Jie said calmly. "Dealing with them may be easy for you, but it would drag us into endless trouble."

"I would no longer be able to survive in human society, and the Jujutsu Sorcerers would not let the matter rest!"

"Since that's the case, why not run?" Xia Jie said without hesitation. "If you don't want to fight, then running away is perfectly fine!"