Reminder

"I thought you wanted to see me over something serious..." Xia Jie sighed. "So it was because of this!"

"Hmm... how should I put this?" Xia Jie said thoughtfully. "Actually, I don't really care much about what you did to me before..."

"I know you might not believe me," Xia Jie said, stopping Maki before she could speak, "but the truth is, I already knew everything you were talking about!"

"You knew?" Maki's voice rose involuntarily. "How could you know?"

"It was Panda!" Xia Jie hesitated slightly before speaking. "Do you remember the first time you injured me? When Panda came to see me, he quietly told me about you."

"Damn it! Why did that Panda guy do something like that?" Maki couldn't help saying.

"What other reason could there be?" Xia Jie said softly. "He was afraid we'd build up resentment between us!"

"One after another, always doing these unnecessary things!" Maki raised her fist and slammed it onto the table with a thud.

Xia Jie said nothing. He could tell that Maki was not blaming him or Panda, but herself. Only after her emotions had settled did Xia Jie speak. "It's precisely because we meet people who do these unnecessary things that you and I joined Jujutsu High!"

"No matter why we joined Jujutsu High, being able to meet such an interesting group of companions is a fortunate thing in itself, isn't it?"

Jujutsu High.

Masamichi Yaga called Okkotsu, Xia Jie, and Maki into his office and had them report the events surrounding the Cursed Child incident. As the most eloquent of the three, Xia Jie naturally explained how they had exorcised the Cursed Child.

"Cursed Child, Vengeful Spirit, Vengeful Spirit Collective..." A cold gleam flashed across Masamichi Yaga's sunglasses as he said sternly, "Cursed Children are as troublesome as ever!"

From the way Masamichi Yaga spoke, Xia Jie could tell this was clearly not the first time he had dealt with a Cursed Child. He asked, "Principal... have you exorcised one before?"

Masamichi Yaga lifted his sunglasses and glanced at him. "Cursed Children... more accurately, their true name is Demon Child, a Grade 1 Imaginary Cursed Spirit."

"Rumor has it that they are five hundred demon children under Kishimojin. In other words, there are a full five hundred of them."

"As children under Kishimojin, they can summon child Vengeful Spirits and strengthen them. If they are not exorcised in time, those child Vengeful Spirits will grow increasingly powerful and may even transform into new Demon Children."

Demon Children appeared roughly once every three to five years. However... because of last year's Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, rumors of Kishimojin's Childbirth had spread like wildfire, greatly increasing the frequency with which Demon Children appeared in the world.

"Besides the Demon Child you exorcised this time, there have reportedly been two other Demon Child incidents in other regions connected to Kishimojin!"

"This has much to do with the legend of 'Kishimojin's Childbirth' that spread online back then!" At that point, Masamichi Yaga gave Xia Jie a deep look and said in a low voice, "There are already people at Jujutsu High who are dissatisfied about this! Fortunately, all of you performed well this time!"

Xia Jie's eyelid twitched.

From what Masamichi Yaga meant, someone at Jujutsu High wanted to cause him trouble over the Demon Child incident? What the hell? Did the people at Jujutsu High have nothing better to do after stuffing themselves full?

Masamichi Yaga watched the changes in Xia Jie's expression and knew he had understood his meaning. He said no more, merely waving them out.

Okkotsu, Xia Jie, and Maki pushed open the door and left together. The three were somewhat silent along the way.

Kishimojin's Childbirth, which Masamichi Yaga had mentioned, weighed heavily on all their minds.

It was the first time they had truly understood the profound meaning behind the phrase, "Cursed Spirits are creatures formed from the accumulation of humanity's negative emotions."

Once human negative emotions had a specific target, Cursed Spirits became easier to form. That was how Demon Children came about.

Demon Children were only Grade 1 Cursed Spirits. What if they were even harder-to-handle Special-Grade Cursed Spirits?

"Special-Grade Cursed Spirits aren't that easy to form!"

Faced with Okkotsu and Maki's doubts, Xia Jie gave a dismissive laugh. "Don't let Principal Yaga's scary wording make you think Special-Grade Cursed Spirits are so easily created!"

"If Special-Grade Cursed Spirits were that easy to form, then every one of Japan's Eight Million Gods and Demons should count as a Special-Grade Cursed Spirit. At the very least, they should be Grade 1 Cursed Spirits."

"How many of them have actually manifested in the real world?"

"The answer is none of them!"

"There are three reasons for that."

"First, the total Cursed Energy humans leak is nearly limitless, but not all of it is directed toward Cursed Spirits. A large portion simply dissipates."

"Second, for Cursed Spirits to draw Cursed Energy from the diffuse Cursed Energy leaked by humans is an extremely slow process. Low-level Cursed Spirits may form easily, but high-level Cursed Spirits inevitably require decades, even centuries, of accumulation!"

"Their curses are far more strongly directed, so they cannot absorb ordinary Cursed Energy!"

"Otherwise, what we would be facing wouldn't be Demon Children, but the far more mysterious 'Kishimojin'!"

"By your logic, then how does your Shadow Maru possess Special Grade strength?" Maki asked.

"That is naturally because of my Cursed Technique." Xia Jie shrugged. "Cursed Spirits draw Cursed Energy from the diffuse Cursed Energy leaked by humans very slowly, but my Cursed Technique can help them speed up that process. So... now you should understand just how much the Higher-Ups dislike me, right?"

Xia Jie did not beat around the bush. He directly pointed out the Higher-Ups' dissatisfaction with him.

His Cursed Technique carried too many risks and hidden dangers. There were definitely people among the Higher-Ups who wanted him dead; that was beyond doubt. That was why, before entering Jujutsu High, he had wanted to meet Gojo Satoru and give himself another layer of insurance.

As long as Gojo Satoru did not intend to kill him, and Yuki Tsukumo, that Special Grade, spent most of her time abroad, there were not many people at Jujutsu High who could deal with him.

If Jujutsu High had sent someone hostile toward him back then, he would simply have slipped away.

With two Special-Grade Cursed Spirits on him, he could go anywhere.

"So you can summon Special-Grade Cursed Spirits whenever you want?" Maki said in amazement.

"Theoretically, yes." Xia Jie said, "But Special Grades summoned that way would not obey my orders. I would have to subdue them before I could make them mine. So under normal circumstances, I would not do that! Besides, when I entered Jujutsu High, I made such a Binding Vow."

"What a terrifying Cursed Technique! No wonder the Higher-Ups are wary of you!" Maki said in a lowered voice.

"So when Principal Yaga said that..." Okkotsu said worriedly.

"He was warning me not to use my Cursed Technique casually! The Higher-Ups at Jujutsu High already suspect me!" Xia Jie sighed. "But I've been staying at Jujutsu High this whole time. Aside from missions, I've barely gone anywhere. Yet the Higher-Ups can still suspect me... these people!"

"If that's the case, then why send me to exorcise Demon Children at all? Wouldn't it be better to just keep me at Jujutsu High?" Xia Jie said helplessly.

"The Higher-Ups probably do not have any evidence, so they deliberately wanted to test you," Maki guessed. "They probably have no proof and are just making wild guesses. You don't need to get too worked up over this!"

"Don't worry. I'm a little annoyed, but something this minor won't affect me." Xia Jie said nonchalantly. "The Higher-Ups can think whatever they want. As long as they don't come bother me, I really don't care at all! I came to Jujutsu High to train myself. I don't have spare time to play political games with them!"