Nighttime Wild Swimming

Xia Jie briefly sifted through the possibilities in his mind, marking the locations of the Grade 2 Cursed Spirits. He planned to visit those places and see whether he might encounter any Jujutsu Sorcerers from China.

Although the existence of Chinese Jujutsu Sorcerers was something of an open secret, it had never truly been made public.

Ordinary people merely knew that they existed, but had no idea who those people actually were.

If Xia Jie wanted to get in touch with them, he would have to find a way himself.

The simplest method was to follow the basic principle that wherever Cursed Spirits appeared, Jujutsu Sorcerers would also show up.

So while wandering around Ninghang City, Xia Jie had also sensed for the aura of Cursed Spirits throughout the city.

Generally speaking, Jujutsu Sorcerers found it difficult to sense a Cursed Spirit's aura unless the spirit was close by.

When Cursed Spirits were not acting, they concealed their auras as well, making them hard to discover.

Otherwise, Jujutsu Sorcerers would have long since taken the initiative and exorcised every Cursed Spirit they could see.

Perhaps because of his Cursed Technique, Xia Jie was much more sensitive to the auras of Cursed Spirits than ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerers. Very few Cursed Spirits could evade his perception.

However, he had never mentioned this to anyone at Jujutsu High.

After sensing carefully, Xia Jie found that Ninghang's Cursed Spirit auras were not particularly strong. There were only a dozen or so Grade 3 Cursed Spirits, and even fewer Grade 2 Cursed Spirits—only four or five.

As for higher-grade Cursed Spirits, they could conceal their auras more effectively. Some even hid within special Innate Domains, making them difficult for even Xia Jie to detect.

Following the marked locations, Xia Jie set off toward one of the Grade 2 Cursed Spirits.

His entire body was covered in black clothing transformed from Shadow Maru, and he darted swiftly through the night.

Even if one or two people happened to see him, they would only catch a fleeting black shadow and be unable to tell whether what they had seen was real or an illusion.

Before long, Xia Jie arrived at the location of a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit: a river that looked black and bottomless.

Xia Jie found a concealed corner and hid there for the time being, waiting for Chinese Jujutsu Sorcerers to come deal with it.

Cursed Spirits were born from humanity's negative emotions.

Generally, places that carried emotions such as regret and shame were more likely to accumulate curses and produce Cursed Spirits.

That was also why supernatural incidents frequently occurred in schools and hospitals.

Jujutsu Sorcerers in Japan placed curse-repelling Cursed Objects in such places to prevent the birth or attacks of other Cursed Spirits.

Xia Jie had not expected a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit to be born in a river in Ninghang.

But then he remembered that Ninghang was in the south, where the weather was hot. People probably often sneaked into the river to swim and died for no reason, so the birth of a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit was hardly surprising.

The night gradually deepened. Silvery moonlight spilled across the river, yet not a glimmer of light reflected from its surface.

Three figures furtively arrived at the riverbank. After roughhousing for a while, they stripped off their clothes and entered the water.

"Ah—so refreshing!" Ren Tong cried out involuntarily as he felt the cool river water.

"Ren Tong! Keep your damn voice down! If someone hears us, we'll get chewed out!" Zhou Yushan cursed under his breath.

"What's there to be afraid of? Who's going to hear us this late at night?" Ren Tong said with a grin. Even so, he lowered his voice.

"This water is so cold! I think we should rinse off quickly and head back!" Yu Xinran interjected.

"But... I keep feeling this chill around my feet, like someone down there is blowing cold air on them!"

"Damn it! Xinran, what the hell is wrong with you?" Ren Tong cursed. "Why would you say something like that now?"

Zhou Yushan was displeased as well. "Xinran, can you stop being such a scaredy-cat? We're already in the water, so let's have some proper fun! Stop worrying about this and that!"

Yu Xinran opened his mouth, hesitated, then said, "All right!"

He, Ren Tong, and Zhou Yushan were all students at Taohua High School in Ninghang City. During the holiday, the three of them had gone to Zhou Yushan's house to hang out.

As evening drew near, Ren Tong and Yu Xinran had originally planned to go home, but Zhou Yushan invited them to stay and have some fun.

Zhou Yushan was the son of a moderately wealthy family. Since his parents were often away from home, he was somewhat rebellious and had few friends.

When Zhou Yushan invited them, Ren Tong and Yu Xinran, his two closest friends, agreed after only a brief hesitation.

They had spent the evening playing online games together until after eight. Once they got tired of gaming, Ren Tong suggested they come to the nearby Anyang River for a wild swim.

Yu Xinran was still somewhat hesitant, but Zhou Yushan agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Two out of the three agreed, so Yu Xinran reluctantly followed them over.

But the moment he entered the water, he could not help feeling a little regretful.

It was too quiet around them. The water was too quiet as well, and he could barely hear any other sounds.

He turned to look at the water's surface and saw no light at all, only surging darkness.

Yu Xinran suddenly felt that something was wrong. He quickly turned his head, only to find that Ren Tong and Zhou Yushan were nowhere beside him!

An inexplicable terror rose in Yu Xinran's heart. His voice trembling, he shouted, "Ren Tong! Yushan! Where are you two?"

No one answered.

"You two... stop messing around!"

Yu Xinran's voice began to shake, and his face turned pale.

He suddenly remembered a local news article he had seen in his browser a few days earlier. Its headline had read: "Heartbreaking! Two Teenagers Go Night Swimming in the Anyang River and Tragically Both Drown!"

The cover image was heavily mosaicked, but he could vaguely make out the silhouettes of two teenagers.

Yu Xinran became more and more panicked. He did not understand why he was thinking of this.

He had never even clicked on that article, yet he clearly remembered its headline!

He frantically moved his arms, trying to swim toward the shore, only to discover that no matter how he swam, the distance between him and the riverbank did not shrink at all.

Yu Xinran felt his limbs stiffen. It seemed as though something in the water was dragging him.

"Is anyone there... glug glug... someone save me!"

Yu Xinran slapped wildly at the water's surface. He could not even cry out for help before sinking beneath it.

When Ren Tong and Zhou Yushan noticed Yu Xinran acting strangely, they initially thought he was fooling around. But they quickly realized something was wrong.

The two hurriedly swam to where Yu Xinran was and desperately grabbed his hands, which were barely above the water.

They tried with all their strength to drag him toward the shore, only to find Yu Xinran's body inexplicably heavy, his hands cold and rigid like those of a corpse.

What the hell was going on?!

One second ago, Yu Xinran had been talking to them. The next, he was flailing wildly at the water like a madman!

Yet no matter how he moved, he remained in the same spot!

Every inch of Ren Tong and Zhou Yushan's skin broke out in goosebumps. They exchanged a hurried glance and saw nothing but terror in each other's eyes.

Something was seriously wrong!

The same thought arose in both boys' minds, but they could not bring themselves to abandon their best friend.

Ren Tong and Zhou Yushan desperately held on to Yu Xinran, refusing to let him sink.

Yet although he was so thin and weak, his body now seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, as if it were trying to drag both of them down into the depths of the river.

"Pull harder, Zhou Yushan!" Veins bulged on Ren Tong's forehead.

"You're the one who needs to pull, Ren Tong!" Zhou Yushan gritted out, clutching Yu Xinran's hand.

Had Ninghang's Jujutsu Sorcerers failed to notice the Cursed Spirit here?

Standing in a corner not far away, Xia Jie frowned as he watched the three boys struggling in the river. He had already prepared to step in and save them.

It was not entirely impossible. After all, Cursed Spirits were truly difficult to detect when they were not acting.

Xia Jie called out to Shadow Maru and was just about to rescue the boys together.

Before he could act, however, a harsh screech of tires grinding against the road suddenly rang out beside him.

Then, a cold voice sounded from the darkness: "Primordial peace settles all; I proclaim this to every spirit. True officials of mountains and rivers, spirits of earth and land. Guardians of the left and grain gods of the right, do not cause reckless alarm. Return to the righteous path; let all within and without be purified!"