The group walked down the stone steps together.
Ieiri Shoko yawned, deliberately putting some distance between herself and the two little girls before moving downwind and taking out a cigarette to light.
The flame flickered beneath the dim canopy of trees, and the scent of nicotine briefly dispelled the dampness of the mountain woods.
Mei Mei walked at the front, holding her phone. Red and green stock candlesticks danced across its screen.
She still had to return to the shrine on the surface and resume her watch, while also handling a few trades she had missed after entering the inner realm.
Satoru Gojo slipped both hands into his pockets and turned to look at Lu Ping, who was still standing where he had been.
"Aren't you leaving?"
"You go ahead." Lu Ping pointed at the steps behind him. "I still need to teach my new disciple and fulfill a little of my responsibility as her master. I'll leave later."
Satoru Gojo shrugged without asking any further questions and disappeared down the Approach Path with Shoko.
The sun sank completely below the horizon.
Night fell.
Nearby, the two crows Mei Mei had left behind flapped their wings and circled up onto the towering torii gate, blending into the darkness.
Lu Ping sat down on the stone steps in front of the shrine.
After his ordeal in the [Shadow Gap], he had gained a deeper understanding of the underlying principles of shikigami and cursed energy.
This understanding was not merely theoretical knowledge from books. It was instinct forged through experience, etched into the depths of his soul.
Suzune Dairenji sat obediently to his left, holding a stack of red origami paper.
Ren Hoshimi sat on his right with her chin resting in her hands. Although she had not awakened a cursed technique,