第18章 禅院家

Lu Ping looked at his phone screen.

The cold blue light reflected on the wall, illuminating his well-defined profile.

"Return to the Zenin Clan immediately."

He closed his phone, and the room plunged back into darkness.

Why did the old head call him back at this time?

Lu Ping sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, his black eyes shimmering faintly in the dimness.

Tonight's events happened too quickly; Hoshimi Shrine was attacked, and the impact had inevitably already begun to spread.

As one of the Three Great Families, the Zenin Clan had deep roots in the jujutsu world and was naturally among the first to catch wind of it.

Lu Ping sorted through the clues of tonight in his mind.

Within this, there were two variable figures and one variable incident.

The incident was the theft of Sukuna Finger.

Although the assistant manager from Jujutsu High had already gone to deal with the residual energy, it would still take time for the machinery to operate in order to report the intelligence to the vast and bloated upper echelons of the jujutsu world.

The old head could not have obtained such precise intelligence through official channels the moment he himself returned to Jujutsu High.

Therefore, the news could only have leaked from the other two variable figures.

The first person was Grade 1 Curse User Miwa Seigen.

After the attack on the shrine failed, this old bastard forcefully fled; in order to protect himself or disgust Jujutsu High, he most likely had already spread the battle report of tonight.

The second person was Toji Fushiguro.

That man who had sneaked into the barrier amidst the chaos and stolen the special-grade cursed object without a sound.

Yet as a professional assassin famous in the black market, Toji was extremely meticulous about confidentiality, so he was highly unlikely to be the source of the news.

Thus, it was clear that the old head had most likely learned of the wind stirred up from Miwa Seigen's side.

The old head probably thought that he had encountered an ambush by curse users at the shrine and was currently in danger.

Or perhaps the old head had already received some inside information in advance concerning Sukuna Finger, or even the "Star Plasma Vessel" incident, and wanted to let him temporarily return to the Zenin Clan to avoid the storm for a while.

I definitely have to go back, Lu Ping muttered to himself.

He was currently inside Jujutsu High, surrounded by barriers.

Besides, after the deep development of his cursed energy senses by the Three Corpses, no trouble or disturbance could escape his perception.

At the school, the possibility of him encountering danger was minuscule.

The current primary task was to adjust his state.

Lu Ping typed a short sentence on his phone: [Understood, I will go back tomorrow.]

He clicked send.

He put away his phone, placed his hands naturally flat on his knees, closed his eyes, and began to run the Taoist breathing and exhaling technique to assist the Three Corpses within his body in transforming the negative emotions.

The Taoist scriptures said: "Neither force it nor forget it, let it drift on endlessly like a gossamer thread."

This meant focusing one's attention on the breathing itself, and slowing down the speed of a single breath as much as possible.

The slower the breathing speed, the stronger the recovery effect on bodily functions.

Exhaling, inhaling.

His breathing became extremely slow and extremely deep.

Every cycle of airflow within his body was like clear water washing over fatigued muscles.

The Taoist technique of breathing and exhaling emphasized "expelling the old and absorbing the new."

This ancient health-preservation method had an efficiency for recovering from physical and mental fatigue that was even higher than a normal eight hours of sleep.

Along with the reciprocating cycle of inhalation and exhalation, Lu Ping's heartbeat gradually calmed.

The Three Corpses within his body fell dormant, completely purifying the negative emotions absorbed from the previous battle, transforming them into wisps of mild cursed energy that slowly nourished his parched meridians.

Early morning, July 1st.

A wisp of golden early morning sunlight pierced through the paper window, illuminating the room.

Lu Ping opened his eyes, his gaze clear.

There was not the slightest trace of staying up late's fatigue all over his body, and instead he felt refreshed.

He took out his phone and sent a mass text message to Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, and Ieiri Shoko: "Going back to the Zenin Clan for a trip."

After sending the text message, he did not delay and directly set off to leave Jujutsu High.

The Zenin Clan's estate was located in the suburbs of Kyoto. The grounds here were extremely vast, with black tiles and grey walls, exuding an ancient and rotting sense of stuffiness.

Lu Ping walked through the long corridor and stepped into the main hall.

Naobito Zenin was sitting cross-legged in the main seat.

This tall old man wore a loose kimono and held an exquisite ceramic wine pot in his right hand.

Seeing Lu Ping walk in, he tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of wine, the pungent wine aroma instantly diffusing into the air.

"Sit," Naobito wiped the wine stains on his beard, his voice steady.

Lu Ping sat down as instructed.

Naobito put down the wine pot and raised a finger: "I had you called back to hand over three matters."

"First. You are of collateral bloodline. Your parents passed away early, but during their lifetime they had an extremely good relationship with this old man. You awakened the Ten Shadows Technique, and logically speaking, you should smoothly inherit the core resources of the family."

Speaking up to here, the old head paused, his gaze turning somewhat sharp: "But your current amount of cursed energy is too weak. At this level, it will be hard for you to tame those truly powerful, high-tier shikigami. Listen to a word of advice from me; in the future, get involved less in battles of Grade 1 sorcerers and above."

Naobito tugged at his collar and continued: "That Miwa Seigen who attacked the shrine last night posted an analysis of Jujutsu High's combat power on the curse user forum of the black market after his mission failed. It detailed fragments of your battle with him. I am not clear what means you used to break away at that time, but for a Grade 2 sorcerer like you, this crosses the line too much. If you follow those two Grade 1 monsters Gojo and Geto in operations, you will throw your life away sooner or later."

"Old man here lays my words on the line today. As long as I am not dead yet, there will always be a spot for you in the Zenin Clan. If you get tired of staying at Jujutsu High, you can roll back here to rest at any time. If those idiots in the main family have opinions, have them come find me."

Listening to these words, Lu Ping felt a slight warmth in his heart.

This elder who seemingly loved wine more than anything truly possessed genuine protection from an elder toward him.

Naobito raised a second finger.

"Second. The Zenin Clan has caught wind that the Pan Star Religious Group may make a move on the 'Star Plasma Vessel' in the near future. The upper echelons of Jujutsu High will inevitably dispatch elite sorcerers to escort the Star Plasma Vessel to the Tomb of the Star. The danger level of such a task is too strenuous for you. For the upcoming July and August, you had better find an excuse to avoid the limelight and not accept any related commissions."

Lu Ping looked at Naobito, thinking of the clean-cut footprints he saw on the dirt at the shrine last night.

He did not beat around the bush and directly asked aloud: "Clan Head, if you and Toji Fushiguro fought, who would be stronger?"

Naobito's action of drinking wine suddenly stiffened.

In those somewhat cloudy eyes of his, a trace of astonishment flashed rarely.

Clearly, he did not expect that Lu Ping not only knew this name, but also knew the other party's current background.

"You brat, you really know quite a bit of inside information."

Naobito sighed and put down the wine pot.

His expression turned serious.

"So be it, you would have come into contact with that level of things sooner or later anyway."

Naobito leaned against the cushion and analyzed calmly: "If he steps into this Zenin manor, he naturally will give me, this clan head, three parts of respect."

"But if it's a life-or-death battle, the situation will be very complicated. As for overall qualities as a jujutsu worker, I am higher; but if it's purely as a professional assassin, without a doubt he is more formidable."

Lu Ping nodded; the old head's meaning was much the same as what he had thought.

A battle between the two of them would definitely not be a fair showdown set up in formation, but rather a contest of who could better push their own traits to the limit.

Naobito's innate technique was "Projection Sorcery."

This technique could forcibly decompose moving objects within the field of vision into twenty-four frames per second, and freeze any target that deviated from the preset trajectory.

Matched with the old head's own ultra-high-speed movement, it could form an extremely terrifying suppression force.

Naobito's own level of cursed energy had long reached the realm of Beyond Grade 1.

If he further used specially crafted cursed tools as an attack multiplier to maximize the power of "Projection Sorcery," his lethality would reach a startling degree.

However, the drawbacks were also obvious.

Whether it was Naobito or Toji Fushiguro, who possessed the physique of the "Heavenly Tyrant," both were extreme powerhouses specialized in speed and attack.

Their resistance in terms of defense was far lower than their own offensive power.

A battle between them would most likely decide the outcome in the very instant of engagement.

"Victory and defeat are hard to predict; it's mostly a fifty-fifty toss-up," Naobito shook his head. "Unless driven to a desperate situation, it is impossible for us to engage in a death match with each other. Besides, this old man used to have some fellowship with that brat."

The old head extended a third finger, the corners of his mouth suddenly splitting into a somewhat improper, playful smile.

"Third. I know that as a collateral branch, you have always been at odds with those self-important young disciples of the main family. To prevent you from being isolated, I personally stepped forward and negotiated a marriage for you with the Kamo Clan. Of course, whether you end up together ultimately depends on the wishes of you young folks."

Naobito blinked and hinted: "The marriage target is currently studying in her third year at Jujutsu High, and she is your senior. You can interact more in a while."

A Kamo Clan senior in her third year at Jujutsu High?

In Lu Ping's mind, the image of a tall female figure with a high black ponytail instantly surfaced.

"Thank you for your concern, Clan Head; I will consider it."

After finishing the serious matters, Lu Ping stood up.

He prepared to return to Jujutsu High according to the original plan and begin hellish special training targeting physical strength.

Just as he turned and was about to leave, Naobito behind him suddenly reached his hand into his robe.

"Catch."

A whistling sound rang out, and a pitch-black wooden token drew a straight arc through the air.

Lu Ping did not turn his head; a faint wisp of shadow cursed energy surged on his right hand, and he probed backward—with a smack, he steadily caught the wooden plaque with one hand.

The wooden token felt cold and heavy upon contact, and a complex word for "Forbidden" was carved upon it.

"Go take a look at the Forbidden Vault deep in the manor. With this token, pick out the handiest Grade 1 cursed tool and take it away," Naobito picked up the wine pot again and said indifferently,

"Following those two monsters, not having a decent thing in your hand to defend yourself doesn't look like much."

Lu Ping lowered his head to look at the Forbidden Vault token in his hand, his fingertips gently rubbing the patterns on it.

A Grade 1 cursed tool treasured by the Three Great Families.

Regardless of whether it was a reinforcement on the offensive end or the defensive end, it was undoubtedly what he urgently needed right now.