First arrival at Jujutsu High

A little while later, Feng and Satoru Gojo arrived at Jujutsu High and got out of the car.

The black sedan disappeared at the end of the mountain road, its engine noise swiftly swallowed by the stillness of the deep mountains.

Before them stood a sprawling complex built into the mountainside. Its tiered, upturned eaves traced stark shadows beneath the moonlight, like countless enormous beasts crouching in the dark.

Ancient trees with trunks too thick to wrap one's arms around blocked out every trace of starlight. Only the occasional stone lantern on either side of the steps gave off a wavering, sickly yellow glow.

The air here was several degrees colder than at the foot of the mountain. The oppressive presence of the powerful barrier enclosing the grounds gave every living creature that entered the illusion of being watched.

Satoru Gojo climbed the steps at an easy pace, both hands tucked into his trouser pockets.

His silver hair reflected a cold gleam in the faint lamplight, as though it were the only flicker of color in the silent mountain woods.

"So this is Jujutsu High? It's so dark, like... something out of a horror story."

Feng couldn't help remarking.

Experiencing something in person really was different from seeing it in anime.

It was like how Mahito looked pretty handsome in the anime, only to look no different from a monster when you met him in the flesh.

"A horror story? In a way, your instincts are astonishingly accurate."

He stopped and turned his head slightly. Behind his dark sunglasses, one eye shimmered in the shadows with tiny glints of oceanlike light.

"After all, everyone gathered here is a weirdo who specializes in dealing with 'horror stories,' or even lives inside one themselves.

"But compared to the curses hiding in the gutters, the old fossils here might be just a little more of a headache."

Satoru Gojo gave a light chuckle tinged with mockery, then raised a long finger to point at the towering wooden gate ahead in the darkness.

"Come on. It's the middle of the night, but the principal is probably already getting impatient.

"If he finds out I've brought back a little god who's never even tasted 'sweets,' that already stern face of his might look even more like a curse."

Satoru Gojo strode forward on his long legs, the sound of his dress shoes against the stone paving echoing through the empty mountain gate.

He didn't look back to check whether Feng was following.

Through his Six Eyes, he could sense that stream of cursed energy, clear as water, maintaining a constant distance as it gradually slipped into the ancient, weighty shadows.

As they ventured farther in, the faint chirping of insects around them vanished entirely, replaced by a deeper solemnity unique to the Jujutsu Society.

The mountain's night breeze swept across the empty stone path, carrying a biting chill.

"But I just had something sweet, didn't I? The principal..." Feng pondered as he walked, the night breeze blowing away much of the melancholy he felt at having crossed into another world.

After all, his life in his original world hadn't been particularly good. In fact, it had been fairly bad.

He did have one friend he shared a deep bond with, but most of his closest relatives had already passed away. Aside from a faint concern for that friend, Feng felt little else.

His oversized, dark blue school uniform jacket rustled softly in the wind. Its long hem swayed gently with his steady climb, casting a long, quiet shadow in the dim glow of the stone lanterns.

"I do still know a little about everyday life, though."

Walking half a step ahead, Satoru Gojo didn't turn around, but his shoulders still gave a slight bounce with a brief chuckle at the voice behind him.

His dress shoes made a dull, distinct sound as he stepped onto the main school building's wooden corridor.

"That strawberry hard candy in the car was, at best, cheap fuel to keep your brain from overloading. It's a long way from the true 'art of sweets.'"

Satoru Gojo slowed slightly and turned his head a little. His dark sunglasses slid an almost imperceptible fraction down his nose, revealing a sliver of pale blue eyes above the frames.

To the Six Eyes, which could analyze all cursed energy information in the world, the cluster of cursed energy formed from pure water elements behind him had perfectly concealed its presence, blending almost seamlessly into the damp night dew of the deep mountains.

Even after losing most of his memories, Feng retained this seemingly instinctive ability to conceal his cursed energy, quietly raising Satoru Gojo's expectations for this "investment."

"If you've still got some basic social knowledge, that should make the conversation a lot easier.

"After all, the middle-aged guy in there is a walking contradiction-stern and stuffy, yet deeply in love with plush toys.

"If you don't even understand basic manners, his weird-looking cursed corpses will probably throw you straight out the gate."

He turned forward again, his tall figure coming to a stop before a heavy sliding door to a Japanese-style room.

"Is he really that scary?" Feng was somewhat taken aback, his dark red eyes shining like gemstones in the dim light.

Little light escaped from within, but they could clearly hear the soft puncturing sounds of a needle passing through thick fabric, along with the muffled noise of stuffing being forced into leather.

Accompanying those faint sounds was a steady, heavy pulse of artificial cursed energy, brimming with oppressive force.

Satoru Gojo showed none of the manners expected of a teacher. He couldn't even be bothered to raise a hand to knock, simply pressing the toe of his shoe against the edge of the wooden door and giving it a push.

Clatter-!

The wooden shoji door was shoved open roughly with a loud scraping sound. The candle flames inside swayed violently in the sudden draft, stretching the shadows on the floor into clawing shapes.

"Principal Yaga! Sorry to bother you so late! Look at the incredible diamond in the rough I picked up in the wild on the banks of the Tama River!"

You seem like exactly the sort who'd get thrown out... Feng was a little speechless, but kept the thought to himself.

In the center of the dim room, a burly man wearing black sunglasses sat cross-legged on the tatami. All around him lay piles of bizarrely shaped, brightly colored plush toys.

At the brazen sound of the door opening, the sewing needle in the man's hand stopped in midair. His brows visibly drew into a deep frown behind his sunglasses, and the plush toys around him, previously still, seemed to respond to their owner's shifting mood with teeth-grating creaks.