Things Are Getting Hairy-Time to Run

Why...

Why was it always like this...

Every time I came to my senses, the people around me had gone cold.

Dad was like that. Mom, too. Everyone who lived with me.

They all died because of me.

Maybe I really was a curse born to bring misfortune...

Uraume's drifting consciousness was like a little boat in a downpour, liable to capsize at any moment.

He raised his head and stared ahead with empty eyes.

Ah, someone was coming.

Was it a messenger from the underworld...?

Just take me away...

Uraume closed his eyes, yet a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

Perhaps for a curse like him, death was the only release.

But compared to Uraume, who wanted nothing more than release, Jianxia's expression was considerably more colorful.

He had recognized Uraume at first glance. That white hair and the ice around him left no room for doubt...!

And so his expression became thirty percent shock, twenty percent acceptance, twenty-five percent exasperated amusement, and pure helplessness for the rest.

He really was a key figure "capable of changing the course of the Heian era."

"A child? And he has quite a lot of cursed energy... a jujutsu sorcerer who accidentally awakened his powers later in life?"

Megumi Zenin tried to approach, only to be forced back by the cold Uraume unconsciously radiated. She could only advance after covering her body in cursed energy.

She walked up to Uraume with Divine Dog: Totality guarding her side, then crouched down to check his condition before turning to Jianxia.

"Jianxia, this child is still alive! But he seems to have lost consciousness. His innate cursed technique may have gone out of control."

For untrained jujutsu sorcerers with innate cursed techniques, unconsciously releasing cursed energy and causing their techniques to run wild was quite common.

Just as cursed spirits only arose among ordinary people unable to control their cursed energy, jujutsu sorcerers who had learned to control it would never let their techniques run wild while conscious.

Hearing Megumi Zenin call him, Jianxia covered himself in cursed energy and went over to her, lowering his head to make a show of examining the boy.

"Right. Since he's still alive, let's take him with us first. We can talk once he wakes up. We shouldn't linger here."

As he spoke, Jianxia directed Banquet of Fated Remnants to pick Uraume up in one hand.

Naturally, his warning against lingering came from knowing what might happen next.

The original story had never specified when or where Uraume first met Sukuna, but every detail matched what had happened here.

A bamboo grove, ruins, ice... next, some huge guy with four arms ought to pop out from the side and pick up the kid.

Only this time, Jianxia and Megumi Zenin had been the ones to pick Uraume up.

If you found top-tier loot on a knife-only run, you had to extract immediately. Getting kicked to death like some roadside stray by the Demon King's bodyguard wouldn't be worth it.

Time to run, bro. Time to run.

"Huh? But didn't you say there was a cursed spirit around here? If we don't exorcise it, it might hurt the ordinary people nearby."

Megumi Zenin tilted her head at Jianxia. She clearly still remembered exactly why he had brought her here today.

"That cursed spirit isn't here anymore... Megumi, don't underestimate my intelligence network."

After making sure once again that Banquet of Fated Remnants had Uraume firmly in hand, Jianxia urged Megumi Zenin to leave at once.

The cursed spirit really was gone, but if they stayed any longer, someone far nastier might pop out.

Although Hida Province, where Sukuna was active, was over a thousand li away, that was no more than a stroll for a jujutsu sorcerer of his caliber.

What if that capricious bastard got a sudden whim and really did stroll all the way over here?

By a slightly generous estimate, Jianxia and Megumi Zenin combined currently had the strength of about 0.000001 fingers.

They were at the level where Sukuna would lift his foot and find the two of them stuck to his sole.

Megumi Zenin said nothing more. She had always trusted Jianxia's judgment completely, and quickly followed him.

Only after they had run at least two or three kilometers from the bamboo grove did Jianxia look back, find no one behind them, and slow down once he was sure they were safe.

"We should be safe here... whew. You're so boring, Sukuna. I'll probably forget about you after a meal."

Jianxia wiped the sweat from his forehead, then looked at Banquet of Fated Remnants.

The bond between the man and the curse let them understand each other clearly without words, and Banquet of Fated Remnants carefully lowered Uraume from its hand.

Uraume had long since woken up during the bumpy journey, but he had said nothing, remaining as quiet as a puppet.

Still, Jianxia saw that a light had returned to his eyes. Judging by that alone, he was already doing much better than before.

"Jianxia, what were you saying about Sukuna?"

Catching up from behind, Megumi Zenin asked because she hadn't quite heard his muttering.

"Nothing. Forget it."

After brushing off Megumi Zenin, Jianxia turned his attention back to the silent Uraume.

The ultimate femboy, the gay awakening he inspired, the one who taught you to love men was...

Though his features were delicate and finely formed, a closer look still revealed a few masculine traits around his brows and eyes.

Compared to Kirara Hoshi, a bona fide femboy a thousand years later, Heian-era Uraume looked more like a handsome boy with soft features.

Although he had already mentally dredged up everything from the boy's name to his height and measurements, Jianxia still spoke as though they had never met.

"Kid, what's your name-and did you make all that ice in the bamboo grove?"

At Jianxia's words, Uraume's eyes quickly dimmed again. He lowered his gaze, but still answered honestly.

"My name is Uraume... as you can see, I'm a curse that brings misfortune."

At this point, Uraume had not yet been trained by Sukuna. He was still a child with normal, even relatively high, moral standards.

So he truly did feel guilty about his powers affecting others.

"Please let me go to the underworld, then, to bring comfort to those who died because of me."

Uraume spoke with calm acceptance as he begged Jianxia to kill him.

Tears welled in Megumi Zenin's eyes. Jianxia didn't even need to think to know she had imagined another pile of memories that had never happened.

"Then, Uraume, before I kill you, please answer one question honestly."

Jianxia's tone suddenly turned serious, making both Uraume and Megumi Zenin look up at him.

"Did you freeze those people, or anything else, deliberately?"

Uraume froze for a moment. "No, I didn't..."

"Then you certainly can't be called a curse."

Jianxia's voice was level, as though he were simply stating a fact, yet somehow it was filled with strength.

"Only when you harbor pure malice and hurt or kill innocent people for no reason can you be called a curse."

"Uraume, you never wanted to kill anyone innocent. You simply don't know how to use the power you were born with."

"And what we can do is teach you how to use that power properly."

Jianxia held out a hand to Uraume, whose pupils trembled as he stared at him in disbelief.

At that moment, Jianxia looked to him like a Buddha delivering all living beings from suffering.

"Please live on as a human, as a jujutsu sorcerer. Carry your respect for the dead with you, and use your power to exorcise true curses."

"Waaah... Jianxia... waaah..."

Both tacitly ignored Megumi Zenin, who was sobbing beside them, as Uraume took the hand offered to him.

"Lord Jianxia, correct?"

"Please allow me to follow you."