Night operation

Ultimately, Cursed Spirit Manipulation was a cursed technique that used cursed spirits to fight. Its upper limit was closely tied to the number and strength of those spirits.

Whether it was to fulfill his agreement with Shinji Zenin, avoid being turned into the same sorry sight as Sukuna, or simply satisfy his own desires...

Whatever angle he looked at it from, Jianxia now had a task he could not ignore.

Subdue cursed spirits and grow stronger.

Over the past five days, he had not set foot outside the Zenin Estate, except to head north that morning and pick up Uraume.

But as the saying went, sharpening your axe did not delay the woodcutting. Over those five days, Jianxia had not only gained practical combat experience by beating up Megumi Zenin, but also learned the theory Shinji had taught him.

Now that he had entrusted Uraume to Megumi Zenin's care, it was time for Jianxia to get moving.

Glancing at the sun about to sink below the horizon, Jianxia licked his lips and smiled from the bottom of his heart.

Cursed spirits were more active at night than during the day, making it easier for him to find the cursed residue they left behind.

"Cursed spirits from a thousand years ago, you'd better not disappoint me."

Like a hunter entering his hunting grounds, Jianxia stepped out of the barrier surrounding the Zenin Estate.

The bright moon hung high overhead. Tonight was another cloudless night.

Jianxia stood on the trunk of an enormous tree, looking up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

Roughly three hours had passed since he came out.

He had thought cursed spirits and curses would be everywhere, like maggots.

But so far, he had found nothing.

"Guess I overestimated the density of cursed spirits in the Heian Era..."

A vibration came from Jianxia's pocket. He took out his phone. The system, which had been offline for almost the entire day, had finally stirred.

Host detected having difficulty finding his way. Would you like to enable navigation mode?

"Forget navigation for a second. Let me ask you something."

Jianxia was just about to settle the score over the system leaving him on read in the Bamboo Grove that morning when the text on his phone screen rapidly scattered and regrouped, then regrouped and scattered again.

It was as though it was searching for the right wording... or rather, an excuse.

After about half a minute, the text on the screen finally settled.

Sorry, meow.

Jianxia smiled, letting it go.

However, to compensate the host, the system has enabled navigation free of charge.

As long as the host names something that exists, the system can locate its approximate direction for you, meow.

Give it a try.

Jianxia thought for a moment, but did not immediately ask the system to locate a cursed spirit.

"Where's your old man Feng? I'll strike like thunder and cut him down."

Sorry, host. I can only navigate to things that exist.

The system had actually answered that question.

Jianxia was so annoyed that he laughed.

Anyone know how to counter the system's [Thing Without Feng]?

Still, since the system had gained a new feature, Jianxia decided not to pursue its offense from that morning.

"System, navigate me to the nearest cursed spirit."

Understood. Navigating the host to a nearby cursed spirit. Turn right in four hundred meters.

Jianxia put away his phone, jumped down from the tree trunk, and ran in the direction the system indicated.

To put it tactfully, the Hiraizumi countryside outside the Zenin Estate's barrier retained its natural charm. To put it bluntly, it was completely undeveloped forest.

Japan already had vast stretches of mountains and forests. A thousand years in the past, it felt even more like stepping into prehistoric times. Everywhere he looked, there were trees and more trees.

Continue straight for two hundred meters, then turn left onto an unnamed road.

When he reached the indicated spot, Jianxia took out his phone. Sure enough, new instructions had appeared.

Yet even here, Jianxia had not detected any cursed residue. His suspicion of the Feng-less system rose another few notches.

"System, don't tell me you're holding a grudge because I wanted to cut down that untargetable person just now, and you're deliberately messing with me?"

Jianxia slowly came to a stop. Traveling this far barely took any stamina, but being led around for a joke was another matter.

The system would never use its position to settle a personal grudge, meow.

"Seriously?"

Absolutely genuine, meow.

Since the system had said so, Jianxia could only choose to trust it-when trouble came, the system really did step up.

Just don't ask where that trouble came from.

Following the system's navigation through twist after twist in the forest, Jianxia actually emerged from the woods at last and reached an open stretch of farmland.

A few scattered houses stood on either side of the road in the distance, seemingly the homes of the farmers who tended these fields.

Though the place was too small to count as a village, it was far better than the area where he had been living like a prehistoric caveman.

Continue straight for three hundred meters to reach your destination.

"System, three hundred meters ahead would take me inside someone's house. I can't sense any cursed energy or cursed residue, either-you're not actually lying to me, are you?"

Jianxia channeled more cursed energy to enhance his vision, but even his reinforced eyes could see nothing unusual.

Cursed spirits did not actively conceal their cursed residue. Only intelligent spirits of Grade 1 or even Special Grade might have mastered that trick.

But cursed spirits were entities formed from human negative emotions. Generally speaking, the more people there were in a place, the more likely it was to give birth to a powerful cursed spirit.

Out here in the middle of nowhere, with fewer than 0.3 residents per square kilometer, even the birth of a grade 3 cursed spirit would normally be something to thank the heavens for.

"Banquet of Fated Remnants," who had previously been a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, could probably have been the King of Curses around here.

Absolutely certain. The system has not deceived the host. Please rest assured.

Filled with distrust toward the system, Jianxia nevertheless stepped onto the ridge between the fields and headed toward the houses.

As he approached his destination, he searched for traces of cursed residue, trying to find any clue that could confirm a cursed spirit's presence.

But even when Jianxia reached the space between the three houses, he had found nothing unusual.

Two of the houses were very much in the style of the Heian Era-the sort of small, thatch-roofed homes country folk lived in. Their doors were shut tight, and their owners seemed to have gone to sleep early.

The largest house was rather distinctive. Built entirely of wood, it had intricate patterns carved into its front doors, while its exterior walls were painted in vivid colors.

Though nowhere near as large as the Zenin Estate, it did not look like a building that belonged in the countryside.

Jianxia grew alert. Anything that defied common sense could be the work of a curse. He slowly approached the large house's doors and tried to push them open.

Yet even his cursed-energy-enhanced strength, enough to overpower Megumi Zenin in close combat, proved insignificant before these doors.

Jianxia tried several times in succession but could not push them open, making him all the more certain that a cursed spirit had affected this place.

"Interesting. A cursed spirit with a cursed technique...? In that case, it must be at least Grade 1."

Jianxia retreated to the middle of the road and looked toward the forest he had come from, considering his options.

Although he could now exorcise a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit alone, facing a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit with a cursed technique would probably mean fighting with everything he had just to get away unscathed.

And that was without accounting for the fact that it was night-the prime time for cursed spirits to wreak havoc, when their ferocity surged.

His best option now was to retreat, then return during daylight tomorrow with Megumi Zenin. Two jujutsu sorcerers who worked well together could make one plus one greater than two.

"That's what I'll do. Cursed spirit, don't blame me for playing dirty..."

Just as Jianxia decided to withdraw, a series of rumbles came from behind him-from that large house.

Jianxia whipped his head around. The lavishly decorated house, covered in bright paint, had begun shaking violently, as though it might fall apart at any moment.

Then, before Jianxia's astonished eyes...

The house stood up.