The story begins

"Aren't you a kid yourself? You're awful!"

Riko Amanai was instantly furious. Like an angry little tiger, she ran around from the other end of the dining table and vigorously ground her fists against Yuanfang's head.

Although his head hurt a little, Yuanfang neither ducked nor dodged, letting Riko Amanai do as she pleased.

He was like an adult utterly unbothered by a child's antics.

"Ah, you're driving me crazy!"

Seeing Yuanfang act like a little grown-up made Riko Amanai even angrier, but the pressure of her hands stayed moderate. She hadn't lost her head over it.

Misato Kuroi simply smiled from the side without intervening.

She knew that Riko Amanai was happier now than she had ever been.

"I'm heading out!"

After fooling around for a while, Yuanfang said goodbye to Riko Amanai and Misato Kuroi, ready to leave for school.

"All right, be careful on the way!"

"Hmph!"

Misato Kuroi smiled as she reminded him to take care, while Riko Amanai gave a huff and went to gather her things for school.

After leaving, Yuanfang avoided the broad roads and took narrow passages whenever possible.

He did this because he wanted to grow stronger and see whether he could save Riko Amanai and Kuroi, repaying them for saving his life.

After all, without those two, he probably would have frozen to death by the roadside before he even woke up.

The cheat domain he had gained could absorb the cursed energy of cursed spirits that died within it, as well as released cursed energy and cursed techniques, strengthening him and expanding the domain.

So, to grow stronger in a short time, he had to encounter as many curses as possible.

After walking this way for a while, Yuanfang finally encountered a cursed spirit, just as he had hoped.

It had a human face, a grotesquely shaped body, and dark green skin, with an evil aura radiating from it.

It sat there quietly, muttering something unintelligible.

Yuanfang had already encountered several cursed spirits, so he wasn't afraid in the slightest.

He calmly sat down beside the cursed spirit. Although it noticed Yuanfang, it didn't attack and continued muttering to itself.

The reason was simple: Yuanfang could completely conceal his cursed energy, just like Toji Fushiguro, the Sorcerer Killer.

Weak cursed spirits like this usually didn't attack ordinary people, so naturally, it wouldn't attack Yuanfang, who currently had no cursed energy.

"Ugh, this is so slow!"

Had Yuanfang not concealed his domain, any passing Jujutsu Sorcerer would have seen a translucent dome roughly a meter in diameter quietly spread out around him, like a giant, crystal-clear dewdrop.

The cursed energy leaking from the cursed spirit vanished the instant it appeared, hungrily absorbed by Yuanfang.

Boom!

A small fist punched through the cursed spirit's body in a flash. Before it could react, it dispersed like smoke.

"Ah, absorbing it this way is much faster!"

Feeling that his body seemed to have grown a little stronger, Yuanfang couldn't help smiling in satisfaction.

Time passed as Yuanfang grew stronger little by little.

Then one day, Yuanfang saw two men arrive at the house: a flippant man with silver hair and a long-haired man whose eyes were narrowed so much that they seemed impossible to see.

He knew the story had begun. He simply hadn't been given enough time. His domain had only expanded to two meters, and his strength was merely around Grade 3.

Saving Riko Amanai and Kuroi would be far from easy. He probably wouldn't be able to repay their kindness at all.

"That's the situation. Now, come back to Jujutsu High with us!"

"I don't want to go so soon! Let's go tomorrow. I have something to do today!"

Ignoring Suguru Geto's words, Riko Amanai grabbed her schoolbag and dashed off to school like a cheerful little deer.

Kuroi smiled and followed close behind her, leaving Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo looking helpless.

An angry Satoru Gojo called Masamichi Yaga to vent his displeasure.

"She only has three days left. Aren't you going to spend some time with her?"

Suguru Geto turned his attention to Yuanfang, who was still sitting calmly on the sofa after hearing their entire explanation. He was full of questions.

"What would you do if Riko refused to become Tengen?"

Instead of answering his question, Yuanfang asked one of his own, striking their hearts like a heavy hammer.

Even Satoru Gojo, still on the phone, couldn't help turning his gaze toward Yuanfang.

He was clearly just a kid, yet for some reason, Gojo's Six Eyes seemed to be telling him that they were speaking not with a child, but with a mature adult.

"Well, kid, what do you think we'd do?"

Before Suguru Geto could answer, Satoru Gojo tossed the question back to Yuanfang like a ball.

"I hope you'll let her be free. After all, she saved my life!"

"Hmph, that depends on that brat's attitude!"

Satoru Gojo snorted. He was still nursing a grudge over Riko Amanai's attitude when they first arrived.

In truth, however, he had already made up his mind. If Riko Amanai refused to become Tengen, he could help her.

After all, throughout heaven and earth, he alone was the honored one. No one could force him to do anything he didn't want to do.

Beside him, Suguru Geto had made the same decision.

"I know your answer now. Thank you! I'm off to school too."

After thanking them sincerely, Yuanfang shouldered his schoolbag and turned to leave.

As for why he hadn't warned Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto despite knowing so much, he understood perfectly well that it wasn't time yet.

Otherwise, he would only raise more suspicions. Not only would it accomplish nothing, it would work against him.

"Satoru, there's something strange about that kid. Did you notice anything?"

Suguru Geto looked in the direction Yuanfang had left. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was odd, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He wanted to hear whether Satoru Gojo, with his Six Eyes, had noticed anything unusual.

"That kid is very mature and composed. More importantly, there's still a little cursed spirit energy lingering on him. He's probably already awakened his cursed technique."

The cursed energy on Yuanfang was dissipating, so Satoru Gojo was certain that this wasn't what someone haunted by a cursed spirit would look like.

"You're right. Now that you mention it, I just realized that kid wasn't giving off any cursed energy fluctuations at all. That's not something an ordinary person could do!"

With Satoru Gojo's prompting, Suguru Geto finally realized that the oddness he'd sensed all along was the complete absence of cursed energy fluctuations from the kid.

After all, ordinary people gave off cursed energy fluctuations to some degree.

"Heh, what an interesting kid. He thought he'd hidden everything perfectly and no one would notice. Too bad he ran into the invincible me. I saw right through him at a glance!"

Satoru Gojo immediately immersed himself in his own world of invincibility.

"Then it seems he's not entirely defenseless. That'll make things a little easier for me."

Suguru Geto likewise didn't dwell on it.