Brother-in-law

"There's a change of plans. You hold them off, and I'll keep exorcising the Cursed Spirits!"

The moment he finished speaking, Yuanfang shot forward like lightning, moving even faster than before. In the blink of an eye, he had put some distance between himself and the others.

"Fine. You wouldn't be able to use your Cursed Techniques with him here anyway!"

Although Maki was a little annoyed by Yuanfang's sudden change of strategy, she accepted it.

She immediately turned around, fixing her gaze on Mai and the others.

Kugisaki and the others thought the decision made sense too, so they joined Maki and did everything they could to stop Mai's group from advancing.

After leaving the others, Yuanfang kept his word, eliminating Cursed Spirits at incredible speed.

Compared to intense battles, he preferred absorbing cursed energy.

At that moment, there wasn't much cursed energy in the forest, but it was enough to make him a little stronger.

Watching this from the monitoring room, Satoru Gojo and the others thought it made sense, yet something still felt off.

After all, Yuanfang was strong. Wouldn't it have been faster for him to hold the opponents off while the others exorcised Cursed Spirits?

One person searching for Cursed Spirits certainly couldn't be faster than several people searching together.

"Mei Mei, I heard you've been getting pretty close to that young fellow lately. Don't tell me you've fallen for him?"

Utahime looked at Mei Mei with a gossipy gleam in her eyes, eager to find out what was going on.

Satoru Gojo, Gakuganji, and Masamichi Yaga all subtly pricked up their ears, wanting to hear the answer.

"I have taken a bit of a liking to him!"

A playful smile curved Mei Mei's lips, making it impossible to tell whether she was serious.

"I never thought you'd be into younger men!"

Utahime teased her lightly.

"You could give it a try too!"

"Hmph! I'm a teacher. How could I get involved with a student?"

Although Utahime said that aloud, she actually felt rather insecure inside!

After all, she had a scar on her face and had never even had a boyfriend, let alone considered pursuing a younger man.

As both her former classmate and her friend, Mei Mei immediately understood what was on her mind. She leaned close to Utahime's ear and whispered:

"That young fellow's Reverse Cursed Technique is very powerful. You could let him try treating the scar on your face!"

In the Jujutsu Society, burns would leave scars even if they were healed with Reverse Cursed Technique.

That was why Maki had been left with scars after getting burned in the original story. (This is the author's speculation; I think that's probably how it works.)

"I doubt it'll do any good!"

Every woman had an innate love of beauty, and Utahime had sought out plenty of ways to repair the scar on her face.

Unfortunately, none of them had worked. More importantly, Shoko Ieiri's Reverse Cursed Technique could arguably be called the most powerful in the Jujutsu Society.

If even she couldn't heal the scar on her face, Utahime didn't think Yuanfang could.

"Anyway, he's very good, and trying won't cost you anything. Believe me or not, it's up to you!"

While they were on a mission together, Mei Mei had been treated with Yuanfang's Reverse Cursed Technique. She felt it was somewhat different from Shoko Ieiri's, which was why she wanted Utahime to give it a try.

But if Utahime truly didn't believe her, there was nothing she could do.

"All right, then. I'll give it a try when I get the chance!"

If Mei Mei called him powerful, Utahime figured he must be something special. She decided to ask Yuanfang to try helping her after the competition ended.

"Just beg me, and I'll call him over for you right away!"

Having overheard their conversation, Satoru Gojo immediately sidled up with an obnoxious grin.

"Hmph! I don't need your help!"

Even if she became hideous, she wouldn't want help from an ill-mannered jerk like Satoru Gojo.

Back on the battlefield, everyone continued fighting while Yuanfang kept harvesting Cursed Spirits.

"Mai, why are you crying here all alone? Did something happen?"

Just then, Yuanfang spotted Mai crouching beneath a tree, tears in the corners of her eyes and looking utterly miserable.

He immediately figured that Maki must have defeated her, and that she was so upset because she hadn't been able to talk Maki around.

"It's nothing!"

Mai quickly wiped away her tears, brushed the dust off her clothes, and stood up, not wanting anyone else to see her like this.

"Heh, actually, I know a bit about what's going on between you and your sister!

"I also know why you hate Maki so much!"

Yuanfang smiled and began talking about her and Maki.

"Hmph! Don't think knowing a little means you understand everything!"

Mai had been somewhat fond of Yuanfang, but those words made that goodwill vanish without a trace.

She hated people like this most of all-people who thought they were so clever, who believed they understood the whole situation better than those actually involved.

Then they would start lecturing them.

Yuanfang understood her change in attitude. After all, if he hadn't read the original story, he might never have figured out the reason, no matter how clever he was.

"When you were little, you were terrified of Cursed Spirits, and your family often bullied you. That's why Maki wanted to face those things herself and become stronger, so she could protect you!

"But you thought she'd abandoned you and dragged you into dealing with those things too. I honestly don't know what to say to you!"

"That's impossible! Maki is a liar. Everything you're saying is just your own speculation!"

Mai didn't believe Yuanfang was telling the truth. To her, Maki was a liar who disregarded her feelings and made decisions on her own.

"Mai already knows about the heavenly binding vow. If all she wanted was to get stronger, and she didn't care about you, she would've killed you long ago!"

"What?!"

This time, Mai couldn't stay calm. Almost no one knew that secret, yet Yuanfang had spoken it aloud.

That meant Maki really did know about it, but had never actually laid a hand on her.

Could I really have misjudged her?

If Maki only wanted to get stronger and didn't care about her, she would have attacked her long ago, just as Yuanfang had said.

Now she was lost, unsure how she should face Maki next.

"All right, I've said my piece. Decide for yourself whether I'm right!"

"Wait..."

Before Mai could finish, Yuanfang vanished.

Mai was utterly puzzled. How on earth did Yuanfang know all these things?

As she mulled it over, a sudden gleam flashed in her eyes, and she instantly understood why!

He must really like Maki! That's why he investigated everything so thoroughly and told Maki about the heavenly binding vow!

The more Mai thought about it, the more certain she became. The confusion vanished from her face, and that smile returned to her lips as she said:

"Since you've cleared up a misunderstanding I've had for so many years, I'll accept you as my brother-in-law for now!

"But I'll still have to put you to the test for Mai first!"