Qingxiao pushed open the courtyard's wooden gate and stepped outside.
An entirely black executive sedan was parked by the roadside. It was an internal-use vehicle exclusive to Jujutsu High, specifically used to transport new students and carry out discreet assignments.
The car door slowly opened, and the first person to step out was a middle-aged man in the uniform of a Jujutsu High assistant supervisor.
The man looked to be in his thirties and had an exceptionally ordinary face. His cursed energy fluctuated weakly and steadily. He was an ordinary administrative assistant at Jujutsu High, responsible for transporting new students, running errands in the field, and handling routine coordination. He would also be following up on all of Guyue Qingxiao's affairs, both on and off campus, over the long term.
Wearing a mild, professional smile, the man approached to greet him, his tone familiar yet assured. "Hello, you're Guyue Qingxiao, right? I'm Sato Kenta, an assistant supervisor at Tokyo Jujutsu High. I'll be taking you to register at school today. After that, I'll also be handling things like your records, supply requisitions, and mission reports."
"Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Satō." Guyue Qingxiao smiled and nodded.
Sato Kenta was easygoing and put on no airs. He stepped aside and gestured invitingly. "You're welcome. Get in. It's quite a drive, so let's get going."
Qingxiao agreed and got into the car.
Sato Kenta started the engine, and the black sedan smoothly left the secluded villa district, heading toward central Tokyo.
It was a long journey, and the atmosphere inside the car was relaxed and comfortable. Worried the boy would get bored sitting there for so long, Sato Kenta struck up a casual conversation. "You were admitted as a special case, an independently trained sorcerer, right, Guyue? I've read your preliminary file. You figured out how to train on your own and reached the admission standard. Honestly, cases like yours have been extremely rare among new students these past few years. That's quite impressive."
"Of course. It was all down to my persistence and hard work." Qingxiao smiled and raised an eyebrow, his reply casual and confident, without saying much more about his sorcery.
Having spent years at Jujutsu High, Sato Kenta did not pry into a sorcerer's private abilities. He naturally changed the subject, chatting about recently popular games and hit music. The conversation was relaxed and down-to-earth. Qingxiao had not expected this middle-aged man to be interested in those things.
After chatting for a while, he changed the subject and mentioned the road ahead. "By the way, we'll be passing through Aoyama Tunnel next, so stay seated securely. There's been something strange about that tunnel lately. In just half a month, there have been five or six pileups."
"Car accidents?"
"Yes. The drivers were alert, the cars were fine, and road conditions were normal. Every single one involved vehicles losing control and rear-ending others without any warning."
Holding the steering wheel, Sato Kenta's tone grew a little heavier. "The police classified them as traffic accidents, but internally, we all know a cursed spirit was most likely responsible."
"But don't worry. Its grade is very low, so the higher-ups haven't assigned anyone specifically to exorcise it yet. They've only marked it as a routine hazard. It's most likely just a few scattered Grade 4 cursed spirits causing trouble. Nothing serious."
Sato Kenta offered that casual reassurance and was about to drive into the tunnel when Guyue Qingxiao, who had been quietly listening, frowned slightly and stopped him.
"Mr. Satō, how about we take a detour? This feels like the opening of a third-rate horror movie, whichever way you look at it."
He gazed at the pitch-black tunnel entrance in the distance, an inexplicable, faint sense of wrongness stirring within him.
The traces of cursed energy in this area were far too clean. It did not seem at all like a place inhabited by scattered Grade 4 cursed spirits.
Sato Kenta smiled at that, his tone light, not taking it seriously at all. "A detour wouldn't be worth it. This tunnel is a shortcut. If we go through it, we'll reach Jujutsu High in forty minutes. If we take the national highway, we'll have to wind around the mountain roads for another two hours. That's too much trouble."
He paused, then added, "Besides, don't worry. I came through this very tunnel to pick you up this morning, and nothing happened the whole way. Those accidents were isolated incidents. Most likely, Grade 4 cursed spirits occasionally causing mischief. There's no persistent threat, so don't be too nervous."
With that much said, Qingxiao did not insist.
The other man was a supervisor who worked in the field year-round and had more experience than he did. Since he had personally passed through without trouble, Qingxiao was most likely overthinking it.
Seeing this, Sato Kenta gently pressed the accelerator, and the car smoothly entered the long, dim Aoyama Tunnel.
Inside the tunnel, the light was dim and the air cold and damp, utterly unlike the warm sunshine and clear skies outside.
The instant the car reached the middle of the tunnel, something suddenly happened!
Bzz-
Qingxiao sat upright, the muscles throughout his body quietly tightening as he readied himself for battle.
He could clearly sense thick, cold cursed energy surging from every direction, wrapping tightly around the entire car. An oppressive sensation washed over him, far exceeding that of the Grade 4 fodder he had hunted for so long before. It was even stronger than the cursed energy of that Grade 2 cursed spirit.
"Fuck, so you've been playing dumb this whole time to ambush me?"
The entire sedan suddenly jolted violently. The engine died instantly, and every electrical circuit failed, plunging the interior into deathly still darkness.
Sato Kenta's face went deathly pale. In a panic, he repeatedly turned the key and pressed the start button, but the car's entire electrical system was completely locked down, showing no sign of coming back to life.
"Something's wrong! This isn't a Grade 4 cursed spirit at all!"
What the hell are those people at Window doing? They couldn't even spot this? Qingxiao cursed inwardly.
The light at both ends of the tunnel vanished completely. Both entrance and exit were sealed by dense black fog made of cursed energy, leaving nothing but pitch darkness in sight.
"There's no getting away."
As those words fell, a dragging, sticky crawling sound came from deep within the tunnel.
Cold wind, mingled with eerie howls, slowly approached the car.
"It's a Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit!"
Sato Kenta growled through gritted teeth, his heart sinking hard as despair swept over him.
Guyue Qingxiao pushed open the malfunctioning car door.
He might have been able to break through the cursed spirit's barrier and escape right then, but Satō would certainly die. Besides... that was how the weak thought!
Fight! A Semi-Grade 1 was exactly who he wanted to fight!
Over a year of grueling training, he had slaughtered countless Grade 4 cursed spirits barehanded and occasionally fought ferocious ordinary Grade 2 cursed spirits to the death. His combat skills were on an entirely different level now, yet he had never had the chance to fight a Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit.
Guyue Qingxiao raised his eyes, watching the cursed spirit slowly approach through the darkness, howling incessantly, and a faint smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
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