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In the Northern Hemisphere, autumn days grow shorter, and after 5 PM, the sky already turns very dim.
In Japan, this dim period is called the Hour of Meeting Demons, roughly from 3 AM to 5 AM and 5 PM to 7 PM.
While it is uncertain whether one would encounter "demons" by wandering during these hours, it is very likely to encounter Cursed Spirits.
At 6:30 PM, on a dimly lit path, a cute little girl was weaving through the city alleys.
"So, Suguru, you like this kind of thing."
Not far away, Eichi was deep in thought.
"I just made it casually," Suguru said indifferently, looking at the surveillance footage.
"Making something casually reflects a person's preferences better. People subconsciously pursue what they like, right?"
Seeing that his teasing failed, Eichi picked up a newspaper and began to read.
In 1979, in Himeji City, a 25-year-old woman in a trench coat and mask impersonated the Kuchisake-onna (Slit-Mouthed Woman), blocked people in an alley with a cleaver, and was arrested.
In 1981, a man dressed as a woman hid scissors in his trench coat and injured a woman by cutting her.
In 1991, at Shiritsu Uchi High School, a female student impersonated the Kuchisake-onna to retaliate against a classmate.
In 2001… "It has been over twenty years, and the Kuchisake-onna's popularity is still high."
Eichi glanced at the thickness of the newspaper in his hand. There were clearly several more pages below.
"Perhaps it is precisely because of these imitators that the Kuchisake-onna remained in everyone's memory."
The urban legend, the Kuchisake-onna.
This is an enduring horror image in the island nation. Eichi remembered that in his previous life, this urban legend's popularity did not wane for over forty years.
There are various theories about the origin of the Kuchisake-onna, with two being the most widely circulated.
One is a report about a car accident. In 1968, the police discovered a car accident scene, and after expert restoration, it was found that the victim's mouth was ripped to her ears. Later, the image of the Kuchisake-onna gradually spread. In 1979, the county also reported news of the Kuchisake-onna's appearance, in which an old woman fainted after seeing her.
The official establishment of the Kuchisake-onna's image also came from this report.
Another theory is that a violent mother who abused her child had her mouth cut open with scissors upon her death. Afterwards, she would possess violent mothers, then wear a brown tattered coat and scarf, hide large scissors in the coat, let her long hair down, wear a mask, and appear around schools.
The Kuchisake-onna would ask children she met, "Am I pretty?"
If you answered no, you would be killed.
If you answered yes, she would remove her mask, revealing her terrifyingly scarred mouth, and continue to ask, "Am I pretty?"
If you said yes, she would use scissors to make your mouth like hers. If you said no, you could prepare for reincarnation.
Unfortunately, this is the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, and Cursed Spirits have almost no intelligence. Otherwise, Eichi would have wanted to find someone to test whether those magical ideas from netizens in his previous life actually worked.
Like directly kissing her, for example.
Suguru initially felt awkward about these imaginary Cursed Spirits because, in his opinion, such Cursed Spirits could clearly be avoided.
Eichi, however, felt it did not matter. They were all negative emotions. Compared to strange and elusive Cursed Spirits, those with clear direction and ample information were actually easier to handle.
Later, they discussed this matter for a long time, and eventually, Suguru began to treat imaginary Cursed Spirits as ordinary Cursed Spirits.
They are all negative emotions anyway.
"The target has appeared."
Suguru stood up, ready to depart.
"Do not rush, let me see."
Eichi held Suguru's shoulder.
Because the Kuchisake-onna, whose strength had been only Grade 1 in previous years, once again increased to near Special Grade, which resulted in a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer being severely injured during the exorcism mission, the Jujutsu Headquarters thought of Suguru, who had resolved the Rainbow Dragon.
There was no other way. He was affordable and effective.
Although they did not dare to lower the remuneration because Satoru had warned them, compared to the Jujutsu Sorcerers of the Three Great Families who were high and mighty and constantly negotiated terms, the polite Suguru was simply an angel.
Just pay according to the minimum Special Grade standard, and he was polite, respected elders, and was strong.
Perfect.
Although most of Jujutsu Headquarters came from the Three Great Families, this did not prevent them from disliking their own Family members.
After all, those with real strength and power were within the Families. These people, though called high-ranking officials of the Jujutsu World, actually worked for the Families and had to act according to their whims.
Therefore, Suguru, who could eliminate even Special Grade Cursed Spirits as long as the funds were in place, truly saved them a lot of time in negotiations and even allowed them to save a little on the budget. As for where those budgets ultimately went… "Nice figure."
"You have been looking for so long and that is all you see?"
Suguru looked at Eichi, speechless.
"I am going to the professors now. Proceed as planned."
"Alright. With you protecting the professors, nothing will happen to them."
Suguru covered his forehead.
In his opinion, ordinary people should stay behind and be protected by Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Therefore, he had serious reservations about Eichi bringing ordinary people to participate in the capture of a near Special Grade Cursed Spirit this time.
Suguru knew about the laboratory Eichi had established. He had even worked there part-time during summer vacation.
After more than half a year of research, the laboratory had begun to produce weapons capable of harming Cursed Spirits.
After testing, these weapons caused high damage to Grade 4 Cursed Spirits, and their lethality against Grade 3 was also good.
Later, those professors wanted to experiment with Grade 2 Cursed Spirits but were decisively refused by the security department.
What a joke, we are only Grade 4 Jujutsu Sorcerers.
Although the equipment here is good enough to handle Grade 3 Curses, Grade 2 is out of the question.
If we fail to defeat a Grade 3 Curse, we can still run with the people. If we fail to defeat a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, it is a direct wipeout, is it not?
We came here to be security guards precisely because we did not want to fight for our lives outside, and now you want us to fight a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit?
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
No matter how much those old professors guaranteed how powerful these weapons were, that according to the data they could definitely resolve Grade 2 Cursed Spirits, these security guards remained unmoved.
Later, the application reached Eichi.
Eichi thought for a moment and sent Suguru an internship invitation.
Because it was Eichi's invitation, Suguru did not refuse.
Thus, with doubt and a hint of curiosity, he followed Eichi to the Institute of Eastern Folklore.
"Are you sure this is an Institute of Eastern Folklore and not some club's armory?"
Suguru pointed at a pile of guns and cannons in the field, speechless.
Some of these guns and cannons were bought from Toji, and some were handmade by the old professors.
After processing, they could inflict damage on Cursed Spirits.
However, due to the immaturity of their Jujutsu processing, they could not be mass-produced yet, and the professors still had a relatively vague concept of Cursed Energy. They felt they were vaguely grasping something but were just missing one crucial element.
Therefore, the lethality of these weapons fluctuated greatly and they could not leave the laboratory.
The security guards only dared to enter with their guns after confirming that the several Grade 2 Cursed Spirits appearing in the laboratory were completely controlled by Suguru.
The security guards were thrilled. They never imagined they would one day be able to pin down Grade 2 Cursed Spirits they would not even dare to dream of fighting. (In reality, Suguru controlled them. Otherwise, they would have been beaten down by the Grade 2 Cursed Spirits long ago.)
The professors were thrilled. All the weapons were used in rotation, and the collected data was enough to last for a while.
Suguru expressed indifference. The commission was paid, the internship certificate was given, and his several Grade 2 Cursed Spirits were fine.
Although they looked badly beaten, these were Cursed Spirits, collections of negative abilities, unlike biological creatures that die from organ damage.
Many Cursed Spirits can still be lively even with half their body blown away.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)