Chapter 36 Beginning

　　Without even having time to think, Kei Kojima got up, locked the door, and listened carefully to the noise outside.

　　He first hung up the phone with Geto Xiayou, then quickly edited a message and sent it:

　　——"I'm busy outside. I'll call you when I'm done."

　　He called his mother again, covering the receiver to block his voice:

　　"Hey, Kei, what's wrong?"

　　I heard my mother's voice on the other end of the phone, steady and strong.

　　Kojima Kei took a deep breath.

　　Still here!

　　He was afraid that Geto Suguru outside the door might hear the noise inside, so he hung up the phone immediately without replying after confirming his mother's safety. His fingers quickly sent a message to his mother on the messaging interface, saying that he was shopping outside and came across a restaurant and wanted to eat there in the evening.

　　The address is far from here, I hope they go together.

　　Kei Kojima didn't have time to confirm the current time, but as long as he stayed away from here and tried to delay his mother's return home, he might not run into Geto Suguru.

　　After sending this message, he immediately edited a message to another number.

　　After doing all this, Kei Kojima focused on listening to the sounds outside the door.

　　It's quiet outside.

　　The person outside the door seemed to have seen the message he sent, but Kei Kojima didn't hear the sound of anyone coming down the stairs.

　　Kei Kojima could feel that Geto Suguru was standing outside the door, not knowing what he was doing.

　　Kei Kojima is now just an ordinary person who is powerless. It would be suicidal for him to confront Geto Suguru. If Geto Suguru insists on breaking in, he also has the ability to delay time and not be killed immediately by Geto Suguru.

　　After entering high school, Kei Kojima and his mother moved out of their original neighborhood and moved to an area with cheaper rent. They were no longer neighbors with Geto Suguru's parents, but they still kept in touch.

　　He glanced at the time displayed on his mobile phone. At this point in time, he didn't know whether Geto Suguru had already killed his parents.

　　But he still edited a vague warning message and sent it to Geto Suguru's parents.

　　We can't wait any longer.

　　Perhaps in the next second, Geto Suguru will break in.

　　There was no response to the number Kei Kojima sent to that person, so he put on his clothes, carefully opened the window, stepped outside, and jumped down directly from above.

　　"Bang!"

　　Kei Kojima groaned and swallowed the sound that was about to come out of his mouth back into his stomach.

　　They live on the third floor, which is not very high.

　　Below was a gap between two buildings. Kojima Kei's fighting instincts returned, but his physical condition remained the same. He used a makeshift barrier to protect himself as he jumped, but he twisted his ankle. He looked around. No one was passing by, and no one he was interested in. He walked around the main entrance of the apartment building and limped out of the back street.

　　Geto Xia Yu called again.

　　Kei Kojima cut it off again.

　　After a while, a text message came:

　　"Where are you? I'll come find you."

　　Kojima Kei did not respond.

　　Xia Yujie sent another text message:

　　"Are you angry? I didn't mean to ignore your call."

　　"I miss you."

　　Across the screen, Kojima Kei could sense a thick, damp smell, as if Geto Suguru, the demon, was about to crawl towards him. He shook his head, shaking off the feeling.

　　Kei Kojima didn't respond.

　　He kept refreshing the text message he had sent to another number, anxiously waiting for a reply, but there was no reply from the other end.

　　Too.

　　To that person, it was just a message from an unfamiliar number, how could he take it seriously?

　　Thinking of the arrogant and conceited young man in high school, Kei Kojima couldn't help but smile.

　　After a while, Geto Xia Yu sent another message.

　　"When you're done, remember to call me back. I'll be waiting for you."

　　After waiting for a minute, Kojima Kei replied briefly:

　　--"good."

　　Geto Suguru didn't call again, it seemed like he had given up.

　　Kei Kojima wandered around in the alley. The slight pain in the sprained area greatly slowed down his speed. He simply took a detour to the hospital and went to the emergency room there.

　　The hospital emergency room was overcrowded, and Kei Kojima was hiding in the crowd with a mask on, making him inconspicuous.

　　While waiting for the nurse to bandage his wound, he called his mother.

　　His mother's familiar voice came from the other side again. Kei Kojima almost cried. He took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice: "Mom..."

　　He thought he could hold it back, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't help crying.

　　"What's wrong? What happened?"

　　The mother quickly realized something was wrong.

　　"I fell downstairs and got hurt."

　　Kojima Kei choked up and replied:

　　“It hurts so much…”

　　He changed the past and finally rescued his mother.

　　He really succeeded!

　　Very good.

　　"Where did you fall? Stay still! I'll be right back!"

　　The mother said anxiously.

　　"Um……"

　　Kojima Kei sniffed and said:

　　"I'm in the hospital."

　　He sent the address.

　　The nurse cleaned his wound and said with a smile:

　　"It will be fine soon. It doesn't hurt. Don't cry. You're already an adult, and you still need to look for your mother when you get hurt."

　　Kojima Kei wiped his tears:

　　"Feel sorry……"

　　"Don't eat spicy food, don't take a bath, and don't walk around casually these few days. It will hurt your menstrual bones for 100 days. If you take good care of yourself, there will be no sequelae."

　　The nurse instructed.

　　Kojima Kei responded.

　　The nurse pushed the medical cart to treat the next patient.

　　Kei Kojima sat in the hospital lobby, watching people coming and going.

　　The little curse spirits either lay on people's shoulders, or crawled at people's feet, or hid in the corners, making chirping sounds.

　　The hospital is a place full of negative energy, where cursed spirits are most concentrated.

　　But Kei Kojima's current cursed power is so weak that he might not even be able to get rid of such a low-level cursed spirit.

　　He stretched out his hand and tried to use the magic power to heal the wound. A thin layer of magic power covered the wound, but the effect was minimal, better than nothing. While waiting, he slowly felt the wound slowly healing, which was almost invisible to the naked eye.

　　Even though he had learned those techniques, the total amount of cursed energy in his body was not enough to support him in performing them. Kei Kojima was lucky that he still retained the cursed energy to see cursed spirits.

　　It is enough to be alive, don't ask for anything else.

　　Kei Kojima looked down at his cell phone. He had set that number as a special ringtone, but there was still no movement.
　　He was nervous and anxious.

　　I’m afraid of not receiving messages, and I’m also afraid that the messages I receive are not what I want to see.

　　Kei Kojima raised his head and let out a long breath.

　　The other side.

　　Geto Xia Yu looked at the silent phone and went downstairs.

　　He looked up at the window on the third floor and suddenly realized something was wrong. He walked around to the back and pressed his palm on the place where Kei Kojima had stayed before. There was an unfamiliar cursed power at his fingertips.

　　His face changed slightly, he looked up at the third floor, raised his feet and climbed up easily to Kei Kojima's room.

　　At this time, the window on the third floor was still wide open. Geto Suguru squatted at the window and jumped into the room in one go.

　　Inside the room, open books were scattered on the desk, with a photo of the two of them placed next to it. The quilt on the bed was messy, and a human hole could be vaguely seen.

　　Geto Suguru hadn't been to Kei Kojima's room for a long time. He stood in the middle of the room, stared down at the quilt, reached out his hand and touched it.

　　——The bed is warm.

　　Was anyone sleeping here just now?

　　Who is it?

　　Could it be Kei?

　　Then who owns this strange aura of cursed energy in this room?

　　Has a sorcerer been here?

　　Geto Suguru watched all this silently, restored everything, erased all traces of his coming, jumped out of the window, and followed the strange breath.

　　Perhaps, Kei's failure to answer the phone had something to do with this person.

　　Of course, there is a bolder guess.

　　Xia Yujie felt his heart beating faster and a smile appeared on his face unconsciously.

　　Hospital.

　　"Kyu!"

　　His mother hurried over and checked Kei Kojima's injuries. Seeing that the wound was not serious, she felt relieved.

　　"Why are you so careless?"

　　There were some minor scratches on Kojima Kei's arms, and she carefully flipped through them:

　　"Have you got all the medicine? Let's go home. Mom will make some soup for you. Go back and have a good rest."

　　Not knowing whether Geto Suguru had left, Kojima Kei didn't dare to take his mother back, so he pulled his sleeves and acted like a spoiled child:

　　"I don't want to go back, let's eat outside. I'm a little hungry."

　　The mother put the medicine into her bag and said helplessly:

　　"Okay, what do you want to eat?"

　　Kojima Kei hugged his mother's arm and laughed, "That's fine! We can just eat outside!"

　　Rina Kojima seemed a little uncomfortable with Kei Kojima's enthusiasm, and her face showed a rare look of helplessness, a little happy, and a little at a loss.

　　She has been traveling all year round these years, and Kei Kojima has never been close to her. He only thinks about his brother Jie who lives next door, which makes her a little jealous. Now she feels like she has finally gotten a sweet reward after all the hard work.

　　"Okay! Then I'll take you to eat delicious grilled fish there! No spicy food!"

　　"good!"

　　His mother supported him, and the two of them left the hospital together.

　　With the relief of the cursed power, Kei Kojima's feet no longer hurt much. He just walked very slowly to delay the time of returning.

　　His mother didn't rush him, but just stared at the ground and asked him to pay attention to the steps.

　　This was a road heading in the opposite direction of home. Kei Kojima held his mother's hand, chatting with her while looking around, sincerely hoping that he would not run into a familiar figure.

　　"Fortunately, summer vacation is coming soon, so I can have a good rest at home."

　　The mother said casually.

　　Kojima Kei's heart moved.

　　summer vacation?

　　Kei Kojima only has the leisure to sort things out now, and when he calculates the time point, he realizes that he has jumped two months!

　　He could no longer remember the exact date, but he remembered that it was just after summer vacation and he had been in school for a few weeks.

　　In that case, perhaps Geto Suguru came to see him simply because he was back from vacation?

　　Aren't you here to kill him?

　　No, that's not right.

　　Kei Kojima remembered very clearly that before Geto Suguru came to kill him, the two of them had not seen each other for almost half a year.

　　Where else has the change occurred?

　　Kei Kojima lowered his head in thought. On the sidewalk, pedestrians passed by them in different directions.

　　"Kyu? What are you thinking about?"

　　Rina Kojima asked him if he was tired, but she didn't get an answer. She turned around and saw Kei Kojima lost in thought.

　　Kojima Kei came back to his senses and said with a smile:

　　"Yeah, it's okay. I feel much better than before..."

　　His voice suddenly slowed down, and he stared blankly at the tall man with sunglasses and white hair walking towards him.

　　Even on the sidewalk, there are many pedestrians.

　　But the man's eye-catching hair color and handsome appearance attracted many people's attention, including Kei Kojima, and even his mother noticed it.

　　He actually came!

　　Is it because of the message he sent?

　　He just gave a rough address near his home. If Geto Suguru wanted to kill someone, he would definitely be able to see it clearly with his eyesight.

　　The direction the man was heading was the same as the direction of his home. He actually came here from far away just for a strange message!

　　Will he recognize himself?

　　still……

　　Kei Kojima's heart began to beat violently and he subconsciously stopped.

　　Most importantly

　　——He is still alive.

　　Kei Kojima wanted to cry, but couldn't help but smile.

　　That's enough.

　　Kei Kojima forgot everything around him, and the only thing in his sight was the man walking slowly towards him.

　　Getting closer.

　　Kei Kojima opened his mouth hard, wanting to say something.

　　——The man passed by him without stopping.

　　Yeah, he doesn’t recognize me now.

　　What am I thinking about?

　　Kei Kojima slowly lowered his head.

　　They were just strangers now.

　　"Why aren't you walking? Kei, are your feet hurting?"

　　The mother tugged at Kojima Kei's arm, not suspecting anything:

　　"Let me carry you."

　　"No...it's okay."

　　Kojima Kei looked back at the figure walking away from him and spoke slowly, his mouth full of bitterness:

　　"I'm mistaken. Let's go."

　　After taking only two steps, the cell phone in Kei Kojima's pocket suddenly rang.

　　He shuddered all over.

　　This is a special ringtone he set for a special person.

　　Kojima Kei took out his phone almost immediately. He looked at the number displayed on the phone. The moment he answered the call, he felt a faint sweat in his heart and said in a hoarse voice:

　　"……Hello?"

　　There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, and then a familiar voice came through the receiver:

　　"I came here, but there's nothing here~ You, are you playing a prank?..."

　　The man muttered:

　　"Who are you? How do you know my number?"

　　At that moment, Kei Kojima suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart and was almost unable to stand. He opened his mouth to breathe, but it was futile, like a fish out of water.

　　"Bang!"

　　The next second, his legs and feet went weak and he fell to the ground.

　　Kei Kojima had seen that if a magician revealed information after the timeline, the punishment would be excruciating, but he had never imagined it would be so painful.

　　It felt like the entire internal organs were being eaten by ants.

　　Mother...how did you persevere back then?

　　My mother's anxious voice was in my ears, yet it seemed very far away.

　　"Kyu! Kyu!"

　　"What’s wrong with you!"

　　Kei Kojima tore his clothes in pain, trying to reach inside his body to heal the wound.

　　A gentle force flowed into his heart, slowing down his pain. Kojima Kei tried hard to open his eyes, but a pair of hands reached out and covered his eyes.

　　It’s the familiar touch and familiar body temperature.

　　Kei Kojima reached out his hand, grabbed his collar tightly, and subconsciously buried his head in his arms.

　　His body, twitching in pain, slowly calmed down, and he fell asleep quietly in the man's arms, but his hand was still clutching his collar, refusing to let go.

　　The man looked at the hands in silence.

　　"Yes, my son suddenly fainted. Sorry, can you hurry up?"

　　Rina Kojima had already called the emergency number. Just as she was about to give the address, her hands were empty. The white-haired man opposite her took the phone and turned it off.

　　"Ma'am, there's no need to call the emergency number. The doctor can't do anything about this condition."

　　The white-haired man picked up Kei Kojima and smiled at Rina Kojima:

　　"I do have some ideas. If it's convenient, could you come with me?"

　　"Who are you?"

　　Kojima Rina grabbed his clothes:

　　"Put my son down!"

　　She's pretty, but kidnapped in public?!

　　She's going to call the police!

　　"Me?"

　　The man smiled and said:

　　"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Hello, auntie. My name is Gojo Satoru. I'm a sorcerer."

　　"Your son has been cursed by a special spell. Ordinary medical techniques are ineffective. He needs a spell to be removed."

　　Gojo Satoru smiled and said:

　　"Your family should also have information related to spells. I guess I'm right."

　　The moment Gojo Satoru said he was a sorcerer, Kojima Rina was already a third of the way convinced. But her child had never been exposed to such things, and didn't even have any cursed power, so how could a sorcerer target him?

　　Kojima Rina looked worried and warily looked at Gojo Satoru:

　　"Do you have a solution?"

　　The white-haired man paused:

　　"Well, there's always a way..."

　　His voice was a little low, and it was unclear whether he was speaking to Rina Kojima or to himself.

　　He stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Rina Kojima's eyes. Rina Kojima quickly lost consciousness and fainted.

　　Gojo Satoru disappeared on the spot holding Kei Kojima in his arms and Rina Kojima in one hand.

　　At the same time.

　　Geto Suguru tracked the man down to the hospital. He stood at the door and could no longer find any trace of the man.

　　The atmosphere here is mixed with the aura of cursed spirits, making it difficult to distinguish.

　　Geto Suguru looked through his phone, but there was no call from Kei Kojima.

　　This is very abnormal.

　　Kei Kojima has never replied to his messages so late, let alone only a short reply now.

　　Something must have happened.

　　He opened the mailbox and flipped forward, and inside were emails between him and Kei Kojima.

　　Since the beginning of this year, the two people have had significantly less contact.

　　Maybe it’s because they are in two different worlds, one surrounded by cursed spirits, and the other just ordinary people.

　　Even if we want to communicate, there is no topic and our contact becomes less and less.

　　He had a strange dream last night.

　　He dreamed that Kei Kojima was lying in a pool of blood, and he was standing there, but another Kei Kojima appeared behind him.

　　The dream was too real, and it woke him up instantly.

　　One of the eyes that Kei Kojima looked at him was full of hatred, and the other one of Kei Kojima looked at him with indeed indifference.

　　Two extreme emotions appear in the same picture.

　　Geto Suguru had no intention of coming back. After waking up from the dream, he always felt an indescribable anxiety in his heart, which drove him to head towards Kei Kojima's house after completing the mission.

　　What is that?

　　Geto Suguru thought for a moment and called Rina Kojima. Before the call was connected, he felt a familiar cursed energy and looked up suddenly:

　　"Satoru's cursed power?"

　　He is actually nearby?

　　Geto Suguru rushed in the direction he sensed and saw the crowd gradually dispersing.

　　He stepped forward and asked, smiling:

　　"Excuse me, what just happened here?"

　　Geto Suguru's face was extremely deceptive, and coupled with his gentle voice, the girl who was asked blushed and replied:

　　"A boy just fainted here and was taken away."

　　"faint?"

　　The girl's companion's eyes lit up:

　　"Yeah, that guy's hair is so white, but he's super handsome! He carried two people on his shoulders and disappeared in the blink of an eye. What a shame, I should have asked for his contact information earlier..."

　　She felt very sorry.

　　"Don't keep looking at their faces. What if they were kidnapped? I didn't even see if they went to the hospital..."

　　A few people gathered together and chatted, and Geto Suguru soon knew the whole story.

　　It is indeed Wu.

　　Geto Suguru understood what was going on. He thanked the two girls who answered his questions, walked to the side, leaned against the railing and called Gojo Satoru, but the call didn't go through.

　　After a while, Gojo Satoru called back.

　　"Hey, Jay. What's up?"

　　Geto Xiayou smiled:

　　"When did you become so helpful?"

　　Gojo Satoru on the other end paused noticeably:

　　"Huh? How did you know?"

　　"I'm nearby."

　　"Oh, I see."

　　Gojo Satoru's tone was calm, no different from usual, but Geto Suguru keenly sensed something was amiss:

　　"what happens?"

　　"I ran into a little boy who was trying to scam me. He collapsed right in front of me. I don't know who did it to him. I'm going to take him home to have the therapists at home take a look."

　　Gojo Satoru explained briefly.

　　Xia Yujie's mind moved, and he blurted out, "What's your name?"

　　"I don't know. I'll tell you when he wakes up. Hang up. We'll talk when we meet."

　　"……good."

　　Gojo Satoru hung up the phone very quickly, and even if Geto Suguru wanted to ask more questions, he didn't have the chance.

　　He wanted to call again, but he held back. He suppressed the inexplicable uneasiness in his heart.

　　Maybe it was because of the dream I had yesterday...

　　Or maybe it's the arrival of summer, these endless curses that appear like maggots.

　　He was a little tired, but he still walked back to the previous hospital.

　　Kei Kojima suddenly woke up, he turned over and got up, turned his head and looked around, and found that the room looked very familiar.

　　The layout of this room...

　　It’s the Gojo family!

　　Why is he here?

　　Could it be that the person who helped him up when he fell was really Gojo Satoru? He was not wrong...but Gojo Satoru should not recognize him, so how could he bring him back home?

　　Where is mother?

　　Where did you go again?

　　Did you come with me? I guess you went home!

　　no!

　　Kei Kojima hurriedly got down to put on his shoes, his hand pausing on his ankle.

　　The wound had disappeared, and when he placed his hand on his chest, his heart no longer hurt.

　　Was it...he who treated it?

　　"Kyu!"

　　Kei Kojima looked up at his mother's surprised voice. Rina Kojima walked in with a look of joy on her face and quickly walked to his side.

　　"You're awake! Just like Mr. Gojo said, you're fine. How do you feel now?"

　　"I am fine."

　　Seeing his mother safe and sound, Kojima Kei breathed a sigh of relief and asked:

　　"Mother, why are we here? Where...is this?"

　　He took the risk of sending a message to Gojo Satoru, and the punishment he received was unimaginable, a hundred times worse than the pain of death.

　　You must always keep this in mind when speaking in the future and not do anything that crosses the line. It was only one time, but he has already been traumatized.

　　Kojima Rina looked a little hesitant and pulled Kojima Kei to sit down: "Kui, I have something to tell you."

　　She had known about the profession of sorcerer since she was very young. She had talent, but her ancestors had forbidden her family from entering the world of sorcery, learning spells, and living in the world of ordinary people.

　　But now, his own child has been hit by some unknown spell, and even the Gojo family, one of the three great families, is helpless.

　　Rina Kojima rarely contacts those in her family, so she doesn't have such a strong desire to follow the ancestral precepts. In her heart, as long as she can cure her child, any principle can be violated.

　　"The one who tied the bell must untie it. If you don't learn the spell, I'm afraid it will be difficult to know how to break it."

　　Kojima Rina said seriously:

　　"Kyu, I want you to study in a special institution, a place dedicated to learning spells. The students are about the same age as you. Gojo, the classmate who just saved you, is also studying here. Perhaps here, you can find a way.

　　Your mother knows nothing and can't teach you anything, so you can only rely on your own efforts."

　　She said so.

　　But only Kei Kojima knew that this spell could not be undone.

　　Once the procedure begins, he will only have ten years left to live.

　　Although, he really wanted to meet his good friends again, wanted to see their smiling faces, and wanted to tell Gojo Satoru what he hadn't said.

　　Unfortunately, none of these can be realized.

　　This is the backlash of changing the world. Saving so many people, reversing their unfortunate fate, and having the opportunity to meet them again is enough.

　　"No, Mother."

　　Kei Kojima leaned on Rina Kojima's shoulder:

　　"I don't want to leave you."

　　He wanted to stay with his family for the rest of his life.

　　Kojima Rina stroked Kojima Kei's cheek and said helplessly:

　　"It's just school. My school is in Tokyo, just a little far away. There will be holidays. It's not like you won't see me anymore. We don't know what sudden symptoms this technique will have. It's better to stay here with the sorcerers. If you get into danger, there will be people like Gojo-san to help you. Isn't it better? This way I can feel more at ease."

　　Kojima Kei just shook his head firmly:

　　"No, I'm not going."

　　He looked at the bracelet on his mother's wrist.

　　He had never noticed this detail before, but now he knew that this was a cursed tool that restricted the release of cursed energy, locking up Rina Kojima's cursed energy and making her look like an ordinary person.

　　"I'm fine now. I just saw a cursed spirit today and got scared, so I fell down the stairs."

　　Kei Kojima took her hand:

　　"Don't be anxious, just wait and see, maybe there's nothing wrong!"

　　Kojima Rina lowered her head and thought for a moment:

　　"Or...I'll go with you!"

　　"no!"

　　Mother must be kept away from the world of curse!

　　What if the bracelet breaks and draws those people’s attention to my mother?

　　The same thing cannot happen again.

　　The ancestral teachings are correct, I just want to protect my descendants from harm.

　　Kei Kojima's strong attitude obviously aroused Rina Kojima's suspicion:

　　"Kyu? Why are you reacting so strongly to this school?"

　　"In that case, I do have a suggestion."

　　A figure appeared at the door at some point, with his hands in his pockets, walking in.

　　Kojima Rina was shocked:

　　"Why are you so elusive..."

　　Gojo Satoru smiled apologetically, his gaze shifting from Kojima Rina to Kojima Kei. When their eyes met, he curled his lips into a smile:

　　"Are you finally awake? Hello, Kei Kojima."

　　He walked over and looked down at the boy who was staring at him blankly:

　　"I'm your savior, Gojo Satoru. Nice to meet you, please give me your guidance. Remember my name."

　　"Hello... hello."

　　When the time came, Kojima Kei became tongue-tied and stammered:

　　"……Thank you."

　　A living person was standing right in front of him. He should be happy, but he couldn't help but shed tears from the corners of his eyes.

　　The young man standing opposite him stopped smiling and silently watched Kojima Kei frantically wiping the tears from his face.

　　"I'm sorry...I'm sorry, I lost my composure."

　　"It doesn't matter,"

　　Gojo Satoru reached out, gently placed his hand on his head, and whispered:

　　"Don't feel bad, I'll heal you."

　　No, that wasn't what made him sad.

　　He just felt that he would never have the chance to say it again.

　　His likes.

　　The phone rang at an inopportune time. Kojima Rina turned her back, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and answered the call:

　　"Hey, Jay, what's up?"

　　Kei Kojima suddenly turned around.