Chapter 6: Late-Night Lessons

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The Gojo Residence.
Fragments of scattered light flickered and danced across the floor before Yuuki Ieiri.
He wore a pale blue kimono, secured at the waist with a black sash.
He had adapted to the local customs.
— The Gojo family members mostly wore kimonos.
Yuuki Ieiri lay in the center, surrounded by scattered yellow talismans.
These were materials provided by the Gojo family, which he had then copied and drawn himself.
A talisman near the door, stirred by a light breeze, fluttered low and drifted outside, bumping into someone by chance.
The person bent down and picked up the talisman.
It was freshly made, naturally still carrying the scent of ink.
The characters on the yellow paper were complex and difficult to decipher, but the brushstrokes were sharp and precise.
The person stepped inside quietly, first placing the talisman aside, then softly called, “Ieiri?”
Yuuki Ieiri, who had been lost in thought, stirred slightly at the sound.
He turned his head, burying his face in the long sleeve of his kimono, whispering, “Fushiguro, good morning.”
His voice was soft and light, and combined with its gentle tone, it naturally softened the listener’s heart, making it hard to be harsh.
But Fushiguro Megumi remained unmoved.
Because he had already built up immunity.
Fushiguro said coldly, “Ieiri, it’s actually afternoon now.”
“You haven’t eaten or slept for more than twenty-five hours since yesterday.”
His expression turned stern as he said, “Are you trying to wear yourself out to death?”
[We, Megumi, though still young, are already like mothers.]
[We need a ‘boy mom’!]
[Don’t stay up late just because you’re young; once you get older, you’ll go bald.]
[A hard-earned lesson in blood and tears.]
They had spent the past week at the Gojo residence, living close together and becoming more familiar with each other over time.
Earlier, Itadori had tried to persuade him, but it didn’t work; Fushiguro was the last line of defense.
In Fushiguro’s eyes, Yuuki Ieiri was easygoing and a pleasant person to be around.
Yet he constantly exploited his cursed immortal body recklessly.
For example, in recent days, he had been so absorbed in studying talismans that he had neglected sleep and food entirely.
Fushiguro also knew that Ieiri’s hard work was driven by his desire to grow stronger quickly.
He admired his determination but couldn’t help worrying about his health.
“Don’t worry, I’m immortal; I won’t starve to death,” Yuuki Ieiri reassured him.
Fushiguro: “……”
So you really do intend to starve yourself?!
He decided to approach the problem from another angle, prescribing a more fitting remedy: “Have you hit a bottleneck in your talisman research?”
“Yeah.”
Speaking of which, Yuuki Ieiri half-sat up.
A talisman slipped from his chest; he picked it up.
He said, “Ancient texts in the Gojo family record a sorcerer who could directly command talismans to fight. And I—”
Before he finished, the talisman floated at his fingertips.
“I can use cursed energy to make talismans move, but that’s all they do—just move.”
He continued, “I can’t control them directly in battle.”
Fushiguro, unfamiliar with this, suggested, “Perhaps you’re missing some steps?”
Ieiri nodded. “Yeah, gestures.”
“Gestures?”
Yuuki Ieiri thought for a moment and gave an example Fushiguro would understand.
“It’s like the different hand shadows you use to summon different shikigami.”
“To control different talismans, I need different gestures, but the books don’t mention any. I have to figure it out myself.”
Fushiguro was stunned.
Figure it out yourself?
With countless human hand gestures, this felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Perhaps sensing Fushiguro’s serious expression, Yuuki Ieiri chuckled lightly.
“Fushiguro, have you ever watched Naruto?”
Fushiguro nodded.
But what did that have to do with talismans?
Ieiri grinned with slight pride.
“I referenced ninja hand seals and developed two skills.”
“Want to see? They’re pretty interesting.”
Curious, Fushiguro nodded again.
“Alright, I’ll start.” Yuuki Ieiri said, “This is the first skill, a basic attack—”
He raised both hands, his arms forming a triangle, his knuckles pale and slender, quite elegant. Then, his ring and pinky fingers curled inward simultaneously.
Cursed energy gathered at his fingertips.
With a crisp clap, his hands pressed together.

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After opening his palms again, his hands shifted, alternated front and back twice; the central orb of light swelled several times over!
In the blink of an eye, a talisman appeared, clutched between Ieiri’s index and middle fingers.
The light seeped into the talisman, the characters flared. He immediately swung his arm, releasing the talisman.
Boom—!
The talisman shot forward, exploding in midair with a sharp crack.
Fushiguro blinked in surprise, then his eyes widened: “?!”
[?!]
[So advanced!]
[Isn’t this a ranged mage?!]
[First time seeing someone fight with talismans; the hand seals look so elegant… want to lick those fingertips.]
[The production team definitely did this on purpose.]
[I was mesmerized by the close-up of the hand seals—so long, so white, fingertips slightly pink.]
[Lick lick.]
Several comments discussed the strike’s power but were nearly drowned out.
[Pretty powerful for a basic attack.]
[Single shot? Strength equivalent to a second-level sorcerer or higher? Against the Four Great Calamities, might not be enough.]
[What about rapid fire or stacking attacks?]
Fushiguro snapped out of his shock and quickly asked, “How’s the cursed energy consumption?”
“Very low.” Ieiri’s gaze skimmed over the talisman on his ring finger. “You know I’m ‘sealed’ and can only use a small amount of cursed energy.”
“I’ve tested this many times over the past two days and still have more than half my energy left.”
The consumption wasn’t high.
This skill seemed quite practical; Fushiguro was inwardly pleased.
“What about the other skill?”
Ieiri said, “The other one is simple defense.”
He clenched his fists, crossed them in front of him, and a talisman floated up.
Instantly, a barrier of cursed energy formed.
“Besides these two skills, there’s [Heavy Strike], [Slash], [Repel], [Area Attack], and [Binding], but I haven’t figured those out yet.”
Fushiguro was dumbfounded. “Are these recorded in the ancient texts?”
“No, the texts don’t mention them. These are meanings derived from the characters,” he said. “Since the characters remain, there should be corresponding skills.”
[Heaven.]
[There’s even AOE?!]
[Now I’m more curious about Ieiri’s background.]
[Why am I so excited?!]
[Imagine if Ieiri masters all these skills; his ultimate attack on the battlefield would be stunning!]
[But for now, it’s all research on his own.]
[If even the big three sorcery families lack such records, then it really is just feeling our way across the river by touching stones.]
They chatted for a while.
Perhaps the golden sunlight on the floor outside the door lulled Ieiri toward sleepiness.
Fushiguro didn’t linger, planning to urge him to eat once he woke.
……
Several hours passed.
Upon waking, Yuuki Ieiri felt as if he had emerged from another world.
Looking up, the room was completely dark—a quiet, enclosed space.
“……”
He took a moment to adjust.
Long sleep gave him a slight out-of-body sensation.
Suddenly inspired, he half-sat up and stretched out his hands, ready to try forming seals. But just then—
Cold, slender fingers reached from behind, intertwining with his. Pale, chilling strands of hair fell over his calves.
Silent, somber, entwined.
Yuuki Ieiri could almost picture the vibrant yet lifeless face behind him.
That was Muzan Kibutsuji, his shikigami.
In this pitch-black space, the other had no physical form, like a ghost.
A cool breath brushed his ear, filled with ominous energy, causing his hair to stand on end.
This was an intimate posture.
The boy’s back pressed inseparably against the cold chest of the cursed spirit behind him, almost completely enveloped in a faint, chilling fragrance.
Nearly nestled into the embrace.
Those pale, slender, exquisitely jointed fingers, like those of a noble who had never done hard labor, guided him.
Left hand open, cursed energy gathered; right hand’s middle, ring, and thumb fingers pinched into a “twisting” gesture, the talisman floated, and the orb of light suddenly surged violently.
He said,
“This is… [Heavy Strike].”
His voice was low and moist.

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Cold, yet intimate.
The icy fingertips guided again.
Thumb and index finger formed a triangle, the other six fingers crossed into a six-shaped gesture, backs of the hands touching, then swiftly drawing forth a crescent-moon-like arc of cursed energy, shimmering like moonlight.
“This is [Slash].”
The shikigami’s fingertips slipped again into Yuuki Ieiri’s palm, forcefully restoring his hand gesture to its original form.
Then, guiding him, their hands back-to-back, fingers gently curled, moving closer and apart; between their palms a ring of energy rapidly formed and was projected forward!
Cursed energy formed a circle on the ground not far off.
“This is [Area Attack].”
……
“This is [Binding].”
……
“This is [Repel].”
……
The black-haired man’s deep voice echoed, uttering several words that drilled directly into the listener’s eardrums.
The late-night live chat exploded with activity.
[Thought it was a hand seal tutorial but didn’t realize it was some kind of midnight livestream…]
[Night raid?! Lucky guy, making great progress!]
[Glad I didn’t miss the stream.]
[So suggestive, only seeing the two hands intertwined, why does it feel so… sensual?]
[I think it’s because Ieiri’s hands are nice-looking (?), the knuckles aren’t too prominent, making the fingers slender and long.]
[Want to lick them again…]
[The size difference though!!]
[Muzan’s hand is clearly bigger, with thicker knuckles, can cover Ieiri’s hand.]
[Ahhh!!]
Yuuki Ieiri paid no attention to the comments; at this moment, he was fully immersed in absorbing the new knowledge of hand seals for curse techniques.
Four months.
He still had four months.
Yuuki Ieiri remembered the live chat mentioning a sudden, unstoppable calamity sweeping across Japan on Halloween at the end of October.
The message he had seen before crossing over—Sukuna’s dual-faced mark—might have been a hint.
His pupils trembled with excitement. He had a premonition that this would be an unprecedented, desperate yet life-saving adventure... and he would not miss it.
……
From that night on, the relationship between the master and his shikigami thawed.
Fushiguro and the others noticed this.
Over the next week, the special-grade cursed spirit mostly stayed by Yuuki Ieiri’s side, either practicing talismans or keeping him company.
Yuuki Ieiri also learned more about his shikigami:
For example, Muzan hated sunlight and rarely appeared during the day unless the sky was overcast;
Muzan had a desire for his own blood and body;
Muzan was brutal and cruel, with very low empathy and strong possessiveness, scheming in his intentions, temperamental yet once committed, unwilling to give up easily.
During this time, Muzan would also “lend” him cursed energy.
Unlike the initial Kagura dance, Yuuki Ieiri now bore the “mark” of a deity.
So if he needed cursed energy, he could simply pray silently, and Muzan would sense it.
Days passed by. The duration of the shikigami’s presence was nearing its end.
On the last day of the two-week period.
The Gojo family’s training ground.
The boy, exhausted and drained, sat in a corner. He leaned back on his hands, collarbones pronounced, sweat soaking his clothes, making them slightly transparent.
His cheeks flushed from intense exercise, breathing heavily, trying to calm himself.
Muzan’s eyes were deep and dark.
That week, Muzan had humbled himself, showing utmost gentleness so that Yuuki Ieiri could summon him again after the two-hour cooldown.
He thought the results were good.
“Muzan.”
The boy called softly.
Muzan extended his hand as usual, and the golden-haired youth pressed the cold, jade-like back of that hand to his heated cheek.
“Mm—”
A sigh of comfort.
Like a cat, Muzan thought.
Look, he can’t live without me now.
I am the perfect choice; he will definitely choose me, Muzan thought with certainty.