Mission failed," Hanami said without looking back. "We must go back to report.
Dairoku glanced at Tu Bao and Tu, then at Tu Bai, before finally pulling Choso and following Hanami into the depths of the forest.
The Cursed Energy Fluctuation gradually faded into the distance.
Tu Bao's legs went weak, he knelt on the ground, turning to embrace Tu Bai.
"Er Bao! Er Bao, how are you? Don't scare me.." He cried, frantically trying to wipe the blood from Tu Bai's face, yet not daring to touch the wounds.
Tu knelt down, his tightly gripped blade finally loosened, returning to its form as a small fruit knife. He bit his lip, his eyes rimmed with red, but he did not cry.
Brother.." he called out softly, "Brother, please wake up..
Tu Bai opened his eyes.
His vision was blurred, making it impossible to see any faces, but he heard a Voice.
Eldest Brother's crying. The Younger Brother's Voice.
He twitched the corners of his mouth, wanting to laugh, but his face hurt too much to manage a smile.
"You guys.. came.." he said softly, his Voice as raspy as sandpaper.
Tu Bao cried even harder: "Nonsense! Of course we had to come! Do you even realize you almost died!"
Tu Bai had no strength to reply. He closed his eyes, his hands still guarding his abdomen.
Fortunately, Baby is fine, still here.
Sawada Tsunayoshi walked over, knelt down, checked Tu Bai's injuries. He looked up at Dazai: "The wound needs to be treated immediately; the poison is still spreading."
Dazai nodded, took out his Mobile Phone, began making a Phone call.
Tu reached out and grabbed Tu Bai's hand, holding it very tightly.
Brother, it's okay now," he said softly, "We're here. No one can hurt you anymore.
Tu Bai said nothing. He had already passed out.
Tu Bao picked up Tu Bai, holding him with extreme care, as if he were holding something fragile.
Go home," he said, his Voice still trembling, "We're going home.
Dazai walked over and reached out to steady his shoulder.
Yeah, let's go home.
And Tu Bai was sleeping deeply in his Brother's arms. In his dream, he seemed to see those Ice Blue Eyes again, that steaming Mug of Hot Milk.
He seemed to be smiling.
And yet, he also seemed to be crying.
Chapter 34
When Gojo Satoru landed in this Mountain Forest, the moon happened to emerge from behind the clouds.
He stood in place, his Six Eyes fully active, scanning everything around him. The severed trees had jagged edges; some bore sword marks, while others were broken by corrosion. Large scorched marks covered the ground, the air was filled with the lingering aura of intertwined Cursed Energy and Demon Power.
They were traces left over from a battle, one that had ended not long ago.
Gojo Satoru walked forward, crouched down, ran his Finger across the ground. The charred Soil still carried a lingering warmth, a few drops of dried blood—dark red—shimmered with an ominous light under the Moonlight.
The moment his fingertips touched the bloodstains, the Six Eyes captured the residual energy information.
It is Tu Bai's Demon Power.
And there were others—two other similar Demon Powers, their fluctuation frequencies very close to each other. The other was Cursed Energy Residue. Three different Auras, but their sources were similar.
Gojo Satoru stood up, his gaze growing even colder.
He tracked the clearest trace of departure—a ripple of spatial fluctuation, as if left by some kind of jumping Ability. He pursued for several hundred meters, passing through the forest and crossing a stream, finally arriving at a junction on a mountain road.
The traces vanished here.
It wasn't gradually weakening, but rather abruptly interrupted, as if severed by a single blade. The remaining Spatial Fluctuation came to an abrupt halt, the road ahead was as clean as if nothing had ever appeared there.
Gojo Satoru stood at the intersection, closed his eyes, once again fully unleashed his Six Eyes.
Nothing. There was nothing at all.
He opened his eyes, his Ice Blue Eyes shimmering with Silver Light in the Moonlight. He had torn off his blindfold long ago during the pursuit; at this moment, there was no expression on his face as he simply stood there quietly, staring at the empty highway.
The wind blew from the Mountain Pass, carrying the chill of the Night. His White Hair was ruffled by the wind, with a few strands falling over his Forehead.
He clenched his Fist, then released it.
A few minutes ago, someone must have passed through here. People traveling with Xiao Bai. They erased all the traces, doing it so cleanly and efficiently that it wasn't something an ordinary person could achieve.
Who was it?
The person saving him? Or another group of people wanting to capture him?
Gojo Satoru didn't know. He only knew that he was one step too late again.
He thought back to the moment he discovered Xiao Bai was missing from the Apartment, those traces of struggle, the interference with the positioning signal, that Repatriation Order from Jujutsu Headquarters, the disgusting faces of those Old Oranges.
He thought he was the Strongest. As long as he was there, no one could harm Xiao Bai.
But now, Xiao Bai was gone, he had even lost the trail.
Gojo Satoru stood at the intersection, motionless for a long time.
Finally, he lowered his head and said softly:
“Xiao Bai..”
The Voice was very light, scattered by the Wind sound.
He turned around and walked back in the direction he had come from. Behind him, Moonlight spilled across the empty Road, revealing no traces.
And just a few minutes ago, a vehicle had indeed driven along this Road.
A black business car, its windows tinted with dark film, was speeding toward Yokohama.
Inside the car, Tu Bao sat in the back seat, holding the unconscious Tu Bai in his arms. Tu sat on the other side, holding Tu Bai's hand, his eyes red.
In the driver's seat, Dazai Osamu gripped the steering wheel and glanced at them through the rearview mirror.
"Are there pursuers behind us?" he asked.
Tu Bao shook his head: "I can't sense them. We should have lost them."
Dazai nodded and stepped on the accelerator.
Hold on tight, I'm going to speed up.
The car sped through the night, quickly disappearing at the end of the Road.
---
When Tu Bai woke up, his first feeling was pain.
His whole body ached. The parts of his arms splashed with Poison Blood felt as if they were on fire, his face was stinging, his abdomen—his lower abdomen throbbed with a rhythmic pain, as if something were churning inside.
He reached out instinctively to feel, touching the soft Pillow and his own flat Abdomen.
The Baby was still there. But he could feel that it was very unstable, fluctuating between strong and weak, flickering uncertainly.
“Er Bao!”
A familiar voice rang out from beside him. Tu Bai turned his head and saw Tu Bao's face leaning in, his eyes swollen like walnuts, his pinkish white curly hair a messy tangle, his doll-like face covered in tear stains.
You're awake! You're finally awake!" Tu Bao was about to cry again. "Do you know you've been unconscious for Day 2! You scared me to death, wuwuwu..
Two days?
Tu Bai wanted to speak, but his throat was as dry as sandpaper, producing only a faint, hoarse rasp.
Tu walked over carrying a cup of water, his long, silver-white curly hair cascading down. His peach-blossom eyes were red, but he wasn't crying. He handed the water to Tu Bai and said softly, "Drink slowly."
Tu Bai took it and took small sips. The Warm Water flowed down his throat, finally making him feel a little more comfortable.
He put down the Cup and looked around.
An unfamiliar room, not large, but tidied up very cleanly. Tatami, a low table, a closet. The Window has the Curtain drawn, so nothing can be seen Outside the window.
"Where is this?" he asked, his Voice still hoarse.
Yokohama," Tu Bao said. "Dazai-san's place. It's very safe.
Dazai-san.
Tu Bai thought of that man in the Sand-colored Trench Coat. He had seen him before; he was Tu Bao's boyfriend.
"He.." Tu Bai started to speak, then paused.
Tu Bao knew what he wanted to ask: "He saved us. He and, Tu's friend. They helped drive those three bastards away."
Three bastards.. Tu Bai thought of the three Cursed Spirits in the Forest.
"Who are they?" he asked.
I don't know." Tu Bao shook his head. "But they are very powerful. If it weren't for Dazai-san and the others, Tu and I might not have been able to win.
Tu Bai was silent for a few seconds. Then, he remembered another matter.
Gojo Satoru.
"Senpai he.." he started to speak, then paused.
Tu Bao and Tu exchanged a glance. Tu hesitated for a moment before saying, "He.. is looking for you."
Tu Bai's Heartbeat skipped a beat.
They're looking for you like crazy," Tu continued, his voice very soft. "The news has spread throughout the Jujutsu World. Gojo Satoru is searching everywhere in Tokyo like a madman; I heard he even stormed the Jujutsu Headquarters and shattered half of their building.
Tu Bai was stunned.
Storming Jujutsu Headquarters? Shaking the entire building to its foundations?
"Is he alright?" he blurted out.
Tu glanced at him, his expression somewhat complicated. "What could happen to him? He is the Strongest. But you—"