As the plane landed smoothly, Hayashi and Zhang Yiyi disembarked and exited the airport. Immediately, a man ran up to them.
"Sister Yiyi, I've come to pick you both up," said the man responsible for their transport. He glanced at Hayashi, feeling unimpressed, except for his handsome appearance—otherwise, nothing seemed special about him.
"Lead the way," Zhang Yiyi said. As a first-grade jujutsu sorcerer, this level of treatment was to be expected. After all, just below special-grade sorcerers were first-grade, a title that held significant weight.
The two got into the car, heading towards the Night Owl headquarters.
Japan, known as the country with the highest concentration of curses, had a reason for this. The powerful jujutsu sorcerer known as "Master Tengen" had, centuries ago, created the strongest barrier technique.
He enveloped Japan, where curses were most frequently born, in a barrier, essentially sealing the country. This meant that curses couldn't escape Japan; they could only originate from within.
However, this didn't mean that other countries were free of curses.
Since curses are born from fear and negative emotions, they exist wherever there are people.
Due to Tengen's barrier, other countries attempted to replicate similar methods. However, their skill levels were nowhere near Tengen's. While they could somewhat seal off their countries, they failed to address the root of the curse problem and had no way of truly solving it.
Other countries had far fewer curses than Japan, but nations with large populations—like China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil—still had a significant number of curses.
It's simple: while Japan produced the most curses, it was much smaller in size compared to these larger countries.
A mere dot on the map.
So, despite fewer curses in those countries, the vast landmasses and larger populations meant the number of curses wasn't too far behind Japan's.
This was the reality. By land area and population, Japan had the most curses, but Master Tengen couldn't control the entire world. As time passed, the rate of curse births in other countries naturally increased.
Jujutsu sorcerers also began to rise slowly in those places. Bloodlines and talents were passed down through generations, and some families even used special methods to implant others' bloodlines into newborns, or even into fetuses, creating artificial jujutsu sorcerers.
But this was still in the experimental phase. No one knew if it would succeed or what disasters or benefits it might bring to society.
China's curses were also quite different from those in other countries. While fewer in number, they were exceedingly strange, with methods of curse-killing that were ancient, mysterious, and often induced mental and visual confusion.
Such curse-killing methods were among the trickiest to deal with.
However, these events happened far less frequently than in Japan, where curse incidents were much more common.
(This is a brief description of the setting, so don't dwell too much on it—details will be fleshed out later.)
The architectural style of this world was also different from Hayashi's previous one. Jujutsu organizations were rarely built in plain sight; they were typically housed in tall buildings or underground bunkers.
Night Owl's headquarters, located on flat ground, was a rarity. It was situated in the suburbs of Shanghai, with a garden in the front and a row of buildings in the back.
At first glance, it seemed like a private estate, but it wasn't. This was the headquarters of Night Owl, not a private mansion.
The car pulled into a parking lot next to the garden, and after getting out, Zhang Yiyi told the driver, "You don't need to guide us from here. I know the way."
"Oh, okay! Please, go ahead, Sister Yiyi," the driver replied with a smile.
Zhang Yiyi led Hayashi toward the largest building in the center. The lush greenery and flowers surrounding them lifted Hayashi's spirits. The Night Owl headquarters seemed like a relaxing place.
"Whoa~ Isn't this our beloved Miss Zhang? What, Tokyo wasn't treating you well? You decided to come back to headquarters?"
A snarky voice broke the mood, making Hayashi feel a bit less at ease.
Blocking the entrance was a blue-haired young man, probably around twenty years old, wearing Night Owl's signature uniform with a small "Owl" emblem on the left side.
He had a square face, and combined with his blue hair, it was clear he wasn't easy to get along with.
"Liao Qiao, you're blocking the door. Step aside," Zhang Yiyi said calmly, completely unaffected by his tone.
"Hmph!" The boy named Liao Qiao snorted before turning his gaze to Hayashi.
"Huh? This guy's better-looking than me?"
"And he's taller too?"
Liao Qiao felt a bit uneasy as he looked Hayashi up and down. "So, you're the guy from Tokyo, huh? Heh, just because you joined Yamashima's division doesn't mean you've been officially accepted by Night Owl. After all, Night Owl doesn't take in garbage~"
To Hayashi's surprise, he didn't feel angry. Instead, he found it kind of amusing.
Zhang Yiyi wouldn't stand for Hayashi being bullied, and she shot Liao Qiao a sharp look. "I see you haven't changed—your mouth still needs a good beating."
"Zhang Yiyi!" Liao Qiao seemed to have been waiting for this, jabbing a finger in her face. "Don't think being a first-grade jujutsu sorcerer makes you special. I'm in the middle of my grade evaluation, and once it's done, I'll be first-grade too! You won't be so arrogant for long!"
But a first-grade jujutsu sorcerer was something special. In today's world, they were incredibly rare, like diamonds in the rough.
"So, after all this, you're still not first-grade? I thought with all that swagger, you'd already be one," Zhang Yiyi's disdainful look almost made Liao Qiao explode.
Hayashi interrupted before things escalated. "Take your hand down. Pointing at people like that is rude."
"Huh?" Liao Qiao hadn't planned on starting trouble with Hayashi, but now the guy had put himself in the line of fire. "Kid, who do you think you are? You haven't even passed your evaluation, and you dare to talk to me like that?"
The Night Owl headquarters didn't have many people around since jujutsu sorcerers were a rare breed in any country, so the only person who could overhear their conversation was the receptionist inside.
"He doesn't bother with people like you. If he wanted, he could wipe the floor with you," Zhang Yiyi said, shaking her head. It was no surprise that Liao Qiao couldn't see Hayashi's level—she had misjudged him at first, too.
"Hahahahahaha!" Liao Qiao burst into laughter as if he'd just heard the funniest joke ever. "Wipe the floor with me? Him?"
"Hayashi, don't waste your time with him. Let's go," Zhang Yiyi said, ignoring Liao Qiao as she and Hayashi made their way upstairs.
Liao Qiao didn't stop them. In truth, he was a bit wary of Zhang Yiyi—after all, a first-grade jujutsu sorcerer was a force to be reckoned with. He could only glare at their backs as they walked away, scheming something in his mind.
As they climbed the stairs, Hayashi asked, confused, "Are the relationships between sorcerers here always this tense? Shouldn't jujutsu sorcerers help each other instead of causing friction?"
Zhang Yiyi sighed, which was rare for her. "There are things you don't understand, so it's hard to explain. Here, you have to play politics to earn more money. That's why I left for Tokyo—I don't like this kind of life."
Though she didn't say much, Hayashi could already piece together some of what was going on. It was no wonder life in Tokyo was more comfortable, with none of this constant comparison and rivalry.
In fact, this sort of thing wasn't unusual. It happened everywhere—even in the top-tier Zenin and Kamo clans, internal strife was common.
Especially in the Zenin family, those deemed worthless were cast out. That was just the reality.
This world was a dark place, filled with curses, death, and misfortune. For ordinary people, it was like living in a purgatory where curses could strike at any time, leaving them powerless to resist.
And beyond the curses, there were the most loathsome curse users. They could no longer be considered human, and they were deeply intertwined with the darkness of the world.
Most people hadn't realized this truth yet, or perhaps they refused to believe it, choosing instead to live in their own idealized worlds, painting a false picture of happiness over their grim realities.
Hayashi followed Zhang Yiyi to the top floor, entering a room where a middle-aged man with black hair sat. As soon as he saw them, he stood up with a smile.
"Welcome back, Yiyi! And you must be Hayashi, right? Welcome, welcome!"