Currently, the most troubling issue for Longyuan is the curse incident in Jincheng, where an entire area has been engulfed. Many jujutsu sorcerers are trapped inside, along with numerous ordinary people.
If the situation continues to worsen, no one knows what the outcome will be.
"If I go and resolve this situation, how much money could I earn?" Hayashi was concerned about funding. He was practically broke, even needing Fushiguro to cover his phone bills. How could he possibly have any money? If he could make some money in China, that would be ideal.
"Ten million." Suka, who had been standing in the background, suddenly spoke up.
"What?"
Hayashi was stunned, thinking Suka was joking. "How could it be that high? In Japan, resolving a potential special-grade cursed spirit doesn't even..."
"This place is different from there. Japan has the highest number of curses in the world, and the situation is controlled by certain parties, so the prices are kept low. Of course, there are those who engage in high-priced private transactions, but if they get caught, the consequences aren't good either."
"Moreover, as a student of the Tokyo Jujutsu High, you're not allowed to earn money from our side unless you get approval from above. Otherwise, you're just asking for trouble."
Ten million Chinese yuan was an unimaginably large sum for Hayashi. With that kind of money, he could directly buy a storefront in Tokyo to start a restaurant or pursue other ventures.
But according to Suka, he wasn't allowed to earn money from exorcising curses in China without first discussing it with Gojo Satoru.
At this moment, Gojo Satoru seemed like an invaluable asset. With Gojo's backing, Hayashi could afford to be a bit more reckless in his actions, as Gojo would cover for him.
"By the way, I have another question. Curses originate from fear and dread. Could there be curses stronger than those found in nature—ones that surpass the ocean, glaciers, the earth, or even some alternative fictional cursed spirits, like terrifying characters from movies or things that don't actually exist?"
What Hayashi was considering wasn't just a random guess. Anything that exists is within the realm of possibility; he just didn't know if such things had a probability of occurring.
Xue Meng spoke up at this point: "You're overthinking it. Those things won't appear. Human fear isn't constant, and simple fear isn't enough to form such cursed spirits. You can rest easy."
"At least, in all these years, nothing like what you've mentioned has ever happened. Otherwise, the world would have ended long ago," Xiahou Zhiwen nodded, agreeing with Xue Meng's assessment.
Hayashi, however, wasn't entirely convinced. He tapped the table with one hand and said, "Maybe you're oversimplifying things. In ancient times, fictional cursed spirits might have arisen from fear, so they existed. Now, with modern development progressing so quickly, how many terrifying scenes in movies cause fear? Even though nothing has manifested yet, if this continues, sooner or later, these fears could reach a tipping point and erupt, becoming actual curses."
"Moreover, humanity's fear of nature has never disappeared, not since ancient times. Over the long years, these curses may have already begun to brew; they just haven't reached that critical moment. When that day comes, it will mark the end of humanity."
Hayashi's words weren't unreasonable, but to the others, it seemed like he was being overly naive and idealistic. They believed there was a 99% chance this wouldn't happen.
But there was still that 1% chance, which left them feeling uneasy. Maybe one day, it could really happen.
These ideas were mostly just idle speculation, though. Apart from Hayashi, the only one who seemed to share any concern was Long Qianian; the others hadn't even considered such possibilities, as it wasn't within their realm of responsibility or power.
After chatting with the group for about fifteen minutes, Hayashi stood up, ready to leave.
"Tell me where the cursed site in Jincheng is. I want to check it out."
Only a fool would turn down ten million yuan. Before taking any action, he needed to assess the level of danger. If it was something he could handle, he would discuss it with Gojo Satoru upon returning to the real world and plan a time to come back.
"I'll tell you, but you absolutely must not go in. What's inside is unknown," Long Qianian said, then glanced at the one-eyed Dong, who promptly gave Hayashi the location.
If Hayashi were to die so easily, then the future might have nothing to do with him, and Meng Po might have been wrong. Therefore, Long Qianian felt confident about Hayashi's chances. After all, if he could master the Thunderclap Eight Trigrams, what couldn't he do?
If Hayashi had been willing to share more information, Long Qianian would have pursued it to the end.
"Brother, sorry about earlier." Hayashi patted Suka's shoulder before leaving Longyuan.
Suka's mouth twitched. He was genuinely afraid of Hayashi now, even harboring some fear in his heart.
Everyone watched as Hayashi left. Long Qianian also rose to leave, seemingly able to foresee that Hayashi would eventually make a name for himself and influence the entire jujutsu world.
After leaving Longyuan, Hayashi headed straight to Jincheng. He was genuinely curious to see this cursed land that even Longyuan was worried about.
Today had been incredibly fruitful—not only had he obtained the Thunderclap Eight Trigrams and Brain Shield, but he had also learned many secrets, making him feel an immense pressure. The future might indeed be very dangerous.
Upon arriving in Jincheng, Hayashi quickly found the cursed site.
The city itself seemed completely normal, with people bustling about, everything appearing as it should.
But the closer he got to the cursed site, the fewer people there were.
When he finally reached an area cordoned off by police tape and guarded by relevant personnel, Hayashi knew he had arrived.
Ahead, a thick, purple-black mist enveloped the area, and from his viewpoint, it seemed boundless.
It looked extremely serious. This kind of widespread curse was definitely not ordinary; it was likely the work of a special-grade curse.
Given the unique nature of Chinese curses, Hayashi became cautious.
According to Longyuan and others, this cursed land had existed for more than half a month, and its range had remained constant, not expanding or affecting the outside world, which was a piece of good news.
"Who's there?"
"This area is under lockdown. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to approach. Please leave immediately."
Two men in police uniforms noticed Hayashi approaching and immediately tried to stop him. There were dozens of police officers stationed around to prevent anyone from getting close.
Hayashi ignored them, using Time Flash to instantly move inside the cordon, now just half a meter away from the purple-gray mist.
"Where did he go?"
"No idea. He was just here, and then he vanished."
"Could it be something unclean?"
"Holy crap, don't scare me!"
"Look, that guy's inside. He's going in!!"
Suddenly, everyone turned to look at Hayashi, who was now 300 meters ahead. Although he appeared as just a small dot in their eyes, they could still identify him as the person who had been there moments ago.
Seeing someone teleport so eerily, everyone knew this was no ordinary situation. No one tried to stop Hayashi again; instead, they contacted their superiors, knowing something significant was about to happen.