The Japanese-fear sorcerer who started by taking in Tomie

The two sat facing each other at the dining table, neither willing to yield. Their gazes almost sparked with hostility.

The slit-mouthed woman sat upright, her eyes fixed on Tomie, full of warning. Her fingers tapped lightly on the table, the rhythm neither too fast nor too slow, yet carrying an unspoken sense of oppression.

Kawakami! Gen-kun is mine!

Tomie rested her chin on her hand, a cold smile playing on her lips, her eyes clearly displaying provocation, showing no intention of backing down.

Haha, stop dreaming, Shinhengjun can only be mine!

"Alright, let's eat first."

Shin Hengyuan came out of the kitchen carrying breakfast. The Slit-Mouthed Woman immediately got up to greet him, took the plate from his hand, and spoke in a voice so gentle it was almost melting.

"Yuan-kun, let me do it. You've worked hard. From now on, I'll take care of breakfast."

Tomie saw this and cursed inwardly, calling him a bootlicker. Then she smiled and eagerly stepped forward, saying, "Shinheng-kun, you've worked hard. From now on, I'll take care of all the housework."

The slit-mouthed woman paused slightly in her hand holding the plate, and her eyes instantly turned cold.

The two started again.

Their gazes clashed again in mid-air, silently colliding, neither willing to look away first.

On the surface, Xin Hengyuan remained expressionless and calm, but inside he was overjoyed.

As expected, competition breeds motivation. Tomie would never have volunteered to do housework before, but now that the Slit-Mouthed Woman has arrived, she's eager to do it.

This is called market competition.

Xin Hengyuan secretly noted it down, thinking that he could consider bringing in another one next time to increase the intensity of competition.

Just as Xin Hengyuan was about to sit down, he suddenly heard a rustling sound in his pocket. A brightly colored spider, about the size of a palm, crawled out of his clothes.

This is the same Jorogumo from before.

As expected of a monster, its recovery ability is strong; it was able to move again after just one night.

The Jorogumo perched on Shin Hengyuan's sleeve, its front legs gesturing wildly at him as if to say, "I'm hungry."

Xin Hengyuan calmly took out a box of bread bugs and then pulled out a pair of tweezers.

These bread bugs couldn't possibly have been bought by Xinhengyuan; they were borrowed from Teacher Kongmu.

I saved Mr. Kumoki's life and didn't take any money from him, so what's wrong with taking a box of bugs?

"Yuan-kun, there's a demonic aura about your spider."

The Slit-Mouthed Woman keenly sensed the faint, lingering demonic aura on the Jorogumo and immediately spoke up to warn her.

"Oh, I know." Shin Hengyuan used tweezers to take out a bread bug and placed it in front of Jorogumo.

Jorogumo pounced forward and bit the bread worm, then contentedly dragged her prize back into Shin Hengyuan's pocket.

This Jorogumo seems to have made Shingen's pocket her own nest.

"This...could it be that monster that absorbed the Hollow Wood? The spider, Jorogumo?"

Tomie stared at Shin Hengyuan's pocket, her tone suspicious.

"How did it get like this? Something's not right!"

Tomie changed the subject abruptly, her eyes instantly reddening again, as she pointed at Shin Hengyuan.

"Why did you bring another woman back?! One wasn't enough, you brought two! Xinhengyuan, you heartless womanizer!"

Shin Hengyuan put down the tweezers, looked up at her expressionlessly, and said, "...It's just a spider."

"What's wrong with spiders? Jorogumo are all women! Don't think I don't know!" Tomie stomped her feet angrily.

That's the truth.

Jorogumo, a type of yokai, has always been female.

Because they are all essentially descendants of the original Jorogumo.

Legend has it that the earliest Jorogumo was transformed from a beautiful woman who married a lord.

The lord discovered her affair and, in a fit of rage, threw her into a box filled with poisonous spiders, letting them devour her flesh.

After her death, her vengeful spirit lingered, merging with a poisonous spider to become the merciless Jorogumo, haunting the forests, seducing young men, and taking their lives.

Therefore, any Jorogumo is destined to be female.

The same reason also explains why Jorogumo lost control and insisted on draining Taiga Kudo.

That is the resentment from our ancestors, deeply rooted in our blood, passed down from generation to generation, and extremely uncontrollable.

The Jorogumo at that time was influenced by the resentment of the original Jorogumo.

Simply put, it means the ancestors have possessed him.

"So what? It's only a little bigger than a palm now. You're not going to be jealous of a spider, are you?"

Shin Hengyuan stared at Tomie with droopy eyes, feeling utterly speechless.

Tomie pouted, tears welling in her eyes: "You've already admitted it's a woman!"

"As long as Yuan-kun is willing, as long as Yuan-kun is happy, I will do anything, I will be happy for Yuan-kun."

The Slit-Mouthed Woman clasped her hands together in front of her chest, resting them under her chin, her exposed eyes curving into two crescent moons.

"You, you, you..."

Tomie pointed at the Slit-Mouthed Woman, her fingers trembling, too shocked to utter a single word for a long time.

What are you talking about, woman?!

What does it mean to "do anything for him"? What does it mean to "be happy for him"?

How could you say something like that?

You've really gone to any lengths to curry favor with Xinhengyuan!

Tomie's lips twitched as she stared incredulously at the slit-mouthed woman, her face saying, "Are you crazy?"

"Tomie, look at that, look at that! How high is the awareness of the Slit-Mouthed Woman?" Shin Hengyuan decisively gave a thumbs up and praised her.

Tomie puffed out her cheeks defiantly, sat heavily back in her chair, and started poking at the rice in her bowl while muttering to herself.

"Fair-minded! Stingy! Scumbag! Womanizing radish..."

Tomie was so upset she was almost crying; her eyes were red and swollen.

In the past century, when has Tomie ever suffered such injustice? On ordinary days, she is always the center of attention.

No! Absolutely not!

With the slit-mouthed woman around, and given Shin Heng Yuan's personality, there will definitely be many more women appearing in his family in the future!

Today it's Jorogumo, but what about tomorrow? And the day after?

Tomie, who considers herself the mistress of the house, will not allow this situation to continue.

But he couldn't possibly defeat the Slit-Mouthed Woman on his own; he couldn't beat her in a fight, nor could he win an argument with her.

She gritted her teeth, and an idea quietly formed in her mind: to find another Tomie.

Although she always hated those counterfeit goods and fakes, the mere thought of them parading around with her face on their clothes made her want to vomit.

But in the end, they are still Tomie.

No matter what, it's better than other ghost stories and monster tales.

Tomie clenched her fists inwardly.

Stop the civil war and unite against a common enemy!

Slit-mouthed woman, Jorogumo... just you wait, Shin-gen will ultimately belong only to Tomie!

Tomie stared at the Slit-Mouthed Woman and the Jorogumo with eyes full of jealousy and resentment!

Jorogumo: ? I'm just a little spider.