Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

The figures of dancers and singers have also vanished without a trace.

Only the burning flames remained bright, radiating intense heat in all directions.

Then, Gao Hai saw more villagers slowly emerging from the various roads surrounding the square.

All the villagers who came out this time were women, and for some reason, they were all blindfolded. They walked steadily toward the square without any assistance.

No, it's not just the eyes.

Gao Hai carefully observed these female villagers and soon discovered that their ears were also blocked.

Unable to see, unable to hear?

As Gao Hai watched this scene, he suddenly remembered something he had heard before, something about a certain night watchman.

Don't listen to what you shouldn't hear, don't look at what you shouldn't look at... Are these villagers playing some special role that requires them to come into contact with something dangerous?

While they were thinking, the women had already steadily walked to the high platform in the middle of the square.

They stood before the burning flames, reaching out as if to touch them, but their fingers stopped abruptly after getting a little closer, never actually touching the flames.

Even so, Gao Hai could clearly see that the women's fair fingers were being roasted until they turned red and purple, and even showed signs of tearing open.

There were no screams, not even any abnormal breathing sounds.

These women simply reached out silently, letting the scorching heat burn their fair fingers; that was all.

Wait, their fingers... These shouldn't be the fingers of villagers. Why are there no calluses on their hands? They're the delicate fingers of someone who's never done any heavy work.

Gao Hai frowned. He could vaguely sense that as these strange rituals continued, the square was gradually being enveloped by an eerie atmosphere.

The deliberately contrived, inexplicable dances and songs, the villagers acting like mad animals, and now these extremely strange women… Gao Hai sensed no eeriness or supernatural force at play during these actions. Yet, it seemed that no extraordinary power was needed; the rituals themselves alone had already brought about a transformation in this place that defied description.

call……

When I realized it, I found that my breathing had become heavy.

Gao Hai took several deep breaths in succession, and a slight dizziness came over his head. He realized that he had unknowingly developed some symptoms of oxygen deficiency.

The other players in the square reacted much more violently; many clutched their throats and collapsed to the ground, fainting on the spot.

Even the villagers who were devoutly watching the ceremony fell into a coma, and some of them continued to convulse even after they fainted, looking as if they were about to turn into zombies.

Finally, just as their fingers were about to be burned on the spot, these silent women stepped back, turned around, and slowly walked away.

At that moment, an elderly man with white hair, dressed in fine clothes and holding a cane, led a group of men and women out from the main road directly opposite the mountain road.

The man had a kind and gentle smile on his face, and when he saw Gao Hai looking over, he smiled and nodded slightly.

Behind him, accompanied by desperate screams, several strong villagers carried up a live pig that was tied up, and other villagers grabbed live chickens and also went up to the platform.

Looking at the old man's figure, Gao Hai intuitively realized that this old man was likely the so-called Li family patriarch, Li Ziyong, who had written the rules on the notice board earlier.

"Offer sacrifices to Heaven, to the gods, and to our ancestors!"

The old man spoke in a loud voice, and the animal to be sacrificed was then pressed to the edge of the high platform.

"Today, the festival to welcome the gods has arrived, let us offer sacrifices!"

Then, after the old man gave the next command, the villagers with broadswords swiftly brought their blades down, and several pig and chicken heads fell to the ground, splattering blood everywhere.

Only then did Gao Hai finally see the procession slowly descending the mountain.

There was no sound.

The sound of drums, voices, shouts, breathing, heartbeats...

As the group gradually descended the mountain, they all disappeared.

Those heavy footsteps should have made a dull sound when they landed on the ground, but Gao Hai couldn't hear anything. The power of the blessing only returned complete silence, as if he were in a world where no one existed and that he was already dead, just a corpse.

Nearly.

Gao Hai could already see the figures slowly walking down the mountain.

He saw them.

Red, white...

People dressed in wedding attire and those in mourning clothes displayed different expressions, some overjoyed, others silently sorrowful, each conveying their emotions of joy and grief. Yet, whether they were laughing heartily or weeping sadly, Gao Hai could not hear a sound. His world seemed to have fallen into absolute silence, a silence he himself could no longer perceive.

Is this the power of a strange creature?

Or is it some kind of very special ritual?

Why are the people carrying the statue dressed in wedding clothes and mourning clothes respectively?

Gao Hai silently watched the gradually clearing procession, his gaze quickly shifting from the people to the things they were carrying.

There were at least ten villagers just responsible for carrying that thing. These villagers, carrying the ropes wrapped around the huge statue and using any available leverage, took steps forward and then back in unison, slowly moving towards the village.

Is that the statue of the mountain god of Xiaoheishan?

After this series of strange rituals, Gao Hai finally got to see the true face of the statue, and his vigilance was now at its highest.

But he did not see the statue.

Despite having made thorough preparations—whether it was erasing memories, opening up a domain, or even giving himself a chance to start over—Gao Hai, after waiting in suspense for a long time, was still unable to truly see the image of the deity.

The statue was currently covered by a thick cloth, so it was impossible to see what was underneath.

What's going on? Are we still going to play games about mystery at a time like this?

Gao Hai, somewhat confused, muttered a complaint to himself. Then, he saw with his own eyes the thick cloth covering the statue begin to tremble slightly.

Is something moving inside?

Just as Gao Hai had this thought in his mind, he saw the thick cloth covering the statue being slowly lifted by a small, fair hand, revealing a patch of darkness inside.

The next moment, Gao Hai felt a clear gaze looking over from the darkness.

It all happened in an instant, but Gao Hai felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. An indescribable sense of terror instantly pierced through all his senses, leaving only an intense chill enveloping everything. At that moment, he didn't even have the ability to move his body.

That's...that's...

Thoughts faltered for a moment, as if the act of thinking itself had frozen.

But soon, Gao Hai took a deep breath and forcibly shook off that terrifying and eerie feeling.

The ceremony is still ongoing.

The other players, including Maki and Chika beside him, did not sense anything unusual.

The thing that was supposed to be lifting the thick cloth doesn't seem to exist; at least, we can't see where it is right now.

But Gao Hai knew that his senses wouldn't deceive him.

So, what exactly is that thing...?

Chapter 10: Yotsuya Miko's Journey Through the Darkness and Her Discoveries

I heard some unusual sound coming from outside, which was initially indistinct but quickly became clear.

The sound was like someone pounding a drum, singing, and roaring, resounding in waves. It was a massive sound, as if hundreds or even thousands of people had gathered together.

Although Miko couldn't quite make out what the sounds were, she could already sense the extremely unsettling atmosphere, even though the source of the sounds was actually quite far away from her. Therefore, she had no intention of using her hearing blessing to listen carefully to the sounds, but instead carefully tried to limit her senses, trying her best to avoid hearing anything unpleasant.

After all, if she heard something bad, the other party might come knocking on her door immediately, and that would be a serious matter. Even though she now possesses multiple blessings and can obtain support from Takami's obsession objects and blessings at any time through the deep link of the black watch, Yotsuya Miko is ultimately just an ordinary girl who is not good at fighting and doesn't have much finesse. Once she encounters a situation of high intensity, for Miko, there is basically only one outcome: [death].

For now, let's focus on the situation inside this room.

Thinking this, Miko frowned and looked at the house in front of her again.

The girl had now reached the depths of this dark earthen house.

Passing through the dilapidated living room area, with the help of the night vision granted by Cat Candy, Jianzi discovered more signs of destruction and some scattered bloodstains in the living room area.

These traces silently revealed to Miko a perilous battle, or perhaps a thrilling hunt. And from the spread of blood, she could deduce that it all ended in the bedroom on one side of the earthen house. In fact, even before entering the bedroom, Miko, standing at the doorway, could clearly see the large wooden cabinet lying on the floor, torn to shreds.

What might be inside?

The girl took a deep breath. Even though it wasn't the first time she had been in danger, the feeling of not being able to control her own safety still put her under tremendous pressure.

What terrible thing might be lurking in that dark bedroom?

Could some terrifying monster be lurking in the corner, waiting to smile at her when she discovers it?

Or is it that once I enter that door, the room will suddenly transform into the mouth or even the stomach of some thing, swallowing me whole and tearing me apart for digestion?

Seeing that Zi could not help but imagine a variety of terrible possibilities.

Slowly, one step at a time.

The girl, whose nerves were stretched to the limit, silently approached the broken door in front of her.

So far, her auditory blessings and sensory perception have yielded no feedback; the bedroom remains completely silent, as if nothing moving exists there. But this doesn't reassure Miko; on the contrary, the absolute silence only adds to her anxiety.

What exactly is inside? What could possibly exist in that room?

The girl couldn't suppress her thoughts, instinctively imagining possible scenarios in her mind.

{See you later, give us a timely update. We're watching the villagers begin their welcoming ceremony for the gods. To be honest, I don't understand these rituals at all. I'll recount the ceremony to you afterward. Anyway, report back to your side first. Are you alright?}

During the mental link, Gao Hai's voice suddenly rang out.

Seeing Zi's steps suddenly stop, she was stunned for a moment, and then subconsciously let out a long breath, her tense mind relaxing a lot at this moment.

{I'm fine here, don't worry, senior.}

She spoke very earnestly to Gao Hai through their mental link.

{I just investigated the living room of the house I broke into, and I discovered that the residents seem to have defended themselves against some kind of dangerous monster. They locked the door and used cabinets or something similar to barricade it, trying to stop it. But they failed; the door and cabinets were completely destroyed, and the entire living room was a mess, covered in blood. I just checked the kitchen; there wasn't anything unusual inside. I haven't checked the bedroom yet, and I'm currently preparing to confirm the situation there.}

As the girl explained through the mental link, she slowly walked towards the bedroom and stepped inside without hesitation.

The pungent, fishy odor doubled in an instant.

Seeing Zi's furrowed brow as he carefully observed the room, he discovered that it was as if ten huskies had entered, with not a single area remaining intact.

Everything was torn to shreds, from the bed itself, the sheets and blankets, to all the things that might have been placed in the bedroom, and even parts of the floor, walls and ceiling had cracks and dents.

Large swathes of dark red blood were piled up in one corner of the room, while a great deal of splattered blood was also scattered throughout the room.

A rusty, dulled kitchen knife lay among rubble and wood chips. Besides congealed blood, it was covered in something strange. Jianzi approached and, after carefully confirming the knife wasn't an object of her obsession, picked it up for a closer look. To her astonishment, she discovered that the knife was covered in hair. Dark brown, about 6 to 10 centimeters long, its shape and curl didn't seem to belong to humans.