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

Ok……

Jianzi closed her eyes and recalled the hair on her senior's body that she had seen in her dream.

Hmm... that's right, it's not that kind of hair either.

This thing doesn't seem to be from a human body; is it some kind of wild beast? Did the person in this house try to fight the monster with this knife before they died, but failed and was still killed?

If that's the case, what animal does this hair belong to? Or is it some kind of monster that looks like an animal but whose true nature is difficult to ascertain?

The girl lowered her head and pondered for a moment. Not knowing much about wild animals, she couldn't come up with any answers, so she picked off some of the fur and put it in her pocket.

It's worth mentioning that although these hairs didn't possess any particularly eerie properties, Jianzi still felt a chilling aura when he touched them. This suggests that the thing to which these hairs belonged was likely a strange creature or something with some kind of eerie characteristic; otherwise, these hairs wouldn't have been imbued with this aura.

So, are there any other clues in this house?

After a preliminary exploration, Jianzi was fairly certain that there was nothing in the room that would be fatal if triggered, so she relaxed a little. Enduring the pervasive stench of decay, she carefully continued her investigation, shoveling away the scattered trash and debris, trying to find any hidden clues. After a short while, the girl's eyes lit up slightly, focusing on a small patch of soil that was a slightly different color from the surrounding area.

Judging from the color and marks on the surrounding ground, this location should have originally been hidden under the bed.

In other words, did the homeowner secretly bury something under their bed that they didn't want others to find out?

Although it's very likely that something extremely dangerous is hidden inside, it's still worth finding out and taking a look.

Without hesitation, Jianzi dug a small hole in the bedroom with his hands.

She quickly found what was hidden in the ground.

This is... just one page?

Take out the thin piece of paper with obvious torn edges.

Jianzi looked at the paper and found that the paper itself was stained with dark red bloodstains, and it was impossible to see what was written on it.

However, this problem does not bother Miko Yotsuya, since she now has a new blessing and her abilities are much stronger than before.

hum-

With the activation of some extraordinary power, Jianzi clearly saw the bloodstains on the paper in her hand begin to fade rapidly, and the originally blurry handwriting became clear and legible again.

Is this... some kind of investigation record?

Jianzi looked at the rightmost text on the restored document. The most eye-catching part was the two large characters "Black Immortal" written vertically. Then, more and finer characters were arranged from right to left, which made Jianzi, who was used to recognizing text from left to right in modern times, feel extremely awkward.

After a little effort, Jianzi was gradually able to recognize and read the text on it normally.

[A Record of Investigations into Strange Villages, Part Sixteen: Black Fairy]

[Part One of the Records]

The so-called Black Immortal is a forest spirit that the villagers of this strange mountain village have been talking about.

[Legend has it that this creature is entirely black, with hands and feet shaped like a human, and can stand upright. It can speak human language and cause chaos in the fog. It will pat travelers on the back and shoulders and communicate with them, then bite off their heads when they turn around, and then quickly devour the corpse.]

It is said that those attacked by the Black Immortal never leave behind any remains of their bodies, at most only bloodstains. The Black Immortal will even eat the soil containing the flesh of its victims, its frenzied behavior deserving the description of a glutton.

[Second part of the record]

[Regarding the existence of this object, I conducted numerous investigations around Little Black Mountain, initially finding nothing. Then one day, a strange fog rose halfway up the mountain. Two of my men, secured with ropes, went into the fog to search, but neither returned. Even after the ropes showed unusual movement, I immediately ordered them to pull them back, but they only managed to retrieve two bloodied pieces of rope and a severed hand gripping the rope.]

The villagers of this strange village claim that I stole the Black Immortal's blood offerings, and that it will surely come for me tonight. I'm actually quite happy about that. So many strange things have been discovered in this village so far, and I must try to resolve some of them no matter what.

[Record Part Three]

After careful selection, I chose a newly built village area by the river, which was not yet officially in use, and selected a house as my defensive point.

Including myself, there are 27 men guarding this place. My junior sister is also patrolling the rooftop tonight, and everyone is carrying knives and arrows. Once that thing appears, as long as it doesn't just appear out of nowhere, we will definitely be able to spot it in advance and surround and kill it.

I have absolute confidence that I will see the true form of that Black Immortal, but I have no confidence that I will survive. So far, I have recorded many strange occurrences in this village, and almost none of them can be resolved by my own strength. This strange village in the mountains is practically a land of demons; I truly do not know why such a situation exists here. However, as the one who suppresses these strange phenomena, from the moment I accepted the appointment, I was destined to fight these things to the death.

I'm fully prepared for tonight. Let's see who has the last laugh.

[Record its arrogance]

I am still alive, not dead, but I have lost my left arm, and from now on I will never be able to go to the front lines to fight again.

As expected, that black immortal was no ordinary being; swords, spears, and clubs had no effect on it whatsoever, not even a hair on its head.

But as expected, the thing was essentially a transformed wild beast, and therefore it was also subject to the fears of that beast.

To repel this thing, fire is the first weapon to be used.

The fiercer the flames, the more the filth dared not approach.

Secondly, anything that can produce a loud noise will also work.

Whether it's firecrackers or something else, the sound of the explosion will terrify this filthy creature, scaring it away so it won't dare to approach.

Finally, although this thing seemed to possess sentience, after several tests, I was certain that this filth was nothing more than a foolish parrot mimicking speech. It didn't understand the meaning of what it was saying; it was merely repeating words randomly to attract attention. Furthermore, the numerous rumors the villagers of this strange village had about this filth had begun to influence it to some extent, altering its behavior—this was also a potential avenue for exploitation.

[To explain this in detail, there are still many things I'm unsure about at the moment. However, one confirmed countermeasure is that when you encounter this black spirit and can't create a light or sound to scare it away, try turning your back. You'll feel something on your shoulder, and a voice will speak to you from behind.]

At this point, your chances of survival are slim, but as long as you don't look back, absolutely never look back, that thing can't hurt you.

I will record more information after conducting a more comprehensive observation of the area surrounding this strange village. For now, the record of the "Black Immortal" itself will end here.

【The Ghost Slayer - Jiang■■】

It took Miko quite a while to awkwardly read through the contents of this page using the translation function provided by the [Sacrifice Game].

Then, after understanding its contents, she couldn't help but widen her eyes. Although she didn't quite understand what "Black Immortal" and "Ghost Suppressor" meant, the girl realized that the records on these pages must be crucial clues.

I need to tell my seniors about this record immediately.

Thinking this, Miko stood up and prepared to turn around and leave the bedroom.

But before she could do anything, the girl suddenly felt a heavy force fall on her shoulder, as if someone had patted her hard.

Who... is making so much noise... so late at night...?

Then, she heard indistinct sounds ringing in her ears.

A thin mist had risen in the messy room, bringing a chilly feeling.

Chapter Eleven: The Calm Girl, the Explosion Timing, and the Activation of the First Bomb

thump--

Jianzi's heartbeat lost its balance for a moment.

Although this kind of sudden fright wasn't the first time for her, she still couldn't remain completely unmoved and unaffected like Gao Hai.

Of course, despite saying that, Miko's face remained expressionless. In terms of appearance alone, she was actually much calmer than Gao Hai when the monster jumped in her face.

Who... is making noise outside...?

The thing was still making sounds.

The voice belonged to an adult male, and it sounded very sleepy, like someone who had just gotten out of bed after being woken up by some noise in the middle of the night.

But naturally, Jianzi knew that the person standing behind him was definitely not human.

After all, her senses had given her an incredibly clear response; the intense chill and inhuman coldness told her that the creature behind her was a terrifying being that could easily kill her.

"call……"

The girl's breathing had become heavy.

Her heart continued to race, her whole body felt numb, and she could barely stand up due to the intense chill.

But soon, seeing that Zi gritted her teeth and tried not to show any fear, she simply stood there expressionless.

Don't be afraid, please don't be afraid.

Seeing this, he said to himself in his heart.

If that thing wanted to kill me, it would have done so long ago. But so far, it hasn't made any actual move, merely standing behind me mimicking human speech, which speaks volumes. It seems this monster strictly adheres to some special set of rules. Perhaps… the contents of this record sheet I'm holding specify the rules this thing must follow.

So... this thing is the "Black Immortal"?

Seeing that Zi was thinking silently, she slowly moved her feet and tried to take a step forward.

Nothing unusual.

The thing that had placed its hand on her shoulder didn't move at all, but the girl could feel that the hand on her back wasn't moving either. This meant that the thing was moving with her, so trying to get rid of it simply by moving her feet was probably unrealistic.

So, how about trying to walk back a little further?

While she was thinking, she saw that Zi had slowly taken a step back while still facing the wall.

The next moment she clearly felt herself bump into something, something very thick, furry, and with a faint stench.

It's certain that this thing is very tall, at least taller than Miko. Not only that, it seems to be hunched over, somewhat stooped... or rather, it's like some kind of humanoid thing standing up, mimicking a human posture, but because its skeletal structure is different from a human's, it can't completely imitate it.

……Bear?

After a brief moment of thought and speculation, the girl came up with a possibility.

At this moment, could the thing standing behind me, with its hand on my shoulder, be a bear?

{Jianzi, what's the situation on your end?}

Gao Hai's voice rang out in the mental link, and he immediately noticed the unusual situation of Jian Zi's sudden silence.

{An unidentified, eerie creature is standing behind me, its hand resting on my shoulder.}

It hasn't attacked me yet. Based on the text on a piece of paper I found, this thing is probably called "Black Fairy," a kind of eerie creature that appears with the mist and kills people.

This eerie creature has a peculiar rule: it approaches a living person with their back to it, places its hand on their shoulder, and speaks in a voice it has heard from previous victims. However, the creature cannot understand the content or meaning of the words; it is merely repeating them. Once the person whose shoulder it touched turns around, the creature immediately kills them. But I haven't turned around yet, so it hasn't killed me.

Jianzi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and explained her situation to Gao Hai through the mental link.

Of course, Miko also told Takami everything about the text on that piece of paper, which for some reason was still illegible after the text was repaired using the power of blessing, to ensure that no information would be leaked.

Meanwhile, on Gao Hai's side, the complex ceremony to welcome the mountain god was far from over. Therefore, to prevent any potential dangers, the three of them could not leave the ceremony square for the time being. Even so, Gao Hai quickly came up with some ways to help Jianzi.

{Do you have a way to create flames? Judging from the information you gave me, this thing seems quite difficult to deal with. Rather than directly confronting it with artifacts, I think it would be better to try using the rule-based recording method first. I have some artifacts here that can create flames; would you like to give them a try?}

Gao Hai quickly offered his suggestion.

No, firelight alone shouldn't be enough. The person on the note explored several ways to repel that thing, but according to the record, he should have only encountered it head-on once. The fact that multiple methods are listed on the note means that these methods, used individually, might not be very effective. Therefore, if we're going to try it, it's best to do it all at once, creating both sound and firelight simultaneously.

At this moment, Chika interrupted and offered a different idea.

{Simultaneously creating light and sound?}