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

[You're not joining us in opposing the Liu family, so you also think the Liu family can be our clan leaders and treat our Li family like dogs? Hey, don't bother explaining anything to me, just tell me which side you're on. That's all you have to say! Just honestly tell me which side you're on!]

【You're not joining us in dealing with the Li family. Are you afraid of their numbers, or do you think their despicable deeds are insignificant? Or do you want to wait for us to fight to the death? I don't want to preach any grand principles. The situation has reached this point; if you still want to stand by and watch, it won't be so easy!】

Both the Li and Liu families treated the Zhang family very badly.

They seem to have forgotten their initial promises, forgotten their vows to put aside all grudges and live in harmony.

How could this be?

It wasn't like this at first, you guys weren't like this from the beginning...

Of course, the Zhang family will side with Yingti Village. We shouldn't even be distinguishing between the Li family, the Liu family, and the Zhang family.

Our three clans once swore an oath to become one family. The Zhang family has not forgotten this promise, and I hope that the members of the Li and Liu families, whatever conflicts they may have, will resolve them peacefully as much as possible.

After all, we came here together, escaping the war. We stood together through such difficult times; now that we've finally settled down, why start fighting again? Let's value peace!

The cries filled with sincere wishes were met with no understanding or recognition, only deeper suspicion and disdainful ridicule.

Even within the Zhang family, unity was impossible. The younger generation couldn't understand the importance the older generation placed on Yingti Village. Some sided with the Liu family because of their faith in the Fox Goddess, while others were incited by the Li family to side with the other. Those who were truly willing to stand in the middle and remain neutral, following the clan leader, were actually a minority.

This is not a good phenomenon.

Neither the Li family nor the Liu family truly intended to accept the Zhang family. After all, the former was a large family with over a thousand members, while the latter, although relatively smaller, still numbered five or six hundred. In comparison, the Zhang family was merely a small family of about a hundred members, and they hadn't yet been able to fully unite. If things continued this way, the final result would either be that they were swallowed up by the other two families, or that they would become the first to be eliminated in the struggle between the two families.

The formation of "Oriole's Song Village," merging the three families, is undoubtedly a win-win situation and the best possible outcome. However, if one becomes the one to be swallowed up and eliminated, that's a completely different story. Ultimately, for people bound together by blood ties and family culture, outsiders are always outsiders. The best-case scenario is that all the men of the Zhang family die out, with a small number of women remaining to bear children for the other two families. A slightly worse scenario would likely be the complete annihilation of the Zhang family, leaving them without any descendants.

We cannot let such a thing happen. The reason the Zhang family chose to join the Liu family's forces during the war was to survive, not to become expendable resources for the Liu and Li families.

Therefore, the Zhang family must not actually side with the Li or Liu families. The Zhang family must insist on the existence of Yingti Village. Any choice other than Yingti Village, which can represent the unity of the three clans, will surely lead to destruction.

But... how long can this go on?

The conflict between the two families is becoming increasingly intense, and sooner or later it will escalate into a real brawl, resulting in deaths and even escalating into a disaster that wipes out the entire village and clan.

How can the Zhang family, the weakest of the two, survive?

Amid the roar of the mudslide, the cries and screams of the survivors echoed in my ears.

The neglected disaster taught the three families a lesson, but even so, the conflict did not subside. On the contrary, the Li family and the Liu family completely split up, each occupying different places and building two villages, which became "Li Family Village" and "Liu Family Village". The original "Yingti Village" ceased to exist and became something that only existed in the memories of a few people.

At this point, the Zhang family, the smallest and most divided, had reached a point where they couldn't even rebuild the village. The Li and Liu families also refused to help the Zhang family, rejecting this family that refused to take a complete stand and was seen as problematic by both sides.

What should I do next?

When this question was truly presented to them, everyone fell silent.

There's no need to worry about this.

The reason the Liu and Li families have developed into this state is ultimately due to conflicts stemming from their fundamental differences. If the Zhang family wants to remain uninvolved, they simply need to distance themselves from them. Don't worry, I'll guarantee your safety; nothing will happen.

Just go back to your old village. They don't want to take over the name "Yingti Village," so just keep going. Don't worry about another flood, because the Mountain God will protect everyone. You've probably heard that the Li family found the Mountain God's spirit body. As long as you believe in the Mountain God, you will receive protection.

Whose voice is softly echoing in the darkness?

Unable to see the other person's appearance clearly.

All that could be heard was his low chuckle, and all that could be seen were the statues of the Fox Goddess and the Mountain God of Little Black Mountain, placed on a high platform. Having accepted the proposal, the Zhang family returned to the ruined village, restored it, and continued to live there, while also worshipping the Fox Goddess and the Mountain God of Little Black Mountain.

Such actions undoubtedly made the Liu family even more disgusted, and the Li family, who had also begun to worship the mountain god, naturally could not accept the Zhang family, seeing that they refused to give up their worship of the fox goddess and wanted to do both. Therefore, the Zhang family continued to be disliked by everyone, except that this time they were knowingly doing so.

The Liu family, whose numbers were relatively small and who worshipped the Fox Goddess, could be seen gradually shrinking. No one knew what had happened to them.

The Li family, who supposedly dug something out of the cave where the baby was abandoned, became increasingly domineering. They also seemed to send people out of the village to do things outside, bringing back a lot of salt, cloth, various grains, seeds, women, and even some rare things every now and then.

It is said that the mountain god of Xiaoheishan bestowed some kind of divine power upon the Li family, but they refused to show it to the Zhang family. Therefore, this information could only be heard and spread more and more far-fetched, until eventually it was impossible to know who was telling the truth and who was lying.

But one thing is clear: the Li family's sacrificial activities began to become increasingly frenzied.

They offered sacrifices again and again in various ways, whether it was drowning in the lake, beheading and plating heads, or some other insane acts that the Zhang family couldn't even comprehend. Ever since they started worshipping the mountain god of Little Black Mountain, these members of the Li family seemed to have become increasingly abnormal. However, this did have its advantages, as the young people who were originally prone to side with the Li family became much more restrained. After all, no one wants to associate with completely unpredictable madmen.

So far, neither the Li family nor the Liu family has caused any more trouble for the Zhang family.

However, in the foreseeable future, something even more terrible is likely to happen.

After all, although the Li and Liu families have had much less contact, their relationship seems destined to be a life-or-death struggle. Furthermore, as the Li family becomes increasingly unstable, it's clear they're starting to have designs on the Zhang family as well. Whether these designs involve annexing the Zhang family or sacrificing them, the final outcome will likely be the same.

There is no time.

All the elderly people who lived through the initial period of "Yingti Village" have passed away.

Inheriting the obsessions and wishes of the elders of that era, the second generation carefully protected the Zhang family and cautiously approached the Liu and Li families, trying to seek a balanced and neutral relationship. Now, most of them are old and dead, and there are hardly any left.

Young people who are unable to shoulder heavy responsibilities, who are unaware of the perilous situation, and who, even if they are aware, are powerless to change anything due to their weak strength, will not receive help from the powerful Liu family, nor will they be accepted by the bloodthirsty and insane Li family.

Therefore, once the last group of elderly people pass away, what follows will likely become very cruel.

In that case, there's only one way: strike first!

[You also want to obtain divine power and plot against the Li and Liu families? I never would have guessed. I originally thought you weren't very bold.]

"But this is quite good; rather, it's more like something to admire. I can indeed tell you the method, the method to protect the Zhang family, and the method to harm the other two villages."

[First, you need to establish a third deity in addition to the Mountain God and the Fox Goddess. You don't need to know who this deity is or what their specific image is. You just need to let the Li and Liu families know about this, and let everyone in the Zhang family know that the clan leader has introduced a new deity into the ancestral temple.]

【If you really take those young people to worship this god, and make everyone believe that this god with an unknown name truly exists, then when everyone is convinced, at least one of the Liu family or the Li family will become restless and come knocking on your door to confirm the existence of this god.】

"At that time, you can simply open the gates of the ancestral temple and let those visitors in. If the Li family goes in, the Li family will die; if the Liu family goes in, the Liu family will die. If both families go in, then only your Zhang family will have the final say in Little Black Mountain. What do you say? Can you accept this proposal?"

The voice in the darkness carried a calm and gentle quality, yet it was also filled with a strange, almost inescapable, attraction that made those who heard it nod involuntarily.

Is that all there is to it?

Will this protect the Zhang family and eliminate the threat?

There's no other choice now. Since the Li and Liu families are so heartless and unjust, don't blame the Zhang family for being ruthless. In the end, all we wanted was to survive; you forced us to this point.

Thank you so much. If it weren't for your secret help to the Zhang family, we would probably have been wiped out long ago.

Next, we would also appreciate it if you could help us ascertain the movements of the other two companies.

Mr. Du.

Of course, please feel free to leave it to me.

Now that I'm here, I'll definitely do my best to help you all.

Ultimately, the Li and Liu families are cut from the same cloth. One is nothing more than a beast in human skin, recklessly indulging its desires; the other, believing itself divinely protected, arrogantly looks down on others. Such fools are destined for destruction. The Zhang family is different. You are innocent; you are unfortunate outsiders caught in the crossfire. So even if you are forced to deal with them, you have done nothing wrong, you are innocent, right? That's why I, Du, am determined to help you good people.

……

The sounds and images have gradually faded away.

The lines snapped, and the corpse lay limply on the ground, seemingly twitching slightly, as if trying to struggle to stand up again, but unable to do so due to the broken bones.

Gao Hai frowned, staring at the dark sky.

After the first suppressive round hit the ghastly white hand, the thing shattered and vanished without a trace. Then, through this contact and the use of the Pen of the Obsessed, Gao Hai established a brief deep link with the thing and saw some things.

That hand... seemed to be merely a manifestation of a portion of the power of the core obsession.

The suppression bomb severed the connection between that thing and its core obsession, which is why it shattered. While this destroyed the thing, it also cut off the path to finding the core obsession. We need to find something similar to do next.

Tsk, does this obsession even have the ability to multiply? That's really troublesome.

And judging from what I sensed just now, well, without a doubt, it's that [Mr. Du].

The core obsession of the Red Moon level existing in [Zhangjia Village] is none other than this mysterious Mr. Du himself. It's not surprising that this guy died in this instance, but the fact that this thing is a core obsession? This is probably the second core obsession I've encountered from a villain, isn't it?

And this guy... he helped the Li family harm the Fox Queen and the Liu family before, and now he's helping the Zhang family to deal with the Li and Liu families. Moreover, during Li Ziyong's time, he even helped the Li family village buy and sell women. What kind of super troublemaker is this? Is he another madman who survived from the hotel and wants to obtain divine power? To be honest, I don't want to see this kind of trash anymore. I've already seen enough of him in the first two instances.

Gao Hai sighed silently, then frowned.

There seemed to be something vaguely present in my senses, but I hadn't seen it clearly before.

Is that... what Mr. Du looks like?

A blurry image was reflected in the eyes of the Zhang family patriarch and the villagers.

I couldn't see the other person's face clearly, but I could tell that he was male, about 1.7 meters tall, and thin with not much meat on his bones.

However, you can see something hanging around the other person's neck.

It was something that shimmered faintly, and it seemed to be some kind of pendant.

At first glance, it looks like an egg hanging from the chest, but upon closer inspection, it appears to be composed of multiple irregular flat surfaces. The workmanship is very rough, and the material is just ordinary stone; it seems to have been crafted to imitate some special object.

What is that thing? Could it be that Mr. Du's core obsession is that thing?

Gao Hai didn't sense anything wrong with that thing, but for some reason, the moment he saw it, he subconsciously felt that it was a counterfeit of something, and instinctively felt that the real thing was probably very bad.

This intuitive reaction made Gao Hai very uncomfortable. Then, he suddenly had an idea. This "Mr. Du," who might have been to that mysterious hotel, might be different from the survivors in "Campus Ghost Stories." His purpose in taking the divine blood into Little Black Mountain and guiding these villagers might not be for something like divine power, as he had imagined.

Mr. Gao, something seems to be changing around us. Please be careful.

Chachai's voice rang out from the temporary mental link. This veteran player, a historian, was cautiously using his artifact to probe the surroundings. After being reminded, Gao Hai noticed the changes taking place in the village under the darkness.

The smell of decay was spreading.

The bodies of those Zhangjia Village residents have disappeared without a trace.

An unbearable stench, like something rotting, quickly spread throughout the empty, abandoned village.

Gao Hai could tell that it was the smell of a human.

It smells like the kind of stench you get in a red nut ash hole, the kind of stench that only comes from a dead, rotting person.

Something is about to appear.

Amidst the stench, the sound of footsteps, whose source could not be discerned, slowly approached.

Unlike the previous two core obsessions, this strange entity that Kaguya Chika successfully detected seemed quite unusual. Takahashi wasn't even sure if it had locked onto him; he could only rely on his intuition to confirm that the power of that core strange entity was gradually influencing this area.

It seems this might be a bit challenging.

With this in mind, Gao Hai cautiously observed his surroundings, but then a message suddenly came through his mental link.

It’s Goto Ichiri.

Her purpose in contacting Gao Hai at this time was very clear: she had successfully found, or rather, encountered, the last core obsession-inducing entity.

Chapter 132: Goto Ichiri's Exploration of the [Kikoku Cave]

"Phew... just hang in there a little longer..."