Rules of the Strange: I Became a God in a Bizarre World Through Taoist Arts

As soon as Pei's father stepped into the room, a very peculiar smell wafted over him with the breeze.

The smell wasn't like the fishy smell of fish, nor like the stench of rotting flesh mixed with sewer odor...

Instead, it smelled like the metallic, fishy stench of water surging up from the depths of the silt at the bottom of a pool before a summer downpour.

Shen Xingzhuo's eyes darkened, and she lowered her head to hold the child without saying a word.

At the doorway, Pei's father twisted his neck strangely.

The next second, he was right in front of Shen Xingzhuo, appearing without any transition.

His eyes were bloodshot as he leaned close to her face and stared intently at her.

"say!"

He was very close, and the sweet, fishy smell emanating from him became even more pronounced.

Shen Xingzhuo's nostrils twitched, keenly noticing that the scent was mixed with the aroma of herbs.

She remained silent for a long time.

Pei's father, his patience exhausted, raised his hand high in a slap.

Just before he was about to slap him, Shen Xingzhuo slowly spoke.

"My daughter knows she was wrong."

Before she could finish speaking, she felt Pei Xi in her arms twist her body angrily and bite her collarbone.

Blood gushed out, staining the tattered cloth covering her body.

Shen Xingzhu bit her tongue before putting on a seemingly weak smile.

"In the heat of the moment, my daughter saw that Xi'er was weak and her mind was in turmoil, so she hastily decided on a name for the child."

She hesitated before continuing, "Xi'er likes this name herself, and I think we should prioritize the child's happiness."

Shen Xingzhuo's unspoken message was—I won't change it.

There was a moment of silence in the air.

Pei's father's eyeballs seemed to have lost their connection to the optic nerve, rolling erratically in their sockets.

A moment later, he straightened up, flicked his sleeves, and looked at Shen Xingzhuo with eyes full of waiting for the right price.

"That's enough."

He turned his back, his voice tinged with coldness.

"You have always been filial, and since you have admitted your mistake and it is your first offense... I will give you two choices."

Pei's father suddenly turned around.

Shen Xingzhuo obediently held the child and shivered.

Pei's father revealed a satisfied smile and spoke coldly.

"First, three days later, you will take your nine sons to the ancestral temple on the back mountain to perform the 'Grand Sacrifice to the Immortals'! If you can receive the blessings of your ancestors and Guanyin, then you will have made amends for your sins."

Shen Xingzhuo felt a chill run down her spine as unfamiliar memories flooded her mind like a tidal wave.

The ancestral hall on the back mountain is off-limits to anyone who is not a direct descendant of the family, and it is only opened during major family ceremonies or in times of great upheaval.

There has never been a precedent for holding a "Grand Sacrifice to the Immortals" there before.

……

"Second," he drawled, a cryptic smile playing on his lips, "the third young master of the Lin family in the east of the city has come to propose marriage several times. Young Master Lin is a young and talented man; marrying him wouldn't be a bad deal for you."

"After you marry him, you will become a member of the Lin family and no longer be considered a daughter of the Pei family."

He snorted coldly, "By then, today's matter will be wiped clean."

Shen Xingzhuo lowered his eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips.

It seems that Pei's father offered his disobedient daughter two choices.

In reality, the ghost story was meant to push her into another death trap.

"Guanyin Brocade" is the product of the fusion of three strange tales, which means that every choice she makes is extremely important.

A slight misstep can lead to a mistake.

Of the two choices Pei's father has given—

One must be chosen to become the sacrifice in this ritual;

Option two directly violates the rules and becomes fodder for ghost stories.

Since both options are dead ends, she should choose neither and create a third option herself.

Shen Xingzhuo raised her eyes, her gaze clear and bright. "Since my daughter has violated the family rules, she should apologize to our ancestors and Guanyin."

"Xi'er and the other children were all blessed by Guanyin, and I think Guanyin would be very happy to see them again. My daughter is willing to fast and bathe, and copy scriptures day and night in the ancestral hall at home, to prepare for the family ceremony with the most devout attitude."

She emphasized the word "blessing" to remind Pei's father that her child was different.

The proverb "a fox borrows the tiger's power" illustrates this point.

Furthermore, before Pei's father appeared, the notification sound in the ghost story clearly stated that this character's favorability had already reached 10%.

She was a little puzzled when she first heard it, but now she realizes it must be the passive effect of "Mom's Diary".

This item will allow her to gain 10% favor from her family members in family-themed ghost stories.

Based on my experience with "My Sister Carries a Doll," a 10% favorability rating, while not much, still has some impact.

The reason she brought up this option was...

Because it was mentioned in Rule 11:

In the ancestral hall, Guanyin is in charge.

Her choice to use the ancestral hall in her home was a relatively conservative option.

This also allowed for more preparation time compared to going directly to the back mountain.

After all, three days is neither a long nor a short period of time.

Her eight children haven't even hatched yet, and if she can't fulfill the initial condition of having nine children, it will be very dangerous.

Pei's father fell silent, his eyes brimming with rage.

"Wow!"

Pei Xi burst into tears without warning.

The swastika pattern on his eyes flashed red.

His cries were not like those of a baby, but rather a very sharp shriek.

Pei's father frowned sharply, then slowly exhaled, as if in resignation.

"Since you have this intention, you must be extremely devout."

His eyes flashed with malice: "If you offend the idol, don't blame me for abandoning any ties between us as father and daughter!"

"My daughter knows."

"Sigh..." Pei's father's eyes softened a little. "In that case, you should move into the ancestral hall with the children. Your mother will have Granny Yang take care of things for you."

"This worship ceremony absolutely cannot afford to go wrong again!"

After giving his warning, Pei's father turned and left.

Silence returned to the room, and Pei Xi's crying turned into sobs.

Shen Xingzhuo used the back of her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of Pei Xi's eyes.

A burning, stinging sensation suddenly came from the back of my hand.

She looked down and noticed a faint butterfly mark on the back of her right hand.

Below the mark, a line of small text quickly appeared—

A promise made should not be broken.

The writing appeared for less than half a second before turning into wisps of smoke and dissipating into the air.

Shen Xingzhu raised an eyebrow, seemingly lost in thought.

"Ah—ah—"

Suddenly, the hoarse cawing of crows came from outside the window.

Rule 12: [When you hear a crow cawing, drape a white brocade over yourself.]

Shen Xingzhuo's gaze quickly swept across the room.

Where can I find white brocade?

The door to the side room was suddenly hit for the third time that day.

The crow must have gone berserk and lost its mind.

Pei Xi in his arms was restless.

But Shen Xingzhuo saw the neatly folded brocade quilt on the bed.

In a moment of desperation, she destroyed the quilt without hesitation and violently tore off the white brocade covering it.

Shen Xingzhuo quickly draped the white brocade over herself and the children.

The commotion of the crows gradually subsided, and Shen Xingzhuo breathed a slight sigh of relief. Looking down, she saw Pei Xi chuckling.

She couldn't help but smile.

Then, as if remembering something, he called out, "Someone come here!"

Young ladies of noble families should all have personal maids serving them.

Sure enough, after she finished speaking, a pretty maid wearing a light blue vest gently pushed open the door and entered.

"Young Miss, what are your orders?"

"I need to go to the ancestral hall for three days of fasting, these nine children..."

Before she could finish speaking, Pei Xi seemed to realize that her mother was about to leave. She gripped her clothes tightly with her little hands and made soft, whimpering sounds of resistance.

Shen Xingzhuo pursed her lips, then changed the subject: "You'll come with me. You can take care of the children in the ancestral hall."

The young maidservant curtsied and respectfully replied, "Yes, this servant understands."

Shen Xingzhuo nodded, and only then did she have time to look at her dirty clothes.

I can't take it anymore.

He then instructed the maid to prepare hot water for his bath.

Just as the maid stepped across the threshold, Shen Xingzhuo felt a buzzing in his mind.

[Congratulations to the chosen one for successfully unlocking the destined one—the maid Runyu.]

This character will be inextricably linked to your current choices and subsequent life trajectory.

[The chosen one receives a related reward: permanent access to view the task list in real time.]

The task list has two functions:

1. Check all unlocked tasks at any time.

2. If a key plot point is triggered, a random hint will be generated.

The ghost stories disappeared.

Runyu seemed to sense something and slowly turned her head from outside the door.

Their eyes met briefly in mid-air.

Shen Xingzhuo clearly saw the concern in her eyes, and... a little bit of human feeling.

A fatalist,

interesting.