Weird Cards: I've Become a Ghost

This was Xiao He's first visit to Father Barth's "home".

However, the atmosphere inside is similar to that of other townspeople's "homes," all so gloomy and terrifying, as if shrouded in a layer of oppressive darkness.

Although the dim light barely illuminated a space covered in dust and darkness, the old black curtains hanging on the walls not only made the atmosphere in the room more eerie, but also gave off a sense of decay.

Even if Xiao He couldn't understand why these black curtains were there when there were no windows visible from the outside, what was the purpose of them?

In addition, on the wall with curtains hanging, there are oil paintings. Although these paintings seem to be somewhat faded, you can still vaguely see the bizarre scenes depicted in the paintings, such as blood-red skies, distorted human faces, and terrifying monsters.

Moreover, some of the figures in the paintings seem to "come alive" with the appearance of Xiao He, as if they are about to crawl out of the canvas at any moment.

Xiao He glanced at it only once before quickly lowering his head.

He found that when he looked at these oil paintings, his thoughts seemed to be influenced by some force and became somewhat distorted.

For example, he even found these bizarre oil paintings to be so "sacred".

Just as Xiao He lowered his head, he also noticed the cheap-looking carpet on the floor, which seemed to be permeated with a musty and rotten smell.

However, the carpet had many strange patterns that looked regular yet distorted, like the marks of ghostly hands, which sent chills down one's spine.

So Xiao He quickly looked elsewhere, and there he saw quite a few "things".

He noticed a dilapidated bookshelf in a corner of the room, which seemed to hold some faded books and ancient scrolls. Due to the environment and distance, the words on the book covers were somewhat blurred, but Xiao He could sense the energy contained within those books and the evil aura emanating from them.

What Xiao He found even more unexpected was that Father Barthes actually kept "pets".

As Xiao He ventured deeper, a series of sharp, low, and ominous hissing sounds suddenly emanated from a dark corner.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw countless bats flying all over the sky, circling around the room as if they were messengers of evil forces, conveying signals of death and suffering.

Amidst the sounds of bats, the room seemed to grow unusually cold, chilling one to the bone. As time passed, it was as if more and more cold air condensed in the air, forming an invisible prison, seemingly trying to freeze one's body and soul, making it impossible to escape.

In an instant, the entire room was filled with an atmosphere of death and terror, as if one had entered an ancient nightmare. The threat that came from nowhere made Xiao He feel a chill in his heart.

Of course, it didn't take long for him to discover where the threat came from.

It's a statue!

Only now has Xiao He discovered the existence of this statue.

It appears to be a statue of a demon, standing in the center of the room, facing the entrance, as if welcoming everyone who enters this place.

The statue was two meters tall and completely black, as if it were carved from black stone, which was why Xiao He didn't notice it at first.

The statue's posture was majestic and solemn, with a loose black robe covering its entire body. The hood on the robe also concealed half of its face, but it could not hide the statue's two eyes that suddenly glowed red.

This is also why Xiao He suddenly discovered the existence of this statue.

On the base of this demon statue stands a row of upside-down crosses, and upon closer inspection, one can see that they bear some mottled marks and blood-red stains.

At this moment, Father Barth stood before the demon statue, gazing calmly and deeply at Xiao He, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

It was only now that Xiao He suddenly realized this.

I guess this is all a way for this guy in front of me to put me in a tough spot.

However, what Xiao He found somewhat strange was that the interior of the other party's house did not seem to be a house at all, but rather resembled... a church!

Thinking of this, although Xiao He was a little curious, he suppressed his emotions and answered Father Barthes' question instead.

That is, what the other party said—"What brings you here today?"

So Xiao He immediately explained the purpose of his visit to Father Barth.

He wanted Father Barth to ask around in the town to see if there was anyone willing to leave with him.

After all, Father Barth was considered one of the "own people" in the town, while Xiao He was always an outsider.

It's easier to ask someone close to you about some things.

Of course, this would at least save Xiao He a lot of time.

It's worth noting that this small town has a considerable number of residents.

At this moment, after learning of Xiao He's purpose, Father Barthes immediately turned his gaze to Sister Lisa, who was following Xiao He in.

Sister Lisa stood silently to the side, and only turned to look at Father Bart after she noticed his gaze.

With Father Barth's slight nod, Sister Lisa instantly understood his intention.

She nodded slightly as well, then turned and left, clearly to convey Father Barth's message.

Then, Father Barth turned his gaze back to Xiao He and said gently, "Sister Lisa will convey your thoughts to others on my behalf. If you don't mind, you can wait here for a while."

As they were talking, Father Barth gestured for Xiao He to sit down. Xiao He, without any hesitation, sat down in a Western-style chair.

As Father Barth and Xiao He remained silent, the atmosphere in the room gradually quieted down, with only the faint candlelight flickering.

Although Xiao He sat quietly, he was constantly on guard against the dangers he might face at any moment.

Although he knew that the priest in front of him would most likely not lay a hand on him, nor would he allow the nun to gather the townspeople to attack him, there were still some things he had to be wary of.

Fortunately, the arduous wait finally came to an end, and Xiao He did not receive a group of people, but only one person.

It was Sister Lisa.

As the other person reappeared in the room, Father Barthes and Xiao He almost simultaneously turned their gazes to her, awaiting her reply.

However, under the gazes of the two, Sister Lisa shook her head slightly, clearly indicating that the result was not satisfactory.

This result did not surprise Xiao He too much, after all, he had already prepared himself mentally.

At this moment, Father Barth's voice rang out again, his tone revealing deep regret: "It seems the people in town are not very willing to agree to your request."

As he spoke, his gaze also fell upon Xiao He, who remained calm.

Upon hearing this, Xiao He nodded slightly, a hint of helplessness and relief in his eyes. Then, he stood up from his chair, smiled slightly at Father Barth, and said, "Thank you, sorry to bother you."

After thanking Father Barth, he turned and left.

Since this plan is not working, we can only proceed with the next one.

With Xiao He gone, everything in the room, including the demon statue and oil painting, seemed to return to calm.

At the doorway, Father Barthes and Sister Lisa watched Xiao He's departing figure in silence. In their tacit silence, Father Barthes suddenly uttered a sentence that broke the surrounding stillness.

What do you think his purpose was in doing this?

His voice carried a hint of curiosity.

Upon hearing this, Sister Lisa frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then shook her head: "I don't know."

She then turned her gaze to the priest and said in a low voice, "But I don't think he has given up on the idea."

She could sense that Xiao He hadn't given up hope.

Upon hearing this, Father Bart smiled slightly, seemingly agreeing with Sister Lisa's viewpoint. He took a deep breath, looked in the direction where Xiao He had disappeared, and said softly, "It's time to go out for a walk."

......

In what appears to be an abandoned town.

Xiao He was strolling along the street when he noticed that many eyes were secretly watching him.

Finally, he stopped, stood still, looked around, and then shouted to the empty street, "I know you are watching me, and I know many of you want to tear me in two to get a way out, but before that, I think we can resolve this peacefully."

His voice echoed through the quiet street. Although there was a hint of goodwill in his tone, he had long realized that those lurking in the shadows would not believe him just because he spoke nicely.

However, as Xiao He's words echoed, more and more eyes hidden in the shadows began to gather around. Without exception, these eyes, though some were malicious and others were doubtful, were all staring at Xiao He with curiosity, clearly wondering why he did this.

Just then, sensing that the time was right, Xiao He continued, "I believe Father Barth has already sent someone to tell you this, so I'll add one more thing: as long as you're willing to do things for me, I will not only take you away, but I will also fulfill some of your reasonable requests on that basis."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, no one answered on the empty street; the only response he received was a gust of cold wind that occasionally blew by.

The silence lasted for a long time, and Xiao He couldn't help but frown.

It seems that even though he is considered a "regular" in the town, the people there are still full of suspicion and hostility towards him and will not easily believe him.

Thinking about this, he silently reflected on it.

"It looks like we have no choice but to take this final step."

Before entering the town, Xiao He devised three plans to ensure the success of his trip. The first was to find Father Bart for help. In his opinion, with the help of the priest, even if no one directly agreed, someone should express their opinion, which would give Xiao He some room to maneuver. However, to his surprise, no one gave him that favor.

Of course, it wasn't that Father Barth lacked face, but rather that Xiao He lacked face.

After all, back then, Father Barth represented the entire town when negotiating with Xiao He. How could someone like that possibly lack face?

As for the second plan, it is naturally what Xiao He is doing now: making a promise.

Of course, in layman's terms, it's just empty promises.

However, unlike ordinary people who only make empty promises, Xiao He not only made promises, but also actually delivered them.

Because he knew very well what kind of "people" he was dealing with.

However, as long as these people leave this place through Xiao He's method, which is to turn them into strange cards, their lives will be in Xiao He's hands.

However, even now, Xiao He has discovered some patterns in the strange cards.

If you turn some mindless monsters into monster cards, then the other party will indeed work for you wholeheartedly. After all, before that, their consciousness was muddled and they had no subjective consciousness at all.

Simply put, they are very easy to brainwash.

However, some sentient beings are different. Even though these beings are still wholeheartedly serving Xiao He, they have their own thoughts because they possess subjective consciousness.

If Xiao He promises them something but doesn't follow through, they will definitely be unhappy, and this could easily lead to problems in the long run.

Therefore, some promises should either not be made, but if they are made, they must be kept.

Of course, Xiao He would not agree to any unreasonable demands made by these people.

However, judging from the current situation, it seems that no one even makes a request.

It's like haggling; why don't we send someone to negotiate the price?

While Xiao He was lost in thought, he was unaware that Father Barth and Sister Lisa were standing in the shadows, silently watching him as he stood there giving his "speech," trying to persuade the townspeople to join him.

After listening to Xiao He's appeal, Father Barthes seemed to have thought of something, and a look of interest appeared on his face.

"It seems he's short-staffed lately."

Father Barth muttered to himself, sensing a deep-seated urgency in Xiao He's words, and immediately realized what Xiao He's true purpose was.

Sister Lisa, who was standing nearby, nodded slightly, also understanding.

Although she didn't know Xiao He, she knew the residents of the town very well.

Given that Xiao He was supposed to be prey for the townspeople, probably no one would believe him.

Even Father Barthes, after observing for a moment, gently shook his head.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a deep, hoarse voice suddenly rang out.

What kind of demands are considered reasonable?