I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Mom, I'm in love.

I feel that so far in this movie, the lead actor's performance is the worst; everyone else is quite good, even the boatman's acting is better than the lead's!

Did you guys feel suffocated just now? Holy crap, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

[Yes, yes, my heart stopped when I saw Miss Momiji!]

Xu Duzhong scoffed at the barrage of comments filled with lust.

"They're all shallow guys who can't move when they see a pretty girl!"

I then paused the video, opened my browser, and searched for keywords such as "Hyakunin Isshu" (One Hundred Poets), "Red Leaves" (Red Leaves), and "Actors".

Five minutes later, Xu Duzhong returned home disappointed.

"There's no information! What the hell?!"

He picked up a mooncake and continued watching the movie.

Chapter 126 High Energy Lord Has Died

The more Xu Duzhong watched the movie, the more he felt something was wrong.

Especially when he saw Lu Ban go to the restaurant to inquire about information, and eat while trying to get information from the two waiters who brought their own food, Xu Duzhong actually smelled the aroma of the food.

In the past, when people commented on well-made food movies, they would say that they could almost smell the food. But this time, Xu Duzhong really made it so that you could actually smell the aroma.

The aroma of fried eggs, the smoky fragrance of grilled fish, the pungent scent of cumin and chili, and the delicate fragrance of wine—if Xu Duzhong were to close his eyes now, he would undoubtedly feel as if he were in that eerie dining hall, surrounded by customers eating, occasionally hearing conversations, and smelling the tempting aroma of grilled seafood.

The nausea and vomiting he felt when he saw the painting by the missing artist Wan Ye vanished instantly, and his tongue involuntarily produced saliva. Xu Duzhong felt a little hungry.

He could only pick up the mooncake and take a bite.

"Five-nut filling???"

Upon tasting the flavor in his mouth, Xu Duzhong realized it wasn't quite right.

He paused the video, ran to the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator.

I haven't eaten at home for the past two days, so there are no leftovers. The refrigerator only contains apples, milk, eggs, and raw meat.

What are you looking for so late at night?

The mother, who was watching TV in the living room, asked a question and peeked over.

"Is there anything to eat?"

Xu Duzhong continued rummaging through the refrigerator without turning his head.

"All you do is eat. If you become a chubby little guy, what girl will want you?"

The mother muttered something and sat back down on the sofa.

After searching around, all that was left were five-nut mooncakes.

With no other option, Xu Duzhong sat back down at his computer.

He saw the lively festival and the red leaves with masks on their heads. He followed Lu Ban up the mountain and came to the road lined with torii gates.

"It's a bit creepy..."

Xu Duzhong quickly disappeared from Hongye's sight. The camera was a bit shaky, as if it were shot with a handheld camera, which created a strong sense of immersion.

He saw the camera panning along the road, but only a small area was visible; the rest was just a white fog.

The feeling was somewhat stimulating. Xu Duzhong even felt that whenever the camera moved forward, a damp mist would hit his face.

"...My phone rang?"

Suddenly, Xu Duzhong heard a melody. He subconsciously thought it was a cell phone, but when he looked at the cell phone screen next to the computer, it was completely black.

Only then did he realize that the sound was coming from behind him!

"Grass!?"

Xu Duzhong hurriedly turned around and saw only a wallpapered wall, nothing else.

"This stereo sound is pretty impressive."

He slowly turned his head and saw a pale, resentful face on the screen.

[Warning: High-energy content ahead!]

In an instant, the barrage of comments flooded in.

"Dry!"

Xu Duzhong was so frightened that his heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but curse out loud.

The figure dressed as a shrine maiden seemed to appear as the camera moved; after the lens panned over her, she was slowly enveloped in mist and disappeared from sight.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Xu Duzhong felt as if his heart had been gripped by something the moment the witch appeared, and he felt a shiver run through his body.

"This movie is so bad it's giving me a heart attack."

He made a comment.

Fortunately, Lu Ban soon reunited with Hongye and they climbed to the shrine at the top of the mountain.

There is no background music at this point in the film, and Lu Ban and Hongye do not speak. In the dimly lit shrine, the two walk forward step by step. Sometimes a shrine appears in the darkness, and sometimes a pillar appears. Every time something new appears, it will make people instinctively surprised.

This feeling of the unknown is very exciting.

Xu Duzhong was afraid that the strange witch would reappear, so he subconsciously moved away from the screen.

Then, Xu Duzhong saw the priests standing by the roadside on the road behind the worship hall, dressed in hunting robes and wearing masks, as well as the shrine maidens who were also wearing masks and sitting upright.

They stood in a row along the roadside, with a decaying, ornately dressed witch in front of them.

The music began at that moment, a song that seemed to originate from ancient times, like some kind of murmur, and it rang in Xu Duzhong's ears. He realized that it was the melody he had heard when he was climbing the mountain, only the details were different. This piece was more solemn, dignified, and sacred.

The deceased witches now form this religiously evocative scene, which, combined with the melody, evokes a sense of insignificance, as if facing magnificent natural creations, leaving one feeling sorrow, powerlessness, and despair.

Xu Duzhong was deeply shocked. For the first few seconds, his mind went completely blank, and he couldn't even understand what was happening. The scene was like a heavy hammer that knocked him unconscious.

But after a while, he came to his senses, listened to the music, and saw Lu Ban and Hongye walking towards the shrine maiden sitting in the center. Only then did he feel a tremor in his heart.

Just like how humans feel when they see a spectacle, an irresistible, overwhelming force comes rushing towards them, making it difficult to resist.

When the fog rolled in, Xu Duzhong sensed something else.

"Cough cough cough..."

He coughed twice. Even though the spread of the mist was just a scene in the movie, Xu Duzhong felt as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. A burning sensation flowed from his nasal cavity into his respiratory tract and swirled in his lungs.

He had experienced this feeling before, like watching someone scratch a blackboard with their fingernails, or a diving board breaking while diving, or crashing into transparent glass at high speed—scenes that made him feel pain just by watching.

"The special effects are so realistic!"

Xu Duzhong believes that it was the actors' performances, combined with the lifelike special effects, that gave him this feeling.

Even after the fog dissipated, Xu Duzhong could still smell the pungent odor in the air.

All the plot points tell Xu Duzhong that the painter's disappearance and the situation on the island are not as simple as they seem.

"A game based on the 'Hyakunin Isshu' (One Hundred Poets)? That gets right on topic..."

Xu Duzhong was a little curious when he saw four people playing [Hundred People One Song].

He searched for information about related games on his phone while looking at the screen.

Then I saw the faces of Tachibana Masamune and Ginpei, who had already turned into monsters.

"vomit--"

Xu Duzhong felt a churning in his stomach and almost vomited up the five-nut mooncake he had just eaten.

However, compared to these, the situation was even more serious when Momiji approached the eerie shrine maiden who had appeared in the corner at some unknown time.

Xu Duzhong found himself unable to look away.

"Holy crap, what the hell...!"

In the scene, Xu Duzhong felt himself getting closer and closer to the witch. He wanted to close his eyes to avoid this scene, but he was surprised to find that he couldn't close them at all. He could only stare wide-eyed as he approached the pale-faced witch.

It's as if your body no longer belongs to you, but is being controlled by some unknown force.

The short, few dozen seconds of the scene felt like an hour to Xu Duzhong.

Even more strangely, during this period, the live chat disappeared.

Everyone seemed captivated by the storyline, and their hands left the keyboard.

hum-

It wasn't until a buzzing sound came that Xu Duzhong regained control of his body. He took a deep breath, opened the bullet screen input box, and quickly typed out a bullet screen comment.

[Was I possessed just now? Why can't I move at all?]

Unexpectedly, the previously empty screen suddenly froze.

A moment later, a barrage of comments appeared.

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, my whole real-world game just crashed!

Is this psychological suggestion? Why can't I move?

[Where's the high-energy guy? That part of the plot just now was so weird, how come there was no warning?]

[Report to command, Gao Nengjun has also fallen in battle!]

My cabinet moved, I can't bear to look!

[Seriously? 3 people are experiencing sleep paralysis online?]

This movie is cursed! It's full of these kinds of grotesque things!

[Here's a joke: I was trying to light a cigarette to calm my nerves, but I realized I've forgotten how to smoke!]

Chapter 127 Art Can Be Down-to-Earth

If the game "Hyakunin Isshu" made Xu Duzhong feel that even watching a movie was too terrifying.

After that, the opening of the poetry festival made him realize that ordinary people really couldn't pull off such an underworld-like feat.