absurd deduction game.

When those gray, unfocused eyes "looked" at him, Yu Xing felt an indescribable chill instantly pierce through the air and go straight to the depths of his soul.

This is not a physical cold, but a deeper erosion originating from the cognitive level.

The old woman's withered body no longer seemed like an independent entity, but rather transformed into a window.

A window leading to some terrifying existence.

Through her, Yu Xing "saw" not only the distorted master bedroom and the blood moon illusion outside the window, but also seemed to perceive the blood moon itself—not a satellite in the astronomical sense, but a huge, cold, and maliciously staring living entity!

Countless frenzied thoughts, chaotic whispers, and fragments of knowledge powerful enough to instantly shatter any rational being, surged into his consciousness like an invisible tide, attempting to pass through the old woman as his medium.

This pollution... is different from the spiritual pollution he experienced from paintings in the gallery; it is more primal, more grand, and more... "high-level".

It directly targets the observer's fundamental understanding of the world and the universe, attempting to distort the very foundation of its existence.

If it were an ordinary person, even an experienced strategist, they would probably have already gone mad by now, or their mind would have been completely distorted by their self-protection mechanism, just like the pearl of Nanshui Town.

Yu Xing only frowned slightly.

As a "tree" that is essentially closer to the concept of a curse itself, its way of existence is different from that of ordinary life. However, this level of pollution still made him feel a little "uncomfortable," just like his sensitive roots touching an overly polluted water source.

He needs a more effective "filter".

With a thought, several ethereal, pitch-black tentacles, existing in a state between existence and non-existence, silently snaked out from the shadows behind him.

This is a manifestation of his own power and the power of the curse, an extension of the distorted nature of his cognition.

They wrapped around his arms and torso, as if draping him in an invisible, flowing armor.

It's the moon!

Look... the moon is sick.

No, the moon has never been this healthy.

A jumble of subconscious thoughts emanated from the branches.

On the surface of the tentacles, the cursed patterns originating from the Ghost Tree and filled with an aura of death and annihilation glowed slightly, radiating an absolute negative power.

This power doesn't "understand" or "analyze" the insane pollution brought by the blood moon, but instead, in a more domineering way, directly rejects, isolates, and annihilates those indescribable pollutants that attempt to invade its consciousness.

Protected by the power of the curse, the maddening oppression and whispers were immediately reduced by more than half.

Yu Xing's consciousness returned to calm.

He can clearly sense the source of the pollution.

It wasn't entirely from the old woman herself, but rather more like her "connection" with some distant and terrifying being was permanently opened by some force—perhaps the reason for the concentrated outbreak of strange events in Yolikef—and her remaining body became the "anchor" to maintain this fragile connection.

She was the Moon Halo. He stepped forward, closer to the rocking chair, his voice steady, even with a hint of a smile, as if he were merely offering the most ordinary greeting: "Madam, I am an investigator from Ideal State, here to investigate some old matters concerning your husband, Mr. Riel."

The old woman's gray eyes seemed to move very slightly, but they still lacked any vitality.

Her withered chest rose and fell slightly, and her faint voice rang out again, carrying a dreamlike, ethereal quality:
“…Rail…my…Rail…he…is looking at the stars…”

Her voice was broken and intermittent, as if each word required a great deal of effort.

"What did he see that day?" Yu Xing asked, guiding the question while manipulating the branches more meticulously, "tasting" the subtle changes in the flow of energy on the old woman's body.

He discovered that when “riel” and “stars” were mentioned, there seemed to be an extremely faint fluctuation in that connection with the distant existence.

“…The stars…are also…watching him…” The old woman’s voice carried a childlike confusion, yet also contained an unfathomable fear. “He said…the answer…lies in…the trajectory…but…the trajectory…is…a trap…”

Her fingers unconsciously curled up and gripped the blanket covering her legs.

"A trap?" Yu Xing pressed. "Who set this trap?"

“…Light…Great…Light…Brings…Knowledge…And also…Madness…” The old woman’s words became even more fragmented, her gray eyes began to tremble slightly uncontrollably, as if she were seeing an extremely terrifying scene, “…Blood…Moon…Red…Eyes…They…Are all…Hanging up…Swaying…Swaying…”

Her breathing suddenly became rapid, and her body began to tremble slightly, as if she were recalling the most terrifying moments of that night. Even though her conscious mind had been cleared by the church, some deeper fear, imprinted on her soul, still remained.

Yu Xingneng sensed that through the old woman as a "transfer station," the malicious gaze of the blood moon seemed to intensify slightly, and the surrounding dark red light seemed to become even thicker.

He had to be more careful, to obtain information without overstimulating the fragile connection, otherwise the old woman's remaining body might collapse instantly, or even cause unpredictable consequences.

He softened his tone, speaking in a hypnotic whisper, a flash of red light on his tongue: "Madam, calm down, it's all in the past. Tell me, Mr. Riel... did he leave anything behind while he was studying the stars? Notes? Or... something special?"

The strange, seductive voice clashed with the indescribable pollution, causing the old woman's eyes to become dazed, and then a startling light appeared in her pupils.

She opened her mouth and said in an almost breathy voice, "Inside the table...inside the table..."

Yu Xing turned her head to look at the desk in the master bedroom.

This table faces the window of the master bedroom. As long as the curtains are not drawn, the person sitting at this table can look directly at the moon.

I heard that the church members and Riel hanged themselves here that night, so when the blood moon rose, Riel must have also faced the blood-red moonlight.

Could this be one of the triggers for his madness?
Yu Xing walked to the table and met the gaze of a grimy mirror that hadn't been cleaned in ages. The old woman's voice trailed off: "In the drawer... there's... his... notes..."

There really are notes?

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow instead.

Interesting. Shouldn't the church have taken away the notes left by Riel long ago?
He opened the drawer and looked inside, and sure enough, he saw a thick, black-covered leather notebook. (End of Chapter)