Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 236, Section 234: Dao Man Xiao Che

Shinichi Higashiyama probably understands a bit about Akatsuki Doman's mental journey.

Initially, he felt tormented by the injustice of his family and sought refuge in the world, hoping to cleanse himself of his guilt by vanquishing demons and monsters.

But in the end, he discovered that demons were not necessarily all evil, and that the evil in people's hearts was far beyond imagination, which plunged him into a hopeless despair.

Of course, the deeper despair lay in his realization that Heaven and Earth are ruthless, completely indiscriminate in their distinction between good and evil, or rather...
Heaven doesn't care.

The good and evil in the human world have no effect on heaven and earth.

If that's the case, then the countless Buddhas and deities that mortals worship, who claim to guide people towards goodness, do not actually exist.

What is the point of his insistence on exorcising demons and monsters in the human world?
This is the downside of not having studied dialectics; it makes one prone to extremes.

The gameplay focuses on understanding the protagonist's psychology, and then guiding his actions with logic that the protagonist can accept, based on the information the player knows.

The player's role is like the inner voice of the protagonist, functioning similarly to the inner voice within.

Based on the clues about the escape cave and the seal on Mount Fuji in "Subway", it can be inferred that Doman Akatsuki will enter the escape cave for an unknown period of time and then set up a sealing formation on Mount Fuji.

The trigger for this is likely the current state of mind of Doman Akatsuki, who is deeply affected by the events.

"Wait a minute. I think we should guide him to go home first."

Team Iwasaki.

Unlike Shin Higashiyama's single-player game, they need to gather three people, or a team, to officially play the main game.

Correspondingly, each of them has their own level of suspicion, which is calculated individually.

But if even one person's suspicion level goes up, then all three of them will go up together, meaning all three of them will lose a life at the same time.

Therefore, each time you provide guidance, you need to be extremely careful and carefully consider your wording.

However, since the game cannot be paused, the window of time available for them to discuss the matter is extremely short.

Compared to missing key plot points and ending up in an irreversible DC-level bad ending, Iwasaki believes that sacrificing one's life is a more bearable price.

It's important to know that the first completion reward is the most significant reward in the game.

Therefore, his strategy was to make everyone empathize with Doman Akatsuki as much as possible.

If you have time, please state in advance what kind of guidance you plan to provide. If you don't have time, just type it in directly and don't worry about others.

They've now reached the scene where Xiaoche is getting rained on at the village entrance, and they have plenty of time. The three of them are discussing whether they should guide Xiaoche towards digging a cave underground in Hibiya and building an escape cave to live in seclusion.

This seems to be the most logical development path.

Iwasaki and Yui both thought it was feasible, but Oshima hesitated for a moment before making the suggestion he had just made.

"Going home? What's the reason?" Yui was the first to ask.

Oshima couldn't very well say that his family had passed down that snake bone amulet, and since the snake bone was still on Doman Akatsuki, his ancestor must have passed it down to his descendants. He could only rack his brains to come up with an explanation.

"Think about it, when people are in the most pain and confused, don't they all miss home?" Oshima managed to come up with a reason.

But the two did not buy this reason.

“Given Doman Akatsuki’s experiences, home is something he needs to escape from,” Iwasaki said calmly. “He has almost no feelings for the Doman family. His wife was forced into marriage by his father, and after the child was born, he only saw her a few times.”

“But the situation is different now. He’s clearly experiencing what’s known as a breakdown of his Dao heart. Perhaps his inner world will change?” Oshima said, trying his best.

Iwasaki looked at Doman Akatsuki, who was gradually taking steps toward some unknown place: "There is a possibility that he is going home, but it should not be for the reason you mentioned. Rather, it is that he is going home one last time before he prepares to withdraw from the world."

"Yes! That's it!" Oshima breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed.

Yui didn't say anything; there was complete silence, as if she had logged off.

Of course, this is just a joke. When you quit the game, there are only two options: failure or success.

But after returning, will Xiaoche take the initiative to give the snake bone amulet to the family? Or will he have to guide them again?

But it's hard to find a suitable reason for this behavior.

“You can carefully consider your words and guide him at the right time. It seems he wants to do something right now,” Iwasaki concluded. Since it was Oshima who brought it up, he would think of a way to guide him.

Oshima fell silent and began to ponder.

In the game, Xiaoche arrived at the village lord's house, but the door was tightly closed, and even though it was like a long-awaited rain after a drought, the lord did not open the door with joy.

"T-Samurai-sama?"

Xiao Che knocked a few times before the door was carefully opened. The master, wearing a raincoat and hat, opened the door with a bitter expression. Upon seeing Xiao Che, his face changed drastically, and he hurriedly knelt down.

"Do you have a handcart and a shovel at home?" Xiaoche asked.

"Yes, yes!"

The master, feeling uneasy, carefully got up, went to the back of the courtyard, and pushed out a cart.

Next, the two collected the little girl's family's bodies, pushed them to a nearby cemetery, dug a pit, and buried them.

The two buried the family in silence, and then Xiaoche left a money bag and turned to leave Qiushang Village.

It seems that my existence is unnecessary in this world.

Daoman Xiaoche's ideas rarely appear before players, so his emergence now suggests he has indeed been significantly influenced.

Because he showed exceptional talent from a young age, he came into contact with the family's secrets at an early age and was instilled with the idea of ​​rebuilding the Yellow Springs and not letting the family's name fall. The embellished legends of the family's past heads also inspired him.

People all over the world need to fill their homes with virtue.

This idea stayed with him as he grew up.

Until it was completely burned down by a great fire during the Ming Dynasty.

He fell into self-doubt and self-criticism.

Do people all over the world really need to fill their families with Tao?
It took him a long time and a great deal of effort to finally manage to walk out.

People don't need to be virtuous all over the world, but at the very least, he can make the world a better place.

With this in mind, he left home and traveled around exorcising demons and monsters. He met Youchan, a man of profound Buddhist teachings and a kind heart, and found a new spiritual pillar.

Only now does he realize that everything he has done seems to have been in vain.

Even if he could rid the world of all demons, he could not rid the hearts of all evil.

Heaven and earth are neither good nor evil. People do not need to be virtuous, nor can they make the world a better place.

The desire to escape the world arises from this.

“Perhaps I should go back and leave something for the family.” Oshima mimicked Akatsuki’s subconscious.

Under Oshima's tense gaze, suspicion rose slightly, but the problem should only lie in his wording; he meant there was no problem.

And so, after being away from home for more than ten years, Xiaoche finally made his way back to Nara just before winter arrived.

Unexpectedly, after he left, the Daoman family collapsed due to frequent famines, taxes, and population loss.

His wife and children suffered severe discrimination within the family, and were even stripped of their status as the head of the household. Eventually, they moved to Edo and went to live with their maternal family.

Oshima felt conflicted after watching this.

But others were more concerned about how to find their family members later.

Dao Manxiaoche, that outrageous guy, hasn't seen his wife and children for over a decade; who knows what they look like now?

Players are seeing pixelated animation, so they can't tell whether it's good or bad; all they can say is that it looks like a human.

However, since Doman Akatsuki is an Onmyoji, he does have the skills to find people.

So he returned to Edo and, without much trouble, found his wife and children.

But he learned that his wife had passed away and his son had started his own family and had children.

He silently left a note, along with the snake bone amulet and some coins. Then, guided by the player, he returned to the space where Zhu Hai had originally been kept. Zhu Hai seemed to have a nervous reaction, thinking it was Dao Manxiao settling scores, and cried and begged for mercy in fear.

It's only been a few months since it got out of the house; if it goes back, it'll probably have a mental breakdown.

However, Dao Manxiao ignored it, moved the space deeper underground, and expanded it to the point where it could even be used for farming, and it no longer isolated spiritual energy.

Time seemed to speed up; by the time it was completed, it was already the second year.

Daoman Xiaoche stood at the door, staring blankly at a blank stone tablet.

Then, he pulled out the Demon-Slaying Crimson and carved the three characters "Escape Cave" on it.

He then climbed over the stone tablet, seemingly wanting to add something behind it, but holding the knife, he just stood there frozen.

"Uh, are we supposed to fill this in? What we fill in shouldn't affect the later plot, right?"

Uesugi Squad.

Hayato asked the two veteran players.

"Among the players, only Yaowu has been to this place." Uesugi shook his head helplessly. "However, given Doman Akatsuki's personality, he probably wrote down some information for those who come after him."

In fact, Iwasaki didn't know there were more words after that.

I read the simple Chinese poem that came after Higashiyama Shin.

Demons are numerous and cannot be eradicated; evil originates from within the human heart. Decaying bones leave only life, causing only sorrow for future generations.

The first two lines are fine, but the last two lines are not appropriate now. This poem should have been written later.

She let out a soft sigh.

Daoman Xiaoche sheathed his sword.

Then the game became part of the schedule.

You can assign various tasks to Daoman Xiaoche on a quarterly basis.

Without a second thought, players who have just experienced the Mount Fuji incident should immediately prioritize having Xiaoche study the Nine Formations of the Local Treasure, as it will definitely be used later.

Even though Iwasaki Kosuke wasn't entirely clear about the existence of array formations, he could roughly guess that the array formation book must be of great use, and that Doman Akatsuchi should study it.

Spring goes and autumn comes, time flies.

In the blink of an eye, it was 1700.

While escaping into the cave, Daoman Xiaoche felt a call from his bloodline.

"Mount Fuji"

Someone is calling to me, compelling me to go to Mount Fuji, to bring the demon-slaying bag and the Crimson Corpse.

Then, players face two choices.

Support or oppose.

"1700. We can only be certain that the Nine Star Earthly Treasury Seal was set up before 1707. Judging from the timeline, it is indeed about the same now," Muramasa Taki said hesitantly.

"Then should we guide him to accept it?" Hayato confirmed.

Uesugi was at a loss, so it seemed reasonable to go to Mount Fuji for a boss battle at this point.

"Wait, you can go, but you absolutely cannot bring the Vermilion Skeleton or the Demon-Slaying Bag," Takii added.

Upon hearing Taki's words, Uesugi was immediately relieved and began to organize his thoughts, instructing Doman Akatsuki to partially resist the call.

In the end, Daoman Xiaoche only took He Ye and Zhan Gui Xing Hong with him when he left the escape cave, which at least conformed to the history they knew.

However, both Nobita and Iwasaki's squad chose to resist.

Then, resisting this bloodline calling, they carried out the arrangements with little to no effort.

And even if they do nothing, the level of suspicion will automatically increase.

Until 1707, a major earthquake occurred.

I could sense that if I didn't go to Mount Fuji soon, an even more terrible disaster would occur.

At this point, the suspicion level is almost full.

Nobi and Iwasaki had no choice but to agree, and made the same decision as Muramasa Takii.

You absolutely must not bring Zhu Hai along.

However, Iwasaki brought along the demon-slaying bag.

But it was no use. When Doman Akatsuki arrived at a town near Mount Fuji, Nobita and Iwasaki discovered that the input box was locked.

That's right, it's locked! There's absolutely no way to input anything or perform any operations.

The viewer's gaze remained fixed on the spot, watching the pixelated figure of Daoman Xiaoche walk towards Mount Fuji until it disappeared from sight.

Soon after, the world changed dramatically.

The sky seemed to have been violently torn apart by a giant hand, and within the churning, thick dark clouds, a pair of enormous, blood-red eyes suddenly opened, so large they took one's breath away.

Many players have seen these eyes; they are almost identical to those that appeared on Mount Fuji not long ago.

His eyes seemed to be formed from utter destruction and hatred, fixed on a certain point deep within Mount Fuji.

That wasn't observation; it was the most naked and purest form of resentment.

As far as the eye could see, even space itself seemed to be distorted.

"Daoman—Xiaoche—!!!"

A piercing, soul-stirring scream, filled with deep-seated resentment, seemed to erupt suddenly from nowhere, like the howling of ten thousand ghosts.

The sound was so terrifying that it made the distant mountain peaks tremble and crumble, causing an avalanche on their snow-capped peaks.

As the roar began, the ground beneath their feet trembled.

The roar ends, and then comes the full-blown rage.

The entire Mount Fuji was emitting a tremendous, earth-shattering wail!
Rumble!
A colossal pillar of molten gold, billowing black smoke and boiling volcanic ash, violently broke through the last restraints of the mountain and soared into the sky.

In an instant, the sky was set ablaze, like an inverted golden waterfall.

The scorching white lava spewed high into the sky and then fell back to earth like a meteor shower, creating a scene reminiscent of the end of the world.

The shockwave instantly swept across the mountains, filling the air with the pungent smells of sulfur, burnt ash, and melting rocks.

Under the unbearable, violent internal pressure, the mountainside at the edge of the crater crumbled like an eggshell.

From that newly formed, enormous fissure, a torrent of orange-red magma transformed into a great river, ignoring any terrain obstacles, and rushed towards Edo.

Wherever it went, flames rose and everything was burned.

The entire horizon was dyed a fiery red, a scene of purgatory.

Iwasaki and Nobita knew that they were completely finished, and this was probably one of their fates.

And it certainly won't be a good ending.

You can prepare to tackle the challenge for a perfect ending, or prepare to face the reality of disaster.

This scene is definitely not the so-called Hoei eruption of 1707. The Hoei eruption should be a disaster that was reduced in magnitude after it was stopped by Dōman Akatsuki.

This was meant to give them a heads-up on how terrifying a eruption of Mount Fuji could be if no one stopped it.

In reality, it has accumulated for hundreds of years, so large and thick that it can probably fly directly over a hundred miles to Tokyo.

　Thank you to "Invincible Wind and Fire Lips" for the donation.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)