Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

...Mom is here...

...Mom's right here...

You can hear the sound of something chasing after you.

Compared to before, the voice had become somewhat clearer, and seemed to be closing the distance between him and the person.

Even though I've tried my best to increase the speed, is there still no way to get rid of that thing?

Gao Hai had a bad feeling, but he didn't have a good way to deal with the pursuers behind him, so he could only take a deep breath and speed up, running forward on the dirt road.

Mr. Gao, the trees around us seem to be acting strangely...

Kita Ikuyo's voice suddenly rang in Takami's mind, reminding him.

Following the girl's gaze, Gao Hai looked at the charred, bare dead trees on both sides of the road.

He saw the flowing colors.

The color, like burning, fiery red blood, flowed slowly beneath the black, cracked bark.

Those things flowed through the trees, from the trees into the earth, or... from the earth into these dead trees, constantly circulating in this replica's natural environment.

What it is?

Gao Haineng could vaguely sense that the color of the burning was unusual, but after careful perception, he was unable to get any response.

It seems... this peculiar color is merely a color; it lacks any distinct eerie characteristics and cannot be perceived by Gao Hai through visual contact. This thing existing within the withered tree is simply... just a rare object that is rarely seen under normal circumstances?

The moment this thought crossed Gao Hai's mind, he was momentarily stunned. He found it hard to understand why he would have such a thought.

No, absolutely not.

A special phenomenon occurring in such a unique space cannot be without its unusual aspects. Even if it appears perfectly normal and ordinary, that very "ordinariness" could be one of its abnormal characteristics. So, what is this thing all about? Is it to prevent human contact? Is it using this special method of cognitive ambiguity to prevent anyone from recklessly researching these things after discovering them?

Regardless, Gao Hai had never seen this thing in the previous few spaces. Even including the first two cycles, despite dropping aerial bombs, he still hadn't seen it. That meant that even if detonating three aerial bombs and causing damage to a large area of ​​forest, Gao Hai was still far from reaching the threshold to trigger it. It was likely that only when the entire ecosystem of the Little Black Mountain area was completely destroyed, and almost all the trees were burned, as shown by this chaotic space lock, would this hidden thing reveal itself.

But what exactly is it?

"Xiao Ai, look at the trees around you. Pay attention to the cracks in the trunks. Can you see what's inside?"

After a slight hesitation, Gao Hai made a request to the girl lying on his back through a temporary mental link.

{Hmm, those tree trunks...no, I didn't see anything, it was pitch black inside.}

Upon hearing Takami's words, Hayasaka immediately focused his attention, raised his head against the strong wind generated by Takami's high-speed running, carefully observed the surrounding trees, and quickly gave an expected answer.

Can't she see those colors?

Given Hayasaka's unique perception, the fact that she couldn't see it meant that what seemed "ordinary" to me was indeed an abnormal effect caused by some kind of ghost story power, something that could make people ignore its existence.

Whether this inconspicuous characteristic is an inherent property or added by some force, Gao Hai doesn't yet know. But he's certain that its existence should be concealed under normal circumstances. This thing cycles silently within the instance's natural environment, maintaining stable concealment unless the ecosystem is severely damaged. So, what is the key element that allows this thing to be hidden?

animal?

Gao Hai immediately thought of those strange animals.

Even the villagers of Lijia Village had to treat this animal with utmost care, and at crucial moments they even had to kowtow and beg for forgiveness.

Prior to this, Gao Hai had suspected that the animals in this instance might originally have been villagers, who had transformed into animal forms for some unknown reason. Later, the historian suggested that the animals were likely a kind of living "cage," with the real threat lying beneath their apparent vitality and inside their flesh. Gao Hai then speculated that the animals might be a form of sealing the blood flowers, and that cutting them open might reveal a bunch of wriggling vines or something similar.

However, this idea isn't entirely rigorous. After all, according to current information, the existence of the Blood Flower should theoretically be completely sealed off, and anything related to it shouldn't be in a place that can be easily accessed. Just like in the second playthrough, if it weren't for Jianzi's sudden inspiration that inexplicably connected with that thing, Gao Hai might have rewound three or five times without even knowing the Blood Flower existed.

However, the most deadly and crucial element within this village instance should be the seal on these crimson flowers. While these flowing colors cannot be the crimson flowers themselves, could they be some kind of affected entity or derivative?

{Master, there seems to be something ahead...}

While he was thinking, Hayasaka suddenly reminded Takami, who also noticed something unusual at the same time and quickly turned his attention to what was in front of him.

There was indeed something ahead of the road.

The thing was still some distance away from Takami and Hayasaka, so they couldn't see its exact appearance. But just by casting their gaze at it and slightly touching it with their mental energy, Takami had an extremely strong premonition of danger.

You must not come into contact with that thing!

If you were to encounter that thing, the only outcome would be certain death.

This premonition clearly surfaced in my mind.

But if I can't encounter this thing, where should I go?

Gao Hai tilted his head slightly and looked at the road behind him.

He didn't see the crimson flower formed by the twisted vines and blood. Although the babbling in his mind was becoming clearer, at least for now, the thing hadn't come within sight. This was good news; after all, if it actually appeared in his line of sight, whether Gao Hai lived or died was another matter, but Hayasaka would definitely not survive.

Can't we retreat to get closer to the pursuers, nor can we advance and encounter that unknown thing?

After a brief moment of thought, Gao Hai took a step forward, leaped up, and landed directly next to the dry trees beside the dirt road, stepping into the woodland area.

He could feel something locking onto him immediately. At that moment, Gao Hai felt like a bright light in the dark, instantly seen by all the hunters lurking in the night. Every corner of his body was being repeatedly observed, and the strange creatures remembered his scent and characteristics.

Tsk tsk, this feels really bad. It's like the forest is full of perverts, and they're all gay perverts at that. However, compared to the potential dangers ahead, Gao Hai can only consider the immediate problems for now.

{Master, this...}

Hayasaka didn't quite understand Takami's reason for taking the risk.

The notice from Li Duosun mentioned "not allowed to venture deep into the woodland," not a complete ban on entering the woodland. If we're just staying on the outskirts, we shouldn't get into trouble. We can't worry about that now. Try looking around again and see if you can find anything amiss.

Gao Hai briefly explained his reasoning and sped up to bypass the location of the unknown object on the road ahead, without any direct contact between the two sides.

hum-

However, although they didn't collide, Gao Hai could still sense that the thing he had passed probably wouldn't let him off so easily. That thing had locked onto him and was slowly catching up.

{That's a coffin...}

Hayasaka suddenly spoke up at that moment.

{The thing that was blocking the road before, I can see it now. It's a coffin, an old, black wooden coffin.}

The girl's voice in the mental link was very serious.

coffin?

Upon hearing this, Gao Hai turned around and looked at the place he had just crossed.

That was indeed a coffin.

A pitch-black coffin, its surface covered in cracks, lay on the dirt road. Around the coffin, several indistinct figures dressed in pale white clothes silently watched Gao Hai.

A strong chill was gradually seeping out from the cracks in the coffin.

The pale white thing, which looked somewhat like a paper figure, or perhaps someone deliberately dressed as a paper figure, floated quietly, watching Gao Hai the whole time.

What are these things...?

Upon closer inspection, Gao Hai noticed that these pale figures had no lower bodies. The parts that should have formed their lower bodies had been severely eroded and twisted, leaving only a faint white stream of energy. One end of this energy gradually expanded and became clearer, eventually taking the shape of these pale, grotesque creatures; the other end continuously shrank and condensed, finally disappearing into the hole in the black coffin, making it impossible to see what was inside.

The surrounding temperature began to gradually decrease.

Those twisted, paper-like creatures that Gao Hai had glanced at now sped up and rushed forward.

They grinned, as if smiling at Gao Hai.

Their bodies floated up, and they stretched out their hands, some withered and some overgrown, toward Gao Hai, trying to grab him and imprison him here.

They whispered in Gao Hai's ear, seemingly telling him some secret, but if you listened carefully and tried to discern the content, you would find that these things were just repeating some meaningless noise, and they probably couldn't even understand what they were saying themselves.

{Xiao Ai, are you sure you only saw a coffin?}

Gao Hai frowned slightly under the mental erosion of those pale, eerie creatures, then continued to run forward at an accelerated pace while asking Hayasaka questions through the temporary mental link.

{Yes, all I saw was a pitch-black coffin, covered in cracks, looking like it might fall apart at any moment. What the master saw was different from what I saw. Was there something else next to that coffin?}

Hayasaka quickly realized what Takami meant.

{Pretty much, but it's not a big problem. It looks like just some misleading imitations. The real danger is probably the black coffin. As long as you don't come into direct contact with it, there shouldn't be any major issues.}

Gao Hai spoke very casually in the mental link, as if he didn't take the other person seriously at all.

But deep down, he had already classified the pitch-black coffin as extremely dangerous, second only to the three "gods" that had appeared in this instance so far.

...Don't run away from your mother anymore...

...and Mom...forever together...

I heard the sound again.

The voice was clearly clearer and closer than any call I had ever heard before.

It was like the tolling of the apocalypse bells, greatly increasing Gao Hai's pressure.

In the distance, the burned-down village and the bandit stronghold located higher up could be seen.

However, Gao Hai did not intend to approach these dangerous and unknown areas. He was here because he needed to transfer through the intersection of dirt roads in the dense forest. He planned to try to reach another mountain peak to see if he could trigger another spatial disturbance and be teleported to a new area to get rid of his pursuers.

Although it sounds far-fetched, that was at least Gao Hai's original plan.

Now, seeing those blurry figures dressed in neat armor and holding spears emerge one by one from different dirt roads, Gao Hai could hardly imagine what would happen next.

But the presence of military forces here suggests that a significant war may have taken place here.

As he pondered, Gao Hai's gaze swept over the soldiers. This time, he suddenly noticed that the patterns on the soldiers' armor seemed to have some similarities to the clothing of the [Suppressor of Ghosts].

Chapter 81: What is encountered on the journey and the gaze that is no longer obstructed

Can't go wrong.

Gao Hai was certain that he had not made a mistake.

These soldiers, dressed in uniform armor, wielding spears, and marching in a very orderly and well-trained manner, did indeed bear the same patterned markings as the clothes of the ghost-suppressing people.

Such soldiers could never be chaotic troops.

Although Gao Hai had never actually seen what a disorganized army looked like, the fact that it was described as "disorganized" meant it certainly wouldn't be in such a well-trained and orderly manner. For one thing, this kind of spirit was impossible for soldiers who had scattered and fled after a defeat.

Considering these patterns and some clues obtained earlier, perhaps these soldiers are the evil spirits' backup plan to deal with this village? The reinforcements that Jiang Shi was waiting for?

Just how powerful were these ghost-suppressing people to be able to summon a group of well-trained soldiers clad in armor in ancient times?

Gao Hai sighed inwardly, and then he felt the cold gazes coming from those soldiers.

These soldiers, who have now transformed into monsters, are blocking Gao Hai's path.