The Pseudo-Human Academy: Starting with a Bricklayer Personality

The morning light of the following day pierced through the thin mist of the national war instance and shone on the bluestone road of the Chongdaoji City, bringing an unreal tranquility.

No one expected that such a peaceful night would appear in this perilous dungeon.

Last night, everyone sent out people to investigate, but they made no breakthroughs. There were no strange attacks or bizarre movements; it was as if the entire city had fallen into a deep sleep.

When Shirakami Yukihime found Xu Feng by the stone table in the courtyard, her fingertips were still covered in morning dew.

Dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit, her skirt rustling softly as it swept across the stone steps, she calmly explained the results of her investigation from the previous night.

Xu Feng listened, and although there were no groundbreaking discoveries, some of the anomalies in the city were almost identical to what he had heard last night with his extraordinary hearing at 17.5 times the normal level.

Xu Feng tapped the stone table unconsciously with his fingertips, nodding to himself.

He had assumed that this witch from a foreign land would hold back, since in the national war instance, each faction often harbored its own selfish motives.

However, Shirakami Yukihime's account contained no concealment whatsoever, even though there was no need to conceal anything.

But this openness exceeded his expectations.

"Mr. Xu Feng, Mr. Ye, have you heard? A family died in the west of the city last night."

Luigi's voice broke the silence, the blond boy's face bearing a professional seriousness:

"I just heard it from the staff at the guesthouse; the death seems to have been quite gruesome."

Ye Ningyun frowned upon hearing this, a hint of wariness flashing in her eyes:

"There are no Chosen Ones in the dungeon, and the sudden deaths of civilians indicate that something unexpected has happened in the city. The fact that the dead were not one of us suggests that Imamura Tano may also be unable to control this situation."

"That's a good thing. At least the out-of-control thing was acting randomly, and so many residents in the city shouldn't be able to harm us for the time being."

Luigi's eyes flashed with approval. He hadn't expected that Ye Ningyun could analyze so many useful clues from this one piece of information.

It seems there was a reason why he was selected for the national war with a ladder score of 160.

Luigi, along with the people from the Lighthouse Kingdom, and Xu Feng and others, headed to the west of the city.

The incident occurred in a low wooden house. Many residents were gathered at the door, but there was no panic or grief as one might expect.

Everyone's face wore an almost numb calm.

In front of the wooden house, several corpses wrapped in white cloth lay quietly on the ground, their outlines twisted beyond recognition.

Dark red bloodstains were faintly seeping from beneath the white cloth, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood and an indescribable stench of decay.

Looking at the expressionless residents, Shirakami Yukihime could no longer suppress the doubts in her heart.

She stepped forward, the long sleeves of her shrine maiden robes swaying gently with the movement, her tone tinged with a hint of confusion:

"The deceased met with a violent end; aren't you... afraid?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an elderly man with half-white hair and beard looked up. Far from showing fear, his face shone with a fanatical light, and he said in a loud voice:

"My lady, you may not know this, but the Divine Cherry Tree will protect everything! The evil spirits that wreak havoc in the town will not be able to run rampant for long, for the divine power of the Divine Cherry Tree will purify all evil."

The surrounding residents echoed their sentiments, their eyes filled with devout faith in the sacred cherry tree, as if the tree were an omnipotent savior.

Seeing this, Luigi immediately stepped forward, looked at Lord Imamura Tano who had rushed over upon hearing the news, and said:

"Lord of the City, I am a forensic doctor. May I examine the deceased's body? Perhaps I can find out the cause of death and also catch the haunting spirit as soon as possible."

Imamura Tano was dressed in a traditional kimono, her face gentle, but her eyes held a hint of determination.

He slightly raised his hand, blocking Luigi's path, his tone calm yet unusually firm:

"I apologize, Mr. Luigi. Our Sacred Blade City has its own customs, and the bodies of the dead must not be desecrated. Please understand."

Luigi wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Imamura Tano's cold gaze.

He shrugged helplessly and could only step aside, watching as the residents carefully lifted the body and walked towards the morgue on the east side of the town.

Xu Feng stood there, his brows furrowed.

He had just glimpsed the remains of a corpse under the white sheet; the bones were broken and the flesh was mangled.

The marks were clearly from being eaten by some ferocious wild beast; it was definitely not the way a sacrificial offering should look when it died.

Why did Imamura Tano insist on not allowing anyone to see the body? Did he know something but was deliberately hiding it?

A thought flashed through Xu Feng's mind.

This national war instance may involve not only humans and known mysterious forces, but also hidden third-party forces.

While this situation is rare, it is not without precedent. Some complex national war instances even feature fourth or fifth factions that restrain each other, making the situation even more unpredictable.

Judging from the tragic deaths of the residents, this third-party force is clearly not on the side of humanity.

The uproar over the death quickly subsided, as if it were just a trivial matter in the city.

Imamura Tano's face regained its gentle smile, and he gestured for Xu Feng and the others to proceed.

"You have come from afar, and I suppose you have not yet seen the guardian deity of our Chongdaoji City. How about I take you to visit the Divine Cherry Tree, and let the divine power of the Divine Cherry Tree protect you and ensure your safety?"

The group naturally did not refuse and followed Imamura Tano toward the town center.

In the distance, a huge cherry blossom tree came into view, its trunk so thick that it would take seven or eight people to encircle it, and its branches and leaves were lush and verdant.

Pink cherry blossoms hang from the branches like rosy clouds, exuding a vibrant vitality.

A simple and ancient shrine stands beneath the tree, its vermilion torii gate gleaming warmly in the sunlight, the air filled with the faint scent of incense and the delicate fragrance of cherry blossoms.

The moment Shirakami Yukihime saw the shrine, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and her eyes softened considerably.

As a shrine maiden, the shrine held special significance for her, as if she had found a spiritual home there.

She subconsciously straightened the collar of her shrine maiden's robes, slowed her pace, and lingered her gaze on the eaves and brackets of the shrine.

"This sacred cherry tree is over a thousand years old."

Imamura Tano stopped, looked up at the towering ancient tree, and spoke with deep reverence:

"During the Warring States period, countless cities were destroyed in the chaos of war. Only our Chongdaoji City survived that dark period thanks to the divine power of the Divine Cherry Tree."

"To express their gratitude for the protection of the sacred cherry tree, the villagers built this shrine under the tree and have worshipped it for generations."

Xu Feng's gaze did not linger on the cherry blossom tree, but instead fell on several little girls playing at the entrance of the shrine.

They were all dressed in miniature versions of shrine maiden outfits, with simple hairstyles, and looked to be no more than seven or eight years old, with the oldest not exceeding twelve.

Each one is exquisitely beautiful, and their smiles reveal their tender little tiger teeth, making them exceptionally adorable.

The whispers of the residents that I had overheard when I entered the city suddenly came to mind.

Xu Feng's heart sank, and a chilling conjecture formed in his mind.

Could it be that there are no elderly shrine maidens in this shrine at all?

Could it be that all the adult priestesses were sacrificed to the sacred cherry tree?