Rules of the Strange: I Became a God in a Bizarre World Through Taoist Arts

Shen Xingzhuo spoke softly, took a few steps into the greenhouse, and waved to the little girl.

The garden is very quiet at night, and no one will disturb you. If you see a little girl in a red dress carrying a doll walking among the flowers, do not follow her, do not call out to her, and do not let her know you are watching her.

She knew that she had broken the rules by putting the little girl in the greenhouse.

But when the little girl, her mouth full of blood, mumbled "Mom," she softened.

How terrifying can a little girl whose only obsession after death is to see her mother be?

Shen Xingzhuo waited quietly for the little girl to approach.

"Tong...Tong..."

The girl stared blankly at Shen Xingzhuo.

People who die unjustly often develop obsessions. Some with deep resentment become vengeful ghosts, while others simply need others to remember their stories.

The name carries its essence, and a response is immediately felt.

For Shen Xingzhuo, this was a sign that Tongtong was showing her affection.

Shen Xingzhuo's eyes showed even more affection. "Tongtong, my darling, would you like to play games with Mommy?"

Tongtong nodded heavily and slowly moved towards Shen Xingzhuo.

A long trail of blood was left behind her, and one of her legs had been modified into a puppet-like prosthetic limb. With every step she took, her stump was in excruciating pain.

But Shen Xingzhuo knew that she couldn't just pick Tongtong up right now.

Finding her mother and playing house together was a lifelong obsession the little girl never fulfilled, even until her death.

She had to go to her "mother's" side by herself.

"Let's play, Mom! Let's play together!"

A tattered rag doll had appeared in Tongtong's arms at some point.

She gently shook it, then clumsily piled up a clay cake with her little hands, looking at Shen Xingzhuo hopefully.

The greenhouse no longer had the illusion of lush flowers and leaves it had when we first entered. The soil in the surrounding flower beds was cracked, and there were only a few withered rose bushes scattered around.

After seeing Tongtong's expression, Shen Xingzhu smiled reassuringly, then got up and broke off a few branches.

She used the branches as birthday candles and inserted them into Tongtong's clay cake.

He then bit his finger and drew a fire talisman in the air.

She silently chanted a fire-starting spell, using the remaining wood spirit energy to create fire from wood.

A tiny flame suddenly burst into flame at the tip of the branch.

The gardener, who was still crying, suddenly raised his headless neck and sprinted to the side.

Although Tongtong was also scared, she insisted on waiting in the same spot because it was a candle lit for her by her "mother". Even though she was trembling, she still did so.

Knowing the immense power of his true fire, Shen Xingzhu stepped forward and embraced Tongtong, shielding her from the oppressive force of the flames.

"Today is Tongtong's birthday. Let's blow out the candles and eat cake together, okay?"

"Okay!" Tongtong nodded vigorously again.

Under her expectant gaze, Shen Xingzhuo picked up a small handful of clay cake, pretending to eat it with relish, and occasionally feeding Tongtong and her doll a bite.

An eerie atmosphere pervaded the air.

While playing, my sister suddenly started humming that nursery rhyme again.

"My little sister carried a doll and went to the garden to look at the flowers."

"The baby cries and calls for its mother, while the little birds in the tree laugh heartily."

"My brother was frightened, which disturbed Dad."

"Dad's eyes turned red, and he stabbed Mom to death..."

"Mom's head rolled off the bed, her eyes fixed on him..."

"..."

Tongtong couldn't continue singing and buried her head in Shen Xingzhuo's arms.

Shen Xingzhuo comforted her, but his heart felt like it had fallen into an ice cave.

She has pieced together half of the story, a chilling family tragedy that happened to Tongtong.

There were originally four people in this family: Dad, Mom, older brother, and Tongtong.

The tragedy likely began on Tongtong's birthday. Her mother had promised to play games with Tongtong, but for unknown reasons, she was murdered by her father in their room.

The older brother went to find his mother for his younger sister, but accidentally witnessed his father committing murder.

He saw his mother's body hidden under the bed by his father; his mother died with her eyes wide open in disbelief...

but……

And after that?

Why did Dad kill Mom?

After the older brother witnessed his father committing murder, was his father ever noticing?

Where did Dad go after he committed the murder?

Why does the rule preface emphasize that there are only two masters in the house, the older brother and the younger sister?

And, most importantly, why was half of Tongtong's body replaced with puppet parts, when she should have been pampered? What else did she suffer?

Shen Xingzhuo fell into deep thought.

The comments section also started analyzing the situation.

[Holy crap?! The mother died?! Then why isn't there a mother in this ghost story?!]

Did that murderer just disappear without a trace? Holy crap, this is terrifying to think about. Why is the brother alright, but the sister is dead?!

Half of my sister's body has been replaced with wood. How much pain must she be in?

[Waaaaah, please, Sister Shen, unleash your power! Use that... Taoist magic! Kill all these bad guys!]

Why does the Tianxia Kingdom look so peaceful?

What does the person upstairs mean?!

[Don't get me wrong, I just came from the Land of Floating Flowers. That little girl in red is going crazy there! The Chosen One from the Land of Floating Flowers encountered her the moment he stepped into the garden, and she chased him around, hacking at him with an axe. The gardener over there is also chasing him with a giant pair of garden shears! The Chosen One's guts are practically spilling out!]

That's why I'm wondering why things are completely different here in Tianxia?

[Hey, is that so? It's mainly because Sister Shen is awesome here! You'll see in a bit!]

Shen Xingzhuo has already gained a group of loyal supporters.

Some viewers, listening to what the tourists were saying, left out of curiosity and went to watch the live streams of other countries' sky domes.

I was so frightened by the bloody scene as soon as I went in that I shuddered.

The girl in red over there was a ferocious, vengeful ghost, attacking wildly and without reason. This formed an absurd and stark contrast to the almost "warm" scene on Shen Xingzhuo's side.

Seeing is believing, and many viewers in the live chat realized how reassuring it was to have Shen Xingzhuo in Tianxia Kingdom.

Inside the greenhouse, Tongtong's figure had become somewhat transparent.

Shen Xingzhuo could tell that her wish had been fulfilled.

"Tongtong, I need to go talk to my brother. Can you come with me?"

Shen Xingzhuo took out a brand new little paper doll from his sleeve. Tongtong hesitated for a moment, but eventually obediently walked to the paper doll, turned into a point of light, and gently landed on the paper doll.

"By the Supreme Decree, may your lonely soul be liberated. May you attain enlightenment and ascend to the heavens. So be it!"

Shen Xingzhuo chanted a soothing incantation in a low voice, and the chilly atmosphere in the greenhouse dissipated somewhat.

She carefully put the little paper figure away and looked in the direction of the gardener.

"Don't worry, Tongtong is safe with me. Wait here for a moment... it will be over soon."

The gardener stopped crying and silently moved the half of his body that was blocking Shen Xingzhuo's view.

Shen Xingzhuo looked over and saw that on the surface of the clay cake were words spelled out by the florist using broken leaves and petals.

"journal."