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

Unfortunately, his pleas did not earn him any mercy.

A huge black shadow enveloped the man's figure, and even Shen Xingzhuo could not see the true appearance of the shadow.

All that could be vaguely seen was it pouring a bowl of dark, medicinal soup into the man's mouth.

Shen Xingzhuo stood still, watching time flow by outside the small window.

Unable to move, she could only watch helplessly as her brother was forced to swallow bowl after bowl of medicine.

The light in her brother's eyes gradually faded and dissipated, turning him into the foolish appearance she had first seen.

He lived in this cramped room like a bedbug in a sewer, only constantly murmuring, "Don't hurt... Yin'er..."

The light and shadow shifted once more.

The scene before Shen Xingzhuo's eyes suddenly changed; she saw her brother being dragged out of the room like a lump of mud.

Then a seductive voice rang in my ears:

"Zhao'er, be good. Get yourself cleaned up, and then you'll get married, okay?"

"New, is the bride's food delicious?"

"Delicious—your bride's name is Pei Yin, and you love her the most."

"Pei Yin? Who is Pei Yin?"

Pei Zhao's face was blank with confusion. His head was throbbing, but he could no longer remember who this person who was so important to him was.

……

Now that things have come to this, Shen Xingzhuo already understands that these are her brother's memories.

She closed her eyes, suppressing the chill surging in her heart.

Previously, after seeing comments expressing concern for her mental health, Guan Shanyue specially invited the most authoritative psychological expert to provide her with treatment.

Although the diagnosis showed the patient was healthy, the doctor also clearly stated:

Experiencing other people's lives through ghost stories like she does, and engaging in deep emotional immersion over a long period, will inevitably lead to a complete cognitive breakdown.

There is no good solution to this situation except—cultivating one's mind.

Shen Xingzhuo slowly opened her eyes, silently telling herself that everything she saw had become an experience.

Since we cannot change the past, let's create a bright future.

The scene shifted again, and the whole world seemed to freeze except for her.

She only returned to the "present moment" when the image stopped.

The cold air from under the eaves returned, and the elder brother remained unconscious on the ground.

The only difference was that Shen Xingzhuo felt a pang of pity for this person.

But the most pressing issue is how the brother's memories can help advance the plot of the ghost story.

The thought had barely formed in her mind when hurried footsteps came from outside the moon gate.

Several rough-looking old women, their faces ashen, strode over and, as if completing a task, dragged the elder brother's obese body to his feet.

One of the leading women gave her a somewhat perfunctory bow, and then opened her empty mouth to make a speaking sound:

"Pei Yin, your 'husband' is not feeling well and needs to be carried back to his room to rest immediately."

She paused, her eyes fixed on Shen Xingzhuo, and deliberately emphasized her words:

"Please clear your mind of distractions and concentrate on copying the scriptures. Do not disturb others."

Shen Xingzhuo looked at her and confirmed her guess.

Rule Ten states: [When she is outdoors, the servants in the mansion will not speak to her without her consent.]

The way this person was speaking to her now showed absolutely no respect befitting a servant.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the emptiness in the old woman's mouth.

The tongue is the sprout of the heart.

The core of this evil art, known as tongue-snatching and speech-spoiling, is to remove the root of the victim's tongue and then use a special ritual to deprive the victim of their ability to speak independently, turning them into a mere mouthpiece capable only of repeating specific phrases.

"He uses so much evil magic with such ease; no wonder he dared to bring an evil idol home."

But regardless of who this old woman represents at this moment, the rule states later that she should be ignored...

Shen Xingzhu rolled her eyes and turned back into the ancestral hall.

Cursing and swearing came from behind, but judging from the noise, the rough-looking old women did not treat his unconscious brother with excessive violence.

The door closed behind me, shutting out the deepening twilight.

Runyu remained quietly in the corner, watching over the seven meatballs in the basket.

Pei Xi leaned against her leg, his eyes tightly closed, as if he were asleep.

Shen Xingzhuo sat down on the futon, trying to process the impact of her brother's memories.

And what is the connection between the changes brought about by Pei Xi's words "father" and the rules?

……

[Sister Shen looks so serious, is something on her mind?]

[That person was so rude to Sister Shen! Is that how a servant should behave?]

Everyone else is just watching the show, but I'm the only one heartbroken for my brother. Will he face any danger after being taken away?

I don't think so. The elder brother's role has already fulfilled its purpose; it's like the actors resting backstage after the curtain falls.

I agree with what the person above said.

A sudden, inexplicable feeling of irritability washed over me.

Shen Xingzhuo was taken aback, suddenly realizing a detail she had overlooked.

This is always the case.

In the side room, just as she was starting to sort things out, Pei's father kicked the door open and burst in.

Just now, she had forced out the word "father" when the incense burner collapsed and her brother burst in.

Earlier, just as she had grasped the edge of the conflict between "siblings" and "heir" through Pei Xi's words, Runyu appeared carrying a basin of blood and screamed, interrupting her.

It was as if an invisible eye was watching her as she was about to make a deep connection and a logical breakthrough, precisely dropping a pebble to disrupt her thoughts and forcibly pull her attention back to the specific crisis before her.

This is no coincidence.

This is the mechanism. It's the mechanism by which this ghost story inhibits participants from "thinking".

It allows you to deal with the rules, and even allows you to do superficial analysis, but once you try to see through the overall logic behind the rules and connect different clues, it will interrupt you in various ways and pull you back to the level of "enforcing the rules".

It's like... maintaining the "operational stability" of a program to prevent "viruses" from performing low-level scans.

Shen Xingzhuo took a deep breath, temporarily shifting her attention away from "why she was interrupted" and back to the rules themselves.

Since we can't delve into the root cause, let's start by analyzing the surface phenomena.

She recalled the contradictory rules on the incense ash, and the taboos that the old woman had spoken of, which were completely contrary to common sense.

"During fasting, one must not eat rice or drink dew. Only well water at midnight can moisten the throat and tongue." In reality, fasting requires a light diet, but drinking water is essential. Here, however, it is so strict that one can only drink well water at specific times.

"Offering sacrifices to crows during the waning moon will make your wishes come true." — Crows usually symbolize misfortune in reality, but here they become offerings to grant wishes?

And most importantly, the rules concerning children.

In reality, a mother's instinct is to respond to her child's cries, and feeding is the primary concern. However, this place explicitly forbids responding, and the rule of "must breastfeed" directly conflicts with the former, and is based on the premise that "she has milk," which may not even exist.

Many rules seem to run counter to common sense and human instincts.

What does this look like?

A cold flash of lightning suddenly struck Shen Xingzhuo's mind.

It was like an "evil ritual" that deliberately reversed the normal order.

True rituals require purity, piety, and adherence to certain natural laws (such as the time of day and the selection of offerings). However, the rules here encourage or force participants to do things that are "unreasonable," "against instinct," or even "impurity."

Is it possible that the correct way to pass the level is not to "follow" these rules, but rather... to identify and "reverse" them?