Why is my anime art style so weird?

Xu Ming frowned. He recalled Shiina Mashiro's various miraculous behaviors and quickly activated his 'spiritual vision' again to look at that location.

Sure enough, a thick black mist gathered on the wall, constantly writhing, and did not dissipate at all despite the destruction of the portrait.

Xu Ming's expression immediately turned cold.

The matter was far from over.

After a while, as if time had reversed, countless black ash particles suddenly flew in the air.

The ashes quickly gathered in front of the wall, and then, under the watchful eyes of the three, reassembled into the eerie portrait of the girl.

Chapter 143 Relics

"How...how did this painting come back to life?!"

Seeing this bizarre scene, Aoyama Nanami was so frightened that his tongue trembled and he could barely speak.

She gripped Shiina Mashiro tightly with both hands, pressing her entire body against her, as if only in this way could she feel a sense of security.

Xu Ming's expression was solemn. There was only one reason for this outcome: the painting was not the key; it was perhaps just a trigger.

Just then, Shiina Mashiro suddenly raised her hand and pointed at the portrait.

"He is trapped inside this painting."

"Him?" (In Japanese, "he" and "she" are pronounced differently.)

A sudden thought flashed through Xu Ming's mind, and he immediately remembered the rumor that Aoyama Nanami had mentioned.

"You mean that painter?"

Xu Ming quickly pressed for more information.

Shiina Mashiro shook her head.

“I don’t know, I just saw him locked inside this painting.”

Xu Ming rubbed his temples in frustration, then looked at Aoyama Nanami.

"Ms. Nanami, are you able to contact the original owner of this house?"

Aoyama Nanami seemed stunned. Xu Ming asked her twice before she came to her senses.

"Ah! Yes! I still have Ms. Nakajima's number."

"Contact her immediately and ask her for everything you need to know about this painting!"

Xu Ming immediately gave the order.

"Good, good."

Aoyama Nanami was so frightened that she was completely at a loss. As soon as Xu Ming gave the order, she immediately took out her phone and started making calls.

Xu Ming took a picture of the portrait and sent it to Kato Megumi, then began searching for information about the portrait online.

Believe it or not, there are indeed similar urban legends on the internet, but unfortunately most of them are baseless rumors and meaningless.

Soon, Kato Megumi sent a call request. Xu Ming hesitated for a moment, apologized to the two of them, and then went outside the bedroom.

Xu Ming pressed the call button, and Kato Megumi's cold voice quickly came from the other end of the phone.

"Ming, the follow-up work on the Totsuki Tea House is basically complete, and the 1 billion yen bonus will be deposited into your account soon."

As she was speaking, a message popped up, showing that one billion yen had been deposited into his account.

Xu Ming took a deep breath, suppressing his overwhelming excitement, and then said:

"What will happen to the Nakiri family and the Totsuki clan?"

"The land of the Far Moon Tea House has been polluted by a large amount of negative energy. The Exorcist Association is preparing to set up a purification array, but it will take at least thirty years to completely purify the place."

As for the Nakiri family... all the main heirs are dead, and they are now completely embroiled in internal strife. It is likely that the entire Totsuki Group will be in turmoil for quite some time.

Furthermore, you can rest assured that no one in Japan will cause you any trouble.

Upon hearing this, Xu Ming was not at ease; instead, he immediately became vigilant.

No one in Japan is causing trouble for him, but the conglomerates behind his two daughters might be a different story.

After all, he directly shattered some people's hopes for immortality, and that's a deep grudge.

As Xu Ming was pondering, he suddenly heard Kato Megumi speak again.

"Xu Ming, are you investigating the incident involving that painting?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"If you're not deeply involved, as a senior exorcist, I advise you not to get involved."

"why?"

Xu Ming was stunned.

On the other end of the phone, Kato Megumi remained silent for a moment before slowly saying:

"Because this oil painting is related to a 'sacred relic'..."

"A relic!?"

Xu Ming's eyes widened immediately; he had never expected to hear that name here.

"What, Ming, have you heard of relics?"

Xu Ming's unusual behavior immediately aroused Kato Megumi's suspicion.

"No, it's just that the name sounds familiar, like something I saw in a novel."

Xu Ming explained, half-truthfully.

Kato Megumi didn't seem to want to delve into it further, and instead began to explain directly.

"Relics are the things left behind by ancient heroes. Powerful Onmyoji can use certain rituals to summon heroic spirits by utilizing the connection between the relics and the heroes..."

Xu Ming listened carefully, and as he walked along this path, he noticed that it was somewhat similar to the world he knew called 'Type-Moon'.

But soon, Kato Megumi changed the subject.

"But although these things have the word 'saint' in their names, they are essentially relics left behind by people with powerful obsessions. What comes to mind when you think about this?"

Dead people, powerful obsessions, relics... isn't that it!

"Strange?"

Xu Ming subconsciously replied.

"That's right. In a sense, heroic spirits and supernatural beings are the same concept. The difference is that heroic spirits are often much more powerful, so powerful that even the most skilled Onmyoji cannot match them!"

Kato Megumi paused for a moment, seemingly to give Xu Ming time to think, before continuing:

"If the heroic spirit was a righteous hero in life, then there will not be much danger even if we come into contact with it."

However, if the owner of a relic dies with strong negative emotions, then the relic will also be entangled with a large amount of negative energy.

Such relics often pose a danger to anyone who comes into contact with them; exorcists privately refer to them as "demonic artifacts."

Xu Ming immediately frowned.

Throughout human history, those who have been crowned with the title of hero have mostly spent their lives in killing, war, and conspiracy. Many of them did not die of old age, but on the battlefield.

Heroes are not saints without joy or sorrow, or without flawed morality; they too experience negative emotions such as resentment and anger before their deaths.

Moreover, compared to ordinary people, those who become heroes often have a deeper obsession.

Ordinary people's obsession with relics may dissipate in a few months, a few years, or even a few decades.

The hero's obsession clings to the sacred relic, perhaps for hundreds or even thousands of years, and remains there for a long time.

Such a terrifying obsession breeds negative energy, which is chilling to even think about.

What's most terrifying is that the proportion of these so-called "demon artifacts" is probably not small, after all, human history is, in a sense, a history of war.

Xu Ming pondered for a moment and then understood what Kato Megumi meant.

"Hui, do you mean that this portrait is related to a sacred relic?"

"To be precise, it's a demonic artifact. I wonder if Akira has ever heard of the name 'Katsushika Hokusai'?"

Xu Ming was taken aback, and relevant information involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Katsushika Hokusai, a legendary master of ukiyo-e prints active in 18th and 19th century Japan, was also, in a sense, a doujinshi artist.

"If the association's information is correct, this painting should have been created using the brushes left behind by Katsushika Hokusai."

The association has confirmed that Katsushika Hokusai's paintbrush is a magical artifact with the effect of 'binding souls'.

PS: In order to fit into the eerie world view, the settings of Type-Moon have been modified to a certain extent.

Well, I doubt anyone would mistake this crossover anime world for the Moon world.

Chapter 144 Katsushika Hokusai's Paintbrush

"Silk!"

Xu Ming couldn't help but gasp.

A mere paintbrush can imprison a person's soul within a painting—what a terrifying effect! It truly deserves to be called a 'magical artifact'.

Such a dangerous thing should indeed be treated with caution.

"Where is that dangerous paintbrush now?"

"do not know."

Xu Ming was taken aback.

"The Elders have already assessed the danger level of this paintbrush, and there will be no danger as long as it is not used."

The association's personnel responsible for artifacts were all reassigned to handle more dangerous artifacts, so the intelligence department only conducted minimal intelligence tracking on this paintbrush.

After all, there are many magical artifacts in this world that would cause great harm if left unattended.

Xu Ming was speechless.

Indeed, in the eyes of those in power, compared to magical artifacts that would kill with a single touch, these magical artifacts that would not cause harm if not used were not considered a great threat.

"How do we deal with that painting?"

Xu Ming asked again.