Why is my anime art style so weird?

The embers of the fire could still be faintly seen through the cracks. The entire arm looked as if it had just been taken out of the kiln.

Faced with this unknown 'strangeness,' the safest course of action would be to retreat, but Xu Ming had no choice.

He could only choose one side at random and ran towards the side garden.

Xu Ming quickly ran into the side garden on the left.

The side courtyard is also a small courtyard similar to a traditional courtyard house. On the left is a row of partitioned small rooms, which seem to be storage rooms and toilets. On the right and directly opposite the main gate of the side courtyard, there is a large room.

After a moment's hesitation, Xu Ming rushed toward the house directly opposite the main gate of the side courtyard.

The moment his hand touched the door, crash! The charred door broke in two, smashing to the ground and scattering ashes everywhere.

A strong smell of burning, along with the aroma of smoke and dust, wafted towards us.

Xu Ming quickly covered his mouth and nose and looked into the room.

The scene that unfolded was shocking.

The room appeared to be a large communal room, with a large kang (heated brick bed) over ten meters long standing against the wall directly opposite the door.

Several human-shaped scorch marks were piled up on the kang (a heated brick bed), while more human-shaped scorch marks were gathered near the door and windows.

Xu Ming even had this image in his mind:

The entire house was engulfed in flames, and the students sleeping inside were suddenly awakened.

They fled in panic, but the flames and thick smoke blocked their path to survival.

They struggled desperately, but one by one they collapsed where they were closest to the exit...

Suddenly, a hand reached out from the charred human-shaped scar and grabbed Xu Ming's ankle. Xu Ming was startled and quickly pulled his foot back.

Soon, a pitch-black 'person', seemingly made of black ash, lay on the ground, reaching out to grab Xu Ming while letting out strange roars.

Xu Ming soon discovered that from almost every humanoid scorch mark, a humanoid monster made of ash was born.

Dozens of dark gray arms reached out to grab Xu Ming in unison!

Chapter Twenty-Six: Earthbound Spirits and the Highly Effective Spirit-Capturing Phone

Xu Ming retreated repeatedly, quickly getting outside.

Just as he was about to turn and run, he suddenly stopped.

The dozen or so humanoid figures made of ash rushed toward him frantically, but when they reached the doorway, they seemed to encounter an invisible wall.

These ash-like humanoid figures piled up like zombies, constantly emitting strange howls towards Xu Ming outside the door. Their hands tore and waved, but they could not break through the invisible wall.

Seeing this, Xu Ming quickly calmed down, and a name popped into his mind.

Earthbound spirits—the souls of those who died tragically are bound to the place of their passing, never to be reborn.

A group of fierce yet tragic souls.

Xu Ming shook his head, turned to look at the gate of the side courtyard, and frowned slightly.

The monster that just ran out of the coffin is now completely still.

However, Xu Ming was very cautious. He did not approach the gate, but instead turned and walked towards another house in the side courtyard.

With a creak, the dry door hinges emitted a harsh noise.

Xu Ming slowly pushed open the door of the house on the right and went inside.

As his figure disappeared through the doorway, a charred head emerged from above the side gate, its dark eyes fixed on the open door to the right, casting a malevolent glare...

With the help of 'night vision', everything in the room was clearly visible.

Rows of stoves, large iron pots placed on the stoves, iron filings inside the pots...

Xu Ming's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't this the big kitchen from before?

Xu Ming immediately became alert and subconsciously held his phone in front of him.

He hadn't forgotten the terrifying scene of dozens of iron pots flying up and down in mid-air.

However, the large kitchen remained silent; nothing happened.

Xu Ming observed carefully and finally noticed some differences.

Although both are rows of stoves, the stoves Xu Ming had seen before were all made of cement and bricks, while these were made of yellowish-brown mud bricks.

In addition, the material of the iron pot, the bucket for holding water, the sink for washing vegetables, etc., are all different.

The large kitchen in front of Xu Ming didn't even have a running water pipe; it relied entirely on a large water tank to store water.

The equipment and furnishings here were so outdated that Xu Ming almost thought he had really traveled back to the Qing Dynasty.

Xu Ming walked around and looked around, and unknowingly approached the large water vat.

Whoosh!

Just then, a terrifying figure covered in moss suddenly emerged from the water tank, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged at Xu Ming.

Xu Ming quickly took two steps back to avoid its attack.

The monster hiding in the water tank was relentless, constantly reaching out its moss-covered hands to grab Xu Ming.

However, Xu Ming soon discovered that this guy seemed to be a bound spirit, and its activity range was limited to the water tank area.

Looking at it this way, it's not scary at all; in fact, it looks rather pitiful.

Xu Ming couldn't help but laugh.

But after only a couple of laughs, Xu Ming couldn't laugh anymore.

A terrifying figure crawled silently into the kitchen through the doorway, on all fours.

Its entire body was charred, covered with cracks of all sizes, and bright flames emanated from the cracks, making it look like a piece of firewood that had not been completely burned.

Xu Ming was incredibly grateful to the earthbound spirit in the water tank. If he hadn't been startled by it, Xu Ming wouldn't have even noticed that the monster had crawled into the kitchen.

At that point, this cunning monster might sneak up behind Xu Ming and backstab him or turn around to kill him, and Xu Ming would have no choice but to go see his sister.

Seeing that Xu Ming had discovered it, the monster stopped hiding and sped up, crawling towards Xu Ming on all fours.

rustle!

A series of sounds, like a spider crawling, echoed in the large kitchen.

The monster crawled at full speed, and in the blink of an eye, it was only two or three meters away from Xu Ming!

Xu Ming felt a chill run down his spine. Without thinking, he raised his spirit-capturing phone, pointed it at the monster, and pressed the shutter button.

click!

With a soft sound, a burst of intense golden light flashed and disappeared, illuminating the entire kitchen, its effect comparable to a flashbang.

With such dazzling special effects, the overall effect is naturally outstanding.

Caught off guard, the monster stared directly at the golden flash, immediately covered its eyes and screamed in agony, then crashed into a pile of wooden barrels nearby.

Xu Ming immediately seized the opportunity to escape to the back door of the kitchen.

Xu Ming ran to the back door and pushed it open.

The back door made a clicking sound, but it didn't open; it seemed to be locked.

But this didn't stump him.

Without thinking, Xu Ming kicked the door.

boom!

With a loud crash, the door and lock flew off.

Xu Ming glanced around and noticed that behind the kitchen was a courtyard filled with artificial mountains.

Various oddly shaped artificial hills are arranged in a unique layout, interspersed with various flowers, trees and shrubs. A huge pond has been dug in the center of the courtyard, with an exquisite pavilion built on it.

This appears to be the back garden of the mansion.

Xu Ming could even imagine the idyllic scene of a garden where hundreds of flowers bloomed in competition, surrounded by artificial hills, pavilions, and towers.

Unfortunately, this meticulously designed back garden was also affected by the fire.

The artificial hill near the main house was covered with strange charred marks, and some of the flowers and plants were burned to ashes, while others withered due to lack of care.

Only the vigorous vines and moss almost completely covered all the artificial hills, creating a lush green landscape that looked quite eerie under the night sky.

The only thing that survived the fire was the pavilion in the pond.

Unfortunately, it survived the fire, but not the ravages of time.

Part of the connecting stone bridge collapsed, and most of the tiles on the pavilion were blown away by the wind and rain.

"Hiss~ Roar!"

The monster's roar came from behind again.

Xu Ming briefly observed the scene in the courtyard before rushing inside.

Soon, his figure disappeared behind a lush green artificial hill...

A short while later, the charred monster, covering one eye, stumbled out of the kitchen back door.

It emitted a hoarse, unpleasant roar, like two pieces of red-hot charcoal being rubbed together.

The single eye stared at the garden, its gaze gleaming with venomous resentment.

Then, like a spider, it crawled towards the artificial hill using all four limbs.

However, it's clear that its speed is not as fast as before, probably only two-thirds of its peak speed.

The performance of the Spirit Stalker phone was better than expected.

A boulder the size of a bench came rushing towards the monster. The monster neither dodged nor avoided it, charging directly at the boulder.

Bah!

With a loud crash, the rocks were sent flying and smashed into another artificial hill, creating a large hole in it.

Xu Ming, who was hiding in the shadows, couldn't help but gasp when he saw this scene.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hide and Seek in the Back Garden

That monster is incredibly strong!