Why is my anime art style so weird?

Xu Ming was startled and subconsciously took out a jade pendant from his pocket.

The two jade pendants are almost identical.

Its pure white color, the winged tiger pattern in the center, the seal script characters that look like ghostly scribbles, and the cold, eerie feel when held in the hand...

Xu Ming is now almost certain that the arrangement inside the sunken ship was man-made.

But who exactly was it? And why did they orchestrate all of this?

As Xu Ming delves deeper into the subject, more and more mysteries seem to emerge.

Xu Ming had Parker remove the jade pendant from the magic circle, and the light from the magic circle immediately disappeared.

After resolving everything, Xu Ming immediately took Erina and Parker back to Xiapi quietly after dawn.

The next day.

Xu Ming had been busy all night and was fast asleep in his room when he was suddenly awakened by a noisy commotion.

"He's back! Master is back!"

Xu Ming opened the door and immediately saw a group of people rushing towards his room.

The leader was none other than Master Niu. Upon seeing Xu Ming, he immediately burst into tears and almost knelt down on the spot.

Fortunately, Xu Ming reacted quickly and caught him. Otherwise, making a man who was nearly sixty years old, almost old enough to be his grandfather, kneel before him would have shortened his lifespan.

"Thank you, benefactor! Now the more than forty people in my Niujia Village no longer have to be left to rot in the wilderness!"

Thinking of how the more than forty people in my Niujia Village have suffered from wind and rain, sun and rain for over ten years, I, this unfilial descendant, truly feel ashamed before my ancestors! Ashamed before my ancestors!

Master Niu held Xu Ming's hand, extremely excited and with tears in his eyes, while Xu Ming could only accompany him with a slightly awkward expression.

Ancient people believed that if a person could not be buried after death, they would become a wandering ghost unable to be reborn in the human world.

However, Xu Ming was not from ancient times, and he could not understand Old Master Niu's feelings at all.

After the commotion, the agitated Master Niu finally had his servants help him away to rest.

Niu Qi, the eldest son of Master Niu, stayed behind and quietly explained to Xu Ming.

"Please forgive me, my benefactor, my husband has experienced such extreme highs and lows these past two days..."

As Niu Qi spoke, he bowed to Xu Ming in apology.

Xu Ming quickly returned the greeting.

"Mr. Niu, you're too kind."

"This time, our group returned to Niujia Village and buried the remains of our ancestors. We were busy all day long. Now, in accordance with the old man's wish, we have brought back all the memorial tablets from the ancestral hall and are preparing to place them at home for daily worship. This will finally fulfill one of the old man's wishes..."

As Niu Qi spoke, a relaxed expression appeared on his face.

Clearly, the disappearance of their hometown without a trace was not only a burden on Old Master Niu, but also a huge weight that weighed on the entire Niu family. Now, that burden has finally been lifted.

"Oh, right, we also found this in a hidden compartment in the ancestral hall."

As Niu Qi spoke, he took something out of his pocket and handed it to Xu Ming.

"The old man said that this did not belong to our Niujia Village. At night, our ancestor appeared to the old man in a dream, saying that the origin of this item was strange and that we, the descendants of the Niu family, must not steal it and must hand it over to our benefactor for safekeeping."

Xu Ming took it and glanced at it, his eyes twitching slightly.

Isn't this yet another jade pendant shaped like a flying tiger?

Niujia Village, the ancient well in the city, the sunken ship in the lake, the White Gate Tower...

In the darkness, it seemed as if a huge net was covering the entire area of ​​Xiapi County, spanning hundreds of miles.

Xu Ming snapped out of his daze and bowed to Niu Qi.

"This jade pendant is indeed very important to me."

"As long as it's useful, that's good enough."

Niu Qi seemed to have completely let go of his burden, looking relaxed.

Next, the Niu family busied themselves once again with the construction of the ancestral hall for worship.

Xu Ming was busy searching for clues about the jade pendant in Xiapi City.

However, after searching through pawnshops, antique shops, and other places in the city that might have clues, he found absolutely nothing.

These self-proclaimed experts all said they had never seen this kind of jade pendant before, nor had they ever seen the pattern on it.

The investigation reached a stalemate.

Xu Ming took some time that night to sneak into the vicinity of the White Gate Tower and take another look.

As a result, they discovered that more negative energy was emanating from the crack in the door, and the purple talismans seemed to be showing signs of becoming uncontrollable.

Chapter 721 The Dilapidated Temple

call!

A cold wind howled and swept across the sky above Xiapi, swirling up countless white 'feathers'.

After noon, for some unknown reason, it suddenly started snowing heavily.

In just one afternoon, the snow quickly covered the entire city of Xiapi with a white veil.

The snow was heavy, almost ankle-deep, making the city roads increasingly difficult to navigate.

Left with no other option, Xu Ming had to temporarily halt the search and retreat to a guest room in the Niu residence to keep warm.

Fortunately, everyone in the Niu household treated him as an honored guest, and the steward quickly sent someone to bring a heated brazier, which warmed up the entire guest room.

Outside the Niu Mansion, separated by only one wall.

The street stalls were hastily packed up, the shop doors were hastily closed, and pedestrians hurried home.

As night fell, apart from a few patrolling soldiers, there were hardly any pedestrians to be seen in the entire city of Xiapi.

The sudden heavy snowfall not only brought Xu Ming to a standstill, but the entire city of Xiapi seemed to freeze in time.

However, something lurking in the darkness began to stir...

Thirty miles outside Xiapi City, on the official road leading west, two ragged figures were walking step by step towards Xiapi.

On the open official road, the wind howled and hurled snow and ice at the two men.

"Pah! Pah!"

A thin man couldn't help but ask loudly, but as soon as he opened his mouth, ice and snow mixed with cold wind poured into his mouth.

Left with no other choice, he could only cover his mouth and try to raise his voice as much as possible.

"Brother! How far are we from Xiapi? My toes are freezing!"

"It's coming soon."

Two or three steps ahead of him, the burly man replied in a muffled voice.

“I’ve heard ‘It’ll be soon, it’ll be soon’ a hundred times.”

The thin man muttered something under his breath.

We walked for a while longer.

The thin man spoke again.

"Brother, the snow is getting heavier and heavier. Why don't we find somewhere to take shelter from the snow?"

"This godforsaken place is in the middle of nowhere; there's nowhere to take shelter from the snow."

The burly man shook his head and muttered a couple of words.

His fellow villager is good in every way, except that he is a bit lazy and can't stand hardship. He just hopes that he can settle down after settling down in Xiapi.

"Big brother! Look what that is?!"

Suddenly, a gaunt man's voice came from behind, full of surprise and excitement.

The burly man turned his head and glanced at him, then looked indifferently in the direction he was pointing.

In an instant, the burly man's eyes widened, and he looked in that direction with a puzzled expression.

A small path extended to the side of the main road, and at the end of the path seemed to be a dilapidated temple.

"Strange, I've never heard of any temples along this road before."

The burly man looked at the temple at the end of the path with a puzzled expression, his steps hesitant, not daring to take a single step.

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart.

Something terrifying seemed to be lurking in the temple at the end of that path...

"Who cares! I'm freezing to death."

The skinny man rubbed his arms impatiently; he could barely feel them anymore.

The burly man thought about it and agreed with the skinny man's statement.

That's right, if they keep walking like this, they'll freeze to death on the way.

"Let's go to that temple first and wait out this heavy snow!"

So the two of them, one foot in shallow snow and the other in deep snow, walked with great difficulty toward the temple.

After taking shelter in the temple, the wind and snow immediately subsided considerably.

The moment the two stepped into the temple, a chilling coldness surged up from the soles of their feet.

However, the two of them thought it was just because the weather was too cold and didn't pay much attention to it.

After entering the dilapidated temple, the skinny man reached out to close the door, but just as he touched the doorknob.

With a loud bang, the solid wood door, over two meters tall and weighing over a hundred kilograms, slammed down.

"My life is over!"

The skinny man tried to dodge, but his body was almost frozen stiff, and his reaction was more than half a beat too slow. He could only stare wide-eyed as the door slammed down on him.

Fortunately, a burly man nearby reached out and pulled him up.

Bah!

The door slammed heavily to the ground, immediately stirring up dust, straw, fallen leaves, and other debris, which flew everywhere inside the temple, making the entire temple dusty and difficult to see.