Why is my anime art style so weird?

This is a corpse, the corpse of a woman who hanged herself.

She hung there on the tree, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Xu Ming below.

Xu Ming felt a strong stinging sensation in his eyes, and he couldn't help but blink.

In an instant, Xu Ming felt a blur before his eyes, and the female corpse that had hanged herself vanished!

Xu Ming was startled and immediately widened his eyes, searching carefully in the tree.

Ultimately, they found only a section of the cut rope about 2 or 3 meters above the ground.

The rope was just a regular cowhide rope, with one end tied to the base of the tree branch and the other end cut open with a knife or something similar. The cut wasn't very smooth, and there were a few shallow cut marks near the cut.

Sneakers buried in a pile of fallen leaves, a severed rope, a woman's suddenly vanished hanging body...

Xu Ming seemed to understand something.

The forest was indeed more dangerous than he had imagined.

Xu Ming continued into the forest, but this time, he held his phone firmly in his hand, ready to take a picture with just a raise of his hand.

After walking a while, Xu Ming found a pair of leather shoes under a tree. Looking up, he saw a middle-aged man in a suit hanging from the tree. After a while, the body disappeared, leaving only a section of the cut rope.

Even the slow-witted Haruyuki Arita noticed something was wrong.

"Xu, Xu Mingjun, what's going on with this forest?! Why does it look so terrifying?!"

"Arita-kun, haven't you heard of Aokigahara?"

Xu Ming said quietly.

"Ao-Ao-Aokihara!?"

The piglets' voices have all changed.

Every Japanese person has heard of the famous "Suicide Forest - Aokigahara Forest".

Aokigahara Forest, located at the foot of Mount Fuji, is a world-renowned suicide hotspot, famous for its beautiful scenery, eerie atmosphere, and terrifyingly high suicide rate.

"What does this place have to do with the Aokigahara Forest?!"

The little piglet asked nervously.

"Here you go~"

Xu Ming gestured with his lip, indicating that the little piglet should look over there.

The little piglet instinctively turned its head and looked, and was so frightened that it buried its head in Xu Ming's shoulder, sticking out its buttocks and trembling.

Just as they were talking, another hanging corpse appeared in a tree not far away.

And there were two of them at once!

Chapter Eighty Mountain Climbers

They were a boy and a girl in uniform, and judging from their age, they seemed to be a high school couple.

Xu Ming noticed that the two corpses were pressed tightly together, and their hands were tightly wrapped together with a white handkerchief.

The bodies of the young man and woman who died for love stared wide-eyed at Xu Ming and Haruyuki Arita under the tree.

Xu Ming had previously consulted information about Aokigahara.

According to experts, the high number of people committing suicide in Aokigahara Forest each year is due to a variety of reasons.

For example, being near a volcano, having a strong underground magnetic field that interferes with compasses, having a limited variety of trees, and having familiar scenery can easily make people lose their way.

In addition, the dense trees create a lot of shadows even during the day, making the environment oppressive and causing feelings of frustration, loss, and even suicidal thoughts. Even if one does not have suicidal thoughts at first, getting lost can gradually lead to despair.

The folk legend, however, says that a famine once occurred near Aokigahara, where a large number of newborn babies and the elderly were abandoned and starved to death. Their resentment gathered in Aokigahara and constantly lured the living to join them.

Before encountering the supernatural and the underworld, Xu Ming believed in the first explanation, but now, Xu Ming believes that the Aokigahara Forest can only be the second one.

The forest before him, under the influence of the evil ritual, has likely been transformed into a small-scale Aokigahara.

Equally dangerous and deadly!

Xu Ming's guess seemed to have been confirmed.

Almost every few dozen meters you walk, you'll find another hanging corpse in the tree.

Men, women, children, students, workers, office workers... all sorts of people gathered in this eerie forest, then stuck their necks into homemade nooses...

Different births, the same death.

The environment does indeed have a strong suggestive effect on the mind. Walking in such a strange forest, Xu Ming couldn't help but feel a strong sense of oppression, and his mood became depressed and hesitant.

Just then, some light suddenly appeared in the distance.

Xu Ming was startled and instinctively gripped his phone tighter before slowly moving closer.

The source of the light was a burning campfire, with a simple kettle on top, from which white steam was constantly rising.

A tent was pitched next to the campfire, containing sleeping bags, backpacks, and other items.

Xu Ming was instantly stunned. Who on earth would camp in such a godforsaken place?! Could it be...?

Just then, footsteps sounded in the distance.

Xu Ming immediately became alert, placing his phone on his chest and his fingertips lightly sliding across the shutter button.

Just then, two figures emerged from behind a tree, chatting and laughing.

When the two saw Xu Ming by the campsite, they were taken aback.

Xu Ming pointed his phone camera at the two of them without making a sound, but did not press the shutter button.

Taking photos of strangers without greeting them is considered impolite and may even be seen as provocation, if you are unsure whether the person in front of you is "strange".

Xu Ming silently observed the two of them.

Before him stood a young couple, dressed in matching hiking outfits and wearing beanies. The woman was holding the man's hand, and the two appeared quite intimate.

Judging from their appearance, they seem to be a couple hiking together.

While Xu Ming was still sizing up the two men, the man with a small tuft of beard on his chin smiled warmly and spoke first.

"Hello, are you here to hike too?"

"Mountain climbing?"

Xu Ming found it somewhat strange.

"This is the private zoo of the Totsuki Tea House. What are you doing here climbing mountains?"

The man was taken aback and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"So this is private property? Neither Yuki nor I noticed, haha~!"

The woman holding his arm rolled her eyes at him.

"Idiot! I noticed, and I even reminded you."

"Hahaha~~!"

The man could only manage a couple of awkward laughs to cover up his embarrassment.

Then the man extended his hand to Xu Ming.

“Hello, my name is Kusanagi Junpei, and this is my wife, Yuki. We came from the neighboring city, crossing over Mount Hira. There was indeed a long barbed wire fence where we came from…”

Kusaburo Junpei seemed afraid that Xu Ming would misunderstand, so he quickly explained again.

"However, the barbed wire fence has already fallen down. We thought this place had been abandoned. We didn't intentionally trespass on private property."

Xu Ming's eyes flashed, and he reached out and gently shook hands with Kusaburo Junpei.

"Hello, my name is Xu Ming, and I'm a ghost hunting enthusiast. Also, this place has indeed been abandoned."

"Really? That's good."

Kusabbe Junpei subconsciously patted his chest. Trespassing on someone else's private property and being discovered would definitely cause some trouble.

Is Xu Mingjun a citizen of the Celestial Empire?

Kusabue Yuki, standing to the side, looked at Xu Ming with some curiosity.

"Yes, I am from the Celestial Empire."

Xu Ming nodded.

"Xu Mingjun, if you don't mind, why don't you rest at our camp for the night? In the wilderness, we should look after each other."

Kusabue Junpei extended a very warm invitation.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Xu Ming, for reasons unknown, accepted his invitation.

Kusabbe Junpei invited Xu Ming to sit by the campfire, and Kusabbe Yuki began to brew coffee with the boiled water.

A rich aroma of coffee wafted through the air.

Kusabbe Yuki first handed a cup of brewed coffee to her husband, then took out another cup, gesturing for Xu Ming to have one as well.

"Thank you, but I don't need it. I don't like coffee."

Xu Ming politely declined her offer and took out bread and bottled water from his backpack to eat.

While drinking coffee, Kusabue Junpei enthusiastically recounted to Xu Ming some interesting anecdotes from his and his wife's mountain climbing trip.

He then talked about his life, work, and anecdotes about him and his wife.

His wife would occasionally chime in, and the two of them would shower Xu Ming with all sorts of sweet nothings.

The atmosphere seemed harmonious until...

Kusabue Junpei seemingly unintentionally mentioned his neighbor, a man named Kazuhito Keiichi.

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've seen Keiichi. What about you, Yuuki?"

Kusaburo Junpei said casually.

Xu Ming noticed that when Kusaburo Junpei uttered the name, his wife's body suddenly stiffened, and her expression became slightly unnatural.

"Honey, I don't know either..."

The atmosphere suddenly became subtle.