Why is my anime art style so weird?

Eriri returned to her room, immediately flopped onto her bed, and buried her head in the pillow.

"Baka...you bad guy..."

I could vaguely hear her muttering to herself...

Xu Ming was naturally unaware of the girl's little scheme, but even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have bothered to care.

Upon returning home, Xu Ming immediately messaged Kato Megumi and requested information about the 'Fairy Tale Castle'.

After reviewing the information, Xu Ming frowned and fell into deep thought.

Based on the information, the 'Fairy Tale Castle' has quite a few problems.

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Fairy Tale Castle

Unable to send a qualified Onmyoji to investigate, the association could only dispatch unofficial personnel who were unfamiliar with Onmyodo to conduct reconnaissance.

These people are just asking for trouble when they encounter something 'strange'.

After several people were killed or injured, the association had to abandon its investigation of the 'Fairy Tale Castle'.

According to survivors, the internal structure of the castle seemed to be constantly changing.

In other words, the old maps are completely useless, and scouting locations in advance is meaningless.

This is a bit troublesome.

Xu Ming then reviewed the cases related to the 'Fairy Tale Castle', but the information was not very detailed.

Ever since the castle's owner, Momoko Akane, disappeared, the castle, which was originally full of childlike fun and had a cute style, has become eerie, with people constantly entering the castle and then disappearing.

The bodies of these missing people, including Momoko Akane herself, were never found.

The entire 'Fairytale Castle' is like a gateway to hell, devouring all intruders...

As usual, Xu Ming offered incense to his sister, then took the little piglet and took the subway back to the Far Moon Tea House.

He first went to the Polar Star Lodge and brought some daily necessities to Granny Wenxu, since it wasn't good to always freeload there.

At Polaris Dormitory, after having lunch and washing the dishes, I chatted with Grandma Wenxu for a while and then took a nap.

Having rested and prepared thoroughly, Xu Ming embarked on his journey to the 'Fairytale Castle'.

The fairytale castle is located in the southeast corner of the Totsuki Tea House.

Xu Ming had basically discovered that the Chinese Cuisine Research Institute, Office Building No. 4, the Animal Expo Park, the Fairy Tale Castle, and the Castle Keep were located at the five corners of the Totsuki Tea House, forming a complete five-pointed star shape.

Kuga Terunori died in a fire, Eizan Etsu was crushed to death by gold bricks, and if Xu Ming's guess was correct, Kobayashi Rindou was bound by iron chains and drowned.

The three correspond to fire, metal, and water respectively. If the causes of death of Momo Akanekubo and Eishi Tsukasa can be matched with the remaining earth and wood respectively.

The fact that Azami Nakiri's evil rituals are based on the Five Elements is basically confirmed.

A Japanese man supported by an American conglomerate was found to be using heretical practices based on Taoism from China.

This is truly a great irony.

Xu Ming walked for nearly an hour and arrived at the southeast corner where the 'Fairy Tale Castle' was located.

From the outside, it looks like an ordinary Gothic castle, with towering walls, pointed towers, and narrow windows...

The castle seems to have been built quite some time ago; its bluish-gray walls have turned slightly white and are covered with the marks of wind and rain, including large areas of watermarks, moss, vines, and pitted bricks...

"Ok?"

Xu Ming suddenly felt a hostile gaze shooting at him from above.

He quickly looked up and saw a dark shadow flash by in a window of the castle's corner tower.

Xu Ming frowned.

Is this a human or a monster?

Xu Ming stood there and observed for a while, but the dark figure did not reappear.

So Xu Ming walked around the castle.

From the outside, the castle is not particularly remarkable.

Seeing that it was still early, Xu Ming hesitated for a moment before pushing open the main gate of the castle and stepping inside.

Upon entering the castle, a chilling feeling immediately washed over me, as if I had stepped into an ice cellar.

The castle is an imitation of ancient architecture, but the interior is poorly lit, and because it's abandoned, the lights aren't even on. Even in broad daylight, the castle hall is quite dark.

Xu Ming used his phone's built-in flashlight to wander around the castle.

He discovered that this castle was similar to the Chinese Culinary Research Institute, which was also a culinary research institute, except that its main research project was desserts.

On the left side of the first-floor lobby, Xu Ming discovered a large kitchen. In addition to regular cooking utensils, it contained a special bread oven, cake molds, and large quantities of spoiled butter, cream, sugar, and flour...

The right side of the hall seemed to have been allocated to the research institute's students, and it contained dormitories, laundry rooms, a communal dining hall, and so on.

After checking the first floor, Xu Ming went to the second floor.

They discovered a private kitchen, a room filled with all sorts of strange and wonderful toys, and a lovely bedroom, all of which seemed to belong to the owner of this place—Momo Akanekubo.

However, due to long-term abandonment, the kitchen utensils were covered in dust, the piled-up food was either spoiled and moldy, or simply became a breeding ground for snakes, rats, insects and ants, and the kitchen was filled with a nauseating smell of decay.

The room was filled with toys, and the dolls inside were tattered and stained, with cotton stuffing squeezing out from the seams like entrails.

Many of the dolls were missing arms or legs, some even missing an eyeball. They stared intently at Xu Ming, who had barged into the room, with only one eye open.

Xu Ming felt a chill run down his spine from their stares. He suppressed his discomfort and, under the watchful eyes of the dolls, searched the room but found nothing suspicious. He then immediately left the room.

Then Xu Ming entered the bedroom.

The bedroom is decorated in pink, and the room is filled with various teddy bears, dressed in chef's uniforms, doctor's uniforms, adventure outfits... there are hundreds of them in total, all piled up on the bed.

Even the edge of the dressing table mirror is decorated with a bear with its mouth wide open, and the jewelry box and drawer doors are also printed with bear patterns.

The whole room was filled with a lovely atmosphere.

Unfortunately, that's the feeling people used to have.

Now Xu Ming only sensed corruption, dilapidation, and eeriness...

The original pink walls have faded to a pinkish-white color, somewhat resembling skin, due to aging, and with various cracks, they look like an old person's skin.

The teddy bear in the room was also badly damaged, except for its eyes, which looked bright and shiny as if someone had been wiping them frequently.

The feeling of being stared at by many eyes grew stronger, making Xu Ming feel a chill run down his spine.

The luxurious bed, piled high with teddy bears, was covered in a thick layer of dust, and with the addition of a bunch of broken teddy bears, it looked like a giant pile of corpses.

The copper exterior of the dressing table was covered in green patina, making the wide-open bear mouth look even more ferocious, as if it had truly become a man-eating monster.

Xu Ming walked to the dressing table and looked in the mirror.

The dust-covered mirror was already somewhat blurry, and I could only vaguely make out my own face.

Xu Ming hadn't noticed anything and was about to turn and leave when he suddenly sensed something unusual.

He put one hand into his pocket and slowly raised the other.

The reflection in the mirror made the same movements.

Xu Ming's expression changed drastically upon seeing this.

He raised his right hand, while the 'Xu Ming' in the mirror should have raised his left hand, but that 'Xu Ming' also raised his right hand...

Perhaps realizing that Xu Ming had discovered it, the figure in the mirror grinned and gave Xu Ming a strange, sinister smile before disappearing from the mirror.

Xu Ming put down his phone with a serious expression; he was a step too slow.

Chapter Ninety-Five: The Castle Hall

Xu Ming inspected the castle but didn't find much of value. However, he was fairly certain that the castle was eerie and dangerous, with something strange lurking inside even in broad daylight.

After leaving the castle, Xu Ming found a clean spot to sit down, playing on his phone while patiently waiting for night to fall.

While there was still time, Xu Ming opened the system and prepared to carefully review the mission briefing.

——'Fairytale Castle (1 stars)'

—Mission Brief: A fairytale castle reveals its hideous face when the blood moon rises…

—Quest hint: When the blood moon rises, find the 'King' and open the door to the 'Fairy Tale'.

—Mission prompt: Don't believe everything you see; make good use of your strength and wisdom.

Force—Xu Ming understood this. Logically speaking, he had just upgraded his phone and acquired a new dagger, so it was time to test his skills.

However, judging from the mission prompts, this mission clearly requires him to unravel some mysteries.

Time flies when you're on your phone.

Before Xu Ming could react, night had already fallen.

Xu Ming took out bread and bottled water from his backpack to fill his stomach, then stood up and dusted off his pants.

I checked the time on my phone.

It was already 9 p.m.

Since solving the mystery would inevitably take a lot of time, Xu Ming decided to enter the castle ahead of schedule.

"what?"

Arriving at the main gate of the castle, Xu Ming frowned, looking at something at the entrance.

It was a 1-meter-tall tin doll with orange-red rust covering its joints. Its head had been pulled out of its neck and placed upside down on the broken neck.

When the wind blew, its head immediately began to sway slightly, making a creaking sound.

With its eerie smile, the tin doll exudes a strange atmosphere.

Most importantly, Xu Ming remembered very clearly that there was absolutely no such tin doll at the castle gate during the day.

It seemed to have suddenly appeared to welcome Xu Ming.

Xu Ming stared at it coldly, while the doll responded with a 'smile'.

Clang!

Suddenly, Xu Ming kicked the tin doll to the ground, then took out his phone and took a picture of it.

Click!