But Li Mo saw through her thoughts. Saori Tsuruyo had no intention of searching within the inn. Instead, she was going outside, following the water stains to find the last place Shigure Kira had disappeared.
"Saori, you're a smart person. I don't think I need to explain too much to you. You can understand my thoughts."
"Whether Shigure Kira is alive or dead, you can't interfere now, and neither can I."
"I have no absolute certainty of saving her. It depends more on luck."
The curse of misfortune from opening the Bizarre treasure chest—whether it would be borne by Shigure Kira or by Bizarre Kiana—Li Mo didn't know. The notebook's prediction wasn't specific enough, so he couldn't give a definite answer.
"As for what you want to do next, you can do whatever you want, but I don't want to see you on the Taixuan Tongtian Road."
Li Mo stated it plainly.
He felt that his words might be a bit problematic, but couldn't think of better phrasing, so he added, "Don't go near the Taixuan Tongtian Road."
Saori Tsuruyo, with her back to Li Mo, nodded without a word, then walked straight out the door of the room.
Where she was going, where she could go, Li Mo didn't care right now.
The information was recorded in great detail, with a summary of the deeds of each flesh-and-blood ghost, making it convenient for Li Mo to browse.
However, deducing the certain-death rules and abilities from their behavior was obviously prone to great error. Except for a few flesh-and-blood ghosts that were very obvious, there was no way to investigate the information on the others.
But the known abilities of the flesh-and-blood ghosts couldn't help Li Mo deal with hundreds or thousands of unknown flesh-and-blood ghosts. What he needed was an ability that could indiscriminately restrain, suppress, or even silence the target, regardless of their identity.
Although the notebook would dig traps, it wouldn't lie. It had incited Li Mo to have Saori Tsuruyo and Shigure Kira collect data on all the ghosts in the inn, so there must be a corresponding reason.
It was just unknown whether this reason was what it desired, or what Li Mo needed.
Li Mo patiently flipped through the pages until he reached the last one. On it, there was information on only one ghost—
「Drowned Ghost」
Activity Time: All day.
Rule: Kills the chosen person after three days.
Killing Method: The initial attempt to kill involves dragging the limbs in a lake, which cannot be escaped by brute force. The killing method after leaving the lake is unknown.
Characteristic: For the first two days, the chosen person will feel extreme cold. On the third day, the chosen person's body will undergo a grotesque transformation, with flesh disappearing and being filled with lake water.
Origin: The lake deep within the town.
"Can't be escaped by brute force..."
Li Mo stared at this part thoughtfully. This was information he lacked.
Back then, he had willingly sunk to the bottom of the Mirror Lake without any resistance, letting a withered, shriveled hand from the darkness grab his ankle and drag him down at a fixed rate.
A fixed rate could perfectly explain the inability to resist.
The drowned ghost's dragging of a person should be assisted by a certain rule, a kind of causality. Once grabbed, without the interference of an external force of the same type, one would inevitably be slowly dragged down and eventually sink.
"But the premise is that the drowned ghost and the chosen person or ghost must be in the Mirror Lake. What if I let the Mirror Lake's water flow onto the Taixuan Tongtian Road?"
"No, just touching the lake water might not trigger the drowned ghost's killing rule. The terrain of the Tongtian Road doesn't support the lake water drowning the advancing flesh-and-blood ghosts, unless..."
"The flesh-and-blood ghosts willingly walk into the Mirror Lake."
A faint light suddenly flickered in Li Mo's murky eyes. He immediately jumped out the window.
He didn't use the main door because he couldn't get out; he couldn't cross that threshold.
The Mirror Lake's water couldn't drown every single flesh-and-blood ghost, but if he didn't aim to drown them all at once, it was entirely possible.
All the previous information was now useless. Li Mo had already found the answer he wanted.
It was actually quite simple, just a few keywords: dragging in the lake, unable to resist.
To be on the safe side, Li Mo decided to act tonight and test whether the drowned ghost had the same rule for ghosts.
Although Li Mo was certain it would be equally effective against ghosts, considering other uncontrollable factors, he still had to verify it a day in advance.
It would be best if it could be resolved tonight. If not, there would still be time to think of a way, so it wouldn't be without any room for error.
As long as the plan had no flaws, then Li Mo could hold the wedding at dusk tomorrow, and go to Mount Taixuan at night to find the real Hua, and go home together...
Home...
"..."
"..."
A strange emotion welled up in his heart, which was quite out of place for the current Li Mo. He shouldn't have such human emotions.
So much so that his fast-moving footsteps unconsciously slowed down and finally stopped.
Li Mo took out his phone and stared at it blankly.
Mei had once stored a recording in this phone to prevent him from forgetting himself.
Although in Li Mo's view, it was more like words of comfort. If he really lost himself, how could a single recording help him return to his original self?
Without Elysia's help, the multiplied pollution of the soul after death was almost irreversible. The pollution itself was a kind of original rule, and as the degree of pollution deepened, the rule would also deepen.
The completeness of the pollution had no end. In Li Mo's cognition, even after he died, he could restart, and then the pollution would deepen, becoming a more complete Bizarre, endlessly.
"Home?"
After obtaining the memories related to Hua, all of Li Mo's memories became clear and transparent.
When he mentioned "home," the first thing Li Mo thought of was the rented apartment where he had spent a short but happy life with Kiana.
And then, he remembered the small villa in his own world with Mei, Elysia, Pardofelis, and Hua.
He seemed to have said that he would take Mei out for a walk and a day of fun after the 303 dormitory incident, but a series of unexpected events had left him with no time or energy to devote to the people around him.
He must fulfill his promise after he went back.
Li Mo shook his head, pushing the thought of going home to the back of his mind. The most important thing now was to deal with the contact between the flesh-and-blood ghosts and the human skin ghosts, not to consider irrelevant personal feelings.
Li Mo's eyes instantly became indifferent and cold, as if the fleeting moment of tenderness just now was just a bubble illusion.
Arriving at the shore of the Mirror Lake, he used "Usurp" once again.
He was becoming more and more proficient in the use of this ability, and he roughly understood what the logic of the judgment was.
If he exchanged a certain attribute that he possessed, then he would pay the price of losing that attribute in exchange for a corresponding new attribute.
For example, exchanging memory for memory, life for life.
Li Mo did not take it lightly. He knew that this comparison was very general, so this time he usurped a very long one-way transport pipe.
As the pipe appeared in front of him, Li Mo's lower abdomen suddenly felt a strange movement. A sharp colic spread through his body, but it quickly subsided.
Then, the original rule of Bizarre immortality began to repair the body, and the repaired part was Li Mo's small intestine.
Unexpectedly, in this state, Li Mo's head could be quickly restored even if it was cut off. Even if his whole person was crushed to dust, as long as a single cell, a single atom existed, he could be restored to his original state.
But the small intestine that was paid as the price for "Usurp" was slow to recover.
"I see, usurping the thing itself is also a rule."
Li Mo tore open his lower abdomen and looked down at the scene inside.
The pain was no longer important. If there was a suitable opportunity to observe the collision of Bizarre rules and understand the judgment logic of Bizarre abilities, Li Mo would definitely not let it go.
The completeness of "Usurp" was much higher than Li Mo had imagined, but on second thought, it was also reasonable.
He was only close to Bizarre, while Bizarre Mei was a real Bizarre.
So the recovery of his "undead" was naturally difficult to resist the price of "Usurp."
"...The difference in completeness is a bit big, but the rules themselves seem to have different levels."
The small intestine in his lower abdomen was faintly recovering. Even if it was only a negligible dozen centimeters, it also showed that "Usurp" was gradually falling into a disadvantage.
You know, the left hand obtained from Bizarre Mei was definitely far more complete than his current pollution.
Under this circumstance, the original rule of "undead" could gradually suppress "Usurp," which showed that there was still a difference between the original rule and the extended ability.
Li Mo threw one end of the pipe, which he had exchanged for his small intestine, into the Mirror Lake, and held the other end as he quickly ran towards the middle level of the Taixuan Tongtian Road.
Because the flesh-and-blood ghosts were walking up the stairs, Li Mo could only find another way, climbing from the foot of the mountain to the ridge.
But rather than climbing, it was more like ascending to the clouds, and the speed was much faster than running up the stairs.
On the only way to the Rashomon Gate, Li Mo controlled his strength, reducing most of it, and punched the steps in front of him one by one, creating a huge pit.
If the width was not enough, he would make up for it with depth.
The flesh-and-blood ghosts would not fall into the pit just because there was one in front of them, so something was needed to attract them.
Li Mo took out the Bizarre coin from his pocket, held it tightly in his right palm, and controlled the pipe with his left hand, letting the water from the Mirror Lake flow into the pit.
This process was quite long. While waiting, Li Mo did not forget to be vigilant and observe his surroundings.
New ghosts could appear on the mountain at any time.
"Meow..."
A sharp and ear-piercing cat meow came from behind, from the mountain.
It was really what he was thinking of.
Li Mo did not turn back. He had dealt with the cat-faced old woman too many times and knew how to avoid being killed by her.
The cat-faced old woman did not have an indiscriminate killing rule. Only after making eye contact with her could she begin the process of assimilation.
"Haunting me."
Li Mo commented.
This cat-faced old woman should have known him before she died, otherwise she would not have found him time and time again.
When climbing the mountain, she ignored Changle and the martial artists and dead soldiers, and instead targeted him.
On the first night, she killed everyone in the room and then waited for him to open the door to kill him.
Now she had found him again.
Including the time he avoided her, he had encountered her four times.
"Meow..."
Another familiar cat meow. A dead tabby black cat suddenly fell from the tree above, falling to the ground. Its kidneys all flowed out of its stomach and landed at Li Mo's feet.
The surrounding air suddenly became cold. A chill spread from the top of the mountain and swept to Li Mo's back.
"Meow..."
The third cat meow sounded, and a dull sound of footsteps "thump... thump... thump..." came from behind.
Li Mo's expression was calm. He held the Bizarre coin between his thumb and index finger of his right hand, exposing it to the cat-faced old woman behind him.
"It's time for a conclusion between us today."
The cat-faced old woman who knew everything was perfect for testing whether the drowned ghost's killing method met expectations. It was like getting a pillow when you were sleepy.
Sure enough, the moment Li Mo exposed the coin's view, the cat-faced old woman let out a sharper fourth cat meow: "Meow!"
The footsteps quickened, and she quickly ran towards Li Mo.
Li Mo fixed the coin on the only protruding stone pillar in the pit. Anyone or any ghost passing by could see it, but they would definitely be deeply trapped in the lake water if they wanted to touch it.
Li Mo consciously moved aside, letting the cat-faced old woman walk into the vengeful ghost trap he had set up. A ghost without intelligence had no awareness of the impending danger.
The moment the cat-faced old woman stepped into the lake water, a dry, rotten hand suddenly shot out from the depths of the lake water and firmly grabbed her ankle.
A ghost like the cat-faced old woman could walk on the ground like a normal stooped old woman, or her feet could be suspended in the air, floating forward.
But the moment she was caught by the drowned ghost, the cat-faced old woman had no room for resistance and was slowly dragged into the pit at a fixed rate.
After a while, Li Mo no longer heard the cat-faced old woman's meow.
Li Mo walked up to the pit and looked into its depths. He couldn't see the cat-faced old woman, only a plainly dressed man with white eyes, sinking in the lake water as if he were dead.
"Dead?"
"Will a ghost die after turning into a human... But this seems to violate the original rule of immortality."
Just as Li Mo thought he had found a way to kill ghosts, a reflection appeared on the surface of the lake.
Looking closely, it was the dead man in the pit.
"Still can't kill it..."
Ghosts can never be killed, they only exist in another form. Given time, when the pollution accumulated by themselves is enough, they will make a comeback.
Time is always the friend of Bizarre.
Without thinking too much about it, Li Mo climbed to a distant tree and observed the situation with his phone's camera.
He didn't dare to have contact with unknown flesh-and-blood ghosts. If there was any rule of death upon approach, even if the Bizarre coin was there to attract firepower, it couldn't stop his death.
He had to be careful enough... the closer to the end, the more he couldn't be careless.
Li Mo had seen many people who celebrated halfway. Now the grass on their graves was probably two meters high.
Soon, rustling figures appeared in the camera. No, not human figures, but a dark mass, a wall of people made of twisted and deformed blood clots.
The black, worm-infested flesh rolled, and a large number of mosquitoes, flies, and maggots squirmed inside. The dense insects hovered around the wall of people, making one feel nauseous.
Even from a distance, Li Mo could vaguely smell the overwhelming stench.
These were corpses that had been dead for hundreds or even thousands of years. Because of the Bizarre power, they had not died, but the flesh and blood would not stop rotting.
And in that pile of human walls, Li Mo saw familiar clothes—
Qin Suyī, Jiang Wanru, Jiang Wanxi...
They were also among them. In a supernatural event, no one was ever an exception.