Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

The silent night was graced by a faint, pale light as time reversed to the moment the sun was about to set.

Li Mo's eyes snapped open, and he instinctively touched his neck.

There was no blood, no hole where it had been pierced.

The restart was successful.

He looked up. The western mountains had almost completely blocked the red sun.

There was very little time left.

The light in the surroundings began to dim, familiar yet eerie. Li Mo pulled his thoughts back and began to organize all the information he had collected.

"During the escape, various traps for hunting medium-sized animals were lurking in the dark and were triggered one by one."

"This was premeditated."

"The methods used to create the traps... even though the killer I saw at the end was a bear, that bear is definitely connected to the hunter."

"If I'm not mistaken, the rule was triggered the moment it got dark, not just for Kallen, but for me as well."

"As long as a living person is outside the village at night, this killing rule will be triggered."

A ghost's actions must follow its own rules, but the scene of his last death was still vivid in his mind.

After that ghost had killed Kallen without any warning, it immediately turned its spearhead towards him.

But Li Mo hadn't done much. He had interacted little with the villagers during the day and hadn't agreed to any requests.

The rule he and Kallen had triggered must have been a simple one.

"With the remaining time, I can run back to Yae Village..."

"No, even if I run back, what can I do? If I don't uncover the secrets of the night, I'll never know the true nature of this village."

"This is... the birthplace of the primeval forest's Bizarre Thing."

"There's only one thing I need to do: take Kallen into the small wooden house and observe her for a night, breaking the rule of certain death for spending the night outside the village."

Li Mo used a flash step and sprinted towards the place where Kallen had fallen in his memory. In his state of two deaths, he could only be seen as a flickering afterimage when running at full speed.

This world had Impostors and strange animals.

The two had certain similarities.

He had to figure out what was causing this phenomenon to appear so frequently.

Were all the people in Yae Village Impostors? But why were they different from the Impostors in the outside world? And... why were there no signs of Impostors looking for people at night?

As he pondered, Li Mo had already arrived at the grassy area where Kallen had fallen.

This time, there was no verbal exchange. Li Mo picked up Kallen like a little chick and quickly ran towards the small wooden house in his memory.

"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing?"

"Put me down, I can walk on my own! Who are you?"

Kallen, being picked up, thrashed about, trying to break free.

Due to physical and mental exhaustion, Kallen couldn't break free at all. She could only be held tightly and moved towards the small wooden house at an extremely fast speed.

This speed even surprised Kallen.

Even when she was riding a warhorse raised by the Kaslana family, she didn't have such a fast movement speed. What's more, this was in a forest, with complex terrain and obstacles everywhere.

"We're here."

Li Mo stopped in front of the small wooden house and paused for a moment.

He looked around. The stairs leading to the small wooden house were covered in dust, and moss crept up the stairs to the roof.

The main door was dilapidated, as if it could be easily destroyed with a little force.

But there were no gaps, which was very important.

"Where is this? Why did you bring me to this place?"

"Wait, what did you just say? You can speak European?"

Kallen asked a million questions. Li Mo chose to ignore them and walked straight ahead, pushing open the main door.

Creeeak—

The main door opened with a creepy sound, making Kallen involuntarily shrink back.

The inside of the house was pitch black. It was hard to imagine whether it was safe or dangerous inside. Perhaps a wild beast was hiding inside, waiting for its prey.

Li Mo showed no pity for the fair maiden. He casually threw Kallen inside.

"Oof!" Kallen rubbed her bottom and whimpered with narrowed eyes.

Li Mo looked back behind him, his ears twitching.

There was a faint rustling sound in the woods, just like last time. The bear was here.

Without a doubt, that bear was inextricably linked to the ghost that was hunting them. If they were caught, it would be very miserable.

But Li Mo was not in a hurry to enter the room to take shelter. Instead, he stood quietly at the door, playing a game with the ghost.

He wanted to find out if this ghost possessed human intelligence.

And to what extent.

"What are you doing? You threw me inside but won't come in yourself..."

Faced with Li Mo's strange behavior, an ominous premonition suddenly rose in Kallen's heart. Coupled with Li Mo's pale complexion and cloudy, unfocused pupils, it further confirmed the thoughts in her heart. She couldn't help but retreat, wanting to stay away from Li Mo.

After waiting for about a few minutes, Li Mo still hadn't seen the ghost's true form, not even the bear.

Although from the sound, the other party had already come near the house.

"It has intelligence, but it's not smart enough."

Li Mo made a conclusion.

If that ghost had appeared in front of him swaggeringly, Li Mo would have immediately entered the house and closed the door, judging it to be a ghost that acted according to rules.

Now that the other party had not appeared, it must have known that the small wooden house could block its attacks, so it was not in a hurry to reveal its tracks.

This kind of behavior was something only humans had.

"If it pretended to appear in front of me swaggeringly to confuse me, making me judge it to be a ghost without human intelligence, and then found a suitable opportunity to kill me with one blow, that would be the most fatal."

Li Mo remembered the humanoid spider on the first floor of the haunted mansion. After swallowing several people, its intelligence had risen to a very high level.

In other words, if it weren't for the existence of restarts, he wouldn't have been able to make it even with three death-preventing items.

The humanoid spider had at least prepared three emergency plans and had made Li Mo and Kanagawa Kimu misunderstand its movement patterns.

Thinking of this, Li Mo entered the house and closed the door, turning his gaze to Kallen, who was hiding under the table, shivering.

"No need to hide. I'm the one who saved you, not someone from the village," Li Mo's tone was calm. He walked to the wall and found a candlestick, but the usable candle had already burned out, leaving only a pool of turbid white dead water flowing inside the utensil.

"Ah? Then did you see..."

After that, Kallen asked Li Mo if he had seen any trace of Otto, just like last time. Li Mo's reply did not change.

He didn't need to explain to Kallen why Otto had disappeared, because that was meaningless.

But Li Mo did tell Kallen some information truthfully.

For example, Yae Village was very dangerous at night, and it was even more dangerous outside Yae Village. Also, there was no way out, and the villagers of Yae Village did not want anyone to leave.

As for other things, Li Mo didn't say more. He left the task of persuasion to Grandma Chiyo. He only needed to ensure that Kallen didn't run around.

The conversation between the two thus came to a standstill.

In his state of two deaths, Li Mo had no interest in joking with others.

The small wooden house strangely had no windows. The moonlight couldn't shine in, and the room was pitch black. You couldn't even see your hand in front of your face.

It was fine for Li Mo; darkness was not a factor that blocked his vision. But for Kallen, not to mention being hungry and cold, she had no suitable place to rest, and her spirit became more and more sluggish.

After an unknown amount of time, Kallen couldn't help but ask, "Are we going to spend the night here?"

Li Mo affirmed, "Yes. We can't leave this place a single step before dawn."

"Why? Although what you said is all for my consideration, but... why is the village dangerous at night?"

"If everyone works together, we can subdue any fierce beast that comes at night, right?"

"And you said the villagers don't want us to leave. This kind of thing... as long as everyone sits down and communicates and discusses it properly, they should be able to understand our desire to go home, right?"

Kallen clearly still didn't understand the situation.

The understanding of ghosts and gods in Europe was very shallow.

Li Mo bluntly criticized, "Even between humans, it's impossible to achieve mutual understanding just by sitting down and communicating properly, let alone with ghosts. I don't have the mind to explain more to you. You just need to listen to my words now, that's enough. I will do my best to ensure your safety."

"If you have your own ideas, then you can leave now."

Li Mo's reply was merciless. These cold words were colder than the temperature in the room.

Kallen clenched her fists, not knowing how to answer.

For a twelve-year-old girl, these principles were still too difficult to accept.

To make a Kaslana, who had a pure belief since childhood, admit that they had actually been doing useless things all along?

All their efforts were in vain. There was nothing pure between people.

The idea of trying their best, risking their lives, and spending the rest of their lives trying to make everyone understand each other and create a harmonious and beautiful world together was just a lie that could never be realized.

Was she to admit that this was wrong?

That would be like asking Kallen to admit that ghosts exist.

Li Mo suddenly remembered the priest's lines from the game event:

A person's life will go through three stages of growth.

The first time is when they understand what is right and wrong.

The second time is when they understand that some things are not just right and wrong.

The third time is when, after understanding that some things have no right or wrong, they still firmly do what they believe in and take responsibility for it...

There was once a group of hot-blooded youths who worked together to fight against a dystopian, high-pressure conquest, trying to overthrow an evil rule.

In the course of the story, they gradually discovered that the other party was fundamentally right, and they were just naive.

But none of this was important.

What was important was to survive.

And to survive, you had to deal with the source of the Bizarre.

The atmosphere in the room was a bit stiff. For a long time, the two of them blended into the darkness without saying a word.

Knock, knock!

Two knocks on the door suddenly sounded in the silent environment.

Li Mo immediately drew his anomalous pistol, aimed at the door, and waited seriously.

"Could it be the villagers looking for us? Why don't you let me open the door?" Kallen suggested.

Li Mo denied it. "Impossible. The villagers would never come out at night. You and I are the only ones out in the village tonight. We are both indoors now, so who is knocking on the door outside?"

With that, he walked to the door.

If the person knocking was a living person, then they should have been targeted by that ghost long ago.

Because leaving the village would trigger the ghost's killing rule. Even in his state of one death, he hadn't escaped, let alone a normal person.

Li Mo gripped his anomalous pistol tightly. It was best if the door wasn't opened. Once the door was opened, he had to shoot immediately to suppress it.

Kallen did not hide under the table again, but hid behind Li Mo, nervously watching the slightly shaking, dilapidated main door.

In her perception, this dilapidated main door could be destroyed with just a forceful push.

If there was a pack of wild beasts outside the door, it would definitely not be able to hold.

But fortunately, there was a gun. With a firearm, it would be more than enough to deal with these beasts.

All fear comes from a lack of firepower!

Creeeak—

The moment the door opened a small crack, Li Mo pulled the trigger. A bullet engulfed in eerie blue flames shot out of the barrel.

By the time Li Mo reacted, he found that standing outside the door was a familiar yet strange figure—

A twelve-year-old Yae Sakura.

"Ugh!"

Yae Sakura cried out in pain and subconsciously took a step back.

She seemed not to have expected this. The bullet shot into her left shoulder without any hindrance.

The damage of the anomalous pistol to humans was really limited. It only embedded itself in the flesh, without causing more internal injuries such as ruptured blood vessels and organs, or fractures.

Li Mo's pupils contracted, and he stared intently at Yae Sakura outside the door.

The nether fire was not burning... the wound was very shallow...

A living person?

"Are you okay!" Seeing that the visitor was a cute girl, Kallen immediately rushed forward to check the wound.

Yae Sakura smiled gently, her expression gentle.

She endured the pain so as not to embarrass Li Mo and Kallen.

"It's nothing, just a small wound. There's no need to worry about my injury."

Kallen was stunned. Because Yae Sakura could speak the same language as her, but wasn't she from the village?

Inside the room, the door was opened, and the bright moonlight shone on Li Mo, reflecting a gloomy and indifferent face.

In the darkness, Li Mo asked coldly, "I remember Yae Guji warned us not to leave Yae Village at night. We broke the rule because we had no choice. Then why are you here?"

A person who suddenly appeared, their identity and combat power were secondary.

The reason for their sudden appearance was the most important thing to know.

Enemy? Or friend?

"You're the one who hurt her, and you're still saying such sarcastic words," Kallen defended the injured Yae Sakura.

On the contrary, Yae Sakura accepted Li Mo's unfriendly attitude very calmly. She covered her wound with her right hand, bowed, and sincerely apologized to Li Mo, "I'm very sorry, it was my presumptuousness. I should have asked before opening the door..."

"My name is Yae Sakura. I am the miko of the Yae Shrine. I heard from the villagers that a newly arrived guest left Yae Village and has not returned, so I left the village alone to look for the guest's tracks."

"It's too dangerous here. The guest can follow me now. I will safely escort you back to the village."

Hearing Yae Sakura's self-introduction, Kallen also introduced herself familiarly, "My name is Kallen, Kallen Kaslana. My identity is... uh, a normal person!"

Li Mo confirmed her appearance.

Cherry blossom pink long hair, light green eyes. She wore an off-the-shoulder miko outfit with a black undergarment, and a shimenawa with a knot tied around her waist; she wore white long socks and wooden clogs.

The size of the clothes was slightly smaller overall, roughly the same as in the original work.

But...

Li Mo sniffed and smelled a very strong smell of blood.

He glanced at Kallen. From her expression, she had smelled it too.

He cast his gaze on Yae Sakura's clothes and found some fresh bloodstains. There were also blood drops dripping from the corner of her clothes, and a line of bloody footprints on the path she had come from.

All these signs made Li Mo have to be wary of Yae Sakura outside the door.

He didn't dare to go out, because the notebook had said that the small wooden house was one of the few relatively safe places outside the village.

Although Kallen had walked up to Yae Sakura, she was still indoors.

It wasn't the first time the anomalous pistol and the thermometer had failed. He had to be bold in his conjectures and careful in his probing. That was the safest way at the moment...

The next second, Yae Sakura crossed the threshold and entered the room.

Li Mo: "..."

Kallen: "You hurt someone and you're not going to apologize?"

Li Mo: "Sorry."

Li Mo swore that he was absolutely not scared. The other party was just a little pink-haired girl. There was nothing to be afraid of.

Screech...

The sound of a scabbard scraping against a wooden board was particularly ear-piercing in this small room. The smell of blood became clearer, almost filling the entire room.

Yae Sakura walked towards Li Mo.

Li Mo took two steps back, his right hand clutching a bizarre coin, ready to throw it at any time.

"Someone told me that I absolutely cannot leave Yae Village at night. No one has ever returned to the village alive on the second day. How can you expect me to believe you are a good person?"

Faced with Li Mo's questioning, Kallen was a little angry. She always felt that Yae Sakura was too meek.

Being hurt by someone for no reason and almost dying, yet still being able to swallow her anger and take the initiative to apologize humbly, Kallen could not understand this kind of behavior.

"Please believe me, I will definitely protect you, Mo-kun."

With that, Yae Sakura drew her spiritual blade, Sakura Blizzard, from its scabbard. The sharp blade reflected the blood-red moonlight, and the familiar strong smell of blood came from it.

The thermometer finally reacted at this moment, dropping to over ten, twenty, thirty degrees below zero...

Li Mo immediately opened fire. The bullet ignited the moment it came into contact with Sakura Blizzard.

But after a few seconds, the eerie blue flames quickly dissipated, and Sakura Blizzard was not damaged in the slightest.

This blade was a fierce ghost.

Li Mo concluded.

Wait a minute...

What did she call me just now?

"What... did you call me just now?" Li Mo hesitated for a moment, but still asked.

"Does Mo-kun not like this address?"

Yae Sakura tilted her head, her waist-length cherry pink hair swaying, her eyes filled with confusion.

In her eyes, this address seemed to be a matter of course.

"I don't think I've ever told you, or anyone else, my real name."

"Ah? Is that so..." Yae Sakura was in a dilemma, trying hard to recall why she would address Li Mo in this way.

"I... can't remember clearly. Have we met somewhere before?"

Li Mo directly denied it, "Impossible. We have never met. This is my first time in Yae Village, and my first time in Japan of this world."

There was a problem with her memory. It seemed that her mind contained more than just the memories of "Yae Sakura."

Li Mo quickly analyzed in his mind. The reason was also very simple. Knowing a real name could be done through bizarre means.

But language was something that most people would not learn other languages, let alone a reclusive miko. The Bizarre was not that idle.

Yae Sakura lowered her head, her ears drooping, like a dejected fox, annoyed for doing something wrong.