Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

[My name is Li Mo. When you see this sentence, I have learned its true name—Grief Seed.]

[I will stand by and watch tomorrow's festival.]

[I will know the meaning of this name, fifty thousand years ago.]

"Fifty thousand years ago..."

Li Mo remembered that when he was talking with Yae Sakura, he had accidentally mentioned the lifespan of the cherry blossom tree.

At that time, he didn't know why he had given the incredible answer of fifty thousand years. He hoped it was just a coincidence.

But... in a supernatural incident, a sufficiently calm person would not make a sudden choice.

Therefore, there was something fishy about the cherry blossom tree's lifespan.

And there was something wrong with him too.

If that being had survived from the previous civilization until now, what did this cherry blossom tree rely on to survive until now? The bizarre power of Yae Village?

But the bizarre rule of Yae Village was to constantly absorb the vitality of living things, so it was impossible to supplement nutrients for a cherry blossom tree.

Then the reason the cherry blossom tree could last for so long was due to the nutrients it absorbed from underground.

He would find a chance to cut it open and see.

As for the Grief Seed mentioned by the notebook, it was probably a manifestation of the bizarre source that was causing Yae Sakura's vitality to drain.

Or rather, the Grief Seed was parasitic on the source of the Bizarre in this world.

Then what was the ritual? The festival?

But over the years, the festival had sacrificed all sorts of people. So why was the ritual still going on?

Li Mo thought for a long time. The behavioral patterns of everyone in Yae Village during the day, although not entirely normal, were mostly those of living people.

There were no organized activities, nor were there any other rituals.

They worked at sunrise and rested at sunset.

The only ritual was the festival, which was held every once in a while.

After each festival, the phenomenon of vitality being absorbed in Yae Village would be greatly reduced.

Was the Grief Seed satisfied and digesting? Or was it for some other reason...

Also, was it really such a coincidence? A festival was to be held just as he arrived.

In the sheep pen, Yae Sakura had said that the festival would be held in three days, but he had not heard it mentioned by Grandma Chiyo or Yae Guji.

Logically, a festival should be announced in advance, but the notebook said it would be held tomorrow.

Then something must have happened during this period.

Something I know but haven't thought of that would speed up the festival's progress...

"What could it be..."

Li Mo refocused his attention on the notebook, trying to get a clue from the content described on it.

After all, the notebook would not lie.

But the notebook did not give the subsequent content. All clues came to an abrupt halt fifty thousand years ago.

Li Mo calmly looked at the notebook, without hesitation, and tapped on the blank space behind it with his finger.

"If these are the only clues you can give, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to act according to your wishes."

"Or are you saying that you know the bizarre rules of Yae Village, and you are betting that I must solve it as soon as possible?"

"I'll give you time to think about how to set a trap that I will willingly walk into. Otherwise, before I die, I will definitely call her over to tear you apart."

Li Mo opened the window. The sky was clear and sunny, as bright as spring.

It was such a good weather. At night, the moonlight would surely be able to shine into the room.

Li Mo propped his hands on the window. His cloudy pupils could not feel the intensity of the light. In his state of three deaths, most judgments would determine him to be a ghost.

Despite this, he still retained a part of himself as a human.

The Fantasy Ghost, the Misfortune Ghost, and the personality stripping and returning in the haunted mansion world.

Over and over, such experiences and gains allowed him to think about problems that only humans would think about in such a terrible state.

Instead of just thinking about dealing with the Bizarre and resorting to any means to achieve his goal.

Although the past and present were not much different.

When he looked back, the notebook showed new content again, as if in response to Li Mo's request, setting a carefully crafted trap.

[My name is Li Mo. When you see this sentence, I am dying, and I am also about to be reborn.]

[Chains bind my four limbs, and firewood is piled up beside me.]

[A flame ignites the firewood, and a fierce fire burns my torso, and thick smoke assaults my lungs.]

[Below the altar are countless indifferent and expectant gazes.]

[And that faint, insignificant cry.]

[The Grief Seed above my head sheds tears, but it cannot extinguish the flames on the altar, cannot extinguish desire and sorrow.]

[I can't smile, but I am very happy.]

[I see Crimson-Dyed Sakura walking towards me.]

[I see Crimson-Dyed Sakura waving Yae Sakura.]

[I see my headless body.]

[I see myself, contaminated, dying bit by bit.]

[Everything should have ended here.]

[However... however... everything has just begun. I hope I can change something this time, or perhaps, I can never change the predetermined course.]

[My name is Li Mo. I whimper, I lament.]

[With this blade, I am invincible.]

[But I know that great power comes with an equal price.]

The notebook stopped showing content. The style had changed, although Li Mo wasn't sure what the rule of this page was.

But he always felt that it seemed to be absorbing the previous rules.

The notebook was transforming.

"So the most crucial part wasn't detailed..."

Li Mo stared at the last few sentences, from "everything has just begun."

It was hard to imagine that he would whimper and lament.

And what blade he would use to be invincible.

The final outcome was also not stated, a complete mystery.

"Will I encounter a cursed blade similar to Crimson-Dyed Sakura later?"

"There's too little information to make an effective judgment."

"But what I can confirm is that I became a sacrifice in the festival, and it was voluntary."

Li Mo leaned against the window, coldly looking at the bustling and lively streets outside. Villagers came and went, trading, chatting...

They looked incomparably simple and kind, yet in the prediction, their gazes at him were cold and expectant.

The coldness could be understood. The sacrifices might just be some livestock in the eyes of the villagers.

Then what was the expectation for? Hoping that he would die quickly and let the village return to normal?

"Chains can't bind me, and fire can't burn me. The only thing that can kill me and prevent me from restarting is the cursed blade, Crimson-Dyed Sakura, in Yae Sakura's hand."

"Why would I take that blow? Why not choose to avoid it?"

Li Mo pondered this question.

He couldn't think of any reason why he would want to die. Did he find some clue in the festival and have to take this blow, or was he restricted by a bizarre rule?

"What I care about more is that the notebook's description of Yae Sakura's sword swing is very strange."

"I see Crimson-Dyed Sakura walking towards me, I see Crimson-Dyed Sakura waving Yae Sakura. The user and the object have been reversed."

"The normal logic should be that Yae Sakura walks towards me and waves Crimson-Dyed Sakura."

"But the notebook won't lie. It must have its reasons for saying so."

"Perhaps, hidden within this is the reason why Yae Sakura can ignore the price of using Crimson-Dyed Sakura."

Li Mo quickly deduced, but still, there was too little information to go on.

So far, he hadn't seen Yae Sakura's mother. Even if he did, it wouldn't prove anything. In this village where cognition was easily disturbed, he could only rely on himself.

Bold guesses, careful verification.

Li Mo faced the notebook and closed it, "Very good. You've provided some useful information, although I still don't understand why I would voluntarily choose to become a sacrifice."

"Or why I wouldn't resist after becoming a sacrifice."

"Either way, it's very strange, but this also indirectly proves that I've missed some important information. Finding that information will reveal the driving force behind the incident."

"What could that information be?"

Li Mo thought hard. Many things in Yae Village were very strange.

There was always a rule in the village that absorbed vitality. As long as one interacted with the villagers, one would be contaminated, and then one's vitality would be stripped away bit by bit by the pollution.

When the vitality dropped to a certain level, one would become a livestock in the eyes of ordinary people, be killed by Yae Sakura, placed on the altar, and sacrificed to the Grief Seed in the sky.

The Grief Seed needed vitality, so why did it choose sacrifices whose vitality was close to zero?

Wait a minute...

What it wanted might not be vitality, but—pollution.

Li Mo seemed to have suddenly thought of something and blurted out, "Cursed Blade·Crimson-Dyed Sakura."

The rules of the Grief Seed and the Cursed Blade·Crimson-Dyed Sakura could complement each other...

Assuming the conjecture was correct, then what the Grief Seed craved was not vitality, but absorbable pollution.

Then it could easily explain why the sacrifices were fallen outsiders, not the natives of Yae Village.

Because the natives were all ghosts, and ghosts could not be killed, they would never become sacrifices.

The Grief Seed did not have the ability to kill ghosts.

Then it could only create a place that the living longed for, and then block the passage to leave, leaving only the cave to enter.

Let all the living who entered become dead.

"It's just like a tomb."

Li Mo gave his evaluation.

"So the reason little Chiyo was the main target that day was not because her vitality was too vigorous, but because she didn't have enough pollution."

"Vitality and pollution are inversely proportional. Pollution will erode life, and the two are in an absolute inverse relationship."

"I am actually also a primary candidate for a sacrifice, because the pollution on me... is probably more than Grandma Chiyo, who has lived here for decades."

"But I still can't understand why I would voluntarily become a sacrifice and be killed by Yae Sakura. That doesn't fit my style of doing things."

"Wait a minute..."

The Grief Seed and Crimson-Dyed Sakura were complementary, but they were also in competition.

Or rather, was Yae Sakura actually on the opposite side of the Grief Seed?

The Grief Seed could only harvest the pollution on the living through festivals.

But Crimson-Dyed Sakura was different. It could devour both ghosts and humans into its blade.

Those who died under the blade would all be swallowed into the blade, not absorbed by the Grief Seed.

But there was one thing Li Mo didn't understand. If the phenomena in the village were caused by the Grief Seed.

Since Yae Sakura was on the opposite side of the Grief Seed, why didn't the Grief Seed let the villagers kill Yae Sakura, or at least interfere with her?

Instead, it went to great lengths to protect her.

It even deliberately made the villagers who turned into ghosts at night stay away from Yae Sakura.

Could it be that the Grief Seed was in love with Yae Sakura?

Was that reasonable?

A ghost, falling in love with a twelve-year-old girl.

"No, that's not right. There's too much information. Whether it's the notebook's description of Yae Sakura and Crimson-Dyed Sakura, or the relationship between the Grief Seed and Yae Sakura in reality, it's somewhat contradictory to the primordial rules of the Bizarre."

"Except for a few incomprehensible existences like Irene, the heavier the pollution on most Bizarre, the more hazy and scattered their spirit becomes. They absolutely cannot maintain normal human thinking."

"The rat swarm can attack Grandma Chiyo who is holding the Bizarre pistol, which means that the ghosts in Yae Village are not actually afraid of bizarre objects and weapons that can threaten their lives. My previous guess was overturned."

"Then the reason for not attacking Yae Sakura is definitely not because of Crimson-Dyed Sakura, but because the existence that caused this village to become bizarre does not allow its derivatives to harm Yae Sakura."

"In addition, the ghosts in Yae Village seem to have incomplete but also very complete rules. The Bizarre pistol can suppress them, but the suppression will be cancelled out by a very complete rule at some point."

"..."

"..."

"The Grief Seed possesses both human consciousness and bizarre rules, coexisting."

"Just like... me."

The scorching sunlight shone into the gloomy cabin, barely illuminating half of Li Mo's gloomy face.

Integrating all the memories and clues, he finally came up with the most likely guess.

All that was left was verification.

Li Mo summarized it into five parts: the villagers of Yae Village, Crimson-Dyed Sakura, the Grief Seed, Yae Sakura, and the festival.

The natives of Yae Village were all ghosts, or rather, dead people. Interacting with them would deepen one's own pollution. They could be communicated with normally during the day, but at night, one would be attacked and it would be very difficult to survive.

Their rules were single and incomplete, but they were connected to some complete rule.

Leaving the village at night would result in being locked on and hunted by ghosts. The ghosts had a general degree of human intelligence, but they could not increase their own intelligence by killing.

The way Crimson-Dyed Sakura killed ghosts was by devouring. After killing a ghost, it would be swallowed into the blade.

The price was unknown, the completeness was extremely high, but it seemed unable to use the rules of the devoured ghosts. According to the notebook's hint, the wielder, Yae Sakura, was suspected of having an inverted relationship with Crimson-Dyed Sakura in terms of identity.

The Grief Seed existed above the altar and was suspected to be the source Bizarre of Yae Village, possessing both human consciousness and bizarre rules.

It harvested vitality by polluting outsiders and harvested pollution through festivals, but this harvesting of pollution was blocked by Crimson-Dyed Sakura.

Then there was Yae Sakura, twelve years old, using the cursed blade Crimson-Dyed Sakura without a price, specially taken care of by the Grief Seed. No matter the time or place, all the ghosts in the village avoided contact with her to avoid taking her vitality.

She knew his real name, and would occasionally fall into a strange state and say inexplicable things.

Finally, there was the festival, which sacrificed fallen living people. Their vitality was absorbed by the Grief Seed before they fell, and the pollution did not enter the Grief Seed, but was devoured by Crimson-Dyed Sakura.

But the Grief Seed had no desire to attack Crimson-Dyed Sakura.