Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

Li Mo: "..."

For this kind of sudden situation, even Li Mo was caught off guard.

But Rin's mischievous personality was indeed confirmed.

And... it didn't trigger the Impostor's rule like last time. This time, it was just Rin playing a joke on him.

"That's great. It seems brother doesn't remember many things about Rin and sister. This way, Rin doesn't have to worry too much about being disliked for her current appearance."

"So you still haven't told me why you did this, absorbing the life of the living who enter Yae Village, and that strange festival."

Li Mo interrupted Rin's self-absorbed reminiscence.

Time was tight. He didn't know how long the Bizarre Finality of this world could hold back the Corrupted Kiana.

To completely deal with the Bizarre source, he had to quickly hold the next festival, sacrifice himself, and end the ritual.

Li Mo didn't know if he would still be alive after the festival.

After all, going to one's death was a big gamble. Either rise again, or have nothing.

Before that, he had to get as much information as possible from Rin.

Rin hesitated for a while and slowly said, "Because sister has been helping me cut down the ghosts that were born because of me, maintaining the freedom of my consciousness."

"But using Sakura Blizzard requires a price, and I happen to be able to purify this price with vitality."

Li Mo: "To put it simply, you will continuously pollute people to obtain vitality to purify the pollution. This is also the reason why Yae Sakura can use the cursed blade without restriction. She herself is a Bizarre, so naturally she doesn't have to worry about the price of Crimson-Dyed Sakura. The pollution she bears will also be passed through your hands and offset by the consumption of the outsiders' lives."

"And Yae Sakura uses Crimson-Dyed Sakura to kill the sacrifices in the festival, as well as the outsiders who have turned into ghosts, to prevent your consciousness from being polluted."

"Am I right?"

Li Mo lowered his hand from Rin's face and moved back two steps to keep a distance from her.

The so-called "purification" was to throw the pollution into the dead lives.

As the only Bizarre source in Yae Village, controlling everything, she would naturally make the ghost swarm avoid Yae Sakura.

The reason she could remain clear-headed after fifty thousand years of pollution was entirely due to Sakura Blizzard and her own abilities.

A ghost blade that could transfer pollution to itself, and a Bizarre that could absorb pollution with vitality.

The two had reached a certain balance.

"Mmm..." Rin nodded, her eyes lowered, somewhat afraid to look directly at Li Mo.

"Brother, do you think what Rin did is right? Is it... very cruel? Those people who came in were all full of a desire for life and expectations for a better life, but in the end, they were turned into nondescript existences by me."

"If it were the everyone from the previous civilization, they would surely find such a Rin very strange..."

In the Grief Seed, Rin slowly closed her eyes, her expression complicated.

Li Mo stood outside, his face ashen.

For a moment, it was hard to tell who was human and who was Bizarre.

The Bizarre was still depressed, while the living person was always indifferent.

"So you're asking me if it's right to take the lives of a few people for the lives of the many?"

Li Mo stared straight at Rin and looked at the silent village behind her.

From the main keep, the houses of Yae Village were like graves in a graveyard, devoid of life.

Even the few dozen houses of the living were gradually dimming, their vitality being constantly stripped away.

"To curb the spread of pollution, this approach is not wrong, and I will not judge whether your actions are just."

"Justice has nothing to do with stance. Everyone has the right to pursue justice. As the enjoying party, you can sing praises, and as the bearing party, you can naturally resist."

"When the position changes, justice will also show its fangs."

"I don't know what kind of mentality the people around you in the previous civilization had towards you. For an era that has experienced destruction, what is justice? For the continuation of civilization, for one's own selfish interests, it is perfectly normal for justice to be trampled on."

"To choose to let your consciousness be polluted out of temporary kindness, what you get in the end is just a self-righteous justice."

"From the point of view of your actions, it is definitely not justice."

After the pollution spread, the number of people who died would be more than just this...

There was another point Li Mo did not say explicitly, and that was in the current era, even he could not say for sure.

Was it better to live in an era of war where people ate people, or to live in a bizarre but still slightly beautiful Yae Village.

At least, the living could have a normal life trajectory during the day.

No matter what you chose, you would lose, you would gain. Evaluation was meaningless, the process was meaningless, and even the result was meaningless.

"After I leave, I will become the Yae Guji, right? I want to know what necessary connection there is between becoming the Yae Guji and entering the main keep."

"At least I can't feel it now."

"Or, perhaps my previous guess was wrong. Entering the main keep will not make me the Yae Guji. It will just give me an extra proof."

Li Mo carefully observed himself up and down, but there were no strange changes.

The reading of the thermometer was already meaningless, because his current state was almost that of a ghost, although his essence was still a living person blessed by rules.

But the thermometer could not tell the difference, and could only give a low temperature prompt.

Faced with Li Mo's questioning, Rin raised her head and looked straight into Li Mo's eyes.

In the dim space, the emerald green eyes were exceptionally strange, reflecting a twisted and strange figure.

"Rin doesn't know much. Most of the time, I stay in the main keep, but I have a better understanding of the ghosts inside my body."

"Brother, try to stretch your body," Rin said.

Li Mo found it strange, but he still did as Rin said and tentatively raised his right hand.

The Bizarre Mei left hand was an incomplete ghost, and a person's limbs were easily affected. Therefore, as long as the right hand was fine, it proved that there was no major change.

However, a strange thing happened. Although there was nothing in his right hand, Li Mo was unable to raise it to a horizontal line.

It was as if there was an invisible gravitational force in the void pulling his arm. No matter how much strength Li Mo used, he could not break free.

Li Mo immediately focused his gaze on Rin's eyes.

In the faint green light, Li Mo saw in Rin's eyes that the pale white spider webs were like fast-growing vines, quickly climbing up his body, tightly entangling him, and covering most of his face.

It extended its thin, sharp feelers, drilled into his hair follicles, and spread through his body, greedily sucking the last wisp of a living person's life aura.

"..."

A special rule was transforming him into a ghost.

It was not that coming to the main keep had triggered this rule. The rule of life absorption had always existed. As long as he had passed through the cave, it had been triggered.

It was just that after entering the main keep, this rule would undergo a fundamental change.

"I see."

Li Mo calmly accepted this fact.

"I have become the demonic beast that the villagers talk about. When I walk out of the main keep, even if it's night now, what awaits me is probably not ghosts, but the villagers playing the role of living people."

"The Yae Guji is not a living person, and I, am not either now."

Yae Guji was not just an identity, but a form of existence.

In Yae Village, there were different rules for different existences.

For the fallen living, a festival had to be held to ensure that the Grief Seed would not erode Rin's consciousness and that the pollution would not spread.

But there was one thing Li Mo was still confused about.

Although Rin could roughly mobilize the rules in Yae Village, did she completely know and control the behavior of the ghosts?

Rin couldn't see what Li Mo was thinking. She thought Li Mo was worried, so she reminded him, "Brother, as long as you stay in the main keep, nothing will happen. Although it's very boring..."

Li Mo glanced at Rin inside the cocoon, turned around, and walked towards the stairs.

Rin frowned slightly, "Brother, you will die if you walk out of here!"

"Stay in the main keep, and Rin can still protect you."

Li Mo turned a deaf ear to Rin's persuasion.

"Even if it's the Herrscher of Finality... Rin can still control it."

Hearing this, Li Mo suddenly stopped.

The Herrscher of Finality...

The Bizarre Finality was Rin's work. She had polluted the Herrscher of Finality of the previous civilization and turned her into a derivative. Under the baptism of time, she had become a ghost.

But she was still under Rin's control.

Li Mo turned around and asked, "Then that girl who tore the Herrscher of Finality to pieces just now, are you confident in defeating her? Even just contending with her."

Rin was stunned. She stammered out an "I..." and then there was no follow-up.

Clearly, she couldn't do it.

"But she left. Rin can't sense her aura in Yae Village anymore," Rin wanted to say more.

Li Mo directly interrupted, "She will come back. It's just a matter of time."

"Why?" Rin asked, puzzled.

Li Mo calmly replied, "Because I am here."

"..."

"..."

The air in the room became quiet. Rin stopped talking, and so did Li Mo.

Rin didn't understand why Li Mo would provoke such a terrifying existence. The obsession in her behavior and the sorrow in her heart, just by peeking at a corner, felt extremely pathetic.

"You are not the truth, Rin. Don't hinder me."

Li Mo left the fourth floor and walked downstairs.

Before, he had thought that he would know everything after seeing the Bizarre source of Yae Village.

But now it seemed that it was just confirming the previous speculations.

There were still more critical strange behaviors that had not been answered.

Rin could not control the behavior of the ghosts in the village, and could only give a general guideline.

Then why did the Yae Guji know that he would enter the main keep? This was clearly beyond Rin's control.

How did Yae Village come into being? What exactly happened in the previous civilization?

"The memories of the Void Archives must have been tampered with. Something related to ghosts must have happened in the previous civilization. What Rin said is proof. And the Void Archives mentioned MEI, which means that MEI existed in this world."

"As the last leader of mankind, MEI's ability is beyond doubt. The only person with the ability and authority to tamper with the Void Archives is her. But why did she tamper with the Void Archives? Isn't it better to preserve the memories of ghosts and let future generations realize the danger earlier?"

Li Mo was perplexed. He began to recall the first time he had discussed ghosts with the Void Archives.

[Ghosts? That's just an existence that exists in human fantasy.]

"The memories of ghosts are blocked, but 'Impostors' are not."

"What exactly is the MEI of this world trying to imply..."

"Wait... ?!"

A terrifying thought appeared in Li Mo's mind. This possibility was definitely a nightmare for mankind.

MEI was replaced by an Impostor...

"No, MEI should not have been replaced by an Impostor. Otherwise, she would have left a trap, not a vague record."

Li Mo remembered what the Void Archives had said about Impostors: [I accidentally found records and descriptions of this kind of existence in ancient ruins, but they have not been confirmed.]

Accidentally? Not confirmed?

Was it really not confirmed? Or was it confirmed but could not be explicitly stated?

Because one of the rules of Impostors was to hide in the sea of people.

At least before they were recognized, they would not show too strong an attacking desire.

But once their true identity was recognized by humans, they would do everything they could to silence them and kill them.

Could this memory have been... compiled to protect the Void Archives?

Wasn't it a bit superfluous?

"From the tone of the Void Archives, it was only surprised why I would know the name Impostor, not why I would know about this matter."

"The previous civilization was already walking on thin ice against the Honkai, and had no time to deal with ghosts. As the leader, MEI would not have put herself in danger to go on an adventure to some so-called 'ancient ruins' that were clearly compiled. There is a loophole in the logic. This may have been deliberately left by MEI."

"So... this modified memory of the Void Archives is public, specifically for the public to see."

"Why was it specifically presented to the public?"

Li Mo thought for a short while. It must be that mankind no longer had the ability to isolate the Impostors hidden in the crowd, so they could only sacrifice a small number of people and concentrate all their energy on fighting the Honkai.

Who knows if even the higher-ups had been infiltrated by Impostors.

Trust had become the most precious thing in the Flame-Chaser era, because even MEI didn't know who she could trust.

"What a desperate situation," Li Mo gave his evaluation.

The end of the world was imminent. Ghosts had already integrated into human society and were killing among the few survivors.

No matter who they dealt with first, mankind had only one way to die.

After thinking for a moment, Li Mo had already arrived on the first floor of the main keep.

Outside the exit, the villagers were neatly lined up on both sides, their eyes staring at him strangely.

There were no torches, no light.

There were no fireflies outside. Perhaps they had sensed the strange aura and had already fled.

The dead silent evening wind blew through the branches, and the fallen leaves rustled, scattered on the cold ground.

There was no sound. Li Mo could not even hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

Of all the people present, there was only half a living person.

And that half a living person was himself.

Li Mo did not walk out immediately. He scanned the villagers on both sides of the road. Their faces were gloomy, and the rotten spots on their faces were extremely dark.

The moment Li Mo stepped out of the main keep, he was lifted up by a few people.

Li Mo tried to struggle, but his limbs seemed to be fixed, as if he were in a coffin, unable to breathe.

Even though he didn't need to breathe.

This scene was very similar to a funeral.

Four people carried his stiff body, and on both sides were the "family members" paying their respects.