Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

Li Mo was escorted out of the room. The door closed behind him, and he could vaguely make out a slender, shapely figure through the window screen…

Changle was changing clothes.

"You can keep watching if you want to die," one of the guards warned, brandishing his red-tasseled spear.

Li Mo turned away, his focus not on arguing with them but on warning them of the danger and formulating a plan.

However… only three black-clad guards? Weren't there four? Was his memory playing tricks on him again?

Or was the woman bathing inside actually one of the four guards? But then why were the other three calling her "Your Highness"?

He had no memory of that woman at all.

Li Mo asked immediately, "Is she one of you? I remember four black-clad guards and two martial artists climbing the mountain. The two martial artists were definitely men, and there are three of you here, so is she the fourth?"

The guards paused, lowering their spear tips. "Look at your left sleeve. You know her. You should address her as Changle."

Li Mo was puzzled but looked down as instructed.

His sleeve was turned inside out?

That was typical of him. To remember things he might forget, Li Mo would deliberately perform these small, unnecessary actions.

But this didn't guarantee the accuracy of what was recorded.

However, after reading the words on his sleeve, Li Mo confirmed their authenticity.

MEI, Mo, forgotten twice, target Changle.

Anything with MEI's name was most likely left by himself. After all, meaningless content often reflected truthfulness.

If every sentence was important, with a corresponding purpose and meaning, then Li Mo would have to seriously consider whether it was left by a Bizzare Entity.

But when had he carved this?

He had no memory of it at all. Could forgetting be this complete?

"I see. But I still have a question. If Changle is someone I forgot, then why are there only three of you? Where's the other one?"

"..." The guards exchanged glances, confusion evident in their eyes.

They also found it strange. How could they be missing a person? It shouldn't be possible.

Even if they were sound asleep, hearing Changle's cry for help would have instantly awakened them as trained assassins. This was the result of years of training; there had never been an exception.

But today, one of them was missing, and there had been no response after so long.

"Go and bring him here to apologize to Her Highness!" the lead guard said angrily, his face stern.

Following the order, one of the guards rushed towards the fourth guard's room.

In their eyes, Li Mo's combat ability wasn't high, at least not compared to specially trained assassins.

Therefore, two guards were more than enough to keep an eye on him.

The guard quickly reached his companion's room. Strangely, the room was dark. The flame in the brazier had long been extinguished, plunging the entire room into darkness.

"You sleep soundly, Fourth. You didn't even wake up when Her Highness called for help. Prepare to be punished when we return," the guard said, kicking the sleeping figure on the bed.

The figure, known as "Fourth," slowly opened his eyes. In the faint moonlight, he appeared groggy, as if he hadn't woken up properly.

Due to the dim light and the face coverings, the guard didn't notice that the "Fourth" in front of him was a stranger, his face rapidly twisting and deforming.

"Let's go."

The guard grabbed "Fourth's" hand, pulled him off the bed, and led him out of the room.

Completely unaware, he didn't see the portrait on the wall, which was clearly of the Fourth he knew.

The Fourth in the painting opened his mouth wide, staring in terror as the guard led another "him" away.

He wanted to scream but couldn't, struggling desperately, but the guard didn't notice.

Darkness concealed too much.

Gradually, the eyes of the Fourth in the painting became dull and empty. His limbs stiffened, unable to move.

His consciousness rapidly faded, and soon, he became the new portrait.

While they were talking, Changle finished changing and emerged from the room, her high ponytail damp, water droplets dripping from her dark, smooth hair.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she glared at Li Mo, biting her lip.

Since he had already seen everything, there was no need to pretend.

"Don't look at me like that. You should be grateful I'm in a good mood; otherwise, you'd be dead," Li Mo said calmly, seemingly unconcerned about having seen Changle naked.

Luckily, Li Mo was limited to his once-dead state. If he had died one more time, Changle would be dead by now.

However, his actions were still wrong, so Li Mo added, "I apologize for my recklessness earlier. That was my mistake."

"Time is limited. Getting to the point, I don't want to waste words. You can settle the score with me later. You can punish me however you want then. But now, you have to listen to me. That's the only way we can both survive."

Li Mo glanced at the time on his phone. 8:48 pm. The Head Ghost and the ghost stomach were still clashing; it would end in two minutes.

"Survive? You think we're going to die?" Changle asked irritably, her temper flaring. She wanted to argue with everything Li Mo said.

Li Mo replied seriously, "Yes."

"There's something wrong with the rooms. If you stay inside, I guarantee you won't live past tonight."

"If you want to live, take your attendants and your belongings and follow me. I have a way for you to survive the night."

"Why should we trust you?" Changle retorted. "Compared to the others, you're the one who seems more like a demon."

"Then you can stay here. I don't have the time or energy to persuade those who won't listen. What happened earlier was my fault. If you're unhappy, you can retaliate."

With that, Li Mo took out his handgun without hesitation and offered it to Changle.

Seeing Mingyue's decisive manner, Changle pursed her lips. Although she was unwilling, she was someone who prioritized the bigger picture.

A day had passed, and the others hadn't reached the summit. They were probably all dead on the Heavenly Path.

If she hadn't had Mingyue to guide her, she would likely have met the same fate.

In fact, Changle herself felt something was amiss. Everything on Taixu Mountain was too perfect, too unreal.

Especially the Seven Swords of Taixu. They looked human, and they spoke human language.

But their behavior was unsettling. When Mingyue had stopped her from eating, their gazes had all… no, they had simultaneously focused on her and him.

That chilling gaze still sent shivers down her spine.

"Alright… you saw… ahem, we'll talk about that later. Since we've come this far, I will trust you, Brother Mingyue. You don't need to explain further."

"I've always been this way: if I doubt someone, I won't use them; if I use them, I won't doubt them. Tell me directly, what do we need to do?"

Changle sighed, pulling her clothes tighter, glancing nervously at the chest bindings inside the room…

Li Mo: "Bring your people into my room. No one sleeps tonight. Guard the room and don't let anything in, whether it's a cat or a person."

Changle: "What about the other two martial artists?"

Li Mo: "They're already corrupted. Not just them, the Seven Swords of Taixu, even the Jingwei the Immortal, they're no longer human. They're all demons."

Changle: "...I might believe you about the others, but the Jingwei the Immortal? I refuse to believe she has fallen to the demonic path."

"She is the protector of Shenzhou. Even if everyone else falls, she would never."

"Compared to her, your act of gouging out your eyes and then regaining your sight is more like something a demon would do. You can't make such a judgment based on a few clues."

Changle seemed to deeply admire and respect the Jingwei the Immortal.

She would accept everything Li Mo said, except for the Jingwei the Immortal's fall to the demonic path.

Changle: "I won't hide it from you any longer, Brother Mingyue. I came here to seek the Immortal's blessing for the peace and prosperity of my kingdom."

Li Mo: "The peace and prosperity of a nation doesn't rely on an Immortal's blessing. That's just a rumor. If the ruler is mediocre or incompetent, no amount of blessings can save them."

Changle: "My father is a wise ruler."

Li Mo: "A princess? That makes things clearer. But don't forget, you're just a princess, a woman in a feudal dynasty. You might not fully understand what a feudal dynasty is, and you don't need to. Because you'll definitely understand what I'm about to say."

Li Mo stepped closer, less than an arm's length away from Changle. He lowered his head, their gazes meeting, neither willing to yield.

The atmosphere became tense, confrontational.

"If he's a wise ruler, why seek the Immortal's blessing?"

"If he has the Mandate of Heaven, why seek the ethereal?"

[The Mandate of Heaven (天命) is a Chinese political and religious doctrine used since ancient times to justify the rule of the Emperor of China.]

"You're called Changle, right? You're not stupid. Can't you see the contradiction in these actions? Why deceive yourself?"

"I don't know if the Immortal's blessing is effective, but I know that if the ruler is incompetent, the dynasty's fall is inevitable. It's always been this way, and it always will be."

"History is a cycle. No one can change it. The tide of time will wash away every arrogant 'genius' who overestimates themselves."

"Pity those who seek answers from ghosts and gods instead of their own people." [A modified version of a famous line from a poem by Li Shangyin.]

Changle: "...Perhaps you're right, but I have my orders. I must obtain the Immortal's blessing."

"I cannot allow our kingdom to decline under my father's rule."

Faced with Changle's stubbornness, Li Mo stopped trying to persuade her. It was pointless.

What kind of blessing for peace and prosperity could a Bizzare-corrupted Jingwei offer? The prophecies and curses she bestowed could easily bring ruin upon Changle's family, let alone maintain the dynasty.

Li Mo guessed that this feudal dynasty had reached the end of its life cycle, trying to prolong its existence through external forces, namely the Jingwei the Immortal's blessing.

It was like a propaganda campaign. The blessing itself wouldn't have any real effect, but the emperor could use it to appease the people.

This stemmed from the rumor—

Rulers who fail to meet the Immortal will either die prematurely or lose their kingdoms, never meeting a peaceful end.

But if the ruler himself was unwilling to come, sending a sacrificial lamb… even if they met the true Immortal, what would that accomplish? It showed no sincerity.

Having lived for fifty thousand years, Jingwei the Immortal might be untainted by the mortal world, but she wasn't completely ignorant of human affairs. Could she not see through the emperor's scheme?

Sending Changle, along with guards and talented martial artists, to the deadly Taixu Mountain…

The emperor clearly knew the dangers of the climb and was afraid of dying himself, so he had sent Changle instead.

Even if they obtained the blessing, what then? The people weren't fools. Empty promises without tangible benefits would eventually lead to rebellion and chaos.

"Let's end this topic. Everyone's here. Let's go."

Four black-clad guards, plus Changle and himself, six people guarding one room. Their chances of holding out were quite high.

Li Mo glanced at his phone again. 8:50 pm. The confrontation between the Head Ghost and the ghost stomach had just ended.

His room was no longer a death trap but a sanctuary against Bizzare Entities.

It wasn't absolutely safe, but it was much better than outside.

The Head Ghost had also fallen dormant. He could find some ropes to tie it up and put it in a cage during the day.

Li Mo led Changle and the others to his room. The room was dark. The disappearance of the stove made it seem much more spacious.

The ghost stomach's Blood of Decay had been completely devoured by the Head Ghost, leaving only bloodstains on the floor and the Head Ghost's face.

The pungent odor made Changle cover her nose. "Ugh… what's that smell?"

Li Mo replied casually, "The smell of corpses."

The group entered Li Mo's room. Traces of black blood were everywhere. A bloody human head, its features corroded beyond recognition, lay on the floor, its mouth open in a grotesque grin, its throat still moving as if swallowing.

"Don't touch that head. I don't want to be killed because of you."

"There's less than an hour until [Xu Shi] ends. No one sleeps tonight. No lights or fire. Stay in the room. Without the password, no one is allowed to enter."

Li Mo reminded them of the precautions. The black-clad guards wouldn't act rashly, so these words were directed at Changle.

"I'll give each of you a password. You'll each receive a different one. From now on, we only recognize passwords, not people."

Li Mo walked up to Changle and each of the four guards, whispering a different password to each of them.

Changle noticed the open backpack. She clearly remembered Mingyue carrying it during the climb, packed full and looking very heavy.

But now it was empty. Had he been carrying a human head in that backpack all along?

A shiver ran down Changle's spine as she glanced at the head by the bed. What kind of person would carry a human head up a mountain?!