Changle stepped forward and asked tentatively, "Brother Mingyue, could you explain a bit more clearly?"
Due to the angle, the moonlight couldn't reach around the corner, leaving only the faint natural light to illuminate their faces dimly.
Li Mo frowned, staring at Changle for a long time, searching his memory for this face.
Yet, he found nothing. This tightly wrapped man seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
Li Mo retreated a few steps, placing a hand on the weapon at his waist. "Who are you?" he asked, completely bewildered.
"..."
Silence fell. Everyone stared at Li Mo with even stranger expressions.
Was there something wrong with Changle, or with Mingyue?
Or was there something wrong with both of them?
Seeing everyone frozen, their expressions unnatural, Li Mo realized that there might be a problem with his memory.
The black-clad guards revealed their blades again, glaring at Li Mo with hostility.
Fortunately, Changle was mild-mannered. He gestured for the guards to stand down and walked up to Li Mo, patiently explaining, "You can call me Changle, Brother Mingyue. You forgot me once half an hour ago. Perhaps some demon or evil spirit is at work, making you lose your memory of me again."
"Do you truly not remember me at all, Brother Mingyue?"
Li Mo pondered for a moment, concentrating harder, but still couldn't find any memory related to Changle.
Logically, if he had forgotten once, there should be a memory of him wondering why he had forgotten, but Li Mo couldn't find it.
Either everyone was deceiving him, or he had forgotten completely.
If it was the former, Li Mo couldn't think of a reason for them to collectively deceive him. If it was the latter, he couldn't figure out why he would forget Changle.
Li Mo decided to stop thinking about anything related to Changle. If he was just going to forget anyway, there was no point in trying to remember.
"I can carve words on your clothes with True Energy. That way, Brother Mingyue, you'll have proof of what we've said the next time you forget," one of the martial artists suggested.
Li Mo had been planning to do this as well. It was a good solution. If his subjective memory could be altered, then objective facts couldn't be changed, could they?
"Alright."
Li Mo extended his left arm, indicating for the martial artist to carve on his sleeve.
"What should I carve, Brother Mingyue? Is there anything you'll believe just by looking at it?"
"Simple. Carve 'MEI, Mo, forgotten twice, target Changle.' That's enough."
"MEI?"
The martial artist was puzzled by this "Mei" thing. [Mei (梅) is the Chinese word for plum blossom, so the martial artist recognizes the sound but not the romanization.]
Li Mo pulled off a twig and wrote the letters "MEI" on the ground. "Just write it like this."
"Okay."
The martial artist used True Energy, transforming it into a sharp energy blade, and carved the words onto Li Mo's left sleeve.
After this was done, Li Mo turned his sleeve inside out.
If it was just the latter part of the message, he might still have doubts, but with MEI's name added, Li Mo could be one hundred percent certain that he had said this to himself.
No matter the situation, if there was a memory conflict, Li Mo would be more inclined to trust a clue containing MEI's name.
"Mo?"
Changle memorized the character. Perhaps Mingyue's real name contained this character.
"Should we rest now?"
"Yes, anywhere is fine. I recommend resting in the trees, but it's up to you. It's late, not suitable for climbing further. We'll stop here for today."
"Is that so? We could still continue. When our group had over twenty people, we would light fire starters and travel at night."
"...If I'm not mistaken, I think most of the so-called demons you encountered were at night, and they didn't block your path, but attacked suddenly. Even if there were signs, they wouldn't last long, and people would die quickly. After the deaths, they would temporarily leave."
"Eh? How did you know, Brother Mingyue?"
"I don't want to explain. It's a miracle you've survived until now. Night is much more dangerous than daytime. If it were me, and if it weren't for avoiding that strange meow, I would have stopped to rest as soon as the sun set."
"Get some rest. We'll continue climbing tomorrow morning when the sun rises."
Li Mo leaped up and lay down on a tree branch five or six meters high.
Unexpectedly, Changle's group was quite lucky. The one-hit kill rules they had encountered so far had all been single-target.
If they encountered a rule that ignored numbers and triggered instant death, they would probably have been wiped out by now.
Seeing this, the others also jumped into the trees.
Rest was essential. If their mental state wasn't good, they were vulnerable to evil spirits invading their minds, causing them to lose themselves and endanger their teammates.
Although Changle had a protective jade pendant, caution was always advisable, and he didn't let his guard down.
Li Mo simply wanted to maintain his mental clarity. Even in his once-dead state, he still felt fatigue.
He would reach the summit tomorrow, find Hua, and leave.
As long as the source Bizzare Entity wasn't spreading, he didn't need to push himself too hard.
But if there were signs of it spreading, then he would have to stay and deal with it completely before returning to the Original World.
However…
Even with the protection of the Fenghuang Down and the Divine Key, Hua hadn't managed to escape after such a long time…
Was she really still alive?
Li Mo recalled the note MEI had given him: "Remember this, Hua may no longer be Hua."
This Bizzare Entity was likely not a physical rule, and it posed a certain level of threat even to him, with his restart ability.
The idea of killing himself twice crossed his mind but was quickly dismissed.
He could die up to four times now, but in that state, excessive use of Bizzare powers would cause him to lose himself at some point, irrevocably.
In his thrice-dead state, his combat power would soar, and he would be virtually immune to physical rules.
But doing so would cost him two chances to make mistakes, two deaths that could provide him with valuable information.
It was a complete contradiction.
Safer after death, but losing chances to learn.
Vulnerable before death, easily sealed from restarting by a Bizzare Entity, but with more opportunities to learn.
After weighing the options, Li Mo decided to maintain his self. Strength didn't mean everything. Even a powerful being like the Finality, the Herrscher of Finality, could be corrupted by Bizzare Entities, turning into a grotesque existence.
Information was paramount.
And those two dreams… what did they symbolize? What did they mean? What were they trying to tell him?
Li Mo closed his eyes, his consciousness gradually fading.
Everyone did the same. No one kept watch, or rather, everyone did.
As martial artists and half-ghost, half-human beings, their vigilance was far higher than ordinary people. They could wake up instantly at the slightest disturbance.
Unless they were pulled into a Bizzare dream like Li Mo, it was difficult for them to lose focus.
Fortunately, the previous dream seemed to be just a casual attempt by the Bizzare Entity; otherwise, Li Mo wouldn't have woken up so quickly.
Or perhaps the source was too far from Li Mo to maintain the dream for long.
Amidst the tranquility, faint, even breathing sounds echoed through the leaves. Li Mo leaned against the tree trunk, quietly closing his eyes.
But a meow shattered the silence.
"Meow…"
A sharp, piercing meow woke everyone who was resting.
Li Mo was instantly on high alert, scanning his surroundings. There was nothing unusual nearby, but many dead black cats had appeared on the steps below, as if they had just fallen to their deaths. Their innards spilled out, a gruesome sight.
Li Mo quickly looked back. Everyone held their breath, not making a sound.
It was fortunate that his current teammates were sensible and cooperative.
No, he couldn't say that his previous teammates weren't cooperative, because they weren't really teammates.
Teammates needed to be chosen carefully.
Most of those who had followed him were attracted by the secrets and unusual behavior he had displayed, possessing a certain degree of insight and judgment.
So when faced with ordinary emergencies, they wouldn't panic and act inappropriately.
"Meow…"
Soon, a second meow came. A hunched old woman wearing a hat and thick clothes walked slowly up the steps.
Even martial artists found the middle section of the Heavenly Path difficult to climb. How could a frail old woman appear here?
Changle quickly judged that this old woman was a Bizzare Entity.
The black-clad guards drew their blades, preparing to go down and kill her, but Changle stopped them.
He had noticed Li Mo's subtle movements.
Li Mo pulled up his left sleeve, his strong, powerful arm becoming slender and youthful, eventually transforming into the fair, flawless arm of a young girl.
He put his left hand behind his back, his eyes fixed on the old woman below, clenching his hand, holding the silver-gray coin in his palm.
Li Mo didn't throw the Bizzare Coin immediately. He wanted to see the ghost's rules and behavior patterns.
The night breeze rustled the silent leaves.
The hunched old woman looked around, her strange eyes flashing green.
Limited by her posture, she seemed unable to see Li Mo and the others in the trees. She wandered in place for about ten minutes, as if searching for something.
The corpses of the black cats decayed rapidly, swarming with countless white maggots, crawling and wriggling in the wounds and blood.
Flies buzzed around the cat corpses, eventually landing on them, picking at the decaying flesh with their tiny legs.
"Meow…"
The third meow sounded. Without warning, the old woman walked to the tree where Li Mo was, craning her neck upwards, but her hunched back restricted her movement.
She couldn't look up no matter how hard she tried. Li Mo could almost imagine the frustrated expression on the ugly face hidden beneath the hat.
For a person:
The first meow was a warning that she was coming.
The second meow had an unknown meaning.
The third meow meant she had locked onto her target and location, preparing to kill.
But it seemed she needed to make eye contact with her victim, or at least have the target within her field of vision, to fulfill the killing condition.
It just so happened that everyone was resting in the trees. Limited by her body and the hat, the ghost couldn't look up very far, and a small upward glance wouldn't reveal anything directly above her.
They had narrowly avoided danger.
Li Mo gripped the Bizzare Coin tightly, not letting it be exposed to the ghost's gaze.
Changle frantically pointed at his own eyes, extending his index and middle fingers in an exaggerated gesture.
He was warning Li Mo not to make eye contact with the old woman.
Quite perceptive, Li Mo thought.
Although this unknown Bizzare Entity didn't look terrifying at first glance, in this bizarre atmosphere, being able to deduce its killing rule by observing its behavior and inferring its purpose…
That took strong mental fortitude.
Thinking of this, Li Mo couldn't help but smile faintly. Good.
Dealing with Bizzare incidents required this kind of mental resilience.
Of course, Li Mo had no intention of recruiting Changle into his team. After all, they all had their own lives. Not everyone was like MEI, homeless and alone.
Ultimately, those MEI had known were all gone, leaving only Li Mo, who had pulled her out of that living hell.
Home was where you had attachments, where you had family.
"..."
Li Mo snapped back to attention, refocusing on the old woman below, ready to observe the situation.
Suddenly, his left hand trembled violently, as if resisting some bizarre transformation.
"Meow!"
The fourth meow was sharper than the previous three, startling the birds resting in the trees.
The old woman below fell to the ground, her hat falling off, revealing her half-human, half-cat face.
Her green eyes stared directly at Li Mo. In that instant, their gazes met, and Li Mo finally saw her face clearly.
A disgustingly grotesque cat face, with prominent fangs and a large mouth split almost to her ears, grinning eerily.
Without hesitation, Li Mo gripped the Bizzare Coin, ready to throw it.
But after a few seconds, he froze. He couldn't throw it…
His left hand clutched the Bizzare Coin tightly, resisting the commands from his brain.
Use your right hand.
Li Mo immediately used his human right hand to take the coin from his left. At that moment, hair sprouted rapidly on the back of his right hand, emitting a strong, fishy stench from some unknown source.
Like the foul smell of a fishmonger butchering fish on a cutting board at a market.
His left hand belonged to the Bizzare Bud. It was normal that he couldn't throw it with that hand.
Li Mo thought, My right hand is my own. There shouldn't be a problem this time.
But even after making the throwing motion, the Bizzare Coin remained firmly clutched in his hand.
"Mingyue! Your body!"
Changle couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, warning Li Mo.
Li Mo looked down from the corner of his eye and saw that his legs were rapidly atrophying, becoming short and weak.
He was being assimilated.
"Tsk..."
"Can't look away!"
Li Mo could feel his eyes changing uncontrollably, undergoing some kind of grotesque transformation.
The dark world was no longer pitch black, but filled with vibrant colors, almost blindingly bright.
This was definitely not a human ability.
Since this transformation required maintaining eye contact, what he needed to do was very simple.
"Ugh!..."
The nails on his Bizzare Bud left hand were sharp and long. He plunged them into his eye sockets, tearing his eyes out.
The intense pain made Li Mo's face even more terrifying than the Granny Cat-Face below.
"Mingyue..."
Changle gasped, covering his mouth with both hands, his pupils trembling slightly.
The others bit their lips, clenching their fists. The sight of Li Mo was too gruesome to bear.
They watched the horrifying scene with difficulty.
Along with nerves and blood vessels, Li Mo pulled out one of his eyeballs, the other still fixed on the Granny Cat-Face below.
He had no time to rest, no time to hesitate. Any further delay meant death.
His left hand plunged into his other eye socket, repeating the process.
His teeth bit into his lower lip, tearing off a piece of flesh, which fell to the ground below.
With decisive action, both of his eyeballs were removed.
The Granny Cat-Face, seemingly having lost her target, wandered aimlessly for a few minutes before finally leaving.
She would only attack one person at a time.
"Ha...ah..." Li Mo slumped against the tree, weakly gasping for air.
His chest heaved, and blood-tinged sweat dripped from his forehead.
His left hand was covered in blood and gore.
Thankfully, he had a backup plan, or he would have had to use the gun.
The Bizzare Coin definitely disrupted the ghost's attack. He had thought this would temporarily prevent Granny Cat-Face's assimilation, but he couldn't even perform the simple act of throwing the coin.
Both his Bizzare Bud left hand and his transforming right hand seemed to have become another kind of Bizzare Entity, also triggering the rule on the Bizzare Coin.
Left with no other choice, Li Mo had gouged out his eyes.
If that hadn't worked, he would have had to shoot himself and restart.
He wasn't sure if being assimilated by Granny Cat-Face counted as death, or if he could restart from it.
What if the restart considered his cat-transformed self as still him?
So, under special circumstances, Li Mo had to kill himself before the Bizzare Entity killed him.
"Mingyue! Are… are you alright?"
Changle's voice was close. Li Mo could even feel his warm breath.
Li Mo adjusted his posture slightly, gripping the thick tree trunk to steady himself.
He saw nothing but emptiness, not even blackness. No color, just absolute nothingness.
The world of the blind…
"Did my body change back?"
Li Mo seemed unconcerned about having become blind.
Changle said regretfully, "It did change back, but your eyes..."
He trailed off, and Li Mo heard the sounds of movement from the others around him.
"It's fine, they'll recover soon enough."
Li Mo brushed it off, pushing his two eyeballs back into their empty sockets.
This action stunned Changle. "Mingyue, what are you doing?! Putting your eyes back like that won't let you see again! You might get other infections! Take them out, quickly!"
Li Mo didn't explain, but leaned quietly against the tree trunk, feeling the nerves reconnect and the blood vessels reattach to his eyeballs.
Because he was in a once-dead state, the recovery was slow, but it would recover eventually. He wouldn't remain blind forever.
Li Mo sensed the speed of his recovery, roughly estimating that his vision would return by morning.
"Don't worry, my body is a bit special. I'll be fine. You'll see the results tomorrow. Rest now. We narrowly escaped disaster tonight."
"The real danger… is up on the mountain."
"The summit… the Immortal…"
Without finishing his sentence, Li Mo waved a hand, gesturing for everyone to return to their resting places.