Chapter 1 Fact

Facts have proven that umbrellas can't block sunlight, at least not completely.

Su Lun's reaction was already very fast. When he discovered there was something wrong with the solar eclipse's light, he immediately opened the Rune Black Umbrella.

Unfortunately, he was still dragged in.

He held Qiantiao in his arms, looking around, somewhat clueless. "What exactly happened?"

Everything around them was the same, yet it seemed like everything had changed.

The two were still on that small hilltop, with the brightly lit Edo Castle before them.

But upon closer inspection, it seemed different somehow.

Also, even though it was supposed to be a solar eclipse, why was there a bright moon in the sky?

Moreover, the entire world in their eyes seemed to have a ghostly filter applied, giving off a creepy and terrifying feeling.

Su Lun had a complicated expression. Now that being dragged into this space was a reality, he finally had time to explain in detail.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he said, "We've been pulled into a cursed space."

"Cursed space?"

Hearing this, Qiantiao's expression also became very strange. "Isn't this just Edo Castle?"

"Yes, and no."

Su Lun's tone was very complex. He took a deep breath of cold air before saying, "This is the 'Land of the Yellow Springs'. To be precise, it's the image of the Land of the Yellow Springs from Fujiwara Hayato's writings."

...

If Su Lun hadn't been constantly monitoring the solar eclipse with the All-Knowing Eye, he wouldn't have noticed the anomaly the instant the curse's properties erupted.

Otherwise, he probably would still be in the dark.

But even knowing the essence of the event only made it seem more unbelievable.

The intense conflict between "truth," "perception," and the "sensory world" made him begin to doubt himself.

Did the senses deceive perception?

Did the senses conceal the truth?

Even now, his left eye was flashing with light, constantly observing the surrounding scenery, yet he couldn't find any anomalies.

It was completely like observing a real world, and everything he identified conformed to his "logical cognition."

That was what made it so unbelievable.

Because Su Lun clearly knew that this was a "cursed space"!

But why couldn't he see any characteristics of a cursed space before him?

It was like playing a game. If players see logic bugs or mosaics at the edge of the map, they can immediately tell it's a fake world.

Su Lun had always been able to find some "bugs" with the All-Knowing Eye in any cursed space he encountered before.

But here, there were none.

Not a single one!

This was a truly real world with complete laws!

It made one really believe they had come to the mythical Land of the Yellow Springs!

Seeing this, Su Lun couldn't hide the shock on his face and muttered, "This isn't a cursed space at all. It's clearly a complete world."

Thoughts flashed quickly through his mind.

Before his perception collapsed, he came up with the only reasonable explanation.

If you look down at the ground, you will identify it as [ground].

Only when standing in the universe, with a high and broad enough cognitive range, will you identify the concept of [planet] [plane].

In other words, if you can't jump out of a cognitive world, you can't see clearly where you are.

And they were now in a novel world!

A frog in a well?

Because his understanding of the laws wasn't high enough, he couldn't see through the perfect world depicted by others.

This was the most reasonable explanation.

...

But how strong must one's imagination be to write such a vast fantasy world on their own?

Su Lun immediately realized that Fujiwara Hayato's accomplishments in alchemy must be extremely high.

Eighth-order, ninth-order?

No!

Perhaps there were other external factors involved.

For example, why could his stories become "cursed objects"?

Su Lun's mind instantly thought of too many things.

Hearing this, Qiantiao frowned and scanned everything before her again, casually asking, "Can we get out?"

Su Lun said calmly, "This is a 't-level' space even for top-tier professionals. It will probably be very difficult to get out."

"Oh. T-level, huh..."

Hearing this, Qiantiao raised an eyebrow, and her tightly knit brows relaxed instead.

When the danger level became "no survivors," worrying about it seemed like adding to her troubles.

She took life lightly, and her carefree personality gave her a kind of open-mindedness to take things as they come.

Even in a bad situation, she optimistically suggested, "Then should we go take a look around first?"

After all, Qiantiao also knew that using her brain wasn't her strong suit. She'd leave things like figuring out how to break the situation to the professionals.

"..."

Su Lun understood the meaning in her eyes, and a wry smile appeared on his lips.

He was also infected by her optimism and said, "Alright."

Since they couldn't get out by just thinking about it, taking a look around would be good too.

And maybe find some clues along the way.

After all,

There were usually three ways to break a cursed space.

All of which had to be tried.

The first was to fight the Boss. If you were invincible in the cursed space, it usually meant that your combat power was above the space's laws, and you could naturally get out.

The second was to find the 'cursed material' or 'energy source' supporting the entire cursed space. Usually, this overlaps with the first condition.

Su Lun didn't think they could get out of a "t-level space" by fighting monsters.

The third was to follow the prompts and find a solution.

Su Lun was also glad that he saw the prompt before entering: "Only by gaining the approval of the gods in the world of the book can you come out."

The Yamihide's (Mountain Hermitage) belief system was very complex.

Gods?

Which gods?

Although it wouldn't be easy, at least they had a direction.

...

Just as Su Lun and Qiantiao were chatting, tens of thousands of people in the vast Edo Castle were sucked into the cursed space.

More than ten thousand from the Ninth Fleet of the North Sea Fleet, as well as merchants who wanted to make war fortunes, and foreigners in Edo Castle for various purposes...

As long as they didn't have Yamihide god beliefs, they were all sucked in.

Almost instantly, the news of a large number of living people arriving spread throughout the Land of the Yellow Springs like wildfire.

"So many living people have come..."

"Wow, the smell of living people is so tempting."

"Don't scare them, eat them slowly, kekeke..."

"..."

This was the world of the dead.

Fairies and monsters welcomed their celebratory feast.

...

Su Lun and Qiantiao walked down from the secluded hillside and headed towards the bustling city.

In order not to stand out too much, they both changed into Yamihide local ronin swordsman attire.

The two walked along, chatting as they went.

"So, the previous 'Yellow Springs Manifestation' was actually a sign of the curse's properties overflowing?"

"Yes. Although I don't know how they did it, that's the only explanation."

"Tsk tsk... Takeda Shinno is really cunning. On the surface, he pretended to submit to the North Sea Fleet, but in reality, he had long planned to wipe out these foreigners in one fell swoop. This faith screening directly cleaned up the foreigners and spies from various forces planted in Yamihide. When the time comes to seize imperial power, it will be even more difficult for anyone to interfere in Yamihide's internal politics."

"..."

Although Qiantiao was scatterbrained, her intuition was surprisingly accurate.

She pointed out a blind spot that Su Lun had overlooked.

Faith screening?

This move would indeed wipe out those without divine beliefs.

Su Lun vaguely felt that he had grasped something crucial and thought, what exactly is Mite Yaki trying to do?

But Qiantiao seemed to be more concerned about something else, suddenly becoming very interested and saying, "Does that mean we can really meet those ancient great swordsmen here?"

Su Lun's eyes flickered uncertainly, "Perhaps."

...

The Edo Castle before them was brightly lit, and the orange-red light illuminated the night.

The city was very lively, and you could see dense crowds of people. Like a temple fair, the streets were full of people in various costumes leisurely strolling around. There were various lively stalls on the street, selling steaming food, handicrafts...

It looked no different from the mortal realm.

Su Lun and Qiantiao didn't dare to enter the street rashly, observing from a distance for a while.

Looking at the familiar street before her, Qiantiao curiously asked, "This is the 'Land of the Yellow Springs'? I feel like the houses in Edo Castle are about the same. It seems... there are some changes?"

Su Lun happened to know why and explained, "It is said that the Land of the Yellow Springs is where the dead of Yamihide go. So the deceased will build their residences according to their memories when they were alive, so the architectural styles will be very similar. But there are also some differences. After all, it's not just human deceased living here, but also some monsters and gods. Well... since it's a novel world, there may also be some artistic processing."

Qiantaio had a face of insight, "So that's how it is..."

The two watched for a long time, but couldn't see anything dangerous.

The deathbird on his shoulder was very quiet, and the people in the city were no different from those in Edo Castle, not giving people the sense of urgency that they were in a very dangerous cursed space.

Perhaps it was rated as "t-level" simply because the people who came couldn't get out?

Moreover, at this time, Su Lun also saw some familiar faces appearing on the street, those pirates of the North Sea Fleet.

Because they were going to fight, these people were fully armed, holding guns and cannons, making them highly recognizable.

Not everyone had the All-Knowing Eye. These guys probably didn't realize it was a cursed space yet, and were running around the street recklessly, seemingly trying to figure out what was going on.

But after all, they were undisciplined pirates, so they ate, drank, and took what they wanted in the bustling night market, not forgetting to tease the beautiful women who passed by.

There were constant disputes and some small conflicts, but strangely, nothing strange seemed to happen.

A harmonious scene.

Su Lun guessed something and chuckled meaningfully, "Sure enough, strength is the pass for the strong. Even in the Land of the Yellow Springs, it still works."

He probably knew why those pirates hadn't encountered any trouble.

With a seventh-order professional leading them, and so many people, even ghosts and monsters had to be wary.

This also made Su Lun and Qiantiao feel a lot more at ease. Their strength wasn't weak, and even if they encountered trouble, they had a certain amount of self-protection.

Qiantiao asked, "Then should we go take a look too?"

Su Lun nodded, "Yes."

If they wanted to find a way out, they had to go take a look after all.

...

The two walked out of the hiding alley and joined the crowd on the street.

Their clothes were no different from these "natives", so they didn't stand out at all.

Red lanterns hung on both sides of the street, and the light was slightly dim.

"Hey... what would the guest like to eat? Fried eyeballs, bursting and crispy!"

"Come on, delicious blood sausage noodles..."

"Charcoal-grilled heart and lungs, fried raw souls, big candied hawthorns..."

"..."

As they walked along, there were constant shouts.

On both sides were mostly various food shops, with piles of golden, oily, fresh, and delicious ingredients piled up on the stalls. The air was filled with tempting aromas that stirred people's appetites.

This fragrance was like a hallucinogenic drug, with an irresistible attraction to living people.

Those pirates were impolite, eating and drinking at various stalls, their mouths full of oil.

The Gluttonous General, Ixil Peon, who was fond of the pleasures of the palate, stuffed tons of food into his mouth...

The more he ate, the better his appetite became.

After eating, these people's faces were filled with an extremely pleasant expression of satisfaction.

Even Qiantiao, looking at the appetite-boosting food, swallowed her saliva and said, "The names are a bit strange, but they look very delicious."

Usually, even in a cursed space, you can eat the food.

But Su Lun stopped her from thinking that way and said in a deep voice, "If you eat something here, you will never be able to get out."

This was the information he had identified before.

Now, looking at it, he understood why.

In his perception, the souls of those pirates who were eating and drinking gluttonously were gradually becoming cold, and more and more similar to the "natives" of this Land of the Yellow Springs.

Moreover, if you identified the materials of those foods, probably no one would want to eat them.

Fist-sized candied hawthorns?

No, under the All-Knowing Eye, they were heads of babies.

Charcoal-grilled heart and lungs, fried raw souls... were all made of various human organs as the main ingredients.

"Oh."

Hearing his words, Qiantiao smacked her lips, as if feeling very sorry, but she also lost interest in those foods.

...

He didn't know why, but many young women, geishas, young ladies, and madams were walking back and forth on the street. They were dressed up and mostly looked pretty good.

This also aroused the lust of those pirates who had eaten and drank their fill.

Before long, various kinds of lewd scenes were being staged in various houses, brothels, and dark corners of the streets.

It was as if the pirates had forgotten their situation, forgotten why they were here, and what they wanted to investigate. One by one, they began to hunt for pleasure recklessly, immersed in that morbid enjoyment.

Su Lun and Qiantiao were walking on the street, and because they were constantly observing with a cold eye, they also noticed the abnormality.

Looking at those pirates who were immersed in pleasure, Su Lun said in a deep voice, "Their wills have been eroded and assimilated by this cursed space..."

Qiantaio also nodded in agreement, but a strong look of doubt appeared in her eyes: "It's strange, since it's a cursed space, how can those guys' intelligence be so high, no different from living people."

This was also what Su Lun was puzzled about, and responded, "Yes."

In a normal cursed space, the NPCs that materialized have very low intelligence, and only certain "main consciousnesses" are like living people.

Even Sereia, his teacher who used to be so powerful in the Central Prison of Dawn City, had only a remnant of her soul left, and was missing a part of her cognition.

But now, everyone in this "Land of the Yellow Springs" was like a living person. What was the difference between this and the real world?

In a flash of trance, Su Lun felt as if he was sleepy and confused, unable to distinguish between reality and dream.

In a dream, all unreasonable scenes are reasonable.

Obviously, this was not an illusion.

But because he had encountered it once before in the Sword Casting Village, Su Lun had some guesses and narrowed his eyes, "If this is really a materialized world from a novel, then the great writer Fujiwara Hayato has really brought these characters to life..."

Giving the characters in the novel a soul?

What an incredible ability that was?

But thinking about it again, after this was an unexplainable "perfect world", it didn't seem strange.

What they didn't know was that while those pirates were indulging in pleasure, those pairs of greedy eyes hidden in the shadows of this brightly lit city couldn't wait any longer.

...

"We have to find the gods here. It seems we have to go to the Imperial Palace at the foot of Mount Hakuzan? I don't know what the strength of the gods in this cursed space is. If it's a great demon, we can still fight..."

"Since it's a t-level space, it's definitely not simple. Let's be careful. A frontal assault is the worst option. I think it's best to inquire about information first, at least we have to find out who lives in the Imperial Palace."

"Yes. Where to inquire? Tavern or casino?"

"Let's just ask someone nearby first."

"..."

Su Lun and Qiantiao walked along the bustling night market.

They were trapped, so naturally they wanted to get out.

As the two were thinking about finding a quiet izakaya, Su Lun suddenly stopped.

Because he saw a familiar sign.

"A-Ju's Izakaya?"

Su Lun remembered that he had just come to Edo and ate some food in this small shop. He didn't expect there to be an almost identical one here.

He rolled his eyes, and in order to confirm his idea, he called Qiantiao beside him, "Let's go, let's go in and see."

"Yes."

Qiantaio nodded.

The two lifted the noren and walked in. There weren't many customers inside, only two tables with six customers.

For some reason, Su Lun always felt that when they walked in, some strange gazes swept over.

Qiantiao also noticed it and put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

The two didn't show any abnormal expressions and sat on the high stools in front of the bar.

They ordered some food, but didn't plan to eat it.

Su Lun remembered that the owner of the small shop he had gone to was a middle-aged couple.

But in front of him was a hunched old woman.

Su Lun casually asked, "How should we call you, Grandma?"

Hearing the question, the old woman's expression seemed a little unnatural, and she replied, "Everyone calls me 'Grandma A-Ju'."

Su Lun keenly captured this micro-expression. He could realize that this person had discovered something.

At this moment, the deathbird on his shoulder suddenly "cawed" twice.

Danger was approaching!

Su Lun was even more shocked.

But he couldn't figure out where the danger came from.

There was no time to beat around the bush. He smelled the fried skewers on the plate and deliberately pretended to be enjoying it, tentatively asking, "Oh, I know a shop owner named Ueda Sakurai, her tempura also has this familiar taste."

He also wanted to know, since the intelligence was so high, would she know her descendants.

In other words, was there any connection between this cursed space and the real world?

Hearing this, the old woman was suddenly stunned. She looked at the customers in the store, as if she wanted to say something but stopped.

When Su Lun saw her expression, his hair suddenly stood on end, and he instantly understood: this old woman knew the shop owner in the yang world!

Were these people in the world of the book originally the dead in reality?

Did this really have the effect of the legendary "Land of the Yellow Springs", the return of the dead?

How was this possible...

What kind of masterpiece did Fujiwara Hayato write that actually had this ability that could be called a miracle?!

However, at this moment, the old woman struggled for a moment and finally decided to speak, responding, "Ueda Sakurai is my daughter. My daughter and son-in-law inherited this small shop..."

Su Lun and Qiantiao both changed color at the same time when they heard this.

A kind light appeared in the old woman's eyes. Looking at Su Lun and Qiantiao, she warned in a low voice, "The souls of the two guests are still alive, not evil people. I don't know how you came here, but the Land of the Yellow Springs doesn't welcome living people. Run away... perhaps Asakusa Temple outside the city can still give you some shelter."

Su Lun and Qiantiao instantly had goosebumps all over their bodies.

They thought their flawless disguise had been discovered long ago!

In other words, from the beginning, all the "ghosts" they had encountered along the way knew they were "living people".

Damn it, all the ghosts on that street were acting!

But it was too late to understand now.

The old woman's words seemed to break a taboo. At the same time, the two customers in the store turned their heads at the same time, with pale and strange smiles on their faces, staring straight at Su Lun and the two...

In an instant, the harmonious temple fair night market "ethical film" suddenly turned into a "horror film".