My Notoriety Spreads Throughout the World-Chapter 285 - 258: Blood-Stained Temple Courtyard [Double-Length]

"See, I wasn't lying. The Luminous Lantern Festival is lively, right?" Mori seemed to get burned, puffing and speaking casually.

"With changing times, most of Chichu Heaven no longer sees such traditional festivals. Dragonfly Town, though a small backwater place, can't compare with Chichu City, but the people here value these festivals. What's that word, the human touch?"

The girl's chatter was incessant by her ear, and before her eyes was a bustling scene. Xu Xiaoyou's heart was calm as still water, and she gazed into the distance, relaxing slightly as she leaned back. Since arriving in this world, moments of such relaxation were rare. Apart from the daily routines on the Star of Art with Tang Xin, it had been a long time since she'd stopped to take in the scenery along the way.

Everyone's life is a long journey. Her life was like a straight line, with few forks, only an infinitely long horizon beyond sight. A traveler walking continuously forward would always get tired. She had considered whether to just stay on the Star of Art, spending time with the blue-haired girl, living an ordinary life without many waves and winds.

But troubles kept coming one after another. That relaxed trip with Tang Xin, who could've thought it would turn out like this? Xu Xiaoyou still doesn't know Tang Xin's situation, nor has she even met her once.

In a month, she'll definitely return to the Star of Art to accompany her through the final affection storyline, adding a grand conclusion to the journey on the Star of Art.

The chattering girl wandered off, surprisingly formal before she left. Xu Xiaoyou thought, Mori went to the temple for worship, right? At this moment, a cold laugh rang out inappropriately.

"Heh heh heh."

Turning her head, she saw Angelina leaning against a tree with her arms crossed, the pitch-black "Crow Slaying Ash Armor" taking shape. After days of recuperation, her shattered Divine Gift had finally reorganized.

Since the meeting between the two Fifth-Tier Cleaners in the afternoon, Xu Xiaoyou had called Anya back to her side, and at the foot of the hill in the market, Anya was following in her shadow not far away.

"I bet you're thinking right now how great it would be if this peace could last a little longer," Angelina said.

Seeming to think of something amusing, Angelina chuckled sinisterly twice, and Xu Xiaoyou slightly furrowed her brows:

"Just say what you have to say, Anya."

"This peace here won't last long. Look, over there." Angelina gestured with her chin.

Xu Xiaoyou looked in the direction pointed out, and saw a black car parked in the corner of a courtyard wall, from which a man, covered in blood, was thrown down.

The man got up from the ground, seeing his own reflection in the side mirror, his eyes filled with bloodshot fear, his skin ivory white like transparent porcelain. Catching a glimpse of a reflection passing inside the car, his body shivered violently, staggering towards the crowd.

The man's mouth was parched, the bustling world spinning in his eyes. He wanted to seek help from passersby, but the chilling gaze from behind caused him deep despair, while the dripping sounds in his chest escalated his terror from gall bladder to liver, heart, and finally almost erupting from his throat.

The man trembled, reaching for the medicine pouch in his pocket, dropping several vermilion chunks to the ground, beyond his reach. At this moment, his eyes completely clouded over with gray terror and despair.

In the shadows, the man underwent a massive transformation. Xu Xiaoyou wasn't sure if she was mistaken, but she clearly saw massive spider fangs burst from the man's face, blood spraying, his back bulging with numerous lumps, and a spider leg piercing through his back!

Xu Xiaoyou blinked, and the man was gone, the previous position now empty, as if she had merely seen wrongly.

"That was..."

Angelina shrugged: "Ah, the Young Master who's been following you all afternoon is now getting pushed around in the surging crowd. Could they be in danger?"

Xu Xiaoyou was about to move, but Angelina caught her and pinned her to the wall.

"Anya, what are you doing?"

Angelina was indifferent, hooking an arm around her shoulder: "Possessiveness kicked in. She's not important to you, just an incidental girl, so why care so much?"

Seeing Angelina's teasing gaze, Xu Xiaoyou barely reacted, knowing she was just trying to sicken her: "There are people from the association in the temple courtyard, right?"

"Tch, so boring. If you want to go, just go. If the association notices, I'll leave you behind." Angelina said, arms crossed.

"I actually don't care about you at all."

Xu Xiaoyou directly ignored Angelina, putting on a gray robe, and even wearing a "Dark Gold Rose" mask on her face, she headed into the bustling crowd. Angelina was slightly stunned: "Hey, are you insane?"

She immediately realized the temple courtyard was filled with many "Dark Gold Rose" dressed individuals like Xu Xiaoyou. They were all fanatical followers, uniformly dressed to appear in public, and the association was long accustomed to it. Every day, there were hundreds of "Dark Gold Rose" sighting reports, so Xu Xiaoyou's actions could actually serve as a disguise.

"Idiot, no one's stopping you if you want to get yourself killed!"

Angelina's tone was harsh as another "Dark Gold Rose"-dressed fanatic approached her, the iconic gray robe and smiling mask catching attention.

"Interested in learning about our Dark Gold Rose Cult?"

Angelina glanced at the girl with a childish appearance.

Soon, Angelina, donned in a "Dark Gold Rose" cosplay outfit, dashed from behind the wall, leaping onto the rooftop, swiftly chasing after the departing Xu Xiaoyou. Left behind was the girl, stunned, checking her clothing to ensure she was intact, finally realizing her cosplay outfit had been taken.

"Eh?"

...

In the temple courtyard, Mori calmly inserted her incense into the burner, hands clasped in devout prayer, hoping that one day, under the night, all sins would become exposed.

Of course, she never expected the ethereal to notice her, relying instead on personal power to change everything in adversity.

The lively atmosphere was shattered by a scream.

The sharp cry pierced through people's nerves, deeply embedding in their minds. The moment Mori heard the scream, she sensed something amiss. In Chichu Heaven, arousing people's fear was exceedingly grave, with all horror imagery banned from dissemination.

Surely something had happened. Mori quickly stood up, the faces of those preparing to worship in the temple filled with confusion, doubt, and a bit of uncertainty towards the unknown. She maneuvered around them, sprinting toward the temple's exit. The courtyard was already in chaos, people scattering for unknown reasons, with fear spreading and infecting rapidly.

"What happened?" Mori stopped someone to ask.

"Don't know, don't know, don't ask me, don't ask me. They said someone turned into a monster, hysteria, just hysteria!"

The person's face was filled with panic, evidently incapable of maintaining rational thought. The infectious spread of fear was swift and terrifying. In mere moments, the mountain was engulfed in a vortex of fear and chaos, people trampling and shoving each other, screaming despite no one truly witnessing a monster.

To prevent fear from spreading to the mountain's base, the temple staff closed the gates early. Visitors cried in unison, desperately pounding walls and doors to leave, some climbing over others to escape, only to be beaten down by temple staff wielding long sticks.

"Calm down! Everyone, calm down!" The abbot from the temple staff stepped forward, shouting, his voice penetrating the entire courtyard. Only then did the restless crowd stop, their faces varying in looks of fear.

A man sobbed, kneeling on the ground, tears flowing while retching, and transparent liquid full of white thread-like things emerged. Granules like white rice were scattered within, resembling translucent insect eggs. A person next to him took out his medicine pouch, feeding him a vermilion chunk, and only then did the man's fearful physiological symptoms gradually subside.

"Understand what's happening before spreading fear, or the situation could spiral out of control, leading to irreparable consequences from gossip spreading fear."

The abbot's booming voice gradually calmed the present crowd, but before the fear in their hearts could fade, someone widened their eyes, pointing to the darkness behind the abbot, desperately trying to shout.

The next moment, a blood spray soared high as the temple staff's head was severed by something sharp, rolling to the feet of the people, his eyes bulging wide, the six incense scars marking the bald head very prominent.

From the darkness came the whisper of spider spinning silk.