Chapter 335: Beware the Rabbit (Nine) – Before the Deeply Buried Cave

“I heard that Lord Kannagi is seriously ill, he probably won’t live past this August…”

“Don’t talk nonsense… Alas, a family head as kind and benevolent as Lord Kannagi is rare. How could he contract such a disease?”

“Let’s hold this year’s Fireworks Festival well and pray for Lord Kannagi. May Lord Rabbit God bless him!”

The passersby’s discussions rose up at the appropriate time, clear and audible as if subtitled, pouring into Zhis’s mind.

The storyline Zhis had experienced in the first run quickly concluded. Only at this moment did Zhis fully load into the game, finally able to speak.

Meeting Reiko’s scrutinizing gaze, he smiled, “Because I want to hear Reiko tell it. It’s so boring always telling stories to myself.”

He lowered his eyes, saying somewhat dejectedly, “And, since the Family Head contracted such a disease, I keep wondering if I told the story of Lord Rabbit God incorrectly, incurring His displeasure, and thus inviting this punishment…”

“Xiao Qi, don’t overthink it. How could you tell it wrong?” The suspicion in Reiko’s eyes gradually faded, leaving only concern and kindness. “All of us children memorize those two haiku couplets from a young age. No one could mistake them—

“The Rabbit God descends upon the Northwest, draped in red and colorfully adorned, seated on a high platform, granting blessings for ten thousand generations; the Three Families celebrate the fireworks, the carriage passes through Southeast Street, before the deeply buried cave. You, Kurokawa Akira, and I all know it, how could it be wrong?”

“Perhaps I didn’t tell it well enough?” Zhis, using his wide sleeve as cover, turned on the recorder, his expression earnest. “Reiko, please tell it to me again, okay?”

Reiko tilted her head and looked at Zhis for a moment. Failing to notice anything amiss, she finally nodded hesitantly.

Her eyes glazed over as she murmured softly, “The story of Lord Rabbit God is the story of Rabbit God Town. Two hundred years ago, the land beneath our feet was desolate, without even a fixed name. It was only because of Lord Rabbit God that it later received the name ‘Rabbit God Town.’

“In the earliest times, our ancestors had not yet established their foundation. They had no livestock, no fertile fields, and could only live by hunting. They suffered greatly and hoped that a deity would descend upon the world to guide them.

“Lord Rabbit God was moved by their sincerity. During an autumn hunt, He descended upon the mountain in the northwest and received the heads of the three largest families in the area at the time: Kannagi, Edo, and Kurokawa—our ancestors. He promised the ancestors that as long as their descendants honored Him generation after generation, He could fulfill everyone’s wishes during the annual Fireworks Festival.

“But people’s wishes are simply too numerous. If every wish had to be fulfilled, it would be too much trouble for Lord Rabbit God. Therefore, Lord Rabbit God only grants the wishes of the few most devout families. Whichever family’s child tells His story the best, that family is the most devout, and He will grant their wish.

“Since you, Xiao Qi, are the son of the Kannagi Family Head, your wish is surely for Lord Kannagi’s recovery, right? My surname is Edo, and I still need to ask my mother about my wish, but she always tells me not to worry about anything else, and just wish for what I want most to come true…”

Reiko’s narration gradually became cheerful. Zhis listened and memorized attentively, piecing together the world-view background of the game Escape from Rabbit God Town bit by bit.

First, he confirmed that his relationship with the Kannagi Family Head was father and son. Given the devotion of the residents of Rabbit God Town to the Kannagi Family Head, he should also enjoy some residual favor, or at least not be disliked or ostracized.

Second, besides the Kannagi family, there were the Edo and Kurokawa families, forming a tripod that checked and balanced one another. Reiko was the daughter of the Edo family and seemed to be favored by her clan, allowed to have her own wish.

Finally, the standard by which the Rabbit God judged a family’s devotion was whether their child could tell His story well. The moment Zhis learned this information, the word “Transmission” flashed through his mind.

The three major families passed the story down through generations, and the children spread it by word of mouth, allowing the story of the Rabbit God to be heard by more people. Even the most fabricated legend, if told often enough, would be believed by some.

Those people would also become followers of the Rabbit God and spread this belief, allowing more and more people to know… Zhis couldn’t help but recall the strange persuasion the Cursed Game gave him before entering the instance, which also mentioned that if one’s name and deeds were known by others, one might gain faith.

Was the Rabbit God dwelling in Rabbit God Town also engaged in this step of collecting faith?

Reiko carefully held Zhis’s hand and said happily, “Xiao Qi, both you and I are very good at telling stories, so we will surely receive the favor of Lord Rabbit God. Our wishes might both come true seven days from now.”

The girl’s hand was cold and stiff, lacking elasticity, clearly belonging to a dead person.

Zhis concealed the darkness in his eyes, letting her hold his hand, and asked with feigned concern, “Then what wish exactly does Reiko plan to make?”

“I can’t tell you, or it won’t come true.” Reiko said mysteriously. “It’s not a wish that’s too hard to fulfill. Lord Rabbit God won’t pay attention to overly excessive wishes.”

What counts as an excessive wish? Would asking this so-called Rabbit God to hand over its authority count?

Zhis pondered with interest, genuinely curious about the mechanism by which the Rabbit God fulfilled wishes, wondering how it differed from the Sphinx.

“Xiao Qi, look quickly! They’re selling rabbit masks over there!” Reiko suddenly pointed at a nearby stall and cried out in surprise.

Without waiting for Zhis to respond, she let go of his hand, lifted her skirt, and ran over, picking up a mask and putting it on her face.

She turned to look at Zhis. The protruding rabbit lips and furry face rested on her pale neck, instantly overlapping with the small corpse in the pit.

This rabbit mask was strange; its eyes were hollow and sunken, reminiscent of a skull’s eye sockets; the corners of the mouth were unnaturally stretched into an arc, revealing dense, sharp teeth.

The uncanny valley effect was maximized, triggering a chill in the heart. It was hard to imagine that such a thing would be popular.

The stall owner also wore a rabbit mask on his head. Due to his stout build, he looked more comical than terrifying at first glance.

Looking at Reiko, he chuckled, “You must be Reiko of the Edo family, right? You truly are the child who resembles the Rabbit God the most.”

Reiko stroked the mask on her face and responded joyfully, “Thank you! If that were true, that would be wonderful!”

“Reiko, if you like it, I’ll give you this mask.” The stall owner said with a smile, looking entirely like a kindly adult offering generosity to a child.

“Thank you so much!” Reiko bowed deeply before running back to Zhis’s side.

The bizarre rabbit mask on her face trembled slightly as she ran, its smile stretching even more sinister and exaggerated, as if it had suddenly come alive.

Zhis silently observed the terrifying rabbit beside him, then heard Reiko’s giggling voice coming from beneath the mask: “Everyone has been so polite to me lately! They used to all say that you were the child who resembled the Rabbit God the most!”

“Is that so?” Zhis chuckled lightly, his eyes narrowing into slits.

A sudden change in rhetoric couldn’t be without reason. The possibility of “Xiao Qi,” the character he was playing, being suddenly surpassed by Reiko was slim. There was likely a hidden agenda.

“Resembling the Rabbit God” and “telling the story of the Rabbit God” are not the same concept. The former is closer to the divine and more likely to be chosen to undertake some kind of divine descent ritual.

The haiku in the Rabbit God story says:

【The Rabbit God descends upon the Northwest, draped in red and colorfully adorned, seated on a high platform, granting blessings for ten thousand generations

【The Three Families celebrate the fireworks, the carriage passes through Southeast Street, before the deeply buried cave】

In the opening CG of the instance, Reiko died, her corpse was dragged to the forest and buried, and her face mutated into the appearance of a rabbit, which aligns perfectly with the line “before the deeply buried cave”… Is “resembling the Rabbit God” truly a good thing?

Zhis walked toward the stall selling rabbit masks.

When he was two steps away, before he could speak, the stall owner greeted him from afar: “You must be Nanarō, son of Lord Kannagi, right? I hear you are the most devout child toward the Rabbit God. I’ll give you a mask too.”

He grabbed a mask and held it out enthusiastically toward Zhis.

Zhis: “…”

He looked directly into the stall owner’s eyes behind the mask and said, “I just heard you tell Reiko that she is the child who resembles Lord Rabbit God the most, but before, that was clearly me.”

He lowered his eyes respectfully: “The Fireworks Festival is imminent. I want to ask what I need to do to resemble Lord Rabbit God more. Is there anything I’m not doing well enough?”

The stall owner panicked, quickly offering a placating smile: “Nanarō is already doing very well. We run a small business, so we always say a few words to please people, just to build good karma… Sacrifices are matters for the Family Heads. How could I know the specific details? The Rabbit God Sacrifice is imminent during the Fireworks Festival, and selections generally aren’t changed at the last minute. Perhaps you could ask Lord Kannagi.”

“Is that true?” Zhis asked.

The stall owner wiped the sweat from his neck and said, “If you don’t believe me, I can also tell you that Kannagi Nanarō is indeed the child who resembles Lord Rabbit God the most.”

“Never mind.” Zhis expressionlessly took the mask from the stall owner’s hand.

Regardless, the stall owner provided a useful piece of information: a sacrifice to the Rabbit God would be held during the Fireworks Festival, which seemed highly related to the children.

Furthermore, the Rabbit God Sacrifice was managed by the three Family Heads, who possessed considerable power and could make choices.

The item description for the mask refreshed on the system interface.

【Name: Rabbit God Mask】

【Type: Item (Cannot be taken out of the instance)】

【Effect: Makes you look more like the Rabbit God】

【Note: Don’t attack, we’re on the same side!】

A disguise item, seemingly closely related to the plot of a text-based game.

Zhis held the mask in his arms, returned to Reiko’s side, and quietly asked, “Reiko, what kind of person do you think my father is?”

Reiko snapped out of her joy and asked confusedly, “Xiao Qi, you are really strange today. How can I possibly evaluate your father?”

Zhis’s expression remained unchanged, and he gently coaxed her: “But I really want to know Reiko’s opinion; it’s very important to me. Father always says he got sick because he wasn’t devout enough, and even I am no longer the child who resembles the Rabbit God the most… I think an outsider’s opinion might be more convincing.”

As long as he knew a person’s character, he could design an effective set of targeted rhetorical strategies.

And Lu Ming had conveniently told Zhis about Reiko’s character traits before the second run began.

Reiko indeed fell into the trap, pondering, “How could you possibly not be devout enough? Something must be wrong… I think Uncle Kannagi is a very good person; he always smiles at me. But Mother seems to really dislike him…”

She paused, rubbing her hair worriedly: “Mother also told me not to play with you, but as long as she doesn’t know, it’s fine. I love playing with Xiao Qi the most!”

Zhis vaguely felt that Reiko’s mother might know something. He said calmly, “I think your mother misunderstood me because of someone’s unfair evaluation. Maybe you could take me to see her? Perhaps the misunderstanding could be resolved.”

Reiko shook her head in distress: “After my father passed away, Mother hasn’t allowed me to bring anyone else home. Should I go back and try to persuade her?”

“No need to bother then. And please, Reiko, don’t tell her I said these things, so as not to cause her trouble,” Zhis said.

The prompt 【Save Available】 appeared on the game panel for Escape from Rabbit God Town. He silently recited 【Save】 in his mind.

【Obtained Save Point: Reiko’s Rabbit God Mask】

【After Reiko obtained the Rabbit God Mask, you became worried and subtly questioned the stall owner and her, but failed to obtain more information.

【It seems a conspiracy is growing in the shadows, ready to destroy the current peace and happiness at any moment, but no one knows what it is…】

After reading the narrative text, Zhis knew that something was indeed wrong and a conspiracy was hidden.

He just didn’t know the specific nature of it.

However, the game is named Escape from Rabbit God Town. Could the mission objective simply be to leave Rabbit God Town?

Since Kannagi Nanarō was also a child and was also gifted a Rabbit God Mask, he would likely be affected by the conspiracy. Escaping early would be the simplest and most direct choice.

At most, he could conveniently bring the oblivious Reiko along, and the two could leave together.

Zhis made up his mind, turned his head to Reiko, and said, “Reiko, let’s walk down this street and see what’s outside Rabbit God Town.”

“Why?” Reiko looked conflicted. “We haven’t left Rabbit God Town since we were born. Children aren’t allowed to leave Rabbit God Town. If my mother and your father knew you had this idea, they would both be unhappy.”

“As long as they don’t know, it’s fine,” Zhis sighed softly. “Besides, my original wish was to go outside Rabbit God Town and see. I didn’t expect Father to get sick at this critical moment… I really want to take a look, just one look. Reiko, will you accompany me?”

Reiko deliberated for a long time, then nodded, “Okay, we’ll just go out and take one look, and then come right back.”

Zhis smiled: “Thank you, Reiko. Let’s go now.”

The game panel displayed a map of Rabbit God Town, whose outline resembled the floor plan of Hope Middle School. Although the buildings and facilities were completely different, they could still be roughly correlated.

Zhis followed the pointer on the map, walking along the street toward the northwest. Reiko followed closely behind him, looking slightly nervous.

The houses on both sides became shorter and shorter, and the population gradually thinned out. Only a few scattered adults dressed in black stood by the street, coldly scrutinizing the two children walking slowly forward.

Further on, those adults put on rabbit masks and stood like statues. Their furry rabbit faces turned to follow Zhis’s direction, their gazes faint and deep.

At some point, a fog had risen between heaven and earth, blurring faces and figures. Prayer ribbons drifted down from above, accumulating at their feet. Every ribbon was torn and tattered, as if weathered by wind and rain, originating from a space belonging to death.

“Xiao Qi, I’m scared,” Reiko said mournfully. “Let’s go back quickly…”

“Don’t be afraid, keep walking.” Zhis turned and grabbed her wrist, but felt a handful of short rabbit fur, cold and prickly.