Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2147: Chapter 2142: Confinement (16)

"If I accidentally offended you earlier, I apologize..."

In the end, he couldn’t stay seated, and after a few breaths, Brother Tantou hurriedly came out from his studio and whispered an apology behind Fu Qian.

"It’s alright, you didn’t offend me."

This time, he received a response, which, judging by the content, was quite delightful, but unfortunately—

"Can I go back now?"

With a gentle tone, showing no anger, Brother Tantou asked more cautiously, looking at the face that seemed even more suffocating when smiling.

"You truly don’t know what you were saying just now."

The short tower was almost within reach, and he could see the rusty lock atop it. Hearing this, Fu Qian finally halted and looked over with a special expression.

"Alright."

And before Brother Tantou, who seemed about to suffocate under that gaze, could say anything, Fu Qian nodded slightly, slipping his hand into his pocket.

Ding—

A coin identical to those from a breakfast shop was flicked into the air, rolling before being caught in his palm.

"Heads or tails?"

With the result in hand, Fu Qian looked at the artist unwilling to leave his studio and posed the same question.

"I... I need to know what the result would be if I guess correctly."

Even though the earlier nod didn’t alleviate any pressure in his heart, now watching that gripped hand and realizing what it meant, Brother Tantou’s voice was unusually dry.

Compared to the waitress Zhen, he indeed lacked some finesse, even failed to confirm which side counted as heads.

Fu Qian naturally made a comparison with the previous participant in reaction to that.

"Guess right, and you shall be fortunate enough to accompany me."

Not making any distinction, Fu Qian explained as he sighed.

"... Then can I concede defeat?"

In this regard, Brother Tantou finally caught up with Zhen.

No longing for the outcome of guessing right, directly wishing to concede.

"You can."

Yet Fu Qian’s generosity astonishingly persisted, nodding once more, pulling out a hefty pistol.

"Losing means I’ll personally see you back."

...

"I’m sorry, I withdraw my previous request..."

As if a fear lingering since earlier had crystallized into reality at that moment.

After a long daze, Brother Tantou drew a deep breath, his voice seemingly miraculously steadier.

"Let’s continue."

With resignation in his tone accompanied, not a hint of suspicion whether the gun was loaded.

"No, you must first guess."

Unfortunately, events unfolded beyond expectations again, with the hand holding the coin not retracting.

"The game has already begun, so it must yield a result."

Fu Qian maintained a calm demeanor, as if stating rules.

It’s clear this rule allows no violation.

But I...

Appearing nearly daft, the participant clearly hadn’t anticipated a simple sentence pushing him into this predicament.

It was no longer a question of wanting to follow but gambling with life for a chance to follow...

For a moment, he seemed to comprehend the meaning of "You truly don’t know what you were saying."

"I guess it’s tails..."

Realizing the other was an utterly unreasonable villain, certain notions of rational dispute were finally abandoned.

And after another long silence, Brother Tantou arduously provided an answer.

Managing to hold back from amending it after several attempts to open his mouth.

...

Was it really tails?

Fu Qian alike anticipated the other’s possible guess.

And indeed, unlike Zhen, the choice was different—it really was tails.

Pondering how character determines fate, Fu Qian unfolded his hand before the other.

Proving that Brother Tantou, without assistance, succeeded in winning the chance to accompany.

Faced with such a splendid achievement, he personally seemed unable to hide his excitement, his complexion reddening slightly for that instant.

"Congratulations."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian showed no intent to engage in further conversation, as he turned away at that moment, continuing to explore.

The door wasn’t locked, yet heavier than Brother Tantou’s.

Locating the entrance, Fu Qian assessed feedback from his hand while gently pushing the door open in the same manner.

Squeak—

The sound was slightly jarring, but nowhere near as dazzling as the scene beyond.

Though the light was off, it was still discernible under the leaked overhead light.

Vines.

Green that seemed familiar, creeping over spiral staircases, floors, walls, and everything in sight, stretching upward as if leading to the sky.

But they were merely green, even disjointed in places, simply because they were painted with identical lifelikeness to those outside the wall.

"How is it... It wasn’t like this before."

This time, Brother Tantou willingly followed without need of urging, expressing sincere amazement at the scene before him.

...

"How far back?"

Fu Qian didn’t turn around.

"Not more than a month ago, and then Yiven frequently sealed this place off."

Brother Tantou, even knowing the looks of everyone here, cautiously answered.

"Was the wall outside painted by him?"

With a nod of agreement, although speaking ambiguously, Fu Qian trusted Brother Tantou to grasp his implication.

"Yes, Yiven was very talented, but I still can’t understand why he would make it like this... As if no one was here."

Surely without needing further detail, Brother Tantou directly answered, with a palpable homesickness, desiring to conclude the exploration immediately.

"Because they grew up from below."

However, for the final remark, Fu Qian exhibited no reaction, merely looking down at his feet, indeed treating the vines as living.

Yet seemingly not entirely baseless, it was evident the building had another lower level, and amidst the numerous winding vines, they indeed showed signs of convergence—

"I have never seen this before either."

In a blink, the two continued downward, and staring at the scene before them, Brother Tantou promptly showed disbelief.

The vines truly congregated toward a source on the wall—a painting.

A distorted naked body, limbs seemingly suspended by some invisible force.

The abdomen was already torn open, dozens of green-red tinted vines bursting forth.

Yet his face showed no anguish, instead a peculiar delight.

"It’s definitely Yiven’s face, but I can’t fathom why he would let these things grow from his abdomen..."

Despite the lines not being complex, their impact was profound; merely a glance, and Brother Tantou felt disbelief anew.

"They aren’t growing out."

Fu Qian wasn’t surprised by his reaction, stepping forward to casually peel away the painting.

Like a legendary escape story, an irregular passage appeared, its position directly against where the abdomen was.

Indeed, upon closer inspection of the painting, it was obvious the vines weren’t growing out; they were emerging from the back.