Chapter 55 - 53: Painted Person

Chapter 55: Chapter 53: Painted Person

The second floor.

Two paintings hung on one of the walls. Below them, a counter displayed various precious antiques: a Jade Bracelet, a horsetail whisk, a chamber pot...

They looked ancient.

And priceless.

In the darkness, a Jade Pendant glowed with a soft, eye-catching light.

However, it was not the main focus at this moment.

Instead, it was the little girl.

She was walking step-by-step toward one of the paintings.

No matter how loudly everyone shouted, she didn’t react. Someone even shone a flashlight directly into her eyes, but she showed no response. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, yet her face was filled with joy.

Everything about the scene felt wrong.

It reminded them of the red embroidered shoes from just moments ago.

Everyone’s faces were filled with terror, their hearts pounding with fear.

They instinctively tried to back away, but the same thing happened again: they couldn’t move!

And this time, it wasn’t just their feet that were stuck—their entire legs were immobilized.

SWISH.

All eyes nervously turned to Xia Yu.

Evidently, Xia Yu’s previous actions had earned everyone’s trust.

"Xia Yu, do you know what’s going on?"

Zhao Xianghe asked.

"I’m not a god."

Xia Yu said without turning her head, her gaze still fixed on the little girl’s expression and movements, trying to analyze the new rule.

Killings by the Ghost Clan and rule-based killings both had patterns. Finding the pattern greatly increased one’s chances of survival.

The difference was that ghosts had thoughts. They could change the conditions for killing, and they could be defeated. Rules were more rigid. Once fully established, their killing patterns could not be changed, and they could not be overcome.

Uh...

Zhao Xianghe looked away, embarrassed. He mustered his courage and said, "This isn’t the time to be scared. Let’s all think of a solution together."

"Brother, you’re closest to the little girl. Try to grab her."

He looked at a man of about thirty, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and had his hair styled in a formal three-to-seven part. Even though his hair was a bit messy now, he still had the air of a successful man.

Zhao Xianghe urged, "We have to stick together this time and proactively find a way out. Otherwise, it will be just like when we encountered the red embroidered shoes downstairs—we’ll die one by one."

"That’s right. Young man, give it a try. See if you can hold her back."

"If you’re scared, we’ll hold onto you. You’ll be fine."

"Yeah, now is not the time to be afraid."

...

Everyone chimed in.

The Disordered Man knew he couldn’t back down now. He hesitated for a few seconds, then grit his teeth and grabbed the little girl’s clothes.

"She’s so strong."

The Disordered Man’s face turned red with effort, but he couldn’t stop the little girl’s advance. He was giving it his all and didn’t let go, instead choosing to call for help. "Help me! I’m losing my grip!"

He reached out to grab the bald man next to him.

"Don’t touch me."

Terrified, the bald man slapped the Disordered Man’s hand away and leaned his upper body back.

"You..."

The Disordered Man’s eyes widened.

’We were supposed to do this together.’

’And you just abandoned me?’

"Then we can all die together!"

He snapped and viciously let go.

Zhao Xianghe frowned, looked at the bald man, and chided, "What’s wrong with you?"

"You shut the fuck up."

The bald man snarled, his face ferocious. "It’s easy for you to talk when you’re not the one in danger."

Zhao Xianghe was instantly cowed.

No one else dared to say anything.

"THUD."

While everyone was arguing, the little girl, who had been walking steadily, suddenly collapsed and went still.

And yet, an even brighter smile spread across her lips.

"Is she dead?"

Everyone’s expression changed.

Including Xia Yu’s!

’How did she die?’

’No external injuries.’

’No scream.’

’Not even the natural convulsions that happen after death. This is too bizarre.’

"STEP."

Another person started to move.

It was a little boy, about the same age as the girl, but his hair was a bit thin, with balding temples.

"Son, what are you doing? Wake up! Wake up!"

"Don’t go over there!"

The bald man’s face was filled with terror as he desperately pulled at the little boy’s clothes.

The little boy’s eyes were just as dull and lifeless as the girl’s had been, only his face showed a look of novelty, as if he had seen something new and was overcome with curiosity.

He was deaf to his father’s cries and continued to move forward.

Soon.

"RRRIP."

The force of their struggle was immense, and the black down jacket tore, revealing a blue sweater underneath.

"No."

The bald man lunged forward. His lower body remained motionless while his upper body bent forward at a full ninety-degree angle, desperately clutching the boy’s arm.

However, driven by some mysterious force, the little boy continued to walk forward, step by step.

Instead, it was the bald man whose arm was being pulled to the point of agony. He looked at the people beside him, his face a mask of desperation. "Please, help me. Save my son."

The people around them all turned their heads away.

Not a single person offered to help.

The bald man’s earlier refusal to help had chilled everyone’s hearts. Many even felt a sense of vindictive pleasure, practically wanting to write ’Serves him right!’ on his forehead.

"CRACK."

The next moment, the boy’s arm was pulled out of its socket, yet he still didn’t react, continuing forward at the same speed.

At this rate, his arm would be torn clean off!

Terrified, the bald man quickly let go.

But once he let go, he could no longer reach his son.

"Miss, please save him! He’s just a child."

"I’m begging you."

He was in agony and filled with regret. Finally, he turned his gaze to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu gave her assessment: "The key to breaking this situation has to be in that painting."

The painting?

The crowd snapped out of their terror, remembering that the little girl had just been killed by that very painting!

It was a silk scroll ink wash painting.

Long texture strokes, swept down with scorched and dark ink, depicted cliffs as steep as folding screens. A river flowed alongside the mountains, winding and twisting. Atop the peaks, the tree trunks were smooth, their branches like sparrows’ claws, and their leaves like drops of ink.

On the wide expanse of the river below the distant peaks were several fishing boats. On each boat, a fisherman was hard at work, his face brimming with a smile of contentment and happiness.

Even someone who didn’t know how to appreciate art could feel that the painting’s style was simple, sharp, powerful, and majestic.

"It doesn’t seem to have anything unusual about it?"

The crowd couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Xia Yu sensed that the painting seemed to have changed slightly.

But she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly had changed.

"What do you all know about this painting?"

She asked, wanting to gather as much information about it as possible, hoping to find a clue.

The group fell into thought.

"Please, everyone, help my son! I beg you! I can give you money, I’ll even kneel for you!"

The bald man had lost all his earlier arrogance. The bizarre situation left him utterly powerless, his face a picture of pleading and humility.

"Everyone, let’s put aside our prejudices."

Zhao Xianghe also spoke up. "This isn’t the time for tantrums or infighting."

"Thank you, thank you."

The bald man was surprised that Zhao Xianghe was actually speaking up for him. He slapped himself across the face and apologized, "I was wrong about what happened earlier. I apologize to you."

"There’s no need for that."

Zhao Xianghe quickly waved his hand and said, "Sigh. We’re all just trying to survive."

"I know some information about this painting."

Just then, a weak voice spoke up.

SWISH.

Everyone’s gaze shot toward the speaker.

"Li Haoran?"

"Quick, tell us."

Zhao Xianghe hadn’t expected that his last surviving friend would know something about the painting, and he hurriedly urged him on.

"It’s the Autumn Mountain Fisherman Painting."

"According to legend,"

"it was painted by a master in his eighties. It’s said to contain a lifetime of Buddhist enlightenment, profound and mysterious. Everyone who looks at it experiences a different state of mind and gains a different insight."

"That’s also why it’s so valuable."

Li Haoran spoke very quickly. "It was once bought at an auction abroad for eighty million by a mysterious Chinese national. I don’t know if this is the one."

The bald man standing nearby was extremely anxious but didn’t dare to interrupt Li Haoran. After he finished, he quickly looked to Xia Yu and asked, "Miss, is this information useful?"

"Yes."

A glint appeared in Xia Yu’s eyes. "No wonder the little girl and the little boy had different expressions as they approached it."

"So that’s how it is."

"This must be one of the rules."

Rules?

The crowd was completely baffled.

Although the bald man didn’t understand either, he saw that Xia Yu was speaking with conviction and felt a glimmer of hope. He couldn’t help but ask again, "Does that mean you have a way to save my son?"

Xia Yu shook her head.

’This isn’t enough.’

’I still need someone to test it, to draw out more information through trial and error.’

"Are you messing with me?"

The bald man instantly flew into a rage.

At that moment, he completely lost it, totally dominated by his emotions.

"You could try covering his eyes."

Xia Yu paid no mind to the bald man’s attitude or words. She just didn’t want to miss this chance for a trial run.

’As they say, illusions are born from the mind. If everyone who sees the painting really does experience a different state of mind, then...’

’What if you don’t look at it?’

’Only one way to find out.’

"Can someone help?"

The bald man’s impending explosion of anger came to a screeching halt. He once again looked pleading. "I’m begging you."

In the end,

Zhao Xianghe came up with a plan. He took off his jacket and threw it to someone closer to the boy, telling them to cover the boy’s head.

Everyone stared intently at the little boy, hoping he would stop.

The little boy’s steps faltered.

"He stopped!"

Everyone’s eyes widened, and ecstatic expressions appeared on their faces.

The bald man was even more thrilled, shouting, "Son! Dad’s over here! Come back, get away from that damned painting!"

Only Xia Yu’s expression remained calm.

’She felt that the rules couldn’t possibly be figured out so easily. The chance of failure this time was high.’

And sure enough.

"THUD."

The next moment, the little boy fell flat on the ground and went still.

The jacket was still covering his head.

He lay on the cold floor, side-by-side with the little girl.

Dead silence filled the air.

A tide of despair washed over them.

"No."

The bald man broke down on the spot. He clutched his head in his hands and roared, "AHHH!!!"

"It was you!"

"You killed my son."

"I’m going to fucking kill you."

He glared at Xia Yu, having completely lost his mind, like a madman.

"You shut your goddamn mouth."

Xie Shaokun couldn’t stand to see Yu being bullied. He brandished his pig-killing knife and bellowed, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"I! AM! XIE! SHAO! KUN!"

"A! WANTED! FUGITIVE!"