Paintings of Terror

“Based on our analysis just now, I believe there are a few important points that should be circled out,” Mu Yiran continued. “First, the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ is a painting, and it might be similar to the paintings we have entered before, capable of exhibiting a world within the painting.

“Second, we need to determine which version of the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ appeared on our gu-xiang. Currently, there are three possible options: the Northern Song dynasty version, the Southern Liang dynasty version, and the original version. SdWoTi

“Third, we need to consider the properties of the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ as a shamanic book. This is something I think we should pay extra attention to. If ‘spiritual power’ is crucial within the painting, then the shamanic book might not be an ordinary one but one infused with powerful spiritual energy. Now, we see the contents of the shamanic book on our gu-xiang. Is there a connection between them?

“These are the points I consider important right now. Everyone, please feel free to add more.”

“Then let’s start discussion around these three points,” Shao Ling said. “Too many threads can lead to confusion. We can expand our ideas as we discuss, but it would be best if someone takes notes. It will keep our thoughts organized if they are reflected into words and listed in bullet points.”

This group of men glanced at each other, and no one really wanted to be the record keeper—most of them had ugly handwriting. NUVrQB

“At this moment, I deeply miss our comrade Gu Qingqing,” Ke Xun said.

Gu Qingqing had neat and beautiful handwriting and was good at taking notes…

“Let’s vote,” Ke Xun suggested. “I’ll count to three, and everyone points to their preferred record keeper.”

Everyone could see that Ke Xun was trying to lighten the mood, so they nodded in agreement. nqL6c5

“One, two, three.” When Ke Xun finished counting, several hands simultaneously pointed at Shao Ling.

Shao Ling: “…” Feeling he had been bullied in this team…

“Use a laptop to type,” Fortunately Mu Yiran gave him a more considerate solution. But Shao Ling swore he definitely saw Mu Yiran also move his finger slightly and point in his direction just now!

Some people appear to be big shots but secretly doing things like anonymous voting, hmph. DaZWxO

“Regarding the first point,” the secretly cunning bigshot had already moved on to the main topic, “if the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ is a painting and can exhibit a world within the painting, could this world be the original world where the painting incidents began? Or, could it be the first painting in the entire painting incident?”

“If it’s the first painting, then our focus should be on this painting if we want to find the source of the painting incidents,” Zhu Haowen said.

“This leads to the second question,” Shao Ling said. “If this painting is the source of the painting incidents, then which version of the painting is it? Is the painting on our gu-xiang the same version? Why does this painting appear on our bones?”

Everyone pondered for a long time, and finally, Ke Xun shook his head. “We’re stuck at this point. As Prez Shao said earlier, all three versions of the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ have been lost to time. We can never determine its version based on the painting style alone. Let’s put this question aside for now. We might be able to deduce the answer once we gather more information.” otISdE

“Regarding the third point, the properties of the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ as shamanic book might explain Shao Ling’s last question,” Zhu Haowen said. “If it is something imbued with the spiritual powers of shaman craft and contains supernatural energy, then the patterns on our gu-xiang might be influenced by this shamanic power.”

“We know that the previous group of people who entered the painting, like us, also had these patterns on their gu-xiang. This indicates that these patterns can be inherited,” Qin Ci said. “Regardless of which version the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ is, we know the previous group was certainly not the last before us. There must have been many groups before them. Perhaps every hundred years, this painting incident repeats. Tracing back, we might reach the time when this version was first created. The people who entered the painting at that time, the first group that entered the painting, what was their relationship with the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’?”

“Old Qin got to an important point,” Mu Yiran said. “The first group of people who entered the painting would never have been like us, coming from all over the country and didn’t know each other. Given the limitations of their era, the people in the first group must have known each other or were familiar with each other, or they were deliberately gathered together.

“Then, what kind of situation would bring thirteen possibly familiar or deliberately gathered people to the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ painting? AGhbzn

“What conditions did they trigger to start this bizarre and terrifying painting event that has persisted for thousands of years?”

A series of questions shrouded everyone in a fog of confusion, and they couldn’t help but begin to ponder deeply once again.