Everyone was speechless.
What kind of person, what kind of hatred, could curse a family to the point of having no descendants, of being wiped out completely?
Even the last person in the family who was already dead wasn't spared; even as a corpse lying in a coffin, they wanted to be struck by lightning.
"Perhaps the signature or seal is hidden in the truth behind this whole thing," the doctor said. "Maybe if we find the person who cursed this family, we can find the seal."
"How can we find it? It's already dark; there's no way to find it!" Liu Yufei frantically and anxiously pulled at his hair, his greasy braid twisting wildly.
"I'll go drag that old man out and ask him," Ke Xun said, striding to the inner room door and knocking loudly several times, but there was no response.
"Smash it! Smash it open!" Liu Yufei, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed a chair and rushed over, slamming it against the door.
Ke Xun nearly got swept away by Liu Yufei's swing, dodging two steps to the side as Liu Yufei frantically pounded on the
door. The wooden door, however, was as hard as iron; even the chair Liu Yufei was holding shattered, it couldn't break the door in the slightest. "It's no use," the doctor shook his head slightly. "It looks like the door can't be broken open. Check the time."
Ke Xun pulled out his phone; it still showed no signal, and it was already past nine o'clock.
"At nine o'clock tonight, we officially enter the so-called 'human stillness' period in the twelve-hour cycle," the doctor said. "Human stillness means that it's late at night, people stop their activities, and prepare to sleep and rest. No matter how much we pound on the door, that old man has entered 'human stillness' and can no longer move. We've missed the time we could ask him questions; we can only wait until tomorrow."
"How can we wait until tomorrow! I'll be dead tomorrow!" Liu Yufei roared, still desperately kicking the wooden door.
The doctor shook his head and looked at the others: "At this point, even if you ask the other villagers, it'll be the same; no one will appear."
"What to do...what to do..." Wei Dong's lips trembled as he looked at Ke Xun in despair.
"When did we stop being allowed to move around outside designated areas?" Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran.
"I can't be sure." Mu Yiran looked at him. "The first two paintings I went into are different from this one, but generally speaking, you shouldn't move around freely after 11 PM. 11 PM is already midnight."
"I'll go look at the locust tree again." Ke Xun said, striding out the door.
He believed in fate, but never resigned himself to it. He always believed that fate could be changed by oneself.
Mu Yiran stared at his retreating figure, motionless for a long time.
Wei Dong wiped his eyes and staggered out of the room. Mu Yiran turned to look at the remaining people and also stepped out of the room.
The remaining people followed suit, leaving only the frenzied Liu Yufei still desperately pounding on the wooden door.
The village was pitch black at night, thick fog mingled with the menacing smell of an impending storm.
Using his phone's light, Ke Xun found the locust tree. In the dim light, the hundreds of ghostly faces on the tree seemed alive, pale and grotesque.
Ke Xun climbed the tree, darting precariously among the branches, searching diligently for any suspicious traces. The others, not daring to waste any more time, split up and began searching.
In the oppressive, anxious, tense, and fearful atmosphere, time seemed to pass slowly, until a cold phone rang. The doctor lowered his voice and sighed softly, "It'll be almost eleven in twenty minutes. Let's stop here. If we don't get back in time, it might be dangerous."
These words sounded particularly cruel to everyone.
Even if they were unwilling, there was no way to delay any longer. Going back might offer a chance of survival, while not going back meant certain death.
The group remained silent for a moment, then finally walked heavily towards their respective destinations.
Wei Dong was distraught, unable to move for a long time.
Ke Xun clenched his fist and slammed it against a tree trunk, his chest heaving. He gritted his teeth, put his arm around Wei Dong's shoulder, and led him towards the Li family residence. Even after entering the courtyard, he didn't let go, heading straight for the mourning hall.
Mu Yiran sensed something was wrong, grabbed Ke Xun's arm, and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"
"I'm staying with Dongzi at the mourning hall tonight," Ke Xun said, enunciating each word clearly.
"You're courting death," Mu Yiran said coldly, staring into his eyes.
"Even if I don't court death, death will find me; it's all the same," Ke Xun said expressionlessly, meeting his gaze.
"Acting impulsively won't solve anything," Mu Yiran said coldly.
"Maybe," Ke Xun said coldly, "but I can't just watch my brother die. I'd rather die with him, and before I die, I want to know what kind of bastard wants my life. Even if I'm powerless to resist, I'll spit blood all over it before I die."
"Listen," Mu Yiran released his arm, suddenly grabbed his collar, and pulled him close with a single tug. "How you want to die is none of my business, but if it involves me, I won't agree. If it's agreed that two people are in the woodshed, then both of them must be in the woodshed. Unless one of them dies beforehand, the other will suffer a backlash many times over. Of course, you have no obligation to take responsibility for what happens to me, so in this situation, there's only one way to resolve it."
Before Ke Xun could ask a question, Mu Yiran suddenly swung his other hand with lightning speed, striking him squarely on the back of the neck. Ke Xun didn't even have time to dodge before collapsing onto Mu Yiran without uttering a sound.
Mu Yiran caught him and looked at Wei Dong, who was trembling all over.
"I'm sorry." Mu Yiran looked at him. "I think you and he should have understood long ago that from the moment we entered the world of the painting, our lives have been hanging by a thread. If we don't die this night, we might die the next. And what's even more hopeless is that even if you leave this painting, you will enter the next one, just like me, not knowing when it will end. What if it never ends?"
Wei Dong's body trembled violently, and he could hardly stand.
"If that's the case, then struggling to live like this seems meaningless." Mu Yiran's voice was still indifferent and calm. "But we have to try. Maybe after leaving this painting, there won't be another one. So, in my opinion, as long as we can continue to live, there is hope. If we can't continue to live, it might not be a bad thing. I hope that what I'm saying makes you feel a little better." "
...I..." Wei Dong opened his mouth, but could only utter a trembling, indistinct syllable.
"Go in. Time is running out." Mu Yiran's calmness was almost cruel.
Wei Dong seemed to have completely lost his will to act. Upon hearing Mu Yiran's words, he turned and staggered toward the mourning hall as instructed.
Mu Yiran watched him take a few steps, then looked down at Ke Xun, who was lying unconscious in her arms with a furrowed brow. Her eyes flickered slightly, and she pulled him close to Wei Dong's back, whispering in his ear, "After you go inside, find a corner to lie down in. Tuck your head into your collar, making sure nothing is sticking out, including your hair. Then don't move at all. No matter what you hear or what you touch, absolutely do not move. If any noise comes near you, try to hold your breath."
Wei Dong hesitated, turning his head to look at him.
"It's just a method I've speculated on, unproven, and I'm not sure if it will work," Mu Yiran said calmly. "Don't have too high hopes; this is just a last-ditch effort."
Wei Dong turned back and staggered into the mourning hall.
Ke Xun was awakened by a muffled clap of thunder.
When he opened his eyes, it was pitch black all around. Just as he was about to move his limbs, a hand pressed down on him, and a very soft voice whispered in his ear: "Don't move, it's coming."
Ke Xun instantly recalled what had happened before he fainted, and a surge of anger rose within him. He struggled to sit up, but Mu Yiran grabbed his throat and slammed him to the ground.
"Wei Dong won't die. If you move again, I'll knock you out again." Mu Yiran's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, but the chill in his voice was still palpable.
Ke Xun forced himself to calm down, lying motionless on the cold ground.
After a moment, the sounds around him slowly reached his ears.
It was a strange, rustling sound.
It wasn't the sound of paper being swayed, nor the rustling of wind through dry branches, nor the creaking of a door; it sounded like something slowly wriggling.
Mu Yiran's hand silently released Ke Xun's throat, and the instant his fingertips left Ke Xun's skin, Ke Xun felt a slight coolness on them.
So this person can be nervous too. Ke Xun thought to himself, it seems that the thing making that wriggling sound is even more powerful than those paper figures.
As if possessed, Ke Xun reached out and grasped Mu Yiran's hand.
The moment their hands touched, Ke Xun froze, and noticed Mu Yiran stiffen as well.
The body's reactive response to fear was unexpected for Ke Xun; thankfully, this was a critical moment, otherwise, he might have truly had his throat snapped by Mu Yiran.
However, neither Ke Xun nor Mu Yiran moved, because the wriggling sound was already inches away.
Both of them instinctively lowered their breathing. Ke Xun could feel Mu Yiran had hidden them behind the woodpile. The sound was slowly moving around outside the woodpile, like a patrol, when it suddenly stopped at their heads, and the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.
Ke Xun's scalp tingled, and he immediately held his breath.
The surroundings were so quiet that he could hear his heart pounding in his chest.
Ke Xun began to worry that his heart was beating so violently that the 'thing' outside the woodpile might hear him.
In the deathly silence, each second passed slowly and sluggishly, and an invisible, enormous, ominous premonition pressed down on Ke Xun heavier and heavier.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Just as Ke Xun's lungs were about to run out of air, and he was almost unable to hold his breath any longer, there was a "crash."
A piece of firewood blocking his way fell down on its own.
Author's Note:
For Ke Xun, a newcomer to the world of art, everything is bewildering, unreal, and something he tries hard to overcome. Therefore, being with a seasoned veteran like Mu Yiran, who has already been through the art, inevitably leads to clashes of consciousness and beliefs in the early stages. I think a mix of fear and daring, impulsiveness and passion, is more like a normal reaction for a beginner. If he were a gold-level warrior right from the start, it wouldn't make sense and would take away the fun of growth.
So, our protagonist, Ke Xun, will grow; he will become stronger, more stable, and more capable of melting someone's iceberg and igniting their bromance!
Please, my little fairies, stay tuned! Xingyue's son is also your son, so let's raise this kid together and send him off with a grand wedding!
Mwah!