Paintings of Terror

The room was unusually quiet. All eyes were fixed on Mu Yiran’s face, awaiting the most crucial revelation.

In order to express it clearly, Mu Yiran picked up a pen and drew a straight line on a blank piece of paper, “Let’s assume this is a timeline. From point A to point B is the time we are currently experiencing.” Mu Yiran labeled A and B at the ends of the line, and drew a forward arrow, “Now, imagine another timeline, exactly the same length as ours, but moving in the opposite direction. In fact, these two timelines are even overlapping. It’s like a single road divided into two lanes, with vehicles traveling towards each other on either side. No matter which side you’re on, the other side appears to be moving in the opposite direction.”

Everyone remained silent, even if they had small doubts, they wanted to wait and hear it all before asking.

Mu Yiran drew another arrow beneath this line, this arrow pointing from point B back to point A, in the opposite direction of the previous arrow.

“No matter how chaotic the time within the painting may be, the overall rules of the painting should remain intact. We have seven days in the painting. This has hardly changed, and the same is true in this painting, ‘Inn’.” Mu Yiran drew several vertical lines on the straight line, dividing it evenly into seven segments, “The seven lines on the wall likely represent the seven days, another reminder and emphasis from the other ‘us’.”

“I’ve always been puzzled by what exactly the intersection point of the two timelines is. Things like lights-off, lights-on, and forced sleep had led me to make incorrect judgments for a long time, until… when Ke Xun brought out these two wooden ducks. It’s likely that these are messages left by the other ‘us’ within their capability!”

“These two wooden ducks, only one of them can stay on the water’s surface. No matter how you change it, only one can survive.” a hint of sadness appeared in Mu Yiran’s expression, “This discovery led me to find the point where the two timelines intersect: death.”

“I-I don’t quite understand,” Luo Bu couldn’t help but mutter, “The fat uncle said that you can see another self after death. Is that what he means?”

Mu Yiran nodded, “Yes, because sooner or later, the ‘us’ from both timelines will meet at the point of their respective deaths. Right now, Xi Shengnan and Lu Heng have both completed this matter.”

“I’m still confused. Even if both sides set off from the two points and go towards each other, is everything happening simultaneously? Why do I feel a lot of things have already happened on their side.” Mai Peng said.

Mu Yiran looked at Mai Peng, “Have you recovered from your cold?”

Only then did Mai Peng realize it. He cleared his throat to confirm, “Strange. I was feeling so dizzy on the way to the funeral that I almost fainted. When I handed down the ropes to tie the coffin at the window, the cold wind almost made me lose consciousness… How come I’m fine now, like nothing happened? What’s going on?”

“This is the influence of the other timeline on us. The other ‘you’ carried Lu Heng’s coffin and caught a cold from the cold wind at the window as a result, hence your cold progressed in a strange, reversed state.” Mu Yiran explained, “It’s an effect the two timelines have on each other that’s somewhat like a magnetic field. This influence is not very precise, but we’ve caught a glimpse of it. I believe the ‘them’ on the other timeline are also being influenced by us, but they seem to have become aware of it before us.”

“This also explains the question Mai Peng raised earlier: You feel that they seemed to have acted earlier than us and that many things on their side have already occurred in advance. Actually, there is no such thing as early or late, or fast or slow. It’s all about the position of our timeline.”

“Let’s continue looking at the diagram. We start from point A. On the first night, the death of Xi Shengnan occurred. On the second night, Lu Heng had an incident.” Mu Yiran’s pen stopped at the second grid on the vertical line, “When we reach the second day, the other side is on the fifth day. When we are on the first day, the other side is on the sixth day. When we just entered the painting, the other side has already completed seven days. This is why the photo we took right after entering the painting showed Du Lingyu drawing lines on the wall. Though it’s hard to see, we can deduce that she was drawing the seventh line.”

Du Lingyu, who was absent just now and didn’t know much about the photo, still nodded at Mu Yiran’s explanation, “Yes, I’ve always felt that the seventh line on the wall resembled my handwriting.”

Zhu Haowen stood up, his expression somewhat complex. He seemed to want to sit down but opted to pace around the room, “So, everyone’s lifespan in this world is the same, right?”

Mu Yiran sighed silently, “Yes, Fang Fei heard about lifespans from the Shamans of the Fluorite Inn. Regardless of how long the lifespans of the NPCs in this world may be, the lifespans of those of us from outside the painting are only seven days. Once we exceed those seven days, there’s no turning back.”

“Death, here, is considered consummation, because people from the two timelines intersect through death. It’s like the two ends of a rope finally meet and form a knot, creating a complete circle of life. According to this theory, Xi Shengnan and Lu Heng have completed their circles and reached consummation.”

Mu Yiran then took out another pen and dipped it in cinnabar, “The red line is our current timeline, the black line is ‘theirs’. This should be more straightforward.”

Mu Yiran wrote Xi Shengnan’s name below and drew a straight line divided into seven segments. The red line only had the length of just one segment, while the black line spanned six.

Following suit, he wrote Lu Heng’s name, and his line was divided into two-fifths: two segments for red and five for black.

“To put it more accurately, a timeline is essentially each person’s lifeline,” Mu Yiran said.

Everyone began to comprehend. In truth, this timeline was remarkably fair in a sense. Each person only had seven days in this world. Regardless of how the two timelines operated or how an individual navigated them, no one could escape the fate of seven days. The combined time of both timelines would always equal seven days.

Qin Ci couldn’t quite believe it, “So, you’re saying ‘they’ are essentially competing with us for time, for lifespan? Lifespan… isn’t lifespan just another term for time?”

Ke Xun listened for a long time and finally figured it out: “I don’t think so. The ‘us’ on the other timeline aren’t anyone else. They’re not the NPCs in the painting. ‘They’ are us. ‘They’ shouldn’t be competing with us. They should be able to make the right trade-offs.”

Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun with a somewhat sad and pitiful gaze.

Ke Xun continued, “Why must it be a competition and not a compromise?”

Everyone was clearly taken aback by Ke Xun’s words, looking at him with disbelief.

Mu Yiran’s voice grew solemn, “‘They’ quickly realized this as well, and unexpectedly, comprehended the difference between illusion and reality. At least some of ‘them’ recognized that their timeline is the false line, while the other side’s is the solid line. The ones who can truly find the signature and successfully leave are only those on the other side! So…”

Mu Yiran found himself unable to continue for a moment.

Ke Xun took a deep breath and continued for him: “So, the duck underwater willingly sinks to the bottom, so that the duck above water can swim to the shore with all its might.”

“And so, they used every means to leave various pieces of evidence for us, hoping to warn us,” Shao Ling understood too, “and they, resolutely and without hesitation, retreated in order to advance to make the final sacrifice.”

Ke Xun glanced at Du Lingyu, who was standing in the corner, and suddenly understood her previous words: the “advance forward with unwavering determination, without compromise or hesitation.”; the “we will be all be with you”; the “this step backward is for the sake of moving forward in the long run.: All of us stand united to take this step together. Even if this is a step backward, this step backward is for the sake of moving forward in the long run! Even if that step backward leads to a deep abyss, we will get eternal light in return. ｂｅ𝚍𝚗𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．ｃ𝚘𝚖

There were soft sobs in the room; it was from Du Lingyu in the corner. Her eyes were red and swollen as she looked up, “I vaguely remember some things. Yes, it’s like this. I was the last one. I was too timid to face death…… Ke Xun was the first one. After figuring it out, he was the first to sacrifice himself. He told me, ‘Don’t be afraid, we will all be with you.’ That’s what he said to me… But I didn’t listen to him then…”

Du Lingyu’s voice choked up as she spoke, unable to continue.

Hearing this, Zhu Haowen’s eyes reddened, looking at Ke Xun, “The first… Ke Xun, you… you’re such a damn bastard!”

Mu Yiran attempted to regain his composure, “So, if the ‘other’ Ke Xun keeps his lifespan within two days, he gains five days of life for today’s Ke Xun, and more time to find the signature.”

All of them suddenly understood the content of the photo from the previous night. Every veteran member of the group had mournful expressions. That time should be when Ke Xun had left.

“How could we not have been together?” Ke Xun said, looking at Mu Yiran.

“Perhaps I was too timid,” Mu Yiran replied, hardly able to believe that he could still make a joke at a time like this. He approached Ke Xun and hugged him tightly, as though trying to merge this man into his own heart, so that the two of them would never separate. “Back then, we must have had a strategic plan, with different roles for each person… Let’s learn from them, they are truly remarkable.”

.

Wei Dong wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, “Let’s get moving. We can’t waste the time they bought for us. Let’s quickly come up with ideas to find the signature! Let’s head to the Cold Night Inn!”

“Cold Night Inn?” Mai Peng and the others looked puzzled.

Wei Dong had already begun packing, “We’ll explain as we pack. Let’s make the most of our time.”

“Brother Dong, we haven’t enlarged the photo of the white fish yet,” Luo Bu said with a strong nasal tone.

“Oh, right, let’s look at the photo first!” Wei Dong stopped his packing and swiftly loaded the four negatives into the projector. “Turn off the lights and look at the big screen!”

The lights in the room were quickly extinguished one by one, and the image on the screen gradually became clear.