Paintings of Terror

“…” The owner answered the phone and relayed Ke Xun’s question. The other side talked for a long time. The owner listened patiently for a while until the other side finished, and said to Ke Xun, “My grandfather said that when he was a child, this area on the outskirts of the city was a county town. There was a road right outside our house, and across the road was a row of shops selling cloth, grain, furniture, books, and…”

“Books!” Ke Xun’s eyes lit up. “Boss, please ask if the shop selling books sold paintings too?” xdJDLR

The owner gave Ke Xun a strange look and relayed the question again into the phone. “Yes, my grandfather said the bookshop indeed sold both books and paintings. They also sold antiques…”

Ke Xun couldn’t wait for this back-and-forth relay. He grabbed the phone from the owner’s hand and said, “Grandpa, can you describe the book shop? Do you know the shop owner’s name?”

The grandfather on the other end didn’t realize this “grandson” was different. He coughed while replied, “He was a fat man, surname Li. I had long forgotten his full name… The book shop was two stories high, books downstairs, paintings upstairs. Paintings covered three walls. Some paintings were only for viewing, not for sale. They said they were the genuine works of so-and-so, but I don’t really know anything about them… The book shop owner was wealthy, but later went mad for some reason. He ran into the street and was hit by a horse carriage. The hoof landed right on his neck, and ‘crack’, he died on the spot…”

Ke Xun, touching his neck, left the café with Luo Bu, then called Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong to briefly explain their findings. On the way back, he also shared the information in the group chat. jUQ7rp

When they got back to the hotel, Wei Dong and Fang Fei hadn’t returned yet. Zhu Haowen said, “So you think that this suggests all the art galleries we visited may have existed in a different form in the same places hundreds of years ago, forcing a previous group of people to go into the paintings like us?”

Ke Xun nodded, “That’s what I feel. But to be rigorous, we should investigate the cities where the other art galleries are located.”

“I think it’s going to be difficult,” Zhu Haowen said. “It’s been almost a hundred years. With wars and upheavals in between, it’s unlikely that every place will have an elderly person who can provide us with memories of the past.”

Ke Xun looked at the snowflakes falling outside, his voice a bit down. “Say, even if we confirm that whatever was there before each gallery was also an entry point into the paintings, what good would it do? If those people were really the previous group who entered the paintings, even if someone got through it all, they’re probably long dead by now. We have no way to get more clues. What we get may only be more sadness and despair.” hlLRa

Zhu Haowen and Luo Bu were both silent until their phones all buzzed with WeChat notifications simultaneously.

Mooney: We need to find out if other art galleries have the same situation.

Corgi: [Shut up and kiss me! .jpg]

Zhu Haowen, holding his phone: “…” Was your earlier melancholy an illusion of mine? dejkOQ

Luo Bu, holding his phone: “…” My Ge’s rapid recovery to full HP makes me understand the meaning of love and passion.

Mooney: When are you all planning to leave City C?

Corgi: We plan to stay another day to see if the Granny that Wu You knows can find someone who can read gu-xiang.

Mooney: Okay. 1NeZMU

ZHW: Why do we still need to check other art galleries?

Mooney: If other art galleries are in the same situation, it suggests these locations might have a direct connection to the painting incidents.

Corgi: Makes sense! Let’s keep investigating!