"No need for the knife," Fang Fei said. "We scuba divers do physical and strength training year-round, and I'm no less strong than you." Pointing to Luo Jin and Wei Dong, she said, "I'll try to fight that 'chicken.' If I can't match its strength, then even with a knife, it probably won't be of much use."
Wei Dong and Luo Jin: "…Okay."
"Then, let's agree on a simple set
of markings." Mu Yiran looked at Fang Fei. "Sherlock didn't have enough time to leave more information, which was a bit of a oversight on our part," Mu Yiran picked up the bamboo slips and pen. "Let's agree on some quick and easy-to-write markings to represent various meanings. Please write them down, and if possible, please leave as much information as you see—I'm sorry to say this to you."
"It's alright." Fang Fei was calm and composed, like a warrior about to embark on a mission from which there was no return.
"If what you see is a real 'chicken,' draw a '√' on the bamboo slip," Mu Yiran said quickly, getting straight to the point as he drew on the bamboo slip. "If it's just something that starts with the character 'chicken,' and you don't have time to write its full name, draw a '○'.
"If you think it can be destroyed by human power, draw a '一' above the '√' or '○'. If you're not sure, draw a '一' below it.
"If you're certain that the person who lit the rhinoceros horn cannot survive, draw a right slash on the '√' or '○'. If you think that only by lighting the rhinoceros horn can you find the signature, but the person who lit the rhinoceros horn will die, draw a left slash. If you're certain that lighting the rhinoceros horn is useless for finding the signature, don't draw a '√' or '○', draw a '×'."
"If you see the signature, try to write it down. But if you don't have time, draw a triangle. If the signature is in the sea, draw a wavy line above the triangle. If it's on a ship, draw a straight line above it. If…"
In this way, Mu Yiran specified corresponding symbols for almost all possible scenarios and asked Fang Fei to memorize them thoroughly. After she had memorized them, he even asked Wei Dong to help her deepen her memory by asking random questions.
The rest of the time seemed to be spent waiting for night to fall. Ke Xun went to get some food, and after everyone ate, they spent the entire morning catching up on sleep.
In the afternoon, everyone briefly recounted the hallucinations they had experienced the previous night. Sure enough, all the hallucinations they experienced used anger to manipulate people.
"One thing worth noting is that the rope that Luo Yu was tied to last night did indeed disappear in the hallucinations. It wasn't until dawn, when the hallucinations dissipated, that the rope reappeared on his body." "Shao Ling said, "But the pen in Mr. Wei Dong's hand didn't disappear. If the phone didn't disappear, it could be explained as something from outside the painting. But why didn't the pen, which was also part of the painting like the rope, disappear?"
"Probably because the rope restricted Luo Bo's movements and hindered the illusion's attempt to trick him into falling into the sea. So the illusion made it disappear," Ke Xun said. "Just like the walls of the room disappeared in the illusion, anything that would prevent us from falling into the sea would be removed by the illusion."
"That Luo Bo is amazing," Wei Dong patted Luo Yu on the shoulder. "He used the rope as a warning device. The rope was removed by the illusion, and he lost his warning device, yet he still managed to hold on." "
Perhaps it's because the hallucinations last night didn't make me so angry that I couldn't control myself," Luo Jing scratched his head. "I'm not a very temperamental person. I've almost never been angry since I was a child. Don't let my carefree attitude fool you; I've never fought or argued with anyone. Even if someone provokes me, I either ignore them or apologize directly, regardless of whether it's my fault or not. Anyway, I can't get angry, and I have no interest in taking things seriously…"
As Luo Jing was speaking, he suddenly noticed that Mu Yiran, Shao Ling, and Zhu Haowen were all staring at him. Startled, he quickly stopped talking and blinked at the three of them.
"Then please think carefully now, what could make you so angry that you lose control of your emotions?" "Shao Ling said to him.
Luo Jin thought for a long time, and finally shook his head with great difficulty: "I can't think of anything. I've even imagined the possibility of being forced into that by a man, and I don't think I would be very angry..."
Everyone: "..."
"What if someone uses the most vicious language to insult your parents?" Wei Dong pointed out.
"You see, if I don't let the other person curse, they obviously won't listen to me. If I curse back, it's meaningless. If I hit the other person to stop them from cursing, they will still curse after I'm done, unless I kill the other person, but I can't kill people, can I?" Luo Jin said casually, "Besides, people who insult other people's parents are just trying to provoke them. Why should I let such people have their way? I'll just turn a deaf ear to such things. If they want me to be angry, I won't be angry. If they want me to be unhappy, why should I let them get what they want?" "
…My goodness, this kid has such a good attitude," Wei Dong exclaimed to Ke Xun, "I'm starting to like him."
"But what if the other party puts the insults into action?" Shao Ling pressed further, his words tactful, but everyone understood what he meant.
No one could tolerate such a situation.
Luo Jin thought seriously for a moment and replied, "If that's the case, I might only hate myself. No matter why this happened, it's because I, as the son, was incapable of protecting my parents. But this emotion wouldn't be anger, but rather self-blame."
Everyone was silent for a moment before Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran: "Luo Jin is someone who almost never feels anger, so last night, without any warning signs, he withstood the illusion's allure more easily than we did."
"In other words," Qin Ci continued, "of these seven human emotions, the one we are most sensitive to is the one that makes us most likely to die in the illusion created by that emotion, while the opposite gives us a chance to survive." "
So, those who survive to the end are those without emotions and desires?" Zhu Haowen asked sarcastically. "Only monks who have renounced worldly desires can probably achieve that."
"No, it's not necessarily about completely eliminating emotions and desires," Shao Ling said. "Perhaps it's enough to be like Luo Yu. He wasn't immune to anger; he was just more indifferent to it. If someone is completely detached from these seven basic emotions, it seems to imply a sense of transcendence and detachment. It's as if the illusion is filtering people out in this way, and only those with a better mindset and a more detached perspective survive."
"Filtering?" Ke Xun's eyes suddenly lit up as he met Mu Yiran's gaze. "That's right, filtering! Isn't this painting about Xu Fu leading a boy and a girl on a voyage to find immortals? Immortals aren't something every mortal can see. To seek immortality, one must be different from ordinary people and undergo numerous trials, right?" "Aren't immortals only able to attain immortality by abandoning the seven emotions and six desires of mortals? Since one seeks immortality, one must undergo layers of trials, and the illusions encountered by this ship at sea should be the trials given to them by the immortals."
"I think this deduction is highly likely," Mu Yiran continued, "but I don't believe this ship was the one Xu Fu himself was on.
"According to records, Xu Fu led two or three thousand boys and girls on that voyage, plus eight hundred archers and crossbowmen, and countless craftsmen—conservatively speaking, there must have been around five thousand people. This would have meant a massive fleet of dozens, even hundreds, of ships.
"And given the limitations of navigation technology at the time and the potential for unforeseen events at sea, not all ships could ultimately reach the same destination."
"Where Xu Fu's ships ultimately reached remains inconclusive. Some say they reached an island nation, others say the Korean peninsula, and still others say they reached the Americas. The most prevalent theory is that they reached an island nation.
However, given that ancient arrows and other artifacts with seal script have been unearthed near San Francisco in the Americas, we might assume that this fleet, adrift on the vast and perilous seas, was separated and eventually went in different directions."
"So perhaps one of these ships stumbled upon the right path, entered the road to the immortal realm, and underwent a trial from the 'immortals.'"
At this point, Mu Yiran suddenly fell into thought, and Shao Ling picked up where he left off, saying, "Therefore, this trial is based on the seven emotions of a person. Those who are easily angered, easily pleased, easily saddened, easily swayed by love and desire, are not destined for immortality. Their worldly desires are too heavy, preventing them from becoming immortals. They are eliminated during the seven-night trial, and only those who remain are ultimately qualified to attain the path to immortality.
"Just as the Daoists say, 'Nature governs seven parts, destiny governs three parts,' the cultivation of one's character is crucial for cultivating the Dao and becoming an immortal. If one lacks a certain level of cultivation as a foundation, it is difficult to undertake the great task of cultivation, and one might even face the collapse of the altar, bringing mortal danger."
"So, in this painting based on the story of the Journey to the East to seek immortality, the seven emotions that humans possess are what we call 'nature.' An unstable mind will naturally prevent one from glimpsing the traces of immortality.
Therefore, if we don't want to die in the trials of the following nights, we must try our best to calm ourselves and not let any emotions control our behavior and thoughts."
"I never imagined we'd end up cultivating immortality inside a painting," Wei Dong said, somewhat amused, glancing at Luo Jin beside him. "In that case, I think Luo Bo is the most likely to survive to the end, someone with such a weak personality."
Luo Jin: "...Brother, are you praising me? I'm not happy at all."
"No, Luo Jin is timid, he's fallen victim to 'fear,' one of the seven emotions," Shao Ling looked at Luo Jin. "I want to ask Mr. Luo, what is your deepest fear?" "
Luo Tan thought for a moment, then shuddered: 'I'm most afraid of Sadako and Kayako. If a hallucination of such a ghost crawled towards me, even if I knew it was a hallucination, I would definitely run away for my life... I think I might not be able to overcome this 'fear'...'
His voice trembled, and his eyes welled up with tears.
'So I think what we need to do most right now is to find a way to overcome our most vulnerable emotion,' Shao Ling said sternly, looking at everyone. 'Although psychological problems take a long time to adjust, there is a method that might have some effect in the short term, and I think we can try it.'
'What method?' Luo Tan as
ked hurriedly.
Under everyone's gaze, Shao Ling answered, word by word: 'Breakdown therapy.'"