"Hurry up." Mu Yiran glanced at the sky. It was already light, but there was still some time before the voting deadline.
However, the current situation meant they didn't need to bother searching for their next target, because not far from where they had fallen into the water, a huge multi-story ship was floating on the sea!
"What—another ship?!" Wei Dong was shocked and bewildered. "Is this never going to end? Is this some kind of infinitely nested space? After we sink down from this sea again, will we find another space like this?"
"No, it's different. Look, there are people on this ship." Ke Xun had good eyesight and pointed to the large group of people standing on the ship's side. "They're all wearing ancient clothing. Maybe they're the real ancient people in this painting."
"Let's go on board and take a look." Mu Yiran said, and swam towards the multi-story ship first.
The people on the ship also noticed the group swimming in the sea. After a burst of shouts, someone lowered a rope ladder from the ship.
The group, soaking wet, climbed aboard and were immediately surrounded by a group of antique-looking people.
Judging by their attire, they indeed appeared to be from the Qin and Han dynasties. A glance at the flagpole on the ship revealed an embroidered "Qin" character in seal script.
The group silently observed them with astonishment, their eyes even showing fear.
Ke Xun and his seven companions remained motionless, standing on the deck, exchanging glances.
Just as the situation reached a stalemate, the ancient figures parted to the sides, and a person emerged from behind the crowd. Judging by their clothing, this person seemed to be of high status, bowed to the seven, and then began to speak.
The seven looked at each other, bewildered.
What was this? It sounded like Cantonese, Minnan dialect, and a bit like Hakka.
"It's said that the official language of the Qin dynasty was similar to Cantonese," Shao Ling whispered to the group.
Wei Dong and Luo Yi looked utterly confused: "Shouldn't the official language of the Qin dynasty be Shaanxi dialect?"
Shao Ling indicated he didn't want to pay them any attention.
Unfortunately, none of the seven people were from Guangdong province, and even if they were, their pronunciation had likely changed significantly over time, making it unlikely they would understand.
Mu Yiran stepped forward, returned the greeting as the person opposite her had done, and then gestured with her hand as if writing.
The person opposite her quickly understood, turned to the person next to her and said a few words. That person bowed, quickly turned and ran away, returning shortly with a piece of silk and writing materials.
Mu Yiran turned to Wei Dong and said, "Use the simplest lines possible to clearly depict what I mean—draw a multi-storied ship with an ancient person painting on it."
Wei Dong quickly agreed, ignoring his soaking wet clothes, took the painting tools, spread them out on the spot, picked up the brush, and began to paint on the silk.
Luo Yi watched from the side, sighing, "Luckily we have Brother Dong! What a divine artist! He can bring something so lifelike with just a few strokes."
Shao Ling, standing nearby, thought to himself: Indeed, no one should be underestimated. Even the most outstanding person has their weaknesses, and even the most ordinary person has their strengths.
The seemingly ordinary Wei Dong completed the painting in less than three minutes. He then showed the finished piece to everyone, its content clearly visible.
Mu Yiran pointed to the person painting in the picture at the leader, then gestured towards the ancient figures gathered around, and then back to the person painting in the picture.
His meaning was clear: he wanted to find someone among the people on the ship who could paint.
The leader quickly understood, said a few words to the others, and someone else went to carry out the order. The leader then gestured to Mu Yiran, indicating that he wanted them to come into the cabin for a talk.
Mu Yiran shook his head in refusal.
Time was of the essence; they didn't have time for irrelevant matters.
The leader seemed to have something important to say to the group. Seeing that Mu Yiran remained unmoved, the man thought for a moment, then called over someone and gave them a few more instructions. The person quickly turned and ran into the cabin.
"It feels like the 'painting' has upgraded since 'The Scarlet Beast'," Qin Ci said, looking at the ancient figures before him. "The NPC characters in the painting no longer perform simple mechanical actions. They seem... more intelligent, or rather, closer to real humans."
"Yes," Zhu Haowen chimed in. "Even without our influence on the plot, they still have their own 'life' trajectory and even thoughts. This upgrade is terrifying to think about."
"Uh... terrifying in what way?" Luo Yi shuddered and asked cautiously.
Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen lowered their eyes, pondering a more precise answer. Ke Xun's gaze swept over the faces of the ancient figures who were still watching them with curiosity and awe, and he said thoughtfully, "It's like... well, have you seen 'Pacific Rim'?"
Some nodded, some shook their heads.
Ke Xun said, "Monsters invaded the human world from another world underwater. At first, only the lowest-level monsters entered, one at a time. Later, it became two at a time, and the monsters' abilities increased accordingly. The higher the level of the monsters, the more they invaded the human world at once. I don't know why, but the 'painting' gives me a feeling somewhat similar to this. The NPCs in the painting are becoming more and more realistic and intelligent, as if... humans from another world are slowly invading and replacing us. At first, they only used some low-level mechanized members to test us, and then they would send out higher-level members to continue testing, and then send out even higher-level members... to launch the invasion."
"Brother, you have such a vivid imagination." Luo Yi couldn't help but shudder again.
Just then, the person who had run to the cabin earlier returned, followed by another person. Upon seeing this person, the members of the seven-person group all gasped in surprise, even Mu Yiran looked completely unexpected.
"Hi, we meet again." Fang Fei raised her hand and waved to the group.
"Holy crap—what happened?!" Wei Dong, representing everyone, uttered a shocking question.
Fang Fei approached, her expression calm: "I shot a feather at the chicken, and it pounced on me, trying to extinguish the rhinoceros horn in my hand. I was worried that if the horn went out, I would fall into another hallucination, so I hurriedly tried to dodge it. But it chased me too closely, and in my haste, I fell into the sea. Then I discovered that the rhinoceros horn could burn in the sea. I thought, at least I should try to find Yu Long's body before I die... So I kept diving down and ended up here. These ancient people probably thought I was some kind of god descended from heaven or someone with supernatural abilities. They put me on a boat, but since we don't speak the same language, we haven't had much communication yet."
Everyone was both surprised and lucky. Ke Xun smiled and said to Fang Fei, "How about it? I told you you wouldn't lose. How does it feel to overcome death?"
"Great." Fang Fei smiled too.
"My god, I admire this girl so much." Wei Dong said to Luo Jing beside him.
"Yeah, Dong-ge, she's even more manly than you," Luo Yu praised.
Wei Dong: "..." How can this brat talk like that?
Fang Fei's appearance invigorated everyone. Having witnessed the irreversible deaths of those around them one after another, finally there was someone... who outran, no, swam past death. This feeling of joy and relief filled everyone with hope and strength.
As they were talking, the men who had been ordered to act earlier returned, accompanied by eight others. The leader pointed at these eight men and gestured to Mu Yiran as if drawing.
"These people must be the ship's painters," Mu Yiran said to his companions.
"But... out of these eight people, which one is the true author of 'The Burning Rhinoceros Horn at Sea'?" Wei Dong scratched his head.
Shao Ling said, "Painters in the Qin Dynasty were also among the artisans, and most of them didn't have names. If this painting was done by these painters, they probably wouldn't have been qualified to leave their seals or names on it."
"Then... what can we do? How can we create a painting without a seal?" Luo Yiran continued to tremble.
Shao Ling frowned, deep in thought, but then noticed that the older members were all looking at Mu Yiran, so he followed their gaze.
Mu Yiran raised his eyes, his gaze reflecting the sea and the morning light, and made several gestures to the leader.
He pointed to the eight painters he had brought, mimicking a painting gesture, then waved his hand, pointing to the distant horizon and sea behind them.
That was the direction from which they had fallen.
Since boarding the ship, everyone's attention had been focused on these ancient figures before them, and they hadn't even had a chance to reflect on their journey.
Now, following Mu Yiran's gesture, everyone turned their heads, casting their gazes upon the sky and sea behind them, and then, they were stunned in astonishment.
Right where the sky met the sea, shrouded in mist, seemingly very close yet very far away, a dreamlike mirage appeared before them like a giant screen.
In the misty mirage, distant immortal mountains were faintly visible, with several pavilions standing among the peaks; nearby, the ink-black sea stretched out, and a giant ship floated on its surface.
"—A mirage!" Wei Dong exclaimed in surprise, "We've actually—we've actually been in a mirage all this time?!"
Ignoring his companions' astonishment, Mu Yiran gestured for the eight painters to depict the scene before them. The leader still held some reverence for the group, so Mu Yiran's request was quickly approved. Someone brought eight sets of painting tools, and the eight painters sat down on the ground and immediately began to paint. The
subject of the painting remained silent, nervously watching the painters for a moment, then turning to stare at the distant mirage.
Mirages can last for varying lengths of time; while mirages appearing in the early morning are rare, they have occurred before, sometimes lasting forty minutes, sometimes for more than two hours.
Time was running out for everyone; the voting deadline was fast approaching, and how to obtain the seal seemed unclear at the moment…
Time was pressing, and everyone's hearts were pounding. Luo Yi was so nervous he forgot to breathe, his pale face turning a mixture of white and red.
As the final minutes approached, the eight painters finished their works almost simultaneously. Mu Yiran stepped forward to examine the eight paintings closely, and everyone rushed forward—they now understood Mu Yiran's intention. Eight pairs of eyes were fixed on the paintings, scrutinizing them intently—
"—This one!" Seven or eight hands pointed to one in unison—this was the very original painting they had seen in the art museum, the true original of *The Burning Rhinoceros at Sea*!
"But—there's no seal!" Wei Dong cried out anxiously.
Everyone was at a loss.
Suddenly, Ke Xun turned around, grabbed the painter who had created the "Burning Rhinoceros at Sea" painting, pulled his hand, snatched the brush from his hand, brushed the tip of the brush across one of his fingers, and then forcibly pressed that finger onto the sea surface depicted in the painting. The
silk scroll with the painting suddenly lit up with white light on all four sides, forming the shape of a scroll. The scroll grew larger and larger, the white light brighter and brighter, until it became so bright that everyone could hardly open their eyes, and they involuntarily stumbled and squeezed into the center of the scroll—
"Splash, thud..."
Seven or eight people tumbled haphazardly onto the cold marble floor of the art museum.
"Holy crap, Ke'er—you're amazing!" Wei Dong, pinned at the bottom, didn't care. He raised his voice, filled with relief and excitement at surviving a close call, and yelled at his best friend, "How did you know a handprint would work?!"
"I was just thinking..." Ke Xun fell into her boyfriend's arms, opening her arms to hug him tightly, not wanting to get up immediately. "A seal and a signature are both proof of the artist's identity. A handprint is also a form of proof. Since we couldn't communicate and couldn't get him to sign his name, and the artist might not have a seal, we could only use a handprint."
Shao Ling got up and first looked at the replica of "Burning Rhinoceros at Sea" on the wall.
Although it was called a replica, it was more like a reproduction of the original. It faithfully reproduced all the details of the original on the silk, including the damaged parts.
The hazy, indistinct areas in the sky were actually mirages, faded in color and blurred in line due to their age.
Shao Ling stared intently at the painting for a while, then looked at the crowd with a complex expression, pointing to the sea in the painting: "In this spot on the original painting, there's a fingerprint-like mark. If you don't look closely, it almost blends into the ripples of the sea."
"So, which came first, the painting or us?" Qin Cizhe quipped.
"Ah—" A scream rang out from the entrance of the exhibition hall, startling everyone, who all turned to look.
They saw several female visitors staring at them with fright and disgust, demanding in shrill voices: "What are you doing! Perverts! Security—security—we're calling the police!"
The crowd suddenly realized what was happening and looked down at themselves, seeing that everyone was wearing only underwear—flat-chested, triangle, thong, elephant-trunk style, various styles and colors.
Only Mu Yiran and Fang Fei were properly dressed, and each of them took a few steps to the side, pretending not to recognize these people.
Everyone else: "..."
No wonder Mu Yiran refused to take off his clothes when he jumped off the boat.
Shao Ling thought to himself.