"..." The shopkeeper answered the phone and relayed Ke Xun's question. The other end talked for a long time, and the shopkeeper listened patiently for a while. Finally, after the other end finished, the shopkeeper relayed the question to Ke Xun, "My grandfather said that when he was a child, this whole area on the outskirts of the city was a county town. There was a road
right outside my house, and across the road was a row of shops. Some sold cloth, some sold grain, some sold furniture, some sold books, and some sold..." "Sold books!" Ke Xun's eyes lit up. "Shopkeeper, please ask if that bookstore is a book shop? Does it sell paintings?"
The shopkeeper looked at Ke Xun with a strange gaze while relaying the question into the receiver again, and then said, "Yes, my grandfather said that the bookstore was a book shop. It sold books, paintings, and even antiques..."
Ke Xun couldn't wait for this back and forth, so he grabbed the phone from the shopkeeper and said, "Grandpa, can you tell me what that book shop is like? Do you know what the owner's name is?"
The grandfather on the other end obviously didn't realize that this grandson was not the same grandson he was talking about, and coughed as he said: "He was a fat guy, surnamed Li, I've long forgotten his given name... That bookstore was about two stories high, selling books downstairs and paintings upstairs, covering three whole walls. Some paintings were only for viewing, not for sale, supposedly authentic works by so-and-so, but we don't know anything about that... The bookstore owner was a rich man, but unfortunately he went crazy for some reason later, ran into the road and got hit by a horse-drawn carriage. The horse's hoof landed right on his neck, 'crack,' and he died on the spot..."
After leaving the coffee shop with Luo Yu, Ke Xun rubbed the back of his neck and made a phone call to Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong respectively, briefly explaining the investigation results. On the way back, he sent it to the group chat again.
Back at the hotel, Wei Dong and Fang Fei had not yet returned. Zhu Haowen said, "So you think that this incident suggests that all the art museums we've visited may have existed in the same place a hundred years ago in a different way, forcing those who entered the paintings to keep entering and leaving them, just like us?"
Ke Xun nodded, "That's what I think. But to be more precise, we should probably go to the cities where the other art museums are located to investigate."
"I don't think it will be easy," Zhu Haowen said. "After all, it was almost a hundred years ago, and there have been wars and calamities in between. It's not certain that every place will have elderly people who can provide us with memories of the past."
Ke Xun looked at the snowflakes falling again outside the window, his voice somewhat low: "Even if we confirm that the predecessor of each art museum was also a point of entry into the painting, what then? If those people were really the previous batch of people who entered the painting, even if someone cleared the level, they would all be long gone by now. We won't be able to get any more clues; all we might get is more sorrow and despair."
Zhu Haowen and Luo Jin fell silent until all three of their phones rang with WeChat notifications almost simultaneously.
Mooney: We need to try to find out if other art museums are in the same situation.
Corgi: [Shut up, kiss me! .jpg]
Zhu Haowen, holding his phone: "…" Was your low mood just my imagination?
Luo Jin, holding his phone: "…" My brother's speed of recovery made me realize what speed and bromance are.
Mooney: When are you planning to leave City C?
Corgi: We're planning to stay another day to see if we can find another person who can read bone structures at Wu You's great-grandmother's place.
Mooney: Okay.
ZHW: Why do we need to check other art museums?
Mooney: If other art museums are in the same situation, then it means that the location of these art museums may be directly related to the incident.
Corgi: Makes sense! Let's continue checking!
ZHW: I'm afraid we don't have enough time. These art museums are scattered all over the country, and we'll be in the painting again soon.
Mooney: Let's split up and each of us choose the art museum closest to our city.
ZHW: It's not that easy to find out. This time it was a coincidence that the coffee shop owner's ancestors lived nearby. It's not certain that other art museums will have such a coincidence.
Mooney: Let's check the information at the city archives.
Little Radish Pulling White Rabbit: Brother-in-law, I'm afraid it won't work. Today, my brother and I were kicked out of the art museum's office before we even got inside. The people who saw my brother's face thought he was a thug collecting protection money.
Corgi: [I'll kick you in the face.gif]
Corgi: But Yiran, we probably can't get into a place like the archives...
Mooney: I'll find someone to give you a letter of introduction.
Corgi: [My god, please turn up to me.jpg]
Little Radish Pulling White Rabbit: [My god, want to take a concubine?.jpg]
Corgi: ...
After leaving the group chat, Ke Xun chatted with Mu Yiran for a few more minutes. When he looked out the window at the sky, he found it was already dark and wondered, "Why haven't Dongzi and Fang Fei come back yet? When Radish and I contacted them after leaving the coffee shop, they said they were already on their way back."
Luo Jin, who was fiddling with his phone, said, "Brother Dong said they might be back a little late. The road conditions are bad because of the snow, and they're stuck on the road."
"Then let's go eat when they come back," Ke Xun said.
The three of them had nothing to do for a while, so they each fiddled with their own things in a corner. Ke Xun and Luo Jin sat side by side against the headboard, scrolling through their phones, while Zhu Haowen sat on another bed, using his laptop to browse the internet.
As they were each busy with their own things, Luo Jin suddenly spat out a sound. Ke Xun turned to look at him, and Luo Jin showed him his phone screen: "Brother Dong and Sister Fei are on the local news."
Ke Xun looked closely and saw it was the official Weibo account of the local news agency. The post read: "Slippery roads in snowy weather lead to a series of car accidents; a daring couple calmly watches." (The images may be disturbing; please click with caution.)
Below were several news photos, all of them of the car accident scene. Although the "disturbing" scenes had been blurred, it was still possible to see from the unblurred parts how gruesome the deaths of the victims were.
And just a few steps away from the victims, Wei Dong and Fang Fei were standing there calmly, one hand in their pocket and the other holding a candied hawthorn.
The accident occurred at an intersection. The two appeared to be crossing the pedestrian crossing when the car crashed, running over the victim right in front of them. This photo was likely taken immediately after the accident; while bystanders were still in shock and screaming, the calm reaction on the two's faces stood out starkly.
"..." Ke Xun clicked on the comments under the Weibo post and saw that besides sighs and regrets, netizens were using the hashtag #MostCalmCoupleInHistory to comment on Wei Dong and Fang Fei's composed demeanor.
When Wei Dong and Fang Fei finally returned to the hotel, #TheCalmestCoupleInHistory# had already become a trending topic…
"The driver who caused the accident was paralyzed with fear, unable to move in the driver's seat," Wei Dong, completely unaware that he had become a trending topic, told Ke Xun and the others about his and Fang Fei's experience that day. "Fang Fei and I helped call the police, and we also found his family's phone number on the deceased's phone. We only left after the police and his family arrived. We were stuck in traffic for ages, and I'm starving… Want to go eat? Want to go? Want to go?"
"Didn't you eat enough candied hawthorns?" Ke Xun asked.
"Of course, candied hawthorns can't be eaten as a meal," Wei Dong rolled his eyes. "Hey? How did you know I ate candied hawthorns?"
"Not only did I know, but more than 30 million netizens across the country also knew," Ke Xun said.
The hashtag #MostCalmCoupleInHistory# has over 30 million views.
"Huh?" Wei Dong looked completely bewildered. Luo Cheng fawned over him, showing his phone to Wei Dong and Fang Fei.
Wei Dong: "..."
Fang Fei: "..."
Luo Cheng: "Brother Dong, look down here. A girl said she thinks you're really cool and stylish."
Wei Dong: "...Write down her ID, I'll follow her later."
Luo Cheng: "..."
This little incident didn't cause much of a stir in the "Entering the Painting" team. After dinner, everyone returned to the hotel. After washing up, Ke Xun crawled into bed and started scrolling through his phone. Since Mu Yiran's phone was off, he had no one to talk to and soon fell asleep.
Wei Dong was playing games with Luo Cheng in the next room. Seeing Ke Xun asleep, he turned off the light and went to Luo Cheng's room, not wanting to disturb him.
Ke Xun only fell into a deep sleep after vaguely hearing someone return from outside, and was awakened early in the morning by a light knock on the door.
Half-asleep and shirtless, Ke Xun went to open the door, only to find Mu Yiran standing there, covered in the smell of snow and carrying a suitcase.
Ke Xun was startled at first, then pulled Mu Yiran inside, throwing his arms around him: "Why are you here? Weren't you abroad yesterday? No wonder your phone was off last night… What are you doing here? Were you worried about me? Honestly, aren't you tired? Hungry? Let's go get something to eat first, then you can come back and get some sleep!"
Mu Yiran pulled him out of his arms: "I just got snow on me, go put on some clothes."
Ke Xun chuckled and walked back, putting on his clothes while trying to talk to Mu Yiran, but then he noticed Mu Yiran's gaze fixed on the person sitting up on the bed next to him, and then his expression froze slightly.
Ke Xun followed his gaze and saw that the person sleeping on the bed wasn't Wei Dong, but Zhu Haowen.
"...Haowen, what are you doing here?" Ke Xun felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly, "Wei Dong and Luo Yu wanted to play games together, so they asked me to come and sleep here." Those two bastards practically dragged him out of bed and kicked him out the door.
"..." Ke Xun thought to himself, "Those two damn bastards, Dongzi and Luo Bo, they really screwed me over this time.
" —Of course, this little incident "didn't seem" to affect the itinerary of the "Painters" team. After breakfast, the group sat with Wu You, who had arrived, and rearranged their tasks.
Wu You, a local, was responsible for asking her great-grandmother to inquire if anyone knew how to read bone structures.
The rest of the group left City C and went to the city where the nearest art museum was located. After obtaining the letters of introduction from Mu Yiran through his connections, they went to the archives to retrieve the files.
After returning home to Z City with Mu Yiran, Ke Xun didn't leave the house for three days. When he finally got off the bed, shivering and weak, supporting his back, Mu Yiran had already gone out and returned.
"As of today, it has been confirmed that three art museums were originally involved in businesses related to painting," Mu Yiran said, taking off his coat and glancing at his dog, who was hobbling unsteadily in front of him. "I think we don't need to investigate any further. Nine times out of ten, all the art museums are the same. This further proves that the location of these art museums is closely related to the painting incident itself."
"Do you think this might be related to feng shui?" Ke Xun slumped into the sofa listlessly, took the hot tea Mu Yiran handed him and took a few sips. "How about we find someone who can do feng shui for houses and graves to take a look?"
Mu Yiran sat down next to him, lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, and said, "We're not sure if doing this will involve innocent people in this matter, or if we will violate the rules of painting and suffer the backlash. Even if we don't reveal anything about the painting to the person, we can't guarantee that once they see the secrets from a feng shui perspective, it won't cause a chain reaction."
"What can we do then?" Ke Xun continued listlessly. "My butt hurts, I refuse to think right now."
Mu Yiran took the coordinate map of all the art museums on the tablet, pondered for a long time, and said, "I have an idea."
"We have now confirmed that at least three or four art museums were located in areas where businesses related to painting were established nearly a hundred years ago," Mu Yiran said. "From this, we can infer that the locations of other art museums, at the same time nearly a hundred years ago, should also have had businesses related to painting.
"From this coincidence, we can also infer that nearly a hundred years ago, it is highly likely that a group of people like us were controlled and forced by some force to move between these locations, constantly entering and leaving the paintings.
"Then the question is, did these people successfully extricate themselves completely from the painting incident? This is impossible to verify, so we don't need to worry about it anymore.
"The second question is, did the painting incident continue after this group of people, or was there a gap in between? How many groups of people were between us and this group?"
"If this continues, then in the months preceding this, another group of people must have entered these art museums. In that case, we need to obtain all the museums' surveillance footage from six months to a year ago, comparing it with everyone who entered and exited during that period to see if any of the same faces are present.
"If no one else from that group a century ago is involved in the 'entering the painting' incident, then we need to consider why this event paused during that time. How was it done? Who did it? Finding a solution might save us from this event.
"But we also need to consider another possibility: the 'entering the painting' incident cannot be stopped, and it will only temporarily cease after a group of people are completely dead—this is probably the worst-case scenario, but I think it's not entirely hopeless. This leads to another crucial question:
"How did the 'entering the painting' incident originate?
"Everything has an origin; the 'entering the painting' incident couldn't have arisen out of thin air. It must have a source. Perhaps if we find this source, we can find a way to solve it."