"The exact date of composition of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* is unknown, but it is mentioned in the *Records of the Grand Historian*. One theory suggests it was written by people from the Chu or Ba-Shu regions during the late Warring States period to the early Han dynasty, while others believe it was written even earlier, by Yu or Boyi," Shao Ling said. "During the Song dynasty, epigraphy flourished, and a trend of reviving antiquity emerged, resulting in many artifacts made in imitation or copy. So, my point is that we can perhaps pinpoint the origin of this whole affair, at least from the Warring States period to the late Qing dynasty, but we might focus on the Warring States, Han, and Song periods."
"That's a reasonable analysis," Ke Xun said, "but it still doesn't explain why some mysterious force from that period would put the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* on our bones. Is it trying to get us to help pass this extraordinary book down through generations?"
Everyone: "..."
"I think it would be better to do this," Shao Ling said. "In the next few days, let's seize the time to research historical materials related to the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, as well as strange events that occurred during the Warring States, Han, and Song dynasties—even though the chances of finding clues are slim, we should still try."
Everyone agreed. After saying goodbye to Great-Grandma, the group went to their hotel and made the most of their time to search online.
The next painting was scheduled to be painted on the first day of the Lunar New Year. With a few days to go, the group decided not to return to their respective cities to avoid wasting time on travel. Instead, they would all fly to Ke Xun's house and stay there until two or three days before the painting was to be painted. Then they would fly to K City, where the next art museum was located, to scout the location, gather all the necessary information, and then proceed with the painting on time.
Of course, it would be even better if they could uncover the mastermind behind the entire painting event beforehand and stop this terrifying affair in time.
The flight to Z City took off in the afternoon, and the group arrived in Z City around 7 or 8 pm. Ke Xun first took them to a restaurant for dinner, then dropped off the girls at the hotel Ke Xun had booked, while the remaining men went to Ke Xun and Mu Yiran's house.
Shao Ling and Zhu Haowen both brought their laptops. Luo Yi's laptop was bought before boarding the plane. Mu Yiran gave her laptop to Qin Ci, and Ke Xun used the computer. The group began searching through various channels and online platforms for information about the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* and strange events that occurred during the Warring States, Han, and Song dynasties.
Mu Yiran assisted Wei Dong in drawing the bone structure diagrams he had photographed on his phone onto paper.
Wei Dong drew until late into the night, finally finishing, and everyone temporarily stopped their work to look at the drawing together.
"Now that I can see the illustrations on these bones, I am even more certain that the style of these images is absolutely different from the ancient versions of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* circulating in the market," Shao Ling said. "The ancient versions we can see now are illustrated books that circulated during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Even earlier, there were ten-volume versions of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* illustrated by Zhang Sengyao of the Southern Dynasties and Shu Ya of the Song Dynasty,
but unfortunately, neither of their versions has survived. "If we trace it back further, that would be the oldest version of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*. Lu Xun pointed out in *A Brief History of Chinese Fiction* that the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* was an ancient book of shamanism, and shamanic books were prayer books used by shamans. Therefore, its author was a shaman. This version of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* illustrated by a shaman should be the most original and earliest version, but it has long been lost."
"Looking at the style of these patterns on our bone structure, the lines are simpler and more rustic than those of the Ming and Qing dynasties. They possess a profound and mysterious quality due to their extreme simplicity. Therefore, I believe that the patterns on our bone structure are from an earlier period, at least from the Southern Liang or Song dynasty, and possibly even… the most original version."
"What does 'prayer' mean?" Ke Xun asked.
"Literally, it's about praying and averting disasters, a kind of Taoist magic," Shao Ling said. "The prayers include praying for clear skies, rain, driving away locusts, curing diseases, and eliminating plagues, while the averting disasters includes resolving fires, floods, droughts, windstorms, earthquakes, and bad luck in the coming year."
"Wait a minute..." Wei Dong said, "Isn't the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* all about mountains, rivers, strange creatures, and such? Does it also contain Taoist magic?"
"It's more accurate to call it witchcraft than Taoist magic," Shao Ling said. "A considerable portion of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* is said to be based on the shamanistic diagrams or incantations used by ancient shamans during ancestral worship, summoning souls, sending away souls, and communicating with heaven and earth.
The earliest version of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* was actually just a collection of diagrams; at that time, writing had not yet appeared, and the shamanistic incantations were only passed down orally."
"Later textual versions were simply descriptions of the illustrations, like phrases such as 'holding a fish in each hand,' which describe the content of the illustrations."
"I always thought the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* came first in writing, and then later people added the illustrations," Ke Xun said with a look of sudden realization. "So it turns out the illustrations came first! Therefore, if the original version is the true authentic version, then the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* should actually be... a painting?"
The words "a painting" were like a sudden awakening, startling everyone.
They had been so focused on analyzing the origins and content of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* that they hadn't considered this possibility. Now, hearing Ke Xun's explanation, their thinking seemed to have broadened considerably.
"So, is the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* the source of the entire incident involving the painting?" Zhu Haowen looked at the several drawings. "If it's also a painting, then are all the mountains, rivers, mythical beasts, and spirits recorded in it...?"
"All the scenes of the world within the painting expanded from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*?" Qin Ci finished his sentence. The two exchanged a glance, seeing the indescribable emotions in each other's eyes.
Luo Yu shivered even more, squeezing closer to Ke Xun.
"A painting from ancient times can expand into a world within the painting. This world contains over forty strange countries, over five hundred mountains, over three hundred waterways, and over four hundred mythical creatures. It also encompasses data and organizational structures from various fields such as geography, astronomy, meteorology, botany, zoology, geology, oceanography, minerals, products, witchcraft, religion, medicine, folklore, economics… and even science, philosophy, and anthropology," Shao Ling looked up at everyone, his eyes filled with the same indescribable emotion as Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen. "This is simply… this is simply like another world as vast as the one we live in now, unlike any painting we've ever seen before. Its scale is larger, its worldview more magnificent and rigorous. It has logic and a rigorous coordinate axis. Whether viewed horizontally or vertically, it is mature and complete. The world it sets out in is almost boundless, without end."
"In other words, it's like another universe in the multiverse theory," Zhu Haowen said, "and the frame, or scroll, is the spacetime gateway to this other universe."
"I have a chilling thought," Ke Xun said.
"Tell me, which is the real world: the world we live in or the world depicted in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*?"
Ke Xun's words sent a shiver down everyone's spine.
"If the coordinates of all the art museums, when connected, form a signature, does that mean that the world we live in is actually… a painting?" Ke Xun made no attempt to appease their fear. He licked his dry lips and continued to bombard them with even more unpleasant speculations. "If our world is a painting, then what are we? What is the 'real' world outside this painting like?
And what are the 'humans' who created us and live in that 'real world' like?"
"We always thought we were the masters of all things, at the top of the food chain, the masters of the world, but in reality, perhaps we are just a bunch of… a bunch of symbols created by the true 'master of all things'?
And then, following the destiny and life trajectory they set for us, from birth to death, no matter how much we struggle and think, we are always within their patterns, always on this track, never able to derail or escape this dimension…"
Luo Jin's eyes reddened, not from fear, but from a nameless sorrow that rose from his heart and swept through his entire body.
—So we are just a bunch of symbols.
In that "real world," we are not even the lowest of the low…
Our joys and sorrows, our memories and aspirations, all the things we have fought so hard for and said goodbye to with heartbreaking pain, are all… just a bunch of symbols, a laughable, tragic, and humble bunch of symbols.
Luo Jin buried his head in his knees and wept bitterly.
"You, you shouldn't frighten the child…" Wei Dong, pale-faced, patted Luo Jin's shoulder with trembling hands.
"So," Zhu Haowen's voice was slightly dry, "is the painting 'Schrödinger's Cat' a hint to us from one of the two forces that were in a power struggle, as we previously speculated?"
"It suggests that beyond our world, there exists a consciousness higher than our material world, so for us, consciousness creates matter.
And we, compared to that higher consciousness, are like two-dimensional beings compared to three-dimensional beings. In our two-dimensional world, we cannot see three-dimensional beings; we can only sense their projections…
Like some scientific theories—higher-dimensional beings are like gods to lower-dimensional beings. The forces they exert on the lower-dimensional world are inconceivable and unimaginable to them, things only gods could do, because lower-dimensional beings can never imagine what higher-dimensional beings look like, or their attributes, or abilities, just as we can never imagine what four-dimensional or eleven-dimensional space looks like."
"If our fate has already been predetermined by that higher consciousness, what's the point of all our efforts now? The outcome is already decided; those destined to die will die. What's the point of struggling?" Wei Dong said dejectedly.
Ke Xun rubbed his face vigorously with both hands and laughed, "I was wrong, it's all my fault for spreading pessimism. Brothers, this is just a conjecture. There may be a thousand possibilities for the Ru Hua incident, this is just one of them.
"Cheer up, my Yi Ran said that consciousness is also a kind of spiritual power. Spiritual power is different from matter; it has no upper limit. Nobody knows how strong their spiritual power can be. When it comes to the spiritual level, we may not necessarily lose."
"Let's take a break, everyone relax. How about we watch a movie together? The ladies aren't here, so I have the latest Hollywood action movies with lots of BL (Boys' Love) scenes, the kind with the FBI warning at the beginning..."
Everyone: "..."
Wei Dong: "Get lost! You ruined our good mood!"
Ke Xun stood up: "Take a break, everyone. I'll get you some late-night snacks. Ke's Delicious Food, guaranteed to make you sleep well all night, with sweet dreams."
Everyone: "..."
Ke's Delicious Food was a steaming, golden, fragrant mutton and millet porridge, sprinkled with finely diced carrots and chopped scallions, and garnished with a few bright red goji berries.
The vibrant colors of gold, orange, green, and red, along with the rising steam, instantly dispelled the sadness and oppression in everyone's hearts. Even Mu Yiran, Qin Ci, and Shao Ling, who were usually quite disciplined, couldn't resist picking up a ladle, breaking their habit of not eating after 8 pm.
"Do you have any dry rations?" Wei Dong, perhaps startled, suddenly had a huge appetite and ordered food on the spot.
Ke Xun went into the kitchen and heated up a dozen or so small milk buns,
each the size of a pigeon egg. Luo Cheng, sniffling and licking his tongue which was burning from the porridge, sat down next to Ke Xun and tilted his head to look at him: "Look at you, so easily frightened, you can cry over just a few words—oh crap! Your snot! It's about to fall into the porridge! Can you go blow it first?!"
"What's there to be afraid of..." Luo Cheng tilted his head back and sniffled again, "Anyway, I'm a symbol, and my snot is a symbol too. If it falls into the porridge, just pretend I ate a symbol."
Ke Xun: "..."
A hot bowl of porridge on a cold winter night made everyone relax both physically and mentally. After eating, they all sat on the thick carpet on the living room floor and continued to sort out the clues about the "Classic of Mountains and Seas".
"I think we can put aside the ideas of 'advanced consciousness' and 'painting outside the painting' for now," Mu Yiran said. "Otherwise, our thinking will easily be constrained here. Regardless of whether we are just 'symbols' in a painting of a higher world, we should strive to survive in our own world and find a way to break through."
"Yiran is right!" Ke Xun said.
Author's Note:
Xingyue previously gave some imprecise replies in the comments section regarding the perspective of this story—I really didn't expect the perspective issue to be such a serious problem… [You newbies (authors) are really annoying and good at causing trouble! —Liu Yufei with braids.]
So here I solemnly clarify to everyone again: ★This story is a main character's bottom story. There will be no mutual top/bottom plots in the main text, extras, or serious author's notes (unless they are for funny and nonsensical jokes). ★
Once again, I am amazed at my luck to have such gentle, tolerant, and kind readers. Thank you for your understanding, tolerance, and care for me, a rash and clueless newbie in the industry. Hugs to you all!