"Now let's look at the seventh painting, 'Shadow.' Its theme is color," Zhu Haowen said, looking at Wei Dong. "Do you have any professional insights to offer?"
Wei Dong thought for a moment and said, "On the surface, this painting seems to express the painter's devotion to color, for example, his intolerance of even the slightest defilement of color.
But looking deeper, the painter's background and the legend of the Fallen Flower Cave Girl actually suggest the painter's fanatical, even extreme, worship of black. What
impressed me most in that painting was the interplay and visual impact of black and white, two extreme colors, presented to us every night. It's as if, in the painter's eyes, the world is either black or white, and he stands on the side of black."
"So this painting suggests darkness, or the evil that darkness represents?" Fang Fei asked.
Ke Xun gave him a "Damn, you're an idiot" look: "The painting implies it's evil? That implication doesn't matter, it's obviously evil anyway. Isn't this implication a bit redundant?"
Wei Dong waved his hand, thinking as he spoke: "I also think it's not that straightforward, but if you want me to analyze the essence through the surface like the experts, I don't have that ability. I can only ponder it from the perspective of color.
"If we simply analyze black and white, they are two extremes of color, like positive and negative poles... And speaking of positive and negative poles, naturally we think of the plus and minus signs. Then, from the plus and minus signs, I think of two more color-related definitions: additive color mixing and subtractive color mixing.
"I won't go into overly complex concepts. Simply put, additive color mixing is mixing all colors of light together, resulting in white light; subtractive color mixing is mixing all colors of solid pigment together, resulting in black.
"You see, both are made by mixing various colors, but they present two extreme colors. The only difference is that one is light, and the other is solid, and the painter is on the side of solid... Ah?" "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, but that's all I can think of. What do you guys think?"
Ke Xun: "...Hmm, pretty good."
Wei Dong: "...Move aside, let the boss speak."
The boss said: "Wei Dong's analysis is very useful. The idea of light and substance has given us a new perspective. Perhaps 'light' also represents celestial light, that is, 'heaven,' and the corresponding substance is 'earth.' The artist's preference for black might be an allusion to the earth or underground—of course, this is just speculation for now, but it can be considered as a possibility."
"Furthermore, the concept of positive and negative poles also intrigues me. White and black, positive and negative, easily evoke the yin and yang fish in the Tai Chi symbol. So, do the white and black in this painting also represent yin and yang? If the painter reveres black, does it imply... the two realms of yin and yang?
"Or perhaps, black and white, positive and negative, suggest a struggle between two opposing forces, which would once again confirm our previous speculation that behind the painting incident, there are indeed two opposing forces at work."
When Mu Yiran mentioned "the two realms of yin and yang," everyone shuddered. Wu You quickly said, "I feel it should imply two forces..."
"Yes, I feel the same way." Luo Yi nodded in agreement.
"Up to now, it's becoming increasingly clear," Zhu Haowen looked up at everyone, "Every painting we've entered has indeed been subtly, or rather, has been doing its utmost to hint at something to us." "Perhaps when we accurately analyze and connect the hints in each painting, the final truth will be fully revealed before our eyes."
Everyone nodded in unison, even more eager to continue summarizing.
"The fifth painting, 'Breaking Ground,' is probably the one closest to real life," Qin Ci said. "Its theme is the common people, the various aspects of life in tenement buildings, the joys and sorrows of ordinary people. If it hints at anything, I can only think of that upward force breaking through the soil, wanting to break free from the suffering of reality. It seems more full of positive energy. Could this be what the evil force of 'painting' wants to hint at?"
"Hey, I don't think so." Ke Xun smiled and put his arm around his shoulder. "Let me give you a pep talk—the same thing, a sunny and positive person can glean positive energy from it, but a person who is used to interpreting things from a malicious and negative perspective will see negative energy first."
"It's like the painting 'Faith.' If you have Buddha in your heart, you'll see Buddha; if you have demon in your heart, you'll see demon.
"So, regarding the painting 'Breaking Through the Soil,' Brother Qin, you can't interpret it from your own perspective. You might see it as positive energy breaking through the soil, but if you look at it from the painting's malevolent side, the implication could very well be negative energy breaking through the soil.
"Combined with the clues hinted at in the painting 'Shadow,' black and white, yin and yang, heaven and earth, even the mortal realm and the underworld, could it be understood that 'breaking through the soil' refers to black, yin, earth,... the underworld? And the force breaking through the soil could very well be the evil force behind this terrifying event of entering the painting, the force that controls everything."
"So, does this painting once again confirm that the power behind the painting comes from the world below?" Zhu Haowen pointed to the floor.
"I think it's highly likely," Wei Dong nodded.
"Next is the fourth painting, 'Faith,'" Ke Xun said. "Its theme is human faith, but its deeper meaning should be the good and evil thoughts in people's hearts, right?"
He looked at Mu Yiran as he spoke.
Mu Yiran nodded: "Good and evil are like light and darkness, black and white, and they are also somewhat related to the painting 'Shadow.' But what I'm more concerned about in the painting 'Faith' is the unity of good and evil. I wonder if this 'unity of good and evil' has some kind of implication."
"Whether it does or not, just write it down." Shao Ling typed quickly.
"The next one is the third painting, 'Funeral,' which is also the first painting that Ke'er and I entered," Wei Dong said. "Its theme is… the harm that feudal backwardness inflicts on people? Or, is it awakening from ignorance? Or, could the locust tree also be a kind of implication?"
"What impressed me most about this painting were those hemp ribbons with words written on them. The original meaning of the characters they represent sends chills down my spine." Ke Xun said, while secretly glancing at Mu Yiran.
Actually, what impressed me most was the fateful encounter with this person.
As if by telepathy, Mu Yiran's gaze shifted slightly, meeting his own. Ke Xun didn't miss the fleeting tenderness in Mu Yiran's eyes, and couldn't help but let go of Dr. Qin, who was still draped in his arms, and leaned against his true love.
Qin Ci: "..."
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? We're talking about serious matters here! Mind your manners!" Everyone protested against the two of them suddenly showing off their affection.
"I'm still talking, I haven't finished yet," Ke Xun didn't care about the feelings of the single people present at all, and while holding and kneading her boyfriend's hand, she said, "I remember that the ancestor of that Li Family Village was an official called 'Zongzhu'.
"Yiran said that Zongzhu was an official in charge of praying to ancestors and spirits, and this position had the nature of a shaman."
"As we discussed yesterday when analyzing the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* (Shanhaijing Tu), it's a book of shamanism, and its author was a shaman. I believe there's an inherent connection between the two.
The painting *Funeral Ceremony* might be hinting at this 'related to shamanism' clue."
"That makes sense!" Everyone nodded in agreement.
After recording this, Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran and Qin Ci: "So, what about the second painting you entered?"
Qin Ci replied, "The second painting is called 'Ling Shu,' and its theme is medicine. We've all heard the details, so I won't repeat them. The key to finding the signature lies in the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
The Eight Extraordinary Meridians are different from the Twelve Regular Meridians—the Twelve Regular Meridians are the meridians belonging to the twelve internal organs, connecting the inside and outside of the organs and serving a function of communication. To give an analogy, if the twelve internal organs are the various important institutions of a city, then the twelve Regular Meridians are the highways connecting these institutions. The Eight Extraordinary
Meridians, however, are the links connecting the twelve Regular Meridians. If the twelve Regular Meridians are highways, then the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are the overpasses connecting these highways.
The function of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in the human body is to accumulate and irrigate the Qi and blood of the twelve Regular Meridians. Ultimately, both the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the twelve Regular Meridians serve the entire internal organs."
"If this painting holds any hints, I think it's about the relationship between the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, the Twelve Regular Meridians, and the internal organs, much like the relationship between each painting we've entered and the truth behind the entire event.
"In other words, when we first entered the second painting, one of the two forces at play hinted at the crucial clue that 'each painting points to a clue, and each clue points to the truth behind the events,' but unfortunately, we only realized it today."
Everyone nodded again.
"The remaining painting is the first one that Lao Qin and I entered," Mu Yiran said. "It's almost certain that this painting is also the first one for our group, for this round of entering paintings.
"The painting is titled 'Free Judgment,' and its theme is crime. In that painting, we experienced several different types of cases, and these cases all had one thing in common: the line between right and wrong was extremely blurred.
"Just like the distinction between legitimate self-defense and excessive self-defense, manslaughter and intentional homicide." The defender was kind and helpful, with an excellent reputation, while the victim, who died as a result of his defensive actions, had a terrible reputation and had repeatedly humiliated and harmed the defender.
"Therefore, when judging whether the defender's actions resulted in the victim's death, it is necessary to carefully examine whether the kind defender harbored malicious intent at the moment of the defensive action, intentionally turning what was originally legitimate self-defense into excessive self-defense, and whether there was any intent to kill.
"Free evaluation of evidence" is a principle where judges are not bound by mechanical rules, but rather, based on the specific circumstances of the case, freely judge the evidence and determine the facts according to rules of experience, logic, and their own rational conscience.
"In cases like the one above, it is crucial for us, as 'judges,' to make judgments based on our own conscience.
"The deeper meaning of this painting probably refers to the principle that the law is impartial, or that the law also has compassion, but from the perspective of what it suggests, I think it is more likely that 'free evaluation of evidence determines good and evil.'"
"To put it bluntly, the good and evil we see with our own eyes may not be the true or real good and evil. We need to use our experience and 'heart' to judge..."
At this point, Mu Yiran suddenly lowered his eyes and fell into thought. No one dared to disturb him, so they all watched Shao Ling take notes in his notebook.
After Shao Ling finished taking notes, he looked through them from beginning to end and said, "There are a few paintings here that point to some confusing clues, or rather, they don't quite make sense on their own."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and they quickly crowded around him, all craning their necks to look at the entries in the notebook.
"These are the few clues pointing to the worlds," Shao Ling said, pointing to the screen. "'Reboot' hints at the alternation of the old and new worlds, 'Schrödinger's Cat' hints at multiple universes, or rather, multiple worlds.
"'The Journey' hints at two opposing worlds, and 'The Scarlet Beast' hints at two parallel worlds inside and outside the city—calling them two worlds is a bit of a stretch, as the inside and outside of the city are actually one world."
"The Pure Land suggests multiple worlds, Animal World suggests the substitution of two worlds, and The Burning Rhinoceros at Sea suggests a virtual world and a real world.
"According to this, Reboot, The Journey, The Scarlet Beast, Animal World, and The Burning Rhinoceros at Sea all suggest two worlds, while Schrödinger's Cat and The Pure Land suggest multiple worlds.
"So, are there only two worlds, or are there multiple worlds? Based on the clue of the interaction between black and white forces implied in Shadow—assuming this clue is correct—the possibility of 'two worlds' becomes more likely.
"If so, the implications of Schrödinger's Cat and The Pure Land may not be related to worlds at all; there should be other implications worth reconsidering."
"Among the paintings that hint at the 'two worlds' theme, *The Scarlet Beast* actually only has one world; it's merely divided into inside and outside the city. I don't think it can be categorized as having two worlds, so it might have other implications.
Furthermore, the hints about 'two worlds' in *Animal World* and *The Burning Rhinoceros at Sea* are somewhat forced. Strictly speaking, they each only have one world—one is a species substitution, and the other is an illusion in the real world. I think we should further consider the possibilities surrounding these two paintings."