"Some force, in a certain way, during the long semi-mythical era, periodically erased records of human activity spanning hundreds of years. Perhaps to end this, Yu ordered the casting of nine tripods, inscribed with shamanic diagrams of divine and demonic power, and laid out shamanic symbols with the character 'light' across the vast land to seal this power.
Both casting the tripods and laying out the shamanic symbols were extremely time-consuming, sometimes lasting for hundreds of years due to various circumstances, until finally succeeding in completely sealing this power, allowing human-led history to be continuously recorded."
"However, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, when war broke out and the world was in chaos, the Nine Cauldrons disappeared for unknown reasons. The power that had been sealed away lost its divine artifact to suppress it, and began to stir, seeking an opportunity to reappear in the world by drawing
people into paintings. "The other force that restrained it noticed its movement and did its best to imprint images representing the Nine Cauldrons and the Earthly Dimension on the bones of those who entered the paintings, using them to continue suppressing the dark power, and in the process, trying to provide hints to those who entered the paintings.
"Each reappearance of the dark power may have a cycle, and we are the chosen ones in this cycle. According to this, it seems that bone images alone may only be able to suppress this dark power for a hundred years. To truly and completely suppress it and prevent it from rising again, we probably still need to find the real Nine Cauldrons."
Mu Yiran's analysis completely clarified the entire clue for everyone, and all the focus then fell on finding the whereabouts of the Nine Cauldrons.
After lunch, everyone resumed their work according to their previous assignments. Wei Dong continued studying the bone structure images, Luo Yi crammed on the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, Ke Xun posted another Weibo message to inquire about the Nine Cauldrons from the vast online community, Zhu Haowen was responsible for posting on high-traffic platforms such as online forums and Tieba, and Mu Yiran was also typing incessantly on his laptop; Ke Xun speculated that he was using his extensive network of contacts to find clues.
The rest of the group went to the library.
It wasn't until they returned in the evening and everyone gathered for dinner that Wei Dong, rubbing his sore eyes, sat down at the table and said weakly to Ke Xun, "You might not believe it, but I can already see the naked-eye 3D effect in these pictures..."
Before Ke Xun could answer, Mu Yiran asked, "What do you see in the 3D pictures?"
Wei Dong suddenly realized and his expression changed, "I see ravines and valleys, mountains and trees..."
"If you stare at the images of mountains and trees, you'll see mountains and trees, won't you?" Ke Xun said as he peeled the shells of braised prawns for Mu Yiran.
"It's not flat, it's 3D," Wei Dong waved his hand. "Remember those colorful picture books we bought when we were kids? The pages were covered in dense, intricate geometric patterns. If you stared at a point in the middle for a while, the patterns on the page would suddenly become three-dimensional, some raised, some recessed.
"—I pieced together the skeletal images from those pages of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*. It has mountains, rivers, trees, spirits, birds, and beasts. All these patterns, when pieced together and stared at for a while, form a complete three-dimensional image—a mountain!
"—Note that it's not just the skeletal images depicting mountains that show up as mountains; it's all these images combined to form a three-dimensional mountain. The spirits, birds, and beasts become part of the mountain's outline. But this mountain is incomplete; it's missing a part. Now that I think about it, I suspect it's because the skeletal images of the remaining three are missing!"
"This is a major breakthrough!" Qin Ci was also unusually excited. "Could it be that when all of our skeletal images are pieced together, what appears is the location of the Nine Cauldrons?"
"—Very likely!" Everyone joined in the excitement.
"Dong-ge, let me see that picture," Luo Jin said. "If this mountain actually exists, I might be able to recognize it."
Wei Dong and the others looked at him in surprise and asked the question they wanted to ask him: "Really? There are so many mountains, big and small, all over the country. Can you recognize every single one?"
"Nameless hills and mountains without any special features definitely won't do," Luo Jin said. "When I was little, my dad was busy with his business and couldn't take care of my mom and me. My mom loved to take me traveling all over the country. Later, when I grew up, I continued to travel all over the country with my friends who loved to have fun. We all loved climbing mountains. During my teenage years, we even vowed to climb every mountain in the country—from that time on, we would take a picture of every mountain we climbed to prove that we had been there.
"We not only took close-ups but also panoramic shots, and if conditions allowed, we even did aerial photography—we all had drones. So I've accumulated about ten thousand photos of mountains since I was a child, and I have a pretty deep impression of them. Even if I can't remember them, I can use the photos to compare."
"Besides, I think if this mountain really does contain the Nine Cauldrons, it must be quite unique. It's impossible for such powerful artifacts to be hidden in a small hill. If it's a mountain with a name, I'll definitely recognize it."
"Well done, you little rascal, you keep surprising us." Ke Xun said, stuffing a peeled shrimp into Luo Jin's mouth. "Go take a look at that picture with your brother Dong. Call us if you recognize it."
Luo Jin chewed on the shrimp and followed Wei Dong to the study. The picture was on the computer in the study.
The two returned shortly after. Luo Yu shook his head: "The map isn't complete, so it's hard to judge. But I feel it's the mountains in Xiyuan. I know Xiyuan well; I've been there more than ten times. It's a pity the map is incomplete, missing a crucial part. If the map were complete, I would definitely be able to recognize the place."
Everyone looked at each other, and finally, Shao Ling sighed: "I think this might be the result of the forces behind the scenes doing this intentionally. If we can't gather thirteen people, we'll never be able to touch the final answer. For now, the pursuit of clues may have to stop here."
"There's nothing we can do about it," Qin Ci comforted him. "Even if Luo Bo could pinpoint the exact location now, we wouldn't have time to rush to Xiyuan to search. We're about to move on to the next painting, and we need to set aside time to scout and investigate the area. Let's leave it at that for now."
"Look on the bright side, we're getting closer to gathering thirteen people, and the final answer is being revealed," Ke Xun said with a smile. "Come on, let's eat first. We can't let this big meal I made go to waste. Eat something good, recharge your energy, and prepare to enter the next painting!"
Mentioning entering the next painting brought a sense of dejection to everyone. Their efforts to solve the main plot mysteries these past few days were ultimately insufficient to address the immediate needs of the next painting they were about to enter.
Wu You checked her calendar on her phone: "This is the first time I've spent the New Year away from my family."
Gu Qingqing's expression also darkened when her family was mentioned: "I told a huge lie, and that's how my parents agreed to let me leave home for the New Year."
Clearly, everyone had lied to their families to be able to stay at Ke Xun's house far from home at the end of the year.
"We need to arrive in K City at least three days before entering the painting on New Year's Day to prepare," Shao Ling said.
"To welcome the Spring Festival, the art museum replaced a large number of old paintings and will exhibit a batch of new paintings in this exhibition. There is no specific information about these paintings yet. I have already spoken with the relevant personnel, and they will give me a clear map of the exhibition halls and the main content of each hall around the 26th of the twelfth lunar month," Mu Yiran said. "Therefore, we will probably set off around the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, arrive in K City on the same day, and spend four days conducting a comprehensive analysis of the exhibition content."
Although everyone knew how cunning the art promoters were, Mu Yiran's words still reassured them. Even if they couldn't determine the specific painting, understanding the overall style of the exhibition halls would be somewhat helpful in their selection.
Luo Jin scratched his head: "Is it already the Spring Festival? They've already started counting the days according to the 20th of the twelfth lunar month? Looks like the New Year is really coming."
Wei Dong looked at the calendar on the table—Ke Xun doesn't rely entirely on his phone in these places: clocks, calendars, stopwatches, cookbooks... he has to buy all of them in physical form.
Wei Dong continued looking at the calendar: "Huh, it's already the 25th today? Tomorrow is the 26th! We've been researching so hard these past few days, we've unknowingly passed the Little New Year?"
"Brother Dong, what time is it, and you're still thinking about the Little New Year?" Luo Jin saw Ke Xun and Fang Fei bring in the food and quickly went over to help. "We'll go to Ruhua to celebrate the New Year together, that'll be so great..."
It's called a big meal, but Ke Xun hasn't had time to prepare any ingredients these days. He just buys some from the convenience store and adds what's already in the refrigerator, doing his best to make sure everyone is full and well-fed.
"Our main dish is hand-pulled mutton rice~ Everyone, eat as much as you want~" Ke Xun stirred the mutton rice in the pot, and the aroma filled the air. "Everyone's been exhausted these days, not a moment's rest since the last painting was finished. Even robots need to recharge, right? Let's treat today like New Year's Day~"
Luo Jin was already eating heartily, not used to eating with his hands, so he used a ladle: "Let's celebrate the New Year here today, and tomorrow we'll head to K City to continue the New Year celebrations there~"
"I've noticed that everyone's ambitions are getting bigger and bigger, huh? When Luo Jin mentioned going to K City, it sounded like everyone was going on a trip." Wu You picked up a piece of lamb chop and took a bite. "My god, Lao Ke's cooking is amazing! These onions, these cumin seeds, they're all so delicious~"
Everyone: Who's really the most ambitious? After
dinner
, Wei Dong and Luo Yi took the girls to the hotel, Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen cleaned up the dishes, and Shao Ling awkwardly sat on the beanbag chair, reviewing the materials he had summarized that day. After a while, he felt a stiff neck...
Ke Xun and Mu Yiran stood on the balcony, this seemed to be a rare relaxing night in recent days.
What seemed like an ordinary, everyday night was incredibly precious because of its unusually short duration.
"Yiran, we can spend the New Year together." Ke Xun looked through the glass window at the stars in the cold night sky, increasingly feeling that everything in the world has two sides.
The painting's release date was set for the first day of the Lunar New Year, which was extremely bad, but by a twist of fate, Ke Xun and Mu Yiran were about to spend their first Spring Festival together.
Ke Xun felt Mu Yiran hug him from behind, his chin resting on his shoulder, a tingling, warm sensation.
Mu Yiran's silence struck Ke Xun as odd. The other man held his hand tightly, remaining silent. Ke Xun couldn't help but turn around, only to suddenly feel a chill on his fingertips.
There was a strange sensation on his left ring finger. Ke Xun seemed to recognize what it was, but couldn't resist looking up. On his left ring finger was a silver men's ring.
Ke Xun instinctively took Mu Yiran's hand, and sure enough, on the other's left ring finger was a ring identical to his own.
Mu Yiran continued to hold Ke Xun tightly from behind, his voice seemingly buried in Ke Xun's sweater before drifting into his ear: "An old item from home. I had it melted down and made into two rings. Nothing special, just wanted to make them, so we could both wear them."
Ke Xun had never imagined that he, as a man, would one day receive a ring—even from Mu Yiran.
Ke Xun thought he was always a rough, unrefined man, and such delicate, formal things were beyond his comprehension.
But this ring, firmly fixed on their finger, has transformed from its initial coolness to its current warmth, truly seeming to have bound together their future.
Author's Note:
Reader: Why the ring? Isn't that a bit cheesy?
Xingyue, biting her pencil: Well… I just felt there should be some kind of ceremony…
Reader: Oh my god, you're not going to have a wedding, are you? We can't stand that!
Xingyue: Who's always ordering them to get married on the spot in the comments?
Reader: That's just an adjective, okay? No getting married on the spot! We can't take it!
Xingyue: _(:з」∠)_ Fine then.