novel
| ← Ch.165 | Ch.167 → |
Forget the plot characters. The rest of the reincarnators present were experienced people but they were all stunned for a moment before showing an incredulous look. How were the words 'looking for a ghost' related to 'poor little fellow?' The latter sounded more like a stray kitten or puppy.
Xiao Li turned and walked directly into the pavilion in front of him. This time, the interior of the pavilion was empty. The monster staying here had entered the neighbour's house and only signs of destruction were left. For example, the cracked floor and smoky walls that continued from the door all the way to the depths covered with mucus.
Xiao Li avoided the mucus and went deeper. In the end, Xiao Li found the light ghost around 10 metres away from where he threw it. The light bulb was a lot dimmer than its original round and shiny appearance.
The shell was a bit sunken and the colour had lost its previous brightness. The saliva marks left on it after it was corroded and stuck it in a corner of the wall. The monster had been so angry when she found out this wasn't her egg that this poor little fellow was 'inserted' into the wall.
This caused Xiao Li to waste some time before he could pull it out of the wall. The light ghost lay weakly in Xiao Li's palm, a faint light flashing. Xiao Li touched the light bulb head with his fingers, gently put it in his pocket and walked out.
He quickly rejoined the others."Let's go."
Gao Yao and Zhao Yiyan already knew that these people were no ordinary security guards and regarded Xiao Li as an 'expert' so they didn't speak rashly. However, Fu Guangbo and the others were silent as they stared at Xiao Li's bulging pocket.
Xiao Li ignored their gazes and walked to the last exhibition hall. This last hall was very quiet. It was different from the quietness of the previous exhibition halls. This was like a huge library where no one was allowed to make noise.
During the day, Hall R was a special experience that allowed the guests to take photos with various dolls of Future Theme Park. Then at night—
Xiao Li pushed open the door and found that the original photos stuck to the wall were gone and they were replaced with paintings. The hall was very dark. The moonlight outside illuminated a short distance in front of the steps but it couldn't touch the depths at all.
Xiao Li's first reaction was to look in his pocket but the light cough let out a burst of light angrily. He coughed in a guilty manner and took out the light of his phone. Opposite the door was a painting. It was a landscape painting with heavy ink and colours. Night was rendered with a lot of black paint at the top and a few red strokes outlined a building.
The light of the flashlight shone directly on this painting and the glass frame in which it was embedded reflected the shadows of several people. Xiao Li moved closer and recognized the painting.
"This... this painting seems to be... this theme park?" Chen Jinghan examined it carefully for a moment before finally speaking.
Ye Zeqing pointed to the paintings on the left and right."The two next to it are the exhibition halls we just explored."
Xiao Li replied, "Yes."
He swept over the depths of the hall with his mobile phone and found it was large, much larger than the previous ones. It shouldn't be this large based on when they were standing outside. The corridor here was so deep that the light could only shine on a certain distance. The only thing they could see were the paintings hanging on both sides of the wall.
The surroundings were quiet as if all the sounds had been swallowed up. This caused everyone's breathing to be heard.
"There are no creatures here." Fu Guangbo followed Xiao Li."It is just a gallery..."
There were many paintings hanging on both sides of the wall including oil paintings, sketches, etc. Their eyes swept over the paintings such as an empty cage filled with branches, a deep blue sea with white paint dipped on the tip of the waves or an empty ball.
Xiao Li paused for a while at each painting, admiring the paintings before walking forward. He was just like a visitor who really came to enjoy the exhibition.
This made the others anxious. Apart from Zheng Yi and his group, the rest of the reincarnators and security guards didn't want to stay here for too long. According to their thoughts, they could go out after a quick patrol so they wouldn't deal with anything. As for the terrible ghosts and the task, wasn't there still tomorrow?
The deep darkness here was always reminiscent of all types of ghosts.
Fu Guangbo was the first one who couldn't bear it and he squeezed out a smile."Hercule, we can look slowly next time. For now, we should focus on the task. Let's go back and discuss it as soon as possible."
Xiao Li's eyes moved away from the sketch of the vase and fixed on Fu Guangbo for three seconds. Then he casually replied, "Okay."
He turned his head and walked forward.
Fu Guangbo sighed with relief. He had thought he would be rejected. He didn't expect Hercule to be so approachable this time. However, he didn't see that after their group turned to leave, the wave pattern in the deep darkness changed slightly.
If they had turned around at this time, they would've found that the white waves weren't undulating but were actually the pale faces of people! The faces slowly turned around and stared at their backs, the faces attached to the frame.
***
The corridor was long and there were many paintings. It seemed like it would never end.
Gao Yao was walking behind the reincarnators. He couldn't say how he felt. He hadn't actually gone into these pavilions a few days ago and fortunately kept his life.
According to common sense, he should cry and resign on the spot. However, for his high salary and obedience to his duties, he had stayed. Now he entered with these people and wanted to run away. He just didn't dare to do it alone and could only continue to follow the team.
This place was weird. All the paintings were vivid and exquisite.
Gao Yao inexplicably felt a breeze. He looked up at the sketch closest to him and noticed that the team in front was gradually pulling away from him. He turned his head away and wanted to speed up his pace.
However, the moment he walked forward, the corner of his eye saw something that caused him to freeze and all the blood in his body to become cold. The sketch was originally a piece of sugar wrapper spread out on a table. There was no colour in the sketch. Gao Yao could vaguely recognize it as a candy produced by the candy factory but he couldn't identify which one it was.
Then the moment he lifted his feet, he found that the wrapper had turned into a face! The layers of folds in the original wrapper looked more like a wrinkled face. The black lines were the wrinkles on this face. The most important thing was that this face was somehow familiar for some reason.
The fact noticed Gao Yao's presence and opened its mouth. Gao Yao couldn't even let out a cry. He felt like he was choked by something and then he lost consciousness. If someone turned around, they would've seen him disappear.
The sketch turned its head stiffly and looked at the back of the team again. In the many paintings they passed by, there were many faces staring at them greedily like they were delicious food.
***
The corridor was very deep. They had been walking for a long time but they hadn't reached the end.
Zhao Yiyan was the first one to find that Gao Yao had disappeared.
It was a long story but Gao Yao had really disappeared in a flash. Therefore, Zhao Yiyan didn't discover this fat until three minutes had passed. He looked back and forth several times with disbelief before stopping the group in front of him."Wait, G-Gao Yao is gone!"
Zhao Yiyan took a few steps back with fright and his shoulders hit Zheng Yi's arms. The two people shivered together.
Xiao Li asked, "Who saw Gao Yao last?"
"I didn't see or hear anything..."
"I didn't notice anything as well. I didn't see how he disappeared. D-Did a ghost appear?"
"What type of ghost is it this time? Why are there no movements?"
In this instance world, anyone could follow Gao Yao's footsteps. Thus, everyone was discussing things in a panic and moving as close to each other as possible. They feared that the next one to somehow disappear would be themselves.
Zheng Yi approached Xiao Li."Hercule?"
Xiao Li shook his head to indicate that he hadn't noticed Gao Yao's disappeared. His doll Tan Li also shook her head.
"W-We should go out first. We have completed our duty of patrolling..." Tian Bin looked around with frightened eyes and suggested.
Xiao Li told him, "Keep going."
Fu Guangbo collapsed."Bigshot, you should consider—"
He was interrupted by Xiao Li before his words were finished."We can't go out."
Fu Guangbo froze for a moment."W-Why?"
"If my guess is correct, these paintings will change the moment we decide to go out. This change will be gradual. The best way is to go deeper inside and figure this out."
He looked up at the painting closest to him. It was a small cart in an upright position. The top of the cart was a hood and there were a few cotton candy on the table of the card. It was a sketch.
Xiao Li took half a step back, turned sideways and stared at the side of the painting carefully. Then he nodded at a corner of the painting and said, "Hi."
The face in the portrait, "......"
It was originally grinning savagely, preparing to scare off the human in front of him. This time, it was greeted well and the terrible smile on its face was a bit deformed. It seemed quite funny.
Zheng Yi and Ye Zeqing had always been paying attention to Xiao Li. They were prepared to hug this big brother's thighs and run away with him. They hadn't expected Xiao Li to look at the painting.
The rest of the people followed his gaze to the painting curiously. At first, they didn't see anything. They just thought it was a well drawn cart. It seemed more like a photograph than a painting.
Zheng Yi twisted his neck to Xiao Li's angle, trying to understand the world of this big brother. He didn't see the face until he turned to a similar angle to Xiao Li. The vague facial features were watching them. Zheng Yi had already made preparations but he still couldn't help taking a deep breath.
Xiao Li pointed to the lines drawn, looking back and forth with admiration. He pondered for a moment and hesitated before asking an academic question."Please..."
The rest of the people, "???"
—Please?
Xiao Li pointed to the strokes that formed the shadows of the face and asked, "How was this part drawn?"
This sketching technique was very special and he wanted to learn it.
Zheng Yi, "........."
Don't ask. It was Hercule who wanted to hone his painting skills, to keep improving and learning.
The author has something to say:
Xiao Li: @Bloody Mary, I learned a new drawing technique. Come and model for me.
Bloody Mary: Good night, I am sleeping. If you really want a model then I suggest @pen fairy. Its body has edges and curves. It is suitable for you.
Pen fairy:? I'm just a pen.
| ← Ch. 165 | Ch. 167 → |