Paintings of Terror

 Once again, the familiar image of the white fish appeared on the screen, its appearance almost identical to the dried fish that the fat uncle had given them.

“According to the fat uncle, only the Cold Night Inn has these white fish. Could it be that the ‘us’ from before left behind these negatives specifically to remind us to go to the Cold Night Inn to find the signature?” Wei Dong said.

The current image on the screen displayed four white fish in water. Because their sides were facing upwards, everyone still thought they were four dead fish.

The next image was a close-up of a single white fish, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.

The following few pictures were also varying numbers of white fish with similar shapes. However, one picture was different from the rest. The fish in it was shaped like a willow leaf and was just poking out there, looking eerie and unnatural.

“Are these things really fish?” Cao Youning studied them for a while but couldn’t figure out what they were.

“Looking at the state they are in, they really don’t feel like fish. Why are they so stiff? They lack vitality and don’t look like they are swimming. Even dead fish shouldn’t be in this state,” Luo Bu couldn’t make sense of it either. “Unless these fish are frozen stiff.”

“Since these fish grow in the Cold Night Inn, they shouldn’t fear the cold,” Qin Ci analyzed. “Actually, if you look closely, they should be fish. There’s something resembling fish fins on both sides. It would be better if the image were clearer.”

“If the Cold Night Inn is indeed very cold, it’s quite impressive to capture these photos to this extent.” Mai Peng added.

“Dong Zi, you should sketch these photos down, they should be very important.” Ke Xun said.

“Ke Er is right,” Wei Dong quickly took out a pen from his bag, ready to draw them in his art collection book. “It happens that the first few pages are blank, so I’ll just draw it there.”

Wei Dong began drawing the image in front of him. He took a quick look at the structure and layout and started drawing rapidly. Although they were just simple lines, they captured the basic outline of the photo.

As Wei Dong was finishing up, he stopped his pen. “I believe these slender fish should be the side views of the white fish we saw earlier. Judging from their shape and structure, I think I’m right. To be exact, they were photographed from the top of the fish’s back facing downward.”

After Wei Dong’s explanation, everyone all found them quite similar.

“But why do I feel like these fish aren’t in the water, but rather like they’re fixed in the cracks of a cave?” Mai Peng looked at them for a while and still couldn’t understand. “Say, when do you guys think these photos were taken?”

If these white fish truly originated from the Cold Night Inn, then at what time did the members of the other timeline go to the Cold Night Inn?

“I don’t know other things, but one thing is certain: the outside temperature is at least negative twenty or thirty degrees Celsius. Water droplets can instantly turn into ice at this temperature. Even if they could manage to take photos, it would be impossible to develop the films.” Mai Peng said with conviction. “The current temperature in the Lantern Inn is already quite challenging for film development. If it gets colder, it will be even more difficult to complete.”

“What do you think about the quality of the film developed?” Mu Yiran asked.

Mai Peng replied, “It’s similar to the quality of the ones we developed two days ago.”

Mu Yiran continued, “They only have 7 days, and if these photos were indeed taken by them, they should have rushed back from Cold Night Inn to the Lantern Inn to develop these films. Due to the time constraints, they wouldn’t have had the chance to go to the other Inns on the way.”

Zhu Haowen, “One question: Why did they come to the Lantern Inn? What could attract them here? If we consider the distance, they could’ve gone to the neighboring Light Inn or Fluorite Inn, both of which are closer and more convenient.”

“I can answer this question,” Fang Fei spoke up. “Between two diagonally opposite Inns, there is an invisible tunnel that allows people to quickly reach the other side. Although the actual distance to Lantern Inn is a bit longer than to the other two Inns, there are no obstacles in this tunnel, while the journey to the other two Inns would have many uncertainties and could waste a lot of time.”

“So they chose to come to the Lantern Inn from the Cold Night Inn for the sake of speed,” Qin Ci furrowed his brow, “Could it really be just to find an Inn with a suitable temperature to develop these photos?”

“It’s evident that these photos are extremely precious,” Shao Ling remarked, “and these photos aren’t in rolls. They were cut from the films. They probably did this to prevent certain photos from being censored out and disappearing, which might lead to the entire roll vanishing. So, they cut each photo out as a precaution.”

Luo Bu scratched his head for a while, “So you’re saying that when they arrived in this world, they were in the Cold Night Inn, while we were in Lantern Inn? Why would that be?”

“We were in the Lantern Inn because they ended the 7th day in the Lantern Inn,” Shao Ling answered, “and they appeared in Cold Night Inn because we will be going to the Cold Night Inn to find clues based on these white fish films… Is this an infinite loop?”

“This matter isn’t complicated. It’s just a result of the effects the two timelines have on each other. It’s not really an infinite loop, because the total time of the two timelines adds up to only seven days,” Mu Yiran spoke.

“I think I understand now why they were able to determine their roles so early,” Ke Xun’s expression lit up with sudden realization, “I was wondering the whole time, what made them know they were on the false line and determined that the other timeline’s us were on the solid line?”

“They appeared in the Cold Night Inn at the start and immediately took photos of the Inn. In order to save time, they crossed the tunnel to get to the Lantern Inn, developed the film here, and thought of every way possible to leave various items as hints for us.”

“I think there’s only one answer: when they first appeared in Cold Night Inn, they discovered Bi Di’s signature!”

“Even though they discovered the signature, they realized they couldn’t exit this world through the signature at all. So, the skilled members among them started brainstorming… combined with the effects from our timeline providing hints, their final conclusion was that their timeline is reversed, it’s a false line. Their task is to assist their counterparts on the other timeline… I’m sorry, my brain capacity is limited, and I can only reason up to this point.”

Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun, seemingly surprised by this corgi’s remarkable growth, “Very reasonable. The people from the other timeline discovered the conclusion right after arriving in this world.”

“Why didn’t they just wait for us right beside the signature? When we arrived in this world, we could have seen the signature directly,” Luo Bu thought hard and posed a proactive question.

“Cold Night Inn is extremely cold. Without consuming special Shaman medicine, they wouldn’t survive a day,” Fang Fei’s voice sounded icy behind her mask, “And besides, they had just arrived and couldn’t immediately figure out all the secrets of the timeline. Concepts like the intersection of lifespans aren’t something that can be deduced overnight.”

“There’s another possibility. Maybe they encountered danger in the Cold Night Inn and escaped to here in an emergency,” Du Lingyu also added, “But I think analyzing this now isn’t the most important thing. The top priority is leaving this place and heading to the Cold Night Inn.”

Feng Fei couldn’t help but glance at Du Lingyu again, though her white, icy mask revealed no expression at all.

“Feng Fei, did you see something? On me.” Du Lingyu sensitively caught on to it.

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Feng Fei wasn’t used to lying, so she spoke: “Yes, maybe the deaths of your two companions stirred up some of your memories. Your current condition is somewhat unstable. In my view, you’re a person with double images.”

“Double images?” Du Lingyu was suddenly frightened into a cold sweat.

“Yes, just like the effect of double exposure in a photograph. The edges of your body aren’t unique. About five or six centimeters away, there’s a faint shadow. Although it’s not very clear, I can tell that the person is you.” Feng Fei slowly approached Du Lingyu and suddenly patted her forehead with her right hand. “Alright, you’re fine now.”

Everyone stared in astonishment…

Du Lingyu wiped her forehead full of sweat, “All those illusions and feelings just disappeared. Feng Fei, tell me, after we find the signature, can I still leave?”

Feng Fei fell silent for a moment, “If we can smoothly leave the Lantern Inn, there might be a chance.”

Du Lingyu bit her lip and fell silent.

“Don’t think too much. Let’s leave before the lights go out. If we can find the signature in advance, then we won’t be confined by the 7-day cycle of reincarnation anymore.” Cao Youning didn’t know how to console his companion.

“As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, no one will give up on you.” Ke Xun hoped these words could encourage Du Lingyu.

Du Lingyu nodded slowly, gradually finding some strength.

Mu Yiran looked at the incense in the room, “There isn’t much time left. We have less than an hour until the lights will go out. Everyone, pack your belongings quickly. Feng Fei, if we want to go to the Cold Night Inn through that tunnel, what preparations do we need to make?”

Feng Fei said, “A spirit dog, enough Shaman medicine to resist the cold, and Shaman’s eyes that can see this tunnel.”

“No wonder the fat uncle wanted to team up with us. They not only want to use our spirit dog but also want Feng Fei to help them find the way,” Luo Bu said while packing dried flatbreads into his food bag.

“Shaman medicine to resist the cold, is it easy to find?” Mu Yiran asked.

“I can make it now. We need an alchemical furnace and a few types of medicinal herbs.” As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Ci had already prepared the alchemical furnace.

Qin Ci said, “I’ll help you prepare the herbs. We have a complete set of herbs in our luggage, but if it’s still not enough, we can immediately buy more from the apothecary.”

Feng Fei quickly listed the names of several herbs. It seemed that she had gained considerable knowledge about Shaman craft after putting on the Shaman’s mask.

Luckily, all these herbs were available. Qin Ci prepared them quickly.

Luo Bu asked a bit worriedly, “Although Koharu is a spirit dog, how can it carry so many of us? Do we need to use it to pull a cart…”

“No need to pull a cart. Koharu can do it.” Feng Fei confidently affirmed.

Koharu seemed to be full of confidence too. It even seemed a bit excited, standing on its hind legs, eyes shining, and spirits high.

“I’m done drawing,” Wei Dong stopped his pen, sounding quite emotional, “Do you know, after finishing these drawings, I’ve just filled the empty pages at the beginning of this art collection. Could it be that the drawings on those empty pages were these? It’s really incredible.”

“Even if these weren’t the drawings, they must be important content about the Cold Night Inn, undoubtedly related to the signature,” Shao Ling said, “By the way, Feng Fei, where is that tunnel approximately in the Lantern Inn?”