In the three paintings, the differences and similarities are clearly drawn and can be seen at a glance.
The backgrounds of the three paintings are all identical vines, giving people a weird feeling as if they will grow out at any time.
A ritual is taking place in each painting.
Three paintings, three rituals, the order of the paintings, the appearance and disappearance of the halo, what do they represent
Chen Yang was a very vulgar person who could not draw and did not understand painting. He thought for a long time and pointed to the altar next to him and said, "This is the altar in the painting."
"The stone pillars here are the same as in the paintings, but they are not on the first two paintings, only on the third one."
"There are four in the painting, but now there are only three."
"The positions of the pillars around the altar are also different."
Chen Yang muttered: "What will happen if I find the fourth stone pillar and arrange it according to the order in the painting? Will I be able to complete the mission?"
"But we still have to go find the fourth stone pillar first. We can talk about it after we find it."
"I don't know where to find it either? No hint."
"… "
Chen Yang talked to himself for a while, then shook the boy's cane: "Did you find anything?"
Chao Jian glanced at him: "You are talking to yourself very powerfully."
Chen Yang: “…”
Chao Jian took out his cell phone to take a picture of the painting.
Chen Yang said: "At midnight, the overlapping space in the cave will disappear, and the altar at the overlapping point will also be hidden. What will happen if we stay here and don't go out?"
Chao Jian: "You will lack oxygen."
Chen Yang was choked by his strange train of thought, and his fear disappeared: "Yeah, it's not okay to stay in a closed space for too long."
"Then let's go out and come back at 10:35 tomorrow morning. If all goes well, we will bring the fourth stone pillar by then."
Chao Jian put away his phone and said, "Leave the box here."
Chen Yang's hair stood up: "What's wrong?"
Chao Jian moved the crutch that he was holding tightly, "Isn't it too heavy to carry?"
Chen Yang: “… a little bit.”
Chao Jian walked towards the overlapping point marked by Jian Jian with crutches. Chen Yang quickly put the box in his arms on the ground and trotted to catch up with him.
The moment he left, Chen Yang vaguely heard footsteps again.
There are many more figures.
This time, Chen Yang experienced fully what the mountains were like at night.
No matter how bright the moonlight was, it was blocked by the dense branches and leaves and could not shine in, making it dim even when walking in the woods.
Not to mention the little crescent moon.
It was pitch dark all around. I walked for a while and looked back, and it was all pitch black. I couldn't even see the way I came.
Chen Yang was afraid that the wound on his hand would be scratched by the branches, so he had to put his hand in front of him and use his other hand to hold up Chao Jian's cell phone to clear the way.
There was light and there were people behind him. He was not the last one, so he was not so scared.
"It's late at night and we can't even see clearly. How are we going to find the fourth stone pillar?" Chen Yang's shoes creaked as they stepped on the thin branches. "Are we just going to walk blindly? Or do you already have a general direction?"
Chao Jian walked behind him on crutches: "No, let's try our luck."
Chen Yang stumbled.
"Those three paintings, you didn't feel anything after looking at them?"
No response.
Chen Yang began to give a rough analysis: "The first picture shows the leader standing on the altar, and the people kneeling are very pious. The halo around the leader in the second picture may be some kind of gift."
"The third picture shows that the leader has made a big mistake. Those who were kneeling are no longer pious. They all stand up. Look at him kneeling on the altar. The halo is gone, and the gift has been taken away..."
Chen Yang used his imagination and talked as he walked. He was the only one talking while the person behind him remained silent.
But he knew the other party was listening.
Even if his speech is incoherent and illogical.
Moreover, he was not instigated by Lin Yue and was a good ally and partner.
"I'm not sure what kind of plant the vine is. I've never seen anything like it on the island. It must be related to the curse."
Chen Yang's calf was gently hit by the crutch, accompanied by the boy's very low voice.
"Someone is coming."
Chen Yang now fully trusted the boy's keen senses. He stopped immediately and found that they had reached a fork in the road.
And from the other end of a path came a chaotic rustling sound, as if someone was running wildly in the woods.
Coming towards them.
The sound was getting closer, and Chen Yang heard a thick breathing sound, and was sure it was a person.
Monsters don't breathe like that.
Chen Yang turned off the mobile phones that shouldn't be on the island, asked Chao Jian to give him the box of matches he got from Li Dafu's house, and held one up after lighting it.
Not knowing who would be coming, he hoped deep down that it was A Wu. But when he saw who it was, the vigilance on his face froze.
It’s not Awu, it’s Teacher Zhou.
This was the second time Chen Yang met Teacher Zhou after the time in front of Aunt Liu's house. He was still wearing the same gray cloth gown, but his whole body was dripping with water, and he was not wearing glasses. He looked very haggard.
When Teacher Zhou saw Chen Yang and the tall boy beside him, he turned around and ran away in panic.
"Hey, Teacher Zhou, we are human beings." Chen Yang shouted hurriedly.
Teacher Zhou paused, turned around and asked in a trembling voice: "People?"
"Yeah." Chen Yang extinguished the match that was about to burn his hand, lit another one, and sighed, "It scared someone."
All the energy Mr. Zhou had held in his body suddenly escaped and he collapsed to the ground.
Chen Yang didn't look for a place, so he pulled Chao Jian to sit down at the fork in the road and asked Teacher Zhou to take a break before talking.
Teacher Zhou is a teacher, but after this day, his three views have all collapsed.
He was no longer elegant, nor was the wisdom and calmness in his eyes. Instead, he was filled with suspicion and paranoia.
Like little white flowers swaying in the wind and rain, wilted and fragile.
Chen Yang fiddled with the dry grass, struck a match and threw it in to light it: "Teacher Zhou, why are your clothes so wet?"
Teacher Zhou smiled bitterly: "I climbed out of the sea."
He told the story of his escape.
It was so thrilling that I can't describe it. I was so anxious that I jumped into the sea. I didn't dare to go ashore. I could only swim around the island and wait until it was safe at night.
After hearing this, Chen Yang said, "When you were hiding in the sea, weren't you afraid that there might be something in the fog?"
"No time to think."
Teacher Zhou was shivering with a palpitation in his heart, water was still dripping from his clothes, and when the mountain breeze blew, his face looked like it was covered with a layer of white paint.
Chen Yang gave him two milk slices.
At this time, no matter how small the fly's legs are, they are still meat.
Teacher Zhou thanked him repeatedly and was about to ask what it was when he suddenly felt himself being stared at by a cold gaze.
He raised his head with trembling hands and feet, and found that the sight had disappeared, like an illusion.
Also disappearing was the suffocating feeling of being bitten to death by the ferocious beast.
Chen Yang saw that the man was a little dazed: "Teacher Zhou?"
"It's okay," Teacher Zhou murmured, "It's okay."
"What I gave you is a kind of food from outside, eat it."
Chen Yang put a piece of cake in his mouth, leaned close to the ear of the young man who was sitting under the tree with his arms folded, and whispered to him whether he had finished eating and if there was any left.
Chao Jian closed his eyes and said nothing. A hand reached into his coat pocket, leaving a plate of milk slices.
His eyelids moved, and the two arms around his body moved down, pressing down on his pockets faintly.
Chen Yang noticed that when the boy coughed, Teacher Zhou was like a frightened rabbit, ready to run into the bushes at any time. He explained, "It's a cold."
Teacher Zhou breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, the temperature is low at night, it's easy to catch a cold, I'm afraid I'll catch it too."
As he said that, he sneezed: "I have all the medicines, but I forgot to take them when I ran."
Teacher Zhou sighed to himself. Saving his life was the most important thing, so he couldn't care about anything else.
Chen Yang added some dry firewood to the fire: "Teacher Zhou, A Wu said that he heard from the elders in his family that there have been large-scale incidents like today on the island before..."
Teacher Zhou interrupted seriously: "Impossible!"
"On a large scale? How is that possible? I've never heard of it before."
The next second, Teacher Zhou was shocked: "No, there is no old man in Awu's family. He lives alone!"
Chen Yang suddenly felt hairy all over and he moved towards the young man out of habit.
"That is... Awu is lying? Why?"
Teacher Zhou was pitiful. He was already shivering from the cold, and now he was shaking even when he spoke: "Mr. Chen, when did you listen to what Ah Wu said?"
"During the day." Chen Yang lied with his eyes wide open, "Then we got separated."
Teacher Zhou swallowed hard: "Awu is just like me. His family members passed away early. When he was young, he was liked by the elders, so he had everything he needed to eat and wear..."
"Now he is popular with little girls. Maybe he has grown up and his personality has changed. He has become shy. When did this start? Why did he lie? He is not young anymore. Why would he still play pranks and scare people..."
Chen Yang looked at the man who was talking incoherently and his voice got lower and lower as he spoke: "Teacher Zhou, have you seen any columnar objects on the island?"
Teacher Zhou did not respond.
Chen Yang asked again, and Teacher Zhou finally heard it clearly. He shook his head and said he had never seen it.
"Have you ever heard of anything strange?"
Teacher Zhou wanted to laugh. What could be weirder than what was happening now
The familiar people on the island are no longer human.
For a moment, the only sound beside the fire was the crackling of burning wood, with the real smell of ash.
Chen Yang stood up and stretched his body. The firelight could only illuminate a limited area, and the areas that were not illuminated were all dark. The trees looked ghostly. He didn't look at them any further, and quickly sat back, huddled next to the young man.
Even if the other person fell asleep, Chen Yang still felt safe.
Chen Yang leaned his upper body towards the fire and said, "Teacher Zhou, let's have a chat."
Teacher Zhou looked at the young man's face reflected in the firelight. He was a few years younger than himself, with bright eyes and a surprisingly good attitude. He came to the island to travel and encountered such a horrible thing, but he still had the mind to chat.
Unlike him, he would be going crazy.
Chen Yang said casually: "Aunt Liu told me before that some land on the island cannot be used. It seems that there is a hidden reason. She didn't say more."
Teacher Zhou grabbed the strands of wet hair that were sticking to his scalp and said, "Yes, they are all in that one spot. There is no other hidden reason. It's just that nothing grows. No matter what I plant, nothing grows."
Chen Yang kicked the boy's foot to remind him to be careful, and then asked Teacher Zhou: "What's going on?"
Teacher Zhou said, “I don’t know.”
Chen Yang: “…”
Just when I was feeling disappointed, I heard Teacher Zhou say, "But I heard a rumor."
He immediately perked up: "What rumor?"
"I wasn't born yet at that time. There was a family on the island who wanted to build a house, and the man went to that area to dig soil."
Teacher Zhou recalled: "That night the man had a dream in which he saw a group of unfamiliar men, women, old and young dancing around his house."
"The next morning the man told his wife."
Teacher Zhou's wet clothes stuck to his body, and goose bumps appeared on his skin: "His wife also said she had that dream."
The temperature around dropped drastically in an instant.
Chen Yang held his breath: "And then?"
"A few days later, their son had an accident while playing outside and died in a ditch."
Teacher Zhou said: "Everyone said there was an evil spirit in the soil, so no one went to dig the soil there again, and people even avoided it, and some people didn't even dare to mention it."
"It's quite ridiculous, Mr. Chen, just treat it as a joke to kill time."
Chen Yang said to him at the same time: "Where is it? Take us there!"
Teacher Zhou was stunned for several seconds, and said in a somewhat harsh tone: "Mr. Chen, I know you came to the island to travel and want to see something new, but at this time, why are you still..."
Chen Yanghe said in a friendly manner: "You misunderstood. We asked you to lead the way just because we want to leave here quickly."
Teacher Zhou didn't understand: "What is the connection between the two?"
The young man did not answer, obviously he had something to hide.
Teacher Zhou did not force anyone to do anything: "I can take you there, but not at night."
"Although I grew up on the island, I only moved around the outskirts of the mountains and forests. I have never been here before, so I am not familiar with it. It will be easier to find the way when daybreak comes."
Chen Yang said: "Then we will stay here."
"The fire can't burn for too long, Mr. Zhou. Put out the fire when your clothes are almost dry. My brother and I are going to sleep first."
"good."
Teacher Zhou glanced at the very talkative young man, then looked at the very handsome boy who had never spoken a word from beginning to end, and moved his lips that were whitened by the sea water a few times.
"Mr. Chen, when you leave the island... can you take me with you?"
Chen Yang paused for a moment and pretended not to hear.
How to bring it? You can't decide when to come in, and it's just a matter of a second to go out.
All they can do is complete the task as quickly as possible and stop the curse.
Chen Yang fell asleep leaning against a tree, his head tilted to one side, but was pushed back by the crutch in time, and fell on the young man's shoulder.
When Teacher Zhou saw this scene, he looked at the young man twice more. He didn't expect that someone with such a cold temperament could be caring. The other party looked at him expressionlessly, and he hurriedly closed his eyes.
At the same time, Zhang Yan and Zhao Yuan bumped into each other while running away. One of them didn't have time to apologize, and the other didn't have time to curse. They both ran away like crazy and now no one knows where they are.
All I know is that it is a forest I have never been to.
They have been gone for a long time.
"Is that it?" Zhao Yuan said tremblingly, "We have hit a wall."
"no."
Zhang Yan denied it, "I encountered a ghost wall in my last mission, it's not like this."
"Then why are we still here after walking for so long?"
Zhang Yan couldn't explain the reason, but as soon as he stepped in, he felt something was wrong with the forest.
It's not a mystery. They are not going around in circles, they just can't get out.
Is the forest so big
Zhao Yuan felt that he would rather drink feces and stay with the monsters at the foot of the mountain than stay here. He quickened his pace and suddenly felt a resistance on the left.
"Why are you pulling me from behind?"
"What?"
"I told you to stop pulling me," Zhao Yuan said irritably, "You're pulling me so hard that I can't even walk properly."
Zhang Yan, who had his back to him, turned around and said, "Am I not in front of you?"
Zhao Yuan's eyes rolled back and he was about to faint, but Zhang Yan slapped him awake.
"No one pulled you, it was a branch that caught your clothes, look for yourself!"
Zhao Yuan said stupidly: "Tree, branch?"
He quickly glanced back and it was true: "Shit... I'm scared to death... ah!"
Just as he came back to his senses, Zhao Yuan shouted again: "There's a voice behind me."
Zhang Yan was really annoyed. Thinking about how he was used by the other party and almost died in the hands of the monster, his tone was extremely bad: "Can you f*cking shut up for a while? Haven't you heard the wind blowing through the leaves?"
"No, absolutely not. Believe me this time." Zhao Yuan was about to cry. "Look back, look back."
Zhang Yan ignored Zhao Yuan and continued to look for a way out in the woods. After walking for a while, he heard the other party still saying that the thing was following them, so he turned back.
Zhang Yan's pupils shrank when he saw something.
It's a vague shadow.
"I didn't lie to you, we were being targeted..."
Before Zhao Yuan finished speaking, Zhang Yan walked towards the shadow. He was so shocked that his eyes popped out: "Come back! You went the wrong way! Come back quickly!"