Paintings of Terror

Chapter 31: Revealing One’s True Colours in the Face of Life or Death

Translated by Eve

Edited by EB

Qin Ci took note of the colour of the sky outside the tent. He then looked at the silent crowd within the tent and said: “It’s normal to be unable to get anything from the characters inside the painting. But we should all be careful. If you ‘wake’ them up, a terrible consequence might await you. It looks like we’ll have to rely on ourselves to find the remaining offerings. But first, we have to make it through tonight. Luckily, there’s twelve of us. We divide evenly into groups of three. No one will be alone.”

Ke Xun looked at him. “I feel like this is even more dangerous. If we divide perfectly into groups of three, doesn’t that mean an entire team might be picked by that giant shadow?”

Qin Ci’s gaze fell to the ground. He didn’t respond.

“I think,” Sha Liu interrupted, “the key to protecting ourselves might be the offerings we’ve found today. Maybe we’ll be able to evade getting picked so long as we have these things?”

When they heard her say this, everyone’s eyes lit up.

“That must be it!” Zhou Bin jumped up. “Let’s put our offerings inside our tents. It’ll definitely protect us!”

“Then let’s split up,” Qin Ci said.

Zhou Bin’s gaze turned sharp. “Everyone worked together to get the five tribute meats so I don’t mind if we split that up. But I was the one who got the human flesh. I asked for your help but no one was willing to provide it. You all watched from afar. Therefore, the human flesh is mine. Zhao Dan will be in the same team as me. There’s room for one more. One of you can join.”

“I—me too! Can I form a team with you? Please!” Ma Zhenhua fell to his knees in front of Zhou Bin.

“Sure.” Zhou Bin had no expression on his face.

Li Ziling, who had been watching on the side with a white complexion, suddenly grabbed Sha Liu: “We found the five Dews of Wisdom so it belongs to us.”

She then looked at Mu Yiran:” Xiao gege, let’s form a team together. We just so happen to be three people.”

Wei Dong stared at her, dumbfounded.

“You’ve got some thick skin,” Ke Xun chuckled. “The five Dews of Wisdom were collected by you? Why don’t you tell me which jar contains the greater aromatic, lesser aromatic, male essence and mucus and snot respectively? If you can accurately tell me which one holds which substance, I’ll let you take it all away.”

Li Ziling bit down on her lips. She tugged on Sha Liu beside her secretly.

Sha Liu awkwardly said, “Let’s split it up. There are quite a few earthen jars in any case.”

Li Ziling anxiously shouted, “There isn’t enough to split! We got so little blood!”

Sha Liu didn’t reply. Li Ziling furrowed her brows, glared at Ke Xun and then said in a nasally voice: “Can you differentiate between the jars?”

Ke Xun folded his arms, the corner of his lips slightly raised. “What? If I’m successful, will you let me take them all away?”

“Why should I let you take all of them away?” When Li Ziling saw Ke Xun’s expression, she no longer had the courage to test whether or not he could really do as he said. “Sha Liu and I were the ones to get the female blood. You can’t take the rest away. There’s quite a bit of the other four substances. Why can’t you give us some?”

“Pretty lady, what makes you think you’re in the right here?” Wei Dong couldn’t help but interrupt, “Does everyone in this world have to give way to you?”

“Men should give in the girls a bit,” Li Ziling pouted, looking wronged. Her voice was soft and hoarse. She looked at Mu Yiran and the other guys with a pitiful look in her eyes. “Besides, it’s not like I’m forcing anyone. But there’s a lot of the other four Dews. Why can’t you give us a bit?”

Wei Dong laughed in anger. “Nice try, pretty lady. Ke Xun and I found the other four and we should give you some because there’s a lot of it. You two only found one but you won’t give us any because there’s so little of it. Hey, just who was your ethics teacher in elementary school?”

“It’s not like I don’t want to split it. There really is too little.” Li Ziling teared up. “We searched through the entire village but only one woman had recently had her period. She couldn’t produce blood on the spot either. We had to ask her for the cloth she used as pads that she had yet to wash. There had only been one small drop. It’s also dried. How are we supposed to divide that?”

Wei Dong felt a bit awkward discussing this. He couldn’t speak for a moment. He then looked at Ke Xun.

Ke Xun looked away from Mu Yiran’s face and spoke in a calm voice. “Since you can’t divide it, don’t. You guys can take half of the remaining four.”

Wei Dong snorted. “They have all five but we’re missing one. Who knows if it’ll be of any help?”

“If missing one made it useless, then the other’s are also in the same boat.” Ke Xun said mildly, “After all, we haven’t collected all of the offerings yet. Everyone’s still at risk of dying.”

After saying this, Ke Xun turned to look at the others. “Anyone want to join our group?”

No one spoke up. It seemed like everyone thought that the fact that they only had four out of five Dews of wisdom increased their possibility of death.

Ke Xun smiled. “In any case, each tent can only hold three people. If no one joins us, another tent will have an extra person. We’re in no hurry. We’ll be heading to our tent first. You guys discuss. When you’re done, we’ll welcome whoever joins us. Dong zi, let’s go.”

He left the tent after saying his spiel.

Wei Dong followed him into one of the small tents. He sat down on the shabby rug with a gloomy expression on his face. “You may know a person’s face but you might not know their heart. That pretty girl’s vicious.”

Ke Xun lied down on the rug, his head pillowed on his hands. He shut his eyes: “People reveal their true colours when they’re faced with life and death. It doesn’t matter what gender they are.”

Wei Dong glanced at him. “Ke er, are you really okay with seeing your male god sharing a tent with those two girls?”

Ke Xun seemed nonchalant. “They have all five Dews of Wisdom. It’s safer to be with them than with us.”

Wei Dong shook his head and sighed. He was about to say something else when he saw the flap of the tent lift. Soon after, someone walked in.

Wei Dong was tongue-tied. He shoved at Ke Xun while at a loss for words.

Ke Xun opened his eyes and met with Mu Yiran’s indifferent ones. The corner of his lips rose.

“Boss, why’d you come over?” Wei Dong scooted over to make room for the boss like a lackey would.

The tent they were staying in was the same as the ones they stayed in last night. It was just big enough for two people to lie side-by-side. It was much more cramped now that there were three people to a tent.

Ke Xun sat up and turned to look at Mu Yiran with a smile. “Welcome to my humble home. Here are some flowers. I’m pleased to have you.”

After saying this, he suddenly pulled a bouquet of purple flowers from behind him and presented it to Mu Yiran.

Wei Dong sat on the side, stunned. He couldn’t help but praise his best friend. Where did he get these flowers from? And he’s so patient too. He waited until now to curry favour with the boss. He’d be damned if Boss Mu didn’t go gay for him now.

Mu Yiran seemed to be slightly taken aback. His gaze fell on the gorgeous flowers.

They were marvels of Peru.

When did this person pick all of these? It must have been when he had been gazing at the mountain while deep in thought that afternoon.

Was it because he thought he liked the marvels of Peru?

He even hid them behind his back on purpose. He had probably expected to share a tent tonight. That’s why he prepared this pleasant surprise for him.

Ke Xun had thought that Mu Yiran would only glance at the flowers for a few seconds before giving him a cold expression like he had in the past. He had expected to be ignored.

He didn’t expect for Mu Yiran to suddenly reach out and accept the flowers. Ke Xun felt his heart suddenly thud against his chest. His eyes shifted to Mu Yiran’s face.

Mu Yiran held the flowers up and pondered for a few seconds with his eyes downcast. He then looked up to meet Ke Xun’s gaze. “Marvels of Peru shouldn’t bloom at this time of year. It’s weird to see these flowers here.”

So that’s why he was interested in these flowers. Ke Xun took a few flowers from Mu Yiran and carefully examined them. Aside from their scent, they were the same as any other flowers he’d seen before. He tucked one over his ear and said, “Maybe the painter didn’t know. Or maybe the painter was taking artistic liberties. Dong zi, what do you think?”

“Uh,” Wei Dong said.

Mu Yiran: “It’s not possible for the painter to have been mistaken. But it is possible that the painter had been taking artistic liberties. Or maybe, these flowers have another function.”

Wei Dong took a few flowers for closer inspection. “Sometimes, graphic designers might add a few details for the sake of making the design appear more balanced or novel. But painters and graphic designers aren’t the same. I don’t really know what the purpose of these flowers could be.”

After saying this, he was about to throw them away. But upon seeing Mu Yiran and Ke Xun still lost in thought, he shoved the flowers into the band around his waist.

Ke Xun asked Mu Yiran: “Anything regarding this painting’s solution?”

Mu Yiran sat down cross-legged. His tone was a bit heavy. “All I have right now are groundless conjectures. There’s no evidence. We need to find proof if we are to advance forward. I can only test my conjectures by sacrificing others.”

Only by sacrificing someone tonight could they find out more about how to evade death.

When he recalled how Tan Zheng had died last night, Wei Dong shivered. He pulled the stone Ke Xun had given him out of his pocket and checked to see if its edges were sharp. “I might have to use this thing tonight…. I hope that my hands will be free. I don’t want to end up like Tan Zheng. Having one’s arms and legs bound is enough to make one break down….”

Ke Xun recalled that strange eight-armed shadow from last night. He asked Mu Yiran: “What do you think that thing is? A spider spirit? A tentacle monster?”

Mu Yiran said: “A supernatural creature. It’s also a deity within Sahism’s pantheon. I have a faint conjecture.”

“What is it?” Ke Xun asked.

“Malaka,” Mu Yiran’s gaze grew heavy. “Originally, Malaka was considered a demon in a certain pagan religion. Later on, Sahism claimed that one of its gods tamed Malaka and it agreed to abide by the commands of their powerful practitioners. Although depictions of Malaka’s appearance changed over the years, it was once depicted as an eight-armed creature. Furthermore, the way Tan Zheng died last night also hints at that giant shadow being Malaka.”

“Dismemberment?”

“That might not be all,” Mu Yiran muttered, “We’ll have to wait and see tonight.”

“I’m scared,” Wei Dong said. “If that Mala-whatever is a demon, we’re no match for it. How about I kill myself before it strikes. I’m scared that once it comes, I won’t have a chance to off myself.”

“Nonsense.” Ke Xun looked at him, “Don’t give up until the end. I don’t want to die.”

“Right….” Wei Dong stared off into space. He gripped his clothes tightly and his body faintly trembled.

Eve: I looked up malaka to see if it was real. Turns out it’s a Greek word for wanger/someone who masturbates a lot. Well, with eight arms I guess you could really go at it.