Chapter 159: Chapter 124: Ghostly Realm in the Painting

The old Monk slowly turned the spindle on the floor, gradually unrolling the yellowed scroll.

As the scroll unfurled, shifting white clouds, a sheer, solitary peak, a waterfall in a mountain gorge, and gnarled, withered pines appeared. With just a few strokes of ink, a scene of green mountains, white clouds, and ancient pines was sketched out.

’A landscape painting?’

Zheng Xiu watched closely, then was suddenly taken aback.

’It seems... there’s nothing special about it.’

The old Monk’s movements quickened.

Zheng Xiu’s pupils contracted. He had spotted the key detail.

The entire landscape was sketched with bold strokes of light and dark ink, its minimalist style depicting a majestic vista. Yet within this grandeur, it conveyed a sense of lonely pride, as if looking down upon the world from a position towering over Heaven and Earth. Zheng Xiu immediately spotted a solitary grave at the very top of the lone peak. The tiny grave on the summit was as inconspicuous as a small steamed bun.

If it was so inconspicuous, why did Zheng Xiu notice the grave at first glance?

Because Zheng Xiu had faintly seen words written in blood-red on the grave.

As the saying goes, "a touch of red among a sea of green." This starkly contrasting color made the blood-red words on the grave the Finishing Touch, making the sight instantly unforgettable.

’What did the words say?’

Zheng Xiu unconsciously stood up. The blood-red words on the grave suddenly began to warp, growing larger and larger. As his wide eyes became bloodshot, he felt as if a deep vortex had appeared on the scroll, pulling him closer, drawing him forward, compelling him to see more clearly.

Zheng Xiu felt he was just about to make out the line of blood-red words on the grave.

"Wait!"

The old Monk brought his hands together, rolling up the scroll. At the same time, he let out a soft shout, and the Miracle Technique of Wait and See Zen was unleashed with his voice.

That single word, "Wait!", was like an invisible drum, striking with a BOOM in the minds of the three. Zheng Xiu felt that on the seemingly ordinary landscape scroll, the writhing, blood-red words stopped moving, the vortex vanished, and the painting rapidly receded from his vision.

Blinking, Zheng Xiu was surprised to find the painting was still there, merely being rolled up again by the Monk. It hadn’t receded at all.

’What just happened?’

Zheng Xiu felt as if he had just woken from a long dream. Only then did he notice that he had stood up at some point and taken two steps toward the old Monk’s prayer mat.

Next to him was Feng Bei.

Feng Bei, as if drawn by a strange attraction, had also stood up and walked toward the old Monk.

Neither of them sat back down. The seemingly simple painting had left both of their faces etched with a grave expression.

"Susu!"

The Monk cried out in alarm from the side. They turned to see Chu Susu, who should have been covering her eyes, falling backward with a lifeless look in her eyes.

After the Monk called her name a few times, the light returned to Chu Susu’s vacant eyes. She opened them and asked blankly, "Where am I?"

Ruchen demanded angrily, "You stole again?"

Chu Susu said weakly, "I didn’t!"

"You stole a look!"

"I-I-I... it was an accident!"

Ruchen shook his head. "If Master hadn’t spoken up to save you, you would already be dead!"

Chu Susu was struck speechless, her lips pale, not knowing how to defend herself.

"A sickness of the heart is hard to cure!"

Ruchen sighed, once again calling Chu Susu’s behavior a sickness of the heart.

’She wants to steal a look at everything.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

But he didn’t know this was the peculiarity of a Path Mystic Skill. The more one obsessed over a certain rule, to an almost pathological degree, the easier it was to glimpse the Path.

It was precisely because Chu Susu’s obsession with "stealing" had become a sickness of the heart that she had entered the Thief Sect. Now, she wanted to steal a look at everything she came across.

Seeing that Chu Susu wasn’t seriously harmed, Zheng Xiu looked away.

After a moment of silence, Zheng Xiu said in a low voice, "I saw a mountain, a waterfall, a few withered pines, and... a grave."

Obvious surprise flashed in Feng Bei’s eyes. Instead of answering, he countered, "Are you sure?"

Zheng Xiu frowned. "What is it?"

Feng Bei looked down, hooking a finger under his chin thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, "I saw a lush forest. There were signs of a fight and bloody corpses among the trees. Most importantly..." He looked up, continuing in a calm tone that stunned Zheng Xiu, "I saw a waist token hanging from a tree. If I’m not mistaken, it belonged to Xin Hu of the East Seven Stars, one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations."

’How bizarre.’

Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei had seen completely different scenes in the very same painting.

’A reflection of the mind?’

Zheng Xiu whipped his head around to ask Chu Susu, "What did you see?"

"I..." Chu Susu was about to deny having looked, but seeing Zheng Xiu’s sharp gaze, she could only answer honestly. "I saw yellow sand under a Scorching Sun, and a horse in the desert. It looked like someone was riding it. I was just about to get a clear look at the rider when... when the Master woke me up."

Three people had seen three different scenes in the same painting.

Zheng Xiu then looked at Ruchen.

Ruchen, knowing what Zheng Xiu wanted to ask, shook his head. "I did not sneak a look."

The old Monk finished rolling up the painting, wrapped it in oilcloth, and tied it securely.

His movements were very slow.

Only after carefully, almost reverently, putting away Gongsun Mo’s painting did the old Monk speak: "Ruchen, see our guests out."

Ruchen nodded and gestured toward the main hall’s entrance. "I have done what I promised you both. I trust that you have fulfilled your wish. Please, be on your way."

Feng Bei looked at Zheng Xiu.

Zheng Xiu slowly shook his head.

Just as the two were about to step through the main doors.

"Wait."

Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei stopped in their tracks at the same time.

At that moment, Zheng Xiu couldn’t tell if he had stopped because of the Miracle Technique’s influence or simply because he had heard the word.

But now, it no longer mattered.

The candlelight in the main hall flickered, and the old Monk’s figure was swallowed by the shadows.