Paintings of Terror

Chapter 35: Ke Xun’s Faith

Translated by Eve

Edited by EB

Ke Xun immediately instructed Wei Dong to find a safe place to seek refuge in. He then followed behind Mu Yiran. They headed straight for a while before stopping at a large stone. From here, they could see everything beneath them in the valley.

They saw vibrant and beautiful wildflowers all along the slopes.

If this wasn’t inside of a painting, this place would be considered a paradise on Earth. Unfortunately, the beautiful scenery before them looked especially fake to Ke Xun. The deathly stillness brought forth a particular sense of dread and fear.

“Like the Marvels of Peru, these flowers carry no scent.” Ke Xun sniffed.

“Let’s go down and take a look,” Mu Yiran said.

After descending into the valley, Ke Xun realized that there was a huge variety of plants here. There were wildflowers, creepers, Chinese wisteria, trees—it was a garish display but somehow, the scenery still seemed lifeless.

Mu Yiran traversed through the meadow of plants, occasionally pausing on his trek. He would pick a few plants and flowers and would even dig out the roots of a few plants.

“What are you thinking about right now?” Ke Xun asked.

“These plants are strange.” Mu Yiran pondered for a moment. “It’s like the Marvels of Peru from before. It’s not the right season for them to bloom. It’s the same for many of these plants here, it’s not flowering season for them yet. Moreover, some of these aren’t native to the Ganxiong Highlands either. And yet, here they are.”

“That’s really weird.” Ke Xun nodded. “There’s always a reason behind abnormalities. How about we take a few of each type back and ask the villagers about them? Even if we can’t get anything out of them, maybe we can exchange these plants for something useful.”

Mu Yiran glanced at him. He had to admit, this fellow was frequently able to think outside-the-box.

For example, he was able to come up with the idea of using these plants to exchange for other things.

Mu Yiran hadn’t thought of that. Therefore, he didn’t refute it.

When they returned to where they had left Wei Dong, they discovered that he had disappeared. He was nowhere to be found.

Worry flooded Ke Xun’s brain. He let out a curse before sprinting in the direction of the sky burial platform.

Halfway to the platform, he saw Wei Dong running towards him with a pale face. Ke Xun smacked Wei Dong in the head. “Didn’t I tell you to find a place to wait? Why are you running around? You scared me so much I thought I’d be triggered into going senile early!”

“Fuck, don’t remind me.” Wei Dong waved his hand. “I was scared to death just now!”

He then told Ke Xun and Mu Yiran what had just occurred.

Originally, he had gone to find a secluded place to take a dump. He had circled around the area and just so happened to notice Zhou Bin and them secretly heading in the direction of the sky burial platform.

Wei Dong had thought that they were going to do something wrong. Therefore, he had chosen to find a place to hide, so as to avoid getting implicated in whatever they were going to do.

A second after he had hidden himself, he had heard a commotion in the direction of the platform. Less than a minute or two later, he saw Zhou Bin sprinting away while the people at the platform chased after him.

Wei Dong had been worried that he would be discovered so he didn’t stay long. He promptly started to head back to where he had parted with Ke Xun. However, on his way, he noticed Sha Liu, Geng dage and them pick up severed pieces of the corpse. Things that didn’t fit into their hands were held against their chest.

“I thought that they had gone insane,” Wei Dong said, “I was so scared I couldn’t find it in me to talk to them. So I just ran back here.”

“They used a diversionary tactic. Their goal was that corpse.” Ke Xun also found this inconceivable. He looked at Mu Yiran. “What were they thinking?”

Mu Yiran smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “They’re collecting offerings and divine instruments.”

Ke Xun asked another question. “What about us? Should we gather some too?”

“If you want.” Mu Yiran glanced at him and then left.

“We’ve already gotten to this point, why bother drawing the line between you and me?” Ke Xun followed after. “If you’re going to collect it, I will too. If not, I’ll refrain from doing so as well. Don’t treat me like an outsider.”

Wei Dong who trailed behind them: ...I can’t watch this.

By the time they returned to the tent, the sky had already started to darken. Zhou Bin and co. returned about ten minutes after Ke Xun’s group. They wore ugly expressions and were obviously exhausted. However, they seemed excited.

After dinner, the middle-aged man once again gave them the tent arrangements for the night. “Tonight, there are to be three people per tent. Two males, one female. Remember, each tent must have three people—two males, one female.”

Everyone was stunned.

There were eleven people left. Seven of them were male: Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Wei Dong, Qin Ci, Zhou Bin, Father Geng and the Geng Family’s child.

There were four women: Mother Geng, Zhao Dan, Sha Liu and Zi Ling.

If there were to be two males and one female in each tent, that meant that one male and one female would be excluded. They would not be able to fulfill that criterion.

The Geng Family of three huddled together tightly. They were already a group.

Zhao Dan held Zhao Dan’s hand tightly. He pointed to Qin Ci: “Dr. Qin, join us.”

Qin Ci obviously wouldn’t refuse their invitation. That left Ke Xun’s group of three, Sha Liu and Li Ziling.

Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran with a pale face.

He had never expected that the guillotine’s blade would hang over the heads of him and his best friend tonight.

He knew that Ke Xun felt goodwill towards Mu Yiran. He also knew that Ke Xun was not the type to value a romantic interest over friendship. But only two out of the three of them had a chance to survive. Any choice they made would be cruel and bitter.

Before Ke Xun could speak, Li Ziling shrieked and pounced over to Mu Yiran. She knelt in front of him and kowtowed at his feet, tears streaking down her unwashed face. “Xiao gege, please, please form a group with me. I don’t want to die. I’ll do anything you want. Please. Choose me, choose me....”

She then turned to Ke Xun: “Xiao gege, please, I’ll do anything you want. Really, anything at all. As long as I can be in a group with you two. Please....”

Sha Liu stood in place, her face white as a sheet. After Li Ziling’s voice turned hoarse, Sha Liu looked up, her gaze unfocused as she stared at Ke Xun. “One of you three will die. Have you decided...who it’s going to be?”

Everyone’s gaze collected onto Ke Xun’s face.

At this moment, no one realized that, although Mu Yiran was the person everyone thought was the most influential, whenever they had to make a critical decision, they would turn to Ke Xun for the answer.

Unexpectedly, Ke Xun turned to Qin Ci. “Dr. Qin, I have a question. Can I ask you privately?”

The two of them headed outside. A moment later, they returned. Li Ziling was still howling. Wei Dong and Sha Liu were despondent and the rest of the group kept their silence.

“Have you decided? There’s no more time. We have to head to the tents now.” Zhou Bin said to Ke Xun.

“Yes,” Ke Xun said.

Everyone looked at him once more. They saw him turn to Mu Yiran: “Help me do something.” He pointed to Wei Dong. “Knock him out.”

Wei Dong was taken aback. Before he could react, he saw Mu Yiran nod slightly and then head over. “Wai—”

Before he could finish, Mu Yiran had already grabbed hold of his neck. Less than two seconds later, Wei Dong had fainted.

Everyone was stunned. But what had stunned them hadn’t been the fact that Mu Yiran had rendered Wei Dong unconscious What shocked them was that, while Mu Yiran had been walking over to Wei Dong, Ke Xun had also followed behind him. The moment Wei Dong had fallen unconscious, Ke Xun had raised his hand and karate-chopped the back of Mu Yiran’s neck.

Mu Yiran had struggled to turn his head around. His brows were tightly furrowed and anger flared in his eyes. He looked at Ke Xun with a difficult-to-describe emotion and confusion. A second later, he collapsed.

Ke Xun reached out to grab hold of him. He then bent down to put Mu Yiran on his shoulder. With his other hand, he picked the unconscious Wei Dong up by his clothes. He then smiled at Sha Liu: “The two of you can decide who will share a tent with me. There isn’t much time left.”

Just like that, he left the main tent while dragging a person and carrying another person on his shoulder.

Qin Ci watched Ke Xun leave with a complicated look in his eyes.

Striking a person at the nape of their neck was an extremely dangerous move. If the attacker does not have a good gauge of strength, they could accidentally kill their victim. The probability of actually knocking someone out with this method was also extremely low. Besides, he had rushed through his explanation over how it’s done, where to strike, and how much strength to use.

This person was extremely daring. He hadn’t hesitated at all. He did it just as he said he would.

But honestly, this proves that he’s...talented in some ways. He has an extremely precise—shockingly precise— control over his strength.

Qin Ci followed Zhao Dan and Zhou Bin out of the tent. The Geng Family also headed to their own. Only Li Ziling and Sha Liu, this pair of classmates and friends, remained.

Ke Xun laid Mu Yiran and Wei Dong into one tent. He then looked at Mu Yiran, who was still scowling. He looked for a while before smoothing out the other’s frown. He chuckled. “How about it, you’ve probably never seen anyone as foolish as me before, have you? I’m surprised, actually. After my dad died during a rescue, I had cursed him for being so stupid. I never expected for idiocy to be actually hereditary.”

As he said this, his voice gradually lowered and slowed down. He stared into space. A moment later, he quietly said, “I don’t want my dad to be ashamed of me.”

Ke Xun then went over to his own tent. He pulled the sharp stone he had picked up a while back and held it in his hand. He then laid down, his head pillowed by his hands.

His thoughts were a mess. They were clear for a moment and then chaotic the moment after. He oscillated between feeling nervous and calm. He would feel regret and then immediately feel like throwing caution to the wind.

Who knew how much time had passed while he struggled through this rollercoaster of emotions? A while later, he heard someone stumble over from the main tent to Wei Dong and Mu Yiran’s tent.

He didn’t know who was left between Sha Liu and Li Ziling.

A long time passed but no one came to his tent. Maybe it was because that person knew that even if she were to join him, they wouldn’t be able to fulfill the quota. Perhaps they decided to stay in the main tent since they knew they were going to die anyway.

Of course, there was another possibility. The other person might already be dead.

The night gradually darkened. The light reflecting off the snow was deathly white. The giant shadow slowly descended from the sky, its eight arms spread out in a hideous-looking manner. They twisted around like giant pythons.

Ke Xun gripped the stone in his hand tightly. He brought it to his throat and stared at the top of the tent.

It was a tiny tent but it felt extremely large right now with just him inside. He was alone, minute, helpless.

The giant shadow passed the Geng Family’s tent and the tent Mu Yiran and Wei Dong were in. It stopped in front of Ke Xun’s.

The giant shadow pressed down on his tent, its face stuck tightly against the tent’s tip.

Ke Xun felt like the material at the top of the tent was gradually becoming thinner. It eventually became transparent, allowing him to see the giant shadow’s face. Its eyes, nose and lips were parted in a furious expression. It blinked with its colossus eyes, examining the inside of the tent.

Ke Xun stared back. He pressed the stone more tightly against the flesh of his neck.

As the tent became thinner, the giant shadow’s features became more clear. Its face was pitch-black, like some weird rock. Its giant, blood-red eyes protruded out of its sockets. Slowly, the giant shadow pressed downwards. It looked like its eyes were about to pierce through the top of the tent. Its long, blood-red tongue twisted in the air as if it was just itching to shove the human inside the tent into its mouth.

It was time.

Ke Xun pressed the stone down tightly. He felt a blunt pain as the stone cut into his weak flesh. At this moment, the fear, unwillingness, and grievances he had felt before completely vanished.

He even wanted to laugh a bit.

The thing above him was supposed to be a deity worshipped by some religion? People believed in this thing?

What did they believe this thing could give them? Eternal life? Wealth? To never part with loved ones?

If it could do all those things, he would be willing to believe in it too.

But it couldn’t. In that case, he might as well put his faith in himself. He might as well believe in freedom, in living life recklessly, in living life as he wishes, in his own emotions.

Ke Xun pointed his middle finger up at the giant shadow and pressed the stone sharply down against his carotid artery.

The author has something to say:

Ke Xun: Dad, I’m coming to be with you. Muah muah~

Father Ke: Scram! Finally, your mother and I get to spend several months alone together. You bastard, die later!

Ke Xun: ...Am I your real son?

Father Ke: No. Not at all. Don’t call me Dad.

Ke Xun: ....

Ke Xun: [Officially an orphan.jpg]

Eve: Of course, he’s got that protagonist halo. But gotta admit, he’s charming like this. (Although these tendencies will eventually need to stop. They’re concerning. :() Also, announcement, POT will be be updated Mon/Wed/Fri from now on~

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