Chapter 72 Chapter 72: The World Within the Painting
Chapter 72: The World Within the Painting
In the blink of an eye, over a month quickly passed.
The common folk of Gouwu City gradually came to know that a kind-hearted couple had moved into the large estate in the eastern part of the city.
There was no helping it; even if they didn't want to know, their children, returning from play, would chatter incessantly about it.
How many little snacks the lady of that estate had given them, and so on...
At first, they were wary, but as time passed and the occurrences increased, they simply accepted it.
Judging by her appearance, the lady of the estate didn't seem like someone with ulterior motives or a harsh person; on the contrary, she gave off a rather amiable feeling.
"Ah, ah, ah?! Next time you come, you don't need to bring so many things."
Fiammetta accepted the vegetable basket with pleasant surprise. The old woman had a look that said she wouldn't leave unless Fiammetta took it.
"You gave my useless grandson snacks and even taught him to read. This old woman has no other skills, only these homegrown radishes and greens..."
"Alright, alright, I'll take them, okay?"
.......
"Heave-ho!"
Carrying the vegetable basket, Fiammetta energetically picked up two large radishes and headed for the kitchen.
"Another gift from a neighbor?"
"Mhm, it's from the grandmother of that child from yesterday."
"Next time we go grocery shopping, let's patronize her stall."
Kevin said flatly. This wasn't about who owed whom; social interactions inevitably involved such courtesies.
——————
"Miss Fiammetta, going on an outing with your husband again?"
"Mhm, going to take a look at Huiqi Mountain."
"Oh my, that's quite far. How about renting some pack animals? For Miss Fiammetta, it's free."
The woman feeding the horses smiled warmly.
"No need. Since it's an outing, of course we should walk there."
Fiammetta had changed into a set of tight-fitting clothes in a more Yan-style, wearing black boots, giving off quite the feel of a female knight-errant.
Kevin was still in his casual clothes, hands in his pockets.
The two walked for a whole morning, finally just barely reaching the foot of Huiqi Mountain before the sun reached its zenith.
Jagged rocks, tall green pines. Fiammetta, with a flatbread in her mouth, breathed in the fresh mountain air, a smile unconsciously appearing at the corner of her lips.
This was the life she had been looking forward to. No shady political struggles, no dangerous wars, no deceitful villains...
"A beautiful scene. The travel guide that Closure gave is actually quite useful."
In her leisure time, with Kevin's permission, she occasionally flipped through his books.
She hadn't expected one of the marked scenic spots to be near Gouwu City, which had sparked her anticipation.
Fortunately, Kevin didn't mind indulging her in this little whim, hence today's trip.
"Mhm, that guy may work for money, but most of the time, you get more than your money's worth."
Kevin agreed with Pozëmka's point.
Being greedy for money wasn't always a flaw; at least Closure had indeed met his requirements.
"Eh, wait, why is there a thatched hut here?"
Her excellent Lupo eyesight allowed her to spot something unusual in the distance.
At the foot of Huiqi Mountain, on a rare flat piece of land stood a thatched hut. No water, no electricity. Living in such a place truly spoke of refined taste.
Knock knock knock—
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
The knocking sound echoed. Disappointingly, no response came from inside the house.
"It seems whoever lives here isn't in."
Fiammetta looked around. There were basically no traces of anyone living nearby; weeds grew rampant. It seemed it had been abandoned for some time.
"Let's go."
She had no intention of pushing the door open to look inside. In fact, she had always been quite good at restraining her curiosity.
A thatched hut standing here was strange enough. What if there were traps or something inside inside... Mmm-hmm, she didn't want to trouble Kevin over such a small matter.
"Mhm."
The two turned around, intending to continue towards the mountaintop.
But they weren't in a hurry; however, the existence silently watching this place began to grow anxious.
Shouldn't normal people be driven by curiosity to open the door and rummage around? Maybe I didn't hear them?
What's the meaning of turning around and leaving just like that?
Then, the thatched hut emitted an almost imperceptible tremor. The thatch on the roof lifted slightly, and the surrounding scenery instantly underwent a dramatic change.
All colors between heaven and earth rapidly faded away, transforming into simple black and white.
Sky, streets, villages... One vivid object after another appeared out of thin air. The originally silent mountain forest turned into a noisy, bustling marketplace.
People came and went. In this world stripped of color, only "people"—including Kevin and Pozëmka—possessed color, not monotonous black and white.
"Where is this?!"
She stared at everything in shock.
Weren't she and Kevin just at the foot of Huiqi Mountain? Why were they suddenly here?
"Illusion? No... not quite. This is... a real world?"
He touched the stone slab on the ground; a hard sensation transmitted. Every sense told him this was a real world.
But,
In the sky, the sun and moon hung high simultaneously—one side night sky, one side daylight—the dividing line between dawn and dusk starkly clear.
This didn't look like a place that could truly exist at all. It was as if the mastermind behind it all deliberately displayed these various illogical aspects.
Or perhaps she never intended to hide them in the first place.
Fiammetta's ears perked up. Somewhat wary, she distanced herself from the pedestrians on the street and leaned close to Kevin, completely ignoring their strange gazes.
Hum—
The great sun and bright moon trembled. The pedestrians on the street looked up in terror as they saw the trajectories of the twin stars intersect and spiral, finally coming to a complete stop in opposite positions.
Day and night swapped places. Strange creatures with black backs and white bellies crawled out from various parts of the street, frantically attacking the surrounding pedestrians.
"Gah—!!"
"Help! This thing is eating people!"
"Someone save me!"
"Petty tricks."
Clusters of ice spikes precisely impaled one Ink Spirit after another like skewers. The ink-like flowing water in the river also froze solid, completely stagnating.
"Not bad skill. But... that's all."
Glancing back at Pozëmka behind him, Kevin slowly dissipated the Judgement of Shamash in his hand.
His eyes were cold. He formed one hand into a claw and swept it horizontally.
A massive figure with an indistinct outline slowly manifested behind him. Following his movement, it raised its claw and swept horizontally!
Under those ever-victorious sharp claws, the great sun! The bright moon! Even the entire sky curtain! All were like fragile sheets of white paper, mercilessly torn apart.
The scenery vanished. The common folk vanished. Everything was like a fleeting dream.
Replacing it was the shabby true appearance inside the thatched hut... and two... women?
Ling held a wine pot, laughing heartily.
"Silly little sister, you lost the bet fair and square. The blank spaces on these paintings of yours are mine now."
"Fine fine fine, take them then."
Xi's face couldn't look any sourer as she spoke with utter disdain.
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