"Close your eyes?"

Qiong stood on tiptoe and lightly touched Fan Ning's forehead with her fingertips: "Do you have a fever?"

In an underground building full of terrible things, if the eyes are dark again, it means giving up the only weak sense of security - imagine lingering in the dark, turbulent and endless sea, and the small boat you are in is still abandoned.

…

Seeing that Fan Ning seemed to be deep in thought after finishing speaking, Qiong curled her lips again and said: "...In the various horror books I have read before, the protagonists have experienced nightmarish experiences in the final stage before finally giving up resistance and screaming.

, and then closed his eyes in despair', and then the story usually comes to an end or stops abruptly...You mean we are now..."

Sheeran interrupted Joan: "Caron, since you have proposed a certain measure or method, have you guessed what is inside?"

Fan Ning came back to his senses: "No, I don't know what's inside, and I don't know where it will lead."

Facing the helpless expressions of the two girls, he quickly explained: "I was thinking about why the changes in the underground building happened, and why those weird paints, plasters, specimens and dolls suddenly came to life... In the beginning

Naturally, I think this is purely due to the 'intrusion of outsiders' - us living people entering a monument that has not been visited for hundreds of years will inevitably disturb the unknown dormant things inside."

"But later, when I picked up the "Oakgon Codex", the words on the table reminded me of all the previous investigations..."

"The old organist's consultation notes at Vienne contain strange notes about colors and feelings..."

"The blood-red question marks drawn by Ms. Hamilton on the workhouse pauper files of that period..."

"After Benjamin went crazy, he became intolerable to color and pursued special paintings..."

He also turned his head and glanced at the paint monster attached to the invisible plane: "——So, I suspect that the pollution of people by the 'Fountain in the Painting' starts from the eyes!"

"...Start with the eyes?" Hearing this, Sheeran seemed to understand something: "For example, the feeling of color?"

"Yes, this kind of pollution is gradual, and the speed will also vary depending on the depth of people's contact or the strength of their resistance..." Fan Ning nodded.

“At the beginning of the symptoms, people just feel that they have developed a sense of aesthetic pickiness or dissatisfaction when looking at the colors of ordinary things, and they begin to marvel at the color matching of some special works of art, and then,

They will have a sense of disgust from what they see every day, first psychologically, and then physically - not only visual discomfort with colors, but also 'synesthetic' discomfort, such as whispering in the ears and tingling of the skin.

, feeling suffocated, and even some weirder discomforts, such as the 'feeling of being eaten' mentioned by Vienne, such as Benjamin vomiting directly to the point of vomiting bile..."

"At this stage, the polluted person will become intolerable and perform some uncontrollable and unbelievable behavior in the eyes of others, such as the old organist piercing his own eyeball with cutlery, such as Benjamin suddenly yelling and swearing while viewing an exhibition at the auction house.

Burning paintings like crazy..."

"And the final result of the pollution is probably to 'see the holy spring'..." Fan Ning tried his best to restrain his urge to read the confusing words behind the small picture frame again.

"I noticed this reference to 'seeing the holy spring' as early as Fabian's prayer at the graduation concert, and heard it again and again... At first I thought it had a symbolic meaning like 'insight into the truth', but now

From the looks of it, it seems to have a literal meaning..."

"These polluted people will desperately describe, depict, appreciate, and worship the image of the 'fountain in the painting.' They will begin to seek those colors that are normal to them, and will collect so-called 'beautiful pigments.'"

' or paintings with 'artistic attainments', a knowledgeable person will also devote himself to finding and opening the 'Gate of Seven Lights' that is closely connected with Him...

"As for the poor people who were in the hospital where the art museum was located more than 20 years ago, we have no way of knowing the details of what happened to them, but the result is that they followed the guidance of pollution and participated in or created an unknown and ancient sacrifice.

They undergo intense changes and dissolutions in pain and joy, and eventually transform into colorful pigments - these pigments are closer to the image of the 'spring in the painting' than their original appearance. This is how they 'see the holy spring'

'The way."

Hearing this, Xilan looked up thoughtfully and asked: "So, since pollution starts with 'what the eyes see' and ends with 'seeing the holy spring'... we can safely avoid these by closing our eyes."

Paints and objects that come to life?”

Fan Ning shook his head: "No, it's too late for what happened before. We have unintentionally investigated many incidents about the 'Fountain in the Painting'. Although it may not be as direct as Benjamin's, some hidden changes may have been unnoticed.

What happened... In addition, after entering the secret door, we witnessed a large number of these 'beautiful' pigments, and a series of changes have occurred..."

Joan said: "Caron, I probably understand. You think that the deformed monster temporarily blocked by the 'Consecrated Curtain' is irreversible, and some of the pollution we have suffered before may be difficult to clean... But this stone door

Maybe we can avoid further pollution by closing our eyes?…"

"That's right. The only thing I'm confused about is that I can't tell whether all this is reality or an illusion, but that's not important. For mysterious things, they can kill us or transform us without logic.

Become a monster, truly kill, or truly transform..."

"Okay, rationally I can accept your conjecture, but I really don't dare to step into the darkness. Who knows what's inside, who knows where it will lead..." Joan couldn't help but tremble as she said this.

"If you think about it this way, we are exhausted. If we really encounter some unknown and terrifying existence again, can you change the situation with your eyes open? The more realistic situation is just - closing your eyes may be useful, opening your eyes

Eyes are basically useless, there may be a road ahead, but there is nowhere to escape from here..."

"I agree." Sheeran nodded with determination, "Let's give it a try... That's all we can do..."

"Okay..." Joan's voice was still trembling.

After several explanations and discussions, another ten minutes passed. The invisible wall blocking the abnormal paint ball at the door of the room might last for more than an hour, or it might disappear at any time.

"You guys close your eyes first... Qiong, it's not about covering your face, it's about closing your eyes." Fan Ning watched Qiong Yiyan finish, then turned to look at Xilan.

Her young face was still calm. She took a deep look at herself, then slowly closed her eyes, her eyelashes still trembling slightly.

Fan Ning put the crowbar behind his back, took a deep breath, walked to the stone door and bent down.

Feeling the coldness in his hands, he closed his eyes and exerted force on one side.

A heavy rumble sounded.

"Caron, we can't get separated," Sheeran said at this time.

"That's right, I'm holding you in the middle." Fan Ning said, "Remember...in order to eliminate interference from unknown entities, I will gently squeeze your hands twice from time to time, and you must respond to me within three seconds...except

We try not to have any other physical contact besides our hands, Joan, don’t pounce on us out of fear, we can’t be sure it’s you.”

"Obviously I understand..." Qiong's voice was filled with tears, "I'll wait until I get out before I pounce..."

Two warm little hands were handed to Fan Ning's hands. They were a little stiff at first, and then slowly relaxed.

He took two steps forward and crossed the threshold.

There was a void of darkness, and the air was eerily silent.

"What to do with the door?" Sheeran asked softly.

"Even if it is closed, the gap cannot block the ball of paint. If the "consecration curtain" really fails immediately, and the deformed monster is really so smart and efficient, our outcome is doomed anyway."

Although Fan Ning spoke calmly, he felt a chill on his back.

It cannot be ruled out that the invisible wall created by the ritual vessel has failed. At this time, the deformed existence is growing in the room behind it.

Taking three steps forward again, Fan Ning's forehead touched the cold stone wall in the darkness.

"It's the same here...why is it so far? This...it's only about two meters in, right?" Apparently, Xilan, who was holding his right hand, also reached out and touched the wall.

Fan Ning was very confused. Spiritual sense cannot explore the environment out of thin air. It needs to transform "transcendental revelation" into "sensory signals". Giving up the eyes is equivalent to giving up this most important spiritual sense.

I analyzed it seriously for a long time, but found that there is no way here?

Feelings of frustration and unwillingness came together, and he wanted to open his eyes to see what kind of room was behind the door.

But after Qiong spoke up, he was brought back from his thoughts: "There is no obstruction on my left hand side."

…What’s going on? The back passage makes a 90-degree turn as soon as you enter?

The three of them were puzzled, and then turned left.

After seven or eight steps, I hit the wall again.

"...I wonder what this place looks like?" Sheeran complained in confusion.

"Don't open your eyes." Fan Ning warned.

"Caron...I, there is no obstruction on my left side." Joan said.

"Okay, let's turn left." Fan Ning responded, and the three of them turned again.

He squeezed the two girls' hands gently with both hands, and both of them immediately felt their responses.

After walking for more than ten steps, they stopped at the same spot.

...That's wrong...Is there something wrong with this direction?...Enter the door, turn left, then turn left again?

...turned around?

Imagine a rectangular room. Enter through the stone door on the rightmost edge of a certain wall. Then the only way is to turn around to the left and back?

Joan said weakly: "Caron...why do I think we are walking back to the room in this direction? It's impossible. This is a room on the edge of an underground building. I've seen that the outside of these walls are covered with rocks.

There are no passages??”

"Even if there is a passage, we have walked more than ten steps and should have returned to the room long ago... Now there is no door or wall, and it is still unobstructed..." Fan Ning frowned deeply with his eyes closed, "Don't think about it yet.

This is a question. This underground building is full of weirdness. Didn’t we also encounter such weird things when we explored the two-story hall above the deep well? "

He thought for a while and said: "Sheeran, at least now the wall on your right is a continuous turning and extending from the right side after entering the door. You use it as a reference to control the left and right directions. Let us walk as close to the wall as possible, otherwise

I'm afraid that the terrain here is too strange and I will lose my way in the dark...I am responsible for moving forward and backward."

"Okay." Sheeran responded.

Another soft little hand put on the back of his neck, then groped downwards and took away the thing behind his back.

Fan Ning then said: "That's good. It's good for you to hold the crowbar. You can avoid probing with your hands. I'm also worried that you may encounter something strange."

Xilan was confused: "Listen to your tone...I...I haven't taken it yet?"
To be continued...