Das perfekte Leben in der Song-Dynastie

Kapitel 4

I said dryly, "Look more closely, this is like shaving a person off an apple with a knife while hanging them up here!" I've never been good at peeling apples, but I practiced for a while, so I recognized at a glance that this was human skin peeled off with a thin knife, there was no mistake.

Seeing that Fatty was still skeptical, I held the flashlight closer to the upside-down mummified corpse and shone it on him: "Look, look, this mummified corpse has no arms. It started from the chest and cut down to the navel, leaving two-finger-width cuts. The craftsmanship is really good! But why did it peel the skin? Did it peel the skin and wait for someone to come and eat it?"

From the moment I jumped into the hole, I knew that if anything went wrong, I would risk my life to get Fatty out. My mind was filled with a heroic spirit that disregarded life and death. Of course, I was also afraid that Fatty might lose his composure and cause us both to die. So it wasn't that I wanted to scare him on purpose. First, this whole thing really had an eerie feel to it, and if I didn't tell him, I'd keep feeling uneasy. Second, in the face of such a sudden change, the worst thing is to lose your composure. Rather than being scared to death with this burden on my shoulders, I'd rather toughen up my courage first.

Stealing a glance at the fat man, who was already sweating profusely and had a dazed look in his eyes, he muttered, "Something's still not right. Why is the area above this person's navel so much thinner than the area below?"

I hadn't noticed that before, and was about to take a closer look when I heard someone next to me say in a sinister tone, "It's not surprising! This person was skinned alive. After being skinned, the person wasn't dead yet, so they were fed and cared for well, then salted until a hard crust formed. Then they kept skinning him until he died..."

The eerie voice startled me; it definitely wasn't Fatty's tone!

Just as I was about to run away, several dark gun barrels shot out and were pointed at me and Fatty. I was filled with regret and kept cursing myself for being careless. Now, bullets don't discriminate, and there was no way to escape.

Several people emerged from behind the dark gun barrels, five or six in total, all coming out of the hidden door. They waved powerful flashlights around us, the white beams swirling before finally settling down.

The cool breeze blowing out of the hidden door sent shivers down my spine and Fatty's spine. It seemed these people weren't good either; they were likely the ones who were working against those tomb-raiding gangs I was dealing with. But the thought that they weren't from the police made me a little more relaxed. I secretly decided that Fatty and I should stand there motionless and remain silent.

After a moment of silence, a man who appeared to be the leader of the group slowly said, "Feng Yixi, we meet again. What a joy! You thought you could hide? Why aren't you running away now? I've lost two brothers because of this godforsaken place. If you know what's good for you, hurry up and hand over what I want. Otherwise, you can just find somewhere in this huge underground palace to be buried!"

The calm tone came from a middle-aged man. As soon as I heard this, I knew things were going to get complicated. These people really were the tomb raiding gang that had come looking for trouble. I never expected that they would run into me even after hiding all the way from Beijing to Tianjin. A bunch of desperados would kill a person or two without batting an eye. If they died here, no one would find out for hundreds of years. That would be such a waste. It seems that I can only pretend to be of some use to buy time and figure out where these people came from. There are no other options at the moment.

I tried to sound confident as I said, "Boss, I, Feng Yixi, have no past grudges or recent conflicts with you. I've never interfered with your business. Although I have a book that you might find useful, it's an incomplete old book, full of nonsense and gibberish. I've been wanting to burn it for a while now. Since you still have some use for it, I'll give it to you. But as you know, how could I possibly carry it with me when I'm in this place?"

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then waved to the person next to him and said, "Ah Zheng, you search them and see if you find anything. Also, find out where these two thugs came from before you leave."

The guy next to me quickly replied, "Understood, Brother Sen." It was probably the one called A-Zheng, who said in a hoarse voice, "You fucking squat down against the wall right now, hands up high. I'm telling you, this gun is loaded. Don't let me accidentally smash your head in!"

I've always been a military enthusiast, and I immediately recognized the gun Ah Zheng was holding as the infamous standard equipment of terrorists—the Israeli Uzi submachine gun. Its firing rate is no exaggeration; it's incredibly powerful, capable of firing an entire box of bullets with a single pull of the trigger.

The hard barrel of the gun tapped against my ribs, and my vision went black. I involuntarily squatted down and raised my hands. The man searched me thoroughly, somewhat disbelievingly. He then rummaged around the fat man for a while before standing up and hesitantly saying, "Brother Sen, these two green elephants are just tourists. They have nothing but a kitchen knife and a flashlight. That's really strange!"

Brother Sen was also a bit surprised. He walked over, squatted down, and looked at me, saying, "You're not bad, kid! You came all this way with just a kitchen knife? You said you wanted to burn that book and be done with it? You're kidding me, aren't you?" After saying that, he took out a cigarette, lit it for me, and handed one to Fatty as well: "Tell me, how did you get here? Did you learn your skills from that lousy book?"

I took a drag of my cigarette and adopted a more serious tone, saying, "Boss, you're Sen, right? I think we're like friends who met under unusual circumstances. Since we're already here, I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. Fatty and I didn't come here to rob tombs. I have some old-fashioned feng shui and divination in my book, but it's not that magical. How can it compare to you fully armed professionals? This was purely an accident. I ran into a ghost wall and Fatty and I were desperate, so we stumbled upon this place. Look, the label on that kitchen knife is still on. It's just a household item we bought."

Brother Sen chuckled, patted my shoulder, and said, "Kid, you're really something, you can fool people without batting an eye. Do you think I'm Brother Sen for nothing? You're just a big idiot!" He increased the force of his grip and slapped my neck. I immediately felt dizzy and leaned against the wall, collapsing to the ground.

Then Brother Sen turned to Fatty and continued, "Fatty, tell me what's going on. Don't try to fool me with that ghost wall nonsense again. I hate being lied to. To be honest, we heard everything outside the door. If you hadn't opened that hidden door with one slap, we wouldn't be able to get in. Here, here, have another cigarette as a thank you. As long as you tell the truth, Brother Sen won't kill innocent people indiscriminately. Don't worry."

Fatty helped me up and said hesitantly, "Brother Sen, I'm a rough guy and don't know much about other things. I can only tell you what I know. I don't dare to talk nonsense about other things. Feng Yixi and I came down here because of a woman's portrait. There's a cabinet in that little house upstairs, and inside the cabinet are a few coffin nails holding a woman's portrait in place. Old Feng didn't explain it clearly, only saying that some kind of vicious formation had been set up here, and if we didn't break it, we would die a horrible death. As for how we got in, I followed Old Feng and crawled through some kind of tomb-raiding hole for half the night before we fell here."

Seeing that Fatty had said enough and achieved my goal, I endured the pain and said, "It's the Five Ding Disfigurement Technique. The woman in that portrait was skinned alive and buried here. If we don't dig her up and burn her, there will be endless trouble. I'm not kidding you, Brother Sen, it's clearly written in the book." Seeing how calm Brother Sen was, if I had told the truth right away, he would have been suspicious. But Fatty's roundabout way of revealing the truth made it impossible for him not to believe me.

Brother Sen wasn't particularly interested in the Five Ding Disfigurement Technique. Instead, he asked nervously, "The tomb robber's tunnel? You climbed down from the tomb robber's tunnel? Where is it? Take us to see it quickly. Damn it, why am I so unlucky? Another bad day! If this is an empty tomb, I'll kill you two!" His fierce tone revealed that the tomb robber's tunnel had really made Brother Sen a little anxious.

Chapter Eleven: Demon Painting

I maintained my confident tone and said, "Brother Sen, don't worry. It's hard to say whether it's a tomb raider's hole or not. But I advise you not to worry that the tomb has been cleaned up. The tomb raider's hole is very strange. There is a very large coffin, and it's a dead end. What's even scarier is that there are a lot of hairy black spiders in the tomb raider's hole, in heaps. Fatty and I almost lost our lives there!"

Brother Sen hesitated for a moment, then an old man beside him said, “Master Sen, it’s not that I haven’t warned you, we shouldn’t take this risk. I’ve said it before, the tomb at the bottom of the Haihe River is haunted and not a tomb to be dug up. I’ve also heard of the Five Ding Disfigurement Technique that this young man surnamed Feng mentioned. It’s one of the most vicious formations in the world. Only someone with a deep-seated hatred from several lifetimes would do such a thing. The dead who are trapped under it will never be able to be reincarnated, and it will also bring disaster to their relatives and descendants. Master Sen, you should listen to my advice and we should quickly return the way we came.”

Brother Sen said irritably, "Old Jin, if you say 'go back' again, I'll shoot you! I haven't even made back the money I brought you back from America yet!"

I glanced at the old man called "Old Man Jin," who looked to be around fifty. He had two rows of gleaming gold teeth that practically popped out when he grinned, truly living up to his name. Strangely, he wasn't carrying a gun or any equipment. A burly young man was watching him warily from behind. Then it dawned on me: this old man called "Old Man Jin" was a conscripted laborer.

When Jin Laopian saw me looking him over, he smiled helplessly and remained silent.

Besides Brother Sen, Ah Zheng, Old Jin, and his guards, there were two other people, one carrying an Uzi submachine gun and the other carrying a military-grade shovel. Both had gloomy faces and stood there as burly as half a black tower. They were clearly not easy to deal with.

Brother Sen called to the guy with the gun, "Da Gang, you and Shan Zi, clean up these stinking corpses. Check the surrounding area for anything. Remember, don't move anything. If anything seems amiss, blow the whistle immediately." The two agreed and began cleaning up the mummified corpses hanging in mid-air. Their powerful flashlights swayed as they walked towards the tomb chamber that Fatty and I had already searched twice.

After comparing the situations of both sides, I decided to give up the idea of resistance. Even if Jin Laopian remained neutral, the other side still had Sen Ge, A Zheng, and another guy with a gun. It was better not to do anything without a sure chance of winning.

Brother Sen was pacing back and forth, probably racking his brains about what to do with me and Fatty.

A whistle suddenly blew in the distance, followed by Da Gang shouting, "Boss, come and see this painting! It looks so real!"

We rushed over at the sound and saw a large painting protruding from the wall not far away. My flashlight and Fatty's flashlights must have been too weak to see it, but now, under the illumination of several powerful flashlights, it was fully revealed. I secretly peeked at the group of people and saw that Ah Zheng and the old man who was guarding the painting were not letting their guard down for a moment and were paying close attention to the three of us. I couldn't help but feel bitter and had no choice but to obediently go and look at the painting.

The painting depicts a tomb chamber very similar to ours, viewed from an aerial perspective, specifically from the opening where Fatty and I fell. It includes the wall with the painting, capturing the entire layout of the tomb. The painting is quite large; if Fatty and I hadn't already explored the tomb twice and were familiar with its structure, we might have mistaken it for another room at first glance.

Sen, being the leader, understood immediately after a glance and said, "Damn! There's a door but no windows. Is this where the coffin is supposed to be? It's drawn way too big, I can't even see it all. Zheng! Keep those bastards quiet. Come over here and take a look. Where's the treasure? Tell me right away when you see something shaped like a bronze lamp!"

The group stared at the painting for a long time, but couldn't figure out what it was about. There was nothing special about it, let alone any place where rare treasures were placed.

I looked through the crowd and saw several human figures standing at the foot of the wall depicted in the painting. I was immediately startled: "How did our figures end up in that painting?"

Everyone looked up immediately. Originally, apart from the walls and arches of the tomb layout, the empty painting contained nothing else. But now it had changed. On one of the walls, several human figures had been drawn in red ink. The composition was very simple, drawn with only a few strokes, but it was immediately obvious that the figures in the painting were us: the tall and thin one was me, the two henchmen who looked like half-black towers, the burly Brother Sen, and the hunchbacked one was none other than Old Jin. Fatty's beer belly was also drawn very realistically. Ah Zheng and another guard were blocked behind me and Fatty, so only blurry shadows were visible above them.

The more I looked at it, the more it seemed to be something, and I couldn't help but say to Brother Sen, "This painting is too eerie, it's definitely not a good thing, quickly get a shovel and destroy it."

Jin Laopian stopped Sen Ge, saying, "Sen Ye, don't rush, be careful of traps. Calm down and observe first."

For a moment, everyone fell silent, staring intently at the painting, on guard, awaiting what would happen next. Unexpectedly, however, nothing occurred. Their guard gradually lowered.

Brother Sen said, "Da Gang and Shan Zi, you two keep an eye on this painting. If anything happens, just call out. Don't make any rash moves. It seems someone is unhappy that we're looking for treasure in this underground palace. Hmph, the more they do this, the more it proves my deduction is correct. The treasure must be hidden here!"

After saying that, Brother Sen pulled out a dark-colored pistol, told Ah Zheng to keep an eye on the two of us, and continued the search with the henchman.

Seeing that Ah Zheng was vigilant but was alone, I struck up a conversation with Jin Laopian: "Mr. Jin, at your age, how come you do this kind of work? Where did you hear about the Five Ding Disfigurement Technique? Why don't we exchange ideas?"

Jin Laopian glanced at A Zheng, seeing that A Zheng was also listening intently and had no intention of stopping him, so he said to me, "Master Feng, don't be so polite. I've been working with antiques all my life, and no one has ever called me Teacher Jin. I can't accept that title. Just call me Lao Jin. I see you are really composed. You look just like Master Qin, who was my partner before. You are just as calm. I once went down to the ancient tombs in the Qinling Mountains with Master Qin. Later, we went to America together. Who knew that this year, Brother Sen came to America to find me. After much persuasion, I was moved and went back to China with him. Now I have no choice but to return to my old profession. Sigh, don't mention it. If Master Qin were here, how wonderful that would be."

"I heard about this Five Ding Disfigurement Technique from Master Qin. He also had an old book that was very similar to your 'Secret Techniques of Tianyuan Mountain and Water.' It described something truly miraculous. I occasionally heard Master Qin talk about some of the secrets of geomancy and feng shui, and they were all from that book. He mentioned this Five Ding Disfigurement Technique in it. Master Qin said very cautiously at the time that it was best to avoid getting involved with such a vicious and evil technique." After saying so much, Old Jin coughed wearily.

I was a mix of curiosity and annoyance: "Old Jin, so it was you who instigated this Sen-ge to cause me trouble? How did he know I had half a copy of 'The Secret Techniques of Tianyuan Mountain and Water'? You know, hardly anyone has ever heard of that title! Tell me quickly!"

!

Jin Laopian blurted out, "It wasn't me, it was Miss Han who said it, Brother Sen found out, it has nothing to do with me..." He lowered his head awkwardly, ignoring me, and kept coughing. My head buzzed, I was both shocked and angry. I didn't expect my girlfriend to be involved. She must have been showing off her abilities and that long-mouthed thing got out. Could it be that the fortune teller from Longhu Mountain was right?

Fatty glared angrily at Master Jin, probably furious at the old man for being an accomplice to evil and for being so ignorant. If it weren't for Ah Zheng guarding the side, Fatty would have already punched the old man.

At this moment, Brother Sen called out from the other side of the tomb: "Ah Zheng, bring them over here, there's something going on over here!"

Ah Zheng led us over, and we saw Brother Sen and his henchman squatting on the ground, carefully examining a slightly protruding blue brick. When they saw us coming, Brother Sen stood up and said to Uncle Jin, "Uncle Jin, do you see anything strange about this brick?"

Jin Laopian examined it carefully: "Indeed, this brick is problematic. Although it looks exactly like the other blue bricks, there are minor cracks along the edges, signs that it has been pried open. Judging from the surrounding soil, it seems no one has touched it for decades. Let's see what treasures are underneath."

Upon hearing this, Brother Sen quickly directed his henchman to pry open the paving stone with a shovel. The henchman pried it open in a few quick movements, revealing a small recess containing a small black cloth bundle. Inside was an old-fashioned brass lamp, and next to it, a thick notebook.

Upon seeing the old-fashioned bronze lamp, Brother Sen's eyes lit up, and he laughed wildly, "Damn it! There really is such a thing hidden here, a black flame lamp! I'm going to be rich now!"

My heart sank. I remembered seeing that black lamp before, which Uncle Wu had called a black flame lamp. I quickly and quietly asked Old Jin, "Black flame lamp? What's that? Old Jin, do you know anything about it?"

Before Jin Laopian could answer, Brother Sen turned around, sneered at me, and flashed a fierce light in his eyes: "Black Flame Lamp, you wouldn't understand even if I told you what it is, but you should go back to your place. I don't need your lousy book anymore, I can still get this treasure, hahaha!" After saying that, he had already pulled out a gun and was holding it in his hand.

I was startled. Could this dark tomb really be my burial place? That fortune teller was right. It was all fate!

Just as the vicious Brother Sen was about to shoot me and Fatty, the henchman standing next to him suddenly went limp and fell to the ground with a muffled thud, like a tattered sack falling to the ground! A large amount of black blood clots flowed from his face, his limbs twitched, and it was clear that he was going to die, struggling to stay alive for the last time.

We were all startled, especially Brother Sen, who practically leaped away from the henchman in one stride, his eyes darting around, unsure of what had happened.

From the darkness came Da Gang's voice: "Boss, come quick, something's up!"

Brother Sen shouted, "Ah Zheng, keep an eye on them. If anyone dares to move, shoot them immediately. I'll go check what's going on first. You come with me later."

I saw Ah Zheng's flashlight turn in the direction Sen Ge ran, so I quickly bent down and stuffed the notebook into my pocket. Then, pretending to be nonchalant, I walked up to the painting under Ah Zheng's watchful eye. Upon closer inspection, I realized there was something wrong. In the painting on the wall, besides the dead henchman lying motionless on the ground, there was actually the outline of another person!

In the lower right corner of the painting, a middle-aged woman was crouching, staring at us with resentful eyes. I turned around to look at the same spot behind me, following the woman's position in the painting, but it was empty and deserted.

Brother Sen gestured for us to slowly back away. Less than ten steps away, with a loud thud, Fatty's head seemed to have hit a transparent wall, swelling up into a large bump, and he cried out in pain.

Jin Laopian found it strange, reached out to touch the spot where the fat man had bumped into something, and exclaimed in surprise, "Master Sen, this is troublesome! There's a transparent wall here!"

I reached out and touched it; there truly existed in the air a tangible yet colorless transparent wall. The wall was neither brick nor iron, and it was exceptionally hard.

I glanced back at the painting thoughtfully and said to them, "Are we trapped inside this painting?"

After searching around and finding that everything was the same, it was as if we had fallen into a giant glass fishbowl. We were even more certain then, saying, "Damn it, it's true! This woman has used this painting to enclose us. Although we haven't entered the painting, we can't leave the area depicted in it. Oh, and by the way, this woman looks a lot like Aunt Mei, my landlady who rents me a room!"

Chapter Twelve: A Flash of Killing Intent

I pondered to myself, the portrait in the house was made from a photograph, which meant that this woman was not an ancient corpse, but at most someone who had lived in modern times. Judging from the age of the camera, it was at most about 150 years old. The construction date of this tomb could not possibly be modern, and even the tomb-raiding hole looked like it was dug by ancient people. What the hell is going on? Are we facing a thousand-year-old monster that is not quite dead yet?

When Da Gang and Shan Zi heard that one of their comrades had died by the boss's side, they were both a little disheartened, feeling a sense of shared grief. They looked at the painting with gloomy faces and indifferent expressions. The woman in the lower right corner of the painting was depicted vividly with exaggeratedly wide eyes and a face full of resentment, as if she wanted to kill all of us at once.

After looking at it for a while, I realized that nothing else mattered for the time being. I had to deal with this eerie painting first, or I wouldn't even know how I died.

I sincerely said to Brother Sen, "Boss, could we put aside our grudges for now? If you want that book, I'll hand it over with both hands once we get out. Even if you don't want it, I've already memorized most of it. In this place where evil spirits roam, I'm afraid only my methods can deal with vengeful ghosts. Don't forget that back in Beijing, I offended your brothers by following the tricks taught in the book. If you're magnanimous and let me go, I promise to give you all my money as an apology once we get out! What do you say?"

Brother Sen glared at me hatefully, then slowly lowered the gun towards my muzzle. I was overjoyed and quickly pressed my advantage: "Brother Sen, don't you think the death of that brother who just sacrificed himself was very suspicious? As soon as he took out the Black Flame Lamp, tragedy struck, and something happened in the painting as well. I think it must be the Five Ding Disfigurement Technique causing all this trouble. These things really require an expert like me to handle!"

Sen was finally persuaded and answered me hesitantly, "That's true, I doubt you can fly. But if you dare to play any tricks, I'll make you regret being born! Zheng, give him a flashlight and see what he's up to!"

In the short time it took to talk, the painting on the wall changed again. The woman in the lower right corner was slowly moving in the painting, getting closer and closer to the hunched-over old man, Jin Laopian. I saw it at a glance and knew that she was about to kill Jin Laopian in a moment, so I held my breath and prepared to save him.

Suddenly, something fell rapidly from above with a whooshing sound. Under the beam of our powerful flashlights, it seemed to be a huge, sharp spike piercing straight down, aimed directly at Jin Laopian's forehead. I felt a bit of sympathy for Jin Laopian, and since my revulsion wasn't too strong yet, I kicked him away. Almost simultaneously, with a thud, the thing embedded itself into the blue bricks on the ground.

Jin Laopian was kicked to the ground by me, and he was so frightened that he turned pale and leaned against the invisible transparent wall, panting.

I looked around and saw almost no cover to hide behind. On a whim, I pulled Fatty closer to the painting. We had barely stood close to the painting when several sharp spikes suddenly fell from above. Shanzi was looking up to dodge when one of them pierced his mouth and went straight through between his legs, pinning him to the ground. He died without a sound!

Sen and the remaining A-Zheng and Da-Gang were quite agile and dodged the wave of spikes. They were also quite frightened and stared at me and Fatty, but they didn't dare to come over to the painting.

After a brief moment of calm, in addition to a growing number of spikes falling, something heavy seemed to be pressing down from above. The massive object carried a heavy weight. Sen Ge cursed, "Feng Yixi, you bastard! Didn't you have a way to deal with this? Why aren't you doing anything yet! If you keep dawdling, we're all going to turn into meat patties!"

At this point, I didn't hold back anymore and yelled, "Don't fucking rush me! It's all your fault for that black flame lamp. If you don't give me a knife, we're both doomed! And hurry up and throw me some duct tape; I need it!"

Without hesitation, Brother Sen tossed me a knife, which, with a thud, stuck into the painting on the wall along with a roll of duct tape. I pulled it out and chuckled. Not bad at all. Brother Sen's equipment is top-notch. This short knife is actually made of high-quality steel. However, it's definitely not a military bayonet because the blade is too wide. It's more for show than practical.

No spikes fell from the sky for the time being. I glanced at the woman in the painting, who was now squatting motionless in the corner, picking at something on the ground with her hands. My heart skipped a beat. I forgot that the conflict between the enemy and ourselves was not an internal matter among the people, and hurriedly told Brother Sen to watch his step. Sure enough, as soon as I shouted, several hairy, dry, long claws, much like those black spiders, emerged from the ground in front of us and grabbed Ah Zheng and Da Gang's ankles. Brother Sen was agile and jumped up, avoiding being caught by the hairy claws. He turned around in mid-air, and the three of them fired at the same time, making the blue bricks on the ground smoke.

The fat man pulled out a lighter, his chubby face covered in sweat from nervousness, and said to me, "Old Feng, I'll set this demonic painting on fire, turn her into a roasted chicken, and see if she's still so arrogant."

I quickly stopped Fatty: "Don't burn it! The painting still has our shapes on it, maybe even something from our bodies. It's not a big deal if you burn the painting, but I'm afraid we'll all burn to death too."

Looking at the painting, I suddenly had an idea. Brother Sen and his two henchmen were desperately dodging the black hands that were reaching out from the ground, while spraying bullets wildly. I was really afraid that the bullets would fly over to our side. Just as I was thinking, suddenly, something flew over. I looked and saw that it was the kitchen knife that Fatty had bought. It fell out of Ah Zheng's bag and was spinning around as if it were alive, heading straight for my head!

The cleaver came flying like lightning. My legs went weak with fear, and I couldn't dodge it at all. Then I heard a loud "thud," and I thought I was really going to die. Instinctively, I reached up to touch my head, wondering if half of it had been chopped off or if it was completely gone.

To my surprise, it was completely undamaged when I touched it. Upon closer inspection, I realized that Brother Sen had thrown the backpack in the midst of his busy schedule to block me, and the cleaver had struck the backpack.

Having narrowly escaped death, I couldn't help but feel a bit of goodwill towards Brother Sen, thinking to myself, "No wonder he's the leader; he's a man of his word and knows how to take care of others!"

But Sen threw the backpack at me, and I had a plan. I quickly shouted, "Sen! Hold on a little longer, aim at Hua and fire!"

Without hesitation, Brother Sen fired a burst of bullets at the lower right corner of the painting with his Uzi submachine gun, almost hitting me.

It's estimated that the woman in the painting was also being manipulated by evil magic, allowing her master to enjoy the pleasure of controlling us at will. Unexpectedly, someone was so bold as to dare to fire back. The evil magic controlling her relaxed for a moment, and her body froze.