Chapter 97 Hall of the Art Building
On the mist-filled ancient stone bridge, Mao Feifei was walking on thin ice. He wrapped his yellow sweater tightly, and his thin black body looked thin and tight, as if he was embraced in the embrace of darkness.
Lin Yi, who knew that Mao Feiyang would be fine, took this opportunity to take advantage of God's perspective and quickly took stock of the surrounding environment.
He first looked around, trying to find the section of cliff where the night watchman was located from the ancient stone bridge where the watchtower was located.
Theoretically, the castle is located on a cliff, surrounded by mountains and oceans shrouded in mist. If you want to find the location of the night watchman, you only need to start from the side facing the sea. However, his initial search found nothing, so he had to give up and focus on the stone bridge.
Mao Feiyang was so frightened by the surrounding environment that he naturally did not dare to look around, so he did not notice the special nature of this stone bridge at all.
Lin Yi was different. He opened his eyes wide and observed.
He was quickly attracted by the burning candlestick on the stone bridge.
At first glance, it was difficult for Lin Yi to tell the material of the candlestick. It seemed to be something between blue-gray stone and some kind of ancient bronze.
There is a cluster of flames burning in its center. The flames are swaying in the sea breeze as if only the flames at the roots are left. The light cast by it is also distorted and dissipated in the mist, but it does not go out, as if hanging with its last breath.
Lin Yi's attention was first attracted to this flame, because he realized that the flame was extremely familiar. As soon as he recalled it, he realized that it was the kind of light in an old kerosene lamp!
But he soon discovered that it was not the candlelight that really exuded a mysterious aura, but the candlestick made of special material.
This candlestick is in the shape of a disc, with the base engraved with the pattern of some magical creature, like a twisted snake or some long animal with wings. It seems to be a pattern based on mythology.
Besides the pattern, there are also some weird graphics or words, which are somewhere between the hieroglyphics of the Mayan civilization and the Egyptian civilization and the hieroglyphics of ancient China. They also have some flavor of the Zhongdingwen in the ritual atmosphere of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. At a glance, it seems to be seeing a twisted history.
This pattern and text surround the candlestick, making the entire candlestick seem to be enveloped by an indescribable power.
Lin Yi just took a few glances and felt an unnatural sense of creepiness, as if the thing carried a strong ominous aura, or perhaps the candlestick was haunted by some kind of power that far exceeded the realm he could touch...
"Pollution"."
For some reason, the word popped up in Lin Yi's mind. In fact, he didn't know what "pollution" meant. He only thought that the power beyond his cognition should belong to the "pollution" mentioned by the head teacher.
“No, it should be said...‘extraordinary characteristics’?”
"Extraordinary characteristics...?"
Lin Yi narrowed his eyes. When did he first hear this term? Why did he suddenly blurt it out so smoothly?
"By the way! Mr. Tian said it!"
His eyes lit up.
"In our time, it is obvious that some people have found the laws of certain extraordinary properties and are trying to reproduce those things..."
"The kerosene lamp in the hand of the security guard."
Those kerosene lamps."
"Even, the street lights all over the campus."
"Our student ID cards, various certificates that can represent our identity."
"These things...may have more or less extraordinary properties."
"Of course, I'm not sure about street lights, but that kind of kerosene lamp is definitely not a normal thing." "]
In the dormitory, Tian Bufan said...
"This candlestick... seems to have "extraordinary properties" that are not weaker than the old kerosene lamp?" Lin Yi thought.
He didn't know what extraordinary characteristics were, but his intuition told him that this aura that could bring him a sense of security should be extraordinary characteristics.
· Walking along the light, feeling the afterglow of the candlesticks and the remaining extraordinary characteristics of the candlelight, Lin Yi was about to follow Mao Feiyang across the ancient stone bridge before he knew it.
But as Mao Feiyang approached the arch of the castle, the distance between him and the watchtower became farther and farther, and the art teacher’s brows under his beret gradually knitted.
"The distance seems not enough..."
The art teacher looked at the stone pillars supporting the ancient stone bridge. The stone pillars were built on the mountain rocks, and the base of the mountain rocks was a group of rocks extending diagonally into the sea.
At this time, the moon was dark and the wind was tight, and the sea wind carried the fog up. Some twisting figures seemed to appear on the dark and moist mountain wall. They struggled to climb up little by little, and then climbed to the back of the stone bridge...
"Shashasha..."
"Shashasha..."
Lin Yi keenly captured some weird movements. This subtle vibration came from "his" feet... to be more precise, it came from the back of the stone slab under his feet.
Theoretically speaking, it is impossible for stones of this thickness to transmit the earthquake sensation so clearly, unless...the number of those crawlers is too large.
In fact, their number is indeed huge... Endless twisted figures cling to the back of the stone bridge like swarms of insects and ghouls, crawling forward closely following Mao Feifei's pace.
Occasionally, one or two wisps of candlelight swaying in the wind were twisted by the mist and fell on their palms and claws, causing their palms and claws to emit hissing smoke, and they retreated into the darkness in pain.
A strong fear surged involuntarily in Mao Feiyang's heart. The twisted figures were chasing his trail like dark, sticky blood, like a pair of palms gradually catching up from the shadow behind his back, trying to strangle him by the throat.
The light projected from the watchtower was finally obscured by the thick fog and could no longer be projected onto him. The only candlelight on the stone bridge could not provide him with much protection. He took a deep breath and rushed towards the curved arch that mixed Gothic style and Baroque architectural style.
As he rushed into the arch, the mottled silhouettes cast in the glass windows enveloped him. The strange and mysterious ancient totems seemed to echo the array of stars that could not be traced in the long dark night, cutting off the invasion of the castle by the fog.
The mist rolled endlessly but could no longer move forward any further. The only remaining whining sea breeze with an icy chill kept washing over his fluttering back, stinging his skin.
"Is this the kind of wind that blows by chance as mentioned in the code?" Mao Feiyang put away the two codes close to his body, rubbed his palms, and hissed with heat.
"Let's find an art classroom first..." he murmured.
After passing through the arch, there is a quiet corridor full of dim candlelight.
The cloister is very spacious. Mao Feiyang kept in mind the moving methods mentioned in the code and moved carefully under the field formed by the candlelight.
Lin Yize was observing the overall environment around him.
Regardless of the fact that the "castle" is specifically marked as an "art building" in the code, he has no doubt that this place itself is a castle, but it was later transformed for various reasons and was given the name "art building".
The stone walls in the corridor are not smooth and flat, but have some pitted marks. Although there is candlelight, there is still a natural chill.
Most of the castles in the past were like this, especially those built on the seaside. Most areas were extremely cold, and the real warmth was provided by fireplaces and inner rooms paved with carpets.
After walking in the corridor for a long time, Lin Yi suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart, as if there was something invisible hidden in the darkness of the empty corridor.
When he had this idea, an uncomfortable feeling of being spied on suddenly fell on him, making him feel uncomfortable in his heart.
"There seems to be something in the darkness..."
"Is it the things crawling under the stone bridge?"
"Or something else?"
Lin Yi felt a little uncomfortable. Even in a dream, this dark and depressing environment made him feel vaguely uncomfortable.
And I hadn’t noticed it before, but as soon as I noticed it, my whole person instantly became irritable.
But soon Mao Feiyang walked out of the corridor without any danger and entered a magnificent hall filled with candlesticks and chandeliers.
The tall spires and complex vaults are decorated with exquisite patterns and carvings, exuding a mysterious and majestic atmosphere.
There is a huge oak tree in the center of the hall. At a glance, it is impossible to tell whether this oak tree is still growing. It looks dilapidated, as if it has suffered a devastating blow during the growth process, and was frozen in eternal time at the moment it was broken.
It seems to be surrounded by a dense mist, which has existed for unknown ages, wrapping it up like an invisible field.
It is like a perfect work of art, retaining the posture of growth and decay at the same time.
In front of it is an equally huge long stone platform. There should have been something on it, but now only a base is left.
On the long platform, there is an ancient and broken emblem. The complex lines and carvings look like some kind of pattern formed by the blending of weapons and the moon, a bit like the patterns on Tarot cards or those more ancient ritual symbols.
This pattern has been almost smoothed over by the years, but Lin Yi can still feel the aura of glory and splendor emanating from it.
Looking up, huge stained glass windows are embedded between the walls. A few rays of moonlight emit a cold and colorful light through the glass, falling on the huge oak tree, through its branches and leaves, and finally covering the base of the long platform that originally contained something unknown.
The murals on the walls around the hall seem to depict some kind of legend of believers and gods. The complex and broken graphic symbols have no way to verify their origin and era. They have become one of the symbols of the artistic atmosphere in the art building today.
In this peaceful and sacred space, Lin Yi seemed to feel a kind of tranquility and transcendent power in his mind and soul.
However... whenever the sea breeze blows through the corridor and reaches the hall, the flickering candlelight distorts the light and shadow in the hall, and the originally peaceful, sacred, quiet and beautiful atmosphere instantly becomes strange, as if some kind of spell has been cast in the empty hall...
Suddenly, Lin Yi's pupils contracted hard.
He suddenly discovered... that there were actually several huge and broken sculptures in this hall.
On the four walls of this dome-shaped hall, mysterious graphic symbols constitute ancient murals. However, among the murals, there seem to be some sculptures mixed in. However, these sculptures have long been damaged, so no matter how you look at them, there are no clues.
But judging from the remaining parts of these sculptures, they should not be humanoid species...
But fortunately, these sculptures are serious sculptures, which are completely different from the unknown existences defined as "sculptures" by rules that Lin Yi saw in Tian Bufan's dream earlier.
However, just as he was looking around at the sculptures and murals, he suddenly saw another sculpture after another with different expressions and shapes in the dark and cramped corners around the hall that were not illuminated by candlelight.
These sculptures are like living people huddled in the corner, maintaining a sneaky posture of peeping out from the darkness, both eager for candlelight and afraid of candlelight. In the end, they just hang there without any extra movement.
At this time, Mao Feiyang was also marveling at the grandeur of the hall, and couldn't help but admire the wonder of the so-called "artistic journey".
But Lin Yi noticed that when Mao Feiyang turned his back to the sculptures, each of the sculptures squirmed and twisted from their still posture, but their movement seemed to have been slowed down countless times, so he just watched Mao Feiyang from a distance, and then tried to move carefully in an area where light could not reach directly.
The eyes of the sculpture have no pupils, only a stone ball, but Lin Yi can feel the chilling horror emanating from it. It seems that as long as there is no candlelight here, they will swarm out like a swarm of insects, flying away and drowning.
At this time, Mao Feiyang, who had looked around the hall, looked at the sculptures that were still in front of him, and frowned suddenly...
"Just now... they didn't seem to be moving like that?"
Mao Feiyang shivered fiercely, and a sense of doubt arose in his subconscious. How could the sculpture move? It was so outrageous.
This voice was transmitted to Lin Yi's perception simultaneously. Lin Yi's hair stood up and he said angrily: "Damn it, you fucking don't do it! Code! Think about what is written in the code!"
Fortunately, the confusion in Mao Feiyang's eyes flashed away, and he immediately regained his clarity: "It should be like this, it should be like this... Don't panic, don't panic, the sculpture is meant to move, yes, it is meant to move..."
He exhaled, but his back was already soaked in cold sweat.
He swept around and found a wooden stake full of signboards at the bifurcation of the corridor behind the huge oak tree.
(End of this chapter)