Chapter 97 Art Building Lobby

On the foggy ancient stone bridge, Mao Feiyang was walking on thin ice. He wrapped his yellow sweater tightly around himself. His dark and thin body looked so frail, as if he was embraced by darkness.

Knowing that Mao Feiyang would be fine, Lin Yi took this opportunity to take in the surrounding environment from his God's perspective.

He first looked around, trying to find the section of the cliff where the night watchman was located from the ancient stone bridge where the watchtower was located.

Theoretically, the castle was located on a steep cliff, surrounded by foggy mountains and oceans. To find the night watchman, one only had to start from the side facing the sea. However, his initial search yielded nothing, so he had to give up and turn his attention to the stone bridge.

Mao Feiyang was frightened by the surrounding environment and naturally did not dare to look around, so he did not pay any attention to the uniqueness of this stone bridge.

Lin Yi was different. He opened his eyes wide and observed.

He was soon attracted by the candlesticks with burning candles on the stone bridge.

At first glance, Lin Yi found it difficult to tell the material of the candlestick. It seemed to be made of something between a blue-gray stone and some kind of ancient bronze.

A cluster of flames burned in its center, and the flames swayed in the sea breeze as if only the flames at the roots were left. The light it cast was distorted and dissipated in the mist, but it would not go out, as if it was holding on to its last breath.

Lin Yi's attention was initially attracted by the flame, because he realized that the flame was extremely familiar. As soon as he recalled it, he found that it was the same light as that in an old kerosene lamp!

But he soon discovered that what really exuded a mysterious atmosphere was not the candlelight, but the candlestick made of special material.

The candlestick is disc-shaped, with a pattern of some magical creature carved at the base, like a twisted snake, or some long animal with wings. It seems to be a pattern based on mythology.

In addition to the pattern, there are some strange graphics or texts, which are between the pictographic graphics of Mayan civilization and Egyptian civilization and the hieroglyphics of ancient China. They also have some flavor of bronze inscriptions in the sacrificial atmosphere of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. At first glance, it seems as if you are seeing a distorted piece of history.

The pattern and text surround the candlestick, making the entire candlestick seem to be shrouded by an indescribable power.

Lin Yi only took a few glances and felt an unnatural sense of horror, as if the thing carried a strong ominous aura, or perhaps the candlestick was lingering with some kind of power that was far beyond his reach...

"'pollute'."

For some reason, this word popped up in Lin Yi's mind. In fact, he didn't know what "pollution" meant. He just thought that the power beyond his cognition should be the "pollution" mentioned by the head teacher.

"No, should I say... 'supernatural characteristics'?"

"Extraordinary characteristics...?"

Lin Yi narrowed his eyes. When was the first time he heard this word? How come it suddenly came to him so easily that he could blurt it out directly?
"That's right! It was Master Tian who said that!"

His eyes lit up.

[“In our time, it is clear that some people have discovered the laws of certain extraordinary properties and are trying to replicate them…”

"The kerosene lamp in the security guard's hand."

“Those kerosene lamps on the gym walls.”

“Even, the street lights all over the campus.”

"Our student ID cards and other credentials that represent our identity."

"These things...maybe they carry some extraordinary properties to a greater or lesser extent."

"Of course, I'm not sure about the street lamps, but that kind of kerosene lamp is definitely not a normal thing."

"Not only is it abnormal, it is also a product of modern civilization. At least... it is something that has only appeared in the last few hundred years."]

In the dormitory, Tian Bufan said...

"This candlestick... seems to have the same 'supernatural properties' as an old kerosene lamp?" Lin Yi pondered.

He didn't know what supernatural characteristics were, but his intuition told him that this aura that could give him a sense of security should be a supernatural characteristic.

Following the light all the way, feeling the remaining afterglow of the extraordinary characteristics in the candlesticks and candlelight, Lin Yi was about to follow Mao Feiyang across the ancient stone bridge without realizing it.

But as Mao Feiyang approached the archway of the castle, the distance between him and the watchtower became farther and farther, and the art teacher's brows under his beret gradually furrowed.

"The distance doesn't seem to be enough..."

The art teacher looked at the stone pillars supporting the ancient stone bridge. The stone pillars were built on rocks, and the roots of the rocks were a group of reefs that extended obliquely into the sea.

At this time, the moon was dark and the wind was strong. The sea breeze carried the fog upwards. Some twisting figures seemed to appear on the dark and damp mountain wall. They struggled to climb up bit by bit, and then climbed to the back of the stone bridge...

“Swish…”

Lin Yi keenly caught some strange movements. The slight vibration came from under "his" feet... or more precisely, from the back of the stone slab under his feet.

Theoretically speaking, it is impossible for rocks of this thickness to transmit the vibrations so clearly, unless... the number of those crawlers is too large.

In fact, their number was indeed huge... Endless twisted figures clung to the back of the stone bridge like a swarm of insects and zombies, crawling forward closely following Mao Feiyang's steps.

Occasionally, one or two wisps of candlelight swaying in the wind were distorted by the fog and fell on their palms and claws, causing their palms and claws to emit hissing smoke and shrink back into the darkness in pain.

A strong feeling of fear surged up in Mao Feiyang's heart involuntarily. The twisted figures were chasing him like dark, sticky and filthy blood, like a pair of hands gradually catching up with him from behind, trying to strangle his throat.

The light from the watchtower was finally obscured by the thick fog and could no longer shine on him. The only remaining candlelight on the stone bridge could not provide him with much shelter. He took a deep breath and rushed towards the curved archway that mixed Gothic and Baroque architectural styles.

As he rushed into the archway, the mottled silhouette cast by the glass window enveloped him. The strange and mysterious ancient totem seemed to echo the array of stars whose traces could not be found in the long night, cutting off the invasion of the fog on the castle.

The fog rolled endlessly but could no longer move forward. The only thing left was the whimpering sea breeze with its icy chill that kept washing over Mao Feiyang's back, stinging his skin. "Is this the kind of wind that blows occasionally as mentioned in the rules?" Mao Feiyang put the two rules close to his body, rubbed his palms together, and exhaled hot air with a hiss.

"Let's find the art classroom first..." he muttered.

After passing through the archway, there is a quiet corridor filled with dim candlelight.

The corridor was very spacious. Mao Feiyang kept in mind the movement method mentioned in the rules and moved carefully in the field formed by the candlelight.

Lin Yi was observing the overall environment around him.

Regardless of the fact that the rules specifically marked "castle" as "art building", he had no doubt that this was actually a castle, but it was later transformed for various reasons and then given the name "art building".

The stone walls in the corridor were not smooth, but had some potholes and marks. Despite the candlelight, there was still a natural chill.

Most castles in the past were like this, especially those built on the seaside. Most areas were extremely cold, and the only warmth provided were fireplaces and carpeted interiors.

After walking in the corridor for a long time, Lin Yi suddenly had a strange feeling in his heart, as if there was something invisible hidden in the darkness of the empty corridor.

When he had this thought, he suddenly felt uncomfortable as if he was being watched, and he felt uneasy.

"There seems to be something in the darkness..."

"Are those things crawling under the stone bridge?"

"Or something else?"

Lin Yi felt a little uncomfortable. Even in his dreams, this dark and depressing environment made him feel vaguely uncomfortable.

And I didn't notice it before, but once I noticed it, my whole body instantly became irritable.

But soon Mao Feiyang walked out of the corridor safely 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 first glance, it is impossible to tell whether the oak tree is still growing. It looks broken, as if it suffered a devastating blow during its growth process and was frozen in eternal time at the moment of its breaking.

It seemed to be surrounded by a dense mist that had existed for who knows how many years, and it enveloped it like an invisible field.

It is like a perfect work of art, retaining the posture of growth and withering.

In front of it is an equally huge stone platform. There should have been something on it, but now only a base is left.

On the long platform, there is an old and broken emblem. The complex lines and carvings look like a pattern of some kind of weapon and the moon, a bit like the patterns on tarot cards or those more ancient ritual symbols.

This pattern had long been smoothed out by time, but Lin Yi could still feel the aura of glory and splendor emanating from it.

Looking up, there were huge stained glass windows inlaid between the walls. A few faint rays of moonlight shone through the glass, emitting a cold and colorful light, falling on the huge oak tree, through its branches and leaves, and finally covering the base on the long platform, where no one knew what was originally placed.

The murals on the walls around the hall seem to depict some legends of believers and gods. The origins and times of the complex and broken graphic symbols are no longer traceable, and 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 blew through the corridor and reached the hall, the flickering candlelight distorted the light and shadow in the hall, and the originally peaceful, sacred, quiet and beautiful atmosphere instantly became weird, as if some kind of spell had fallen on the empty hall…

Suddenly, Lin Yi's pupils contracted violently.

He suddenly discovered... that there had always been several huge but broken sculptures in this hall.

On the four walls of this arched hall, mysterious pictorial symbols formed ancient murals, but among the murals, there seemed to be some sculptures. However, these sculptures had long been damaged, so no matter how you looked at them, you couldn't see any clues.

But judging from the remaining parts of these sculptures, they should not be humanoid species...

Fortunately, these sculptures are real sculptures, completely different from the unknown existences defined as "sculptures" by rules that Lin Yi had seen in Tian Bufan's dream earlier.

However, just as he was looking around at the sculptures and murals, he suddenly saw sculptures after sculptures with different expressions and shapes in the dark and cramped corners around the hall that were not illuminated by the candlelight.

These sculptures huddled in the corner like living people, maintaining a furtive posture, peeking out from the darkness, longing for candlelight yet fearing it, and ultimately just hanging there without any extra movements.

At this time, Mao Feiyang was also marveling at the grandeur of the hall and couldn't help but praise the greatness of the so-called "art journey".

But Lin Yi noticed that when Mao Feiyang turned his back to the sculptures, the sculptures began to wriggle and twist from their static postures, but their movements seemed to be slowed down countless times, so they just looked at Mao Feiyang from a distance, and then tried to move carefully in the area where the light could not reach.

The sculpture's eyes had no pupils, only a stone ball, but Lin Yi could feel the chilling sense of horror emanating from it. It seemed that as long as there was no candlelight, they would swarm out like a swarm of insects and drown Mao Feiyang.

At this moment, Mao Feiyang looked around the hall and looked at the sculpture that had stopped in front of him. His brows suddenly frowned...

"Just now... they didn't seem to be doing that movement?"

Mao Feiyang shuddered violently, and a feeling of doubt surged in his subconscious. How could the sculpture move? It was really outrageous.

This inner voice was simultaneously transmitted to Lin Yi's perception. Lin Yi's hair stood on end and he angrily said, "Fuck you, Maozi, stop it! Rules! Think about what the rules say!"

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, sculptures are supposed to move, yes, they are supposed to move..."

He exhaled, not realizing that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

He scanned the area and found a wooden stake covered with signs at the fork of the corridor behind a huge oak tree.

(End of this chapter)

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