Paintings of Terror

Chapter 38: A Skull Cup

Translated by Eve

Edited by EB

Qin Ci’s gaze was downcast and he was muttering to himself while mulling over this dilemma. “It looks like one person will have to die tonight no matter what we do. There really doesn’t seem to be a way out of it….”

Mu Yiran said, “I don’t know a lot about Sahism’s literature. What I know is based off of the bits and pieces other people have told me. I think that if we want to find the signature or avoid harm, we have to figure out a way to find out more about things about? Sahism.

“The hard part is that there are many denominations of Sahism. Every denomination has its own doctrine and pantheon. Sometimes, these denominations may share similarities to each other while other times, they may preach contrasting information. For example, a being may be considered a demon in one denomination, or a god in another. There are numerous cases like this.

“Another example: we have hypothesized that the giant shadow is the eight-armed Heishitian, but Heishitian can be benevolent or malevolent depending on what denomination we consult. Its form also differs: it has been portrayed as a goddess, a protector deity, and a shape-shifting being that takes human-form during the day and beast-form during the night.

“If we can’t figure out which branch it belongs to, we’ll be left without any direction. I think that we will be able to obtain clues relevant to the signature by resolving this first.”

Sha Liu parted her lips, as if she had something to say. She then hesitated. In the end, she said nothing at all.

Everyone ate as if they were chewing on wax. Mother Geng didn’t even take a single bite. Silent tears fell down her cheeks.

Before the sky darkened, the middle-aged man returned and said: “There shall be three people in a tent tonight. Remember, there must be three to a tent.”

The main tent was filled with silence.

There were nine people left. Although nine was evenly divided into three, this meant that it was very likely that three people would die tonight.

“Then,” Qin Ci said in a low voice, “the Geng Family will comprise one tent and the rest of us will split up.”

“No! No, no!” Mother Geng suddenly shouted. She pulled her child over to Ke Xun and pushed him to the young man. “Young man, I beg of you, let my son stay with you tonight, please? I’m begging you. I don’t mind if I die. I just want my son to survive. Young man, you’ve got psychic powers. Please protect my son. He’s still young, he’s so young. Please have mercy….”

Mother Geng even knelt down, wanting to kowtow, but Ke Xun stopped her.

“Okay, I’ll take him.” Ke Xun looked down at the mother in front of him and recalled his deceased mother who had also loved him to death.

Ke Xun didn’t say anything else. His gaze shifted away from the crying mother-son pair and landed on the dark night sky. The snow on the distant mountain peaks reflected off of his eyes. The wind blew softly, causing the snow’s reflection to distort slightly.

Mu Yiran stood in a corner in which the light could not reach, watching him. After Ke Xun retracted his teasing, sloppy air, his features became as profound as the sea and his profile as sharp as the face of a cliff.

“Ke ge…” Sha Liu wanted to speak up. “Can I also….”

“Dong zi will be on the same team as me.” Ke Xun didn’t even look at her as he said this while turning around.

Sha Liu bit down on her lips but didn’t object.

Ke Xun tugged on the boy’s hand and called out for Wei Dong to follow. He paused while passing Mu Yiran, turning his head slightly to the side. “Sorry. Take care.”

Mu Yiran didn’t respond.

Ke Xun had said it from the start: if they were to encounter a life-or-death situation and he had to choose between Mu Yiran and Wei Dong, he would choose Wei Dong.

Of course, Ke Xun had also said that Mu Yiran could sacrifice Ke Xun in this kind of situation as well. He would not blame the other man.

There were six people remaining. Mu Yiran suggested?Father Geng and Mother Geng join separate teams.

At first, Father Geng had been taken aback. But shortly after, he understood what Mu Yiran was getting at with his suggestion. This was obviously to ensure that the child would not lose both parents at once.

“Thank you,” Father Geng told Mu Yiran quietly.

“It’s nothing.” Mu Yiran’s expression was still cool. “I just don’t want to see another person hide his family photographs in his closet.”

He didn’t want to see another child miss a piece of his heart forever.

In the end, the rest of them split up according to gender. Each team headed to their own tent.

Before Mu Yiran entered his tent, he saw Ke Xun pull the child and Wei Dong out of their tent. They then pulled the tent over to him.

Mu Yiran stared at Ke Xun until the other noticed him.

“Guess what I’m thinking?” Ke Xun grinned at him, his face no longer cold and still like it had been before. The other’s eyes were curled up into a smile. “Why should our tents be far away from each other? Our hearts will be closer to each other if our tents are closer together. What do you think?”

Before Mu Yiran could reply, Sha Liu, who was in a tent slightly further away stuck her head out. She was appalled. “If we’re this close together, won’t we end up implicating each other. What if that thing chooses to take the people in both tents at once? It’s safer to be further away.”

“Makes sense,” Ke Xun paused and looked at Mu Yiran. “What do you think?”

Qin Ci’s voice came through the tent’s flaps. “I think it’s better to stick together. We might have to trouble you to save us later. Maybe you can face off against that thing if we fall into danger.”

Qin Ci was just joking, trying to lighten up the mood. But Father Geng agreed with Ke Xun. He wanted to be a bit closer to his son. Just in case…just in case that thing chose Ke Xun’s tent. In that case, even though he knew it would be useless, he was willing to fight that thing for the sake of his child.

Neither side opposed this so Ke Xun and Wei Dong firmly dragged their tent over to Mu Yiran’s. The entrance to their tents were so close together that you’d be able to enter the opposing tent with a flip of the body.

Mother Geng, who was inside Sha Liu’s tent, also wanted to get closer. However, Sha Liu managed to convince her that it was better to stay further away somehow.

Ke Xun had the boy lie in the middle of the tent, sandwiched between himself and Wei Dong. Ke Xun was the closest to the entrance. After sticking an arm out, he was able to see through both tents’ flaps. He noticed that Mu Yiran was also on the side closest to the entrance.

It wasn’t yet time for their activity to be suspended. According to their past experience, there was little danger at present. Ke Xun didn’t want to lie down so he sat up, peeling the flaps of both tents wide open. He chatted with Mu Yiran who was also sitting cross-legged in front of him.

“Do you really believe that my faith is strong enough to fend off that monster?” Ke Xun had propped his chin up with one hand. Because he had lowered his voice, it sounded slightly hoarse. It sounded like he was simply indulging Mu Yiran’s wild imagination.

“Don’t think that you’re completely out of the woods.” Mu Yiran’s voice was cold. “Psychic power is the same as one’s potential. It’s not something that can be used at will. It might be up to chance or depend on the situation. Maybe that was the only time you will ever be able to use it.”

“You’re so mean.” Ke Xun sighed, “You just don’t want to give me any loving encouragement. Maybe if you encourage me, I’ll be able to make a big explosion. Maybe my endurance will increase and I’ll become stronger.”

Wei Dong: “Hehe.”

Ke Xun: “Shut up.”

Qin Ci: “Xiao Ke, love and sorrow are the two strongest triggers for evoking one’s potential. You can try one of them.”

Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran: “See? Love can evoke one’s potential. The doctor said so.”

Mu Yiran glared at him. “Pain can do the same. Want to give it a try?”

Ke Xun: “Look at this tent, it’s so round and big. Isn’t it like an upside-down bowl?”

Ke Xun was just trying to change the subject by randomly mentioning something. He didn’t expect for Mu Yiran’s gaze to suddenly turn sharp. He suddenly shot out of the tent.

Ke Xun promptly followed after him. He saw the other standing a few feet away from the tent, examining it.

“Right? It’s like an upturned bowl,” Ke Xun said.

“Perhaps it is a bowl.” Mu Yiran left him with this as he returned to the tent.

Ke Xun didn’t return to his own tent. He followed Mu Yiran to the other’s tent. The four of them crowded around inside. Mu Yiran gazed at the top of the tent, carefully scanning its ceiling.

“I’ve examined the ceiling before,” Qin Ci said, “There’s some kind of complicated design but the colours are too faded. You can’t make it out clearly. Xiao Mu, is there something wrong with it?”

“Sahism mentioned skull cups. Indeed, certain denominations of Sahism regard such things as important instruments.” Mu Yiran replied to Qin Ci’s question, gaze still firmly stuck on the ceiling, “Beneath the skull is the brain. It is believed that the entirety of a person’s life force and spiritual force is contained there. The majority of the deities of such denominations enjoy using skull cups to hold fresh brains as they partake in them. This way, they can take possession of said person’s soul and life force.”

When Qin Ci heard this, he became alarmed. He took a closer look at the tent, touching the material softly. “This tent…it’s made of a thin layer of human skin and bone! It can’t be that this is….”

“A human skull?!” Father Gung looked disgusted.

“So we’ve been that thing’s food all along,” Ke Xun said. “The tent is a skull cup and we are the food inside the cup. Both our bodies and heads are inside. That means both our spirits and life forces are included. There’s even some bonus liquid.”

“Then can we avoid becoming its food by not staying in the tents?” Father Geng asked at once.

“Of course not,” Ke Xun said, “Li Ziling died outside of these tents.”

Father Geng’s eyes dimmed. “You’re right. You can still pick up and eat food that has fallen out of your bowl.”

Mu Yiran had not paid any attention to their conversation. He carefully took in the pattern at the roof of the tent. It was just a pity that the pattern was way too fuzzy.

Time swiftly passed by. It was getting late. Ke Xun had no choice but to return to his tent. He laid back down near the entrance of his tent.

He laid down on his side, eyes on the flaps of his tent. Mu Yiran’s profile was elegant like sharp like a mountain range. Ke Xun couldn’t help but reach out and trace his outline along the side of the tent. He started at the other’s forehead which had a smooth and round arch. He then continued downwards, towards the other’s slightly deep orbits and the raised arc of his tall, straight nose. His finger then flopped back down and he paused on the two soft, slight arches.

Suddenly, Mu Yiran shifted. Ke Xun promptly withdrew his finger and coughed softly in an attempt to hide his guilt. He then tried to cover it up by speaking up, although this only made him seem even more suspicious: “Did you leave any offerings in your tent?”

Qin Ci was the one to respond. “No. We didn’t keep any of it. I think Sha Liu left all of them in hers though.”

Father Geng seemed to have just heard about this. He exploded: “She’s looking for death! She’s going to kill my wife!”

Eve: Ke Xun is my baby and it still cracks me up how me manages to be so shameless and annoy MYR. MYR’s fall is also so sweet. Gradual though~