Chapter 59

Zhao Zhu himself wasn't quite sure why, but it seemed that ever since he entered the "Horror Webnovel" reader group and started entering the horror webnovel mission worlds, even in reality, the chances of him encountering evil spirits and ghosts had become increasingly higher, to the point of being almost unbelievable, with such incidents happening frequently.

First, a jade hairpin appeared inexplicably in the hospital where he worked, leading to a paranormal event that exceeded the usual level, and even causing the more powerful Li Fan, who was stronger than Zhu Jianping, to perish there. Then, at Xiong Zhiqi's building, he encountered a family that was raising corpses, and he almost met with danger there. And today, originally because he had tasted the benefits of some low-level consumables and was now somewhat "short on funds," he thought about obtaining a few items with a bit of "spiritual energy" or that could truly be useful from some so-called wandering mystics for the next mission world. However, he ended up in this current situation.

Zhao Zhu himself was uncertain whether the old monk was really dead, even though he himself had just aimed the gun at the old monk's forehead and fired.

In this current situation, Zhao Zhu was clearly at a loss, but this did not mean he had to sit and wait for death. The only conjecture he could accept was that the old monk was indeed dead, but not completely. He must have used something he had previously set up here to allow his soul to remain, and even to deliberately continue controlling some things.

From the initial emotional fluctuations to the complete calming of his mind, Zhao Zhu spent only a short time. From the painting in front of him, one could see that the young man, who was originally hesitant and at a loss, now appeared more composed. It seemed that due to the change in the young man's emotions, the eerie atmosphere in the painting was also somewhat diluted, indicating that the painting indeed reflected a person's mindset.

After all, over this period, Zhao Zhu had seen far too many so-called supernatural things. Although he was still startled each time he encountered them, he was not so easily frightened. Moreover, the more extreme side of his personality began to be increasingly exposed, most notably in his growing lack of moral and legal constraints when it came to killing.

On one hand, his life was uncertain, and he could die at any moment in the next mission world. On the other hand, his own strength and the strength of those around him allowed him to operate outside the bounds of the law.

Zhao Zhu retreated into the room, his gaze once again carefully examining the room. Then, his eyes fell on the water jar. He picked up the jar, grabbed a handful of tea leaves, and put them in his mouth, chewing them.

They had no taste, absolutely no taste at all.

Zhao Zhu took a deep breath. He understood why there was no taste: he was inside the painting. When he entered this room, it was as if he had entered the painting. The things inside the painting could only provide "form" but not "scent or taste."

At this moment, Zhao Zhu was somewhat relieved that he hadn't followed the old monk into the room but had instead killed the old monk with a single shot and then entered the room himself. If the old monk were still alive and he were still inside the painting, who knows what might have happened?

Even if he had a gun, entering the painting would probably have been meaningless and useless.

This was the benefit of being a cold-blooded executioner: being straightforward and not giving the other party any chance to use their backup plans. Some villains in TV shows and movies always like to refrain from killing when they have the chance, only to be overturned at the end.

However, the current problem was, now that he knew he had entered the painting, how could he get out? Zhao Zhu hadn't expected that this wandering mystic would actually have such a treasure. If Zhu Jianping and Xiong Zhiqi knew, they would probably be shocked.

"Light a fire?"

Zhao Zhu took out the lighter from his pocket but quickly shook his head and put it away.

If he burned the painting, would he burn himself to death as well?

"Is there some kind of incantation? Some secret method?"

Zhao Zhu shook his head again. The old monk was already dead, so how could he recite any incantations?

This treasure should be able to activate automatically without any incantation...

"What is it?"

Zhao Zhu walked back to the elm wood box and looked at the compass inside, which was still spinning, and a look of realization appeared on his face.

"Could it be that the compass in this room is the key?"

Zhao Zhu picked up the heavy compass again and examined it carefully. Unfortunately, he didn't understand compasses and had no knowledge in this area. However, it was fortunate that he had already proven that he could make phone calls even inside the painting. Zhao Zhu called Xiong Zhiqi, and the call was quickly connected:

"Hey, Brother Zhao, I'm on my way, almost there."

"Do you understand things like compasses?"

"Huh, you mean the things Daoists and monks use to look at feng shui?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"I don't know anything about that."

"Does Zhu Jianping know?"

"He probably doesn't either. The array diagrams he gave you were from a booklet he stole in a mission world."

"Can you find someone who knows about this?"

"Brother Zhao, are you in a hurry?"

"Very much so."

"Um, I have a friend who is a Daoist and definitely knows about this, but..."

"But what?"

"His name is Yan Xing..."

"..."

"There's also a girl who should know."

"Aren't you talking about the one I dismembered and sent back in a package?"

"Um, that's the one."

"I'm trapped and can't get out. I feel it has something to do with the compass in front of me."

"Maze or array?" Xiong Zhiqi asked, "It seems that wandering mystic really has some good stuff. I'm drooling just thinking about it."

"Inside the painting..."

"Shit!!!... Hit the jackpot. Hey, driver, can you drive faster? I'm in a hurry!"

"I meant for you to find someone..."

"Find who? I'm the one here."

"You said you don't know..."

"That's right, I don't know anything about arrays, but I know how to break them. I have a lot of experience with breaking arrays. Otherwise, how would I have survived so many dangerous and high-fatality group missions? Brother Zhao, that's a treasure you have. Damn, why do you have such good luck, and I don't?"

"I just wanted to get some talismans and paper charms."

"Alright, Brother Zhao, I'm almost there. Hey, I see your car. Wait for me, I'll be there soon. Gotta go."

Xiong Zhiqi hung up the phone. Zhao Zhu licked his lips, put away his phone, and took out a scroll of Buddhist scriptures from the elm wood box to read. Since Xiong Zhiqi was so confident, he believed that breaking the painting and getting out was just a matter of time.

The Buddhist scriptures in the elm wood box were somewhat strange, as they contained very little text and did not seem to be traditional scriptures. Instead, they were mostly pictures with some text, which looked like incantations and spells. The pictures mostly showed hand seals and the corresponding steps.

"Are these esoteric hand seals?" Zhao Zhu muttered to himself, "Why didn't the monk practice them?"

If this was real, why didn't the monk practice them? If he had, it would have been much harder to subdue him or kill him with a single shot.

Then, Zhao Zhu laughed, realizing he had thought wrong. The old monk had a lame leg, so he couldn't perform the steps. Without the steps, how could he practice the hand seals?

"Whatever, I'll show them to them later. If it works, we can practice it together."

Zhao Zhu flipped through the contents of the elm wood box again. Under several scrolls of scriptures, he found a string of beads. The beads were not very smooth but gave a sense of depth and grandeur. When Zhao Zhu held them, he felt his mind become calm, and his breathing became more rhythmic and steady.

"Could these be relics?"

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