“Let’s go.” Bai Yan took down the portrait and was ready to leave then.
However, something unexpected occurred when the blood from her earlier battle with the monster horde came into contact with the canvas. The painting suddenly started to make a faint light after coming into contact with that red liquid….
“Since there’s nothing special about this spot, we should go look elsewhere then.” Bai Yan’s eyes were more and more solemn as she said that, thus causing her to miss the strangeness in her hands.
“Yan Yan!” Bai Ning originally wanted to speak when she noticed the bright light shooting out of the painting and into her daughter’s temple.
This change came too soon and so fast that the grandmother could not react.
“Yan Yan, are you alright? Do you feel unwell?” The woman’s eyes were full of worry as those hands clenched the demon queen’s shoulder in urgency.
Bai Yan did not respond to the questions from her own mother there. Going unresponsive in the eyes, she’s looking all dull and fazed out.
……
“What is this place?”
Like a wonderland, this place in which Bai Yan came to was blooming with countless peach blossom trees.
Uugghh…
Groaning as she touched her forehead, she begins to recall what had happened.
If I remember correctly, I was with mother inside that ruin. Then that light hit me in the head…. That’s right, it swallowed up my consciousness and now I’m here in this place!
But… why does this place look so much like the background in that painting?
It can’t be, I’m inside the painting itself?
Narrowing her eyes in, Bai Yan scans the area with vigilance for any signs of danger. Yet, there was nothing…. Silence, and the sound of wind blowing against the grass to make a rustling sound of calm greenery, that’s all there was….
“I didn’t find a way out of the ruins after searching for so long, perhaps… the way out lies here, within this painting.” That thought in mind, she collected her head and moved forward.
Very soon, the demon queen came ahead with a tombstone ordained by several peach trees.
“Mu Gorgeous Tombstone.” These were the words engraved on the rock slab.
Mu Gorgeous?
Rubbing her chin at the name, Bai Yan began to muse over the indication of this. “So that person is called Mu Gorgeous eh? But why did someone make a gravestone for her in such a place? And how in the world did I end up getting in here?”
Thinking up to here, she once again fell into silence to organize her train of thought. Then suddenly, she seems to recalled something crucial. Specifically, it’s the spec of blood that came into contact with the painting when she was removing it from the wall.
Could it be at that moment?
“In that case, the one who created the ruins outside must be the same one who created this world within the painting…. Presumably someone who admires this Mu Gorgeous.” She mutters out her theory to make sense of it all. “So where is the exit? If I can come in then that means I can also leave. What is the key here though….”
Looking around, the demon queen could see there’s nothing but peach blossom trees growing here on the mountain. If there’s anything worthy of note, it’s the tombstone in front.
“No matter, I’ll figure it out. First I need to pay homage since I’m already in front of her grave. She did after all leave behind the diary in my possession.”