Chapter 932: A Blank Slate |
Liu Xing frowned and asked, "Old Man, where does that Old Master Lu live now? I'm actually the son of an old acquaintance of his, and since we're here, I'd like to pay him a visit."
The Old Man nodded and pointed to the mountain behind him. "You just need to cross that mountain, and you'll see Songshi City. Old Master Lu currently resides in Songshi City. You can ask the locals for directions to his mansion."
Without further ado, Liu Xing called out to Dogo Aige, who was still indulging in the feast, and bid farewell to the Old Man.
On their way, Dogo Aige burped and said, "To be honest, the food in this Illusion Space is quite tasty, but the drinks are a bit hard to swallow."
Liu Xing gave Dogo Aige a sidelong glance and said helplessly, "Don't you worry that there might be something wrong with the food and drinks here? Or, after we leave this Illusion Space, won't you be afraid that you'll find yourself in a hole, and all the dirt will be in your stomach?"
Hearing this, Dogo Aige shuddered and said, "I don't think that's possible. Even though the Illusion Space can deceive our vision, hearing, and spatial perception, it shouldn't be able to trick our taste buds. After all, our tongues are part of our bodies."
Liu Xing shook his head and said seriously, "That's not necessarily true. Taste, to put it simply, is the result of our taste buds perceiving different flavors and sending signals to our brains, which then tell us what we're tasting. So, the Illusion Space only needs to deceive our brains by sending false signals, and it can make our brains believe we're consuming something else."
At this point, Liu Xing suddenly remembered something a teacher had told him during his university days—that the most powerful deceiver in the world is our own brain.
Liu Xing had even heard a conspiracy theory that humans no longer have real brains. The so-called "human brain" is actually a parasitic organism that, due to its inability to evolve limbs and a body of its own, can only inhabit the human body. It consumes the original human brain and takes control of the body, explaining why sometimes the brain seems to lag behind the body. The brain is not the body's original partner, so it needs time to process information.
Of course, these conspiracy theories are likely to fall apart under scrutiny... But in this parallel world based on the Cthulhu myth, Liu Xing believes that these theories could very well be true. After all, in this world, all sorts of demons, ghosts, and mythical creatures have appeared, and it's even relatively easy for humans to transform into mythical beings. For example, Dogo Aige, who is with Liu Xing, seamlessly transformed from a human into a Deep One without any signs of rejection.
Thinking of this, Liu Xing couldn't help but ask, "Dogo Aige, since we're on the road and it's a bit boring, why don't you tell me how you feel after becoming a Deep One? After all, you've transformed into a different species."
Dogo Aige scratched his head and, after some thought, replied, "I personally don't think there's much difference. Or, I feel like those mutated superheroes or supervillains in Marvel movies. After getting used to my new body, I didn't feel any discomfort. Instead, I feel like it's much better than my previous body, and I can easily do things that my old body couldn't. Overall, it's a fantastic feeling, especially since I can transform back into a human at any time."
As he spoke, Dogo Aige demonstrated his abilities by leaping over ten meters in a few jumps, a speed that Liu Xing couldn't match.
"By the way, Liu Xing, why are you in such a hurry to meet this Old Master Lu? Do you really know him? Isn't he from ancient times?" Dogo Aige asked, puzzled.
Liu Xing sighed and said seriously, "I do know Old Master Lu, or rather, all Chinese people know the name Lu You, as he is one of the most famous poets in Chinese history. Our textbooks contain many of his poems. For example, the place we're currently in should be the first line of one of his poems, 'You Xishan Village': 'Don't laugh at the farmer's muddy wine, in a year of plenty, guests are treated to chicken and pork.'"
"Oh, that's why the village invited us to stay for dinner. It's written in the poem... Wait, Liu Xing, do you mean we've entered another poem?" Dogo Aige asked, his eyes widening.
Liu Xing nodded and, looking at the distant old tree, said, "Yes, we've entered the realm of another poem. I didn't expect this Illusion Space to be so interesting, combining two poems to form..."
Before Liu Xing could finish his sentence, Dogo Aige slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I understand! We're not in an Illusion Space, but in the legendary world of poetry!"
Poetry?
Liu Xing looked at Dogo Aige with a blank expression.
Dogo Aige looked at Liu Xing seriously and said, "Although for ordinary people, poetry is a general term for ancient Chinese literature, for us mythical creatures, these four words represent a powerful treasure. It is said that this treasure was left behind by the two most powerful Old Gods in the China region, Nüwa and Fuxi. As for the ability of this treasure, I believe Liu Xing can guess it—it brings to life the classic Chinese poetry in a new world, with both scenery and characters vividly portrayed, or you could say, truly brought to life."
"But most importantly, all living beings in the world of poetry are immortal. After all, they are real beings, created by the authors of various dynasties in China with their pens and ink. Even if a Great Old One were to enter the world of poetry, they couldn't harm these beings. So, the ability of this treasure is terrifying. I've heard that if the user is powerful enough, they can merge the world of poetry with the real world. When that happens, humans and mythical creatures in the real world will be in trouble. After all, no one wants to live next to a group of indestructible people, even if they mean no harm."
Liu Xing thought carefully and felt that Dogo Aige made a lot of sense. If he had an immortal person by his side, even if they looked exactly like a normal human, he would instinctively reject them because they are "different."
Just like when facing a disabled person, most people may not say anything, but deep down, they still have reservations and view these disabled people differently from themselves, who are normal.
Therefore, in many films, TV shows, novels, and comics, whenever mutants appear, most ordinary people will instinctively view them as monsters and subconsciously exclude them from the category of "humanity."... In addition, there are clones, as well as new humans whose genes have been edited to make them superior in various aspects.
This brings us to the topic of self-acceptance.
Liu Xing shook his head, bringing his wandering thoughts back on track. "It's unlikely that a divine artifact of such world-class caliber would end up in the hands of an ordinary Deep One pirate like MacIntyre."
Dogo Aige nodded and smiled. "Of course. Ultimate treasures like poetry, which can form their own worlds, are rare in the entire universe. Even the Great Old One Cthulhu, worshipped by Matsui Yui and her companions, doesn't possess such a magical treasure. However, the poetry disappeared without a trace long ago, and from time to time, a fragment would find its way into the human world through various means. For example, over a decade ago, the China Dao Sect obtained a fragment of the poetry, which transformed into a supermarket flyer and fell to the ground."
"There's such a thing?" Liu Xing asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
Dogo Aige nodded. "Yes, that's how it happened. I heard that it was fortunate the China Dao Sect discovered that fragment right away, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. These fragments of poetry can activate under certain conditions, absorbing all living beings within a certain range. The fragment they found contained a border defense poem, so anyone who entered it would find themselves in the midst of a battlefield, a far more dangerous situation than what we're facing now."
Liu Xing looked around at the peaceful scenery and couldn't help but feel grateful for his good luck. If he, an ordinary person, had been thrown into the world of a border defense poem, he would undoubtedly have been the only casualty in a battle among immortals.
However, a new problem arose: how could he leave the world created by the poetry?
Before Liu Xing could ask, Dogo Aige sighed and said, "I know what you're about to ask, but I don't know either. Even fragments of the poetry are extremely rare in Island Nation, so Yui and her friends only heard some rumors. I took it as a story, so if you're asking me how to leave here, I can only say I don't know..."
Liu Xing shook his head helplessly at Dogo Aige's sudden lack of information. "If I'm not mistaken, this fragment of poetry must have turned into the paper MacIntyre used for painting. At that time, MacIntyre didn't activate the fragment, but after he sealed this treasure trove and before we entered, it suddenly activated... I think it must have been the black mist that appeared when the spear shattered. The dispersed black mist might have touched the fragment, putting it in a semi-activated state, which is why we only saw the small bridge and flowing water at first."
"As time passed, the fragment fully activated, and when we returned to check the situation, we were drawn into it. This is the only explanation I can think of right now. But the biggest problem is that the world within this fragment might not be as safe as we imagine. Those Eight-Eyed Crows are probably not natives of this fragment, so it's likely that a group of mythical creatures entered this fragment a long time ago. So, we need to be careful of those mythical creatures."
As Liu Xing spoke, he walked to the top of the hill... and was stunned by the sight before him.
"What are you staring at, Liu Xing?" Dogo Aige asked, a few steps behind Liu Xing and equally puzzled. But when he reached Liu Xing's side, he too was taken aback by what he saw.
The reason was simple: there was nothing in front of Liu Xing and Dogo Aige!
A blank space.
After a while, Liu Xing took a deep breath and said, "It seems that this fragment only contains the first line of 'You Xishan Village,' and the remaining three lines are on another fragment. That's why there's nothing here."
At this moment, Dogo Aige couldn't help but reach out to touch the blank space in front of him, but Liu Xing quickly grabbed his hand. "Dogo Aige, do you want to die? It's obvious that this blank space is truly empty, so anything that enters it will become blank!"
As he spoke, Liu Xing kicked a small stone into the blank space, and it instantly disappeared.
This time, both Liu Xing and Dogo Aige could clearly see that the stone didn't vanish into thin air but disintegrated into smaller pieces, which continued to break down into molecules invisible to the naked eye.
After a moment, another small stone appeared at Liu Xing's feet, identical to the previous one... or so Liu Xing assumed, as he hadn't paid attention to its appearance before.
"I think you're not part of this fragment, Dogo Aige, so you won't enjoy the treatment of being disassembled and then reassembled, right?" Liu Xing said, looking at Dogo Aige.
Dogo Aige had already taken a few steps back and hid his hands behind his back, saying, "Hehe, hehe."
Liu Xing sighed and turned around. "It seems we need to go back and find those Eight-Eyed Crows. Hopefully, they can show us a way out."
Dogo Aige nodded and followed Liu Xing down the hill.
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